Lists

List 5 things a first year needs to know?

1) Book digital print in advance
2) Keep your blog up to date
3) Know what facilities are available and when to book workshops
4) Prepare to fail
5) The workload is more than you expect

List 5 problems a first year will encounter?

1) Lack of money
2) Limited amounts of sleep
3) Poor diet
4) Lack of time
5) Not being pleased with your designs

List 5 rules a first year needs to learn.

1) Be on time.
2) Find a shortcut to uni
3) Be organised
4) Buy a mac
5) Don't yawn

Speaking from Experience - Final Crit Feedback

Very helpful feedback - they suggested I needed some brief insturctions, however, into how the site can be navigated (though this was hindered by the fact I had only one page fully interactive) therefore I will make sure I incorporate this into the home page.

The speaking from experience brief has been one of the most enjoyable I've had - allowing me to encompass all the skills I have learnt so far and showcasing what sort of designer I want to be. The progress crits throughout have allowed me to explore routes/aspects I would have otherwise ignored and made me reflect on the design process as a whole. Although I could have explored various other media, techniques and processes (ones that I am not so familar with), I am pleased with the resolution and hopefully it would be something the 1st year students would benefit from.

Speaking from Experience - Progress Crit

The progress crit went well as everyone seemed to like the idea. However, it was suggested I could push the concept further, creating signage around the college. I originally planned on doing this but got sidetracked with the interactive website. I will need to choose a set colour palette as currently, I have one, individual colour per facility/resource. However, I decided in the crit to have all general resources i.e. Toilets, canteen, first aid, reception etc in dark grey and the main design facilities in their own unique colour. This will be referenced in the signage around the college in order to keep a consistent corporate identity. 

I will now explore various design ideas for guides and signs to plaster all over college using the icons I have already produced and the same design aesthetics as the website.

Speaking from Experience - Progress crit

The progress crit provided me various directions I could take my concept in. As I wanted to devise a handbook consisting of a basic introduction to each facility/resource/area of college alongside a gallery of work, timetables, pricing etc, they suggested that I needed to simplify the content.

It was noted that the icons could be used as signage around college to help first year students find their way around college during their first couple of weeks of term. The current signage is not as clear or direct - it simply states a room number; and many people in the crit said they never used these but had instead, asked others to guide them. Perhaps I could create a more refined handbook using signage as the main concept whilst still incorporating a brief introduction as to what each facility/resource is and how it can benefit first year graphic design students.

Concept boards explaining the concept, content and method of delivery:

Speaking from Experience - Workshop

For the 'Speaking from experience' workshop, we were required to bring 5 examples of problems we've faced since accepting a place on the course; 5 things we wanted to create and 5 subjects/concepts we wanted to explore (as outlined in a previous post). Me and chris initially worked together to discuss these ideas and decide which had the most potential. After 5 were chosen, we were then asked of 5 ways of solving each of these individual problems. To explore these in more depth once again, we were asked to think of 5 deliverables for each of these problem solving ideas.

After devising an extensive idea sheet, we needed to pick 2 to form two different rationales. This was given to someone else chosen at random, in this case, Liv to then analyse and provide another perspective on our idea. One idea Liv suggested was a poster series indicating what process has been took for it to be printed; such as 'This was screen printed' etc.

The two ideas were as follows: