.Mark Uttley HND Interactive Media Wakefiled College Online Learning Journal

Snow Ball Fight The Next Level

2009-02-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

Brain freeze is the second title to the journal, let me tell you why. The snow ball affect seems to be becoming second nature to me but its time to fight back. Plan of action is to manage my time a lot better than I've done in the passed. Then throw some big ones back and hard.

I have had time to digest my thoughts over the last few week and its time to get stuck in. The main reason for this is because I've been running four assignments together but this is my own creation and know one else's. I broke and cracked when I got my feed back the other week. It put everything into perspective and mayed me think how hard the course is.

I've never once thought I'm alone on this one but that's my opinion. Time to put my defiance up and quick, this should stop me from getting detracted from detracting things like snow ball fights. I suppose time will tell but I really need to stop thinking I'm the only one that has the world on my shoulders.

Everyone is in the same boat and I have to start rowing harder and faster. After all it wont row its self.

So to sum up my journal I suppose pull my socks up and listen to my tutor.

Back To The Begining

2009-01-21T04:54:00.000-08:00

Catching a tennis ball and telling names, everything came crashing down A2 A Journey Of A 1000 Miles... was a bad start for me because I failed it. Not a good start, never mind the course is a learning curve a big one at that. Know matter what anyone says practice doesn't make perfect int makes better, this is a piece of advice that I was told when I was younger and its suck .

As the course went on I was getting more nerves about the next assignment A3 Sounds Like A Plan and A4 Typography. With the two running side by side it felt like I was going to fail again, maybe one reason why I should think about what I what out of the course or weather I should even be on it.

The Webpage design has been a good chance to show of my design skills and flair, Its also been a good chance to learn Indesign which I have learnt very well. The way I have been shown how to design in the passed isn't a bad thing because people have there own way of teaching. I know the way I design on the screen first isn't the norm but like I said before its a learning curve. So no matter what people think its a learning curve, and a big one at that.

I just hope that the software I'm learning is at industry standard, because in the passed when people have shown me how to use some software its been point less. When I've been to interviews in the past they've told me "we don't use that software here". therefore I would be back in education and wouldn't have big money problems.

A4 the test, test aren't my strong point because know matter how many times I go through the information it doesn't stick. maybe that's another reason why I should think what I want out of the course.

The new assignment sounds good, working with someone else will give me a chance to show people that I can work well with others. And Its another chance to show off my strong design skills.

Looking back over the last months has been one hell of a risk for me and my girlfriend I still don't no if I can still afford to do it because of the ex pence of thing that I have to buy. It feel like were forced into buying things that theres know way I can afford. So if its a case of having everything I need or been good at design and going through the learning curve then maybe that another one I should thinking about to what I want out of the course.

So to tie this journal up lets see what the future brings to these new assignment and how well I do.

Over and out for now.

Back On Track

2009-01-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

Last year WOW, I could sum up Last year in the first three words but I wont. So here I go, every thing pasted so quick as if I was stood on the eadg of the railway platform and the train at 100 mile an hour.

I think that I can do quite well on this coures, thinking back to when did my first course 7 years ago in my old town I did'nt do to bad. OK last year at the start of the year I thourght is was going to be tuff. If there wasn't things to get you down you would never get back up again.

I suppose it was like testing the water starting in the first place butI think I fit in with everyone else. But mayby people think Im the class clown which that realy afends because I think I get on with my work well.

So nearly concluding this journal ill talk a about the ending of A3 and A4, mayby should have put a bit more affot in here and there but every day through out life is one big learning curve.
After all practice dosn't make purfect or dose, theres one to think about.

Signing off.

Down And Out

2008-12-11T10:24:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been hell, some things go and some don’t. May be its time to hang up the gloves as it was, starting this course was a good idea or was it. The new assiments sounded exciting.

Something to get my teeth into the fist A4 project was a good start for me. This is something I have done in the passed, surprisingly I got a merit last time I did it in my old course. May be that was time to give in and let a bad experience pass.

Been blinded from last week and trying to unmask the new week 12 task is proving a mission, But some how I will get through it or may be not, sometime you have to think hard about what you want out of life. What you want isn’t always what you get, May be its time to go back to the drawing board.

I think a long waited break is need sometimes just to catch up in your own mind, but running away from your problems isn’t the answer.
Once I m back in the driving seat next week, that is the time to the thinking sometime all you need is shake up. This experience isn’t a new one for me, Iv pulled myself out of it in the passed so I suppose time will tell, Ill give it one more go.

Dear Journal

2008-11-28T03:12:00.000-08:00

First things first, let me get the bad news out of they way I didn’t pass my first assignment. But the good news is I know my mistakes now. I’m thinking of getting some help with my SPG which I’ve probably mentioned in the passed.

I must admit I was a bit gutted that my E card didn’t make it to the short list, but all well ends well I’ve managed to gain a live job with a Leeds based company who are interested in my design. This gave me a confidence boost as this will lead me to some work experience with a design studio in Leeds.

Generally life is treating me well at college; I have been using some software called Indesign which I will be using a lot of in the future. It is really good for putting pages together, I have found it really helpful to get some practice in before we start doing are new assignments. One of them is called Sounds Like a Plan; I’m finding this one interesting we have to design a Webpage. We have to design one page for now, this will follow with the full site next year I’m really looking forward to designing my screen.

