Commisioned Photoshoot.

Leeds College of Art Website. 

On Tuesday 18th January 2011, I was asked by the marketing team based at my University to partake in a photoshoot to create a couple of promotional images to celebrate the fund raising that BA (Hons) student Hannah had promoted by auctioned a coat which she designed and hand-crafted. 

As a student ambassador with a keen interest in photography, I happily took the oppurtunity to experiment with my hobby, and perhaps gain a little knowledge and experience- as well as hopefully benefiting Hannah and the marketing team too.

I would say that the experience was...mixed. There were many unavoidable, yet unforseen troubles in regards to lighting, relfections and the dullness of photographs due to the location they were requested to be taken in, and there were only a small handful that I would necessarily have used. However, if was a fun experience to work with someone new and completely unknown to me (the model Kate was wonderful, and clearly a natural!), and I would certainly like to partake in a venture like this again, if I were required, as it has given me further insight and an even greater thirst to persue this particular field of design.

Time Management: Feedback and Response.

In today's time mangament lesson, we discussed our week and how we had spent it- how we used time constructively, and how we wasted it.

I found the task really interesting, and was surprised by my records- especially the amount I sleep...I swear I'm not normally THAT lazy...

Topics we discussed included...

PLANNING

*set goals

*break down a job into individual tasks

*schedule tasks

*recognise time required to plan

*label priorities 'A' and others 'B'- do all the 'A's' first

*Leave the fun things until last

*REWARD YOURSELF

WHAT YOU CAN GAIN FROM MANAGING YOUR TIME WELL...

*happiness

*completion of tasks

*relief!

*more time for recreation

*wellbeing

*organisation

*more naps!

Hints and Tips:

*Be realistic- learn what your potential is. If anything will take 5 minutes- do it immediately

*Make self-imposed deadlines feel real- use others to structure your time

*Take breaks, avoid disctractionns, know the difference

*Working environment- what suits you?

*Restrict workspace to one project at a time

LONG TERM GOALS

-WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE BY THE END OF THIS COURSE?

I would like to be confident and comfortable in my own abilities- feeling that I have more of a directional style, and the ability to apply it to various medias, as well as promoting it to the very best of my ability.

-DO YOU WANT TO RUN YOUR OWN PRACTICE/BUSINESS?

I would love to work freelance- I love the possibilities it can open up, and the sense of freedom.

So many people I know around me tell me to be wary of it, or avoid it all together- "it's not a steady source of income- you might not get work for a long time"...i like a challenge.

-WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL JOB?

Right now, I want to be a children's book author and illustrator. That's what I've wanted to do for most of my life, but then again i've wanted to be a neurologist and a beekeeper too, so I'm flexible.

-DO YOU WANT TO WORK IN THIS COUNTRY OR ABROAD?

There's no place like home, but home is where the heart is. I'd love to stay in this country, but I'll go to wherever my heart and mind tell me I should be jetting off to.

-WHAT SPECIFIC INTERESTS ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU?

There are so many practices, and even day-to-day activities which are hugely important and influentual on my every day life. Love, laughter, childhood reminising- they are all a huge inspiration. I want to feel content with what I'm doing each day, no matter what it is.

Right now, that's illustration and photography...but ask me again in three years or so.

Time Management: My Week in a Blog.

Saturday 15th January 2011.

* 00:00-00:30 blogging

* 00:30-01:00 excersing

* 01:00-01:40 reading

* 01:40- 10:00 sleeping (!)

* 10:00-10:30 shower

* 10:30- 11:00 dressed and make-up

* 11:00- 11:08 eating breakfast

* 11:08-12:05 curling hair

* 12:05-12:25 tidying and cleaning kitchen

* 12:25-12:48 cooking lunch

* 12:48-13:00 eating lunch

* 13:00- 13:30 playing guitar

*13:30- 15:40 graphics work and blogging

*15:40-16:15 tidying up room, getting ready to go out

*16:15-16:45 walk to the train station

*17:00 train leaves (to Burley Park)

*17:10 arrive in Burley Park to go to partner's house

*17:30 eat tea

*18:00-21:00 graphics work (researching celebrity moustaches)

*21:00-21:30 playing accordian with Alex

*21:30-22:30 watched Pete Pothleswaite tribute- iplayer

*22:30- 08:40 SLEEP!

Sunday 16th January 2011.

