TASK 2 - Group Tutorial Prep

WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE

Industrial Experience is a chance for students to explore and test out different design workplaces and design areas and to see if they would want to work professionally in them. It is a chance for them to see how graphic design is in a work place
Some of the areas you can go into are;

• Web / Screen based design
• Typography
• Print based design
• Packaging
• Promotion
• Advertising
• Publishing
• Editorial
• Branding
• Identity
• Environmental Design

WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE

Industrial Experience is a chance to try out and gain a true understanding of how a graphic design work place will work. It is a chance to make contacts and start networking as well as brief insight into working with others on a professional level. It is a chance to ask questions, fill in the gaps in your knowledge and also learn about other areas within the industry you go into such as the legals and copyright. You can get hands on experience with working with clients, and depending on where you get this industrial experience it is a chance to work with clients all over the world. Though this, you can learn the demands and expectations as wells a the stages of designing for clients.

WHAT FORM / FORMAT COULD INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE TAKE

The industrial experience could take place either in the UK or abroad. Depending on what area you are interested and your ambitions will depends on the size of the company / studio.
You may chose to work along side a free-lancer, of a small studio, but you could also get a place in a large company that deals with big clients.
This experience could last from between 1 and 3 weeks, depending on your timings and their schedule.

WHAT AREAS OF INDUSTRIAL ARE YOU INTERESTED IN.

I am interested in design for print after enjoying module OUGD201 so much. It is a very broad but very exiting industry. In particular I am drawn to Packaging and Promotion of products, however I still want to work in Branding and Identity. If I could, I would also like to have an industrial experience in Publishing and Editorial as I have a love for type and layout.

WHAT ARE YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE.

Firstly my concerns are about finding Industrial Experience, both here and abroad. Also I am concerned adapting to the Graphic Design industry and meeting their demands and expectations. I am worried that my lack of experience and knowledge in comparison to current employed designers will hold me back or make me feel out of place. I am also concerned about my designs being liked / accepted and that the clients I work with will be satisfied.

Enterprise session - Plan sheet

OUGD201 END OF MODULE EVALUATION

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

I have learnt how to successfully develop a brand and identity for a concept from scratch and the processes I need to go through to achieve this. From this skill it has meant that my hand skills have greatly improved and my ability to produce thumbnails of logos at speed. My software skills have greatly improved. I am now able to use the Adobe programs in a more professional manner; colours, layout and pre-flight checks. My research ability has improved, I have learnt to think beyond the main subject that I am researching to all the different surrounding subjects (strands of information) that are connected to my ‘good’, hence having a broader understanding and a better ability to develop a successful idea. I have a better skill designing for print and talking to printers; through visiting the printers, Lorenzo’s seminars and producing the Top 10 Manual I have a clear working process and understanding of what you need to consider and know before you even start designing for print e.g. stock, printer type, number of copies, bindings, finishes and costs.

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

I have a better understanding of the process and elements I need to talk about and plan before I start designing for print. I need to know where I want my design to be, how many copies I need printed, what print process it is going to be printed through, the costs, the stock and the finishes. I have learnt that all of these factors will greatly affect the outcome of your print e.g. the stock can make or break your design, it is one of the most important things to plan before you start designing. I have learnt how to make your concept and rationale watertight; this makes your design process more effective, direct and well planned.

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

Through the studio tasks I have learnt to research and evaluate more effectively. Last year relied heavily on information and designs from the Internet but this year the majority of my design for print has comes from various books from the library. This has greatly increased my awareness and knowledge of print and their processes and techniques have really helped my design strategies. My development of branding and Identity have greatly improved, throughout this module I was constantly making changes and improving my brand design and logo until I was completely happy with it and content that my brand was appropriate and accurate at representing my Good. I have really enjoyed every part of this module, I have become really motivated in my work and as a result I am producing a much better quality and quantity of work.

What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?

I still feel that the tone of voice and content of my promotional work can be greatly improved. I think that I need to condense the information and make it more appropriate to my target audience. Furthermore, although I had a target audience, I still feel that it was too broad and I constantly need to make reference to who this audience is, where I can target them and how I can make my designs successfully stand out and catch their attention. Although I feel my time management has vastly improved since first year, I still have found that I need to plan daily targets and then evaluate how well I have conformed to these.

