Nick Stead - Online Learning Journal

Portfolio Final Designs

2010-03-02T17:42:00.010Z

Here are the final designs for my portfolio. The print work page will be a Lightbox image gallery but the web work page will open up the actual sites in a new window.

Initial Portfolio Designs

2010-02-12T15:23:00.005Z

After some sketchbook work I picked the two designs I felt to be the best to develop further. Feedback would be appreciated to help me choose the best one.

Website Goals and Delivery Requirements

2010-02-03T11:11:00.003Z

My goals for the portfolio are as follows:

XHTML 1.0 (Strict) and CSS 2.1 Valid

It is important to have a website that validates to W3C standards as this increases crossbrowser compatibility, search engine optimisation (SEO), increases the speed with which pages load and increases accessibility.

To measure this I will use the W3C validator.

Easy to update

My portfolio will need to be updated on a regular basis to showcase my latest work. This will be measurable by the ease with which I can add new projects I have worked on.

Maximum Possible Search Engine Optimisation

It is important my portfolio ranks as high as possible on search engines to ensure it is viewed by the target audience. To measure this I will type different keywords into search engines on a regular basis to check my site is as near the top as possible.

Delivery Requirements

The markup/scripting languages will be XHTML 1.0 (strict) and CSS 2.1. The domain name will be www.nick-stead.co.uk and it will be hosted by E68.

Portfolio Target Audience

2010-01-28T09:41:00.006Z

Primary - Tutor

Steve is our course tutor and he will be assessing the portfolio. He is looking for a site that validates to XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS 2.1 and is creative enough to meet the course standard.

Steve is experienced at using websites and surfing the Internet. Both at home and at work he has a high speed Internet connection and is online frequently. To browse sites he uses his Apple MacBook and the latest version of Mozilla Firefox.

Websites Steve is likely to visit regularly include Apple's site, design related sites, typography related sites, other designer's blogs (he may follow some of these), social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, news sites, sport sites, gaming sites (particularly those related to console games such as Playstation), other technology related sites and 'lolcats'. Online purchases include Apple products, console games, other new technologies, design magazines and fonts.

Secondary - Clients and Potential Employers

Potential employers will most likely be experienced at using websites and surfing the Internet. They will also be likely to have high speed Internet connections both at work and at home and be online frequently. To browse sites they are likely to have the latest version of their chosen browser, which would probably be Mozilla Firefox as this is the most standards compliant.

They are likely to visit design related sites, typography related sites, other designer's blogs (they may follow some of these), social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, news sites and technology related sites. Online purchases include new technologies, design magazines and fonts.

Clients could be anyone from any business and their experience at using websites and surfing the Internet will vary. Their Internet connections will also vary as will the time they spend online. Tools for browsing sites will also vary, as will the sites they tend to visit. However, if they are looking for a web designer they are likely to view a number of portfolios to help them choose a designer they like.

Online purchases will vary.

Tertiary - Other Students

Students interested in my portfolio are likely to be other web design students looking for inspiration. They are likely to be experienced at using websites and surfing the Internet. They are also likely to have high speed Internet connections both at college/university and at home and be online frequently.

The websites they are likely to visit regularly include design related sites, typography related sites, other designer's blogs (they may follow some of these), social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, gaming sites (both console and online games), other web design student's portfolios and blogs, technology related sites, and possibly music and film related sites. Online purchases include new technologies, music, films and games.

Professional Designer's Portfolio Competitive Analysis

2010-01-21T12:46:00.005Z

I have chosen to do my competitive analysis on Jay Hafling's portfolio.

The homepage is quite creative and informative. Jay's name is quite prominent, both at the top of the page in the sentence next to the search engine and just underneath that within an image, both of which also detail what he does. There is also an image with a brief sentence about him and a link inviting the user to read more, as well as a link to his Twitter, a section about the services he offers and a further section declaring him 'available for freelance' which is again quite prominent. The call to action to 'get in touch' with him doesn't particularly stand out in itself, but the eye is drawn to that section itself and within the paragraph it is clear this is a link as it is underlined and in a different colour.

There are also images of some of his work which can be clicked on to view a bigger image, and a link to view all works. The bottom half of the page has his latest blog posts and beneath that links for people to work their way through the blog archives, which seems to feature on every page. His name, the brief about section and the Twitter section also features on every page as a header, but on other pages it is clearly a separate element of the page while on the home page it blends in with the rest of the page. This is quite useful in allowing users to access these on every page, without having to go back to the homepage to get to his Twitter, etc.

Navigation is consistent, using the same navigational bar along the top of each page. Most links are functional and go to the right page, including those to external sites. There is just one external link in the footer which comes up with page not found. All pictures are clickable and allow the user to view a bigger image. External links are used where appropriate. There are no local links but the site doesn't really need any as most pages don't exceed more than two viewports, with the exception of the wordpress themes page which goes just over. There aren't any excessive amounts of scrolling however.

The site is well organised with the pages appearing in a logical order on the navigation bar. The grid layout of the site makes for easy reading and it keeps the pages compact to minimise whitespace on each page. It also splits up each page into clear sections which also aids readability.

Labels and headings are clearly laid out using larger, bold text and in some cases different colours. These are easy to understand, and immediately identify what each section is about. Subheadings are not required as there are no blocks of text which exceed more than three paragraphs and therefore do not need to be broken up. Links are informative and make it obvious what they are linking to.

Paragraphs are split into acceptable line lengths and the typeface is easy to read. However, much of the site uses white text on a darker background which isn't as easy to read as dark text on a lighter background. This doesn't detract from readability too much as there are no really big blocks of text, but if he were to add more textual content to the site in future it may become an issue. The only instance where the colour of text doesn't contrast with the background particularly well is his name and job title within the image in the header, which uses black text on a dark background. This does make it hard to read and could do with being changed to a lighter colour text to improve readability.

