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Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Portfolio screen designs
Below there are three screen designs for my portfolio.
Design 1
Design 2
Design 1
Design 2
Design 3
Any feedback would be great, thanks.
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Competitive analysis
http://www.gemma-harris.co.uk/
This student portfolio is Gemma Harris’s. The navigation of the website is annoying; it is only a one page site which, when you click a link , just takes you down the page and to get back to the top you have a scroll; after having to do it a couple of times it can get on your nerves.
The layout of the website is good, apart from having it all on one page. When you first get on to the website you straight away see her work, which is good because that is the main purpose of going to the website. Even though it is basic that is kind of a good thing as it does attract you more to looking at her work rather than the website itself, but it could be made a bit more fancy to show off her web design skills. Also Gemma has done more than just web design, so she could have used her website to show off some of her other skills such as photography and film. People are more employable with more skills so that could advantage her and help her get more projects.
The bit about her could maybe be cut down as there looks a lot to read and on the first look it can put you off reading it. She doesn’t really need go into detail about what she did on her courses or how she learnt web design, a brief summative couple of paragraphs would be fine.
Overall I think the website is good but could be made a lot better by having a number of pages instead of just one.
http://www.strawberrysoup.co.uk/portfolio/index.php
This is the professional portfolio. To get this website I searched on Google for web design portfolios then clicked the seventh page just so I didn’t choose from the normal first two pages. This one stuck out to me because of the strange name; I think the company can carry the name off as there is no stupid remark linked to the name.
The look of the portfolio is simple, I like how they have used an image that looks like a cork board with well known companies who they have worked with pinned on it. It gives the idea that if they have worked with well known companies they must be quite good. The colour scheme is linked in with the name of the company, strawberries are red so the colour scheme is mainly red, for the background they have used light red stripes which gives you that bit of colour but not too much, a block of red for the background would have been too strong.
Navigation though the portfolio is easy, the gallery layout allows you to see the range of websites they have created and they are labelled as to which project they were. When you click on the images of the websites you get a good description about each project and it also mentions which skills they have used for that certain project. You can view larger images of the websites and also go on the live website.
Overall I think the website looks good, is very easy to navigate round and gives you a good amount of detailed information about the projects they have done.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Delivery Requirements
To make my portfolio website I will be using a range of programs and technologies to make the site. I will be using the basics like a computer and an internet connection to create the website and make it live. The other important things I will need to create the site are the technologies and programs. I will be using programs from the Adobe Creative suit, such as Dreamweaver to build the site and Photoshop and maybe Flash to create elements for the site.
The technologies I will be using is XHTML (version 1.0) this will be the code that is been used to arrange the content of the portfolio before sorting out the presentation. I will be using CSS (version 2.1) to do the presentation of the website. It makes it easier to keep the web pages looking more consistent thought out the website and easier to make any changes. CMS (content management system) will be used within the website, with it been a portfolio it will be updated regularly therefore it would be easier to have a CMS. IMAP will be used as I would like some way that people could contact me via e-mail.
Also I have my webhosting already set up which means I can upload my site as soon as it is completed and I have my e-mail address sent up so e-mails can be sent to viki@victorialouisefisher.co.uk and my URL is www.victorialouisefisher.co.uk.
The technologies I will be using is XHTML (version 1.0) this will be the code that is been used to arrange the content of the portfolio before sorting out the presentation. I will be using CSS (version 2.1) to do the presentation of the website. It makes it easier to keep the web pages looking more consistent thought out the website and easier to make any changes. CMS (content management system) will be used within the website, with it been a portfolio it will be updated regularly therefore it would be easier to have a CMS. IMAP will be used as I would like some way that people could contact me via e-mail.
Also I have my webhosting already set up which means I can upload my site as soon as it is completed and I have my e-mail address sent up so e-mails can be sent to viki@victorialouisefisher.co.uk and my URL is www.victorialouisefisher.co.uk.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Target audience
Primary audience
Educator and potential employer/client
The main purpose of the portfolio now is to pass my assignment and to do this I must meet the targets my tutor has set for that assignment. Also the point of the course is to get us ready for employment so you could say that the other type of person it is aimed at is potential employers/clients.
Example-John-Paul is a 29 year old senior designer and is looking for a new junior designer. He works for a small design company in Huddersfield; they have been advertising and have recieved quite a lot of CV's and John-Paul has the job of going though the CVs and online portfolios to choose people to interview.
Age: 30+
Gender: Male
Occupation: Teacher
Online Experience: Very experienced with the internet
Online Frequency and activities: 8+ hours a day, websites for work for research, informational websites and design websites
Online Location: Work and home
Connectivity: High speed broadband connection
Age: 26+
Gender: Mainly male but female as well
Occupation: Senior Designer / Manager
Online Experience: Very experienced with the internet
Online Frequency and activities: 8+ hours a day, websites for work for research, informational websites, design websites and portfolios
Online Location: Work and home
Connectivity: High speed broadband connection at work and broadband at home
Secondary audience
Students
Other students will be looking at my portfolio to get an idea of my ways of working and what I am like. Also to get inspiration and to look at the kind of thing they could do.
