A10: CID logo ideas

Today I have been putting together some logo ideas for the portfolio website. These will form the basis of my personal corporate identity. I would be grateful for any feedback you have on my initial ideas.

Blockout
This logo uses the letters 'JD' as negative space, and would be used in a variety of colours. It would use the canvas to fill in the negative space, allowing the logo to blend into whatever it was put on to.

Brody type
This logo uses a Neville Brody font. The light pastel blue colour would be used for the main CID colour.

Custom Letters
I have created these letters as vectors, and have tried to keep the balance of size and shape equal between the two initials.

Face
I have taken the concept of a corporate identity one step further, by using features of my face to create the letters.

A13: Interface design analysis

Ministry of Sound – Download

The Ministry of Sound download website essentially consists of two columns, the left being for the navigation and the right being for the content of the website. The top of the website uses the Ministry of Sound logo, plus the secondary ‘Download’ logo to identify what the website is. The orange accent colour used is used throughout the website to identify parts of the website of significance, such as the navigation button and tabs. This visual cue indicates what can be clicked on.

Other visual cues include the use of an underline when the cursor is hovered over the album name in the main content area. This indicates that this can be clicked, and it also changes the cursor to the hand icon which also helps the user to identify the links.

When the cursor is placed over the top of an album picture, a block appears with information about the album. Although this information is useful, it does take up a lot of space on the screen which can make it difficult to read at lower resolutions. I think that this system could have been altered so that only a brief description of the album appeared, so that it would not interfere with the viewing of the page.

Login information appears under the header at the top end of the page. The use of a grey background differentiates this element of the page, and is positioned in an area of the page where users spend a lot of their time looking when they initially look at the page. The search box uses a lighter grey background, which provides greater contrast to the black background than the grey used for the login box. As this part of the page will probably be used by a greater number of users, it is emphasised with the greatest contrast.
When accessing one of the ‘Channels’ from the navigation, the site moves to an area where music from different genres is displayed. The header image on the page changes depending on which channel is clicked. This visual clue indicates which genre the user has accessed, while keeping the navigation of the rest of the site the same. This continuation of the layout and colour scheme aims not to alienate the user, regardless of which genre they are looking at.
In conclusion, this website is simple to use due to its consistency of colour and layout, and uses the small but significant differences such as the header images to differentiate alternate parts of the website. The key design principle of this site is the predictability – almost every part of the website does what it is expected to do, with the possible exception of the album roll over description.

Mbop
The Mbop Megastore website’s most prominent feature on first appearance is the ‘Featured Releases’ section in the centre of the page. This is highlighted with a graphical image border, which houses the album covers of the featured albums. This is the densest use of colour on the page, and draws the viewer’s eye in this direction.
On the left of the page the search box appears at the top of the left column. This is interesting because the navigation is secondary to the search box, as it is positioned below it. This could be because many users simply do a search instead of using the navigation features of the page. Due to the high amount of content on the website, this would make much more sense rather than going through endless pages searching for the right album.

The top sellers section appears immediately below the navigation. I think that the pictures of the album covers are too small, and many of the song titles or album names are cut off because they do not fit into the box. The images look badly optimised and pixelated and I question weather an album could be easily identified from an image so small.A scroll box at the bottom of the left column contains information about the website. I think that this information is far too long, and could be condensed down into a more succinct section. Having to scroll through the box is also difficult, especially when using the mouse wheel which does not always pick up the scroll bar for this section of the site.

In the central section of the site, a range of albums from different categories is displayed into a series of blocks. The text under the album names on this part of the site change to purple when the cursor is placed over them. This visual clue indicates a link, but I think that the colour is not strong enough, and that additional emphasis with an underline or highlight would have made it more obvious.

The right hand column features the login box, which uses the grey colour to emphasise itself, much in the same way the Featured Releases and search sections do. This is done to differentiate them from the other parts of the site. This is a familiar place for login and basket information to be stored, as it is only required as a reference and is not the main focus of the page.
The only animated icons on the website are the roll over colour changes which occur on the logo in the top left corner, the ’Go to Checkout’ button and the buttons in the footer. These again highlight in purple, to indicate that they are interactive. This is again also signified with the appearance of the hand icon.

Nokia Music store

The top banner of the website contains the name of the store, sign in section as well as a search box. Within a relatively small amount of space the website displays all of the main controls for accessing content on the website. The search boxes assume that the viewer understands what they are for – they do not specifically say that this is what they do. This may because the web savvy target audience understands what input boxes at this part of the page are for. The use of a small image instead of the traditional ‘Search’ button may also confuse some users.

Below the header, there is a large Flash based section, which contains a number of vertical tabs to view different features of the website. A simple animation moves across the page to reveal the next slide. I found it difficult to read the vertical text, as it not very legible to see on a screen when it is rotated 90 degrees.

Graphical icons are used throughout the website, and the “Learn to” box acts as a key to explain these. This is given the prime location at the top of the left column, with the text description using an underline when hovered over with the cursor.
Overall this website is substantially more graphical than the other websites, but this does effect how the interface works. If the cursor is left over an album picture a box appears with graphical buttons for buying or trying the music. This box does take a couple of seconds to load, which can make the website feel clunky. I believe that using text instead of pictures may have allowed them to create a system similar to the Ministry of Sound website, and it would also have loaded quicker.
Overall the majority of the site is easy to use. I do think however that less experienced users would find it hard to understand how to navigate the Flash banner, as the vertical buttons are not easy to read. Personally, I think this could have been made simpler with the use of XHTML/CSS, and it would have been quicker to load. Understanding what page you are looking at is simple, as there is a sub heading which uses a darker grey to attract attention.