The site loaded quickly with each page loading within seconds. Some of the images did take longer to load however, perhaps about 30 seconds for some of them. Content is appropriate for the site and sufficient for its purpose, although there are some English errors. However, English is presumably not Jay's first language as he says he is from Ukraine and it is good enough to communicate the information to users.

The colour scheme is effective and uses colours that work well with each other. It is consistent throughout.

In summary I think the overall design of Jay Hafling's portfolio is good. It has sufficient content to serve its purpose, i.e. it showcases his work and gives information about himself and what he does, has clear and easy to follow navigation, logical organisation, it loads quickly, and is easy to read. It also allows potential clients to contact him which is important for a freelancer. The main improvement I would make would be to the image in the header with his name and job title, changing the contrast between text and background to make it easier to read.

Portfolio Competitive Analysis

2010-01-14T15:12:00.005Z

I have chosen to do my competitive analysis on James Bell's portfolio.

The homepage has a brief welcome message which sums up the purpose of the site and a slideshow of featured work which makes the page more interesting and invites users to click the links and find out more (or click the pictures themselves to find our more about that particular project). It loads within seconds and sets the right tone for a site that is clearly a showcase for this student's work during his time on the HND in Interactive Media. There are, however, a couple of typographic errors which stand out and could do with being corrected to improve the overall impact of the homepage.

Navigation is consistent, using the same navigational bar along the top of each page. All links are functional and go to the right page, including those to external sites. All pictures are clickable and allow the user to learn more about each project. External links are used where appropriate. There are no local links but the site doesn't really need any as most pages don't exceed more than one viewport. The only page that does go over the foldline is the web work page, but as it only covers two viewports there isn't too much scrolling.

The site is well organised with the pages appearing in a logical order on the navigation bar. The basic layout of the site makes for easy reading and it keeps the pages compact to minimise whitespace on each page. However, there is a lot of whitespace surrounding some pages, particularly the about me page. Also, the information on this page is the same as that in the welcome message on the homepage. This makes the about me page seem a bit pointless, and to improve it I would either add more information to make the page bigger and eliminate some of the whitespace or remove it from the site.

Labels are clearly laid out in bold and are easy to understand, and headings and subheadings help break up the content and increase readability. Links are informative and make it obvious what they are linking to.

Paragraphs are split into acceptable line lengths and the typeface is easy to read. Dark text on a white background also increases readability.

The site loaded quickly with each page loading within seconds. Content is appropriate for the site and sufficient for its purpose, although there are some typographic errors.

The colour scheme is minimal but this aids readability and is in keeping with the logo in the header. It is consistent throughout.

In summary I think the overall design of James Bell's portfolio is good. It has sufficient content to serve its purpose, i.e. it showcases his work and gives information about each project, clear and easy to follow navigation, logical organisation, it loads quickly, and is easy to read. However, it could be improved by correcting the typographic errors and adding to the about me page thus reducing whitespace. Otherwise I would remove this page as mentioned above, as it performs no real purpose because it gives the same information about the student as that on the homepage.

Stress Free

2009-11-19T14:38:00.002Z

The second year is well underway and so far I’ve found it a lot less stressful than the first. I’ve passed the first two assignments which is a relief, particularly as I was worried about the SMLP and having to learn a scripting language on my own. I’ve also met deadlines without having to stay up half the night to get everything done which is an improvement on last time round.

I’m currently working on A10 which is all about the reverse design process (designing for an unknown product) and A11 which is about Wordpress.

As with the SMLP, I had doubts about A10 as my creativity is often lacking and thought I’d struggle to fill page after page with designs. However this has not been the case. While there have been some dry spells, I’ve successfully managed to produce some 20 pages of varied ideas which should be ample to choose from when we’re given a product. I handed this in a week early as I will be away for two weeks and miss the official deadline, but even with doing the extra work to make up for missing a week I didn’t find this exercise nearly as stressful as I thought I might.

A11 is also going fairly well so far. I’ve just about got the basic structure of my site and now all I need is to get my head round templates and such in Wordpress. I’ll be concentrating more on A11 this week as I devoted last week to A10 and I’m confident I can pull ahead with this as well to give myself less work to do when I come back.

So in summary the second year seems to be running a lot smoother for me than the first and hopefully this will continue throughout.

Interview Questions

2009-11-04T15:52:00.001Z

1. Do you work better on your own or in a group?

Most web design jobs that I have looked at require the candidate to work with their existing design team. Employers will be looking for candidates with good people skills who work well with others. Even if there is no group work as such, they will need to deal with people at some point. The answer to this question should give an indication as to whether they are good with people or not.

2. How do you feel about accessibility, is it something you strive for in your work?

Websites need to be accessible so that everyone can view them, regardless of any disabilities. Clients should be looking for this as it gains them more custom and so candidates who are not interested in making accessible sites or have no knowledge on the subject are not desirable.

3. List 3 ways to make content more accessible to visually impaired users

The candidate needs to know how to make websites more accessible as well as the importance of this. In answering the previous question they could also be making out they create websites with accessibility in mind but in reality they don’t give it much thought. If they can answer this question correctly it proves they do care about accessibility.

4. How do you spend your spare time?

Employers will be looking for candidates who keep up to date on the latest technologies within the industry. Candidates should spend some of their spare time researching new technology. The answer to this question should also give an insight into how interested the candidate is in the industry.

5. Tell me some news relating to the industry, such as a new version of CSS and what it’s features are going to be.

As with the above question, web designers need to keep up to date. This would show the employer that the candidate does keep up to date, regardless of how they answered the previous question because as with accessibility, they could just be telling the interviewer what they want to hear. Answering this correctly proves they do actually keep up to date.

6. Which browser would you design for?

A website’s no good if it doesn’t display or function properly across browsers. The candidate should know this and how to fix problems in other browsers.

7. Do you validate your XHTML and CSS? Why is this important?

The candidate should be used to validating their code and should know why this is important. Employers will be looking for candidates who can produce valid code.