*08:40-09:15 get up, ready, changed, make-up

*09:15-10:10 breakfast

*10:10-10:20 walk to the train station

*10:20-10:50- train back, walk home

*10:50-11:05 catch-up on e-mails

*11:05-13:40 visual language graphics work

*13:40-13:50 eating lunch

*13:50-15:00 visual language graphics work

*15:00-15:30 hoovering and tidying

*15:30-16:00 e-mail catch-up

*16:00-17:30 blogging

*17:30-18:20 tea

*18:20-21:05 graphics visual language work

*21:05- 21:40 tea break

*21:40-23:50 graphics visual language work

*23:50-00:30 tidying room, getting ready for bed, etc

*00:30-01:50 curling hair

*01:50-07:25 SLEEP!

Monday 17th January 2011.

*07:25-08:15 getting dressed, make-up,breakfast, etc

*08:15-08:45 walk to uni 

*09:30 project briefing with fred

*10:40 morning break

*11:00 workshop with amber

*12:00 lunch

*12:30 e-mailing, blogging

*13:30 go to waterstone's- primary research, existing products

*15:30 back home

*15:40 blogging

*16:00 washing plates making tea (for break)

*17:00 tea time

*17:50-12:40 blogging

*12:40-01:50 curling hair

*01:50-07:30 SLEEP(!)

Tuesday 18th January 2011.

*07:30- wake up, get changed, etc. breakfast

*08:20- leave house for uni

*08:45- arrive at uni

*09:00- collect camera equipment from photography

*09:15 blogging and visual langauge graphics work

*10:00- talking to marketing at uni, photography commission

*10:30- visual language graphics work

*11:20- tutorial with Richard Miles

*12:00- lunch

*12:30- blogging

*13:00- visual language lesson with Amber

*15:00- end of uni day 

*16:10- collect photographic equipment

*16:15-17:30- photoshoot for LCA fashion and promotions

*18:00- walk home, tea time

*18:20- working at Nisa (part-time job)

*00:45- get home, editing photographs from fashion shoot

*04:30- SLEEP(!)

Wednesday 19th January 2011.

*08:45- wake up

*08:45-09:45- shower, get dressed, eat breakfast

*10:00- go to Merrion Centre 3 store to renew phone contract

*11:00- Morrison's food shopping, walk back home

*12:00- walk to uni

*12:30-12:45- talking to Baljeet in the graphics studio

*12:45-15:45- interviewing potential students for 2010/11 enrollment (student ambassador duties)

*16:00- walk home

*17:00- cooking and preperating tea

*18:30- alex staying over

*19:30- blogging and catching-up on graphics work for collection 100 plus other briefs.

*22:30- 08:00- SLEEP (!)

Thursday 20th January 2011.

*08:00- wake up

*08:45- leave for uni

*09:30-12:00- moving image workshop

*12:00-12:30- lunch

*12:30-13:00- collecting photography equipment

*13:30- walk back home 

*13:45-14:15- blogging

*14:15- 14:30- snack break(!)

*14:30-20:00- blogging/graphics work

*20:00-20:45- shower

*20:45-21:15- tidy bedroom

*21:15-21:30- eating tea

*21:30- 00:10- blogging

*00:15-07:15 SLEEP (!)

Friday 21st January 2011.

*07:15-08:10- blogging, get ready, dressed, etc.

*08:10-08:20- breakfast

*08:20- leave for uni

*08:40- arrive at uni, blogging

Time Management.

In today's PPD morning session, we reviewed our personal time management, and calculated how our time was spent in an average day, or week.

My time is divided, as follows...

Activities

College Activities

-Walking to-and-from uni- 40 minutes per day.

-Time working in the studio/mac suite/library (7 hours per day).

-Working on uni work at home (7 hours per day).

Domestic Activities

-Food Shopping (1 hour per week).

-Cleaning and hoovering kitchen and bedroom (2 hours per week).

-Washing and ironing (3 hours per week).

-Eating! (9 hours per week).

-Washing and drying up dishes (2 hours per week).

Social Activities

-Boyfriend time! (one eveing per week- usually at weekends).

-Ringing parents (1 hour per week).

-SLEEP! (upto 25 hours per week).

Other

-Working 12 hours per week part time at Nisa local.

-Working up to 12 hours per week at LCA (student ambassador)

-Photography shoots- up to 10/15 hours per week.

-Etsy sales- promotion and distribution, up to 2 hours per week.