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

1.     Planning ahead – at the start of the module I didn’t plan ahead enough in relation to what I need to consider before I start designing.

2.     Target audience – although I initially felt that I defined my target audience, I feel that for the next module I need to clearly define this, and how other designers have caught their eye in terms of design materials, language and context.

3.     Resources – I need to make the most of the college resources earlier on in the module e.g. screen print and letter press. I think that this would have provided me with more opportunities and exploitation of print processes.

4.     Time management – this has greatly improved since last year but I feel that I spent too much of my time researching which ate into my designing and process experimentation time.

5.     Blogging – this is another area where I have improved in however I need to make sure that I evaluate and write down every part of my thought process. As a part of the evaluation process, I feel that I need to talk to the tutors more about my work in the studio development sessions.

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					x
Punctuality					x
Motivation				x
Commitment				x
Quantity of work produced			x
Quality of work produced			x
Contribution to the group				x

GOOD IS // FINAL CRIT FEEDBACK

PPD session with John

GOOD IS // PROGRESS CRIT FEEDBACK

PPD SESSION - JOHN

Graphic Designers // Packaging

http://www.dexigner.com/directory/cat/Packaging-Design/Companies.html

PROGRESS TUTORIAL FEEDBACK

GOOD IS // PROGRESS CRIT FEEDBACK

TASK 1 - Group Tutorial Prep

Record your responses to the following questions ahead of the group tutorials after reading week.
Identify are least 5 responses to each question and find appropriate primary and secondary sources of information (including visual material) that will support your findings. You will need these at the groupd tutorial and will form the basis of for group discussions.
Use your findings to develop initial ideas about your own views, opinions, aim and ambitions and relation to industrial experience, internships and/or work placement opportunities.
Summarise your research in a set of 10 short but qualified statements and post them to your blog.
You opinions should be supported by appropriate contextual and visual references to contemporary practice.

1. What is Industrial Experience?
2. What can you learn from Industrial Experience?
3. What form/format could industrial experience take?
4. What areas of industry are you interested in
5. What are your concerns about industrial experience. 

Task 1 - 'Why am I here - What do I want to learn?

IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN 5 REASONS WHY YOU CHOSE TO STUDY ON THIS PROGRAM

1. Interest in Graphic Design; however I didn't know what I wanted to do with it, this course is helping me find out what my strengths are rather than just being taught about the subject, it is providing me with experiences and projects which I both like and dislike to help identify my areas of strength and weakness. 
2. DETAILED COURSE - the course provided more information and teaching in areas of graphic design in comparison to other courses
3. CURRENT DESIGNING - many other courses, the modules were more about the history of graphic design, and a lot of theory work was involved whereas this course was more hands on, current and practical in relevance what we will need for when we leave
4. PREPARATION FOR JOB - this course provides a better understanding and preparation for going straight into a Graphic Design job straight from university and understandings in how to build a business, charge your rate, talk to printer etc
5. INSPIRATION - student, tutors, surrounding of LCA was all inspirations, being situated in place which is totally about Art and Design keeps you in a creative mind (rather that being mixed in with Academic students at a main University (not college). Inspiration and constant motivation from the other students in other years. 

IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN 5 THINGS YOU WANT TO LEARN WHILE ON THIS PROGRAM

1. To gain a thorough understanding of Graphic Design as a business, how to manage myself in the working world
2. A detailed understanding of printing, how to talk to them, how to use the programs, and how to avoid making costly mistakes
3. How to be noticed when I leave LCA - how to catch the eye of the public and how to please my clients so that they will return for future commissions. 
4. TYPE & IMAGE - I haven't decided which one I want to specialise in at the moment, but I would love to have a thorough understanding of either one of these
5. Which type of Graphic Design industry I want to go into e.g. Packaging and Promotion, but also which type of company I will work best for.

IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN 5 SKILLS THAT YOU THINK ARE YOUR STRENGTHS

1. Spacial Awareness/Layout - the arrangement and distance of type/image on a page, the size of it, how they impact on each other etc. This is something I have always both been very aware of and enjoyed since starting the course. 
2. Tighter briefs - I find that when I am working to a brief with more specification I work better, I find that larger more open briefs I can get distracted from what I am being asked to do, or get the wrong idea, no matter how much I ask or think I understand
3. Shorter time constraints - the shorter the amount of time I have, the tighter I can make my time management and planning, I then can measure exactly how much I need to do in a hour, day, week. However I have found that anything longer than a week I can loose track and start to not push myself as much as I can. 
4. Type - currently I am stronger at choosing appropriate typefaces than other techniques, this is something I would like to keep as a strength but there are other area which I would like to focus on developing as well. 
5. idea generation from visual stimulus - I work better from researching images/typography styles rather than from reading from text

IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN 5 THINGS YOU WOULD LIKE TO IMPROVE

1. TIME MANAGEMENTS - especially with longer briefs; I want to be able to set my self goals within specific time limits and to be able to keep them. Not only this, I would like to constantly produce a good amount of work in the time limit provided
2. SOFTWARE - better understanding and skill in all the software, especially INDESIGN as this is where I am weakest, it will also help me produce better quality work. 
3. RESEARCH - I generally research my subject but then find one thing/idea that I like that get stuck on that which tends to impede on the rest of my reserach. Whilst constantly being told 'you can never do enough research'...I feel that by my 'locking' on one idea limits my research and closes me off to more beneficial ideas
4. QUALITY OF WORK - this is also helped through research, be influenced by other Graphic Designers out there, but the quality of work also comes through developing a style, this is something else I would like to improve. 
5. TONE OF VOICE/LANGUAGE - I have always found this area difficult, I find it difficult to know what to say which is appropriate to the audience, but also in the tone of voice that it is written so that it is relevent. This is key to producing good work. 

IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN 5 WAYS THAT YOU WILL EVALUATE YOUR PROGRESS

1. TIME MANAGEMENT - create timetables of what I want to achieve in time periods; tick and cross which ones I do and don't keep to, then as the days and weeks go by, compare them to see if there is any improvement
2. Talk to tutors - make sure that I am on track and doing what is asked of me, and if there are more improvements to be made that I haven't spotted
3. Compare my each current project to the previous one, see if and what the improvements and changes is to the quality and quantity of the work and research. 
4. PPD blog - keep a constant personal stream of posts on how I feel each project is going, good and bad. 
5. Talk to other people on the course - compare the amount and quality of what they have been doing per project, if it is not up to scratch then I know what to improve

IDENTIFY 5 QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANT TO FIND THE ANSWER TO

1. After graduating from LCA - what is the best place to get noticed
2. Portfolio requirements, what I need to improve
3. Salary - the different salaries for the different areas and types of Graphic Design
4. How long does it take to establish yourself and make a life out of being a Graphic Designer after leaving Uni
5. I know the % of students that are taken on in work placements/jobs straight out of uni, but how does this compare to other graduates from Graphic Design courses across the country. 

OUGD104 SELF EVAULATION

END OF MODULE EVALUATION OUGD104

1.     WHAT SKILLS HAVE YOU DEVELOPED THROUGH THIS MODULE AND HOW EFFECTIVELY DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE APPLIED THEM?

I found the colour theory work both very interesting and very useful. It has helped me within all my work. I still struggle at points to choose a good colour scheme, but I now have a better understanding of colour.  The other skill that I have developed is a better understanding in layout, type and grid. This was useful for the Indesign brief.

2.     WHAT APPROACHES TO/METHODS OF RESEARCH HAVE YOU DEVELOPED AND HOW HAVE THEY INFORMED YOUR DEISNG DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

The colour theory and the photography workshop helped use colour lighting, and taught me out to use an SLR properly. I now have a deeper understanding and skill in colour theory as well as a greater understanding of ways of presenting work e.g. the hot dog fold.

3.     WHAT STRENTHS CAN YOU IDENTIFY IN YOUR WORK AND HOW HAVE/WILL YOU CAPITALISE ON THESE?

Working with different methods of deliver

Colour theory has become strength in this module however I do feel that I need to keep exploring and experimenting with it because there is a lot of room for more improvement.

A better knowledge of type and grid has become a strength, having to experiment and reproduce a series of thumbnails replicating an article helped me greatly as I began to get the hang of it.

I really enjoyed the hotdog fold project, the whole process, learning a new way of presenting work and the design of it, although my book didn’t sell very well, I feel it was a more successful piece of my work.

