Banana Magnet

It is important to be able to work in a group and be a valuable member of a team. For PPP we had a large task that I really enjoyed participating in.
The day started off by being put with somebody you dint know from a different course.
I got Dana, we had to create an object using the first letters of our names. We came up on many but ended up picking Dog Knickers as it was the funniest. We then pitched our idea to a larger group and won, however after finding out some other team had dog related object I suggested we change idea and go with GooseKettle. Once we confirmed what we were doing our larger group gave out roles. I helped with branding and presentation.
I identified that I do not enjoy presenting and that is something I need to do more of. Therefore I volunteered to get up with two other group members to present.
The group that won was Dog Latex. We were then in a very large group. my job within this group was to go out in a smaller group to hyde park to take videos of dogs that could be used on the commercial and also look at videos I already had of my dog. Overall by the end of the day, our group had created a 30 second long commercial that won! I really enjoy the task and although I was nervous at the start of the day to collaborate with new people by the end we were all talking and working together on the same project and it went very well.

Creating the labels

Starting to create the Labels I made a template on Illustrator which I could type the quotes into. I picked the font KG Primary Italics because It is the font that match the school hand writing code and it easy to read. Mr Robson also agreed. 

Using the schools budget for the project I bought some gold paint, washi tape, glitter and paper to use. I then hand painted over 50 quotes and put the tape and glitter on them. This was a very long process but was agreed the best way to get the effect that they wanted. Doing this part of the project I only had 5 days to complete it and this was not a lot of time. I had to spend hours a day doing this. This helped me with my time management and working with a budget. I had to take my time as if I went out of the lines with the gold paint I would have to start over which would waste the materials.

New Designers London

I went to an event in London at the New Designers Exhibition at the Business Design Centre. The Exhibition showcased design from individuals from many universities in the UK. I was inspired looking at the students work. Most of the work was by design students who had just graduated and I got to speak to them about there work. The exhibition was great at promoting there work and they got offers from large companies. This made me want to think about applying my work for many exhibitions in the future and how it is important for emerging designers to put themselves out there in the public eye.

Label Project for school

Southwick Primary schools new headteacher wanted to create something that he could display in the school to mark a new change. I had a meeting with him and he had the idea to create labels. He wanted labels that had quotes on that he could hang from a string throughout the school. He showed me where in the school he wanted the quotes to go and I noted that It would start at the beginning where the infants are all the way past the classrooms and out through the main reception.

I also noted that childrens work would be on the walls therefore the labels would need to stand out against the bright colours without covering the work. With my information I took away I began idea ready for our next meeting.

Designing Branding for a Southwick

Over the summer I was asked to do some Jobs for Southwick Community Primary School in Sunderland. They have just gotten a new headteacher and they needed somethings updating because of that.
I designed a new letterhead including the new information and I also changed the design to include two of the logos. They liked the design and are now using them.

He also asked me to make compliments slips, I never heard of them so had to do a bit of research into what they usually look like. Then I created some versions that I thought were appropriate for a school.

This small project was interesting to do as I do not usually design branding that so structured and work with information given to me. However it went well and the client was happy.

What I found Challenging last year in PPP

Reflecting on PPP last year there were aspects I found challenging that I could improve on this year.

Last year we had to brand ourselves. I found this difficult as I had to look at myself as a designer and how to promote myself which I have never done before. I found it hard to come up with a idea that I loved and best represented me, but by the end of the year I had some notebooks created.

We also had to do a presentation on ourselves. I found this incredible daunting as I have a slight fear of public speaking. I found making the presentation okay and that I had plenty of things to talk about, but the actual speaking and getting the timing right frightened me. I spent a lot of timing practicing my presentation as I felt I would be less nervous. After my presentation I was very pleased with how it went and felt a lot more confident. However this year I want to carry on improving my public speaking skills so I do not get so nervous before hand.

I hope that this year I can really know what I want to focus on next year and what I want my next steps to be after I graduate.