Quite an accurate title for a change, yes a colloquialism but accurate anyway.
This week I've been fairly ill for the most part, though trying to keep up with my work whilst pretty much bed ridden. It wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be because the things I have left to do on my assignment are really the text parts, most of the creative work & computer work is done, though I still have to write some of it up. I'm still feeling quite confident about this assignment even with the week of work/lectures missed, when going off I felt that I was somewhat ahead of the class in the amounts of work I had done already. With the completion of a lot of my measurable aims/mini assignments.
I took on a side project this week of a local band called 'Final Wave', they've asked me to produce graphics for their Myspace, a number of t-shirt designs & advertising banners. After the band being around for a year or so I will be then creating a website/forum for them. You can view how it's going at Http://www.myspace.com/finalwave
Having already done the graphics for their Myspace and a t-shirt design I'm quite well on with the task, I found it came quite easy for me and the things I did, didn't take that long to create, so no worries about the project affecting my college work.
Any feedback on this whilst I am doing it, would be appreciated. (Yes, i already know about the bkgnd problem)
One thing that worried me about being away was missing the presentation by 'The Design Mechanics', potentially a good source of knowledge as to how the industry actually works in a real environment, as well as useful tips on the business side. Having read John/Shaun's blog I have had some insight as to what happened, but nothing could've replaced actually being their, to meet some of the 2nd year students properly in person also.
But i'm sure there will be other opportunities for both.
Sunday 30 September 2007
Tuesday 18 September 2007
One Foot In the Grave
Probably not the most accurate title for what I am going to write about, slightly hyperbolic, definitely a sense of satire, but Steve did say "Make it interesting". After enduring his wrath on the Monday morning for not replying to an email he sent out, due to not giving him the right email the first time.
In the one on one meeting with Steve, he helped me to get the idea that correct information is a must, especially when mixed with the 'Importance of Effective Communication, which surprisingly is what this blog entry will cover.
Effective communication; something that appears in many walks of life, my personal opinion is that it's a subject that fades into the background of the modern world. Communication creates first impressions, which of course are the things that 'last', the genre of design is an industry that relies alot on first impressions. Ultimately they can the sole reason for you getting a client or not. It's not only the picture of yourself you portray with speech, but everything about yourself gives off a vibe to create the first impression.
Only last week a girl I had met and started to talk to said "you walk with a swagger of confidence", apparently not a bad thing; but this opinion was based solely on the style inwhich I walked, the clothes that I wear..etc. This has all lead me to get to know her more. First impressions are a key part of everyday life, they exist everywhere you look..
Communication effectively enables you to carry on these first impressions and deliver the necessary information for social reasons, but it also is a key part of the industry because if correct information is not passed on properly then certain things can't happen. If on your portfolio website your email is written down wrong, how is a client going to be contact you about a possible job.
In the one on one meeting with Steve, he helped me to get the idea that correct information is a must, especially when mixed with the 'Importance of Effective Communication, which surprisingly is what this blog entry will cover.
Effective communication; something that appears in many walks of life, my personal opinion is that it's a subject that fades into the background of the modern world. Communication creates first impressions, which of course are the things that 'last', the genre of design is an industry that relies alot on first impressions. Ultimately they can the sole reason for you getting a client or not. It's not only the picture of yourself you portray with speech, but everything about yourself gives off a vibe to create the first impression.
Only last week a girl I had met and started to talk to said "you walk with a swagger of confidence", apparently not a bad thing; but this opinion was based solely on the style inwhich I walked, the clothes that I wear..etc. This has all lead me to get to know her more. First impressions are a key part of everyday life, they exist everywhere you look..
Communication effectively enables you to carry on these first impressions and deliver the necessary information for social reasons, but it also is a key part of the industry because if correct information is not passed on properly then certain things can't happen. If on your portfolio website your email is written down wrong, how is a client going to be contact you about a possible job.
Tuesday 11 September 2007
New Beginnings
This lunchtime's mood; Anxious, I'm really starting to come to terms with the paperwork demands that go hand in hand with the course, having previously thought it was more of a hand-foot relationship. My expectations of this course were that it was going to be more of a free-thinking, arty based class.. in which we'd do countless brainstorming sessions, look at many a source for inspiration, experiment with shapes and textures, sadly it is not the designers paradise I expected. Maybe my expectations were a bit too unrealistic as to what the pressures of a real world designer were, maybe I got lost in this 'perfect course' model I had built for myself, as a designer thinking too much always leads to a dead end.
True of course, until I reached the seminar groups in which I was able to have some more one on one contact with Steve, though most of all being able to see what the second year students had produced when they were in my position. I saw that my previous thoughts were not totally accurate, this just one of the hurdles in between clear paths of pure design.