Example- Edward is a 20 year old student who is studying web design, he regularly looks at students and professional portfolios to get ideas on how to make his portfolio look. He also wants an idea of what kind of work he might be doing.
Age: 18+
Gender: Mainly male but female as well
Occupation: Student
Online Experience and activities: Very experienced with the internet
Online Frequency: 8+ hours a day, informational websites for research for assignment work and design websites
Online Location: Work and home
Connectivity: High speed broadband connection at work and broadband at home
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Portfolio goals
1. Validate to XHTML 1.0 strict and CSS 2.1 standards
Validating to W3 standards will make the website work well in different browsers and different browser versions, also to improve search engine visibility and gives a sense of professionalism.
To measure this goal I will validate the web site using w3c XHTML and CSS valuators.
2. Validate to WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) Guidelines 1.0
Making the website more accessible will allow the web site to be viewed by a larger audience.
To measure this goal I will use the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).
3. Easily updatable
With the website been a portfolio it needs to be easy to update so new work can be added regularly. Also my portfolio might need to be edited for job interview to suit the job I am going for.
To measure this goal I will set task to complete that will involve edit parts of the portfolio to test how easy it is.
4. A high search engine rank
The most viewed websites on a search engine is the first three pages, so I want to aim to get my portfolio on one of though pages. The lower the pages number the better.
To measure this goal I will search for my web site in search engines to see were my web site comes up and using Search Engine Results Pages to measure the position.
Validating to W3 standards will make the website work well in different browsers and different browser versions, also to improve search engine visibility and gives a sense of professionalism.
To measure this goal I will validate the web site using w3c XHTML and CSS valuators.
2. Validate to WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) Guidelines 1.0
Making the website more accessible will allow the web site to be viewed by a larger audience.
To measure this goal I will use the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).
3. Easily updatable
With the website been a portfolio it needs to be easy to update so new work can be added regularly. Also my portfolio might need to be edited for job interview to suit the job I am going for.
To measure this goal I will set task to complete that will involve edit parts of the portfolio to test how easy it is.
4. A high search engine rank
The most viewed websites on a search engine is the first three pages, so I want to aim to get my portfolio on one of though pages. The lower the pages number the better.
To measure this goal I will search for my web site in search engines to see were my web site comes up and using Search Engine Results Pages to measure the position.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Flash and Final semester
For my self managed learning plan (SMLP) assignment I have chosen to study Flash and ActionScript. When I came to choosing the subject I wanted to study I didn’t find it hard to choose as the job adverts I preferred were more creative based. I am glad I picked Flash but it would have been good to know about PHP as well. I also chose Flash because I am not that interested in coding so I went for an option that could involve a bit of creativity.
Flash does include coding and I am not looking forward to learning that because it is like learning a new language to me and even though I want to learn it, it gets really frustrating. To learn Flash and ActionScript I have bought some books, usually I mainly use the internet for resources but this time I decided to choose a different approach to learning a new subject. The only thing with books is you can’t highlight them and scribble notes all over but I am sure I can find a way around that.
Employers looking for new web designers usually look for people who are familiar with HTML and CSS for a start, then Java script, PHP SQL and ActionScript3 as extras. So you should at least know HTML and CSS then know at least one of the other technologies but the more knowledge you have of different technologies the better. I think it would be better knowing a bit of all technologies rather than know a lot about just one.
At interview you would look better saying that you knew about a range of technologies rather than just a few. Web design is about learning new things all the time, so even though I am learning Flash for this new assignment it will change, as new versions of Flash will come and ActionScript will get updates, and therefore the new changes need to be learnt.
This college year has gone really fast, I am nervous about how soon it is that I will finish the course but I am also in a way looking forward to it. The first year was a bit different to the second, it seems to be more self-study based now. I have enjoyed doing this course but at some points I have felt really stressed, so will be glad to have a rest for a bit. I am looking forward to being able to design my own portfolio, the previous students have done some really good websites for theirs.
The final presentation isn’t too far off now but I am not that nervous about doing it. The presentation is on my work and my thoughts and feelings about my work, therefore I will find it easier to do the presentation about something I know and it won’t be the same as anyone else's because my thoughts and feelings are mine and no else could explain my work as well as me.
