As a designer what has been influencing me? What sort of designer do I want to be ? Make decisions tentatively aesthetically, funtions, practitioners etc. What they want to know are our ambitions and skills do we want?
What have i learnt about my self as an individual and a learner?
Stay Calm- At the begining of the year, when given a brief I had a tendancy to worry about it, and then as i became more confident with my abilities with software and the college, i realised that there was nothing to worry about.
InDesign Workshop
Believe in myself- I have come to realise that im quite critical of the things i do. Purely because when i have an idea in my head and i aim to do that, it doesnt always come out the way i had imagined, therefore i always feel disapointed in what i have done. For example for OUGD405 i had an idea and the end product wasnt at all what i had aimed for it to look like, and going into the final crit i wasnt happy with it and was worried about the feedback however, the reaction i got was mainly positives. I was surprised.
Time Keeping and Priorise- Coming onto this course i believed i was quite good at time keeping and prioritising my time effectively, because before i used to be in college 5 days a week then work a part time job on fridays to sundays so i didnt get a day off, and i always managed to get my work done on time without stress. Therefore i believed it would be the same for here. However i have struggles with time keeping and priorising my work with part time work, and also not allowing the distractions of flat mates to get the better of me. As this is now come to the realization i know that i need to use my diary, get work done as soon as i get it, and too not allow distractions around me get the better off me. I also use sticky notes quite frequently to not loos work i have done in my notebooks.
Research- I have noticed that i dont spend enough time researching, as i get too fixated on one idea that i dont do enough broad research. Which in essence doesnt leave my end result very creative as what it could be. My main source os research is the internet, however i have started to use the library for books and visits to explore and get a better indepth research approach.
That i can use other softwares with confidence- As we have had inductions into the three main softwares such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign I now have the ability to use them confidently and correctly. Before i used to do a lot of my work within Illustrator because that was the one i was mainly confident in. However i have been able to use photoshop to create postcards in OUGD405 and hopefully be able to put my new skills into practise in the next module.
Confidence with working with peers- As an individual who i believe to be quite shy, making friends on this course and working with others iv found to be quite difficult mainly because i believe myself to be a bit of a worrier. I now know that working with others isnt as daunting as i think it is. From working on the first how to brief to the most recent how to brief has improved massively. Looking back i believe that i had more input in the most recent one, because i felt as if confidence wise i wasnt worried as much at what others in my group would think of my ideas.
Above and below are the most recent How to briefs in groups
First How to group brief (above)
-To not look at others work and progress within the class and think that i'm not good enough- I look back at work that i had done previously with graphic design and art aspects and always getting the best grades has made me think that i am good at what im doing. However being on a course full of talented individuals has made me doubt my abilities incredibly. Iv gone from thinking im good at it to feeling as if i shouldnt be on the course. However over christmas with time away i re evaluated that thought and i now believe that this course is a learning experience one in which i will gain from and i need not worry so much. I went through the same interview process as everyone else and worked hard to be here therefore the tutors obviously believe that i can do this and i can thrive. I just need to remember this and not get trapped into feelin intimidated.
-To look at others work and be inspired. I have started to use not only first year blogs but second and third years blogs for inspiration. Not to copy what they have done but use them as an aspiration to thrive off of. That one day i will become just as good as they are.
I learn more effectively from doing rather then copying. We currently had a vast amount of sessions on colour theory where we had to do experiments in to colour theory. I found this way of learning much more successful to being sat in a lecture or seminar being talked too and watching seminars. I find that writing notes is beneficial at the time but if i dont put learning into practise then i do not fully understand. This as a learner i need to remember and take on to other practises. I can use this as a way of gaining more fluent skills in softwares to be more competant.
Green colour theory experiment
Not to leave things to the last minute- Within the first semester I had injured my hand which then allowed me to have an exdtension. Although i was behind i had made sure i kept as up to date as best i could so whilst everyone was rushing around the studio trying to get things done in time for the module hand in i was able to do my work at a slower pace. Watchin everyone panic made me promise myself that for the next module deadline i wouldnt allow myself to be stressing out because i ahdnt anything done. Therefore for the module hand in of OUGD405 where i had a normal deadline as everyone else i was calm and collected because i was confident that i had been organized enough not to worry so much. Therefore as a learner i realised that stressing and leaving things to the las minute never gets you anywhere.
What have i learnt about myself as a designer
-As a designer, Typography is not my strong point. Even though before this course i had touched on Typography but going into so much detail here, even though i enjoyed it, i just found it hard to get my head around it. I found it quite tedious having to creating your own typeface. I would never rule it out to learning it but i dont think i would ever specialise in it.
-Coming onto this course i really enjoyed corporate branding, however after recently having a democratic lecture from a practising Graphic designer has made me re evaluate this, after him saying there is so much with in it, and all graphic designers believe that is what they are but its not easy.
'Brand Spanking-People dont understand what branding actually is. People dont understand the context. Branding consistancy, not just a logo. 'The deeper you dig the higher you rise' Craig Oldham. Democratic Lecture 1st Feb 2013
-As a designer i had come from a background of studyin Art and Design for 3 years, I know i have the skills in other specialisms and coming onto this course i really wanted to use traditonal methods of design, wether its using other specialisms or using traditional methods of Graphic design. I havnt yet had the chance to do this even though i have taken part in print workshops in the blenheim college but also on Vernon street. I need to remember that im a designer that can do other things and not jsut do everything on the computer. It has been hard on this course because everything is on computer going from reasearchin, to blogging and your final piece. So i need to remember that its ok to still use a sketch book and a pencil for ideas. I have started to do this more recently.
From this course I have become aware that there are so many different fields that are within Graphic Design, however i am still yet to find the one thing that i would like to specialise in. I have thoroughly enjoyed researching into product and packaging the most, and creating creative ways in which certain things can be made. For OUGD405 i was blown away with the amount of ways something can be packaged. I would love to learn more into this field as so far that has been the one thing that has stood out to me the most.
Although below was for a distribution of a message, i did however aim to create a visually interestin packaging around it rather then your normal envelope.
I have been made aware that as a designer you are constantly going to be put under scrutiny and its important to learn how to not be affended by it. Therefore haveing regular group crits where people look and give you feedback on your work but also you give feedback to others about there work aswell. I have learnt how to look at others peoples work and been inspired by many but also have to be mindful that you have respect for there work, because what some things are your tastes may not be the same as others. It is important to remember that this is a learning experience for both you as a designer but for others so giving them critism needs to be benefical and back uped with reasoning.
As a designer i have also learnt to take critism on the chin aslong as its constructive, that in no ways it is personal. At the start of this course I hated crits and i would always come out of them feeling dis heartened because people have been honest. Now however i use it as a positive that i can work towards and achieve to be better. As a designer i have learnt that not everyone will like what you have done, but you are striving to please, to remember that as a designer you are designing for others not your self.
From attending the lectures and the seminars i have learnt that as a designer it is crucial to your learning that you learn the history of not only graphic design but art and other specialisms as well. If you didnt then i dont believe you have a pedistal to stand on. How can you design to the best of your ability if you dont know how what you are doing has come from. I thoroughly enjoy the lectures and the seminars learning about the different art movements, it also allows you to be inspired by those certain movements that makes you different from the others.
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