Wednesday, October 31, 2007

3 Songs

For the Culture Vulture assignment we have been given the sub task to create a CD. As a listen while you design exercise we are to create an hour long CD to listen to while we do the creative work. This blog is to pick out the 3 main songs and

My first choice is the Bartender and the Thief by the Stereophonics. This is probably the first song I heard from them and got me into them. Taken from their second album Performance and Cocktails this song has always stayed with me and is the song I wanted to hear most when I went to see them live two years ago in October.

Signal Fire - Snow Patrol. This is an obvious choice as it is the first song from the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack and possibly only one of the two songs I actually like on the CD. Everytime I hear this song I immediately think of the film. It was also used as the music for the credits.

The End of Heartache - Killswitch Engage. Im not really into screaming shouting music and this is what I heard this band to be. It now is one of the most listened to songs on my iPod and is the credits music for the amazing (but could have been better from the game point of view) film Resident Evil Apocalypse. I think this is the perfect song to end this film with.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Evaluation of Year 2 so far...

This first semester back has, like all the rest, flown by. So far I don't feel any difference between this year and last except in the team assignment where we have more control over what we do for when. The two assignments given so far have been A9 Box Clever and A11 On the Job.

Box Clever
I enjoyed doing the CSS Box Clever assignment but still got all the "Will I pass nerves?". I enjoyed creating the CSS Beauty page as it really showed me what CSS is capable of. I managed to turn a very dull looking print page into an interesting CSS Styled page. I found it quite interesting looking into the impacts of CSS and what its benefits are. Starting this assignment I had some degree of knowledge of CSS, (I thought more) but learning how to code CSS cleanly was an interesting experience and using the proper code was useful.

On The Job
I am enjoying this assignment as I get to create an online multimedia project for a client in a team. As the developer I am now coding the website and am finding it relatively easy using CSS. This assignment was a little slow in starting as the client was a bit hard to get hold of but now we are really beginning to get moving. I liked the idea if having to pitch for the client with a presentation as this is a procedure that will more than likely be soemthing that happens in the design world.

I have found it a bit hard though especially with trying to give the client what he wants and trying to figure out the solution so it is also easy to implement. I think the hardest battle so far was with the CMS which I couldn't get to work.

Out of the 3 available team roles I am happy being the developer and am looking forward to doing the user testing as I would like to see what people think of what we as a team have created.

iMe
I think having a blog topic every week helps is focus on writing the online learning journal. I have enjoyed writing the entries except the one that we had to keep below 100 words. That was hard because I wanted to add extra words here and there but it wasn't allowed. So far I really enjoyed the Job orientated questions as they made you think on your feet. I was interesting reading the answers as well especially the post starting with the "Describe yourself in 3 words?" I completeley see the point of these questions as I see it as character building for the interviewer. I also like some of the more random questions like who is your hero?. I did originally find this hard as I was trying to think of someone from the design industry, and although loosely, mine sort of is connected. Which I didn't see at the time as I just put my hero down as a personal hero.

Looking forward I am looking forward to the Culture Vulture and am currently researching into my Design Icon, the Nintendo Gameboy. It is interesting seeing how much difference the name Nintendo made to the success of the Gameboy as many have tried similar techniques before the Gamboy and failed.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Bills to pay but still no job...

I firmly believe that punctuality is possibly the best characteristic to have as no one likes to be kept waiting, even if it is for the Queen. I always like to arrive about 10-15 minutes early as I think it shows a person who is dependable and enthusiastic.

Although I may tell a few white lies I feel it best to be honest even if people do not believe you sometimes and I like to think that I am thoughtful. In a team I would probably be the person who asks if everyone is okay and getting the drinks in at tea breaks etc.

I don't know if I understood the question right for no2. I assumed by effective it meant does it meet the brief as every design concept from a client will have a brief. I think that if it passes a brief then yes it was successful.

For criticism like I said it totally depends what mood i'm in. If i'm in a good mood i'll take it with a pinch of salt and say thanks and ask for reasons why its not good yet. If i'm in a bad/upset mood I will maybe see it as a personal attack. In genereal I can normally take it ok but I do not like criticism if somebody is saying it just to say it.

I am glad to say I am over the Photoshop issue, looking back I have learnt so much and am still learning. Before opening Photoshop was a daunting thought especially with the Photo Restoration task. To start with I absolutely hated it but when I gave up whinging about it and got down to work I ended up with something that I was proud of.

Team work is something I look forward to and I hope that I am a good team player. I sometimes get angry when people don't pull their own weight or if tasks need doing and I'm working and other members are sat around doing nothing. I have done a bit of group work in past courses and have also worked in retail teams, in which I also had the chance to manage them.

