Ian Thompson | HND Interactive Media | Wakefield College

New home..

2009-11-15T13:28:00.002Z

Hello!

My Online Learning Journal has a new home @

http://www.ian-thompson.org.uk/online_learning_journal

Please update your bookmarks.

All the best,

Ian

Web Designer Interview Questions

2009-11-05T22:01:00.006Z

This week’s post asks us to put ourselves in the shoes of a web design studios recruitment team and come up with suitable questions to ask when conducting interviews. As someone who has experience of recruiting staff, there were several generic questions that sprung to mind including:

1. Why have you applied for this position?
This question helps separate the wheat from the chaff as companies are looking for you to demonstrate your desire to work for them not just because you need money.

2. What interests you about our company?
Whilst a company will not be looking for you to be able to recite the entire company history from memory, they will be expecting you to answer this question using facts and examples. This demonstrates your desire to work for the company and to be a success whilst in their employment.

3. What would make you an asset to our company?
This is perhaps the single most important question in an interview. This is the chance for you to really sell yourself as well as explain how your skills and experience would benefit the company going forward. Whilst confidence in yourself is important, it is vital that you do not appear arrogant which will put potential employers off.

4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Whilst there is no right or wrong answer, this is an important question which is asked to help employers gain an insight into the candidate’s personality. This then helps with deciding on the successful candidate.

5. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
This question again gives a valuable insight into your personality and helps a company identify whether or not you will fit into the existing team.

The following questions are related specifically to the web design industry:

1. Do you read any industry publications or follow any industry related websites/blogs?
As the design industry is a fast moving place with new trends and technologies appearing all the time, it’s important that companies stay ahead of competitors and are also able to meet the demands of their clients. It is therefore essential to demonstrate that you keep up to date with the industry and are continually learning new skills.

2. If a client is in the [______] industry and wanted to do [________] with their website, what advice would you give them?
This question enables you demonstrate your working knowledge as well as your creativity and problem solving skills to a potential employer.

3. How do you handle pressure and multiple deadlines?
More often than not you will find yourself working on several projects at any one time. Employers will be looking for candidates to give examples that demonstrate their organisational and prioritising skills as missed deadlines can prove costly and result in the loss of clients.

4. What do you do when you're faced with something you've never done before or if you're stuck on a problem?
As a design agency has a broad range of clients with differing requirements for their websites it is important to hire people who are adaptive as well as creative.

5. What's your favourite portfolio piece?
You should be able to confidently justify why a piece is your favourite in an interview as you will be expected to justify your design solutions to clients.

Whilst this is by no means a definitive set of interview questions, they are all questions that I would expect to be asked during a job interview.

Not ready yet...

2009-10-13T18:21:00.006+01:00

For this week’s entry we’ve been asked to evaluate our employability at this point in the course by comparing our skills and experience against those required for full time employment within the web design industry.

After looking on the job site monster I came across the following vaccancy which interested me:

Job Summary

Company
Altitude Recruitment

Location
Middlesbrough, Yorkshire

Industries
Internet Services
Computer/IT Services

Job Type
Full Time
Permanent

Career Level
Experienced (Non-Manager)

Salary
15,000.00 - 20,000.00 GBP per year

Job Reference Code
AR/000618_1253336576

XHTML/CSS Web Designer

About the Job
XHTML/CSS Web Developer - Teesside, 15-20k

Our client, based in the Tees Valley has been steadily growing and are now looking for a talented, enthusiastic web developer to join their team.

Your skills in client-side development will be strong: XHTML/CSS, Flash/ActionScript, good knowledge of W3C/DDA coding.Server-side knowledge an advantage, but not essential, asp.Net (C#) or PHP they provide solutions using both.

Ideally we're looking for a team player with 1-2 years commercial experience, good time management and an enthusiasm for all things web.

Working for both direct clients and as sub-contractors for some major UK agencies; you'll have exposure to and work on some very varied and prestigious projects covering brochure sites, CMS, e-commerce, viral games and e-marketing.

Great opportunity for the right person!

In theory, by the end of the course I should have gained all the required skills in order to successfully apply for the position. I have an enthusiasm for “all things web” which was heightened even more after a presentation on CSS 3 from professional designer Jonny Haynes.

XHTML, CSS and W3C standards coding formed the backbone of our first year of study. My previous management experience has developed my interpersonal skills and given me experience in dealing with a wide range of clients and team members to achieve my goals. I’m also acquiring a working knowledge of PHP as part of my SMLP, which whilst not essential to this vacancy, would enhance my employability.

So in short – am I ready for employment in the web design industry? Well not quite...

Not keeping an active hand in webpage designing/building over the summer break has meant there is a certain element of rustiness with XHTML and CSS knowledge. This has been exposed during the build side of assignment A9 which has seen me regularly referring to my trusty copy of HTML Dog, slowing the build process down considerably. Likewise I’ve not kept up to speed with the latest W3C standards and can’t recall ever even looking at the Disability Discrimination Act!