The colour Orange is used to on smaller buttons, and this colour stands out from the pale grey and white background colours. All of the buttons indicate some form of interactivity, such as purchasing or previewing tracks. This continued use of a colour to activate certain types of content allows the user to see where they can access key controls. This in effect makes it easier for people to buy music, as many of the orange buttons are for the ‘buy’ function.

Itunes Store

The front of the Itunes store essentially consists of 3 columns. The left contains navigation to the genres, the centre is where the body of content is displayed, and the right is where top songs and albums are displayed. The top of the page is dominated with adverts, which change while the viewer is using the page.

On first impression the page looks cluttered, as the size of the text used in the columns is all the same size. A simple underline is used when the cursor is placed over the navigation elements, to indicate which links are clickable. I found that when looking for other mediums, such as TV programs and podcasts, that the navigation elements for these were not entirely obvious. I have the feeling that the Itunes store has been added to over a number of years, and has outgrown the amount of content that it could comfortable hold.

The search box for the Itunes store is located in the itunes interface in the top right of the page. I can remember that when I first used the itunes store that I was unaware of this search feature. I believe this is because it is placed so far away from the main body of content, and I believe that users expect that search bars will be in the centre of the screen, or in the top right area of the header.

Much of the login information is held in the program, rather than in the interface. I have found it difficult to find how to log into the site when buying product from the website, as there is no indication of where the user can log in. As other websites have areas where the user can see their basket and login information, users coming to the Itunes site may not understand how these features are used.

The general look of the page is simple and consistent. The headers are highlighted by using a dark background colour with a white font. This visual device is used throughout the page to inform users of which content block contains what information. There is, however, no logo for Itunes on the front page. I believe this visual device has been removed because it is contained within a program, but if the store was simply a website it would be added to give a greater feeling of identity.

In conclusion I feel that the front page of Itunes is too cluttered, and has grown beyond what the website can hold. Despite the colour scheme and typography creating a consistent look, the function of the page has been compromised by it being placed into the Itunes program rather than being used as a website in it’s own right. I think that my own design will remove a lot of the content, and condense down the information viewable on the main page. Integrating the search into the main page will also aid in the usability of the site, much in the same way that YouTube has a search as a prominent feature of the website.

Sound in interface design – Windows XP

Windows XP uses a variety of sounds for different actions which the user conducts. For example, when the user empties the recycle bin, a sound of scrunching paper is played. This is reinforced with the image changing from a full waste paper bin to an empty waste paper bin. This feedback cycle is repeated with other functions, such as beeping noises when devices are plugged into the computer, or when files are moved around within the operating system.

On the web, sounds are not usually part of the user interface. This could be due to a number of factors. Firstly, there are no standard sounds which all computers have installed on them which could be used. This means that the user would have to download sounds when they are used, which would increase the amount of data which would have to be transferred. Secondly, the more commonplace sounds are the less effective they are. Constant use of different sounds would become confusing, and the visual and audible feedback process would be damaged.

Portfolio: Competitive analysis

Design studio - Frontmedia

The homepage of the Frontmedia website looks very simple and clean on from an initial impression. The logo is small and is placed in the top left of the screen. This links back to the home page, and is the only piece of the navigation which does so. Below this, a javascript based nested list navigation is used, which expands and contracts depending which category is clicked on.

After clicking on web, a large list of websites appears. I think that this list is too long, as the rest of the navigation moves a substantial amount down the page. Also, as several topics can be extended at once, the navigation can run off the bottom of the viewable page at some resolutions. I would have wanted the amount of content reduced, and only the best pieces of work shown if I was a prospective client visiting this portfolio.

At the top of the main body of the page is a Flash based banner which displays various statistics. This uses typography and colour to display various pieces of statistical information, the colour being used to highlight the key point. I liked the use of the dark red, as it provided enough contrast to the light gray, without being too intense for the design of the website.

Below the banner on the main section of the page, the primary information appears. Currently on this page are two pictures, followed by a block of text. I think this text was a little too small, and may be difficult to read. However, the generous leading makes this easier, and has just enough contrast to stop it slipping into the white background. A ‘read more’ tab also appears, and uses the red accent colour used in the Flash banner. I like the way this one simple colour was used throughout the website, as it provides a feeling of consistency.

At the bottom of the page a footer appears under a dotted grey border line, which contains a secondary navigation and the copyright information. A button for increasing and decreasing the font size are included, but only makes a marginal increase in each direction. A dark grey rollover is also used on these buttons, which complements the rest of the website. Again, I like the simple and consistent look, which creates an efficient and clear presence on the page.

This page does validate, but only in XHTML 1.0 Transitional, with 1 warning error. I believe that I will still aim for a strict validation when I make my website.

Overall I think that this website uses a simple and clean layout, which allows the work on the site to be looked at without being tainted by the portfolio design. Even though there are a few small usability problems with the navigation, the site uses features familiar to most web users, such as the nested list. I think that some of the Flash parts of the site are a little unnecessary, and could have been simplified by using images and a random image loader.

Student Portfolio - Harry Roberts

The first thing I notice about this site is how dark the page looks. The background patters is almost indistinguishable from the main body of the page. The part which says “Web : Print : identity” looked to me as though it was a piece of navigation, and not just an image. I do like the strong lime green colour which the site uses as its accent, but I think this may have usability problems. Also, the top of the site is quite a distance from the edge of the page, which leaves an awkward amount of space. If this moved up slightly, I think the whole page would have a more cohesive look, and would show a greater amount of content to entice the user to read the page.

The large navigation buttons look bold and are easy to find, and are well spaced for the size of web page. The green and white colours are used in the article titles, and also in the Javascript buttons which show and hide the article content.

