Reading Week!!!

So far reading week has proved pretty challenging. As we entered the week with an email to Steve for our current task, we found our selves having to create a presentation consisting of a colour chosen by Steve. The element I received for this task was the colour purple in which seems to be a colour out of my interest, but hey this is all a learning experience that could be vital in the design industry so lets crack on with it. At present I have researched a number of sites in order to find out some information about this asset and what seems to me as the most surprising bit of information so far is that purple is meant to represent Royalty and Sophistication. In past experiences I have often found lavender to be quite relaxing in colour and aroma which is why this was so surprising. In research I have actually found out that lavender may look purple, but it is a lighter form of violet which is generally mistaken for the colour purple.

In this task I am actually struggling a little bit as I'm not sure on how much information will fit in to the 5 minute boundary, with an added question section at the end, so any advise on that will be greatly appreciated. I was considering of asking Steve but I'm not sure as to whether or not he’s annoyed with me for emailing him later then what I should have done.
Things i still need to be cracking on with:

- Before the weekend I intend to have my own domain name in order for me to receive web hosting from John, which appears to be very acceptable. If there are any websites that are recommended please share them as I would like to have full access and licensing to any website I publish in the future.
- Also before the weekend intend to have completed the full presentation in order for me to start thinking about which method I will use to present it i.e. notes, full presentation in hand or read of the board.
- I also intend to come up with as many questions as possible and the answers along with them to make it easier on me when I receive questioning (hopefully I will come up with all the question that may be asked so I wont have to turn down any question).

Half term!!!

It’s already been a week since our first deadline and I can’t help but feel so relaxed about it. It is also very clear that the fate of this assignment rests in the hands of Steve, and whether or not we've completed the tasks in the correct standard that will gain us at least a pass. As this week has progressed I have gained very useful tips that could be used to my advantage in future assignments. 1 of which seems so very simple, that I can’t seem to think of why it didn’t occur to me until a 2nd year student (Julian Dyer) published it in last week’s blog entry as a comment. Been aware of this task in the past would have saved me from having to rush things at the last minute in order to gain the use of a CD labelling kit.

Thing that could help me in the future (feel free to add comments on other additions):

- Produce a hand in check list at the start of an assignment (include all tasks including labelling CD and time management).
- Constant reminders of time planning (plan a source that is a constant reminder).
- Become literally exceptional which course related programs.
- Find more sources of creativity/inspiring images

A Feeling of Relief...

Today in the HND Interactive Media section of Thornes, was the hand in date for the 1st assignment. As 12 o’clock had past and Steve stepped foot in to the class, a mass breathe of relief was released across the room with the thought of achievement in completing what seemed to be the hardest task up to press. Early this morning I arrived, with the intention of completing the assignment in approx 1 hour and having the rest of the morning to relax and think about the previous experience, although this didn’t conjure from the original plan. I found my self in a state of panic as I made a quick dash to PC world for a CD labelling kit as this was one of the tasks I overlooked. The over overlooked task was the referencing during the assignment which took me a good hour to configure to what seemed to be the correct standard. Sitting here now, I can gladly say that the experience and achievement has been pretty satisfying, both working on and completing A2 – That’s the Plan.

Next to come is the first experience of what is known as reading week. At the moment I sort of like the idea that ill be gaining more experience about the course and what is needed in order for me to pass it. It is known that a number of tutors through out your education may seem to want a mass amount of work in order for you to complete an assignment. During the previous years of education at Wakefield College I have often wondered why so much is required in order to complete an assignment when I have learnt what was needed. At this moment in time I have now realised that your learning is just as important as the evidence needed to prove what you have learnt.

For the final thought of this week’s online journal entry I can say that I am looking forward to starting some of the future activities on the course to boost my range of experience and creativity. Bring it on Steve!!!!

Final Final Design!!!

Here is an image fo the design i have ended up with due to that foolish acts of PageMaker.....

Any quick advice will be appreciated.

A good feeling!!!

The final week has finally come and what first seemed to be a sudden jolt of panic has suddenly turned to a sense of relief. In the seminar groups with Steve it seemed like I had a lot to get on with in order to complete the 1st assignment on the deadline set (hand in date as Steve once stated). During the course of the week I have been gathering evidence and inserting my work into PageMaker, which is now considerably starting to make a lot more sense. The relief I feel is that the 1st assignment is coming to an end and everything I need to get on with is becoming clear with every thought about it. Something I haven’t liked about this week is that I have had to change my original web site plan. Sorry to the people that commented on my design, but by inserting my design in to PageMaker the view was horrendous. Alternatively I have taken away the back ground colouring, inserted text navigation, edited the dickens image and yes people, Charles Dickens is still looking in to the page.

In our groups with John we found out that a certain student (mentioning no names Rebecca) managed to lose a lot of work due to some technical difficulties. From finding out about this experience I can improve on my backing up skills in order for this to not become an issue in the duration of what seems to be a pleasant course.

Also this week I have realised how everyone in the group has adapted in the ways they have. Not only have I noticed a great deal of enthusiasm but also a great deal of friendship. I can honestly say now that I feel to be part of the course and part of a group of potentially dangerous designers that I may have the pleasure of competing or working with in the, what seems to be the very near future.

Final 2 Designs!!

After more alterations it has come to the final 2. Now whats your opinion???

1st on screen design...

Finaly i have completed the 1st on screen design. Although a little late it would be very appreciated if i could possibly gain feedback before Monday. Thanks!

Another Idea was to have the banner looking a little like this??? Your thoughts will be appreciated.

After a number of outside sources i have narrowed my design down to this, any thoughts??

There is still time!!!

This week has gone by quite well considering it still seems that I am a little behind. The task from now until the next session (Monday 8th October) will be to complete all current ongoing work and prepare to insert all of it in to ‘Adobe PageMaker’.

This week Steve seemed to be a little calmer which can only mean 1 thing, he likes us to complete task set by himself (a little bit obvious). In our seminar groups we talked about our current progress in our first assignment. I have entered the ending stages of the design task (my favourite part), but much more work is needed in order to complete the assignment on the date set. Due to writers block early on Monday I postponed the competitive analysis task and moved on to the design part in which I have nearly completed.

This week I feel that I have learnt a great deal about the designing section as I have produced many thumb nail templates in which I have produced 5 on a larger scale. Narrowed down to the final 1 I began to test the making of the site to get a quick look at what it may look like if I were to complete the process.

The tasks I have set my self for this week are to:

- Complete the competitive analysis.
- Finish of the final design layout
- Amend the site structure
- And produce a price list, summarising my time spent and the hardware/software components.

Due to recent experience following the Nikki Iles task, I have come to my own conclusion about ‘PageMaker’. In my opinion it is not at all as accurate as Steve tends to talk about. This is my conclusion as I created the site structure and all seemed well on the computer screen. Once printed a number of errors appeared on the page all been the same error in different places. The error was that a small gap appeared between a various lines that I had connected to show the flow of data in the site structure.

Also I must remember to state the obvious and be able to prove my theory. In a discussion with John on Monday morning, he brought out an error I was making a few weeks ago. This error was that I got the wrong idea about how much detail we needed to go in to. I started to look in a deeper meaning of CSS when I was only required to find out what it is, what it can do, and what I will use it for.