My time management, again another required skill, is still not where I would like it to be as I still find myself wondering where time has gone as well as procrastinating. Not only does this heap undue pressure onto me as deadlines loom but it is also hurting the quality of the designs I’m producing. This in turn hurts my chance of gaining employment within the industry as I will ultimately be touting a weak portfolio and giving a true account of myself.

So how can I plug the gaps, as it were, and make myself ready for employment? In the words of David Bowie:

Turn and face the strain
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man

Basically I’m going to need to adjust my attitude towards the course and the industry. I can’t rely on simply attending lectures and then not put in the time outside of college. I’m going to have to eat, drink, breath and sleep web design. Not only will this bring me back up to speed with regards to my working knowledge of XHTML, CSS and W3C standards but I will also begin to identify new technologies and skills which will form the basis of website construction in the future. Also continuing to expand my working knowledge and beginning to implement PHP into my sites where appropriate will help keep it fresh in my mind.

Word Count (not including advert text): 500

Hello, hello. Its good to be back, its good to be back...

2009-09-17T21:42:00.003+01:00

...and so begins one of the most popular songs of all time! Its also an apt opening title to use in this, the opening blog of the second (and final) year of the HND. I am definately glad to be back to start a fresh year after just scraping throught the final few months of the first year.

There was a tremendous feeling of deja vu as I tentatively walked (or more accurately power walked) to the door of the classroom this morning. I was experiencing some of the same feelings as this time last year - what did the year have in store? had I forgot anything? Would I be able to cope with the workload? I'm pleased to say that any negative feelings soon left after entering the now all to familar classroom and taking up my seat alongside my fellow students. It was almost like I hadn't been away for the 4 or so months since I submitted my final assignment and before too long the old camaraderie was back.

The summer break definitely came at the right time for me, as previously mentioned I barely scraped through the final few months due to health issues and personal/work problems on top of my own time management issues. I've used the time constructively to sort myself out and hopefully put all of these issues to bed and will use this year as a clean slate and a chance to really show what I can do.

My goals for this year haven't changed from those I listed in my final journal entry from last year, Back to the start:

100% attendance – to help reduce the possibility of falling behind with my work,
Improve my punctuality,
Properly structure my self study time to maximize the output,
Achieve at least a merit for all my assignments at the first time of asking

I believe these are all perfectly achievable goals and as I am currently leaning towards completing a third year of study in order to top up my HND to a full a degree, these must be the bare minimum that I achieve this year.

My SMLP Resources

2009-09-12T11:37:00.004+01:00

The following are resources that intend to use during the SMLP. As I’ve no prior experience with either PHP or MYSQL I’ve tried to find plain English texts and web sites to help get me started and that I can refer to to quickly and easily when comes to implementing what I have learned.

Web Based Resources

http://www.php.net/ - The MySQL page is included for the same reasons as PHP.net - I believe both sites will become invaluable resources both during the SMLP and in my future career as a web designer.

http://www.w3c.org/ - I plan to use this site for its validation tools and its accessibility guidelines to ensure that I'm implementing PHP and MySQL in a standards compliant manner.

http://w3schools.com/ - This site provides straightforward, easy to follow tutorials on apretty much every aspect of web design and should prove useful when starting out and indeed implenting more advance uses of PHP and MySQL.

http://www.phpfreaks.com/ - Boasting some 85,851 members, this forum based site should prove invaluable should I encounter any major headaches whilst learning and implementing PHP and MySQL.

http://www.handyphp.com/ - This site has been recommended by last years 2nd years and again should prove an invaluble resource not only for the SMLP but also for the future as it covers not on PHP and MySQl, but also Javascript and search engine optimisation amongst other aspects of web design.

Print Based Resources

PHP 5 in Easy Steps - This is a book that came highly recommended by last years second year students for it's simple, easy to follow text and layout. I aim to use this alongside the companinion book SQL in Easy Steps as well as the online tutorials found at php.net and mysql.com, to give myself a basic understanding of the languages.

SQL in Easy Steps - Whilst PHP 5 in Easy steps book does incorparate MySQL , I feel it would be beneficial to have a dedicated resource to expand my understanding of the language. Again it shall be used in conjunction with online tutorials and other texts.

PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide
This book is described as "indispensable for intermedite to advanced level web designers". I aim to use it to expand my knowledge and understanding obtained in the aforementioned texts and tutorials to hopefully implement new ideas and practises when designing dynamic web pages.

PHP and MySQL Web Development All-in-one Desk Reference for Dummies - I know that the "for Dummies" guides get a bit of stick from people, but having used some of them in the past I 've found them to be pretty straightforward and to the point. Intended to be used as an at-a-glance reference book rather than a definitive source.

This is by no means a definitive list of resources, as I'm sure during the course of the SMLP I shall encounter more and more useful print and web based resources, they are however I feel a good place to start.

Self Managed Learning Plan Proposal – PHP/MYSQL

2009-09-04T15:42:00.003+01:00

After I’ve finished my studies, I would like to be able to regard myself as an “all rounder” rather being classed as either a designer or a builder. My long term goal is to be working freelance or running my own design studio offering affordable web and print solutions to small businesses, up-and-coming bands etc.

Obviously these goals will not be obtained over night. Immediately after the course ends, I intend to be working for an established company gaining both vital experience and the additional skills. I shall use these newly aqquired skills to my make long term goals a reality. Given the current economic climate and the number of people competing for work, I believe being an “all rounder” will give me an advantage when applying for vacancies within the industry.

By simply typing the words “web” and “developer” into a careers search engine such as totaljobs.com or monster.co.uk and you will be presented with well over 500 results. Whilst the job descriptions/roles differ slightly from company to company, there does appear to be 2 common skills required (after XHTML and CSS) which links them together – “PHP” and “MySQL”.

PHP is a form of scripting language utilised by web developers to create dynamic web pages whilst MYSQL is a relational database management system which is most commonly found on Web Servers though can be used for a variety of applications.

By having experience of these languages under my belt, not only do I believe I shall be more employable, I also feel that they will help unleash creativity when creating solutions to clients briefs as I would not be restricted to creating solutions purely to the confinements of XHTML and CSS.

Back to the start...

2009-05-12T16:08:00.003+01:00

Looking back through my journal posts, it's hard to believe that our first (academic) year on the course is over. We are now officially halfway through our learning adventure and it's scary to think that this time next year I will be sat here writing my final journal entry before heading off into the big bad world of full time employment as a web designer.

Upon reflection on my previous ramblings, it concerns me that there is an underlying issue that runs between the threads. My attendence, punctuality and time management outside of college have been talked about in virtually all of my journal entries.

Going forward (as I've seemingly stated all year) these are issues which I need to address. Only I can change me and eradicate the bad habits into which I've fallen. Proper utilisation of time management devices such as time sheets and production schedules should help but these are only the beginning. My attitide needs to change too. I need to get out the "it won't take me that long, I'll do it later" attitude and rediscover my intial enthusiasm for the course. Over the course of the year I've grown sick and tired of sleepless nights before deadlines and the constantly feeling stressed and underperforming.

There have been positives to being on the course. The lectures and assignments have been varied and interesting as have the field trips and guest speakers from the Design Mechanics and Jonny Haynes. The assignments we've completed this year were:

A1 - Sketchblog

I feel that I've underachieved with this assignement. The basic concept was straightforward enough - collect inspirational pieces each week either of your own choosing or to a given theme and annotate. This proved to be more of a challenge than you'd imagine, especially as I kept leaving it to the last minute to trawl the internet rather than actually going out and have things naturally jump out at me. Also evidenced as part of the assignment was the ideas generation and developement processes for each assignment. Again this is an area that I feel I can improve on. Simply by spending more time on the intial concepts and utilising various ideas generation techniques then I'm confident that my final designs will be more dynamic and visually interesting.

A2 - Journey of a thousand miles
Essentially this was our ease you in gently assignment. It definitely proved to be an excellent introduction to the different types of technologies and languages we would be using over the course of the year.

A3 - Sounds like a plan
I think I’d have enjoyed this assignment more if I hadn’t had the theme for the page dictated to me. This however is in keeping with the idea that the course is run in such a way that it reflects life in actual design studio / professional environment. My initial struggles getting to grips with Indesign resulted in a less than impressive, but solid site design.

A4 - Typecast
I’ll be honest my first impressions of an assignment about typography didn’t really excite me all that much. However once we got started and I started learning more and more I found it to be quite enjoyable. In fact it was the first assignment that I passed first time. The way it was structured helped an awful lot with each week having timed mini assignments to complete in class which helped keep me on track with the production side of things.

A5 - Builder
This was the assignment we’d all been waiting for - our first opportunity to create a webpage built with XHTML 1.0 strict and CSS 2.1. The initial lectures were quite daunting and I’m glad that my screen design from A3 was pretty simple in terms of layout. Having said that, I would’ve liked to have done so much more with the page, especially after I began to get to grips with the coding.

A6 - The big picture
Or an introduction to Photoshop as it should’ve been subtitled. Another very useful assignment though perhaps would’ve been more beneficial closer to the start of the course before the design work really kicked in.

A7 - Rasterised
Overall I’m disappointed with the way this assignment turned out. I feel I had a really good concept for the re-imagined CD artwork but looking back over the development process and the additional design work required for the assignment I can’t help but think it could’ve been so much better.

My work certainly wasn’t as Photoshop intensive as other members of the group – mainly due to the fact I’m not as clued up at using it as others. This is something that I have the ability to rectify over the summer as I intend to use the time constructively and begin to unleash the full potential of CS4 and my imagination.

This was definitely a culmination of everything that we’ve learned over the previous 9 months or so and I wish I’d put more effort into the initial design process to create more dynamic designs as I’m particularly unhappy with my Wire advert and logo designs as neither really jump out of the page.

At the end of the day though what’s done is done, I won’t dwell on past mistakes and if only’s. All I can do is make sure that I eradicate the negatives from this year and focus on the positives so that I hit the ground running in September. I’m looking forward to the additional challenges which will come with the final year. The self managed learning plan is an intriguing proposition and if I’m honest at this point in time I have no idea what I wish to learn about as part of it.

Going forward onto the second year, I think it’s important to set myself some goals to help keep me focused including:

100% attendance – to help reduce the possibility of falling behind with my work
Improve my punctuality
Properly structure myself study time to maximize the output
Achieve at least a merit for all my assignments at the first time of asking

If I can achieve these small steps initially, I’m confident that I can go from strength to strength and achieve my full potential and so finish the course with a bang.

Close, yet far...

2009-04-30T23:25:00.015+01:00

With only 2 weeks left to go I'm feeling an enormous sense of achievement. Only it looked unlikely that I was going to complete the A7 assignment having fallen behind due to illness and then not taking advantage of the Easter break to catch up again. However with the support of my tutor and friends I'm pleased to say that I've turned things around. With just 2 weeks of the assignment I find myself in a good position to complete the assignment not only on time but also with work I can be proud of.

Now that I've caught up I'm really beginning to enjoy this assignment again. Re-imagining CD artwork, logos and designing magazine adverts amongst the other tasks, have proved to be a great challenge.

My release was Kangding Ray's Automne Fold album and whilst not ordinarily a genre I'd listen too (I'm mostly a punk fan) I really enjoyed the albums minimalist electronica sound.

This helped a great deal when I was coming up with the concept for the album's digipak artwork:

http://www.ian-thompson.org.uk/a7/digipak_outer_final.pdf

http://http//www.ian-thompson.org.uk/a7/digipak_inner_final.pdf

The concept was simple: Automne is French for Autumn, so I decided to use some photos which i took at Hatfield Forest as the starting point and then using Photoshop to manipulate the images and to introduce warm, autumnal colours.

As my knowledge of Photoshop techniques is not as advanced as other members of the group, at times it was frustrating when trying to recreate the imagery from my designs onto the screen. Having said that I'm really pleased with the results and can't wait to recieve the postcards we ordered from Moo:

These were designed as another method of presenting our artwork. For my postcards I opted to use the image from the front cover and the inner of the digipak. I used the inner image rather than the back cover as I simply felt it was a more interesting image.

Now I've just got to get cracking on with the Wire advert and web interface and hopefully finish the year with a bang!

Tomorrow comes a day to soon...

2009-04-03T10:38:00.002+01:00

Where has the year gone?! Is the question on my lips as I sit here to write this latest journal entry. The time from when we arrived to begin the course back in September until now, where we are working to complete our final assignment of year one has genuinely flown by.

Flicking back through my sketchbook I’m amazed at how much knowledge has been accumulated in a relatively short space of time. I now know the anatomy of a font and can even identify some font families by simply looking a single character. Throw in learning about colour harmony, visitors from the design industry, how to use images effectively, using X-HTML and CSS and you still haven’t begun to scratch the surface of how much I’ve learnt.

There have of course been ups and downs to the first year. The up’s have included making a great new set of friends, the knowledge and skills I’ve acquired thus far and a real sense of achievement at having a designed and built a web page that a friend kindly described as looking “ like a real web page”.

The downs include seeing 2 members of the group leave the course early, referring assignments and at times feeling like the work I’ve handed in hasn’t really been of the highest quality.

Hopefully A7: Rasterised will see me end the year with a bang. Being asked to re-imagine and reinterpret Kangding Ray’s “Automne Fold” album artwork as well as redesign the Raster-Noton logo is a great assignment to end the year on. It requires us to put into practice all that we’ve learnt so far as well as encouraging us to think outside the box. I’m hopeful that by sticking to my production schedule and using the Easter break constructively I can produce a final product to be proud of and put me in good stead for starting the 2^nd year.

R-N094: Automne Fold - Kangding Ray

2009-03-22T20:52:00.004Z

Raster-Noton are proud to announce the re-release of Berlin based Kangding Ray’s critically acclaimed 2008 release “Automne Fold” with brand new, re-imagined artwork.

Automne Fold (which means "Fall Fold") is the follow up to 2006’s highly successful debut album “Stabil” from experimental electro pioneer David Letellier, aka Kangding Ray. In keeping with the stripped down sounds commonly associated with Raster-Noton releases, Automne Fold is a consistently, deeply atmospheric amalgamation of samples, reverb and echo, fused together with various acoustic arrangements to soften the harsh, sometimes industrial digital tones. This creates an extremely interesting and accessible album which is sure to delight existing fans as well as attract a whole new range of listeners.

Opening track ‘Konstructive’ sets the tone of the album beautifully with its laid back beat before moving on to title track ‘Automne Fold’ with its stripped down acoustic guitars and fuzz laden digital sound merging to create a warm, organic sound. ‘Downshifters’ is a personal favourite of mine with its endless loops and soft layering of keyboards and hisses and distortion used to great effect.

In a departure from the electronica sensibilities, Kanging Ray fits in a traditionally structured track of verse- chorus-verse on ‘Idle’. In doing so he has created easily the most commercial and accessible track on the album, which whilst the polar opposite of the minimalist vocals on the preceding and subsequent tracks fits right at home on the album. It also conjures up the most vivid imagery whilst listening with its descriptive, almost narrative lyrics.

The album also features haunting guest vocals from Lene Toje on the tracks ‘A Protest Song’ (another album highlight) and Quarante whilst the track ‘Apnee’ sees spoken word accompaniment from ‘The Man, the Hospital and the Helicopter’ written and spoken by Andrew Cannon. ‘World Within Words’ conjures up feelings of fear and paranoia thanks to the sublime use of whispered vocals offset by distorted samples and simplistic beats. ‘World Within Words’ is by far the standout track on the album thanks the wonderfully creepy feeling it creates. These tracks make a welcome and interesting foil to the otherwise instrumental release.

With its feeling of early minimalist Steve Reich and the pioneering electronica of Boards of Canada, Automne Fold would make an excellent addition to the collections of fans of Raster-Noton’s signature high end frequencies and precise digital rhythms sound. The vocal led tracks contrast wonderfully against the instrumental offerings and there is a definite feeling of Light and Dark throughout all 14 tracks at times conjuring up images of spirits and apparitions.

It is best enjoyed in a darkened room so with your eyes closed so that you can fully appreciate the journey you are taken on whilst listening to its multi-layered beauty.

Word Count: 457

Keep The Faith...

2009-02-02T16:44:00.006Z

Two weeks ago I was ready to throw in the towel. I’d managed to meet the deadlines for both assignments A3 and A4 – just. I hadn’t slept in 2 days, I had everything that could go wrong, go wrong and I knew in my heart the work I submitted wasn’t of the highest standard and that bar a miracle I was facing referrals for both assignments. This lead to a week of soul searching as I questioned whether or not I was committed enough to my dream of working in the design industry and whether or not I actually had the skills to complete the course.

As expected I referred A3: Sounds like a Plan however the disappointment was eased with the news that I’d passed A4: Typecast at the first attempt. This has given me renewed faith in my abilities and I’ve now picked myself up, dusted myself down and said “bring on the new assignments!”

We’re now in week 2 of both A5: Builder and A6: The Bigger Picture and it’s becoming obvious that the organisation of my self study time will be critical to achieving a bare minimum pass. A5 sees us building our webpage we designed in A3 using a mix of XHTML and CSS. It’s obvious that this not going to be walk in the park especially after this morning’s Introduction to XHTML lecture. There was a hell of a lot to take in and a lot seemed to be gobbledygook. I’m sure my trusty copy of HTML Dog is going to be referred to a heck of a lot over the next few weeks!

A6 sees us learning about image manipulation techniques using Adobe Photoshop which we shall put into practice during A5. It also sees us working in groups to deliver presentations on an assigned Photoshop technique meaning I’m going to have to be even more organised than before as I don’t wish to adversely affect my partner Dominic’s grade or indeed mine for that matter.

The introduction of production schedules should keep me organised with the required workload and ensure I can finally put my time management issues to bed. Having sat and looked at both assignments in great detail this early on there shall be no repeat of the underestimating of the work required.

Closing thought – “You get what you put in and people get what they deserve” - from the song “Only God Knows Why” by Kid Rock

I Can Do Better...

2009-01-20T14:44:00.002Z

As the first Semester of the HND Interactive Media Design Course draws to a close, I find myself flicking through the pages of my sketchbook and sitting in amazement at just how much I’ve learnt already. A little over 15 weeks has passed and already 3 assignments have been handed in, 2 more have just been issued with one more continuously running in the background.

