10 things I have learnt about myself as an individual and a learner:
1. I don't like to plan
Planning is never anything I have ever done, and I have found that I get by alright without doing it. I've become accustomed to living and working without a day to day plan so it doesn't really have a negative affect on me.
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| Unplanned first brief |
2. Past contextual research is just as important as current research into designers
Looking into contextual research of things that don't interest me has never been something I have seen a point to, but while being here at university I have come to recognise that it is important to further my work and mind. I have found it to be useful in m working practice and can now hold a conversation about subjects I couldn't before.
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| Post modernism by Carson |
3. Designer research is key to the success of my final outcome
When I did my foundation level I found that this was a main focus of mine, but when I started this course I found it difficult to get this done within the time limit of a one week brief, and because of this I didn't do enough of this. Now I have learnt to balance the briefs over the week, I have been able to get in this vital research.
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| Promotional Pack by The Official Manufacturing Company |
4. I like to blog early in the morning
Blogging is something that is completely new to me, and I have found it quite hard to get consistent at recording everything in this way. I have found that blogging early in the morning is when I get the most done as I usually arrive to University earlier than most people. I find that I am more productive in those couple of hours than doing some blogging at home during the evening.
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| Blogger |
5. I'm a fast learner on software
When I started this course, I was only familiar with Photoshop as I had been using this for a number of years, but when it comes to Illustrator and InDesign, I was completely new to these. I found that after the Illustrator workshops we did within the first couple of months, I was learning the tools and skills on this program very easily and am now able to experiment with them to create more interesting pieces of digital work.
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| Alphabet Soup - Illustrator design |
6. My final outcome is usually the strongest part of the brief
Final presentation has always been something that is important to me, sometimes more so than the actual concept and idea. I always put in a lot of work to make sure the end product looks the best part of the whole brief, as I think that's the way it should be.
7. I am able to adapt my skills to each brief
Each brief is different, and for each brief I get a different set of criteria and media to use, as well as different concepts and ideas. I have found that whatever brief I have been given, I have not found it difficult to apply my skills to them, as well as experiment with different skills.
8. I have always met the deadlines
I always make sure I work on the final product with a reasonable amount of time until the deadline date, and have always succeeded in finishing the final outcome with good time to be able to go back and review, edit and improve the outcome.
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| Birth of a font - finished well before the deadline |
9. I need to spend more time in the ideas/planning stage of a brief
When it comes to a brief, I usually come up with one main idea right at the beginning, and I usually stick with that one throughout. I do think that this is a good thing, but it does have disadvantages too as I don't take time to consider other ideas, ones which could end up improving the final product. I would like to start spending a bit more time on the ideas generation part of the brief.
10. I need to learn how to make design that all will understand. Just because I understand it easily doesn't mean everyone else will
When given a brief and having the initial ideas as to how this will be carried out, it is easy to get lost in it and forget about the audience and how they will perceive the design. As type is a fundamental part of design, when it comes to designing without it, I do find it hard as I may relate an image to a subject, but someone else might not and will not understand my design decisions.
10 things I have learnt about myself as a designer:
1. I like to only use a few colours in work, sticking to a colour scheme of up to four colours (and black & white)
A consistent colour scheme throughout a brief is important to me. I take time to find a scheme which works well on every element of the brief and stick to it throughout the whole brief, keeping it all consistent.
2. I prefer the use of simple block colours to fades & realistic visuals
Unless working with photographs, I don't really like to design with gradients or realistic style work. I have always preferred working with block colours and vector art.
3. The use of colour is important to me
Colour has always been something that is important to me, and in design getting the right colour for a brief is very high on my list of thing that are necessary. For each brief I try to variate the colour use, but want it to stay well within the context I am designing for. I think colour is very important as it puts across the whole tone of the design work, and getting it wrong could lead to it being perceived in the wrong way by the viewer.
4. I have little interest in infographics or way finding
Infographics and way finding is nothing that interests me, and I do find that the other areas of design are a lot more exciting to me. I have very little experience in designing with these, and don't really want to start now.
5. I have an interest in working in identity
Identity is something which interests me. How one single image makes you think of a company or place in the world. I would like to experiment in this work in the future.
6. I like the idea in working large scale
For the most part, I design on a small scale, but working on things that can be large scale, such as posters is something I do want to start doing more of. It opens up a whole different part of design, and gives the option of retail and promotion work as well.
7. I have an interest in working in editorial & publishing
This is where my main interest in design lies. I much prefer making small pieces of design and putting them over an array of different pages than trying to create one large piece of work. I find layout and structure is something that I find important and like to have a control over, and find I can do this best in a multi-page publication.
8. I like simple packaging & identity design, however when it comes to editorial, I prefer a much more abstract design
When it comes to packaging, I always find myself looking to the ones which are very simple, maybe just a block colour with a logo or a bit of type on. I find these a lot more interesting than ones which are covered in pattern or design. When it comes to Identity, I like the block coloured designs which are very simple and recognisable. In editorial work I like page layouts which are playful and clearly experimented with.
9. I would like to incorporate hand-rendered work into digital work when possible
Working digitally all the time can get a bit frustrating at times as I don't feel the design has the same personal touches and quirks like they would if it was all done by hand. Digital work is always perfect as it works with vectors etc. I would like to utilise this as much as possible and combine the two so even when done on the computer, there is a clear personal touch to the work.
10. Typography is more important in my work than image
I have always found it very easy to work with typography compared to working with image. When incorporating the two together, I have always found I just use the image as a background and always put the main focus on the type. I find it easy to manipulate and work around. I will continue to work on this and experiment further with how type can be legible on a piece of design.
