three years

My final reflective entry aims to summarise my university experience, what I’ve enjoyed, what I’ve learnt, and where I’m planning on going.

I’ll start with an overview of my university experience. Almost three years ago I chose to give up my full time job in the print industry in an effort to become part of the graphic design trade, to say I was completely influenced by the work I managed as a client service executive would not be fair however, as graphic design had been a passion of mine since being taught the basics in secondary school.

The first year of the course led me to question my choice after indulging in a seemingly endless offering of ‘art’ briefs in the form of life drawing, collage and abstract portrait work. I was not completely put off but admittedly my view of ‘graphic design’ had seemed to reverse in its definition, moving further backwards from even my school experiences. I believe I was one of the only students on the course that had not completed an art foundation course, so these tasks, although simple, were not what I was expecting.

Contextual studies led us through a number of art history lessons, of which I found the majority very interesting – and although a new subject for me, my understanding was reflected in the marking of my written work. I was not only happy with my ability to write on such subjects, but surprised to uncover a passion for writing after so many dormant years. This realisation has contributed largely to my involvement in a number of extracurricular spheres, writing this blog became a productive space for reflection as opposed to ‘another piece of work’ I had to complete.

Through to second year where my experience began to correlate more closely with my idea of ‘graphic design’, a number of briefs I really enjoyed working on gave me a lot of confidence moving through the second year and into the third. The most important experiences being the bad ones – I felt I got a really good grasp of the tutor feedback system and my ability to take criticism and apply suggestions to my work is now an integral element in the design process as opposed to an initial ‘annoyance’ or inconvenience.

The end of the second year brought our first exhibition, and the first instance of truly ‘stand alone’ work. This process was a new one after two academic years of standing by your work to explain your concept, and the decisions you had made along the way. While presentation skills are an excellent client-side skill for any commercial designer, the idea that completed work will eventually stand ‘alone’ is a thought that should remain constant throughout the design process, and something I felt was etched in my mind after displaying my work for exhibition.

The end of the second year acted as an introduction to our dissertation module, and an almost ‘scare-tactic’ briefing for the third year, that could be summarised as a suggestion to ‘step it up’ if you truly want to succeed. Emphasis on the documentation of thought process was heavy, another influence on the working method I was incessantly honing during the previous two years.

The third year came around quickly. During my final ‘student’ summer, I arranged a work placement at Nottingham agency Motif Creative, where I became part of a small agency for a week, working on a rebranding and web presence exercise for a country manor holiday resort. The experience was great, it inspired me to really push myself in my last year, giving me something ‘real’ to aim for.

As the third year began, we were given the opportunity to work on a commercial brief, mentored by a number of generous Cardiff designers. Given a team-leader role in a branding exercise again confirmed my inner-passion for the fast paced, high pressure environment, the team producing an excellent solution. (portfolio: the link)

With the overhanging mentality of ‘every grade counts’, the third year tends to create a rather unnecessary stressful atmosphere, which at times is detrimental rather than encouraging. I overcame this attitude early on, focusing on my work in terms of my portfolio and where I see myself fitting in the industry. The creative ‘freedom’ I had allowed myself I felt stimulated me into thinking more positively about the opportunities I am able to create for myself rather than worrying about what might be viewed as the most ‘ground-breaking’ work. The opposition to the creation of anything conventional or ‘simple’ was something that frustrated me at times during tutorials and crits, where similar advice and criticism was almost standard issue, the most common being a project that’s ‘too safe’. My observation of projects criticised for being ‘too safe’, are normally the ones that seem the most commercially viable or indeed meet the brief to the letter.

Despite a number of what seem like ‘criticisms’ I cannot criticise the course, for it has allowed me to grow into a professional, utilising the many skills I have practiced at degree level has ultimately prepared me to work in an industry that I have aspired to be a part of for as long as I can remember.

To summarise the final year, I am very happy with my portfolio and catalogue of work; through various means it has been featured on a number of creative blogs and art archives – something I can only feel proud to have achieved.

A final note; this year I became part of the ‘Just us Collective’, and my profile will be going live shortly. More details on this soon.

module reflection two

My second reflective post looks at the 'site' project completed earlier in the year. A project I was personally very happy with but came under heavy criticism from my tutors.

The brief asked us to pick an 'everyday object' and make it 'extraordinary' a topic I covered earlier this month in a blog post named 'the transition'. I chose the netgear router that sits on the middle floor in my 8 bedroom student house, something I felt was taken completely for granted by everyone but provides a service most of us would be lost without.

I went about my research by doing a little reading about the functionality of the router, to introduce a technical aspect to the narrative. However, I felt this information was fairly monotonous and 'ordinary' in nature so began to explore deeper.

I circulated a number of 'log sheets' to my house mates, asking them to document their activity on line, when they log on, how long for, and what they are doing. This produced results that allowed me to categorically display the flow of digital information into the house. Interesting I thought, at this point I attended a tutorial where I was encouraged to make the information more 'magical' and experiment with expressive typography. I chose to ignore this advice as I felt it was a complete contradiction to the products systematic functionality, so I stuck with a clean, structured format.

My module feedback provided me with little criticism, other than 'it was unsuitable for an audience of 60+, and I should have considered this.' Since this project I've found the wishy washy nature of choosing a target audience for these limitless creative briefs a challenge, as I feel there is a genuine grey area between maximum creativity/experimentation and a solution that holds any commercial value and may be applied to 'a market'.

I have discussed this problem with my colleagues and house mates and it's fair to say there's some consistency in my view.

To summarise the site project: Although it is the lowest mark I have received this year - it still remains one of the strongest pieces of work in my portfolio, and the one piece of work I'd say has received the most interest in an interview situation.