PPP PRESENTATION
BEGINNING- 1ST SLIDE
WORK-I decided I wanted to do graphic design as a degree when I chose the graphic design pathway on my foundation course at Camberwell. My idea of Graphic Design has definitely changed since starting at Leeds, on my foundation they allowed you to approach the project in a way you felt comfortable and familiar with as opposed to Leeds where it challenges you and takes you out of your comfort zone encouraging you to try different techniques and approaches to answering the brief.
PERSONAL-Moving away from home was always something I'd wanted to do when coming to university, to experience a new city, to meet new people and to gain some independence. I didn't want to stay in London because I wanted to move out of home and go somewhere new, London doesn't have a great student atmosphere because its so big and i wanted to experience somewhere like Leeds, known for its student life. Leeds has been a great place to experience my first year at uni, it has a good student atmosphere and a completely different feel to home.
WHAT I'VE LEARNT THIS YEAR- 2ND SLIDE
I feel like I've learnt a lot this year, not only as a graphic design student but as an individual. I have become a lot more independent and have had a lot more responsibilities since coming to university. I feel in terms of graphic design my knowledge about the subject has improved drastically and I now have a clearer understanding of what the subject actually is and how much of an impact it has around us.
INDIVIDUAL:
-how to live away from home
-how to cook (to a certain extent)
-how to budget
GRAPHIC DESIGNER:
-how to meet a deadline
-how to work independently and in a group
-to use Adobe programmes such as inDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop
-time management skills
WHAT I WANT TO LEARN:
INDIVIDUAL:
-improve my cooking skills
DESIGNER
-Improve my time management skills
-Improve trying to manage various briefs at the same time
-Learn to use type more effectively
-How to use colour appropriately
-to use different techniques and facilities to create my work such as screen printing and letter press
What mistakes have you made and how have you learned from them?
DESIGNER:
Something that I've constantly wrote at the end of every end of module evaluation is to improve my time management skills, even if I feel like I have I it always becomes an issue just before submission and I feel like the it then effects my final outcome and presentation of the work.
-Again something to do with time management and organisation skills- book a print slot in advance when I know a deadline is coming up- this will ensure I have everything printed for the final crit and can avoid queuing for drop in
-wasting money on pointless things
WHAT I'VE ENJOYED THIS YEAR-3RD SLIDE
meeting new friends and going out in Leeds
living in a new city-I've really liked getting to know Leeds better, I still don't feel like I know it completely yet, but Ive loved the experiences I've had here
signing for a house-something that I'm looking forward to next year.
learning new skills within graphic design, working digitally,
at first I didn't like the idea of crits so regularly but my work has definitely improved and benefited from the feedback
STRENGTHS//WEAKNESSES-4TH SLIDE
What are your strengths and how have you/will you develop them further?
Responsibilities, since moving to Leeds I've definitely learnt to grow up a bit more. Domestic responsibilities such as laundry, cooking, paying rent etc. are things that I've had to do over the year. Also signing for a house has made me more aware of the responsibilities that come with running a home such as bills, water, electric, gas. Its definitely something thats made me more independent and I feel like I've progressed over the last six months in terms of growing up.
Adobe, I think in terms of being a graphic design student, the biggest progress I've made is working with Adobe, in particular, Illustrator and Photoshop. Before starting the course i'd never even opened the programmes, I had absolutely no concept of how to work with them but after practicing and being made to use them to create different projects I've found its not as hard as I first thought. I really like the style and final outcome of creating work on Adobe.
I FEEL MY WORK LOOKS A LOT MORE PROFESSIONAL THAN IT EVER HAS DONE.
Ive gained some understanding of the demands of the graphic industry through intense deadlines to meet ~(having to juggle 'speaking from experience' with 'its your choice' and the context of practice publication.
learnt to work with creative limitations: such as being restricted to a specific colour pallet (for example with communication is a virus, 2 colours plus stock)
know have an understanding of how to stylize a publication in a particular manner and put theory into practice
-Another thing thats been more of a focus this year is target audience, which wasnt something I had to take into consideration before this course.
What are your weaknesses and how do you intend to address these?
Another problem, my time management skills. Again and again I've found I'm not leaving myself enough time for the final design, the majority of the time for each brief is spent on researching, design sheets and trying to think of an actual idea.
COOKING AND WASHING UP
i think my time management skills have improved but its hard to notice any major improvement because I have more things to do and more responsibilities than ive ever had which i think makes it a lot harder to successfully balance an academic, social and domestic student life style.
WHAT I'VE ACHIEVED THIS YEAR-5TH SLIDE
What did you want to get from the year?
Looking back through my blog I found a task from the beginning of the course stating what I oped to achieve this year, some of these things were:
-Develop a good body of work which shows progression from foundation portfolio and incoperates new skills.
-Learn more about the contextual aspects of graphic design and become more knowledgeable on designers.
-Be on time.
-Learn how to use programmes such as Adobe Photoshop etc.
I feel I have definitely achieved this, before starting the course none of my work was done digitally, so you can see that new skills have been applied. In terms the contextual aspects of graphic design Ive learnt so much due to the context of practice module.
Graphic Designers, before doing my foundation I didn't even know I wanted to do graphic design, I hardly knew any graphic designers, just fine artists, since starting the course, and especially doing all the context of practice tasks, I've learnt so much about famous graphic designers and contemporary graphic designers. Ive discovered some of my favourite designers through some of the context of practice workshops and through research on my d.c log.
Working professionally, being in the studio from 9:30 till 4:00/5:00 everyday as definitely helped me to get into a routine of working better, the studio is set out like a professional workplace, with a creative atmosphere and like minded people. I appreciate the studio because not all institutes supply the students with practical equipment as good as ours.
Blogging, I'd never blogged before I came to LCA, at first I found it hard to keep on top of it and do it daily but now I think its an effective way of recording progress, showing work more professionally and monitoring the work load. Now its something thats a daily occurrence, that happens as a habit rather than a chore.
BRIEFS-6TH SLIDE
What have you discovered that you weren’t expecting?-6TH SLIDE
I didn't expect to be on such an intense course, I know people at other universities in first year that haven't had such a heavy workload or have been expected to be in five days a week. I feel after having completed this year I have an advantage because of all the things I've learnt and and the large body of work I've produced that clearly shows my progression from september to now. This year has prepared me for second year and continues to prepare me for such a competitive industry so I can end up with a profession that I enjoy.