8. How would your friends describe you?

This should give an insight into the candidate’s personality and if they do need to fit in with a current design team, it should give the employer a feel for if they will actually fit in or not. And as with the group question, it should also give an insight into whether the candidate is good with people or not.

SMLP Grade

2009-10-23T12:27:00.002+01:00

I feel I have achieved a Pass for the SMLP as I did everything I said I would do when writing my own Pass criteria.

My first learning objective was to investigate the uses of PHP and MySQL in the interactive media industry and to do this I said I would contact people in the industry and provide evidence of a forum thread discussing the uses and/or evidence of emails. I didn't send out any emails in the end which I could have done for a higher mark but I did start a forum thread and send out PM's asking people to contribute, thus meeting the objective.

The second learning objective was to learn how to put PHP and MySQL into practice to fulfil a simple interactive media brief. To do this I said I would use my resources and record evidence skills I learnt every week in a blog. I set up a separate blog for the SMLP and posted weekly updates on the skills I had covered in online tutorials and from reading my book, thereby meeting this criteria.

I said I would use these new skills to build a simple website that meets the creative brief I would be writing for the third learning objective, which was to fulfil the requirements of a simple interactive media brief using PHP and MySQL. The creative brief I wrote was for a fictitious local business selling pet products. They wanted a website to generate more custom but wanted this to be kept small as they couldn't afford a huge commerce site. They also wanted orders placed through an order form rather than a shopping cart.

Therefore I designed a website with only 5 pages to keep it small which covered a pet's basic needs. To keep it small I kept the current number of products to a minimum but the client would be able to add to these if the business grew.

In the brief I also said the site should use standards compliant XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS 2.1 which it did. I also said it should use PHP 5.3.0 and MySQL 5.4 which it also did.

The website is fully functional and displays correctly across browsers. The form sends orders to the MySQL database I set up, and thus again meets the criteria.

For the final learning objective I said I would evaluate use of the self-managed learning plan and the final product. To do this I said I would write bi-weekly evaluative journal posts of around 250-300 words and a summative journal post of 1000 words at the end of the project. I only wrote one evaluative journal post but this was 2 weeks into the project, and 2 weeks later was the week of submission so I wrote the summative journal post. This still met the objective I had set myself, and as no real problems arose during the SMLP I don't think there was any need for any more than this. The two evaluative posts I wrote were indepth and gave a clear indication of how I progressed through the SMLP. So again this met the Pass criteria I set myself.

I don't feel I met all the extended criteria. For M1 'relevant theories and techniques have been applied' which 'you demonstrate a thorough understanding of the assignment's theoretical principles, and successfully apply them to your work'. I said in my SMLP the first learning objective would cover this, but as I only got 2 replies on the forum thread and I never emailed any other people in industry outside the forum I don't feel this is of a Merit standard.

M2 states that the 'appropriate structure and approach has been used'. To do this 'effectively use a range of devices that monitor progress of the assignment'. I think I did meet this criteria through my journal posts and the timesheet I devised to show the time I put into it.

The website would be used to assess M3 - 'complex problems with more than one variable have been explored'. The website was not particuarly complex and therefore not of Merit standard. Furthermore, M3 states 'your investigations into the creative and/or technical potential of the assignment produce near-professional solutions'. I don't feel the website was creative enough to meet the Merit criteria.

D1 would be covered by the summative journal post, although I don't feel I 'clearly' identified 'strengths and weaknesses' this time round.

I feel I did meet D2 as this states 'autonomy/independance has been demonstrated' which it was since I learnt PHP without any help, proven through the weekly blog posts that show the new skills learnt each week.

And finally D3 states that 'innovation and creative thought has been applied'. Since I don't feel the creativity was of a Merit standard, it certainly isn't to a Distinction.

In summary, I did everything I said I would do in the SMLP and I feel I did this to a Pass level so I have awarded myself a Pass.

Preparation for Employment

2009-10-11T14:08:00.006+01:00

Job Title: WEB DESIGNER LEPFTS/132949
Location: MANCHESTER CITY CENTRE
Hours: 5 DAYS 9AM - 5:30PM
Wage: £14,000 - £16,000 PER ANNUM
Work Pattern: Days
Closing Date: 12/10/2009
Pension: No details held
Duration: PERMANENT ONLY

Description

The position is ideal for a University graduate looking to kick start their career in web design with opportunities of working their way up within the company. We are seeking an enthusiastic,motivated,creative hard working individual to work with our current design team. The role will include the day to day management, maintenance & design of our ever expanding portfolio of web sites and involvement in our email marketing program. Experience using Adobe Photoshop & Dreamweaver are a must along with XHTML & CSS. Knowledge of Flash would be an advantage. No work experience necessary but strong knowledge of the above applications a must.

Original advert can be found on: jobcentreplus.co.uk

I have chosen this job advert because it is one I feel I could apply for upon finishing the HND. No prior experience in the industry is required (something that I noticed a lot of employers wanted) making it ideal for someone just coming out of education.

The only experience desired is with Photoshop, Dreamweaver, XHTML and CSS, all of which I have used throughout this course. Knowldege of Flash is considered an advantage for this particular role but is not listed as essential, and I have used Flash on a previous course so it would not be completely new to me.

I have had some problems with XHTML and CSS whilst on this course, but I feel I’ve already improved and my skill as a coder would now be sufficient for this job.

Other skills they list are enthusiastic, motivated, creative and hard working, all of which I believe apply to myself. As I’ve said before, I do need to work on my creativity when it comes to designing (as I believe my creative talents lie more in writing) but in spite of this I still feel that I am a creative individual, and with time I can bring this out visually as well as through my creative writing.

If I were to apply for a job such as this after the course, I would mostly concentrate on my creativity in preparation. I think the other skills they list have always applied to me, and the practical skills I have learnt through the course.

In terms of my creativity, I think to improve I need to be looking for more inspiration, enabling me to produce more creative designs and build up a better portfolio to show to employers.

