Ben Mckenna Design Practice: resubmission

Showing posts with label resubmission. Show all posts

Sunday, 14 April 2013

Friday, 5 August 2011

Hello my name is Ben Mckenna. Firstly I would like to welcome you to my presentation. I shall begin with some background information about myself. Before this course began, I was at Amersham College where I studied a BTEC in Graphic Design. My interests that relate to graphic design are photography, type and graphic image and moving imagery. Design is a big part of my life and I am very fortunate to be able to continue studying it at degree level at Leeds College of Art.

I would like to discuss my influences. I am influenced by visually inspiring design; something that captures the public's imagination and encourages them to get involved. Advertising is essential for selling but it can be quite generic. I like design that is thought provoking and distracts the viewer for that moment and leaves a lasting impression on them; design that draws emotion from them. For example, some of T-mobiles most recent adverts interact with the public. I find this type of forward thinking inspiring.

Moving on to the present; I am fortunate enough to have access to some very specific and professional equipment at Leeds College of Art which has not only enabled me to complete my projects, but also to further my existing knowledge and at times even develop brand new knowledge of how the equipment works, how it is used and which pieces of equipment are necessary to use for a specific task. I would like to talk about some of the things I have learnt this year. Firstly I am amazed by the great equipment the university has to offer to the students. For example, the screen printing, textile and book binding equipment, the Mac suites, the studio space, the photography studios and video equipment as well as the digital print room facilities and the brilliant library resources on offer.

An example of this equipment being put into practice is when I had to create a book for the brief 'Collection of 100', which involved me using the disperse dye printer to print the background on the buckram and then screen print the logo. This was more practical than my initial idea of using the screen print technique to produce the background layer and then screen printing the logo on top of it; the reason I chose to do it in this order was because I would not have been able to get the paint splatter to bleed over the edges.

On first arrival to the course, my knowledge of computer programmes was basic and I was enthusiastic to learn more. I have developed my knowledge and understanding of how to use programs such as 'Indesign', 'Illustrator', 'Photoshop' and 'Finalcut' over the duration of this course. I feel that these skills learnt have aided my progress in projects and will also benefit my professionalism.

My time at Leeds College of Art has helped me to appreciate the importance of time management and how this effects my ability to meet deadlines. I understand that in order to gain satisfactory grades and stay on top of tasks, the way in which I manage my time is essential. As the Graphic design course has developed, I have come to realise the higher expectations of a degree course and how important it is that I put the maximum time and effort into my work. I shall be discussing this a little later on.

Through working in a team on given projects, I have acquired new skills, including the ability to delegate tasks within the group equally in order to achieve the ultimate goal. In relation to this, another skill I have learnt is also the importance of being able to work independently in order to build upon my own existing knowledge and therefore evaluate and analyse initial ideas to increase the development of the brief and ultimately the project in hand. This new ability to learn independently compliments my contribution when working within a team.

Additionally, I have learnt how to work from a formal brief given. This involved me being able to read a brief, analyse it and develop new knowledge accordingly. This has in turn also resulted in an increased ability to recognise that projects should not simply be aesthetically pleasing, but rather they should contain a message that is justified through thorough research and development.

Whilst in the process of completing projects, I have found the use of the technicians knowledge extremely beneficial. I have learnt how to take their advice on board in order to successfully complete the project.

Finally, I have improved upon my research skills and techniques. I am now aware of how important it is to research specific areas accordingly to the given brief before starting the tasks. This has not only taught me about the topic in question, but has also helped me to organise and order my knowledge efficiently before carrying out any practical work.

I shall now continue to discuss things that I need to focus on in Level 5. As previously mentioned, time management is such an important aspect of the course and I must focus on this in order to progress throughout Level 5. By improving this skill I will feel more competent and confident in completing tasks. I also need to focus on prioritising my work over my social life, resulting in a healthy balance.

Furthermore, I would like to improve my analytical skills in order to successfully criticise and evaluate my work. An advantage of doing this would help the development of my work from start to finish.

Throughout year one, I have been given multiple tasks that involve me presenting to a group of students and my teachers. I have found this fairly daunting as I would not consider this as an area of strength. I would like to gain confidence in speaking publicly which would benefit my assignments and is a skill I will carry into my professional career.

In addition to this, I feel it would be very beneficial to gain work experience in order to source live briefs outside of college. This will develop my professional skills and develop my understanding of what may be expected of me in the future following completion of my degree. I have already gained valuable experience while designing a logo for 1989 records, which has become the face of their record label. Additionally, I have designed a logo for a t-shirt which was successfully used in P Money's music video “Madness”. This t-shirt was reproduced at least 200 times in various colours for the video. It is work like this that makes me keen to continue looking for live briefs. Furthermore, by working outside of the college it will enable me to gain professional contacts which I would like to use in the future.

