5th February New College Nottingham Visit

After speaking via email to the course leader for the New College Nottingham top up course, today I visited the college to meet the course leader and to look around the facilities. I traveled by bus which gave me and insight as to how long it takes, how much it will be and then how to get to the college from the stop - this was useful as I would probably travel there by bus however I did catch the bus later in the day than I would if I was to go to the college. Once I got there I reported to reception to tell them I was there and they told me to sit down, I had been there for about 15 minutes then I went back to reception before waiting a further 5 minutes before the tutor arrived to collect me! She had only forgotten I was going that day - I thought oh great what a good start, NOT!!! However I couldn't let that sway my decision and I let it pass - we went up to the studio where I would be working, the building is an old silk mill building so it had some beautiful features. The room I will be studying in was on the top floor and it was lovely, light and airy! I could see myself working there - we went through the course structure, modules, days a week i'd attend etc so I gained lots of useful information which would help me make my decision as to if I would go if I was offered a place. I thought I could fit in easily and the college environment was for me - plus I liked the building! not that that's the deciding factor. We then went over to the HE suite, a room full of computers which are all up to date with software so I could use this space - it was lovely and quiet too so perfect environment to work in. There was also all of the printmaking, ceramic, mac suite facilities which I would have access too as well as Nottingham Trent Uni library use. Before I left I was offered a place which was good to know there and then so I just need to wait and see what happens with the others now. Overall I was impressed with the course, the facilities and the location. I could see myself going there and it's not too far for me to travel.

4th February - Derby University Interview

Sooo today I had my interview at Derby Uni, after confusion or miss-communication somewhere between me and my mum as to where my interview was I ended up going on the bus which was a last minute unexpected change which then didn't set it up for a good start - I was unable to control the situation and traffic conditions etc whereas in a car it is a little easier as you can make a detour etc unlike a bus which was a problem which led to me getting to the Kedleston Road site a lot later than I had planned and from there I then had to catch the hopper bus to the Markeaton Street site so I was in a panic over time but that aside I did arrive on time and sat in the canteen there waiting for interview. I started looking round at other people whom would be interviewed also their portfolios were larger than mine most being A1 by the looks of it. As mine hadn't printed in such good quality I brought along a digital copy on my tablet also to show in a hope it would redeem the dodgy print. We all got led through the building to a small studio space where we had to put our portfolios so I thought i'd explain there and then about the print and say that I had a digital copy which was updated also. I felt very unprofessional with a dodgy print and folio which wasn't updated also. I don't think I had prepared as well as I should however I didn't have long to do so anyway so I didn't even have time to prepare mentally let alone physically with my work. We had to then sit in a room and be interviewed one by one - this was a long winded process and the room got emptier and emptier and I was starting to think I was going to be the last one in there. This made me more nervous sat in a quiet room waiting as everyone else went off one by one however I did make use of this time by noting down questions I wanted to ask which did help as I am usually one of them people who doesn't have questions so I thought it'd look better to ask something at least - I had a fair few to ask though. Finally it was my turn for interview and I had already interviewed my interviewer before so she briefly knew about me and what I wanted to do. The interview was very laid back, she asked a few questions about certain projects then just in general about the course. I felt somewhat relaxed and didn't feel like it was an interview, more of an informal chat which was a better surrounding for me to be in. I panic when its too formal. She picked up on something from my statement off Lance which made us giggle but thinking about it now its not really funny - he kept referring to me as a he then a she and writing her and his. I think this may have been if he used a template for everyone's reference and cut and pasted parts. I found it funny but now thinking it was slightly unprofessional, thanks Lance!! But I do credit him as he does do a lot in and out of college so I will let him off this time! Coming out of the interview I feel confident that it went well and I got from it what I needed - answers to my questions, feedback on my work and an insight into the course and the facilities.

29th January - Project Proposal

Today I decided to make a start on my project proposal - I knew that if I sat down and got on with it it wouldn't take me long, it was just getting on with it which was a struggle for me. It often takes me time to motivate myself to start but once I've started I get into it quickly and get things done. Anyway so I made a start - I used the template Lance provided and soon I was well into it. I knew what I wanted to do my project on so I just needed to expand on reasons why and explain exactly what I wanted to do and how I was going to do it. The timetable was what took the most time to do as it was thorough and detailed so it took my document up to 11 pages as it was so long. The project proposal will be presented alongside project outcomes and will be used throughout the project in order to ensure i'm on track with each section/part of the design, research and development processes.

I have been given new project assignments!! 15th January

Today we have been given 2 new written assignments along with a small research task. Both new written assignments look great so i cannot wait to get stuck into them.

Project Proposal Brief

You are asked to research and identify areas of progression for your self, these should include 3^rd year opportunities, job searches / applications, and may include plans for further in the future. Your research should be annotated and reflected upon.

