Their unique selling point is that they have a set price list that does not change per service. A client scope is done at an early stage by a sales representitive so the client never meets the designer. This is a much easier this way as they have the same design knowledge as the client. I have also learnt that although some can be difficult it is the client we are designing for at the end of the day.
According to Dave Pannell in order to gain employment a good portfolio is necessary.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Back to the Drawing Board!
The first three weeks have been a totally different experience for me compared to last year. For a start the assignments are a bit harder than last year and there is more emphasis on "do it yourself!" I don't really have a problem with this as I like to just get on with things. Another was the welcoming addition of air conditioning making the room ice cool!
Finding out about the referral for A8 was a bit of a shock as I thought I had done better on that assignment. I understand why and the mistakes were all minor ones apart from the missing evaluation.
I am really looking forward to completing the team project as I am in a team with Scott and Julian. Our team name is Pen to Pix but we did get off to a bit of a false start with the presentation for the project, not really knowing what to expect and not asking the right questions, but we still managed to claim work from one of the clients. I think I am happier developing a sports website than opposed to a nursery but this site does seem to be a bit big on the development side. However this can easily be tackled by the learning of CSS!!.
New to 'Blogs' or sorry Learning Plans was the structured topic for each entry. As you can see this weeks is a Evaluation of the first 3 weeks and I think I'm happier writing when I have a topic now. I enjoyed writing last weeks blog because it felt like a personal evaluation of my skills and made me think about what I have learned over the years.
Box Clever is the assignment I was most looking forward to as it is the first creative assignment of the second year. I did feel the themes were a bit limited from the original theme list but I have decided to go with the "Pencil & Paper" theme. I think this could provide the largest possible range of ideas but also simple ideas.
On the whole this year is shaping up to be a good one and am glad that I'm still on course learning hard. I'm really looking forward to Flash unit and have one or two ideas that could be done.
For the next week I aim to have the creative thumbnails to be completed, starting on any Photoshop documents required and finished Task 1.
And on a final note I have a new job!!
Finding out about the referral for A8 was a bit of a shock as I thought I had done better on that assignment. I understand why and the mistakes were all minor ones apart from the missing evaluation.
I am really looking forward to completing the team project as I am in a team with Scott and Julian. Our team name is Pen to Pix but we did get off to a bit of a false start with the presentation for the project, not really knowing what to expect and not asking the right questions, but we still managed to claim work from one of the clients. I think I am happier developing a sports website than opposed to a nursery but this site does seem to be a bit big on the development side. However this can easily be tackled by the learning of CSS!!.
New to 'Blogs' or sorry Learning Plans was the structured topic for each entry. As you can see this weeks is a Evaluation of the first 3 weeks and I think I'm happier writing when I have a topic now. I enjoyed writing last weeks blog because it felt like a personal evaluation of my skills and made me think about what I have learned over the years.
Box Clever is the assignment I was most looking forward to as it is the first creative assignment of the second year. I did feel the themes were a bit limited from the original theme list but I have decided to go with the "Pencil & Paper" theme. I think this could provide the largest possible range of ideas but also simple ideas.
On the whole this year is shaping up to be a good one and am glad that I'm still on course learning hard. I'm really looking forward to Flash unit and have one or two ideas that could be done.
For the next week I aim to have the creative thumbnails to be completed, starting on any Photoshop documents required and finished Task 1.
And on a final note I have a new job!!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Academic skills from the X-Mansion
Academic Skills that will assist me in future job prospects are:
Personal Development Planning
Over this last year, and previous years I have been constantly developing my skills and learning new things to help me gain better employment. This not only means developing with practical skills, but also developing my personal skills. E.g. Listening, researching and presentations. Another skill from this is the ability to self evaluate after each assignment. This is a skill that could be beneficial in the work place as I can self evaluate my work and my performance in order to reach my maximum potential.
Attending Lectures
In lectures I have been able to improve my listening skills, as well as the ability to negotiate my points across when I feel the need to disagree with something. I also believe that this can help with being punctual. Having a purpose of being somewhere gives me the feeling that I need to be there on time or early and as it is something I enjoy I have no problems being there.