The advert also states that I would be working with their current design team. While I may not come across as very sociable at college, this is down to some things going on in my personal life at present. However, I feel it would not be a problem when I am ready to go into the working world.

Ordinarily I wouldn’t find it particularly difficult to work as part of a team, and my time management (in terms of meeting deadlines) is excellent meaning I would not let the team down and would be quite capable of sharing the workload. I also think I have good people skills which have been improved through my part-time job as a checkout operator at Asda, where I have been nominated for the ‘Above and Beyond the Call of Duty’ (ABCD) award on several occassions for good and friendly service.

If I improve on my creativity I think I’d stand a good chance of getting this job.

Therefore, to summarise, I will work on improving my creativity to a more professional standard by looking for more inspiration in preparation for employment in a similar role. I will also ensure my skills at XHTML and CSS are also of a professional standard through lots more practice.

Back For More

2009-09-21T09:58:00.001+01:00

The summer’s flown by and the second year’s already begun. Looking back at how I was feeling at the end of the first year and the targets I set myself, these haven’t really changed. At this point in time I’m no longer sure how realistic the target of achieving three Merits and one Distinction really is, given that this year will be a lot tougher than the first. There’s also some major things happening in my personal life which may affect this particular target.

However, the other targets still stand. I intend to work on my creativity as well as the coding side of things and hopefully improve both areas. Though if I’m honest I didn’t spend time on either over the Summer as originally planned, which means I’ll need to work harder through assignments if I’m to improve.

I also still feel that my time management could be better, not so much in the sense of leaving things till the last minute but more in the amount of time I allow for certain tasks. Some parts of the first year assignments (such as the presentation for A6) I spent far too long on and consequently ran out of time at the end, which meant late nights before submission and a rush to get everything done.

I was a bit worried when I saw that the SMLP was our first assignment this year, thinking it may be the most difficult for me. However, I’m trying to stay positive and I feel I’m already off to a good start, having completed my plan and creative brief. It sounds like this year will be a lot harder but I’m ready for the challenge.

SMLP Resource List

2009-09-14T10:55:00.007+01:00

PHP 5 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach by Lee Babin, Nathan A. Good, Frank M. Kromann and Jon Stephens

This book provides solutions for the common problems coders are likely to face when using PHP. It covers all the major topics required to learn PHP, such as arrays, and variables and functions. It also covers MySQL. This book has received numerous good reviews from people who have bought it and is by all accounts a good companion for beginners.

PHP.net

This is the definitive source for PHP and has lots of information on the language, as well as many useful links to other sources for PHP. It also has some related links like MySQL and Apache which again could prove useful. There is an FAQ section which could provide answers to any problems I may have when I start learning PHP, and there are also mailing lists which I could subscribe to if I need further help and support. This will also be the best place to start for any news on PHP and to download the latest version.

http://www.php.net/

w3schools.com

This site has lots of tutorials starting from basic to more advanced PHP code, as well as tutorials on MySQL.

http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/DEfaULT.asP

phptutorial.info

As the name would suggest, this is another site with tutorials on PHP for beginners. It starts with an introduction to PHP and how to create your first PHP page and then works its way through the various functions of PHP.

http://www.phptutorial.info/

homeandlearn.co.uk

The PHP section of this site covers the basics of PHP and explains variables, etc. in layman’s terms which could be extremely helpful for a beginner such as myself, particularly when coding is not one of my stronger points.

www.homeandlearn.co.uk/php/php.html

tizag.com

Tizag has numerous PHP and MySQL tutorials as well as a forum and their own store with more books.

www.tizag.com/phpT/

Beginnersphp

This site has many useful features, such as PHP source code, tutorials, articles, links to books, downloads and online manuals.

www.beginnersphp.co.uk/

killerphp.com

Not only does this site have a PHP Blog/News section and various tutorials, it also has free online video tutorials. This will provide a different way to learn PHP than from articles and books and may help greater my understanding of PHP. It also covers MySQL.

www.killerphp.com/

freewebmasterhelp.com

This is another site with numerous tutorials which cover PHP and MySQL.

www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/php

phpfreaks

This site has tutorials, blogs, a news section and a forum which I could sign up to if I need more help and support whilst learning PHP.

www.phpfreaks.com/

Self Managed Learning Plan: PHP

2009-08-22T15:08:00.003+01:00

For my SMLP I have chosen to learn the scripting language PHP. This will allow me to create dynamic web pages which could enhance some designs. With knowledge of PHP I will be able to add a search feature on my web pages, something I find really useful on large websites in finding the information I want quicker than nagivating my way around the site. I feel that this alone will make my designs more appealing to clients (and in turn their customers who visit the site).

To further justify my choice I have used various different job sites to search for jobs within the web design industry and the skills and qualifications required by various employers. I found that PHP was listed by most employers, and I therefore believe that being able to use the language is a must within the industry. It will certainly add to my employability, and as mentioned above should allow me to enhance some designs, which will help build a better client base.

PHP is also supposed to be fairly easy to learn, which is something that is important to consider for myself, as the coding side of things is not my strong point. Learning material and tutorials also seem to be plentiful on the Internet, which will aid me in my study of this language.

I will also need to learn MySQL alongside PHP as the two work in conjunction with each other. This should also add to my employability as it was also listed as a key skill by employers (which is to be expected when the two languages work together).

In summary, I feel PHP is a good choice for my SMLP because:

It will allow me to create dynamic web pages
This language seems to be deemed as a key skill by most employers
It shouldn’t be too hard to learn
There are numerous tutorials on the Internet to help me learn this language
It works in conjunction with MySQL, another language deemed as a key skill by employers

Past Mistakes

2009-05-12T13:39:00.005+01:00

As the end of the first year draws to a close I’m feeling mostly satisfied with my progression through the course so far, though there’s room for improvement. I’m also relieved that all the assignments are done with for now, after all the work and late nights I’ve had to put in recently.

