Friday, 21 October 2011

PPD - Study Task 1 - Response

Identify and explain 5 reasons why you chose to study on this programme. 

1) As it is a specialised art college, I knew I'd be surrounded by like-minded students who were all studying something creative.

2) Due to the small numbers on the course as opposed to the hundreds on other courses, there is a lot of tutor contact, plus it's nice to know everyone on your course.

3) I was inspired by the past graduates works and their work was something I aspired to work towards. The percentage of graduates leaving university and getting a job in the design field immediately attracted me to the course as I knew the tutors and the course itself would help me prepare for industry.

4) Links with networks such as D&AD highlighted its links with industry (as referenced above).

5) The extensive range of facilities were far better than any other university I saw.


Identify and explain 5 things that you want to learn during your time on the programme.  

1) Although I am more comfortable and familiar with computer generated imagery, I want to develop my hand-rendered skills as I am pretty useless and I know it will help me with idea generation.

2) I want to learn how to promote myself as a designer through pricing strategies, invoices and generally getting my work out there. I have a website which features a selection of my work but I'd liked to know how to promote this outside of social networking sites - for example, should I email studios with my work?

3) To know who I am as a designer and what skills I want to specialise in. I'm not too sure what area of design I want to focus in as currently, I have a passion for both print and web. Maybe I could try and get other perspectives on my work to see whether I am heading down a certain route or not and whether I need to focus on something in particular.

4) I have only had a screen-printing workshop therefore I definitely want to try and put this into to practice. I want to look at other printing processes to expand my knowledge on what can be achieved and how.

5) I only briefly covered software used for design for screen (Dreamweaver, Flash, After Effects) so I want to try and learn the ins and outs of these in more depth - especially Dreamweaver as my coding knowledge is next to none. I'd like to design and code my website in the future as previously, I had to ask a friend to code and publish my design.


Identify and explain 5 skills that you think are your strengths.  

1) I think my main skills lie with computer software (in terms of design for print - Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign) as it was covered extensively on my National Diploma course.

2) I believe I am quite methodical in my work in terms of layout and composition and believe this has helped me to stay organised in general, also.

3) I work well independently.

4) I am motivated and passionate

5) Attention to detail


Identify and explain 5 things that you want to improve.  

1) Although I am more comfortable and familiar with computer generated imagery, I want to develop my hand-rendered skills as I am pretty useless and I know it will help me with idea generation.

2) Experiment with a diverse range of design ideas and avoid focusing on one idea. I want to explore many possible directions to cover a thorough body of work as opposed to limiting myself to one concept.

3) I lack in presentation skills therefore this is something I definitely want to improve. These skills are essential for client communication and although I have worked on web design projects with clients before, this was predominantly done via e-mail and not face-to-face.

4) I have only had a screen-printing workshop therefore I definitely want to try and put this into to practice.

5) Decision making and concept development.


Identify and explain 5 ways that you will evaluate your progress.  

1) Throughout the design process, I will try and get feedback from peers, tutors and also friends outside of my course to get a 'non-design' perspective on my work.

2) Always create to-do lists, whether this is for a short space of time or for the rest of the year; this will help me stay organised and keep on track.

3) Constantly review my work throughout the design process and document this on my blog. I will reflect on these during the later stages of a project to see whether I have fulfilled what I wanted to achieve and if not, work on these.

4) Look at my work from the 1st year and see what I did wrong, what I did right and how I can improve in the second year.

5) Work on the points outlined in my PPD presentation (and 1st ever task) from the 1st year.


Identify 5 questions that you want to find the answer to.

1) How do I go about contacting studios regarding visits/summer placements/feedback on my work - I feel as if I'd be wasting their time.

2) This has probably been asked hundreds of times before but what is an average salary for a junior graphic designer and does it vary on location?

3) What area of design am I more suited towards? I find it hard to review my own work as a whole.

4) How much should I charge for freelance projects?

5) Would it be beneficial to gain industry experience in studios after I graduate before I think about going freelance/setting up my own studio, for example.

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