Looking through these first year sketch books I got a more in depth look at the procedures we would go through when creating, developing and producing various design works in our first year. Anxious feeling gone, worries gone, happy Andrew again.
Everyone in the class has helped in making this a comfortable environment to work in, the value of friendly faces especially in new pastures is priceless.
True of course, until I reached the seminar groups in which I was able to have some more one on one contact with Steve, though most of all being able to see what the second year students had produced when they were in my position. I saw that my previous thoughts were not totally accurate, this just one of the hurdles in between clear paths of pure design.
Looking through these first year sketch books I got a more in depth look at the procedures we would go through when creating, developing and producing various design works in our first year. Anxious feeling gone, worries gone, happy Andrew again.
Everyone in the class has helped in making this a comfortable environment to work in, the value of friendly faces especially in new pastures is priceless.
Sunday 9 September 2007
Past, Present & the Future
Where I've come from, Where I'm Going & How I'm Going to get there
Starting at an early age i was introduced to the world of website design when i was around the age of 11, through on-line gaming communities. After playing for some time and noticing that clans were always in need of a website but never had someone to create it for them, since i was already interested in designing things i thought i would give it ago myself. With my first few websites being made solely of html tables and a banner made on adobe Photoshop, i started to get bored of the simplicity and decided to step my game up somewhat. So with the aid of internet tutorial sites and a mix of trial and error, i was quickly elevating to a standard where i could do exactly what i wanted with a website, of course there were and are some boundaries to it. I begin making sites purely through a html structure and Adobe Photoshop graphical layout, but this could only get me so far, i still felt there was better i could do, just little touches that would vastly improve the overall look and use-ability of my websites. I then started to use fireworks to create and integrate Javascript pop-up menus so that it would give my websites a smoother look and a better interface for the user; i also started using macromedia flash to give my banners an added effect with moving parts so that the banner was always something different.
In an effort to make my sites look as flashy as possible and to show off my talent to the fullest degree i decided to learn how to use various 3D programs, such as Cinema 4D and 3D Studio Max, in which i could create renders to manipulate in Photoshop and then crop a certain part to use as a banner or the render as a splash entrance to a website. Realising this was all a bit unprofessional in the end i started to take use-ability as a much higher priority than just looking flashy.
With the help of this course i hope to further improve my design skills with adobe Photoshop and vastly improve the coding side of my websites, as this has always been the greatest weakness of mine; having friends who are expert coders in the past has allowed me to stick to what i do best, design. After my two years are done here, i plan to finish the 3rd year at Huddersfield University and attain my BA Honours in the subject.
After this is done i will hope to get a job in a small but well known design company somewhere in the country, recognised for superior quality work to other that is produced in the word of design. This will only be achievable through hard work and determination from my part, having consistently good work whilst meeting deadlines and doing outside projects often.
Starting at an early age i was introduced to the world of website design when i was around the age of 11, through on-line gaming communities. After playing for some time and noticing that clans were always in need of a website but never had someone to create it for them, since i was already interested in designing things i thought i would give it ago myself. With my first few websites being made solely of html tables and a banner made on adobe Photoshop, i started to get bored of the simplicity and decided to step my game up somewhat. So with the aid of internet tutorial sites and a mix of trial and error, i was quickly elevating to a standard where i could do exactly what i wanted with a website, of course there were and are some boundaries to it. I begin making sites purely through a html structure and Adobe Photoshop graphical layout, but this could only get me so far, i still felt there was better i could do, just little touches that would vastly improve the overall look and use-ability of my websites. I then started to use fireworks to create and integrate Javascript pop-up menus so that it would give my websites a smoother look and a better interface for the user; i also started using macromedia flash to give my banners an added effect with moving parts so that the banner was always something different.
In an effort to make my sites look as flashy as possible and to show off my talent to the fullest degree i decided to learn how to use various 3D programs, such as Cinema 4D and 3D Studio Max, in which i could create renders to manipulate in Photoshop and then crop a certain part to use as a banner or the render as a splash entrance to a website. Realising this was all a bit unprofessional in the end i started to take use-ability as a much higher priority than just looking flashy.
With the help of this course i hope to further improve my design skills with adobe Photoshop and vastly improve the coding side of my websites, as this has always been the greatest weakness of mine; having friends who are expert coders in the past has allowed me to stick to what i do best, design. After my two years are done here, i plan to finish the 3rd year at Huddersfield University and attain my BA Honours in the subject.
After this is done i will hope to get a job in a small but well known design company somewhere in the country, recognised for superior quality work to other that is produced in the word of design. This will only be achievable through hard work and determination from my part, having consistently good work whilst meeting deadlines and doing outside projects often.
Saturday 8 September 2007
Designer's Manifesto - Part One
What Separates a Good Designer from a Great Designer
Whilst getting ready this morning, i was thinking about this blog and what i would eventually post on it when i got round to it, deciding my first post needed to be abit of an eye catcher. So i brainstormed what would be a good opening statement, a question sprung to mind after looking at myself, other designers and the work produced by all.
In my opinion there is just two things that separate good designers from great designers:-
The first of these being passion; there are alot of designers around.. actually a hell of a lot of designers that simply see the world of creation, visual communication as a job, just a job. There is no real drive, they do not strive to improve, happy with just a pay check and being able to have the title of 'Website Designer' or something likewise as it seems nowadays that's the 'cool thing to do', everyone wants to be arty these days. Of course this is all because we live in a fashion driven society and everyone is affected, there is not a person in the world that can say they do not care about fashion on some level, know one likes a liar, so don't.
'Passion is the key' to producing amazing work, without passion you will never strive for perfection, you will never have anything more than just money to drive your ambitions (yes money is a good source of drive) but it won't take you as far as passion will. Intrinsic rewards have a far greater effect on your person than extrinsic ones do. Passion is the fire inside that simple money can't compare to, look at all the great historical artists.. most lived in poverty because the drive to be able to do create was more than the lure of easy money.
The second would be a 'designers eye'; this term is tossed around alot in every level of design and not soley used for the 'fashion industry' as some misconceptions would have you believe. A 'designers eye' is in everything that requires colour and some-sort of planning. Simply looking at a designer would give you some idea of the level he is at, yeah anyone can be program wizards and know every little trick in the book, create flawless work.. but if the level of creativity is not there, then you won't go any further; you have reached your peak. Looking at a designer and seeing if the colours he is wearing go together well, the styes of his clothes match, if he is up with the latest trends..etc because there is not only trends in the fashion world, there's trends in all design, things go out of favour.. things come in all the time, like over the past few years grunge/techo has flittered out and in, but there is on thing that will stay consistent, a designer with the 'eye' will always produce great work. Avant-garde you can also see in the way someone dresses, therefore you can tell that they would be likely to experiment in other ways, using design as an outlet for this.
Whilst trying not to over use the term 'designers eye', if you have it.. the possibilities are endless, you could create anything, you find simple things easier, colours, layouts, typography and general knowing what looks good & what doesn't. Having a designers eye is probably the main difference between great work and average work, the people that have it are the ones that win awards, the ones that get the recognition in the design world, the ones that in the end, make the real money and have a real job satisfaction.
To be continued...
Whilst getting ready this morning, i was thinking about this blog and what i would eventually post on it when i got round to it, deciding my first post needed to be abit of an eye catcher. So i brainstormed what would be a good opening statement, a question sprung to mind after looking at myself, other designers and the work produced by all.
In my opinion there is just two things that separate good designers from great designers:-
The first of these being passion; there are alot of designers around.. actually a hell of a lot of designers that simply see the world of creation, visual communication as a job, just a job. There is no real drive, they do not strive to improve, happy with just a pay check and being able to have the title of 'Website Designer' or something likewise as it seems nowadays that's the 'cool thing to do', everyone wants to be arty these days. Of course this is all because we live in a fashion driven society and everyone is affected, there is not a person in the world that can say they do not care about fashion on some level, know one likes a liar, so don't.
'Passion is the key' to producing amazing work, without passion you will never strive for perfection, you will never have anything more than just money to drive your ambitions (yes money is a good source of drive) but it won't take you as far as passion will. Intrinsic rewards have a far greater effect on your person than extrinsic ones do. Passion is the fire inside that simple money can't compare to, look at all the great historical artists.. most lived in poverty because the drive to be able to do create was more than the lure of easy money.
The second would be a 'designers eye'; this term is tossed around alot in every level of design and not soley used for the 'fashion industry' as some misconceptions would have you believe. A 'designers eye' is in everything that requires colour and some-sort of planning. Simply looking at a designer would give you some idea of the level he is at, yeah anyone can be program wizards and know every little trick in the book, create flawless work.. but if the level of creativity is not there, then you won't go any further; you have reached your peak. Looking at a designer and seeing if the colours he is wearing go together well, the styes of his clothes match, if he is up with the latest trends..etc because there is not only trends in the fashion world, there's trends in all design, things go out of favour.. things come in all the time, like over the past few years grunge/techo has flittered out and in, but there is on thing that will stay consistent, a designer with the 'eye' will always produce great work. Avant-garde you can also see in the way someone dresses, therefore you can tell that they would be likely to experiment in other ways, using design as an outlet for this.
Whilst trying not to over use the term 'designers eye', if you have it.. the possibilities are endless, you could create anything, you find simple things easier, colours, layouts, typography and general knowing what looks good & what doesn't. Having a designers eye is probably the main difference between great work and average work, the people that have it are the ones that win awards, the ones that get the recognition in the design world, the ones that in the end, make the real money and have a real job satisfaction.
To be continued...
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