Time dedicated to college activities:

1. Time with friends: 10%

2. Blogging 20%

3. CTS and tutorials 10%

4. Visual langauge 15%

5. Briefings 10%

6. Collecting camera equiptment(!) 10%

7. Eating lunch 2%

8. PPD 5%

9. Computer-aided design 17%

Time dedicated to general activities:

1. Uni Work 25%

2. Cleaning and home 10%

3. Part-Time Employment 20%

4. Eats and treats 10%

5. The weekly shop 5%

6. Time with loved ones 10%

7. 40 winks 5%

8. Online sales 5%

9. Creativity strikes 10%

My task for next week is now to go on to record my actions of every single way for the next seven days- therefore, gaining a true insight into how I spend my time, how I procrasinate, when I procrasinate, and how I can put a stop to it, and achieve the best results I possibly can in my work!

What If...Self Evaluation.

What problem did you identify?

Our group had reasonably similar statements when initially put together, circulating around the idea that Leeds is flourishing with prospects and oppurtunities for though seeking a metropolitan lifestyle, developed from the research we gathered in the "collection 100" research brief. We decided that we wanted to take this positivity and apply it further to our "problem", which was "What makes Leeds a fun and vibrant place to live?", going on to decide that we should attempt to promote these fun and vibrant aspects to people whom live outside of the city, or may move in (such as prospective students).

What evidence did you find to support your decisions?

We collected quantative and qualitative survey-based repsonses, photographic documentation and secondary source opinions on particular aspects of Leeds.

What methods did you use to gather your evidence and what form(s) did it take?

We collected various forms of research- both quantative and qualitative.

Kirsty organised an online survey to find out what people felt the most important aspect of Leeds was, to which we recieved 97 responses with mutliple-choice answers (including nightlife, shopping, entertainment, education and business).

I also posted a paper-based survey (with the same questions) among my student halls to which I gained a few responses, as well as going out to the city, documenting places photographically and experiencing the entertainment facilities (which we would go on to focus on) to give a genuine and truthful review.

What methods of research did you find useful and why?

The research we undoubtedly found most useful was the online questionnaire/survey. The vast number of responses we got in such a short space of time was really satisfying as it gave us a great springboard for analysis to develop our project further.

How did these inform your response to your problem?

They led us on to being able to discover which aspect of Leeds required most advertising and promoting. In our case, the two aspects of Leeds deemed as least important were business and entertainment, therefore, we decided upon entertainment, as we felt this would offer the most scope and oppurtunity to develop to a particular audience (we chose students).

What methods did you encounter problematic and why? How did you overcome this?

The paper-based research was perhaps the most problematic. I had originally intended to also go into the public and ask people's opinions in relation to the questionnaire, however, after a few hours I found that people were very un-recptive and un-willing to answer my questions (particularly on a snowy winters day!). The paper-based questionnaires were troublesome because of the lack of responses we recieved- of course, as it was voluntary and we didn't personally approach these people, the responses were going to purely be generated from good will and dependent on whether people had time in their lives, etc, thus, we gained very few responses.

What research could you have carried out that would have proved more useful?

I think perhaps just directing our questionnaire at a more specific audience- perhaps asking both student Loiners (natives of Leeds) and prospective student Loiners- gaining both a concieved and pre-concieved viewpoint to find out whether our entertainment promoting would have longevity and stand the test of time once the students had infact moved to the city.

List 5 things that you learnt about the design process in the past two weeks:

1. Defining different types of research to a more defined level- seperating primary and secondary source research into being either quantative or qualitative (numerical, statistical, factual or opinions-based).

2. How communication with the public through face-to-face interaction and online networking can really enrich your work as you develop a much wider overview of thoughts and opinions.

3. How to interact properly within a design group- how communication helps with branding and consitency through your designs.

4. How to create a simple stop motion video.

5. How to successfully utilise my skills, whilst complementing others in a group working environment.

List 5 things you would do differently next time:

1. Communicate even more- that way we could have perhaps developed our ideas and research further.

2. Designated roles and "responsibilities" within our group at an earlier stage.

3. Express opinions to the group at an earlier stage to ensure that everyone's opinions and thoughts are considered in the design process.

4. Constantly plan and organise myself so I can ensure I don't hold back progress of the group in any way.

5. Be even more involved in the public sector- don't be afraid to confront people (in a positive way, of course!). The worst they can do is make you turn away.

End of Module Self-Evaluation.

Module Code: OUDG101

Module Title: Design Principles

End of module self-evaluation.

Name: Sophie Wilson

Blog address: http://s-wilson1013-dp.blogspot.com/

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

Although I know I will always be critical of my work (and rightly so!), I must admit that I am astounded at just how much I have learnt through this module so far. Before I enrolled on this course, graphics, admittedly, was fairly new to me in terms of practice and theory especially- I had no idea how to use specific graphics-orientated software, such as adobe illustrator, and had never learnt the basic anatomical features of typography. Through these past two months I have learnt more about this practice than I learnt throughout my entire two years at college.

