1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
Having a developed a fundamental skill base throughout 1st year, 2nd year has been about developing in skill specific areas - none so much so than the digital module. I now feel very confident working with After Effects, and though I have only experienced a fraction of what the software has to offer, I am looking forward to another opportunity to build on this skill. This has been my first experience in working for screen based media so with regard to technical knowledge and ability (which build the foundation of this practice) I have improved a great deal. I'm not a particularly technical person, the idea of working with a media that doesn't allow room for technical errors is something I find quite worrying, however I think I managed to overcome this - and more importantly I allowed time to ask advice and correct any potentially fatal mistakes. Last but by no means least is the dramatic improvement in my organisational skills, which have always been a little rough. I began to develop a great digital filing system - necessary for avoiding missing links when working in both pieces of software - and I hope to take what I have learned and apply it to the physical world.
2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
As this was such a new way for working for all of us, not just myself, I found it difficult to apply what has come very naturally in the past. I feel the most beneficial of my research came from very specific pieces of motion graphics detailed on my context blog, and the information graphics I gathered from a variety of sources. Both of these informed my design decisions, and I think this is clear from the process of development documented on my blog. The way I moved from the title sequence of 'Euro Trip' through to 'Catch Me If You Can' and such like, are all decisions based upon what I was doing in my own work, and what was inspiring me in the real world. I do feel however that as I was concentrating so much on the new software and acclimatising to the new way of working, that this was an area I neglected to document as well as I should have.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
Without a doubt my strengths lay within After Effects. I focussed a lot of my time working through the software, with guidance from Mike and what I found on the internet. It's obvious that areas of the submission suffered as a result of this, however I literally feel that I could not help but want to be working in After Effects, I wanted the final resolutions to reflect how much I enjoyed working on them. As I have already stated, I am looking for the next excuse to develop my skills in this area further.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
Weaknesses are quite rife in this submission - I have let myself down with regard to both research and development.
It's not so much that they were not present at all, I failed to document a lot of the progress I had made and therefore the evidence of my progress through the software is somewhat lost. Though I hope the animations speak for themselves. I know that a lot of this is to do with a new way of working throwing my usual design process out of swing, however I think I have learned enough of this new practice to be able to apply research and development more throughly in the future. You could say I felt a little bit like a child in a toy shop thorough the module, neglecting the important bits for the fun stuff!
5. Identify what you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
- Take advantage of story boarding. I feel I developed a nice range of different story boarding techniques, only a few of which were actually helpful when working in After Effects, and even less of which informed decisions made in the software. Upon doing this again, I would have more of a back and forth process between the two.
- Apply my fundamental design skills to this new method of working. Research and develop accordingly, as I have done throughout my time here, and not be put off by the enormity of the new things I have to learn.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Sunday, 29 November 2009
What is a C.V?
The first of an ongoing series of posts I hope, this is the first awesome story I found with relation to the PPD module, and a great example of what a creative C.V can do for your career!
How Creative Should a Designer’s CV Be?
Written by Tara: Freelance Designer on Wednesday, 2 of May , 2007 at 5:37 pm
I was flicking through one of my old design scrap books earlier today and came across an old image entitled Dave on the Dole. The image was of a magazine style curriculum vitae belonging to an out of work Lancashire Designer, Dave Towers. To try and get himself noticed he had created, designed and printed his CV on found paper such as P45s (a form you get in the UK when you leave a job). The image was shown inCreative Review Magazine so it certainly got him some publicity, I wonder if it got him a job? Dave if you’re out there let us know (and I hope you don’t mind me showing your old CV).
This got me thinking: What does it take to get a designer noticed for a design job, especially a graduate with no proven design experience? I cringe to look back to when I had just left college (all those years ago) and made myself a pop up CV with my face on it 
. Mind you I think it got me a couple of interviews, even if it was just out of amusement. A friend of mine from college who really struggled to get his first job started to make individual brochure CVs targeted at the individual company he was writing to. This eventually landed him a job (would he have got it otherwise - who knows, but initially it got him an interview).
Another unusual curriculum vitae - a man screen printed his resume on to a t-shirt and wore it at a tradeshow, while handing out copies of his resume. This resulted in 5 interviews and 3 job offers, you can read about it at www.ideasitefor business.com.
Now everything is online, perhaps an online CV is the way to go, or does this just get lost in the crowd?
So what is the answer, I’m not sure, how creative do you think a designers CV should be? What are the most creative resumes or CVs you have heard of?
http://www.graphicdesignblog.co.uk/how-creative-should-a-designers-cv-be/
The rest of the article can be found here
The post was followed up by a comment from Dave, which reads...
Hello I’m Dave on the Dole, or at least I was. I got loads of interest from that CV. The Face magazine were the first people to give me freelance work and it sort of snowballed from there. It opened so many doors. I’d travel down from Liverpool on the overnight National Express and get in a phone box and ring up any designer or agency who I thought was good. Because they’d seen the article I usually got to see them that day. I love a novelty CV but its got to be a true reflection of who you are.
I’m now really really posh and head of design and typography at Lowe London, doing things like this
http://www.dandad.org/awards2007/entry.asp?entry_id=28092
So he went from being on the dole, to working with D&AD. How inspiring.
I also love the fact that his C.V was printed on found stock, I've seen this done before and have wanted to find my own reason to use it ever since!
I’m now really really posh and head of design and typography at Lowe London, doing things like this
http://www.dandad.org/awards2007/entry.asp?entry_id=28092
Monday, 2 November 2009
What is professional / industrial experience?
ex⋅pe⋅ri⋅ence
| 1. | a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something: My encounter with the bear in the woods was a frightening experience. |
| 2. | the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something: business experience. |
| 3. | the observing, encountering, or undergoing of things generally as they occur in the course of time: to learn from experience; the range of human experience. |
| 4. | knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone: a man of experience. |
| 5. | Philosophy. the totality of the cognitions given by perception; all that is perceived, understood, and remembered. In my own personal opinion, experience is:
|
Why is professional / industrial experience important as part of PPD?
- It proves a stepping stone between education and work.
- It helps build a C.V
- It will help you decide what kind of job you're looking for,
- and equally what jobs you are not!
A guide aimed at all graduates sturggling to find work after they graduate.
How do you gain professional / industrial experience and what form does it take?
- Contacting existing professionals.
- Work placements. (Paid or unpaid!)
- Observing what is already out there, and how other companies work.
- Research.
- Getting out and doing it!
What should you aim to gain from professional / industrial experience?
- A better understanding of what is out there,
- and better understanding of where I sit within this.
- A more expansive contact list.
- Confidence.
- Development as an individual.
"It is a competitive climate for graduates and you need to stand out from the crowd."
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