Seminars/work groups
Working in a group has obviously allowed me to increase my skills with working in a team. I think that I have also developed the ability to discuss points and argue them if necessary. I feel this is beneficial in the work place as there will be team projects that need to be completed. I also feel that employers like to see people coming to the right conclusion through discussing good and bad points and then adapting them. I can show this skill as I am now undertaking a team project.
Oral Presentation
Under the years I have carried out a series of Presentations and I can say that not all have been pleasant experiences. This is a skill that needs to be developed as there will be times when I need to present work to a client.
Written Essays
The biggest skill I can learn through this is creative or academic writing. This can also develop my use of English and improve my spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Maths Statistics
Statistics can be seen as a way of taking research and managing it. We as designers work with statistics all the time, for example what percentage of users work on a Mac? What percentage of the world have FireFox as their default browser? All this will help us create better websites and cater for the larger target audiences.
Another example is the use of Mathematics in some coding which may be developed as a designer. E.g. ActionScripting and JavaScript.
Observations
Creative influences are everywhere and it is what we see that inspires us. An example of this is animation for me. Whenever I see a film that has great animation it inspires me and makes me think that someday I want to release something just as good or better.
Another skill to add on to this would be attention to detail. For designers this, in my opinion, is a biggest skill some one may need in this industry. I believe that if there is an improvement to be made it should be done up until a point that anymore could degrade the quality.
An example of the use of my observational skills are in the competitive analysis's we complete when developing a site and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of both the sites we create and the sites we are in competition with.
Research
As we do not know everything there is a need to research something be it coding for a Flash project, a way to align a website central on a page or even images to use on a site. This has been a bit of slow starting skill for me as sometimes I do not enjoy researching a topic which I have little interest in.
Exams & Revision
Revision helps us remember things which is an important tool to develop. If you can remember something it takes less time to complete a task than it does if you need to research something. Revision can also aid in the process of Presentations. If you revise and prepare for a Presentation then the worries and panic should be decreased.
On the whole my main weakness is Oral Presentation Skills and instead of embracing them I tend to run from them. The main reason for this is probably my lack of confidence in my public speaking.
Personal Development Planning
Over this last year, and previous years I have been constantly developing my skills and learning new things to help me gain better employment. This not only means developing with practical skills, but also developing my personal skills. E.g. Listening, researching and presentations. Another skill from this is the ability to self evaluate after each assignment. This is a skill that could be beneficial in the work place as I can self evaluate my work and my performance in order to reach my maximum potential.
Attending Lectures
In lectures I have been able to improve my listening skills, as well as the ability to negotiate my points across when I feel the need to disagree with something. I also believe that this can help with being punctual. Having a purpose of being somewhere gives me the feeling that I need to be there on time or early and as it is something I enjoy I have no problems being there.
Seminars/work groups
Working in a group has obviously allowed me to increase my skills with working in a team. I think that I have also developed the ability to discuss points and argue them if necessary. I feel this is beneficial in the work place as there will be team projects that need to be completed. I also feel that employers like to see people coming to the right conclusion through discussing good and bad points and then adapting them. I can show this skill as I am now undertaking a team project.
Oral Presentation
Under the years I have carried out a series of Presentations and I can say that not all have been pleasant experiences. This is a skill that needs to be developed as there will be times when I need to present work to a client.
Written Essays
The biggest skill I can learn through this is creative or academic writing. This can also develop my use of English and improve my spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Maths Statistics
Statistics can be seen as a way of taking research and managing it. We as designers work with statistics all the time, for example what percentage of users work on a Mac? What percentage of the world have FireFox as their default browser? All this will help us create better websites and cater for the larger target audiences.
Another example is the use of Mathematics in some coding which may be developed as a designer. E.g. ActionScripting and JavaScript.
Observations
Creative influences are everywhere and it is what we see that inspires us. An example of this is animation for me. Whenever I see a film that has great animation it inspires me and makes me think that someday I want to release something just as good or better.
Another skill to add on to this would be attention to detail. For designers this, in my opinion, is a biggest skill some one may need in this industry. I believe that if there is an improvement to be made it should be done up until a point that anymore could degrade the quality.
An example of the use of my observational skills are in the competitive analysis's we complete when developing a site and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of both the sites we create and the sites we are in competition with.
Research
As we do not know everything there is a need to research something be it coding for a Flash project, a way to align a website central on a page or even images to use on a site. This has been a bit of slow starting skill for me as sometimes I do not enjoy researching a topic which I have little interest in.
Exams & Revision
Revision helps us remember things which is an important tool to develop. If you can remember something it takes less time to complete a task than it does if you need to research something. Revision can also aid in the process of Presentations. If you revise and prepare for a Presentation then the worries and panic should be decreased.
On the whole my main weakness is Oral Presentation Skills and instead of embracing them I tend to run from them. The main reason for this is probably my lack of confidence in my public speaking.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Into the Abyss
The next 6 months...
Over the next 6 months I am hoping to get at least 4 Merits in the assignments that I complete. I have received passes so far for the assignments I have already completed and now want to push my self to attain at least Merits. In order to achieve this there will need to be a more thorough approach with my time planning and I have now adopted another method for monitoring the learning outcomes. This is in the form of a Checklist started at the beginning of the assignment with all of the learning outcomes on. When I have met one of them I either cross off that particular outcome or, what I think would be better, is add on the reference to where it is in the assignment.
Another personal goal for the next 6 months is to improve my knowledge of some areas in Web Development that I am unsure of.
I am also wanting to complete something in the area of Flash in the next six months to help 'bulk up' my portfolio in my spare time. I am interested in the area of Flash and animation and can use the software but as of yet have not completed anything to show this. I feel that this would be a good opportunity both to show off my skills and add to my portfolio.
As a designer I feel I have grown in confidence but I believe this still needs a lot of work and this could be one of the reasons why I have only been getting passes. So over the next six months I would like to try and improve this.
The next 2-3 years
Over the next 3 years I am wanting to complete this course with at least 4 Merits and above. I aim to be in a design company doing Flash animation work and web development work. Further down the line I would like to branch out on my own and start a Web Design company of my own and develop it into a bigger business.
Over the next 6 months I am hoping to get at least 4 Merits in the assignments that I complete. I have received passes so far for the assignments I have already completed and now want to push my self to attain at least Merits. In order to achieve this there will need to be a more thorough approach with my time planning and I have now adopted another method for monitoring the learning outcomes. This is in the form of a Checklist started at the beginning of the assignment with all of the learning outcomes on. When I have met one of them I either cross off that particular outcome or, what I think would be better, is add on the reference to where it is in the assignment.
Another personal goal for the next 6 months is to improve my knowledge of some areas in Web Development that I am unsure of.
I am also wanting to complete something in the area of Flash in the next six months to help 'bulk up' my portfolio in my spare time. I am interested in the area of Flash and animation and can use the software but as of yet have not completed anything to show this. I feel that this would be a good opportunity both to show off my skills and add to my portfolio.
As a designer I feel I have grown in confidence but I believe this still needs a lot of work and this could be one of the reasons why I have only been getting passes. So over the next six months I would like to try and improve this.
The next 2-3 years
Over the next 3 years I am wanting to complete this course with at least 4 Merits and above. I aim to be in a design company doing Flash animation work and web development work. Further down the line I would like to branch out on my own and start a Web Design company of my own and develop it into a bigger business.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Learn the Hard Way
Starting this course I knew it wouldn’t be easy for a start my first fear was fitting in as I live the furthest away and I thought that I would be with people who already new each other. This wasn’t the case and I think I fit in well. I am glad to have made new friends among the group and do not think that it matters who’s group I am in next year in the team project.
This could be linked with the fear of not being as good as everyone else. I started this course with little design knowledge and I felt that there would be people better than me, and there are. This, now, no longer makes me feel anxious, it gives me the determination to be the best there is.
Another fear was learning the software I knew that I would be required to learn software that I wouldn’t normally use e.g. PageMaker. This is a big step from anything I have ever used and it felt daunting at first to use. However over the first year I can now say I can use it well enough to complete the tasks so I feel I have enough technical proficiency in this.
