WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
10 things i have learnt about my self as an individual and as a learner (These should reflect your personal development and individual journey since the start of the programme)
Definitely number one on my list is MAKING LISTS! i make lists for everything with tick boxes and different sections , i find it helps me be more organised and i can plan my time better. I got bought some funky post-it note sets and i stick different things i need to do on them on the bottom of my shelf that hangs over my desks at my student accommodation, there about my head level so i can see them them pull them down when I've completed a task. I wouldn't even say I'm a forgetful person but think writing things down makes it easier to see what i have to do and sometimes i realise i don't actually have that many things to do as i thought.
Ive never lived away from home until coming to leeds, I've actually never had to wash my own clothes before ever. I struggled to function my washing machine at home which dials ect. to press. I definitely learnt at university its not hard! Although i did learn the hard way shrinking half my pyjamas and a few tops .
Before moving to uni i worked pretty much full time at McDonalds fast food restaurant whilst along side at cleveland college of art and design. i would leave college and drive to Mcdonalds and work till around 12 at night it probably wasn't the best idea as i was constantly quite tired but i worked hard and managed to maintain full attendance at both places. Because of the hours i was working i rarely cooked meals at home because i was out the house for so long, and although been 21 my Mam makes most of my food it wasn't until moving out and away to uni that i realised i could actually cook! people portray university student life to eating tins of beans and packets of noodles but think i eat more different meals here than i did at home experiencing and trying different things
Being away from home obviously means i travel home to see my family every few weeks, i only live in middlesbrough which is 1.5 hours away train journey but as growing up comes with responsabilty not just for things but for yourself i can't expect my mam to come and pick me up every time i want to go home. I got my self a rail card which splits my train fair in cost by almost half! Ive learnt to book my train tickets online, which i hadn't done before i have them sent to where i live so i have them before i go to the train station. This also helps me to be organised as i have all my travel information sent to my phone.
My biggest fear about moving away from home was who i was going to live with I've been really lucky who i got put with in my student accommodation.After christmas time we created rotas and rules to make sure the flat was kept tidy and clean and bins were empties by different people in an order. These were agreed by everyone in the flat and we all stick by them. This was only doable by everyones co-operation and the fact we all get on really well which shows the maturity in the group. I feel proud to live in a nice environment and in a little family where i feel comfortable which is important living away from home.
I feel although our course is very full on which i enjoy but at the same time its important to have a little break and go out and enjoy your weekends and have a break. Ive learnt to manage my time better so on a weekend i do have a little time to my self and I'm not always panicking thinking I've got loads of work to do and how will i get it finished. Working constantly for a long period of time makes your ideas poor in my opinion i thinking having a little break makes you refreshed and more focussed.
Ive learnt to develop as a punctual learner by this i mean Blogging immediately, i feel as though i panic and stress when i dont know what I've got to do or when i know something needs doing. I feel as though if i blog as soon as get given a brief or a task it does keep me more organised. When doing my graphics a level we used to put all of our work on a to a powerpoint presentation it was our digital sketchbook. Looking back it wasn't that practical and i think using a blog with dates codes links and tabs is efficient and its helping me develop into an punctual design student.
Ive learnt to manage my money better by banking online, keeping an eye on my funds whats coming in and going out , this is essential as i don't have a job in leeds only at home i don't always have money coming in. Its obviously important when moving away from home to grow up and take responsibility and i find managing my money makes me be more responsible if I'm careless with my money i may not have enough money to eat and i don't want to be ever in a position where i would have to run to my parents asking for money because thats not what growing ups about. You go with out if you can afford something and I've realised living away all the little things that need to be bought such as washing up liquid ect. things we take for granted.
Ive learnt how to manage my sleeping pattern. Going to sleep earlier and doing more work over a planned space of time has proven to be more successful then going to sleep at midnight and being tired all the next day. When first starting uni once i had finished i would go back to my student accommodation and have a sleep this would result in me not being able to sleep when it was actually bed time. Living at home my mam would wake me up for college being away from home theres no one to wake me up I'm my own responsibility. Id like to think i am mature about my university course which I'm very serious about. One of the big difference has to be me not go out on a week day night.Thats what weekends are for and this helps me always keep on top of my work.