I found that these buttons could make the browser slow and unresponsive. Although I realise the importance of showing technical skill on a portfolio such as this, I question weather that is worth sacrificing usability for in an ever more usability conscious world. Simply organising the file structure better would have allowed for links to other articles, and would have limited the amount of scrolling needed on this page.

In the bottom right of the screen there is a return to top button which slowly scrolls the page upwards. Again, although this is an impressive features, a simple link to the top of the page would have been a simpler and more elegant idea.

When the cursor is placed over the top of an image on the website, a small description of the project appears. This is one part of the site really liked, as it looked very clean and functioned well. It was quick enough to load and allowed me to find out about projects without having to ‘open’ the article to see the content which was hidden away.

The information given about the project is also succinctly shown. The ‘breif’ part simply states what the website or piece of print work was for, and allows the work to speak for itself. I however believe that on my portfolio that I will want a small piece of prose which will sum up the project, but I will consider using this format myself.

In conclusion I think that this website provides a strong corporate identity with its use of colours, shapes and interesting fonts. I do think however that it is slightly too reliant on technologies such as Javascript which I think could have been left out of the design. The site provides a reasonable insight to the work done by the student, and a good representation of the skills which they have.

SMLP: Progress report 1

After 2 weeks of working through my self managed learning plan I have been finding out about PHP, and have been going through my PHP, Apache, MySQL web development book.

I was aware that PHP could be used to construct CMS systems, as I have used the Textpattern system to make websites in the past. I was however unaware of how diverse the uses of PHP could be, from creating and manipulating images to creating mailing lists.

Over the first week of conducting my PHP work, I had many problems wetting up an offline server to test my PHP work on. After much trial and error I managed to get the system working, which enabled me to start working. This loss of time due to trying to fix operational problems is something which I did not consider when making my learning plan. I have been surprised at how difficult it has been to get set up and running, and is something I would have to investigate the next time I plan to learn something new for the first time.

My initial pieces included making a simple login system (Login is Joe, PW 12345), which could then arrange a list of information. I learnt about features of PHP, including variables, constants, if/else arguments and includes. Although I have used these in my examples, I am finding it hard for the information I have learn to ‘stick’. This is one of the unknowns when undertaking planned learning, and the problem is compounded by knowing that you must create a finished piece of work within a set amount of time.

Over the past week I have started using PHP in conjunction with MySQL. This again was difficult to get working correctly, which lead to me removing the apache server I had been using and instead decided to use the excellent WAMP program. This allows me to set up all of my Apache, MySQL and PHP in one package, and even uses the PHPMyAdmin for use with databases. Once this was working I could continue my SMLP. Again, it was frustrating to lose precious time out of the 96 hours allotted to completing this part of the assignment, and I can see a lot of hard work being required to create any kind of end product.

My work with databases has also been frustrating in places. Often, a whole script of code will not function because of simple mistakes. Once space or bracket out of place will sometimes stop the code being processed, and again more time is lost through finding errors and fixing mistakes.

Over the next week I may have to try other means of learning PHP. I have ordered the Visual Quickstart guide which will look at over Easter. Although not on my original list of resources, I feel that I must try a new tactic to try and learn what is proving to be a difficult coding language.

As I have followed the early part of my learning plan, I feel that more initial research would have given me a better start. This is something I will implement in the future, by looking on forums and asking other people what resources are the best to use.

Overall a frustrating couple of weeks with the learning plan, but I aim to continue getting what I can out of the time allowed for this part of the unit.

Portfolio Delivery Requirements

This is a list of the technologies I will use for my portfolio webpage, with an explanation of how they will be used.

XHTML 1.0 Strict

This coding language will be used for displaying the content of the webpage, and will generate links and other interactive content such as navigation on the website. The XHTML code will also be validated, as this is the best practice when creating websites. It will also ensure that my website remains future proof, ensuring that users will be able to view the website in the coming years.

CSS2.1

Cascading Style Sheets version 2.1 will be used to alter the presentation of the website. This information is kept separate from the content, which will make it easier for me to update. This will also be validated to ensure that it is future proof, and will enable browsers to display the website to give a near identical end user experience for the user regardless of which browser they use.

Textpattern v.4.0.5

Textpattern is a content management system (CMS) which will allow me to alter the content of my website quickly and easily. I will create a page template of XHTML and CSS which I will copy into the system, before setting up the CMS to allow me to input different content into different areas of the site. I have chosen this system because it will allow me to update my website with new projects, so that a potential employer will be able to see the quality of my latest work.

Textpattern also allows me to input a range of plugins, which can enhance various features of the application. This should allow me to continually develop the portfolio after I have finished the course.

Smd_smimbox (Textpattern plugin)

This plugin for Textpattern will allow me to use the popular ‘lightbox’ application. This will allow me to show pictures of my projects and development work in an interesting way. Using Lightbox will reduce the amount of pages needed to display images, and will also give the user the option of downloading a higher quality image. This should reduce the bandwidth usage of the end user, giving them control of what content they decide to access.

This plugin also requires smd_lib to allow it to work, which contains a library of functions which various Textpattern plugins utilise.

Fire FTP v0.97

I will be using the Fire FTP plugin to upload my web information to the internet. This FTP client is free and simple to use, and works within the Firefox 2.0 browser.

MySQL 5.0

I will have to set up a MySQL database on my web hosting so that I can install the Textpattern software. This will keep all of the data I input into Textpattern organised into a relational database, which the software can then use to display information.

POP 3
I will be using the POP3 email system to allow viewers to contact me. This will be done through Textpattern, which will be able to build a tag which I can insert into my site. It also allows for a newsletter system to be set up, so interested users could be informed of new developments on the portfolio.