A2: A Journey of 1000 Miles was a great assignment to begin the course with. Not only did it expand my knowledge of the more technical aspects of web design but being referred also made realize the importance of so called “tinker time” and working to the highest level of detail. I’m not going to lie, I was massively disappointed when I was initially given a referral but at I took heart from the fact that it wasn’t so much the content that was the issue – it was the presentation. With the relevant amendments completed it was time to focus on:

A3: Sounds Like A Plan – Quickly became a self inflicted thorn in my side as my issues with my time management became more and more apparent as each week passed. Mini deadlines had been set for each segment of work in order to keep us on track with workload. Unfortunately I allowed myself to get distracted with work and personal issues and quickly found myself missing these deadlines. The Christmas break was my ideal opportunity to get myself caught up and back on track however it came and went and I found myself with an even bigger mountain to climb. I managed to complete the assignment and hand it in on time, however I’m expecting a referral. The work produced is simply not good enough in my eyes and I can’t see how it could possibly pass without amendment.

A4: Typecast has without a shadow of a doubt been my favourite assignment to work on. I’ve really enjoyed the idea of the assignment being broken down into timed mini assignments. Also it’s been great to actually start putting into practice the knowledge gained from the lectures. Again my time management issues were exposed as I didn’t use my self study time as well as I should’ve done to prepare for the Font recognition and typographic knowledge test which was an integral part of passing the assignment. Fortunately with some last minute cramming I managed to scrape a pass on the test however I’m annoyed with myself as I know with proper revision and preparation I could have achieved at least a merit.

A1: Sketch blog – This assignment has been running in the background since we started the course. Unfortunately I’ve not been treating it as an assignment more as something else that needs to be done. I think this attitude will be reflected in my efforts so far with regards to inspirational pieces and the required amendments. Also the ideas generation process for each piece of creative work is assessed as part of the assignment and this is an area I definitely need to improve on if I’m to pass.

Going forward into Semester Two it is obvious what I need to do to improve my performance. I need to get much more organized and implement the time sheets properly in order to manage my time properly. Also I need to stop diving straight into using the computer without having first having created a design in my sketchbook. I can do both these things I’m sure my overall standard of work will improve and life in general will be a lot more calmer.

Panic!

2009-01-07T11:13:00.002Z

Our first week back is done and dusted and with next weeks deadlines looming the panic is really starting to kick in.

I’d intended to get myself completely up to speed with my assignments over the Christmas break so that I could avoid the stress and pressure that I’m currently feeling and... I didn't. As previously stated in my previous blogs I have a real problem with my time management outside of college. Too often do I comprise my performance on the course by not putting in the required self study time.

The reason for this is simple – I’m too easily distracted. I have all the best intentions of getting up early and cracking on but often find myself doing anything and everything but my college work. As a result my performance in the typography tests have been poor to say the least and I’ve now left myself a mountain to climb if I am going to achieve a respectable score in Tuesday’s assessable test. I’ve seemingly got a good grasp of the theoretical side of Typography but I struggle with actually being able to identify fonts. I’m envious of other members of the group who have been putting in the required amount of self study time and have been consistently scoring well on the mini tests and who are now in a much better position for Tuesday’s test than I am.

If I am going to perform well for the remainder of the course I need to learn from other peoples examples and start making better use of my time outside of college. This will ultimately help reduce the stress and pressure that I am finding myself under at the moment and hopefully enable me to paint a truer reflection of my abilities by gaining merits and distinctions rather than referred passes for the remaining assignments.

Knockin on heavens door

2008-12-10T22:07:00.002Z

Or at least that's how I felt last week! The day our amended A2 assignments were due in and I could barely stand! I managed to make it in to college to hand in my assignment before the 9am deadline, unfortunately I didn't last longer than the time it took for me to hand it in to Steve. I didn't surface from bed for 2 days and when I did I was concerned at how far I'd potentially fallen behind.

I was even more concerned when I found out that one of the self study tasks was to give a presentation on PARC (Proximity, Alignment, Repetition and Contrast) first thing on Monday morning. Ordinarily I enjoy giving presentations but seeing as I'd missed the PARC lecture I started to panic. Luckily for me we were giving the presentations in our seminar groups and Brad was on hand to pop round and together we thrashed out a presentation with added contributions from Pete and Dominic.

The presentation itself went well. I think content wise we'd put together a good presentation but in terms of delivery, I feel we would've benefited from having a trial run so that we were all sure of the flow of the presentation. Apart from that though I think it went fine and I enjoyed the other group's presentations as they gave me a better understanding of the concepts of PARC.

This week also saw the group receive our final grades for A2, which I'm pleased to say I've (finally) passed. This is a welcome boost to my confidence and has reassured me that I can produce the standard of work required to pass the course.

The Christmas break next week is a welcome chance to recharge my batteries and do some housekeeping to ensure everything is shipshape and Bristol fashion so that I can hit the ground running when we return.

Under pressure...

2008-11-28T06:44:00.004Z

It has been a bit stressful over the last few weeks. A clerical error at work resulted in me being overpaid by nearly a full week’s wages. As I cannot afford to simply give them the money back, I have to work additional hours to repay the money.

With having 3 assignments running simultaneously as well, I’m finding it a bit of struggle to get the balance right between my time at work, self study time and just general “me” time.

Being referred on assignment A2 hasn’t helped either, which has resulted in even more work to do. I felt a mixture of emotions when given my grade and feedback. On one hand I was happy that the reasons for my referral were more for formatting mistakes than errors with the content of my report. On the flipside I was equally annoyed and frustrated with myself for not spotting these errors prior to handing in the assignment. I guess the moral of the story is to ensure that I leave more time for proofreading assignments prior to deadline day to (hopefully) avoid another referral in future.

On the plus side, I am enjoying the new assignments A3 and A4. The lectures we’ve had on how grids are used in design and the lectures on Typography have proven both informative and interesting. I must admit though I’m not looking forward to the tests on typography terminology and font identification as I tend to panic and forget everything in exams / tests.

I’ve also found the example exercises on designing page layouts using InDesign invaluable too. I really struggled to get my head around InDesign when we were inputting assignment A2 onto the assignment template as I’d never used it before. Admittedly these exercises are completely different to merely entering information into a template, but I feel that I now have a much better working knowledge of this extremely versatile programme.

Fear, tragedy, are all that lie ahead?

2008-11-11T16:09:00.002Z

Well you could be forgiven for thinking that after the presentation by Dave and Craig of the Design Mechanics . They painted a grim picture of the reality of being in the design industry. From stories of difficult client’s complaining about the design of padlock hasps to personal heartache and near bankruptcy, it almost made me think twice about my chosen career path.

I was also a little taken a back to discover that designs are expected to be produced within hours of receiving the briefs and that several projects can be on the go at any one time. I expected a relatively quick turn around in the design process, but was thinking more in days and weeks not hours.

I’ve never been the quickest worker, preferring to mull over design briefs / assignments for some time before actually getting stuck in. Clearly this is an area I will need to improve upon if I am to make it as designer, though at least I’ve discovered this now whilst we are training rather than find myself out of my depth within a professional studio.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom however as Craig and Dave both provided several amusing anecdotes of life in the design industry as well as some great advice which echoed what we’ve already been taught. The key message that I took from the talk was that in order to be a success you need to be strong willed, business minded, focused and flexible with a good work ethic not just creative. It was also reassuring to see someone like Craig who confessed to having no previous background in design proving that with hard work and focus, you can achieve your goals.

All in all I found the visit very interesting and informative and would hope that there will be more opportunities to interact with industry insiders in the future.

An Introduction To The Mistral Font

2008-11-04T17:44:00.003Z

The Mistral font family¹ was designed by the French graphic artist Roger Excoffon for the Fonderie Olive type foundry (later taken over by Linotype) in 1953, with the Amsterdam Type Foundry also releasing a version in 1955. It is a casual script with long descenders which increase the sense of motion and the lower case letters have been carefully designed to connect on a line.

The Mistral Font

Excoffon’s vision² when designing Mistral was to create the “handwriting of the man of the twentieth century”, “A modern handwriting perfectly free, uncodified, and spirited” which would bring a greater vivacity into French typography. To achieve his vision, Excoffen based the Mistral Font Family³ on his own handwriting style and named it⁴ after the strong, cold winds on Southern France.

However technological limitations at the time meant that the Font has a “heavy” look which looks like it has been written with a brush and paint rather than pen and ink.

The International Typeface Corporation (ITC) rectified this by releasing a reinterpretation of Mistral⁵ as Mistral Light as well reinterpretations of Excoffen's Choc and Banco font families. Designed by⁵ the late Phill Grimshaw, Mistral Light sees the weight of the font uniformly reduced with the weight of the thinner strokes then increased so that they didn’t disappear when reproduced at smaller sizes.

Comparisson of the Original and the redesigned Mistral font

As you can see in the above comparative image, the result is much closer to Excoffon’s vision. In redesigning Mistral, Grimshaw overcame another obstacle. Being a script typeface, Mistral cannot have an italic which is often used to show emphasis. To counter this Grimshaw designed a new set of small caps in the same weight to be used for emphasis though the original, heavier font could also be used.

Examples of the usage of the Mistral font can be found in abundance in shop signage in small cities in France as well as in Montreal as illustrated in Mistral In Montreal.

References

Mistral (typeface), 08/05/2008, wikipedia.com, Accessed on 04/11/08
Soar, 2004, Excoffon's Autograph, mattsoar.org, Accessed on 04/11/08
Mistral (typeface), 08/05/2008, wikipedia.com , Accessed on 04/11/08
Mistral: About this font, Accessed on 04/11/08
Dreyfus, Roger Excoffen, itcfonts.com, Accessed on 04/11/08

Out Of The Frying Pan (And Into The Fire)

2008-10-21T16:22:00.008+01:00

As the first half of the semester draws to a close, its time once again to sit back and reflect on the events of the past six weeks.