Looking back over my other entries and remembering how I felt at the start of the year, it seems like ages ago. In my very first post I said I was hoping this would be the final stage of my education before employment and I still feel the same.

After 4 years of FE and a year of HE (not to mention another year to come) I’m ready to get a job. While I’m motivated and will continue to do the best I can and put all my effort into assignments, I grow tired of forever doing coursework. I’m just looking forward to employment now when at least I’ll get paid for all the work!

As noted in the second post, the step from FE to HE was bigger than anticipated but I feel I’m working at the level required, though I can push myself to do better. At the time I was struggling to annotate inspirational pieces, something that came much easier as the weeks went by. Word counts were frustrating at first and while at times I felt they were ridiculously low for the level of detail I thought was needed, I’ve adjusted to them. However, sometimes it can take a while to edit a piece of work down to the word count, which still leads to frustration.

A2: A Journey of 1000 Miles... was probably the easiest assignment for me, and it’s a shame we weren’t given the chance to achieve anything higher than a Pass as I feel I could have at least got a Merit for that one. Still, it was a good assignment to ease us into the course and it was probably the least stressful one, even with the move and everything else that was happening at the time. Achieving a straight Pass was also a major confidence booster.

A3: Sounds Like a Plan could’ve been considerably less stressful if my time management had been better, as noted at the time. Having no internet connection at home didn’t help matters, but I could have done more earlier on in the assignment to avoid working over Christmas.

I was also struggling to meet my 16 hours a week throughout Semester One, which I’ve also learnt from. Had I pushed myself to do a bit more each week there’d have been no late nights.

A4: Typecast went smoothly for the most part, though there was some stress meeting some of the shorter mini-deadlines. This was mostly because the ideas generation took so long, but I feel I’ve improved on this and now take a little less time to get my ideas down.

A5: Builder was one of the more difficult assignments for me, as it took a while to get my head round some of the code. I intend to practice on XHTML and CSS over the Summer break and am confident I will soon be able to build websites with ease. I got there in the end, with a little help from John, and still achieved a Pass.

A6: The Big Picture was probably the most stressful assignment. Everything was just so time consuming and I underestimated how long everything would take. I think I’m still recovering from this one, hence why I’m looking forward to the Summer break so much. I was determined not to make the same mistakes as for A3 so I pushed myself to get as much done possible each week, but even so I still struggled towards the end.

However, the fact that I managed to do so much every week perhaps highlights how I’ve progressed over the months. At school I used to get straight on with my homework and would typically not take a break until it was finished.

When it came to the first year of college I started to slip and became lazy, leaving work until the last minute and not putting as much effort in (which cost me some higher grades on the animal course).

On the GCE I was much the same and, again, my grades suffered. It wasn’t until Semester Two of the HND that I got out of this habit and really started to get on with work again. It was with the start of A6 that I began doing the 16 hours a week or more.

I think my main problem with A6 was spending too long on some tasks (such as the presentation), and not starting the other tasks sooner. This is something I will try and be more aware of in future.

A7: Rasterised I’ve mostly enjoyed, and it’s been good to have some time to myself for the duration of this one. Towards the end I had to put a lot of hours in though, especially as A1: SketchBlog was also due in the same day. This meant ensuring my sketchbook was complete. The holding page also took a lot of time to code and I still need to practice this. The last two weeks were stressful and I’m relieved to have handed it in, and confident that I’ll at least achieve a Pass.

So, I will take from this year the knowledge that I’m on the right tracks, as I’ve passed every assignment. However, I know I can achieve better grades and next year I’m going to really try harder to pull these up to Merits and possibly Distinctions.

I’ll also try to manage my time better and set some time aside for myself as well as work. I’m thinking of taking some leave off work which will leave me free to concentrate on my studies and thus allow me to get a more challenging job in my chosen industry.

I also think my level of creativity could still improve so I’ll spend some time over the Summer working on this. I intend to look for more inspiration and become more creative in my own designs.

Next year I want to learn more code, despite a few difficulties this year. I’m thinking I would like to learn JavaScript at this point in time, as it would be useful to allow me to build better sites.

Action Plan:

• Better time management

• Higher grades: 4 Passes, 3 Merits and at least one Distinction

• Be more creative

• Better developer

Time's Mooving On

2009-04-28T15:41:00.006+01:00

We are well underway with A7 and I have to say that for me it's gone a lot smoother than the last two assignments. I'm nearly there with this one and I'm confident I can get everything finished well before the deadline to allow plenty of time for any last minute changes and avoid more late nights!

In fact I think the hardest task was listening to the music! Otherwise I've quite enjoyed A7, and I'm just glad things haven't taken nearly as much time as they were doing for A6. It's been considerably less stressful and I've had time for me as well as work.

However, there was some stress involved last week when Steve told us he wanted to see all the CD artwork in Seminar the next day. At first I thought I would never have it done in time, but as it turned out I finished well ahead of the deadline - much to my relief.

I have to say I was also somewhat disappointed at the client's feedback after pitching my logo ideas, and was left with two designs to develop over the Easter holidays. Typically I came up with a better idea almost straight after the meeting, and was disappointed when Steve said to stick to the two the client had requested; though I can see his point. However I'm happy with the finished result.

I'm also pleased with my CD artwork. It's being sent to Mo o for print as I write, and I'm hoping it will look good on the postcards when it comes back.

And so as the end of the first year draws near I'm pleased with my progress and looking forward to the second year; although I'm ready for the Summer break first!

All Work and No Play

2009-03-31T14:14:00.004+01:00

It's been a while since my last post and a lot's happened. With the completion of A5 and A6 there comes relief, but also some disappointment.

I thought I’d enjoy A6, which I did in a sense but due to the sheer workload there was stress too. I feel as if I’ve been doing nothing but work and coursework throughout the duration of the last two assignments. I even had to miss things I’d usually watch on TV because there wasn't enough time in the week for anything but coursework, and it still wasn't enough time in the end!