Portfolio website profiles

Primary - Educationalists
This part of my target audience is aged between 30 and 55 and has high computer experience, and has access to high speed internet connection at work and at home with a connection speed greater than 1mbps. The user has also used sever e-commerce websites to order products and services, and uses the internet to research while at work. They use both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2.0 for Windows XP and Mac OSX to use the internet. These users are also highly educated and read several magazines and books each week.

Secondary - Potential employees
These users are aged between 30 and 45 and work in the interactive media design industry. They are very experienced internet users, and use the latest browsers (IE7, Firefox 2.0, Opera V9, Safari 2.0), and use both Mac OSX and Windows XP systems. They have a substantial knowledge of XHTML, CSS, as well as CMS systems. These users are also experienced designers, with interests in bitmap, vector artwork as well as typography. These people are frequently online, and have experienced many online shops, which they use frequently to buy products.

Secondary - Potential Clients
The typical user owns a small business and would like to increase it’s exposure to their client base. They have limited internet experience, and use the internet in the evening at home for an hour every day. They use Internet Explorer 6 for Windows and have occasionally bought products from online shops. They mainly use search engines to find the websites which they would like to browse, and have an internet connection speed of 512kbps. This user also uses the internet to contact friends by email and instant messaging systems.

PHP & it's capabilities in Interactive Media

PHP stands for Hypertext Pre-processor, and is a coding language which generates HTML content for use in web pages. The server side scripting language allows web developers to write scripts or small programs which can read and write to databases to record information. It can also be used to edit documents remotely, and can even alter graphic content, such as adding watermarks for photographs or reducing the canvas size.

Common uses for PHP in products can include content management systems, such as Textpattern. These interfaces use PHP to allow users to input content which is then displayed through the front end of the website. These systems are usually connected to a MySQL database which will then house either the content itself, or links to folders which contain the content. Using a CMS system makes it much easier to update the content of a website and also has a large appeal to clients wanting to look after their own websites.

E-commerce websites can also make use of PHP systems. This can help to store and manage information on customers, products, personal information as well as adding search features to aid the usability of a website. Due to the large volume of data stored, MySQL databases have to be managed to remain efficient. Knowledge of MySQL and PHP go hand in hand when creating and managing large amounts of information, and the architecture of these databases is crucial the function of the end product.

Graphical content can also be generated and edited by using PHP. Information such as stock exchange prices can be rendered on the fly into a graph, which will display when the source information changes. This dynamic ability is useful for keeping content relevant and up to date, and will therefore continually bring end users back to a website.

Further manipulation of images can be achieved with using PHP, to does automated tasks such as resizing images and adding watermarking to photographs. These automated systems can greatly reduce the amount of work files need to be prepared for the internet, making the end user experience much simpler.

The end user experience has the potential to be substantially better when using PHP. A website where the content changes will entice users to return for additional information, which will help client to keep their business exposed to customers. This is of course reliant on the system being easy to use and manage, so that the minimum amount of technical knowledge is needed to use the application.

Many job vacancies ask for knowledge of MySQL and PHP. As this language is firmly embedded into the makeup of the internet, it is a very valuable skill to learn. Knowing how to manipulate the language of PHP will be of great interest to employers who are looking for skilled employees, and also for clients who will want easy to use CMS applications for their projects.

Portfolio website goals

XHTML 1.0 strict and CSS 2.1 valid

To measure this goal I will use the w3 validation service on both my XHTML and CSS documents. The reason for doing this is because it is good practice to validate code in this way, and will therefore appeal to potential employees. Validation can help to future proof the website, and is an essential skill required in many job adverts which I have seen.

Use a CMS system to make all the content of the website updatable

Using a CMS system to update the website will allow me to keep the site up to date, and will also show that I can use these types of systems when creating interactive media products. Again, I have seen that this appears on many job adverts, and will therefore appeal to potential employers. Te evaluate this, I will to write a report explaining how each section of the website is accessible, and will asses how each one has been set up to supply the content needed in this area of the website.

Website should comply with W3 accessibility guidelines 1.0 level A conformity

For my portfolio website I will want to make it accessible. This will be done by using the W3 accessibility guidelines to assess if my website meets level A conformity. This will be done in an accessibility evaluation, where I will go through each point and assess if my website meets these guidelines.

Accessibility is a very important issue, and again is a skill which many employers advertise in their job adverts. This will produce a number of design challenges which I will have to consider both in the design and construction of my portfolio site.

Create a professional looking website which will appeal to potential clients

This goal is aimed at making my website appeal to potential clients. I will want to do some user testing for the website, and I will create a questionnaire which will contain a number of questions for potential clients to answer. These will ultimately indicate if my website is seen by them as being professional – ie if they would consider in contacting me with a request to produce some work.

I will assess this using an evaluation of the questionnaire results. This will assess if my website appeals to part of my target audience, and will highlight any changes needed to improve the website.

M5 Coke bottle feedback

For my A12 assignment I have come up with 3 designs for the M5 Coke bottle product. I would like some feedback on which idea I should make my final product.

Arrows This design originally started as a oil pastel drawing on red paper. I have modified the shape of the canvas to fit the bottle, and made the arrows different weights to promote a feeling of moving.

Party On

This idea initially started as a scrape of ink on a page. I thought that this looked like a little person, and then developed it into a party scene.

Hand Print

This started with my painting my hand red, adding blue stripes down the centre of my fingers and then printing it onto a page.

Please give comments on which design you think is most appropriate for the M5 coke bottle. Cheers in advance.

Reflection of the last half semester

The past half semester has been a mix of diverse creativity on a Wednesday, and continual frustration on a Thursday. I have found the Culture Vulture assignment tough to concentrate on because of the pressure coming from the team project, as we have recently had an influx of content to sort out, which should really have been delivered earlier.

