Moving Along Nicely?

I'll start with an update on last weeks targets, and how they went. Firstly was the target to get through the competitive analysis, and begin work on the initial stages of screen design. Unfortunately, although I did complete the competitive analysis, I didn't get onto the screen designs in my self study time- admittedly through bad time planning. However, I did complete my other targets of collecting and annotating design work, and creating a page numbering/indexing solution for my sketchbook.

To combat the issues I had last week with time planning, this week I spent a good half hour at College on Monday planning the full week ahead. In previous weeks I've struggled to plan more than a day in advance so by forcing myself to plan a full week it may help with my self study time.

I've spent a lot of time this week thinking about accessibility, and looking into this on the web- although I've now learnt to document literally EVERYTHING I research in the sketchbook in order to prove I've done it- and in order to be prepared to answer any question that may come my way! I suppose this was learnt the hard way this week.

We also got underway with using Adobe Pagemaker this week- a program I was unsure about, mainly due to what I perceived to be it's limitations. However, I was surprised by the quality of the simple document we made, and I suppose this illustrates that design is about just that; design. It's not about the programs used to design or the more technical aspects- it's simply aesthetics. There was also a conversation during one lecture about creativity in design- and how, as web designers, we're not designing for ourselves, but for others. I think this could be a hard concept for some, but for me, it was fine; I totally agreed with the idea.

This week my primary aim is to stick to the time plan I've made and not allow myself to be distracted by other temptations. Hopefully, I'll have a final screen design completed and ready to be DTP'd (DeskTop Published) next week, prior to the seminar session on Tuesday. It's also the session with the Design Mechanics this week, which a few others and I will be joining the second years for- that should be very interesting and a great experience.

And We're Off...

I've genuinely surprised myself this week, as I've actually enjoyed getting stuck in and doing some work! This, for me, is a strange experience; to appreciate work. Yet it's also a great feeling, to know that I'm finally enjoying what I'm doing with my life. On the other hand, there are still the niggling doubts in my head on the odd occasion, which sometimes counter my positive feelings.

This week I've managed to get quite a bit of work done on the first assignment. I've finished the project goals, the target audience, and now the delivery requirements just need a touching up before they're completed. I've spent a lot of time in College this week starting my competitive analysis, looking particularly at the BBC site dedicated to John Peel, the 'Great Briton' that I'm designing the site for. I suppose the fact that this is a BBC site and therefore it's so well designed in terms of accessibility and content, etc. has been quite nerve racking. How am I, as inexperienced as I am, supposed to compete with that?! However, using the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) method of analysis has actually helped highlight some negative aspects of the site which I'll hopefully be able to capitalise on over the rest of my assignment- I feel better about that now.

In terms of an update on last weeks journal entry, I'd like to say my time management wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! The hardest part is the actual planning, but when I've got that down, sticking to it wasn't as difficult as I'd assumed it would be.

My aim for this week is to complete the competitive analysis, and to get on to the initial stages of the screen design. I also need to allot myself some time to find some examples of good design, stick them in my book, and add some annotations to them... this, so far, hasn't proved to be my strong point. Another target is to manage to get an indexing/page numbering system sorted for my sketchbook.

The Good, The Bad, and The SketchBlog.

This week we were handed our first assignments. The first one we received, entitled 'That's the Plan', is an assignment to complete a web plan. Basically, it's a task to design a website without actually building it. At first, I was slightly disappointed not to be getting straight into the actual building of a site, but on later reflection, it's actually going to be the best way to learn the web design process, and the successions of thought that occurs behind the scenes.

The depth of the preparation required prior to creating a site actually surprised me, particularly in terms of the amount of research into a number of things. Having struggled with research in the past, I wasn't particularly looking forward to spending a lot of time sitting, reading through things and taking notes. However, I actually ended up really enjoying the time I spent doing research, and found a few quite valuable resources, not only for the website plan, but hopefully for future work too. One particular website of note was webdesignfromscratch.

The second assignment, 'SketchBlog', is also an interesting one. It's an ongoing assignment lasting the full academic year, from now up until May, which will assess the work in my sketchbook and my 'Online Learning Journal'. This assignment , based on Ideas Generation, is actually from the Graphic Design syllabus rather than the Interactive Media syllabus, which I think is a great opportunity to expand my skills.

At first when considering the work for the SketchBlog, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work I had to do, and I suppose I was surprised and slightly unnerved at the concept of an ongoing assignment over such a massive amount of time. How can I keep up a consistent level of work over such a long period? However, having time in our first seminar session to look through the second years' sketchbooks, I felt that my understanding of what is required of me was increased, and I now feel a bit more confident about what lies ahead in terms of the SketchBlog.

My biggest issue now, I think, is managing to successfully organise my self study time at home. I haven't been the best at this in the past, and have always had a problem with disciplining myself to stick to any time frames I have pre-planned. Hopefully the time planning sheets that Steve's given us will help me to sort this issue out, and assist me with managing myself more effectively.

My Past, My Future, and Everything in Between.

Prior to starting on the HND Interactive Media course, my background doesn’t contain a lot of creative or technical study related to the area, aside from the compulsory subjects in school of course. I have tended to study more ‘academic’ subjects, completing A-Levels in English, Politics, and Geography; and an AS-Level in Psychology. This choice of subjects may suggest a contradiction between my interests and the Interactive Media course, but I have always had an interest in computer-based design, although I have never, until now, had the chance to study it in a way that appeals to me.
My working life up until this point has involved working for the majority of my year out in the Council Tax office in Wakefield, which has proved useful in a number of ways, including developing my self confidence and changing my attitude towards the ‘world-of-work’, helping me realise the importance of making a true effort to get where I want to be.
In terms of developing a specific interest in web design, I would say this occurred during my year out, in the time leading up to starting working for the Council. I was asked by the other members of my band to design a website to show the world what we are about and to enable contact with us through the site. Obviously, having never done anything like that before, I wasn’t sure where to start. Despite my lack of knowledge in this area, I used online tutorials and my brothers experience of Flash, which he had gained from his Music Technology degree, to use Photoshop and Flash to create the site. I found creating my bands website a very challenging yet thoroughly enjoyable experience, and my interest in web design has grown since. Further reading and research has led me to realise there are much better ways to create websites, and I decided that studying this at college would probably prove to be the most effective and fruitful way to learn more.
In the future, it is my aim to be able to work for myself in the web design industry, running my own small business. My Brother-in-Law currently runs his own web design business, and my hope is that he will be able to provide me with experience of work, which in turn will lead me to a position where I am able to work for myself.
I recognise the amount of work and commitment it will take for me to get where I aim to be in a few years time, and also the personal skills I will need to develop to be able to achieve my aims effectively. I especially feel these demands when considering my lack of experience in the area, both in terms of creativity and the more technical side. However, I look on this as a personal challenge to overcome, and aspire to put all the effort I can into the course.