Not Long to Logo

The A7 assignment, along with the first year, is quickly drawing to an end. There is a definite sense of finishing on a high as it had been the best assignment so far. This is because I have found it both challenging and enjoyable; stretching my new found abilities to the max. I have learnt a lot through the assignment and it has solidified my previous learning through many practical exercises.

Initial I found the logo design frustrating as it was the first time with a client you have to get used to them saying no to your ideas. As I went on I became less attached with the ideas and design purely with the client in mind. Here is the postcard I have produced using the variation of my logo design:

The CD artwork allowed me to be a little more artistic in this project which I enjoyed. I organised and arranging interesting scenes using pebbles, and with a good quality camera was able to achieve some effective design pieces. I found working with your own images much easier and much more effective than taking from stock, and you can get your own precise desired effect easily.

I have been practising at making websites for a couple of weeks now and am looking forward to the web build as it’s a good opportunity to test my skills. It will also give me a good sense of achievement to be able to display my hard work in this assignment through an individual and devoted website.

One To Go

Finding out I had two passes in the last assignments was a huge relief. It always feels good to get something under your belt and will take the pressure off out next assignment as I can stay more focused. Again I have learnt a lot from the feedback and now want to push towards improving my grade to a merit.

Huge issues still surround my time management and recoding of work on the time sheets. If I put in the hours and record it accurately I know I can improve my grades. I believe the work I do is of a high standard but at times there just isn’t enough of it, this is something I’ve always been told throughout my education.

At the end of the last two assignments it really feels like the years coming to an end. The introduction of the last assignment requires me to apply all the knowledge I have learnt over the year, and is a good way to round everything up. It gives me a clear indication of how far I have come this year.

At first I was a little surprised with the assignment as we are on a web design course and it is a collaboration of music based graphic design pieces. However, I could see its relevance in teaching us about all different types of design. I have been encouraged by the research I’ve done and already have a broader knowledge of all design aspects.

I have spent the last few weeks doing a lot of research into website builds. As already opportunities have arose as I’ve been asked to make two websites. I’ve really enjoyed learning new skills and putting them to practise, it has clearly solidified my thoughts about my career as this is something I would love to carry on.

Insen by Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto

Carsten Nicolai and Ryuichi Sakamoto have managed to produce a purely gripping sound with there collaboration to produce the album, Insen. The album has a strong chilled out vibe to it with the use of ambient beats and subtle piano play. It is an album not to be missed by all, ticking all the right boxes in such a vast experiment genre.

It’s one of the most laid back approaches to music you will hear. Without vocals the instruments have been combined smoothly to give you a simple yet effective sound that will have you hooked from start to finish. It is a clever use of rather infectious simplicity.

Insen is suitable for almost any occasion. It takes you away to your own special place, when all you need is to just relax. It is also perfect for reflection, as it clears your mind with its subtle soothing tones and captures your imagination. It is a slice of musical genius, and exceeds every purpose it originally set out to.

It makes ideal background music for any formal occasions and will reflect its calming nature through to any listener, making those special occasions go that bit smoother.

I would strongly recommend this album to anyone, but I believe it would be ideal for anyone suffering from a sleeping disorder. In my own experience it works so well at clearing your thoughts and allowing you time to relax. It reduces stress levels considerably and calms every part of your body.

Classing this under the label ’experimental’ will often put listeners off from the very start. With an open mind you can clearly see how this album breaks the mould in terms of its classification. It is so unique in its style and the easy listening approach will reach out to a large audience of all different ages.

The album combines old and new, with the clever use of piano and electronics. There are no overpowering sounds throughout and it makes for such a fluent listen. In combining the two the intention is to reach out to a large age range of listeners and I believe it does this perfectly.

Often with experimental chill out albums, each track will sound too similar and listening to each one become too repetitive. With the Insen album, each track manages to keep its personal identity. It keeps the listener enthralled for the full duration and manages to connect them to each track.

In summary, it is the best easy listening album I have listened to. It’s the kind of music you can listen to any time of the day and it is suitable for every occasion. I would recommend it to everyone as a must listen, due to its unique and mesmerizing sound.

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The Perfect Attitude

My previous post had a huge emphasis on change. I had lots of things I needed to do to become a better web designer and a better student at that stage. Two weeks later and I'm well into the new assignments with a much better attitude to work. I've been regularly checking on the forum for helpful information which has meant I fully understand the current assignments.

The biggest change for me has been with time management. A huge aspect of learning the outline of each assignment has been in the production schedules. When I was making them it allowed me to look into each section in the assignments and study it fully to understand the time in which it will take. The regulation of my time has meant that I have kept focused and on top of the work, and feel positive about both assignments.