As well as working with other professionals, I also feel it would be hugely rewarding to network with other courses within the university as well as other universities in order to meet new students studying similar courses and gain an insight into different views and approaches to design. I hope that by doing this I will develop my own outlook on design and put this into practice with future projects.

In order to build upon my existing knowledge I feel more focus should be put on independent research rather than merely researching once a brief has been given. I could achieve this by visiting more exhibitions and galleries, and attending external lectures independently, and documenting this on my blog.

One area that I feel I am passionate about developing are my skills and knowledge in animation and moving image. The programmes that surround these are mainly 'After effects' and 'Final cut' and I will make it my priority to use and develop my understanding of these programs independently.

One more area that I am aware I need to focus on next year is my attendance as I appreciate that missing studio time, crits and lectures greatly hinders the progression of my work and therefore the overall outcome of briefs. Alongside this my punctuality needs to be improved upon as it will not only help at university but also in life.

I need to maintain a positive attitude towards the course and briefs and not lose interest in certain projects and this is an area that I will focus on as I progress through Level 5. It is highly important that I remain up-to-date with my blog, as by documenting my work regularly I can save valuable time and use this to concentrate in other areas of my work.

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are of interest to me and could aid my work over the duration of this course. I believe they will be of benefit to me as I can not only gain an understanding of why social media is now so important in a professional career but it will also enable me to gain opinions and feedback on projects from other users.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year at Leeds College of Art and I am grateful for the opportunities university has given me. I have developed a variety of skills and relationships throughout year one, which have contributed towards my enthusiasm for the course. It is important for me to maintain and build on this in order to complete the course successfully.

Evaluation

End of module self –evaluation.

I have really enjoyed working on the resubmission of this work especially ‘Speaking from experience’. Going back and revisiting these brief has reminded me how much I enjoy the subject of Graphic Design. I feel my skills have developed through these briefs and have helped me to apply my designs to a range of different applications throughout the projects especially the ‘Speaking of experience’ brief.

I have researched many different areas for this resubmission and found some parts of my research more relevant and practical than other parts. Specifically when thinking about focusing on the final outcomes. I looked at things that I felt were interesting as well as relevant to the briefs. My research was very helpful in assisting me with the completion of these projects and I found that my research greatly helped my idea generation and thought process.

My research about the Pomodorra technique will also be extremely valuable in the future, as time management hasn’t really been a strength of mine this year. I feel that this technique is very helpful and will enable me to finally deal with my problem of managing my time efficiently. If this technique can help me then I’m sure that it can help anyone.

My strengths can be seen throughout the module resubmission but I feel they are specifically noticed in the ‘Speaking from experience’ final outcomes. I have thoroughly enjoyed producing different forms of packaging for this brief and it has reminded me how much I enjoy designing and making packaging.

I am also very pleased with the photos I have used for the ‘Type’ brief and this has also reminded me of how much I really enjoy photography. I have used ‘InDesign’ throughout these projects and I am really happy with the progression I am making in relation to using the program. I have found it very useful when designing my calendar and posters.

I will now build upon these skills and put them into practice when approaching future projects.

I wish I had been able to further develop ‘Speaking from experience’ by using resources in the digital print room and the screen print equipment to transfer designs onto the final pieces. However I’m very happy with what I have produced with the limited resources that were available to me.

Five things that I can identify and will do differently next time are:

1. I will not waste any time by not attending crits, tutorials or studio time. This has greatly hindered the development of my projects and consequently has led to me having to resubmit these modules.

2. Staying on top of blogging. This is essential, as blogging regularly will leave me time to focus on other parts of my work.

3. Put more effort in when researching. Research is a vital part of any brief and I need to remember this as it affects my final outcomes.

4. To stay enthusiastic and motivated about all briefs. This will help me not to loose interest or momentum when I feel I’m not fully understanding or engaging a brief.

5. To get the most out of every brief. Even If I am not enjoying a brief that doesn’t mean I cant improvise and adapt to achieve whatever the brief is asking. I can take the opportunity of not enjoying the specifics of a brief to teach my self new skills or develop on the ones I have already.

Thursday, 4 August 2011

Final images for opposites.

Beautiful/ Ugly.

I took this photo while I was travelling in El Salvador and looking at this photo reminds me how I felt when I took it. I feel it describes the word 'Beautiful' well.