Word Count: 499 words
Thursday, 15 January 2009
List of resources
1. Flash CS3 Professional for Windows and Macintosh:Visual QuickStart Guide by Katherine Ulrich
2. Flash CS3: The Missing Manual by Chris Grover and E. Vander Veer
3. Learning ActionScript 3.0 (A Beginner's Guide) by Rich Shupe and Zevan Rosser
4. Essential ActionScript 3.0 by Colin Moock
5. Adobe Flash CS3 Professional How-Tos:100 Essential Techniques by Mark Schaeffer
6. http://www.w3schools.com/Flash/default.asp
7. http://www.good-tutorials.com/
8. http://www.tutorialized.com
9. http://www.flashkit.com/tutorials/
10. http://www.actionscript.org/
2. Flash CS3: The Missing Manual by Chris Grover and E. Vander Veer
3. Learning ActionScript 3.0 (A Beginner's Guide) by Rich Shupe and Zevan Rosser
4. Essential ActionScript 3.0 by Colin Moock
5. Adobe Flash CS3 Professional How-Tos:100 Essential Techniques by Mark Schaeffer
6. http://www.w3schools.com/Flash/default.asp
7. http://www.good-tutorials.com/
8. http://www.tutorialized.com
9. http://www.flashkit.com/tutorials/
10. http://www.actionscript.org/
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
New skill
The new skill I would like to learn is Flash with action script. The only experience I have had using Flash is on my previous course, I tried to use Flash to make a presentation for some images.
I didn’t get long on the project so I didn’t get much done with the presentation, as it wasn’t an important part of my project and I was learning it my self and in a rush so I did learn anything really. What I did learn I can’t remember and I doubt I was doing it right anyway.
I am not really into the coding part of web design, so I wanted to learn a skill that could include a bit of design work. I know the action script is coding but Flash isn’t all about writing coding.
The only other skill I was considering learning was PHP, but I thought if I didn’t find CSS interesting, so what is the point in doing something similar. It will be good to learn how to make an interactive document using flash. In previous years I think they did games and clickable image. I’d like to know how to make an animation or a little simple game.
When I was looking at the job adverts for the I Me assignment I saw a lot of the job I choose asked for flash as a skill they were looking for. So today I have found some recent job adverts and again they all say flash is required for web designer. Most of the skills on the job adverts we have covered in detail with our assignments but there are a few that I don’t know and flash is one of them.
Flash is a skill I want to learn and with wanting to learning it, it will make it a more enjoyable assignment.
Advert 1, Advert 2, Advert 3
I didn’t get long on the project so I didn’t get much done with the presentation, as it wasn’t an important part of my project and I was learning it my self and in a rush so I did learn anything really. What I did learn I can’t remember and I doubt I was doing it right anyway.
I am not really into the coding part of web design, so I wanted to learn a skill that could include a bit of design work. I know the action script is coding but Flash isn’t all about writing coding.
The only other skill I was considering learning was PHP, but I thought if I didn’t find CSS interesting, so what is the point in doing something similar. It will be good to learn how to make an interactive document using flash. In previous years I think they did games and clickable image. I’d like to know how to make an animation or a little simple game.
When I was looking at the job adverts for the I Me assignment I saw a lot of the job I choose asked for flash as a skill they were looking for. So today I have found some recent job adverts and again they all say flash is required for web designer. Most of the skills on the job adverts we have covered in detail with our assignments but there are a few that I don’t know and flash is one of them.
Flash is a skill I want to learn and with wanting to learning it, it will make it a more enjoyable assignment.
Advert 1, Advert 2, Advert 3
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Reflection of the second year so far
Start of the year
I didn’t really start this year that good because I knew that I wasn’t going to pass the summer assignment. The week before the summer assignment hand in date I hoped to get all the assignment finished within good time, but loads of things seem to happen that week, which didn’t make it easy for me to do that. For example my friend’s house flooded so I had to help trying to stop more water getting in her house, so that lost me at least a days worth of work.
With us starting later this year it means we have assignment work to be done in the holidays. I did prefer it when we got a break from the coursework and a week off to get ready for the next new assignment. I feel like it’s just course work all the time and it would be great to have a break and not have to worry about it.
Summer assignment
I liked doing the summer assignment, but if I was ask again to choose whether to do a summer assignment, I wouldn’t want to. If I have things I need to do I like to get them done and out of the way or they are always on my mind. So the summer assignment seemed to be always in the back of my mind. I think it was because I had loads of time to get the assignment completed, so I didn’t make aims to get tasks done for certain amounts time, I just did bits when ever I had time. At least I know were I went wrong and I can do it differently if I ever have to do anything like this again.
CSS assignment
I had a few problems with the CSS assignment, mainly because I didn’t understand how to edit the HTML properly. The websites I have built before have all been done using the design view so I haven’t had a lot of experience with HTML coding and coding doesn’t really interest me. Once I had sorted out the problems I was having with HTML coding, CSS seemed easier to understand.
Team assignment
The team assignment as been a lot different to the other assignments, mainly because I am not working by self, I have to consider everyone else in the team. In a way that adds quiet a bit of pressure as I don’t want to let my team down. It’s been good to get the experience working as a team and working with clients. One of the main things that I have found useful about this assignment is learning how to handle clients, some are more difficult than others and how to act to forwards them can depend how fast the progress of the project can go.
Assignment 12
I like doing creative tasks so I am really enjoying doing this assignment. It’s good to have a change from sat at a computer all the time.