As the deadline drew closer panic set in when I realised just how much still needed doing, and everything was taking forever. The most frustrating thing about this was that I hadn't left everything until the last minute like last time, and I had to work all through the night on the Sunday just before deadline as it needed to be mostly done before making the trek to Wakefield on Monday. Yet still I struggled to complete it; I even forked out for a taxi to Pontefract just to give myself two extra hours. And I was still forced to finish at college!

With all the work and effort I put in I was hoping for higher marks, so I’m slightly disappointed, but I'm relieved at the same time that I passed. My creativity still isn't up to scratch so I need to work on this.

As for A5, I had some trouble with CSS so I need to work on this too, but I'm glad I passed first time.

And now work’s begun on A7 I'm going to try and give more thought to things such as the PARC principles in my designs and hopefully get up to a merit.

A7: Promotional Review

2009-03-20T19:30:00.007Z

Signal’s Robotron is quite unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. I think it could be classed as Intelligent Dance Music (IDM), as well as psychedelic and experimental electronic.

Robotron puts me in mind of, as the name suggests, robots and machines. Each song has a beat to it with other noises in the background at different levels, underlying the beat. Some of these make me think of a machine or robot carrying out its commands, while others make me think of a signal being sent out – much like the band ‘Signal’.

There are few pauses in this album from start to finish, which I think fits really well with the robotic theme because, like a machine, it never pauses until it’s shut down. The brief pauses that do occur at the end of certain songs indicate to me either the end of the signal or the machine/robot carrying out its last command and awaiting a new one. Some are also quite sudden as if someone pulled the plug, or shut the robot/machine down before it could finish its task.

The introduction sets the theme, sounding almost like static in parts and almost like a helicopter in others. This quickly runs into Ermafa which at first made me think of a machine starting up, or perhaps this has already occurred in the introduction and now the machine/robot is carrying out its function.

The repetitive nature of most of the songs fits perfectly with this theme of a machine, as they carry out the same tasks repeatedly until they either finish or get switched off. Ermafa is no exception to this.

Naplafa has more than one robotic noise going on which repeat throughout, like a machine performing different tasks simultaneously.

Robotron, Malimo and Wismut all put me in mind of a signal being sent out through my speakers, almost like morse code. There is a lot of static present here which fits with the signal theme. The static fades out at the end of Wismut and the machine (or signal) continues into Rawema.

The sudden end to Rawema could indicate either the end of the signal, or the machine being shut down before it could finish, as mentioned previously. For me Rawema is more like a machine, but it could be argued it’s a new variation on the signal being sent during Robotron, Malimo and Wismut.

Datasette again sounds like a signal akin to morse code, while Sporett and Epriex Motor put me in mind of machines again. The latter two also have sudden ends.

And finally the album finishes with Wismut (Version) which is similar to Wismut in some ways, though there is less static and it has a slightly different sound. This too ends suddenly as if the plug has been pulled on the machine.

Robotron is an interesting album and fans of the genre should definitely check it out. Though it may not be particularly melodic, it has a beat you can dance to and its experimental nature makes it stand out from so many other dance tracks. This is definitely an album best appreciated from start to finish, so be sure to set some time aside when you get your copy, and prepare to experience the Robotron!

Life is Good!

2009-02-02T17:16:00.012Z

The next two assignments are here and I have to say I'm quite looking forward to these.

A5 involves building the website we designed in A3, meaning we get to do some XHTML and CSS - one of the reasons I wanted to do the course in the first place.

A6 is all about image manipulation and involves a presentation on Photoshop techniques (one thing I'm dreading), a mini-assignment designing advertisment banners, and the creation of a website in Photoshop. There's also links to A1 in that we have to collect digital artwork each week and annotate it as we have been doing with other inspiration.

I think I'm going to enjoy designing the website for A6. We have a choice between doing a site on Sandal Castle, The Magic Circle, or the definitive site for Earth (aimed at ET's). I've already got a few ideas for the Earth one and think this will be a great opportunity to get my creative juices flowing.

The first piece of digital artwork was fun too. We had to create a mangatar, and I thought mine looked pretty cool when I'd finished.

Annotating was frustrating though, as we were only given 200-250 words per piece and I needed far more to go into the level of detail I wanted. Still, I edited it down to the 250 and it should be detailed enough for what Steve was wanting.

So, as long as I keep on top of the work this time and don't let myself fall behind I think this next semester is going to be a lot better than the last one!

One semester down...

2009-01-19T16:44:00.005Z

One semester down, three to go and I'm feeling pretty good about things at the moment. There's been a fair bit of stress to get to this point though.

I found A1 a bit hard at first with regards to the inspiration. Some weeks I was struggling to find inspirational pieces and when it came to annotating them I didn't really know what to write. I feel I've made significant progress with this area of the sketchbook work though, since I went from writing maybe a sentence on each piece to a whole page.

The first assignment, A2, went well, but the ones we've just done (A3 and A4) I found a lot tougher. The main problem with A3 was my time management. I allowed myself to get behind (which was partly due to not having the internet) and as a result ended up having to do hours of catch up work late into the night, which left me stressed and tired and lacking motivation to go back to college after the Christmas holidays. My screen design was particularly stressful and seemed to take forever. It took far longer than I expected it to, and as a result I was up late trying to get it done.

I found some of the shorter deadlines for the mini-assignments particularly stressful, and struggled to meet them. The thing that seems to take up most of my time is the ideas generation process in my sketchbook. I can get the thumbnails down in about 10 minutes but when it comes to the next stage and the final design it takes me forever, and as a result some of the mini-assignments were rushed. This led to typing errors, and in some cases I wasn't entirely satisfied with the end result though luckily we were given an hour before hand in to make some minor adjustments if we deemed it necessary.

Due to the pressure of trying to meet deadlines the sketchbook work was also a bit rushed, and perhaps not as accurate as it could have been. It could possibly have benefitted from more detailed annotations too.