I feel that asking questions in an interview is a good way to show off your interest/enthusiasm about the job. I don't even think there should be a limit to the questions you ask as long as you have already researched into the company and could not find the answers. I think that personality can also shine through when asking questions as I feel I get less nervous as the interview progresses. I am nearly at the point when I'm not really nervous anymore but I can remember my first job interview which was quite terrifying to say the least. Saying that I got the job and worked for their company for 3 years.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Second Interview

1. Describe yourself in 3 words
Punctual, Honest, Thoughtful

2. How would you measure the effectiveness of your interactive media products?
It depends on what is meant, in a precise sense you can measure the effectiveness by looking at a counter website which measures the amount of times a website has been viewed. The other sense is does it meet the brief? In this sense I believe that most of my later IM products are effective as they do what the assignment brief required.

3. How do you handle criticism?
I can generally take criticism well, on my work, but sometimes it can be taken badly if I have spent a long time on a piece of work. I am learning to adjust to this and see it not as an 'attack' against my work but more of constructive criticism eventually helping me to create a solution that is best for the task at hand.

4. Describe a difficult problem you have had and how you've solved it
At the beginning of my first year at Wakefield college I knew very little about Photoshop and had barely used it. I took it upon myself to learn it in my own time following online tutorials and now feel I am quite good at using the software.

5. Describe how you fit into a team
In a team I manage to fit in quite quickly and am not afraid to share my views on a project. I have worked in teams before so I am not new to this. I think I bring to the team good ideas and solutions to problems for the task at hand. I am a good coder and designer in Photoshop and Flash so I could partake in a number of roles in the group.

6. Any other questions?

Is there a possibility of promotion?

Will I get the chance to lead my own team?

Will there be the chance to work abroad?

Monday, October 08, 2007

Beauty Is Only CSS Deep

Here it is the link to my CSS Beauty page. Comments would greatfully be accepted thanks.

http://www.chris-towell.co.uk/units/css-beauty/shuffle_page.html

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Honesty builds good character

I enjoyed writing the previous post answering the interview questions. It was good practice and I think that I answered them professionally and honestly. I struggled a bit on the why do you want the job? not because I didn't know what to write but because I didn't know how to word it. I don't think im the best interviewee and sometimes leave them thinking "that could have gone better" but at the end of the day I guess it is just experience and we learn from mistakes.

I found it hard to add a weakness as I thought there were a few I could have put but didn't kow if it put me in a bad light so to speak, but I guess it shows honesty and this is something an employer would definitely want from an employee. If I had to change it I would probably say my presentation skills as they can definitely be developed for our upcoming assignment.

I wasn't surprised by the who is your hero as it is a random question which was meant to throw us, but I think another reason why it is asked is again to give insight into the character and their influences.

There has been the discussion is it okay to lie in an interview part of me says yes but part of me also thinks that the interviewer wants to hear the truth i.e. the real you; as that is the person they are employing + im a crap liar! and chances are something wouldn't add up in the future.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Any Work?

The Job: Junior Web Designer
Salary: £16,000 - £20,000


Full time in house designer, will require you to create new website concepts, update existing websites and create online marketing material. Must supply portfolio of existing work, have a keen eye for detail, good communication and good enthusiasm.

Why do you want this job?
I would like to start a career in design. I have been interested in the area of design for some time now and have developed a great interest in it. This job would give me the ability to express my skills at designing and I think I would be a good asset to your design team.

What is your greatest strength?
My greatest strength is the willingness to learn new things. I am someone who would like to learn as much as I can about a subject and try to greater my skills in them. I see this as a strength because I am not afraid to learn if I am unsure about how to complete any given task.

What is your greatest weakness?
I think my greatest weakness is not having much commercial design experience. As I am still studying the HND Interactive Media I have not been able to complete any outside work.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
As I am an ambitious person I would like to progress through the company and eventually lead my own team of designers. Through this I would also hope to have been given the opportunity to open up my own branched team from your company and help the company grow throughout the UK gaining experience as I progress.

What current multimedia innovation excites you the most?
Flash is a multimedia technology that is something that I would like to work with in a commercial environment. This can allow good interactivity for a site and is a way of keeping the user entertained as long as it is used correctly. As I am currently teaching myself about this software this drives my enthusiasm of using the software.

Who is your hero and why?
My hero Stan Lee because of the way he has developed a small company into a world wide brand. His imagination amongst other things has probably been the reason for me wanting to become a designer and feel that I have learned a great deal from him.