I didn’t really start this year that good because I knew that I wasn’t going to pass the summer assignment. The week before the summer assignment hand in date I hoped to get all the assignment finished within good time, but loads of things seem to happen that week, which didn’t make it easy for me to do that. For example my friend’s house flooded so I had to help trying to stop more water getting in her house, so that lost me at least a days worth of work.
With us starting later this year it means we have assignment work to be done in the holidays. I did prefer it when we got a break from the coursework and a week off to get ready for the next new assignment. I feel like it’s just course work all the time and it would be great to have a break and not have to worry about it.
Summer assignment
I liked doing the summer assignment, but if I was ask again to choose whether to do a summer assignment, I wouldn’t want to. If I have things I need to do I like to get them done and out of the way or they are always on my mind. So the summer assignment seemed to be always in the back of my mind. I think it was because I had loads of time to get the assignment completed, so I didn’t make aims to get tasks done for certain amounts time, I just did bits when ever I had time. At least I know were I went wrong and I can do it differently if I ever have to do anything like this again.
CSS assignment
I had a few problems with the CSS assignment, mainly because I didn’t understand how to edit the HTML properly. The websites I have built before have all been done using the design view so I haven’t had a lot of experience with HTML coding and coding doesn’t really interest me. Once I had sorted out the problems I was having with HTML coding, CSS seemed easier to understand.
Team assignment
The team assignment as been a lot different to the other assignments, mainly because I am not working by self, I have to consider everyone else in the team. In a way that adds quiet a bit of pressure as I don’t want to let my team down. It’s been good to get the experience working as a team and working with clients. One of the main things that I have found useful about this assignment is learning how to handle clients, some are more difficult than others and how to act to forwards them can depend how fast the progress of the project can go.
Assignment 12
I like doing creative tasks so I am really enjoying doing this assignment. It’s good to have a change from sat at a computer all the time.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Soft Skills
Having a range of skill does makes you more employable, a lot of skills are mainly common sense and building on skill that you were taught as a child. Is include manners, times management (getting to school on time), team work, listening problem solving and etc.
Time management is usually one of the first skills an employer get to see. When going to interview you should be there on time or even better a bit earlier to show enthusiasm. Time management is a really important skill. You wouldn’t want someone to be late meeting you, so why should you do something to someone else that you wouldn’t like. Time management doesn’t just mean getting to place on time, it also means meeting deadlines comfortably.
A purpose of a company is to fulfill customer’s needs and be professional at the same time. Therefore customer service is a really good skill to have, it includes been able to communication in a confident way with customers and been able to keep calm even when a customer are being rude.
Listening is an important skill that everyone should use when been told information. The way you listen to people is to been done in a polite way, always look like your interested and trying to answer questions ask in a professional way.
Team working is not always some people’s strong point but working as a team can make you more confident and help you produce a better working standard. It is good to know you have the support of other people in your team and you get a good understand relationship with them. Problems will always occur when working, so it does good if you can problem solve calmly and simply. Also problems could be fixed quicker in a team than individual, but it’s always good to know you’re capable of doing it on your own.
Word Count: 310
Time management is usually one of the first skills an employer get to see. When going to interview you should be there on time or even better a bit earlier to show enthusiasm. Time management is a really important skill. You wouldn’t want someone to be late meeting you, so why should you do something to someone else that you wouldn’t like. Time management doesn’t just mean getting to place on time, it also means meeting deadlines comfortably.
A purpose of a company is to fulfill customer’s needs and be professional at the same time. Therefore customer service is a really good skill to have, it includes been able to communication in a confident way with customers and been able to keep calm even when a customer are being rude.
Listening is an important skill that everyone should use when been told information. The way you listen to people is to been done in a polite way, always look like your interested and trying to answer questions ask in a professional way.
Team working is not always some people’s strong point but working as a team can make you more confident and help you produce a better working standard. It is good to know you have the support of other people in your team and you get a good understand relationship with them. Problems will always occur when working, so it does good if you can problem solve calmly and simply. Also problems could be fixed quicker in a team than individual, but it’s always good to know you’re capable of doing it on your own.
Word Count: 310
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Junior web designer job
When searching for jobs I looked for jobs close to were I live, this includes Leeds and Wakefield
Skills the company is looking for is someone who knows about the print process, able to work with both web and print work, excellent layout designing, artwork skills and have a good knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, In design and HTML.
The advert also asks for someone with a degree in graphic design/ multimedia design or a related design subject, even thought when I have finished the course I won’t have a degree, but that shouldn’t stop me applying for the job. If two people applied for a job and one had the qualification that the company was looking and the other didn’t but had a better portfolio that the company really like, they probably hire the person with the better portfolio.
I would prefer to do both web and print work and that was one reason I choose this advert but I haven’t been though the print process before, but from previous assignment we have discussed the print process, so I have a bit of knowledge of it .
The skill I would have to work on would be HTML mainly but also the knowledge of the software’s, you can never know too much about how to use software’s and techniques when using them, so the more practice I have using them the more convenient I will be, allowing me to create better work.
