A / Originally I was
unsure of what I wanted to study at university but I knew I wanted to work with
image, type, colour and balance within my designs. After speaking to my
foundation course tutor we decided graphic design was definitely the right
route for me. I found this course online and immediately knew it was a course I
wanted to get involved with as it offered tuition on everything I was
interested in.
I’ve never lived far
from home and although the thought of moving away was daunting, I’ve always
been attracted to the city atmosphere. I had been told good things about Leeds
and after looking around I felt confident that it’s where I wanted to be for
university.
The course had a
really good tutor to student ratio, which would really benefit my personal
development as a designer. I think it’s really important to be able to have
that guidance and help throughout a course so this definitely adied my
decision.
On the course website it’s clear that a
strong reputation has been built with awards from D&AD (Best New Blood)
three times in a row. Having a reputation on the course motivates me to work
harder as it becomes more competitive and gives me something to aim for.
The college had an
impressive amount of facilities available to be as a student that is vital in
developing my designs and potential brief outcomes. I was particularly keen on
the availability of photography studios and professional printing facilities.
B / Within the last
module, OUGD203, I used screen print as a way of design production. Although
I’ve used the facilities a few times I’d still like to master the process at
level 6 so I aim to learn more about the process.
Typography is an area
I’m still keen to learn more about as I feel it really contributes so the
professionalism of designs.
I want to be more
experimental with colour next year, especially in textile design as it will
help my work to look fresh and appealing.
I need to work on my
commitment to be being more punctual so at level 6 I’ll be making sure that
this is something I learn to grasp.
C / Having a passion
for photography has helped with finding balance and good compositions within my
designs and I feel like this is one of my strong points. In order to progress
at level 6 I aim to experiment more with this and push myself to try out
different layouts and as it will further my skills as a designer.
I’ve always enjoyed
working with colour and I feel that I’ve applied it quite nicely at level 5.
Again, I wish to further my knowledge and understanding of this through experimentation
and focusing more deeply into design context.
I’d say I’ve got
pretty good people skills and I’d feel confident talking to and working with
clients. Fitting nicely into a studio shouldn’t be a problem and I’d definitely
feel comfortable with my contributions to a design studio.
My software skills
have greatly improved since joining the course and I’m happy with where I’m at
with it. Although there’s still a lot of room for improvement, I’d confidently
create designs using the adobe suite.
D / Organisation has
to be the biggest thing holding me back as a designer. I’ve always struggled
with it throughout education and I still find it quite hard! However, I do feel
improvement since being on the course as it’s helped me become more professional.
Punctuality is another
weak point but this improves with my organisation because the more organised I
am, the easier it is to be places on time with the appropriate work I need.
I don’t feel like I
push myself enough with my work. I’m yet to see what my full potential is as a
designer and it’s proved to be something I regret after I complete most briefs.
For my final year on the course I aim to commit to changing this as I feel like
my skills are a bit wasted with my work level at the moment.
Taking advantage of
the studio time we are given is something I’ve not really done and it will help
with all the above points so, again, for level 6 I will be spending longer
hours in college taking advantage of the facilities provided.
E / Seeing as everyone
on the course have skilled opinions I will be using crit feedback to aid my
design outcome. Crits always offer a good guidance with good opinions.
Looking at my blog
will help me analyse my progress and development in order to further my work
and see which direction I should take it in.
Comparing my work to
previous briefs will help give me that drive I need to push myself further as
I’ll be comparing work from level 4/5 to that of level 6.
F / Who exactly am I
as a designer?
Where do I see myself
working?