I’m pleased to say I feel that I’ve caught up with all my work now, and I’m not a outsider. I get on really well with the rest of the group, I think it helps that we are of the same age bracket.

P.S see you soon.

Mark.

Craig David

2008-11-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

My future flashed in front of me when Dave and Craig filled my head with ideas. Not realising what laid ahead my ears were pined back, my eyes were open and I was taking notes. The morning was intresting I learnt a lot especialy when Dave was talking about freelancing and I didn't actualy realise how much hard work had to be put in to run your own freelancing business.

I actualy found it quite scary that he didn't succeed the first time he tried to set his own business up but I admire the fact that he learnt from his mistakes and tried again this time succeeding. This has made me think a lot more about going freelancing myself once I have learnt he right skills at college. I was quite surprised at the fast pace that they work at the studio producing Logo's in under two hours but personaly I would have thought it would have taken at least day to produce a good piece of work.This has shown me that I need to quicken my pace when doing my own pieces of design but I am sure that this will come over time.

It was quite interesting to know that they actualy used there own image bank which they pay for to produce the images for the design work. The fact that they had a pricing structure in a brochure that they had designed themselves for customers to view I thought was an excellent idea as I feel this is also a sneaky way to pull the customers in. It was clever to draw more clients in that were previously paying high prices while using other design companies who are now looking for cheaper alternatives due to the credit crunch. I thought it was good that they had seen this nieche in the market and were taking full advantage of it. Due to this they are now making a profitable turnover after two years of hard graft and the company now appears to have quite a good future ahead of it.

The Background Of Gill Sans

2008-11-04T04:59:00.000-08:00

ill¹ sans is a humanist sans serif typeface, Eric Gill was a Graphic artist, sculptor and a typeface designer. Eric Gill designed the typeface to look well or display well. It was desined in 1927, and it contains fourteen different styles.

A² typeface is a set of one or more letter's and will include a choice of bold, or italic typeface. Also Gill sans will offer alphabet of letter's, numerals and punctuation marks. One of the great uses of Gill Sans is that it has a distinct character of its own. It is said that the Gill Sans family works will together.

Gill Sans achieved national prominence almost immediately. It became used on many things like the Railway signs it was also used on the Penguin books. Others were to follow because Gill Sans was the best selling typeface of the twentieth century, and it still thrives to this day.

The ³upper case of Gill Sans was taken from Roman capitals like those found on the column of Trajan. But if it wasn't for Stanley Morison Gill Sans wouldn't have seen printing ink. The originally Gill Sans typeface was released in metal type. Type foundries have cast fonts in lead alloys from 1950s to the present day. Digital typefaces are also different because they store each character as a bitmap.Typographers have developed a comprehensive vocabulary for describing the many aspects of typefaces and typography. Typefaces emerged when foundries began to include typefaces that included significant structural differences.

Most Type scrips share a baseline, a line that isn't really there which allows the Type to rest on. The line is called a desender, It spans the distance between the baseline and the top of the glyph. Typeface can be split into to categories serifs and sans and great varity exists among both serif and sans TypeFaces with serif are easier to read. This probley makes it easier to read on web pags aswell.

1 Gill Sans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gill_Sans

4/11/08

2 Hidden Gem
http://www.monotypefonts.com/
4/11/08

3 Typeface
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typeface
4/11/08

The Snow Ball Fight

2008-10-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

I never thought I would get into a snowball fight at my new college.

As a new HND student I went in feet first and landed in the class room. It was full of blank faces I didn’t know, it was ok though I knew myself or at least I thought I did. As the work started flowing in I could already start to feel the pressure, everyone else seemed to know what they were doing.

The first assignment seemed really exciting something to get stuck into the only thing was time management. Yep not my strong point and it was defiantly not a good idea to have a week off trust me on this one.

I could feel the snow ball getting bigger everyone seemed to be fitting in really well. The Snow Ball Effect, this was mentioned right at the beginning of the course when I was trying to run before I could walk. Never thought in would happen to me but there was too much work going on to take in.

Right it’s time to get stuck in now like I set out to do because after all this is my future. It was really good because I could ask anyone on the course for advice or should I say the team. I didn’t realise how helpful people could be, I can definitely say I have started to melt the snow ball. The only thing I will do from now on is to stay on track and keep focussed.

'Where I’ve come from; where I am now; where I’m going'

2008-10-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

It all started on the 1st of November 1979, the day I was born. I spent my first six months of my life in Pontefract West Yorkshire were I didn’t get much time to grow up. I was quickly shipped off to a small village near Scarborough on the East coast called Hunmanby this is where I spent most of my happy childhood but once I was old enough to make my own decisions I started to map out my life.

My life has come on since the days of living in a small village, like moving to Leeds six years ago with my girlfriend. This was one of the biggest things I have done, I started out by doing several jobs before getting into the construction trade were I made some good money but unfortunately due to the credit crunch I was laid off. So there was this big wall in front of me and I didn’t really know what to do with myself to be honest, I had done an HNC in graphic design in the past but every thing had changed so much by now. Then I made the decision that the only way forward was to retrain at college, I started to look into an interactive media course which defiantly was the way forward for me. It took a lot of hard thinking and a lot of hard decision making but I finally got the ball rolling.

I would like to think I have some direction in my life now, one of which is making my girl friend an honest woman which is a really important thing to me and to go further with the band I play in which is looking good for the future. My other hope is to finish this course and to make a good carer with the skills I will have learnt over the two years.