Monday, 6 October 2008
Second year, Loves and Hates
The last year as been a total change for me, I seem not to have as much spare time and time flies. The course as been really enjoyable and I have learnt a lot so far and I have much more to learn which I am looking forward to.
At the moment I am really enjoying the team project assignment, it’s something different and it’s good to have a chance to work as a team, because there isn’t many opportunities I could do this before employment.
To be honest I don’t really have an interest for coding, so when I found out I would be doing a CSS assignment I wasn’t looking forward to it. The start of the assignment I couldn’t really get my head around CSS but now I have had a go myself I understand it a lot better. I am always open to learning new things so I am giving it a go and trying my best with the assignment.
Before I started the course I hated presentations, now I am still nervous about doing presentations but not as bad. Now I just get nervous the day of the presentation unlike before when I was nervous at least a week before. I still think there are a lot of improvements I could do on presenting, but with the practice I have done so far, it as helped my confidence presenting and I am not too worried about doing the final presentation.
When I have finished the course I have two options either to carry on with education or find employment, and I haven’t yet decided 100% which I want to do. Although I think I’m more for carrying on with education. Its 6 months away so I still have a bit more time to think about it.
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Year 1, Final evaluation
When I first started the course I had no expectation of what it was going to be like. One thing I did expect was to do as much planning as we have done, but I think planning it's a very important part of creating some thing.
In September I didn’t know much about how to create a web site and how to use professional software. In the first assignment I learnt about CSS and XHTML which I had never heard of before. Now I know what they both are and have created a bit of the code, to make parts of a web site.
From the first blog entry I did, I said that at the end of the course I would either do a third year or get a job at the end of the course. I am still undecided about what I want to do at the end I suppose that decision will be easier to make when the times closer.
Also in the first blog entry I wrote about my lack of confidence, I feel like my confidence has improved over the year and I hope it keeps improving, till I get to the point were I am happy about my self and the work I produce. I still have a part time job and I feel that, my job has also help make me more confident. At work I really enjoy working as a team and getting to meet different people everyday, I think since I have been working there my team skills have improved. I Like how you can do your own thing but still bounce ideas off each other.
Assignment 1
A1 the sketch book assignment, hasn’t felt like an assignment because it has been on going for months. I have kept my sketchbooks neat and tidy and I collected some inspiration when I found some good pieces. Having a sketchbook has made me more organised with my work, helping me keep all my work together. The sketchbook has been good to see the development work that I have done, it’s helpful to go back and look over the work I have done before and read the notes I have. The most important thing I think I use it for is to take lecture notes. One of the things I think I could improve on is to research more about the topics that we have had lectures about, this could help me understand the topics better if I ever misunderstood them.
Assignment 2
The second assignment was a web plan. Web plans aren’t my favourite assignments to do but I don’t dislike doing them. While doing this assignment it was the first time I had, had a seminar meeting. I think they are a really good idea to use on this course, I smaller groups are better to ask questions but larger groups are better for getting feedback. Even thought A2 was a lot of written work, we still had to present it neatly and consistently. This is what we used PageMaker to do, we have been given a template so that all the assignments are laid out in the same way. PageMaker was quiet easy to lean how to use so that when I had got use to the program more I had a go at using Indesign. I find In design easier to use and plus it can create tables, which is good because for A2 I spent ages makeing tables in PageMaker using lines and boxes.
Assignment 3
Assignment 3 was another web plan, from doing the first web plan I had a good idea of what we would need to do for this assignment. We all also got given extra work as well, which was to create the content of the web site. The web site was to contain basic computer terms, because of the course before I had done some work on computer terms so I knew about most of the terms I had to write about. The web plan had to be in a good as amount of detail has we built the web site for assignment 5.
This was the first time we had to do two assignments at the same time, I felt worried at first thinking that I might struggle to balance the work out. After the first couple of weeks of the assignment my worries stopped and I found my own way to balance my work out. This consists of time tables and checklists.
Assignment 4
Assignment 4 was the hardest assignment for me, because it meant using Photoshop. I had not used Photoshop before, so I struggled to know which tools to use, for which area of the image. After referring the assignment first time I redid it and pass the second time. Second time round I felt the image looked a lot better and I felt I had learnt how to use the tools better. I think even though this was the hardest assignment I have done so far I think it has been the assignment I have most improved at, including my skills using Photoshop.
Assignment 5
Assignment 5 was building A3’s web plan, I felt that the plan was in as much detail that it made it easy enough to create the web site. This was the first web site I had built, but I had used Dreamweaver before so I had a slight advantage knowing the basic of how to use Dreamweaver. The lecture we got on, how to use Dreamweaver was still very useful as I learnt about a lot of short cuts and easier ways to do things.
Assignment 6
When I was told that I had to do a presentation for assignment 6, I was a bit nervous but then I thought what the point I have to do so what the point in getting nervous and plus there isn’t much to be nervous about. I didn’t mind doing the presentation, I was a bit nervous while presenting and I could not say some of the French words but apart from that I felt it went ok. I liked researching about the typographer but I think I could have improved my assignment by including some more about the typefaces.