As my role in the team has developed into a design/PA position, I have had a lot of administration work to do. Recently I have been sorting out a final checklist for the folder, which will be used this week to make sure that we each present the correct work for each of the learning outcomes.

In the Culture Vulture assignment I experimented with a range of different materials, but found it difficult to continually come up with new ideas. I would have liked to have had more work which would have possibly given me greater choice over the final design, but having to juggle this with an increasingly heavy workload in the team assignment has not been easy.

I feel very annoyed that the grades for our team in both assignments could be jeopardised through no fault of our own. I also think that the project itself has been hard because we are effectively working as an intermediary between our client and the college system. My target of getting 4 merits in the second year could be in jeopardy, and will put me under pressure to gain these results in the last assignments of the year.

I am looking forward to some elements of the next semester, such as creating the portfolio page. For this I think I will create a corporate identity, and also creating a profile page which will use the Textpattern content management system. I have explored using this system in my own time over the past half semester, firstly by creating a personal blog, and secondly by redoing my Shark Racing website with the system. I have found it easy to use once I had got my head around it, and should be an efficient way of keeping my profile page up to date. If I do end up not having a job straight away, I will at least be able to show personal project on the site which will appeal to potential employers.

Having a backup plan for the possibility of not going straight into work will be something to think about. I would want to expand on my weaker skills, as well as learn new coding languages and techniques which will hopefully make me more employable.

The project I am least looking forward to is the User Interface assignment, which will use Flash. It is well documented on Das Forum that I am not a Flash fan – it’s just not the program for me. I’ve never found Macromedia programs easy to use, and Flash is one of the most complex ones. I will be hoping to find a way in which I can keep the assignment relevant to other skills I want to develop, such as accessibility and product demonstrations.

In my sessions on Monday with John we have been looking at jobs, CVs and other employment angles. I am feeling more and more confident of being able to apply for job once the course is finished. I will want to put a lot of work into the portfolio and CV as these are the most important elements when looking for job, as ex-students have told us. Tailoring both to the employer target audience will be a vital exercise in the next semester.

Over the next week I will be completing the On the Job and Culture Vulture assignments, which still have loose ends to tie up. The priority for tomorrow will be to get our site packaged up for the college web administrator, and get our feedback form off our client, which will not be easy if the last semester is anything to go by.

BTEC and Skillset standards comparison

Skillset: http://www.skillset.org/uploads/pdf/asset_11296.pdf?1
BTEC: http://www.edexcel.org.uk/VirtualContent/72130/BH015809_HNCD_Interactive_Media_L5_specification.pdf

BTEC and Skillset both aim to provide a set of specifications which outline the requirements needed to become proficient in interactive media. BTEC is constructed by academic individuals, with the aim to provide students with an education over a two year course. Skillset has a much different aim, which is to provide a set of skills which people should have to be employed in the interactive media industry.

Both BTEC and Skillset understand the need for skills such as time planning, organisation and self managed learning. This is the first unit of Skillset, and unit 29 of the BTEC syllabus. I think these skills are very important for people in the interactive industry, and both specifications realise this.

However, the Skillset unit contains far more elements in its specification, while the BTEC syllabus separates out many of the skills over a number of units. I feel that the Skillset specifications are designed for a much longer timescale, where as the BTEC skills are arranged to be taught over a two year course. Due to these time limitations, the BTEC specifications cannot contain the same amount of detail as the Skillset specifications.

This could create problems when applying for jobs, as potential employers may want to see a larger range of organisational skills which may not be applicable to a two year course. This can include learning over long periods of time, as many projects in a real job could last over the amount of time the longest unit on the BTEC course.

I feel the BTEC course tries to balance traditional academic study with industry professional practice. This could be acceptable, but as the syllabus has not been updated for a considerable amount of time it has quickly become outdated. In an industry which changes frequently, this can become damaging to the relevance of the syllabus.

This can be seen most clearly with the ‘New technologies in Interactive media’ (unit 22) part of the course, which does not contain any CSS as part of its specification. However, the tutor’s interpretation of this did allow us to create a CSS project as part of the A8 assignment, which is more in line with the specifications outlined in Skillset (IM19). This shows how out of date the syllabus is, as CSS is now widely used but does not appear explicitly as part of the course.

The arrangement of the Skillset specifications is also more relevant to the industry as it has been arranged into different job roles in some sections. This is useful for showing how the skills of one job are transferable from one to another. It can also highlight what new skills may have to be learnt if a career change was being planned. BTEC does not separate out its content into job roles, suggesting that it is to be learnt as a whole, rather than to be constantly referenced to highlight which skills need to be developed for career changes.

In conclusion I think that the BTEC syllabus has the correct structure to create a good grounding in 2 year for potential interactive media designers, but due to the very infrequent updates it soon becomes outdated and, in the case of some units, irrelevant. This leads to a dependence on course tutors to interpret the syllabus in a way which explores the skills outlined in the Skillset specifications. If executed correctly, this is a sound way of making the best of a bad situation.

In an ideal situation, the course syllabus would be updated regularly, with many of the Skillset recommendations taken into account. Obviously, with the syllabus being written for a two year course, not all of the specifications could fit into syllabus. If Skillset could prioritise the skills in their own specifications, then it would make organisation for both BTEC and the individual easier if they wanted to follow the industry recommendations.

CD Selection tracklist

Below is the track listing for my inspirational music CD.

