The tempo has picked up over the last two weeks of the course. With two new assignments, and the realisation that my first assignment isn’t quite over, the first feelings of stress set in. Just like most of the group I was disappointed to have failed the first assignment. I felt, however, that it helped to bring me back down to earth, realising that the course wasn’t going to be plain sailing. The feedback I received was helpful in allowing me to produce a perfect piece of work, pointing out the errors I made and explaining how to change them.
With the referral fresh on my mind I found it difficult to focus on the two new assignments at first. I found myself a bit lost and wanting to ask far too many questions, but as the tuition and the step-by-step planning proceeded I soon began to understand what was expected of me. A couple of weeks in and I am back on track with both new assignments.
The parts of the course I was most looking forward to was the designing aspect. I was relieved that we finally did some layout designs and it made me feel happier now we were moving more towards designing. I also now understand why we learnt some of the other topics that I originally thought weren’t relevant. I now have a much greater background knowledge of the subject and it has allowed me to understand more of the words and phrases used in designing. This has made me feel a lot more comfortable on the course.
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
The Truths About Web Design
Dave Pannell and Craig Burgess from The Design Mechanics managed to change
my preconceptions of a ‘lecture’. They produced an informative, interactive presentation that taught me a lot about my future in web design, during and after college.
On starting this course my hope was to eventually start my own business. I found the talk very helpful in this aspect of my ambitions. Dave put forward how important it was to build a business from the bottom and look at it as a long term expansion. This teaches me not to be overly eager for instant success as the web design industry is a process that is learnt over time.
A key aspect of the talk was about employability. Dave spoke of how employers are not just looking for web designers; they are looking for employees with the whole package. Each stage of the design is vital, and this relates to my current studies, in that I must be able to master each course assignment in a similar way to increase my chances of employability.
When working as a web designer, the ability to draw vast amount of detail and ideas from clients is crucial. You must learn everything about them as far as there hobbies, likes and dislikes. From this information a suitable design brief can be put together and only then can idea generation begin.
In a similar way, you must gain as much client criticism on discarded designs so you then know how to go about making amendments to them. This taught me that a lot of background research is required on clients and then designs must be developed through this information.
Overall I found this presentation extremely helpful. It has managed to fulfil my perceptions on web design and gave me more confidence in this course.
On starting this course my hope was to eventually start my own business. I found the talk very helpful in this aspect of my ambitions. Dave put forward how important it was to build a business from the bottom and look at it as a long term expansion. This teaches me not to be overly eager for instant success as the web design industry is a process that is learnt over time.
A key aspect of the talk was about employability. Dave spoke of how employers are not just looking for web designers; they are looking for employees with the whole package. Each stage of the design is vital, and this relates to my current studies, in that I must be able to master each course assignment in a similar way to increase my chances of employability.
When working as a web designer, the ability to draw vast amount of detail and ideas from clients is crucial. You must learn everything about them as far as there hobbies, likes and dislikes. From this information a suitable design brief can be put together and only then can idea generation begin.
In a similar way, you must gain as much client criticism on discarded designs so you then know how to go about making amendments to them. This taught me that a lot of background research is required on clients and then designs must be developed through this information.
Overall I found this presentation extremely helpful. It has managed to fulfil my perceptions on web design and gave me more confidence in this course.
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
The History of a Font: Fette Fraktur
1Fette Fraktur is a Blackletter typeface derived from an original Fraktur typeface. The word Fette is a German word and means bold in English, and makes the English equivalent of this font, Bold Fraktur. This evolution of the Fraktur font was not used much for text purposes but for advertisements. 2The Fette Fraktur was originally released sometime before 1842 by the Joh.Peter Nees Company in Offenbach, Germany. Blackletter typefaces, also know as Gothic scripts, were used mainly in Germany well into the 1900’s for the German language. 3Another commonly used Blackletter typefaces is Textura, which was used in the first ever Bible. There is also Bastarda and Rotunda faces.
4
The typeface was typically used for books and newspapers during the Third Reich, where it was preferred in favour of sans-serif faces. The approved use of Fette Fraktur by the Nazi regime continued until January 3rd, 1941. A man named Martin Bormann, who was the director of the Party Chancellery , issued a direct discontinuation of the Fette Fraktur typeface. This was due to the alleged involvement of a Jew in the early development of the face. During World War II the German Allies also banned the font due to its illegibility, as the troops struggled to read it.
To this day it is one of the most commonly used Blackletter faces and continues to be used in advertising and packaging to communicate a sense of traditionalism in places such as Austria, Bavaria and Germany. The Fette Fraktur font has been confused for the Blackletter script often mislabelled as Old English script, and is now very popular in the world of Hip-hop music and fashion.
References
- Blackletter, http://www.graphic-design.com/Type/history/typeface_history.html, Accessed on 04/11/2008
- Fette FrakturTM Regular, http://www.linotype.com/12851/fettefrakturregular-font.html, Accessed on 04/11/2008
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