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.