1. Accordion Song (Accidental Saturday Night Kitchen Mix) - Red - Eliza Carthy

2. Sexual Harassment In The Workplace - Guitar - Frank Zappa

3. String Quartet: Assez vif. Tres rythme - Ravel: String Quartet in F, Introduction and Allegro - Maurice Ravel

4. Charlie Big Potato - Post Orgasmic Chill - Skunk Anansie

5. Maid On The Shore - Rough Music - Eliza Carthy

6. Comin' On - Buddy Guy & Friends - Buddy Guy

7. How Long Will You Stick Around? - Tales - Mouse

8. Come All Ye - Liege and Lief - Fairport Convention

9. Journey To The End Of The East Bay - And out come the wolves - Rancid

10. How Does Your Garden Grow? - Front Parlour Ballads - Richard Thompson

11. Face to Face - Discovery - Daft Punk

12. Blackbird - Rolling - Martha Tilston

13. Highway Jones - Brother - Cry of Love

14. Jack Frost - Holy Heathens And The Old Green Man - Waterson Carthy

The best colour combination: Black & White

Black and white: the most elegant, powerful and engaging colour combination. Black and white come from each end of the colour spectrum, and therefore has maximum contrast. This can be used to draw the viewer’s attention, giving your piece of work full authority on the page. Below we see the Apple logo, in essence just a collection of simple shapes, in practise, a strong, resounding and instantly recognisable black and white logo.

Black and white can also give elegance; smart and uncompromising, it can instantly set a sophisticated and fashionable tone. Some colour combinations drift in and out of fashion. Not black and white. It’s always there, it’s always being used and gives brands a timeless basis on which to establish themselves. Below, the Hugo Boss logo exudes connotations of class, quality and power when combined with a strong, well balanced typographical logo.

Black and white is understood in every culture, can be clearly seen by everyone, and is simple to use effectively. It can represent confidence, power, quality and class without losing its effectiveness in different types of media. It is simply beauty from simplicity. Choose black and white as the colour combination of the sophisticated interactive media designer.

Presentation, Pie, and the Sculpture Park

The day of the presentations had arrived, after a 2 weeks of holiday and self study. I did not feel awfully well this morning, but soldiered on regardless. I felt less nervous about this presentation, and I feel that as I do more my confidence grows.

This confidence came from having reliable research which I gained from getting the The Stratocaster Chronicles: Celebrating 50 Years of the Fender Strat book, which contained a lot of detail about how the Strat became so popular. I focused on how the product itself became an icon through its design, and I’ve now become aware about how much the small details count – something which I hope to emulate on the course.

My presentation was pretty well timed – I went with the principle of making 1 slide for every 30 seconds, plus a start and end slide which would only be on screen for a couple of seconds. I think I covered all the bases, as I talked about how the Stratocaster has affected our culture, as well as foreign cultures and what features set it apart from the competition.

In the afternoon we went on a trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It is one of my favourite places to visit, not only because they sell Samuel Smiths and Ossett Brewery’s finest ales, but because of the rich natural environment.

After a lovely steak and potato pie (made with Ossett Brewery’s Treacle Stout) Chris T and I wandered around the park looking at the exhibits and taking many pictures of anything which caught our eyes. I found that at this time of year there were many beautiful colours in the trees, and many textures on the bark. I’m hoping that these will come in useful when putting together creative work for the new assignment, and I will continue to use photography as part of the process. Some pictures from today are posted below.
For my creative process for this assignment I am going to use many other different types of media, including collage materials, paints, pastels (oil and chalk) as well as pencils and paper. This should give me plenty of ideas to work from, but I am expecting that turning my creative work into a commercial product will be very tough. I would think that the reverse creative process may be a good way to work with artistic clients, as they could produce documents such as ideas boards which could then be converted into a final product.

After returning from our trip out, we were told our grades for the CSS Beauty assignment. I have received a merit for this assignment, which means I have already filled half my quota for my goal of getting 4 merits in this final year. Apparently I just missed out on a distinction which is a bit disappointing, but I was only aiming for a merit anyway. I think having the dreaded man flu the day before hand in may have had an effect, but that’s life. My official assignment feedback will be next week, which I am looking forward to.

I recently purchased a book called Fingerprint: The art of using handmade elements in graphic design. This book has shown me that you can combine graphic design with traditional print techniques. OpenType fonts look very interesting, as you can randomise characters within a font library to generate hand written looking type.

I have also purchased Caffine for the Creative Mind which I am hoping will give me some ideas on how to get my creative juices flowing for this assignment. It is yet to arrive, but the synopsis looks promising.

Inspirational CD choices

Choice 1: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace – Frank Zappa - Guitar

This is one of the very few pieces of Frank Zappa’s music which I have been able to find which I could stand to listen to. Frank Zappa was a very experimental musician, who usually blended orchestral scores with stand up comedy – a very odd mix by anyone’s standards.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace however is much more simple. It is a 12 bar blues song with Zappa sensitively playing his guitar in his typical quick fingered manor. I find this inspirational because you can hear from the recording (which is at a live gig) that the volume is incredibly loud, yet Zappa manages to play so delicately and with so much feel.

Choice 2: Ravel: String Quartet in F – Assez vif. Tres rhytme - Debussy / Ravel string Quartets

Maurice Ravel was part of the impressionist movement in classical music at the turn of the last centaury. This basically means the music was about setting an atmosphere, and this piece of music contains a lot of this.

Although I’ve not heard a large amount of classical music, I do like the smaller groups of instruments, such as a string quartet. What I like about this type of music is the images it paints in my head, as you think of all sorts of settings and colours. I often find that this can help the creative process when I am thinking of ideas.

This piece of music has many different tempos, and constantly changes its depth as different instruments come into and go out of the composition. There is a strong feeling of movement as the stringed instruments swoop in and out, constantly giving quite an intimidating edge to the music.