10 things that you have learned about yourself as a designer. (These should reflect your growing awareness of your own interests within graphic design as a subject, discipline and profession.)
Ive definitely learnt over the past few months not to try copy a style of work, for my most recent brief i was creating a pattern for my retro shoe box. In my head i wanted the pattern to look like 80s retro eg. a shirt that somebody would wear on fresh prince of bell air and saved by the bell. I went over it a few times and researched quite a bit and i really wanted the retro theme. When i finally decided on the pattern and reflected back to images of shirts from the the 80s they weren't that similar but people still knew what look i was going for with my pattern. I found this was a valuable lesson not to go over and over something trying to make a replica of something that already exists and create something new, because in the end i was really happy with my pattern and I'm glad it didn't look like any of my research.
Ive learnt as a designer it is very important to make sketches design ideas and test things out..for the last brief i found this to be the most successful after trying lots of different patterns i decided i wanted to see what it would look like printed out so i could imagine it A1. so i decided to make a few prototypes. I was really set on changing my original design to black until i printed it out. When i printed it out i realy wasn't happy i didn't feel it looked as retro as the original design so i scrapped it. Its could to make prototypes and experiment this helps compare your good work to your not so good work.
Ive learnt as a designer when doing work or briefs to always make sure I have a better understanding off tasks. When we were learning about the anatomy of type it was quite complex as I've never previously looked at anything like this before i did struggle at first. When it came to the task we got set for the christmas period we had to dissect letters to make new fonts. I eventually finished the task but i asked several people on the course questions because i was that confused. I think its important to make lists of any questions you have and when in a studio session ask the teacher. I learnt the hard way after been so stuck but i know in the future i won't make the same mistake as it can have an effect on your work.
As a developing designer i have learnt to be more open about things. we had a task where we had to look at different types of media such as information & way finding & product design ect. I wasn't really bothered or aware of packaging and product design until then. Its something I'm interested in and will definitely want to try over my next 3 years at LCA.
managing my time better i something I've learnt to do over the past few months, we got given a task to create a type face for a word we were given (BOOM) i created a typeface early as soon as we got given the brief so i knew it was done and i could check it off my list. When it got closer to the time i decided i was unhappy with my typeface and i redone it, the redone one below wasn't very good like the original i dont this was a case of poor time management and not having enough time. It was the fact i had to much time and i rushed it in the first place.
As a designer i would say i have defiantly developed my skills on photoshop over the few sessions we've had and using it for other briefs instead of using illustrator all the time. i used to find photoshop really difficult to use so thats why i would limit my time on the program. once you get the hang of a certain program its so much easier to use. Even small things such as changing the colour to CYMK instead of RGB for print mode.
Ive always been interested in doing editorial spreads and design before i came to university , having only used indesign once, getting taught the basics of indesign in studio sessions has helped and refreshed my memory. I would love to create some of my own publications through out my studying time at LCA.
I prefer to work by my self but since coming to LCA and having the opportunity to work with people you have known for a few weeks has its amazing rewards you all have different skills and ideas which makes your outcome different and unique. I feel as though the last how to brief we worked on together in a group was really good everybody took part and contributed.
Throughout major projects and my time at art college before coming to LCA we did always do evaluations but they were small an straight to the point just to sum up what we did what we would change ect. but now I've learnt to talk in depth about my work. what skills i have learnt, what were my strengths and weaknesses. This is important i find when you have to make a list you remember things you from throughout the brief.Crits are such a good idea aswell i think I've found them so beneficial since starting in september to have tutors sit there and give you feedback there and then its really important helps you know if your going down the right path or what could be changed.
Ive learnt how to use the internet more efficiently - creating my blog and using online pin boards. Using blogger is such a good way to document your work. Its simple and straight forward. It will be perfect to keep a record of everything we've done since we started. Creating pintrest and other online pin boards has helped me with my research so much putting things into relevant folders and coming across amazing websites.
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