One software I desperately wanted to learn was Photoshop which, in my eyes, is a truly amazing software package, however it is very easy to get ‘lost in the moment’ when using it and I found out that you can start with nothing and finish with something and be completely oblivious to what happened in the middle. Banned words in Photoshop include Lens Flare, and for someone else Twirl. I feel that I have learnt this well and I did take the time to try out tutorials for my own learning from the website www.tutorialized.com.
Starting the course I had experience in the software package Dreamweaver and from the previous foundation degree scored the highest in a Vendor Skills Qualification of 63%, pass mark 70%, set up by the course leader, closely followed by the next person at around 20%.
I was surprised to see that Flash was not part of this year. Next year it looks like there will be a six month long assignment in Flash. I have some ideas of what I want to do but I will need to take all aspects into consideration and my current abilities in the software. I am not however going too create an assignment, which is too easy, as I want to push myself to my full potential. On the other hand I don’t want to make the assignment too big so that it is too big to handle.
This course allowed me to create my first website. I was pleased with the overall outcome of it, even though I got a referral the first time. The reason for this was because of images that hadn’t been compressed to the fullest. Having learned from this mistake my Ambient World style guide was a lot better, and created in CSS, which is another achievement.
Deadlines were another fear of mine as I sometimes leave things to the last minute. I haven’t missed one in my train of thought, but a referral seems to count as a missed deadline according to the course leader. I did feel a bit down about referring this assignment but I understood why and got it to a pass.
Self Study started off as a bit slow, I will admit that to start with I may not have put in as much as was required but towards the end of the year I found my self doing more than needed. I could see this as either a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand it showed I was dedicated to the course wanting to get the most out of it, but on the other side it showed that maybe I was doing more towards the end fearing I hadn’t done enough. I would like to think that it was because I wanted to de better.
Tied in with this would be timekeeping. So far I have not been late for college (of my own fault). My time planning in the beginning was not very good at all. I felt that I couldn’t plan ahead of the assignment deadline, and recording what I had done. I have done a lot better in this last assignment and it is no longer a real issue. I now create an overall plan of the assignment and what needs to be done on a calendar like form. Then plan each week a week in advance.
Assignment Sheets. As being part of the ‘Chipmunks’ group we were often tested on the learning outcomes of the assignments. For example “What’s 4.1?” which mostly up in either silence or a random series of words forming the wrong answer. This has taught our group at least to memorise them off by heart in fear of a ‘pop quiz’ from Steve.
And for anyone wondering what 4.1 is it’s “Use a range of idea generating techniques creatively” but you should know that.
Maybe the biggest fear I have is presentations and something that is becoming gradually easier apparently in the 2nd year we’ll have a presentation every month, which to start with sounded absolutely terrifying but now seems like a good idea. I think this stems from a lack of confidence when speaking and I tend to speed up and merge the words into one big one. The second presentation I think was slightly better than the first because I had planned it more but not practised as much as I could have. Nerves are an issue as well as I can get nervous when put on the spot.
As the design industry is driven by communication, both verbal and creatively, it is something I will need to strengthen and is strengthening all the time.
A1 Sketchblog
This is the first time I have written a blog. Another new thing was keeping a sketchbook. I found that the sketchblog got neglected and it shouldn’t have. I think this is because I did not fully understand the assignment sheet mark criteria. I think I could have found more influences to put in the sketchbook but I think that I have attained a pass for it.
With the blog I tried from about week 4 to have a theme for the blog titles and these were references to Marvel characters, some of them lyrics from songs from soundtracks. For example ‘Learn the Hard Way’ is a song from Daredevil.
A2 That’s the Plan
The first assessed assignment was quite easy now compared to the later assignments. This was our first encounter with PageMaker and to start with it was daunting but over time it got easier and I can now say that I have a greater understanding of the software.
A3 Back to BASIC
This is the first website we created for a website that was going to be built. It did feel a bit repetitive to the A2 assignment but this time the content needed to be supplied. Finding free image sites was a hard task in itself. The content was easy to write as most of the technical terms I knew from previous courses.