Our first assignment is now safely handed in for grading and for once I’m not feeling particularly stressed out on a deadline day.

This is mainly down to the idea of working to a deadline the week BEFORE the deadline. This is an approach I’ve never taken before but I am certainly glad we were encouraged to do so.

By having a first draft ready last week a huge amount of pressure was lifted. In the past I have struggled to meet deadlines and ended up handing in an abandoned rather than completed report. Working in this manner however meant I had a full week to tinker and proof read and hand in hopefully a more “polished” assignment well before the 12pm deadline.

Unfortunately now begins 3 weeks of anxiety whilst we wait for the final grades to be given, which will then result in elation or misery! I feel satisfied with the work I submitted, though there are the usual niggling thoughts in the back of my head. Thoughts such as have I forgotten this? Should I have changed that? At the end of the day though should any additional work be required I shall just have take onboard the feedback and amend accordingly (easier said than done, I know).

Running simultaneously have been weekly “self study” tasks which have proved a welcome distraction from assignment A2. Each week’s tasks have been quite varied and included: gathering inspirational pieces to discuss in our seminar groups, online debates and even setting up our own websites (http://www.ian-thompson.org.uk/). I’m looking forward to seeing our websites develop over the next 2 years into our online portfolios and demonstrate how we’ve all grown as designers.

Overall the first six weeks have been immensely enjoyable and I remain convinced that returning to college was the right decision. My main worry about returning to full time education was whether or not I would be able to keep up with the workload. Well so far so good, however with the workload set to double after half term, it will be interesting to see if it really is a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire!

Back to the start….

2008-10-07T17:06:00.009+01:00

It can be a little daunting returning to something that you haven’t done for a while or in the case of returning to college, haven’t done for years!

With the first month all done and dusted its time to reflect.

My initial fears that I wouldn’t fit in with the group or be able to keep up with the workload have proven to be unfounded. I feel like I’m settling in nicely helped largely by the ice breaking exercises, mix of ages, backgrounds and general friendliness of the other group members.

As far as the workload goes, I’m glad we received the first assignment as early on as we have done as it’s given me the chance to reassess my style of working early on.

I’ve always taken a kind of hap-hazard approach to assignments, instead of focusing on each section one by one I’ve completed parts of this then moved on and begun to do parts of that without actually completing anything.

I'd forgotten that this approach makes it hard to keep track of how much progress has been made and I will endeavour to work in a more linear way through the forthcoming assignments.

Time management has also been an issue in the past, but I'm keeping an eye on it and trying to ensure I set aside plenty of time for self study work and that I use my time in College in a productive manner also.

All in all I’m pleased with the way the first month has gone, though it wouldn’t hurt to start setting personal targets for my self study time and work in a more organised way.

Where I've come from; where I am now; where I'm going

2008-09-30T17:03:00.008+01:00

Where I've come from

With my Dad being in the army, I grew up in a variety of towns, predominantly living in army quarters before my family settled in Braintree, Essex where I lived for the past 10 years and completed my GCSE’s.

After finishing High School I went on to study for an Intermediate GNVQ in Information Technology at Braintree College. Having completed and passed the course, I began the 2 year advanced GNVQ. I quickly became disillusioned with the course which was essentially a course in how to use Word, Excel and Access rather than focusing on the technical side of computing. I left midway through the first year and began to work full time at the local Cineworld Cinema which had recently opened.

During my time with Cineworld I developed an enthusiasm for the marketing side of the business which allowed me to use the creative side of my personality designing film displays as well as creating competition posters and entry forms which were used to promote forthcoming films and resulted in me being promoted to Marketing Supervisor, a position I held for 3 years before being promoted to operations manager at our sister site in Bishop’s Stortford in November 2003.

Over the next 2 years I gained experience in the Concessions, Health and Safety and Marketing aspects of the cinema. Whilst I undeniably enjoyed my role as a manager, I grew increasingly frustrated with the path my life had taken and yearned to find a way to combine my love of computing with the creative side of my personality.

During a weekend visit to friends who were studying in Leeds, I spoke of my frustrations and of my desire to work in an industry which would allow me to use my creativity. About a week later my friends told me about the HND in Interactive Media Design at Wakefield College. I found the course website and after exploring it, decided that the course was exactly what I needed to make my dream career a reality.

Where I am now

After successfully applying for the course I made the move from Essex to Wakefield in January this year. After a shaky first few months, during which time I struggled to find work, I’m pleased to say that I have now fully settled into the area.

I’m living with my 3 best friends and have a wonderful girlfriend, Faye, who I’ve been with for the past 2 months and have been working for HSBC in Leeds since April to help support me through my studies.

Where I'm going

Upon completion of HND, I plan to find myself work within the design industry with a well established company to hone and further develop my knowledge and skills. After building a strong portfolio and learning from industry professionals, I hope to set-up my own design company specialising in Website design and creation.