Semester 1 Review

Now that I have completed the first semester of study for the course, I can look back and evaluate how it has gone.

The first couple of weeks were difficult for me, as I struggled in the past to settle into new courses and new routine. I quickly found that Steve had engineered tasks to help us fit in over the first few weeks, and I think this helped everyone a lot. It took only a few weeks for the class to feel like one tight unit, and I feel this has really helped the stability of everybody’s learning.

I think that I learn a lot about working with people from the first few tasks on the course, as it got me talking to people and discussing things in a way I hadn’t done so much on previous courses. When it came to starting the first assignment, I thought that it was going to be a daunting task. Using unfamiliar programs was hard getting use to at first, and the idea of having very strict rules for handing in the assignment formatted in the correct way was also a new challenge for me.

At some points during the first assignment, I felt that with some tasks I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing. I soon discovered from talking to others that these grey areas were being experienced with everyone, and they were also willing to discuss them with colleagues. This reassured me that I wasn’t the only one having to battle with making crucial decisions and then having to justify them.

When it came to handing in the first assignment, I felt fairly relaxed. I had managed either by skill, but more probably luck, to leave myself enough time to get all of my documents together. This left me with only a few small tasks to do on the final day before deadline, which I completed easily within the time limit. Although I had got everything done, I still felt anxious about getting all the technical parts of the assignment correct, something which I still seem obsessive about even now. Knowing that everything has to be right in this before anything else is assessable is still quite a challenge.

I was very pleased to have passed the first assignment, as I had expected that I would have made silly mistakes somewhere, or that I had not mentioned something crucial to pass the assignment. As soon as this assignment was out of the way, I had another two to do over the next few weeks. I found this a bit demoralising, as I knew things such as time management hadn’t been so good in the first assignment. This made me concentrate of getting it right this time round. Creating an overall plan for the run up to Christmas really helped me visualise what I needed to do and when, and started to relieve me of some anxiety.

Approaching the end of the second assignment, I could look back at how I had progressed from the very start of the course. I found that my design work was many times better than it was only a few weeks before. Any work I have done outside of college has also improved, as I now know to look closely for mistakes, and how to design in a way which is clear to understand. This is a massive improvement over what has only been a couple of months, and I think this will only get better as the course continues. I now have the confidence to try other programs, such as InDesign and Premiere, and apply the skills I have learnt at college when using them.

Looking back at my Formative Statement, which is the very first blog entry, I only really mention being able to use Photoshop. I can now add many other programs to this list, some of which we have used on the course, and other which I have used outside. I also mention that I would want to be a freelance designer. I wouldn’t say that I have completely gone off this idea, but I find working with people on the course adds a lot to the experience. It allows me to see other ideas and hear other opinions, which can improve my work.

If someone had said to me a year ago that I would be doing a course which I would enjoy, make lots of new friends and actually be able to cope with it all, I would have never believed them. A couple of months on this course has taught my infinitely more than I would have learn at university, which now looks farcical in comparison. As for the future, I just hope that everything from the first semester will continue to improve. There isn’t a single element of the course I haven’t enjoyed (except maybe presentations!) and I hope that this is a trend that will continue when we return after Christmas.