I am looking forward to the creating aspects of each assignment most. This is because I love running through the developing stage of a design and coming out with a final product you are pleased with. This is the part I get most out of.

I have found the group work for the A6 assignment very enjoyable. Interacting with others and discussing different people’s opinions has really helped me to learn different methods of approaching assignments. I am lucky in that our group gets on well and everyone is willing to pull their weight. I am looking forward to developing our ideas to the final stage of presentation.

Time For Change

For me the first semester has been a huge change to education. The whole concept of having assignments briefs that alter as your going is very difficult, and I have struggled with the lack of structure. I'm used to having a list of things to do, that don't change and doing them in the week. Also finding threads on the forum is a weak point of mine, and I know Iv'e missed deadlines because of this. I really need to pick up on the forum activity because I'm still unsure of where to find things, and this is vital for the course.

I think this first semester has gone smoothly in other respects however. The group has gelled well, and most people seem possitive about the way the course is going. I have found that people are most than willing to help out and explain things, which has been really helpful in throughout the assignments.

The assignment that we have done so far have been very different to what I had expected. I thought we would be jumping straight in at the deep end and getting down to designing. It has only been in the last half that any design work has really taken place. At times I have thought we were going the long way round learning aspects of design, but for the most part I have found this helpful to study all the fundamentals first. It's been more a case of learning to get things right first time, rather than learning practically from your mistakes.

Sketchbook work has been one of my favourite aspects of the course so far. I find the inspiration gathering and annotating one of the most enjoyable pieces to look back on. As I scan through it's a clear indication of how far I have come from the begining to now. I am starting to naturally use words that I hadn't heard of before this course, and in some cases I am running out of space to describe images because all the different aspects I now notice.

I have struggled in the sketchbook because the sketches are supposed to be quick and in draft form. I have always drawn things very precisily and that is the way I design best. This has meant that I am not able to get as many sketches done in the allocated times, which needs to be worked on in later assignments.

For the second semester I know there has to be a lot of personal change. I've been struggling to keep on top of the work, so I must find out exactly what needs to be done and get it done in advance. This is the best way to cut out the last minute stress that occurs around submission dates. I know I need to ask more question because even at the minute I am unsure of what we are doing this next semester, and it just causes more undue stress.

The Return

Coming back after Christmas, it was obvious that my knowledge was a bit rusty. The A3 assignment had been put to one side over Christmas and I found it fairly difficult to get back into the swing of things on the first day. This gave me a certain level of anxiety.

However, the group still had a good atmosphere and I could tell that my head was fresh to start learning again. If I was to change my approach to the holidays, it would be to keep all the work fresh in my head by looking over notes and catching up on more work.

Both of our current assignments have to be completed by next week. With the A4 I feel fairly relaxed as most of the work has been done during our college time. This assignment was the most enjoyable so far and in a design aspect I learnt the most. There is a test next week which we are currently revising for, and with this I also feel comfortable. All my marks on the practice test lately have been well above the 50% marker and in all honesty my revision has been minimal. So with plenty of revision this week I hope to get a good result in the test.

The A3 is the more demanding of the two assignments. Despite being behind with just a week to go I don’t feel stressed in any way. I think this is because I have a firm understanding of the tasks that need to be done, due to listening and note taking. If I was to do this again I would have still preferred to stay on top of the schedule to allow the last week to be simple tinkering.

A Tale Of Typography Tasks

The first of the short typography tasks have begun over the last two weeks. I really feel that things are moving in the right direction now as these tasks have taught me a lot about design. They have been the most enjoyable part of the course so far as I was able to put all the learning into practice and test my own abilities.

I have always been sceptical about drawing millions of rough sketches before moving into a design as I tended to always have a couple of ideas in my head, and go with them. During these tasks, however, my opinion has been changed. Through the sketching and development of my ideas I found that I was coming up with much more suitable and appealing designs, which in turn is making me a better designer.

We have also recently begun typography tests in identifying fonts. I was very suprised when the first test happened and it made me a little uneasy. In not having a home computer for the last few weeks, font revision was something I hadn't been able to do at all. The lack of work reflected in my first mark of 5 out of 22. This really told me I needed to get learning, but without a computer I didn't get a chance before the next test. A last second look through some fonts bumped my score to 12 which i was happy with. I know now I have to crack on and get learning different typefaces asap.

There is a certain sense of relief at the moment because most people have found out they have passed the A2 referals and also the christmas break is soon upon us. It's making for a nice relaxed atmosphere which is a lot more enjoyable to work in.