A4 Picture This
The first real use of Photoshop, the restoration was quite possibly the second hardest assignment to complete. We had to restore an image from its battered scanned form to a good colour image. I think this was the assignment I was dreading handing in and getting the mark back. However I passed it and felt good about doing so. The main concern was not being able to get rid of the imperfections and this was an example of lack of technical proficiency.
A5 Builder
Taking the website plan from A3 we had to create the website. I have to say I thought that the website would look completely different from the screen design but I was pleased to see it didn’t. I was a bit stunned to hear that it had been referred but I know the reasons why and managed to make the required changes.
A6 Revert to Type
This assignment allowed me to see how important the right font is. Before I would have just placed a font type anywhere without regard but now I have the knowledge about where to put it, what alignment, what size and leading etc.
It also included a presentation which I felt went better than those on previous courses.
A7 The Fax of Life
The biggest assignment to date started with the basic challenge of creating a logo for the record label ‘Ambient World’. I think that I may have taken a bit too long in the process. The style guide is the best website I have created so far and the corporate identity part was completed. The CD artwork itself was a simple task but I managed to make the CD inlay 5mm too small on both sides. I cannot even begin to explain how I managed this either but I am glad that it was pointed out before it was too late.
Overall I think I have learnt more than I have on any other course. This knowledge has made me feel a lot more confident about becoming a designer.
I am looking forward to the next year of the course especially working in a team environment I am also looking forward to the self-assessed assignment. I have never had to write an assignment myself and although it sounds a little scary it seems a good way to develop planning skills further.
I am also looking forward to working with Flash; I like using the software so I feel that I will be able to do better in this assignment.
Looking back now I think I have definitely improved from my first website plan I created. From what I have learnt there is definitely some improvement that is noticeable and I feel that this is the right career path for me.
As for next year a few goals I would like to attain are:
This could be linked with the fear of not being as good as everyone else. I started this course with little design knowledge and I felt that there would be people better than me, and there are. This, now, no longer makes me feel anxious, it gives me the determination to be the best there is.
Another fear was learning the software I knew that I would be required to learn software that I wouldn’t normally use e.g. PageMaker. This is a big step from anything I have ever used and it felt daunting at first to use. However over the first year I can now say I can use it well enough to complete the tasks so I feel I have enough technical proficiency in this.
One software I desperately wanted to learn was Photoshop which, in my eyes, is a truly amazing software package, however it is very easy to get ‘lost in the moment’ when using it and I found out that you can start with nothing and finish with something and be completely oblivious to what happened in the middle. Banned words in Photoshop include Lens Flare, and for someone else Twirl. I feel that I have learnt this well and I did take the time to try out tutorials for my own learning from the website www.tutorialized.com.
Starting the course I had experience in the software package Dreamweaver and from the previous foundation degree scored the highest in a Vendor Skills Qualification of 63%, pass mark 70%, set up by the course leader, closely followed by the next person at around 20%.
I was surprised to see that Flash was not part of this year. Next year it looks like there will be a six month long assignment in Flash. I have some ideas of what I want to do but I will need to take all aspects into consideration and my current abilities in the software. I am not however going too create an assignment, which is too easy, as I want to push myself to my full potential. On the other hand I don’t want to make the assignment too big so that it is too big to handle.
This course allowed me to create my first website. I was pleased with the overall outcome of it, even though I got a referral the first time. The reason for this was because of images that hadn’t been compressed to the fullest. Having learned from this mistake my Ambient World style guide was a lot better, and created in CSS, which is another achievement.
Deadlines were another fear of mine as I sometimes leave things to the last minute. I haven’t missed one in my train of thought, but a referral seems to count as a missed deadline according to the course leader. I did feel a bit down about referring this assignment but I understood why and got it to a pass.
Self Study started off as a bit slow, I will admit that to start with I may not have put in as much as was required but towards the end of the year I found my self doing more than needed. I could see this as either a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand it showed I was dedicated to the course wanting to get the most out of it, but on the other side it showed that maybe I was doing more towards the end fearing I hadn’t done enough. I would like to think that it was because I wanted to de better.