After the first research stage you should use the information found to plan a work based project (that will meet the criteria for Exploring specialist pathway 2 and will take place during the planned module time – see module timetable), this may be a self initiated exhibition or a client / competition brief, but must help your progression needs.

This brief is great as I can take it in any way which I choose as long as it helps me to develop my progression needs as a designer. Now that I have received this brief I need to do my research into my progression needs and decide what sort of project I would like to do.

Visual Studies Project

Everyone has been given the new visual studies brief today which is 'Self Promotion' however I have already done this project in my 1st year therefore me and Lance are going to arrange a tutorial to talk about what I can do for visual studies instead of this project.

Self employment research task

We have also been given a small research task which will only take a few days to do. We need to research different sections covered within self employment including: health & safety, insurance, contracts, registering, money etc. Once this information is gathered I will then need to analyse it and then in my own words write a small summary of my findings. This should hopefully be a quick task which will not take me too long.

15th January - University Application

Applying to university has been straight forward for me. The application on UCAS is simple to follow and takes minimal time to complete. The only thing for me which I kept putting off was the personal statement - I wasn't sure what to write and how to structure it, after some help from my parents and tutor I managed to complete my personal statement and drop it into my UCAS application. I knew I wanted to apply for Derby therefore this was my top choice, after visiting De Montfort I knew that this wasn't somewhere I wanted to apply, after looking at other uni specs and emailing universities I decided to add Sheffield Hallam to my application - after emailing them I had a response saying that they accept into 3rd year dependent on modules currently studied etc so I thought I'd apply here and see what comes from it. Just before sending my application I stared to think about top-up years, I hadn't looked into any when researching where I could go - I'm not sure why I didn't look but I didn't so I had a little look. I came across a top-up at New College Nottingham - I printed off the specs and course information. The more I looked into it the more I liked the look of this course. It is based at a college so its an environment i'm used to, fee's are cheaper there as it's at a college and I will be guaranteed to study level 6 as it is a top-up course. So this definitely made it onto my UCAS application and was a course I was certainly considering as my 1st or if not insurance choice.

Hand In - 8th January

Today I had to hand in all of last semesters work _ I didn't really have much to do because most of it was ready before Christmas as this was initially the deadline date. So this morning was spent tieing off loose ends, printing off and compiling work into folders etc.

This hand in was a lot calmer than others as I had everything done in advance and I wasn't panicking thinking have I got everything. This then helped me to stay calm for this afternoons presentation. The only problem I had was that lots of people were printing today so therefore this slowed things down - also I had to top up on my print credit as I was running low, this is a bit of a pain having to go all the way over to the main library and you can only top up with change which is an inconvenience as you have to make sure you have change, being able to top up with notes would be an advantage for this process. However after all of this I managed to get it all printed and presented in time and handed it in to Lance - it was a relief to get it in and out of the way, then was just my presentations to do.

Controversial Ads Presentation & D&AD Pitch

Wednesday 8th January - Controversial Ads Presentation

Today was the day that I had to do my controversial ads presentation - then there's the D&AD pitch tomorrow so there was lots more pressure on me across these 2 days!!!! I'm not the best at presentations so this was going to be a challenge for me and my nerves.

I felt somewhat calm and composed until It got to the time to present my first presentation which was on my cont ads - I was a bag of nerves and having everyone watch probably made me worse. I think that it did go ok and I had lots of good and constructive feedback however as usual I didn't  keep calm and I spoke fast without breathing so every so often I took lots of deep breaths. Throughout the presentation I did well not to rely on my notes - this was something I thought i'd have needed as I hadn't practiced as much as I perhaps should have. So I think I did well on this one. From the feedback received I got a good idea of what presentation skills I can improve upon for next time.

Thursday 9th January - D&AD Pitch

After that I was over I just wanted to relax but I then had to prepare for presentation number 2 on the following day! I was feeling a little better about this was as only Lance & Steph were watching it so it wasn't so bad. But the outcome of this was a fantastic opportunity so therefore there was a lot of pressure for this presentation. I spent quite a lot of time on the visuals for my presentation which then didn't appear as good once projected - they were bluury which didn't look great, this was a bit disappointing therefore what I was saying was more important. Aside from that the presentation went well, I did however as usual speed through my words. This is definitely something I need to work on in the future.

Overall considering that I have had to do 2 presentations to do within 2 days I think that I handled it better than I would have ion the past. I felt much more calmer and composed which in affect made my presentations run smoother. I think that I have performed well and across the course I have developed my presentation skills. Now that today is over I can somewhat chill a little but I do need to start my UCAS application, this shouldn't take me too long though - just need to start my personal statement! This will be the thing which takes time.