4.     WHAT WEAKNESSES CAN YOU IDENTIFY IN YOUR WORK AND HOW WILL YOU ADDRESS THESE MORE FULLY?

Although the layout of type and grid is strength, one of my weaknesses is the using the measurement ruler/guide properly. I struggled with it in the seminars and I need to develop a proper understanding and skill to use it.

Research is still a weakness, as is time managing – these are two things I will always be trying to improve and perfect. 

5.     IDENTIFY 5 THINGS THAT YOU WILL DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME AND WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO GAIN FROM DOING THESE?

Time management

Exploring different stocks to print on

Experiment and research more into colour theory to give me a more in depth and sophisticated use of colour

Research quantity and quality

Type and Grid measuring

6.     HOW WOULD YOU GRADE YOURSELF ON THE FOLLOWING AREAS

a.     Attendance – 4

b.     Punctuality – 4

c.      Motivation – 4

d.     Commitment – 3

e.     Quantity of work produced – 3

f.      Quality of work produced – 3

g.     Contribution to group – 3

OUGD103 SELF-EVALUATION

END OF MODULE EVALUATION OUGD103

1.    WHAT SKILLS HAVE YOU DEVELOPED THROUGH THIS MODULE AND HOW EFFECTIVELY DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE APPLIED THEM?

I have learnt a range of skills, the main skill I have noticed is that my time management is improving. Furthermore, I am re-reading the brief over and over again to try and maintain a focus on the project as before I would not follow the brief specifically.  I have learnt the basics of Adobe InDesign

2.    WHAT APPROACHES TO/METHODS OF RESEARCH HAVE YOU DEVELOPED AND HOW HAVE THEY INFORMED YOUR DEISNG DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

I still have the same methods of research; to start with I always look for visual stimulus and other examples of work along the brief basis/title to help me get a sense of what I am doing. I still feel that I am not doing enough primary research which does affect the relevance and detail of the information within my project, and instead I get a little carried away with the idea generation and actual design of the projects.  When I conduct Primary research e.g. questionnaires, I think I need to be more specific in my questions as sometimes they can appear a little confusing, it is they way I write the questionnaires which needs work.

3.     WHAT STRENTHS CAN YOU IDENTIFY IN YOUR WORK AND HOW HAVE/WILL YOU CAPITALISE ON THESE?

Concept building is becoming more of a strength, and being a bit more daring with my ideas, although this still needs improvement. I feel my work is becoming more informative and I am a better colour scheme. As I wrote earlier, my time management and quantity of work is improving. Blogging – I am being much more pro-active about blogging, I am doing it as I go along.

4.     WHAT WEAKNESSES CAN YOU IDENTIFY IN YOUR WORK AND HOW WILL YOU ADDRESS THESE MORE FULLY?

Research; in both the quality and quantity. This is something I need to make a main focus in future projects and make sure that it is both relevant and informative. I need to explore working with different media e.g. stock, printing, embossing, video etc, because I currently feel that my work is quite limited and the final products could look more exiting if they were on a different stock. Blogging is still a weakness although it has improved – I need to explain and evaluate my work more and help people understand my ideas.

5.     IDENTIFY 5 THINGS THAT YOU WILL DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME AND WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO GAIN FROM DOING THESE?

RESEARCH – more of it and better quality and relevance

MEDIA – explore more ways of presenting work

IMAGE – I am working predominantly with type currently and I need to look into how I can develop my skills in image-based work

INDESIGN – because I missed the sessions which taught how to use the program I am a bit behind the rest of the year, I have a basic understanding and skill in the program but I need to focus on making the time and catching up.

6.     HOW WOULD YOU GRADE YOURSELF ON THE FOLLOWING AREAS

a.     Attendance – 3

b.     Punctuality – 4

c.      Motivation – 3

d.     Commitment – 3

e.     Quantity of work produced – 3

f.      Quality of work produced – 3

g.     Contribution to group – 2 (I was absent for most of the group work apart from FUNSHOP)

Communication is a Virus- Final Pieces

CONCEPT BOARDS

POSTERS

STICKERS

HOTDOG FOLD BOOKLET

BEER MATS

Desing is about doing - FInal Pieces

I think that the OPTIMISM poster was the most successful. I think that the least successful poster was the PESSIMISM poster. I tried to make it the opposite of the optimism poster because that is what pessimism is however I don't feel it worked hugely well, it can be further developed

PPD PRESENTATION