Tied in with this would be timekeeping. So far I have not been late for college (of my own fault). My time planning in the beginning was not very good at all. I felt that I couldn’t plan ahead of the assignment deadline, and recording what I had done. I have done a lot better in this last assignment and it is no longer a real issue. I now create an overall plan of the assignment and what needs to be done on a calendar like form. Then plan each week a week in advance.
Assignment Sheets. As being part of the ‘Chipmunks’ group we were often tested on the learning outcomes of the assignments. For example “What’s 4.1?” which mostly up in either silence or a random series of words forming the wrong answer. This has taught our group at least to memorise them off by heart in fear of a ‘pop quiz’ from Steve.
And for anyone wondering what 4.1 is it’s “Use a range of idea generating techniques creatively” but you should know that.
Maybe the biggest fear I have is presentations and something that is becoming gradually easier apparently in the 2nd year we’ll have a presentation every month, which to start with sounded absolutely terrifying but now seems like a good idea. I think this stems from a lack of confidence when speaking and I tend to speed up and merge the words into one big one. The second presentation I think was slightly better than the first because I had planned it more but not practised as much as I could have. Nerves are an issue as well as I can get nervous when put on the spot.
As the design industry is driven by communication, both verbal and creatively, it is something I will need to strengthen and is strengthening all the time.
A1 Sketchblog
This is the first time I have written a blog. Another new thing was keeping a sketchbook. I found that the sketchblog got neglected and it shouldn’t have. I think this is because I did not fully understand the assignment sheet mark criteria. I think I could have found more influences to put in the sketchbook but I think that I have attained a pass for it.
With the blog I tried from about week 4 to have a theme for the blog titles and these were references to Marvel characters, some of them lyrics from songs from soundtracks. For example ‘Learn the Hard Way’ is a song from Daredevil.
A2 That’s the Plan
The first assessed assignment was quite easy now compared to the later assignments. This was our first encounter with PageMaker and to start with it was daunting but over time it got easier and I can now say that I have a greater understanding of the software.
A3 Back to BASIC
This is the first website we created for a website that was going to be built. It did feel a bit repetitive to the A2 assignment but this time the content needed to be supplied. Finding free image sites was a hard task in itself. The content was easy to write as most of the technical terms I knew from previous courses.
A4 Picture This
The first real use of Photoshop, the restoration was quite possibly the second hardest assignment to complete. We had to restore an image from its battered scanned form to a good colour image. I think this was the assignment I was dreading handing in and getting the mark back. However I passed it and felt good about doing so. The main concern was not being able to get rid of the imperfections and this was an example of lack of technical proficiency.
A5 Builder
Taking the website plan from A3 we had to create the website. I have to say I thought that the website would look completely different from the screen design but I was pleased to see it didn’t. I was a bit stunned to hear that it had been referred but I know the reasons why and managed to make the required changes.
A6 Revert to Type
This assignment allowed me to see how important the right font is. Before I would have just placed a font type anywhere without regard but now I have the knowledge about where to put it, what alignment, what size and leading etc.
It also included a presentation which I felt went better than those on previous courses.
A7 The Fax of Life
The biggest assignment to date started with the basic challenge of creating a logo for the record label ‘Ambient World’. I think that I may have taken a bit too long in the process. The style guide is the best website I have created so far and the corporate identity part was completed. The CD artwork itself was a simple task but I managed to make the CD inlay 5mm too small on both sides. I cannot even begin to explain how I managed this either but I am glad that it was pointed out before it was too late.
Overall I think I have learnt more than I have on any other course. This knowledge has made me feel a lot more confident about becoming a designer.
I am looking forward to the next year of the course especially working in a team environment I am also looking forward to the self-assessed assignment. I have never had to write an assignment myself and although it sounds a little scary it seems a good way to develop planning skills further.
I am also looking forward to working with Flash; I like using the software so I feel that I will be able to do better in this assignment.
Looking back now I think I have definitely improved from my first website plan I created. From what I have learnt there is definitely some improvement that is noticeable and I feel that this is the right career path for me.
