Archive for July, 2009

Long time no post!

Well I have moved into my new flat but getting the internet took us far longer than anticipated! But I finally sorted it and am ready to crack on with some work! I received my dissertation proposal form back the other day and thankfully it was approved. So I’m looking forward to researching grids in great depth. I’ve also picked out 4 briefs to have a go at over the next month – 3 from past ISTD papers and a D&AD one as well. I also plan to do some more cross stitching this summer as I’m still getting positive feedback on the needlework I did for my art foundation course.
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I also need to finish off the portfolio part of my website! I’ve had this domain for a while now but never found the time to do it – this weekend definitely!

I’ve been looking at some work as well. I always need something to look at first, I can’t design in a vacuum. Something that really caught my eye was a poster by Nivard Thoes. The colourful text placed directly over the black & white photo is slightly difficult to read but I think it has great impact and works well as a promotional poster for the opera ‘Drebbel’.
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It’s good to be back!

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Current Design Skills Profile

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This is my current design skills profile. From doing this it is easier to see where I think my strengths lie and where I need to improve. I think my focus as a designer is within type & layout designing publications with a small interest in web design. I much prefer design for print as you are creating something tangible. I feel that I am good research and written communication including things like critical studies but fall short when it comes to verbal communication. I am much more comfortable writing things out on design sheets and blogs than talking about them out loud or over the phone.

I understand how to use layout and create readable body copy but am not so good at just pure typography. I want to try designing my own fonts more and maybe doing some more illustrative type. I am good at using most programs but feel I need to practice more in Illustrator. Although I love illustration, I’ve come to learn that I am awful at it and have accepted this fact. I do however plan to do some illustration this Summer, merely as something different to my studio work. I’m not at all concerned with ethical design and I don’t want to be freelance, I want to work as part of an in-house design team as I prefer stability.

To improve my design practice this summer and get to where I want to be in September I’m going to play with type a lot more, create some more publication design, finish my website, update this blog as often as I can, use Illustrator more, do some creative briefs, do some commercial briefs. Hopefully my work placement will further confirm that I want to work as part of a design team. I will also create a thorough plan of everything I need to do each day to make sure that I keep busy and progress as a designer and on my dissertation.

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