Assignment 7
The assignment I have just completed is A7, I have enjoyed this assignment the most. I liked it because it has been the must creative and there has been less written work. My spelling and grammar isn’t the best so I prefer to do less written work because it takes me ages to check thought my work when its complete and I can still miss errors. The thing that took me a while to do for this assignment was the measurements for the CD cover.
I feel like have learnt a lot over the first year, I can now see an improvement in the work I produce. There are still things I need to work on like, my concentration and confidence in my work. Hopefully I should work on them more in the second year and in the summer, so that also the quality of my work can improve.
My aims for the course next year are …
*Is improve my skills that I already know
*Get to know software better (Photoshop, Dream weaver and etc)
*To improve my self motivation to complete work sooner
*Not to refer my work
*To get merits
In September I didn’t know much about how to create a web site and how to use professional software. In the first assignment I learnt about CSS and XHTML which I had never heard of before. Now I know what they both are and have created a bit of the code, to make parts of a web site.
From the first blog entry I did, I said that at the end of the course I would either do a third year or get a job at the end of the course. I am still undecided about what I want to do at the end I suppose that decision will be easier to make when the times closer.
Also in the first blog entry I wrote about my lack of confidence, I feel like my confidence has improved over the year and I hope it keeps improving, till I get to the point were I am happy about my self and the work I produce. I still have a part time job and I feel that, my job has also help make me more confident. At work I really enjoy working as a team and getting to meet different people everyday, I think since I have been working there my team skills have improved. I Like how you can do your own thing but still bounce ideas off each other.
Assignment 1
A1 the sketch book assignment, hasn’t felt like an assignment because it has been on going for months. I have kept my sketchbooks neat and tidy and I collected some inspiration when I found some good pieces. Having a sketchbook has made me more organised with my work, helping me keep all my work together. The sketchbook has been good to see the development work that I have done, it’s helpful to go back and look over the work I have done before and read the notes I have. The most important thing I think I use it for is to take lecture notes. One of the things I think I could improve on is to research more about the topics that we have had lectures about, this could help me understand the topics better if I ever misunderstood them.
Assignment 2
The second assignment was a web plan. Web plans aren’t my favourite assignments to do but I don’t dislike doing them. While doing this assignment it was the first time I had, had a seminar meeting. I think they are a really good idea to use on this course, I smaller groups are better to ask questions but larger groups are better for getting feedback. Even thought A2 was a lot of written work, we still had to present it neatly and consistently. This is what we used PageMaker to do, we have been given a template so that all the assignments are laid out in the same way. PageMaker was quiet easy to lean how to use so that when I had got use to the program more I had a go at using Indesign. I find In design easier to use and plus it can create tables, which is good because for A2 I spent ages makeing tables in PageMaker using lines and boxes.
Assignment 3
Assignment 3 was another web plan, from doing the first web plan I had a good idea of what we would need to do for this assignment. We all also got given extra work as well, which was to create the content of the web site. The web site was to contain basic computer terms, because of the course before I had done some work on computer terms so I knew about most of the terms I had to write about. The web plan had to be in a good as amount of detail has we built the web site for assignment 5.
This was the first time we had to do two assignments at the same time, I felt worried at first thinking that I might struggle to balance the work out. After the first couple of weeks of the assignment my worries stopped and I found my own way to balance my work out. This consists of time tables and checklists.
Assignment 4
Assignment 4 was the hardest assignment for me, because it meant using Photoshop. I had not used Photoshop before, so I struggled to know which tools to use, for which area of the image. After referring the assignment first time I redid it and pass the second time. Second time round I felt the image looked a lot better and I felt I had learnt how to use the tools better. I think even though this was the hardest assignment I have done so far I think it has been the assignment I have most improved at, including my skills using Photoshop.
Assignment 5
Assignment 5 was building A3’s web plan, I felt that the plan was in as much detail that it made it easy enough to create the web site. This was the first web site I had built, but I had used Dreamweaver before so I had a slight advantage knowing the basic of how to use Dreamweaver. The lecture we got on, how to use Dreamweaver was still very useful as I learnt about a lot of short cuts and easier ways to do things.
Assignment 6
When I was told that I had to do a presentation for assignment 6, I was a bit nervous but then I thought what the point I have to do so what the point in getting nervous and plus there isn’t much to be nervous about. I didn’t mind doing the presentation, I was a bit nervous while presenting and I could not say some of the French words but apart from that I felt it went ok. I liked researching about the typographer but I think I could have improved my assignment by including some more about the typefaces.
Assignment 7
The assignment I have just completed is A7, I have enjoyed this assignment the most. I liked it because it has been the must creative and there has been less written work. My spelling and grammar isn’t the best so I prefer to do less written work because it takes me ages to check thought my work when its complete and I can still miss errors. The thing that took me a while to do for this assignment was the measurements for the CD cover.
