CAT's Log Book

Evaluation and planning

In this CAT's lesson we were given a booklet in which we had to write where we are now in terms of what we are doing and where we want to be when we leave university. We had to write our first thoughts on what we wanted to do for a career after university. I wrote that I wanted to be a Graphic/Web Designer when I finish university either working in a design studio or working as a freelance designer. We then had to write about any existing experience we had already. I wrote that I had worked as a Mac Operator for 7 years at the East Riding of Yorkshire Councils Print & Design Department. Then before this I had gained a BA Hons Degree in Graphic Design between 1995 - 1998 at the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside.

We then had to write down our hopes and dreams for the future. I wrote that I would love to work in a design studio to gain the experience and build a portfolio of work up. Then maybe setting up my own business or stay with one company and getting a decent wage so I could afford the good things in life and give something back to my Mum. My dream is to work in a design studio in New York. We then had to write down our constraints on if we had to remain local or move away. I wrote I didn't mind has long as I was doing a job I love and was getting paid well for it. Ideally I would like to stay local but I am willing to move to find work in my chosen career.

We then had to write down our strengths and weaknesses which I've listed below.

Strengths

• Drawing
• Design
• Works well as part of a team
• Reliable
• A good time keeper
• Never gives up

Weaknesses

• Presentations
• Maths
• Php and Flash coding

20th October - Tutorial with Tom

From what we had wrote in this booklet we then had tutorials so we could discuss with our tutor what we had wrote down. I discussed with Tom my tutor what I had wrote down in the booklet the week before and he wrote it down on a report sheet. I then had to let him know what I wanted to do for my Personal Report and said I would like to write a critical appraisal of my university portfolio site. So Tom wrote this down on the report sheet and gave me some feedback and suggested things to look at.

27th October - Worked on Personal Report

In this lesson I began to look at my personal report and how I was going to structure it. I decided I would have three sections starting with how I built my site and then comparing my site to other sites and then researching how I would go about promoting myself and my site. Then finally I would write an evaluation showing what I had done and what I had learnt.

2nd November - Ethics & Sustainability Presentation

In this lesson we were shown a Powerpoint presentation on Ethics and Sustainability in Art & Design. We were shown controversial adverts from United Colors of Benetton ad campaigns and work by other artists and photographers that have caused controversy. Then after the presentation we were told by the tutors that we had to write a 1,500 - 2000 word essay on an ethical issue related to visual culture. We then were given a list of titles that we had to choose from to write our essay on. I chose the question Should designers have a sense of social responsibility for my essay.

10 November - Audiences & Clients Presentation

In this lesson we were shown a Powerpoint presentation on Target Audiences and Clients. This was a useful presentation because it showed us about working for a target audience and working with clients. So this was relevant to work we will be doing in the near future.

17th November - Tutorial with Tom

In todays lesson I had a second tutorial with Tom to see how far I was with my personal report and also to let him know the topic I was going to write about for the ethics essay. I told Tom how far I was on with my report and he gave me some more suggestions. He said I should write a list of sites and designers to compare so that is what I will do next.

1st December HSAD was closed

HSAD was closed today due to the heavy snow so I just carried on working on my projects at home.

8th December - Worked on Personal Report

After missing last week due to the snow I carried on working on my report and I began by looking at other other designers sites to compare to my own once it was finished. I looked at a varied selection of sites from designers in the UK and from around the world to do a comparison with. I will carry on working on this so I can then narrow the sites I compare down to just four.

15th December - Worked on Personal Report

Today I carried on working on my personal report and I decided to change my ethics essay because I was finding the topic I chose hard to write about. So I changed it to the question Do violent video games have an impact on society?. I thought I would be able to find more reference material for this topic and I could write my own thoughts on this.

Evaluation

I am happy with how my website looks I like my background, sliders and the overall look of the site. I think it is easy to navigate around but I would say that because I designed it. All the headings and text are easy to read and all the links work there are no dead links. I think I have come along way since the first year and I have incorporated the skills I learnt in the first year to this site.

On the promotional side of things I now know more about the cost of running a domain name and printing costs that I didn't know before doing this. Once I am able to get home broadband installed at home I will certainly purchase my own domain name to promote myself on the web. I haven't yet decided on my career path after university I would either like to set up on my own as a freelance graphic/web designer or work in a design studio. I think at this moment in time with the economy like it is and businesses closing down all the time, the best thing to do would be to work with a company for an amount of time to gain experience and to build my portfolio up. This way I could get to work with clients from the start instead of building up my own client base. I also like the studio environment having worked in one previously. I work better in a team environment than on my own. So I think that is what I would like to do start off in a company or studio and work there for a certain amount of time before thinking of setting up on my own.