Choice 3: How Long Will You Stick Around? - Mouse - Tales

Mouse were a duet consisting of Martha Tilston and Nick Marshall who had an acclaimed reputation on the folk scene a few years back. Martha Tilston would go on to become a solo artist, with an even stronger reputation than she did when performing in Mouse.

After being turned down by several record labels, she decided to set up her own label. She raised the funds by auctioning paintings which would be used on her first album cover, which I think is highly commendable and very industrious.

This song is very delicate, with Marshall’s guitar and Tilston’s voice being the only two elements in the song – but nothing else is needed. This song always reminds me of summer, and the rich, natural colours associated with it.

The first half-semester review

The past seven weeks seem to have flown by, and we’re now half way through the first semester. There was a definite change in the feel of the group compared to last year, probably because there were less people around than before.

I found that the first week was probably the hardest so far on the course, as there was a lot to take in with the new assignments. The pitch for one of the team project clients was a struggle to put together, as our team didn’t really know how to approach pitching for such generic briefs. We persevered, however, and managed to get the in college project to design a website for the athlete development program.

The team project seems to have been like swimming through treacle right from the start, as we have top juggle the needs of our client with what can be done with the college system. I guess this is what a lot of projects in the industry are like, as some clients have specific requirements which need to be carried out in specific ways.

The perseverance and endurance needed to do a project is one of the things I’ve learnt most while doing it, and keeping momentum in the project can only be done by doing hard work. As designer/PA I’ve also had to look after the documents which the team produce, which I have enjoyed quite a lot.

Doing the minutes has been something which I have got use to doing, and some weeks there can be as many as 3 or 4 meetings to do minutes for. This is quite a monotonous task, and the only way to do it is to get on with it straight away. Again, taking the rough with the smooth is all part of working in the industry, and I think I have learnt this during the team project.

The CSS beauty project was an interesting project, and has filled a lot of the gaps in my knowledge of CSS. I now understand how things like selectors work, where as before I was just using them without knowing what they did.

I did find that the ideas generation was quite a hard part for this project, as I didn’t find any of the themes particularly exciting. To combat this, I used spider diagrams to outline what ideas I had for each, and then selected the one which I had the most ideas for. I will use this process again if I am stuck for ideas, as it helped me to find an appropriate theme to generate my site with.

In some ways I still feel that I am bumbling my way through with the CSS. I can create a site, fix a lot of the problems in it, and test it in a lot of browsers. The thing is, I don’t always understand why the changes I have made have worked. The question is, do I really need to? Or should I just be content with the fact that it is working? I’m not really sure just yet.

The PDP part of the iMe assignment has been a nice change to do on Wednesday afternoons. I’ve found the prospect of thinking about applying for jobs and going for interviews quite horrifying, as I don’t feel anywhere near ready to do that just yet. I don’t think my answers to the interview questions have been wonderful either, especially after ‘the passive debacle’ in my previous post.

I’m not even sure what the ‘describe yourself in 3 words’ question is all about, what does it matter what I think of myself? Surely it should be what they think of me and my abilities, as they are the ones who are going to be handing over the cash.

I think my answers have been far too wooden. I think that talking to a person would generate a different set of answers as you can get some kind of reaction or feedback to what answers you are giving. I don’t even think a faux interview would change that, as it would still feel forced, and nothing would be riding on giving the right answers. I think I’ll just have to sort in my own mind answers to potential interview questions.

Over the next half semester I will be looking forward to completing the team project, as well as doing the Culture Vulture assignment. For this assignment, I will be looking to do a large range of experiments with a variety of media, including collages, photography, drawing and other methods. I think this approach should give me plenty of options for the production of whatever product is revealed in the assignment.

Interview questions: Part 2

Describe yourself in 3 words.

Calculated, observant, passive.

How would you describe the effectiveness of your interactive media products?

To test the effectiveness of my products I would conduct a survey with a sample of the target audience, as well as record statistics for a website if this was applicable. The questions would be based around the goals of the project, which would be stipulated in the initial processes. This would include a selection of measurable and subjective goals, which would be evaluated after the survey had been completed. Amendments would then be planned, if needed, to suit the target audience better if any issues arose from the survey.

How do you handle criticism?

Initially, I accept that this criticism is only offered to help me find the right solution for the project. I will defend the decision which I have made when I am challenged on it, as this can show the reasoning behind the decision that I have made. If I know in myself that I have made an error of judgement, I will accept it and then focus on finding and applying a solution. Being caught up in the disappointment of having to alter something serves no purpose, and is only a waste of time. Getting on with the task in hand and finding a new solution must be the priority rather than ‘crying over spilt milk’.

Describe a difficult problem and how you solved it.

When creating my second website for the course I had to learn how to use CSS and XHTML. As I had only produced one site using tables and cells, I found that this was a very daunting prospect. I outlined a plan which involved looking through online tutorials and books to find the resources I needed to make the site. I also planned a set of mini goals so that I could focus on different areas of the site, such as the navigation and preparation of images.

As I started to put the site together I kept a record of how the code had changed for future reference. By the end of the project, I had learnt a solid base of CSS knowledge, much of which I had learn myself. My strategy of planning and my persistence to get the site working were just a couple of essential soft skills which I learnt. I gained a very good grade for the assignment, and produced a classy site which cemented my basic CSS knowledge.

Describe how you fit into a team.

In a team situation, I take my responsibilities very seriously. I believe that being reliable is the most essential part of working in a team, as a project can fail if there are any team members who do not pull their weight. In a team I like to be involved with the heart of the project, as I believe that I can constantly analyse the changing situation. I know that getting on with colleagues is crucial as it removes any awkwardness when it comes to criticising each others work. Colleagues who cannot accept criticism frustrates me greatly, but I have an ability to remain passive and unflustered whatever the situation.