I feel like have learnt a lot over the first year, I can now see an improvement in the work I produce. There are still things I need to work on like, my concentration and confidence in my work. Hopefully I should work on them more in the second year and in the summer, so that also the quality of my work can improve.
My aims for the course next year are …
*Is improve my skills that I already know
*Get to know software better (Photoshop, Dream weaver and etc)
*To improve my self motivation to complete work sooner
*Not to refer my work
*To get merits
Thursday, 8 May 2008
CD cover 2
This is my CD cover with the text, logo and bar code added. Please leave a comment with any feedback. Thanks.
CD cover background
This is my background for the CD cover, if you could give any feedback that would be good. Thanks.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
CD cover and final finishes
The hand in date for assignment 7 is next Tuesday and I am abit stressed about it. I have a complete logo that I am happy with, the pre flight document is ready to be filled in and I am looking forward to writing the evaluation for the assignment. I enjoy writing evaluations as they are a good way to finish an assignment, as it makes me look over what I have done and how I have felt though out the assignment.
The only thing that I am worrying about is my CD cover, I still have to finish it. Tomorrow I am getting it complete so I can have the pre flight and evaluation done on Thursday and check though my work Friday. So Saturday can be used to do final checks and changes. I am going to have all my work complete and ready to hand in on Monday, so I can show my work in the seminar meeting so if any improves need to be done I can get them done Monday.
The checklists I did last week, will come in useful this week as they will help me remember what needs to go were and check I don’t forget to do something. Well doing assignments I like to set aims, like if I have a task I need to completing I’ll set a certain amount of time and make sure I finish the task in that amount of time. This helps me concentrate better, as I have something to aim for.
So the main thing I need to do this week is finish my CD cover then I should be calmer about next Tuesday. I will need to do some more Photoshop tutorials, so that I can make more changes to the image on the CD cover, so I am showing a range of Photoshop skills.
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
CD cover ideas
On Monday the lecture on printing artwork was redo, it was good to go over the lecture again as it is better to understand some thing new when it as been repeated and you have had time to take it in.
Last week my seminar group started researching pre flight documents. I couldn’t find many examples last week but this week I search something different in Google and I got a whole range of pre flight documents. We put the example together and showed each other what we had collected.
Monday I didn’t feel well so I went home at dinner, but the group carried on with the pre-flight document work. They e-mailed me thought out the afternoon to keep me up to dates on the progress of the document and so I could add any input. The version that was completed Monday was a good first copy, it just needs a few details added. This includes a sentence about checking the images used are 300dpi and to add contact details to the document. After those few details are added the pre flight document should be completed.
For the seminar meetings this week two groups were mixed together. I wasn’t sure about this idea, as I didn’t real want to say my ideas in front of a larger group, in case people thought my ideas were rubbish. When we got in the seminar meeting we were asked to put our work on the wall. I put my logos up and my CD cover images. I would have liked to had more work to put up, but I have been finding it hard to settle on an idea for the CD cover design. Now I have come up with the idea using dancers on the front and back cover, I thought of this idea because with the music been described as the next generation of dance music, the dance theme seem to fit. Showing my work to larger group wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and I got some good feedback from the meeting.
My logo is now complete, I printed out my logo with the different typefaces and colours so that in the seminar meeting this week I could get feedback on the logos. The feedback I got was that, the logo should be kept in black and white as a colour didn’t seem to suit the logo. Also I was told that on the CD cover if I use a black background I could make the logo white so the logos doesn’t mix in with the background. This is a good idea, as I am planning to use a night/space background, which is mainly black.
Today we had a discussion about the second year. The talk was about what kind of assignments we would be doing in the second year. After the talk some people went out of the class room to talk to Steve about going on to the second year. This is a good chance for Steve to tell us what he thinks to how we are doing and tell us what he thinks about us progressing on to the second year.
Last week my seminar group started researching pre flight documents. I couldn’t find many examples last week but this week I search something different in Google and I got a whole range of pre flight documents. We put the example together and showed each other what we had collected.
Monday I didn’t feel well so I went home at dinner, but the group carried on with the pre-flight document work. They e-mailed me thought out the afternoon to keep me up to dates on the progress of the document and so I could add any input. The version that was completed Monday was a good first copy, it just needs a few details added. This includes a sentence about checking the images used are 300dpi and to add contact details to the document. After those few details are added the pre flight document should be completed.
For the seminar meetings this week two groups were mixed together. I wasn’t sure about this idea, as I didn’t real want to say my ideas in front of a larger group, in case people thought my ideas were rubbish. When we got in the seminar meeting we were asked to put our work on the wall. I put my logos up and my CD cover images. I would have liked to had more work to put up, but I have been finding it hard to settle on an idea for the CD cover design. Now I have come up with the idea using dancers on the front and back cover, I thought of this idea because with the music been described as the next generation of dance music, the dance theme seem to fit. Showing my work to larger group wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and I got some good feedback from the meeting.
