A Journal for a Graphic Design Student

Easter Break Over the course of the two-week break, I mostly focused on taking photos for my main project and working on the mini zine task. Also, it was a time to relax and have a break since the previous weeks had been full of workshops and discussions. I had chosen four places that I wanted to photograph 'from the ground up': Reading, Twyford, Liverpool and Falmouth. They were places that I would be at/visiting over Easter so I took the opportunity (and all the nice weather) to build up a variety of photos for my publication.   Mon 29 March Today I headed up to Liverpool to pick up my brother from the Easter holidays. Because Liverpool is somewhere very different to Reading and Falmouth, I took the opportunity to photograph some of the residential streets there. It was interesting to see the small similarities and differences Liverpool had in comparison Falmouth and Reading and I tried to explore this is my photos. Thurs 1 April The weather was very warm and brigh...

Week 2 Mon 22  The Stage 2 meeting was quick and brief because we are being split into different groups for this module, each focusing on different projects. I have chosen to do 'Now Here' which is a photography and editorial based project. Afterwards, we have a quick meeting with our project tutors to learn about our work this week.  I had a covid test later on today, so I planned to start shooting some photos during my travel there. There were lots of interesting scenes to capture so it helped me start exploring photography and think about what I wanted to do for my other tasks.  Tues 23 Today I focused on researching some photographers that I was interested in as well as planned a little trip to the Helford passage where I want to explore for my 'Expose Yourself' task. We spent the afternoon exploring it together and I mostly photographed things that I found interesting within the inlet of water we walked by, anything from boats to the simple building that dotted the...

Week 1 Mon 15  The Stage 2 meeting was quick and brief because we are being split into different groups for this module, each focusing on different projects. I have chosen to do 'Now Here' which is a photography and editorial based project. Afterwards, we have a quick meeting with our project tutors to learn about our work this week.  I had a covid test later on today, so I planned to start shooting some photos during my travel there. There were lots of interesting scenes to capture so it helped me start exploring photography and think about what I wanted to do for my other tasks.  Tues 16 Today I focused on researching some photographers that I was interested in as well as planned a little trip to the Helford passage where I want to explore for my 'Expose Yourself' task. We spent the afternoon exploring it together and I mostly photographed things that I found interesting within the inlet of water we walked by, anything from boats to the simple building that dotted the...

Week 7 Mon 8  This week is the last week of Design Directions, which has gone incredibly quickly. The aim is to present a final outcome and associated elements to your learning teams. I have my app pretty much planned out as well as having a few other touchpoints prepped - just need help with which ones to continue on with.  Tues 9 Had my learning team presentation today, where I showed everyone where I have got to with my self-initiated brief. Overall, I had a positive response, everyone understood the premise of the app, how it functions and all the additional options available on the homepage. However, there were a few debates over which recycling typography I should use: I think generally the one with the larger arrows looked a bit too complex when paired with the light green background so I should experiment more with the lighter arrows on the type.  Thurs 11 The lecture this week was all about the literature review we were required to write. I have never written one...

Week 6 Mon 1  The Meeting this week spoke about how we should have consolidated our brand identity and should be moving to refining our visual language and choosing touchpoints. I knew that my brand would be presented in the form of an app but what additional elements did I want to add to support it? Tues 2 This week in my learning team, I presented some of my starting brand identity ideas to see if my visuals and written ideas linked up properly. Some agreed that I had built a good foundation but that I should start on some touchpoints to get the visual design rolling - it's something I always struggle to start even if it's something that I'm confident with.   Thurs 4 The lecture today discussed 'Feminism and the Visual Art'. This topic was particularly interesting for me because I'm thinking of researching feminism and design for my dissertation. The representation of women was very heavily discussed during this discussion and I really made me wonder why we on...

Week 5 Mon 22  The Stage 2 Meeting this week was about us getting on and developing our chosen brief - I have chosen to go forward with my idea for a recycling app so I need to start collecting some visualisations to build its identity. Tues 23 The learning team feedback this week helped me to realise gaps in my 'brand identity especially for things that weren't getting across clearly. It was useful though, to present current 'sustainability' apps available on smartphones to see what their style, colour scheme and layouts are like. Additionally, someone else in my team is also covering recycling so it was interesting to see her work and the more detailed approach she has taken to the topic. Thurs 25 The textworks lecture today looked at "Truth and the Media'. It's a very deep topic and really makes you think about what you take in without questioning, whenever you're alone, on your phone, in a park etc. What is always being forced upon us, what do we wa...

Week 4 Mon 15 The Stage 2 Meeting today introduced that we would be progressing with our brief ideas this week, in hopes that we would start forming a proposal for them by the end of the week. I had formed a couple of brief ideas from the workshop last week but I'm still not set on one idea. Tues 16 I had the first feedback session today with the rest of my learning team. We all presented some ideas for our self-initiated brief and got some thoughts back about what we presented. Out of my two ideas, lots of people liked the sound of the recycling app so I think I will be pressing forward with that one.  Thurs 18 The lecture today discussed the idea 'Design and Humour', two things that I generally never look for together. It was interesting to see that humour can fit pretty much anywhere into a design, whether it's trying to be direct or not - like how in the movie Shrek, it actually includes many adult jokes that we didn't truly appreciate until we were older.  Fri ...