The photo below was taken in Barcelona. I really like this image

and I feel it describes the word 'Ugly' well.

Black and white/ Colorful.

The above image was again shot in El Salvador. This

represents the word 'Black and White.' It was originally

taken in colour. I then put the image into photoshop and changed the

colour and levels to make it 'Black and White'.

The below photo was taken in London, Brick Lane. The vibrant

colours on the black background jump out at you. I really like this photo and I feel it is a good choice to describe the word 'Colourful'.

Hand/Feet.

I took this photo after I had pulled a sticker off a lamp

post I didn't want to simply just have a 'hand'.

Below is a photo of my 'feet'. In this photo I had just traveled from Mexico through Belize

and into Guatemala. All bare foot and in the space of a day and a half .

Male/ Female.

This is a photo of my friend Alex. I asked him to give

me the biggest grin he could. This was taken in Bushy Park, Hampton.

This is my friend Amber. I produced this photo using

lighting and a set we had made up using long pieces of fabric. This was

taken while I was studying at Amersham collage last year.

Hard/ Soft.

This photo is of a rusty nail...

When I looked at this photo in relation to the word

hard, the first thing that came into my mind was the phrase 'hard as nails'

and thats why I chose to use it to represent the word 'Hard'.

The last photo in this series of opposites is a photo that I took

looking out of the window on a flight to Argentina.

I really like this photo and find it very calming it.

I feel it describes the word 'Soft' perfectly.

Type brief-Opposites/Antonyms

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposite_(semantics)

In lexical semantics, oppositesare words that lie in an inherently incompatible binary relationship as in the opposite pairs male : female, long : short, up : down, and precede : follow. The notion of incompatibility here refers to the fact that one word in an opposite pair entails that it is not the other pair member. For example, something that is longentails that it is not short. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members in a set of opposites. The relationship between opposites is known asopposition. A member of a pair of opposites can generally be determined by the questionWhat is the opposite of X ?

The term antonym (and the related antonymy) has also been commonly used as a term that is synonymous withopposite; however, the term also has other more restricted meanings. One usage hasantonym referring to both gradable opposites, such aslong : short, and (non-gradable) complementary opposites, such as male : female, while opposites of the types up : down andprecede : follow are excluded from the definition.

A third usage (particularly that of the influential Lyons 1968, 1977) defines the term antonymas referring to only gradable opposites (the long : short type) while the other types are referred to with different terms. Therefore, as Crystal (2003) warns, the terms antonymy andantonym should be regarded with care. In this article, the usage of Lyons (1963, 1977) and Cruse (1986, 2004) will be followed where antonym is restricted to gradable opposites and opposite is used as the general term referring to any of the subtypes discussed below.

While objectal opposites are difficult to define it is generally accepted that the disappearance of an object is the closet rather than the lack of physical presence.

Speaking from experience-Starter kit contents

Above is the contents of the starter kit. It includes; A fold out calendar, 4 posters. It also includes a box that contains an alarm clock, a diary, 2 gift vouchers for the library store, a black and red pen, a highlighter, a pencil a rubber and sharpener. To accompany all of these items is a brown paper bag for the contents to be put into. The bags with the starter kit in them are to be handed out during the induction week. They can be handed out alongside the folders that Amber hands out which contain equipment to help students get started off.

The Alarm clock, calendar and diary were chosen to be put in because they are all forms used to record time. The alarm clock was chosen for two reasons: the first simply being that an alarm clock is very handy when needing to get up early for university. The second relates to the poster I have produced explaining 'The Pomodoro technique' . It is essential to have some sort of way to time yourself for this technique to work. I know that most people wear watches or could possible use their phone to time themselves but I feel that buy putting the alarm clock in the starter kit, students will be reminded why they were given it- to manage their time accordingly.

I bought a diary and put it into the starter kit. I did this because I know how important it is to write down and record your future dates and events. As well as this a diary is good for recording any ideas or thoughts you may have related to design. I have a notebook that I write down all of my ideas in, even the ones that don't relate to collage work.

I feel the calendar was a good idea and I'm really pleased with the way it folds out into a standing calendar. Up until this year I really never saw the importance of a calendar, but I do now. A calendar is extremely helpful when you are a bit of an unorganised person like myself. Before I stated using my calendar I didn't know which date went with which day for that passing year. I had to guess.

Im really pleased with the motivational posters I have produced and I'm even going to put them up in my room as being reminded to do my work is something I always need help with.

I feel that everything in the starter kit is relevant to a new student dealing with the problem of managing time efficiently.