Do you have any questions?

What support do you offer in terms of additional training for staff members?

What is your policy on overtime?

How would you describe the working environment in the company?

Where do you see the company in 5 years time?

What team bonding activities do you have at this company?

Job prospects review

For the first question, I thought that talking about issues such as accessibility would be a good direction to go in, and that I had some business awareness. I think that my answer was a bit vague, and I should have directed it firmly at the company I was applying to. Having only a few minutes to find a vacancy, this was not a possibility in this situation, but when applying for real I think that looking at the work the company has done and doing research into them is needed before going to the interview. This would help me construct more direct and relevant answers.

I said that my greatest strength was applying an appropriate strategy to suit each client. I think this answer was correct, but I believe I should have looked at it from a more creative point of view. I should have focused on my ideas generation techniques from the start of the answer, and not at the end. An ‘appropriate strategy’ sounds too formal, and would not suit the target audience of a creative director at a company.

For my greatest weakness, I talked about my limited technical knowledge. However, I put a positive spin on things by saying that I constantly look to build on my abilities and am willing to try new techniques. I believe this was the correct way to approach this, as it shows that I want to improve and that I can identify that this is an area which needs some work.

The ‘5 years from now’ was by far the hardest question to answer. Again, I identified that my skills would change considerably over the next 5 years, and that I would like to be managing other people to complete project. However I did not mention this company in particular, and this lack of loyalty would probably be a big negative for the employer. Next time I think that I should again focus this more on the company that I am applying for rather than generalising. I should have said that strong working relationships both with clients and colleagues at work was essential for being productive, and that jumping from one company to another would not be in the interests of my own personal development.

For the current innovation part, I said that video was something which excited my about the future. I believe this answer showed that I had a good knowledge of the future of the internet, where video will become more and more commonplace as bandwidth increases. I also mentioned that accessibility was also an important part of the future, and that the two combined created many challenges. I think for this answer I should have talked more about what clients needs would be for this, as working at this company would mean creating products for clients on a daily basis.

For the hero question I chose to a mature answer to this by naming Richard Thompson as my idol. I think that choosing someone from the industry such as Jakob Neilsen would have sounded very predictable and could have raised a few eyebrows as to if I was just saying what wanted to be heard, rather than what I actually thought. I tried to link the career of my idol with what I wanted my own to be, in general terms. I think this answer was ‘right’ because it shows that I have interests other than design, and having an interesting personality can help when working with colleagues.

Job Prospects

http://www.graduatesyorkshire.co.uk/job/32285/vacancy/?_ts=25186

Employer: Magnitude Ltd

Job Details (from source) - “Junior to mid-level web designer with good understanding of HTML, CSS and web accessibility, and basic Flash skills - to work on exciting accounts including global, consumer brands.”

Degree: Digital / creative qualification.

Location: Harrogate, North Yorkshire

Salary: £15,000 p.a.

Why do you want this job?

I would like to take up this position because I have an enthusiastic interest in creating high quality, accessible websites. I understand that all users have the right to be able to access the web, irrespective of if they have an old computer system, a slow connection or a disability. I also have a good understanding of marketing and business strategy, and have helped clients to create interactive media projects which can promote their products.

My own working practices revolve around planning and preparation. I believe that this greatly boosts confidence with both clients and colleagues. I feel that with this job position I could accommodate several different projects at once, which the modern interactive media environment demands.

What is your greatest strength?

My greatest strength is my ability to find an appropriate strategy to create a product which shows the clients products or services at their best. This comes from analysing what the target audience for the product demands. When this is combined with my more artistic abilities, strong and suitable designs are easy for me to create. The strategies which I use to find suitable designs use a range of skills, including sketches, photography and collecting other pieces of design. This has proven to be effective, as I can compare my work to that of an industry professional and constantly evaluate, adapt and improve the quality of my own work.

What is your greatest weakness?

I feel that my greatest weakness is that I limit my designs to the technical skills which I know and am comfortable with. I think that over time this will improve as my technical knowledge becomes greater, which will only come from trying out new techniques either in the workplace, or outside of work in my own time. I do find it frustrating that I do not yet have this technical knowledge, and this gives me more drive to overcome this. To do this, I employ a strategy of doing small tasks to try out new techniques to improve the palette of skills and build on my technical abilities.

Where will you be 5 years from now?

In 5 years I hope to be in a position where I am doing both print and web design, as I enjoy both of these areas. I would also like to be in a position where I am managing others to complete projects, as my ability to plan and prepare will be of great use to an interactive media team. With my evaluative abilities, I think that I would be good judge of other peoples working strategies and design ideas.

By this time, I will have learnt a lot of new technical skills which will have vastly improved the quality of my work. This will be achieved by on the job experience and by undertaking exercises as mentioned previously. As the industry will change greatly over this time, I know that my skills will have to change considerably, and over the next 5 years I will be looking to invest my own skills from tackling the challenges of the future.

What current innovation excites you most?

I am currently very excited about the use of video on the internet. I believe that as internet connections get faster more and more people will want to have video media on their website. This is a totally different type of media in comparison to a static or flash page, and provides challenges in regards to accessibility. Implementing this technology into websites will change vastly over the next 5 years, and the design of video is a challenge which I have already started to experiment with in my own time with a lot of success.

Who is your hero and why?

My hero is the guitarist Richard Thompson. He has constantly been an innovator throughout his career, and has both amazing technical skill as well as a vast imagination. I would hope that in my own career I could be as innovative and have the such an endless well of creativity.