One of the most valuable things I have come to learn and practice is the direct, industry-influenced deadlines and projects set- never before having week, or two week projects (they would, in the past, have been at least a couple of months!)- i have definately begun to understand and appreciate how important time management is in this field of work, and not only practice this, but now anticipate it- I have begun to really enjoy the challenge of this time management pressure, and although my outcomes have not always been as successful as I would have liked, I can definately say that I have learnt something from them, and this is really helping me to develop my work.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

I feel that I have really broadend my outlook and view on design- now, more than ever, I am on a constant look-out for design and craft- developing a personal taste, through my design context blog, and everyday life, and am always evaluating what colours work, which don't- it now feels like a second nature!

I have always enjoyed the research process- discovering new designers, scouring through back-editions of magazines, and reading up in library chronologies, so for me, this particular area of study is certainly a pleasure and not a pain!

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capatalise on these?

I think my determination and comittment is one of my greatest strengths with the quantity of work I produce- although I will undoubtedly always feel that there is something more I could have done, always a design experimentation that I didn't quite have time to do, I feel very pleased with my perseverance in my projects, and I hope that my skills experience will soon catch-up, and therefore, follow suit.

4. What weaknesses can you identify and how will you address these more fully?

As aforementioned above, I think that my greatest weakness is the quality of work I produce. Although I of course try my hardest at all times in the final product(s) that I create, I certainly feel that my experience of software is lacking in comparison to the rest of my form group. I have taken certain steps towards ammending this, such as personal sessions on the adobe illustrator workshop, teaching myself a vast amount of what I now know, and these sessions, and personal practice have made me feel a lot more confident with my future progress, and I hope that this feeling continues, and becomes evident within my work.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time, and what you will expect to gain from doing these?

1. Consider and plan my processes before I persue them: I have found myself "re-visiting" a lot of design ideas mid-way through projects- if I give more consideration at the start, this will save a lot of time in the long run.

2. Practice my software skills: Practice during any free time I will have to develop a deeper understand and practice, again, this will definately prove a time-saver in the long run.

3. Develop more of a self-evaluation throughout my projects: this will help me to realise problems at an earlier stage, and be able to produce a higher quanity and quality of work within the resolutions. 

4. Experiment more with methods and techniques- both in practice and free time, to develop and understand what I believe to be a personal style, and to gain experience of all the processes available.

5. Develop work directly inspired by others: whether it's a personal like or dislike, this will give me a much wider view of the practice and tastes in graphic design, and help to keep my mind more unbiased and open to new ideas and aesthetics.

6. How would you grace yourself on the following areas? :

5= excellent

4= very good

3= good

2= average

1= poor

Attendance: 4

Punctuality: 4

Motivation: 4

Commitment: 5

Quantity of work produced: 4

Quality of work produced: 3

Contribution to the group: 4

Alphabet Soup: Typographic Re-Design.

In response to feedback, I have begun to re-evaluate and revise my Alpahabet Soup typography design, inspired by Chloe's personal tastes and interests.

Although the critiqueing gave me the feedback and opinions that perhaps my designs were too elaborate (and therefore not communicating as effectively as they could), the basis of the design was still solid and promising- particularly the letterforms which I based my designs upon- and therefore, decided to go back to this point, and reviewed and analysed a few more font series of the same style (traditional, serif) to work with.

The font above: felix titling font through adobe illustrator- classic, bold- unusual curvature to the glyphs- the question mark and ampersand don't really look as if they come from the same series?

Arabic Typesetting typeface- fluid, smooth lines- really like this typeface, though perhaps too much empahsis on the serifs- quite bold in comparison to the curvature of the bowls, counters, etc?...

Andalus Regular- A bit too "OTT" in the italic style of the glyphs.
 

Andalus Lowercase Regular- I prefer this lowercase style to the uppercase above, but I still find the italics a little uneccesary and elaborate for Chloe's traditionalist, straight-forward personality.

Century Schoolbook lowercase- definately my favourite typeface, and, of course, the lowercase version that I used for Chloe's original, though, unusually, this is the first time I have used it (Chloe originally stated her preference for uppercase- but perhaps it is time I went against her request, for the purposes of experimentation, of course!)

After several experiements with the century schoolbook lowercase typeface, I am pleased with my final design I have created (directly above), in a style which, in reflection, I believe suits Chloe a lot more than my original design, and infact refelecting on this re-evaluation experience- a classical style with two very different sides- shown in both her personality and used in my colouring contrast of black and white tones, weight of line, etc...