I still have a year and half at university before I have to go out into the big wide world. So I just intend to carry on like I have been doing and work has hard as possible whilst at university to get the best grades I can to help me get the career path I am after.

Promoting myself

I am going to look at how I would promote myself as a freelance graphic/web designer. My first step will be to look at how I would go about getting my own domain name setup. However due to the fact I don't have home broadband setup at home at this current time this won't be possible. So instead I will research how to setup a domain name for myself for future reference. I will then look at creating my own stationery and merchandise to promote myself as a freelance graphic/web designer.

Setting up a domain name

I went on 123.reg.co.uk to create a domain name for myself. In the domain search box on the home page I typed in chrisdunndesign to see if that name was available for me to use. I was then taken to another page where I could see if that name was available or not for me to use. That domain name was available under chrisdunndesign.co.uk at a price of £5.98 for 2 years usage. I could also have had chrisdunndesign.com or .org but if I was ready to purchase a domain name I would have chose chrisdunndesign.co.uk.

Business Cards & Merchandise

If I did have the domain name I wanted I would then create some business cards, stationery and merchandise to promote myself. I have looked at printing.com in Hull for pricing up the cost of business cards etc because my friend works their. For 1,000 business cards it would cost me £79 and for 1,000 comp slips it would cost £73 and for a 1,000 letterheads £104. If I wanted to promote myself by handing out pens to people with my name and logo on it would cost me £169 for a batch of 500 pens. If I wanted a keyring designing it would cost £201 for 250 keyrings. If I wanted my own polo shirt with my ID on to promote myself it would cost from £49 for 3 shirts. So now I've looked into the costing of promoting myself I've got a good idea of how much it would cost me in the future to get stationery and merchandise printed.

Site Reviews & Comparisons

Steffan Chyzak Freelance Graphic/Web Designer http://www.steffanchyzak.co.uk

Steffan Chyzak is a Freelance Graphic/Web Designer based in Scarborough. I chose this site because he is also a student who is studying web design in Scarborough. I also chose his site because it is structured similar to mine with the main container in the centre of the site that scrolls up and down. This site is easy to navigate around and all the headings and text are clear and easy to read. I especially like the way when you click on the titles in the navigation it takes you straight to that section so you don't have to scroll up and down to find what you are looking for. This site stood out to me because it is done by a student like myself. Below are screenshots of Steffan's site.

Site Reviews & Comparisons

Seb Design Website http://www.sebdesign.eu

Sebastien Nikolaou is a Greek Graphic Designer. I chose this website because it also has a container in the centre of the site like mine which scrolls up and down. Although this site doesn't have an image in the background like the other two sites I've looked at it as a plain black background. This site uses vibrant colours like yellow and bright pink for the text, logo and illustration. One thing I have noticed about this site is everything is on one page and there is no navigation. So the only way to look around this site is by scrolling up and down. Also some of the text is hard to read because it is in a light grey colour on a dark grey background. However the images stand out on this site because they vary in size. Below are screenshots of Seb's site

Site Reviews & Comparisons

David Tyler Freelance Web Designer http://www.tylerwebdesign.co.uk

David Tyler is a London based Freelance Web Designer. David's site is the one that inspired me to do something similar for my site. I like the faded background of the London skyline with the trees and grass in the foreground. His site also has a main container that scrolls up and down in the center of the site with a fixed background. Once again this site is easy to navigate around and I like the use of icons above the navigation. The text is clear and easy to read and it looks pleasing on the eye. Below are screenshots of David's site

Site Reviews & Comparisons

Tanya Merone's website http://www.tanyamerone.com

Tanya Merone is a Graphic Designer based in New York. I chose this site because it is similar to mine in the way it is layed out. The main content is centered like mine and it slides up and down and as a fixed background which is how my site is setup. Also the main content container is white just like mine with text and images inside it.

I like this site because it is easy to navigate around and it is nicely layed out. All the content is clear and easy to read. I especially like the secondary navigation that takes the user directly to the section they are interested in on the website. Below are some screenshots of her site.