As for next year a few goals I would like to attain are:
- Firstly to pass the first year and get on the next
- To achieve at least 3 merits
- To improve my ideas generation process - e.g, more use of colour earlier on, more volume in ideas (thumbs, roughs, detailed etc)
- To create and utilise a productive time planning form
- To use InDesign instead of PageMaker as a page layout tool
And finally...
- To never give up and never surrender!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Meanwhile on the Von Doom Space Station...
Well assignment day is looming ever so near and I am on track to finishing. With only the booklet to finish and to PageMaker the final documents with bleed marks. Lastly a pre flight document is required and to finish my evaluation.
I finally finished my CD Inlay and CD Label after a 'Skirmish' with Photoshop and wasting £1.20 in printing credit. However I did finish with a CD Inlay that I was happy with. If your printing with PageMaker and find your tiffs to be of a poor quality (like I did) there is an option in the Options menu under Print to adjust this. Using this changed the output quality of mine from fuzzy to really sharp edges.
The Inlay has been finished completely with the PageMaker file completed. I am worried that the booklet may take longer than I want it to but I have a week to come up with a design and create it. I can still tweak it next Wednesday.
Over the next week I plan to get this booklet finished and thus the evaluation for the overall CD design.
Having the bulk of the work complete has taken a weight off of my mind and even though the thought of slacking off is there I have resisited.
** AND FINALLY SPIDER-MAN 3 IS OUT TOMORROW **
I finally finished my CD Inlay and CD Label after a 'Skirmish' with Photoshop and wasting £1.20 in printing credit. However I did finish with a CD Inlay that I was happy with. If your printing with PageMaker and find your tiffs to be of a poor quality (like I did) there is an option in the Options menu under Print to adjust this. Using this changed the output quality of mine from fuzzy to really sharp edges.
The Inlay has been finished completely with the PageMaker file completed. I am worried that the booklet may take longer than I want it to but I have a week to come up with a design and create it. I can still tweak it next Wednesday.
Over the next week I plan to get this booklet finished and thus the evaluation for the overall CD design.
Having the bulk of the work complete has taken a weight off of my mind and even though the thought of slacking off is there I have resisited.
** AND FINALLY SPIDER-MAN 3 IS OUT TOMORROW **
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Look I Don't Make Those Mistakes Anymore...
I think overall the last few weeks have been very productive having managed to complete the Style Guide (barring a few changes) and the referral work on the builder website. There was slight panic on Thursday afternoon when I was trying to hand it in because when it was being looked at no changes were evident. This was due to poor file structuring. I do feel slightly stupid as I changed the file sizes on my memory stick but changed the white space issue on the college network.
I finally started to create the CD this week using the words from the track listing and title of the cd to try and give me ideas. I have yet to create something concrete but I am getting there.
I came back this week thinking that I was slightly behind but from the feedback group and other people it seems that I have done a lot more than I thought. Having the Style Guide completed was a target for coming back to college as was the CO-ID. Having finished them all it has lifted a weight off my shoulders.
I have only a few changes to do to my surprise so this weeks task is to complete the Style Guide changes and the CD Label as this will be the easiest hopefully. I want to create a simple CD Label maybe just a plain back and then concentrate on the main CD Sleeve and Inlay. It's just a constant battle with Photoshop so far to get the right desired effect and I do feel a bit stupid because I did have a good attempt except I forgot to up the DPI to 300.
I finally started to create the CD this week using the words from the track listing and title of the cd to try and give me ideas. I have yet to create something concrete but I am getting there.
I came back this week thinking that I was slightly behind but from the feedback group and other people it seems that I have done a lot more than I thought. Having the Style Guide completed was a target for coming back to college as was the CO-ID. Having finished them all it has lifted a weight off my shoulders.
I have only a few changes to do to my surprise so this weeks task is to complete the Style Guide changes and the CD Label as this will be the easiest hopefully. I want to create a simple CD Label maybe just a plain back and then concentrate on the main CD Sleeve and Inlay. It's just a constant battle with Photoshop so far to get the right desired effect and I do feel a bit stupid because I did have a good attempt except I forgot to up the DPI to 300.
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