In terms of written content I'm confident that's an area I've done well with, though in some cases I've struggled to edit out enough to meet the word count. My competitive analysis for A3 could have been a bit more in depth if I'd had more words to play around with, but I think it covers everything and I feel it was a damn good effort considering I had to use a competitive site written in another language!

I feel my ideas generation is an area that definitely needs improving on in this next semester, as well as my time management.

Overall though I think the first semester has gone well and I have progressed sufficiently. I've passed A2, and A3 and A4 are out of the way -- at least for now. Hopefully I've passed them too. As long as I keep on top of the next set of assignments I'm confident I'll continue to do well and move closer towards employment.

Time's Running Out

2009-01-07T12:37:00.003Z

Christmas seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye and now we’re back again, getting ready to hand in A3 and A4. The holidays were good but it wasn’t all drinking and celebrating; I haven’t done so well with time management this time round and had a lot of catch up work to do, which I left the bulk of till the last weekend. After a lot of stress and a couple of late nights I won’t be making that mistake again!

The mini-assignments have gotten more intense with shorter deadlines and I found this morning’s grid exercise particularly stressful. I barely printed it off in time, meaning I didn’t get time to perfect the design like I would have wanted to. Still, what’s done is done and

we might be getting some ‘tinkering time’ next week before hand in to correct typos, etc. I think this afternoon’s Story exercise went a lot better though.

The typography exam is also coming up, but I feel well prepared and I’m confident I’ll pass.

I’m not looking forward to one of the next assignments, A6. Part of it will be assessed through presentations, which is going to be somewhat worse than last time since I’ll no doubt have to talk for longer. Plus I’ll be worrying about passing so it’ll probably be an even more nerve racking experience.

Otherwise I’m happy with things at the moment. I’m confident I’ve done the best I can on A3 and A4, despite the couple of problems mentioned above, and hopefully it’s good enough for a pass. If I refer then so be it, I’m determined not to get as stressed as last time.

2 minutes of fame

2008-12-09T17:23:00.002Z

Another couple of weeks gone by and here I am again. Things have been pretty eventful but the stress is gone now we have the internet at home again, thank god! (Or would that be 02?)

Last Tuesday we had our first mini-assignment, which I thought went pretty well considering it was my first one. I finished with time to ask Steve for feedback, act on it, and still allow for any problems that may occur when it came to printing. Overall I was pretty pleased with my progress.

This week we had another one to do which again I thought went well. One area I definitely need to improve on is my ideas generation though. It’s still taking longer than it should for me to develop my ideas and draw the final design.

We’ve also had to suffer something Steve’s been threatening us with from the start. Group by group we were called to the front, and with a queasy stomach and thumping heart I went to my doom. Yes, we had to give our first presentation. Although since it was a group effort and the maximum amount of time given was 10 minutes, we actually only had to talk for around 2 minutes each. So it wasn’t too bad.

I think I need to work on my typographic knowledge. I’m getting better at recognising typefaces but without some of Steve’s hints I wouldn’t have done as well as I did on this morning’s test. I’ve been playing the font game but the fact that it’s multiple choice makes it easier than what we can expect in a few weeks time.

On the whole I’m feeling pretty good about things at the minute, and I’m looking forward to Christmas and my 21st and the New Year. Bring on 2009!

Still Getting There

2008-11-25T17:29:00.001Z

To say I was looking forward to some creative work, today’s activity (ideas generation) left me feeling frustrated and slightly out of my depth.

Thumbnailing was ok, but I started to have doubts developing them, feeling a bit lost as to what measurements to state. Then it came to the final design and everything seemed to go wrong.

I would consider myself to be good at maths but I struggled somewhat to work out the measurements. Then when I thought I’d worked it out I began to draw the page, only to realise I’d mixed up the measurements for the gutter with the margins! I’m definitely going to have to go back to it in self study time and work through it again.

Writing this blog now, the frustration’s already ebbing away and I know I will perfect this skill in time. And despite my initial misgivings, it was good to finally start some creative work.

As for A4 and A3, I feel confident so far. I’m not worried about the typography test either. While I don’t feel ready to undertake it yet I know I will be prepared when the time comes. Nor am I worried about the mini-assignments we will have to do for A4, the first of which is due next week.

I just hope I get the internet back soon since we’re still not connected at home. I’m slightly worried if it doesn’t get sorted I’ll fall behind, but at least I’ve found a nearby pub with wi-fi where I can take the MacBook to get my work done.

I have to say overall I’m still confident in my studies and still feel I’m on the right path to becoming a web designer. It will be a long journey but I’ll get there in the end.

Meanwhile, out in the real world...

2008-11-11T16:25:00.000Z

Yesterday we were fortunate enough to meet Dave Pannell and Craig Burgess, who talked to us about Dave’s company The Design Mechanics. It was really interesting to hear how Dave handles design as a business, and he stressed the importance of remembering to treat it as such. I felt this was a really important point because at the end of the day it is a business just like any other, and simply being creative isn’t enough.

It also gave me an idea of the kind of timescales you have to work in, something which it sounds like we’ll be getting a lot of experience on in the upcoming weeks.

Interesting as well was how the recession is affecting the business, and how they are dealing with it. I thought they would be struggling so I was surprised to hear that they are actually swamped with work, though from the talk I can now see why.

Another highlight for me was Dave’s experience of running a business. I have given some thought to eventually starting my own business, though I was planning on working for a company first and saving up. However, after hearing the problems Dave has had in the past I may well just stick to working for a company.

I think I will really benefit from what was said about handling clients too, especially when I actually get out into the working world. Craig’s advice about finding freelance work and starting to make a name for yourself whilst studying was also really helpful.

Looking at some examples of the kind of design work produced was also interesting and inspirational.

Overall I really enjoyed the talk, and would certainly be interested in working for Dave after this course. So to finish I’d just like to say thanks again guys.

