Questions

•Identify and explain 5 reasons why you chose to study on this program.

*To channel my creativity through a love of letter-form and design. I developed a love of type and letters through graffiti and used it as a way to incorporate my more fine art and illustrative tendencies. After a few years I started to love the letter forms and typographic compositions that I was finding in my everyday life more than I initially thought I could, I suppose it was at this point my desire for graphic design came about.

*Develop my skills as a professional. Not just the basic skills a graphic designer needs to know, more specifically my inter-personal skills,  professional vocabulary and a knowledge of industry.

*A sense of community. I came to my interview oblivious as to what the college and course had to offer but was immediately attracted to the standard of work I saw and more importantly the sense of friendliness and community I was exposed to so rapidly.

*For me it was always a choice of Bristol or Leeds, I love both places for different reasons and it was a hard decision to make until I experienced both the universities first hand. This links back to my last point about community, but on top of that the facilities were impeccable for the size of the uni and when looking around them the staff came across as enthusiastic practicing designers which sealed the deal for me.

*I was told at my interview that the workload was considerable and the course is fairly demanding in terms of hours in and outside of uni. I wanted to do graphic design, and I wanted to work hard doing it.



•Identify and explain 5 things that you want to learn during your time on the program.

*A sense of unity with regards to typography, I want type and all its attributes to run fluidly from my head to my hands then onto whatever medium is necessary at the time.

*A comprehensive understanding of the creative design software. Over the last year of this course and two years of my creative practice I have been steadily developing my digital design abilities, nowhere near a level I want to be but constantly learning new techniques and shortcuts

*A vocabulary fit for industry. I want to learn how to talk the talk when it comes to printing, desgining, typography, stock, colours, the list goes on.

*Layout/Editorial techniques, I want to learn what typeface to use with that kind of layout for that certain theme. An established knowledge of

*The ability to realise the design I'm working on on-screen as a finished printed piece of design. It's easy to design on screen and print straight to the laser printer - I want to learn what I need to take into consideration on screen before I potentially waste time and money printing unwanted designs.


•Identify and explain 5 skills that you think are your strengths.

*Working collaboratively. I found myself working particularly well in all the group projects worked on in level 4, taking my responsibilities and pulling my weight as to not let the group down, this stemmed into a group project I was involved with over the summer period.

*An ability to quickly draft and evaluate design ideas, I love working roughly to create compositional drafts in order to then quickly produce multiple designs.

*A dedicated passion for design. My interest and enthusiasm towards design in general has been peaking for a while and I can only feel it getting stronger the more I find and practice design in all areas of my work.

*Illustrator. Since the start of the last year when the software was introduced to my design process, I feel I have learned a considerable amount about its capabilities which has aided my progress more efficiently than I realised it could.

*I feel I have an eye for particularly crisp design, even as I walk around cities and buildings I notice the smallest pieces of design, constantly thinking about how it could feed into my own work or just simply keeping a mental library of design.




•Identify and explain 5 things that you want to improve.

*Quick concept thinking, I still can find myself struggling with direction or finding a specific subject area to focus in on within a time constraint. I want to confidently and quickly be able to point out key areas to crop in on with my projects.

*My hand rendering skills need to be improved, when dedicating myself to a drawing or piece of design my drawing hand improves significantly but my quick sketches and drafts need to be tightened up to attain a greater sense of what I'm trying to deliver.

*My organisational abilities have improved in comparison to past courses I have attended over the years, although I still feel I can constantly improve on my time keeping/management to keep on top of my work and stay organised

*Although I have identified illustrator as one of my strengths, I still feel I have a lot to learn about the program and until I know it as well as I know my pen and pencil I'll never want to stop improving.

*My reading list needs to improve, design books are a massive love of my life but it's too easy to focus on the design and print finishes opposed to the content. Reading more will not only enhance my skills as a designer but improve my vocabulary as I mentioned earlier.




•Identify and explain 5 ways that you will evaluate your progress.

*Blogger has been a massive aid over the past year and will continue to be the hub of all my design practice and context etc to use as a source, constantly referring back to past projects and findings when and where appropriate.


*Critiques are always a key factor in the evaluation process of my projects, it is always reassuring to hear you are on track and your work is good. I do however prefer being told what isn't working and where I may be going wrong.


*As simple as it may sound, I find that just sitting back and thinking about how I'm performing compared to how I've previously been working is a very positive thing. Using fellow peers as a gauge to evaluate my progress isn't the best method but it keeps me enthused and on point when I see others producing large volumes of work.


*Tutorials come around few and far between but like the more regular crits we have, they offer us an opportunity to talk to tutors on a one to one level and really chat about how one is progressing, what strengths weaknesses they have picked up on. A good chance to identify areas that as a designer I'm lacking.


*Talking to fellow peers about work and projects, gaining feedback from people in the same position as myself, seeing how they react to my projects and work and vice-versa.


•Identify 5 questions that you want to find the answer to. 

*What area of design do I want to specialise in post level 6?


*How to get myself out there in the world of design through efficient marketing and self branding?


*What really makes me motivated as a designer?



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