My logo is now complete, I printed out my logo with the different typefaces and colours so that in the seminar meeting this week I could get feedback on the logos. The feedback I got was that, the logo should be kept in black and white as a colour didn’t seem to suit the logo. Also I was told that on the CD cover if I use a black background I could make the logo white so the logos doesn’t mix in with the background. This is a good idea, as I am planning to use a night/space background, which is mainly black.
Today we had a discussion about the second year. The talk was about what kind of assignments we would be doing in the second year. After the talk some people went out of the class room to talk to Steve about going on to the second year. This is a good chance for Steve to tell us what he thinks to how we are doing and tell us what he thinks about us progressing on to the second year.
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Logo feedback
Monday we started with a lecture on printing artwork, which I thought was very useful as I am up to the stage of doing the CD cover designs. After the lecture the rest of the day was a get on with it day, apart from when we got feedback for A5, the builder web site. I wasn’t sure what feedback I would get about the web site. I was happy with the complete site but I still think it could have looked better. The feedback I did get was to compress my images, and change the backgrounds of the images, from cream to white to make them stand out more and to make the images not mix into the page as much.
With the feedback I got for my presentation, which was to spell check. I noticed quite a lot of errors in my spelling. This has learnt me to spell check my work more, using word’s spell checks or any other spell checks because I don’t always pick up on my own spelling errors. Spelling is one of the main things I need to improve on and I am trying different way to try and be better at spelling words correctly.
On Monday I spent most the day looking for inspiration for my CD cover. My music doesn’t really have a certain theme or thing that I can associate it with, so I have been looking at a range of different images to try and get inspiration. At the moment I have ideas for futuristic themes, nature theme like beaches and woods and season themes. None the designs I have done so far I like so I am going to keep trying different designs till I find some I think will suit the music.
My logo is coming long ok, I have to finalise the shape of the logo and I have uploaded the different shaped so any feedback would be good. The typeface that I have is not the final typeface, so I also will be posting the typefaces and colours that have been chosen to suit the logo soon.
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Starting the CD cover designs
For self study this week I have been working on my logos. I have been doing my logos in Illustrator and having a play about with different parts of the logo. I have used a range of different colours starting with the basics and this week I am going to try other colours. When I have finished experimenting with all the different ways of changing logo, I am going to printing them all out so I can see all the logos laid out together, which will make the changes more noticeable.
The other thing that I have been having a look at is typefaces, I looked at a few last week but I carried on looking at more. The type of typefaces I have been looking for is bold but modern, this suits the type of music that the record company sells and plus the bolder it is the easier it is to read/see.For making the different shapes, I have been trying different sizes and thickness for lines. Without seeing the logo it’s hard to see what I mean.
Also for self study I have been thinking of ideas for CD covers. I created some mind maps, to help me make some decide of what I could sketch. I have done a range of different designs, as the music on the CD I was giving had random songs. I could not get any ideas of the music or the song titles. Most of the song titles were foreign, so I am going to try and translate the words and see what they mean and maybe if they are suitable, I could use them to base a design round.
Today in my groups seminar meeting we started off by talking about our logo design, what they are like now and what improves we could make this week. The main topic for this week in the seminar meeting was the CD cover designs. We mainly talked about the designs and we will be showing them next week. I am going to try and get as much of the CD cover design work done and even start trying to get the designs on the computer in self study time.
On Monday we got our presentation/timed tasks feedback. I wasn’t sure how I did for the assignment, I thought maybe my presentation wasn’t good enough. The feedback I got was to change the position of some text on one of the time tasks and check my spelling in my presentation visual aid. I was pretty happy with the feedback as there wasn’t anything major wrong with my work.
The other thing that I have been having a look at is typefaces, I looked at a few last week but I carried on looking at more. The type of typefaces I have been looking for is bold but modern, this suits the type of music that the record company sells and plus the bolder it is the easier it is to read/see.For making the different shapes, I have been trying different sizes and thickness for lines. Without seeing the logo it’s hard to see what I mean.
Also for self study I have been thinking of ideas for CD covers. I created some mind maps, to help me make some decide of what I could sketch. I have done a range of different designs, as the music on the CD I was giving had random songs. I could not get any ideas of the music or the song titles. Most of the song titles were foreign, so I am going to try and translate the words and see what they mean and maybe if they are suitable, I could use them to base a design round.
Today in my groups seminar meeting we started off by talking about our logo design, what they are like now and what improves we could make this week. The main topic for this week in the seminar meeting was the CD cover designs. We mainly talked about the designs and we will be showing them next week. I am going to try and get as much of the CD cover design work done and even start trying to get the designs on the computer in self study time.
On Monday we got our presentation/timed tasks feedback. I wasn’t sure how I did for the assignment, I thought maybe my presentation wasn’t good enough. The feedback I got was to change the position of some text on one of the time tasks and check my spelling in my presentation visual aid. I was pretty happy with the feedback as there wasn’t anything major wrong with my work.
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