SB3: Presentation Initial Written Draft

In order to have a clear structure of what I want to say in my presentation I decided to answer some questions that was written on the briefing to give me some general pointers and starter for it.

Who am I as a learner and a designer?

·     So far, in the course I’ve learnt : the importance of allowing myself to experiment with a wide range of creative processes in order for me to evaluate which process is the most successful and appropriate for a project that I’m doing. Especially in first year where we were told to experiment with different processes and think of radical ideas, I think this has helped me tremendously in being able to keep in my own pace when in the experimental stages of my design process as I think now I’m starting to become more confident in trusting my own instincts with my design decisions. I also think that coming into 2^nd year, I’m starting to become aware of the issues and fields that I want to immerse myself more and focus my design more into e.g. music and culture. However, because am still trying to become more aware of it, I feel that I still need to get extensive research and knowledge of these fields in order to construct my own opinions and thoughts on them so that I can use Graphic Design as a tool to bring more awareness and interpret them in my own style.

My creative concerns?

·      Right now my main creative concern is the fact that I feel like it takes me a long time to come up with ideas and concepts for project which stresses me out so much. Although I do like the experimental stage of projects as it takes me a long time to actually think of ideas, I stress out from the start and constantly through the duration of the project that I feel like I’m constantly behind on everything. In addition, I also do personal activities outside of university as a way of balancing my work and personal likes; therefore I really need to know how to manage my time effectively in order for me to do things in an orderly manner.

In addition, I also feel like I’m still lacking in confidence in showing people my own work. Although, we do have crits and I show it to my peers, I still find it nerve-wracking to show it other people, as I feel like my work is not good enough, and also the fact that I can’t really verbally explain my ideas very well adds to that as well. Similarly, networking is still something that I find hard to do, as I’m not very good at starting conversations and I don’t want to feel like a burden to people. Although, my personal endeavours like joining university societies have make me more confident I think as it helps me open up to people more, and create networking opportunities for myself.

My personal aims?

·      My personal aims for the rest of this year and next year is to be able to actually keep up with work as well as personal things. In order for me to create better work and refinements on my work as I always get feedback on module about how I should manage my time better. Also, in order for me to think about ideas quicker, I will need to read more about topics that I’m interested in; and explore more like going to exhibitions and galleries, in order to be more creatively informed about current trends and topics around me and around area which I can then use in order to broaden my design thinking. In addition, maybe I should push myself more to talk to people and network, possibly through going to exhibitions and workshops that goes around in Leeds and neighbouring cities.

My professional ambitions?

·      Realistically, venturing out as a freelancer is something that I probably would not do, although it may give me total complete creative freedom of what I could make, it makes me more anxious as working as one would mean that work would not be constant. I think in order to get experience working in the industry, I will try to apply for internships in order to broaden my portfolio and industry experience will be the most appropriate and realistic thing that I’ll do. However, hope fully when I gain more experience, in the future I would like to pursue a career in the music industry as a Graphic Designer as it’s something that I find integral to what I do and what I find the most interest in therefore I would like to work in an environment which I would enjoy as much as I enjoy designing. I find this something really important as for me being able to work in an environment that’s enjoyable and constantly changing will l=always have something exciting to work with and makes creating design for it much more enjoyable and fun as I’m constantly exploring different concepts and things along the way.

What I intend to explore further over the Summer and during Level 6?

·      Over the summer I would like explore more about the design within music e.g. how they are advertised and marketed, how the design is reflective of the music, as music trends are constantly changing and making an album for example takes months/years so they’ve have to be ahead of the trends; and areas similar, in order to widen my knowledge in this field and become more aware of the trends within it. In addition, in Level 6, I would also like to participate in live briefs more and actually submit work that I do for them, as it will help me assess how good my work is to the wider creative sphere outside university. I may also like to venture out in doing more personal commission designs as a way of putting my work out there and to be more confident about what I do and my designs. For example, for the society that I’m currently involved in, they have asked me to possibly revamped their logo and produce design for their end of year merchandise such as t-shirts. Although, it’s quite small I think it’s a good start for me and would be nice to do it further.