Copperplate Gothic

2008-11-04T15:49:00.014Z

Copperplate Gothic was originally designed in 1901 by Frederic W. Goudy for America Type Founders (ATF)¹. Its name comes from the technique copperplate engraving, which was popular for reproducing illustrated material between 1530 and the 1800’s². An unusual combination of influences can be seen within this typeface: the glyphic serifs come from stone carving, while the wide horizontal axis is similar to that of Victorian display types³.

This Linotype font family (now bundled into most Macs and PCs⁴) has 9 different styles⁵, all of which can be seen below. There is no true lowercase for this font – simply capitals and smaller capitals. That is to say this is an all-capital font, where the AB and BC in the name of each style refers to the relative sizes of the capitals and small capitals¹.

⁵Samples of the 9 different styles of Copperplate Gothic:

Copperplate Gothic Twenty-Nine AB

Copperplate Gothic Twenty-Nine BC

Copperplate Gothic Thirty AB

Copperplate Gothic Thirty BC

Copperplate Gothic Thirty-One AB

Copperplate Gothic Thirty-One BC

Copperplate Gothic Thirty-Two AB

Copperplate Gothic Thirty-Two BC

Copperplate Gothic Thirty-Three BC

It was originally intended to be used in stationary and society printing, but is now used in a wide range of commercial printing¹. At first the font appears to be a sans serif font, though each character actually has a tiny, pointy serif which gives it a more distinctive feel. This makes it a very popular choice for use on business cards². It is also often used for the frosted glass lettering on office doors (typically those of lawyers and private investigators) and in advertisement¹.

Some examples of commercial use of Copperplate Gothic:

Remembrandt logo and packaging
Opening credits for the film Panic Room
Screenshot from the film Ratatouille
Poster for the film Seabiscuit
Business card belonging to the character Paul Allen in American Psycho

References

1. http://www.adobe.com/
2. http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/family.aspx?FID=40
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copperplate_Gothic
4. http://www.underconsideration.com/speakup/archives/003819.html
5. http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/copperplate-gothic/

HND in Stress

2008-10-21T16:12:00.002+01:00

While it’s good to know A2 is out of the way, my stress levels have yet to drop. What with the move coming up on Friday and wondering if I made any mistakes with the assignment, I’m still stressed.

It was bad enough thinking it was all ready to be handed in Monday, only to find out I’d named my documents wrongly on the disc! I was able to burn off another disc after college, though it was a different brand than before (one yet to be tested on college computers) and the successful burn still left me feeling uneasy.

However, the disc worked fine when I tested it this morning and, to my knowledge, everything is now exactly as Steve asked for it so I’m fairly confident I’ll pass. Still, can’t help wondering if there is something I’ve missed and whether I really have passed or not.

Collecting inspiration for SketchBlog is proving harder than I thought too. Steve said he wanted us to be ‘diverse’ which I’m trying to achieve, but it makes it much more of a challenge. Annotating inspiration is also tough. Sometimes it’s difficult to put into words exactly what you like about something, and I would consider myself to be pretty good with words! But I’m sure this will come easier with time.

So now I’m looking forward to half term, when I can settle into the new house and relax. No doubt I’ll be feeling much better by the time I come back to college. I think a week’s break is exactly what I need and I’ll be back feeling refreshed and ready for the weeks ahead.

The Awakening

2008-10-07T17:02:00.002+01:00

Well, where to start? It’s been a bigger step than anticipated from college to HE. When Steve originally told us how imminent the first assignment was my stress levels were already rising. We’re just in the process of moving house so the timing of everything didn’t look good. However, now work’s begun on the assignment and I’m keeping up-to-date, I feel much more confident.

I must say there is a lot more group work than expected too. Steve mentioned ‘comfort zones’ and I think it’s fair to say I’m out of mine. I’ve always been something of a lone wolf, preferring to keep mostly to myself, so all this group work has been a bit daunting. I feel I’m settling in now though.

Today’s seminar group also deserves a mention. One inspirational piece was deemed inappropriate as assessable work (sorry again Steve), but I honestly thought I’d get away with it as artwork. I was a bit disappointed to be told it had to be removed; I mean I was looking for something unusual to include in there and it doesn’t get any more unusual than said piece. Still, I’ve learned my lesson and know not to include anything like it in future.

Something else I’m finding is just how long a day nine while six actually is! At first I found it hard to stay focused towards the end, but now it’s becoming routine I’m adjusting.

I could go on, but at 250 words I better leave it there.

Where I've Come From; Where I Am Now; Where I'm Going

2008-09-30T22:06:00.003+01:00

I have just started the HND in Interactive Media at Wakefield.

My education started in Pontefract, at Lark's Hill Junior and Infant School. After passing my SAT's with flying colours I went on to study at The King's High School, also in Pontefract - which I hated with a passion. Not that I didn't hate junior school, but high school was even worse. Still, I survived it and enrolled at Wakefield College.

I have studied two courses at Wakefield College prior to this one, although my first was actually a BTEC National Diploma in Animal Management. A bit different to IT, but I'd always wanted to work with animals.

When I say I studied at Wakefield College that's not completely true: the course was actually run by Askham Bryan College in York, and we were required to study at both colleges. In the first year we studied mostly at Wakefield College; in the second year we studied mostly at Askham Bryan.

Askham Bryan is an agricultural college and has a far bigger animal unit than Wakfield College, meaning we got to work with a range of animals. The course was fun and gave me a unique opportunity to get up-close to some zoo animals because of Askham Bryan's partnership with Flamingo Land. However, having successfully completed the course, I decided animal work wasn't for me. That was mostly because it isn't well paid enough.

This meant I needed to rethink my career options and I decided computers were the way forward. Therefore, I enrolled on the GCE in Applied ICT. During the course Steve Smith came to do a presentation about the HND in Interactive Media and this prompted me to enrol on the course, bringing me to this point in my education.

I'm hoping this is the final stage of my education and the HND will lead to employment as a web designer.