A new career path; that was my aim and burning ambition when first starting out on the FdA Web Design course, having waited a long time to have the opportunity to do so. I never really have been a confident individual and I feel that I have never really achieved anything of great significance in my working career prior to my decision to return to education, although many people close to me would disagree with that statement. I was hoping that the course could help restore some faith and self belief in my own ability, which would not only re-build my character, but also lead me on the path to a rewarding career and a more fulfilling and prosperous life than previous.
When handed the first assignment brief I realised that a great deal of discipline, focus and effort was going to be required by myself if I was going to set a good benchmark for myself and keep things sustained for the remainder of the course. The penny dropped when I received my first grade, where I quickly realised, that I needed to adapt sharply to being more organised in my approach for the future if I was ever going to be successful. I set about trying to ring the changes; I knew the biggest area that needed close scrutiny was my self-study, so I set about making a quiet area within my home where I could be free from the chaos and distractions that usually ensued and I made a great effort to sacrifice the sufficient amount of time needed each week to concentrate on my studies.
- Self-study was an area of my learning that required great discipline during my first year.
One aspect of my learning was having to keep a reflective journal, at first I never really came to consider how important it would be to record my thoughts and feelings to what I was learning until we were lectured about the various reflective cycles. This is where I began to realise it was an essential part of my learning as a student and beyond, as we are lifelong learners. I thought that I would struggle in the writing of the various journal entries, but I found as long as I followed the sequence of the reflective cycle closely it would help bring a coherent structure to what I was trying to express.
It was also intriguing discovering my learning style from the Honey and Mumford questionnaire we had to complete. I was glad that it highlighted the preferences of my learning method, but more importantly I welcomed the steps it provided that I could use to bring forward my under-utilised skills that could help shape me to be a more effective learner.
The dynamic of seminar group time was also beneficial to my learning. It was good to have the time to discuss in more detail any aspects of our assignments so that we could have a clear understanding of what the learning outcomes and deliverables to the task/s would be. I often struggled to get across the most appropriate question needed to get the information I was seeking, so it was helpful having the ability to listen to the thoughts and opinions of others in the group, which usually helped to refresh and stimulate me when this occurred.
My first attempts at design, came when were introduced to the Typography and Interface design modules simultaneously. The Typography module was fascinating and I enjoyed listening to the many lectures on the subject. We also came to learn about the basis of design by learning about the P.A.R.C principles, which on first glance looked like a relatively simple set of guidelines to follow when it comes to design. We had the chance to put all that we had learnt into practice with the module assignments, I believe that my first efforts were very unambitious and uninspiring due to my lack of experience with the software we used, but it would also be fair to say that I never properly applied all that I had learnt when it came to the creation of my designs, which was evident when I received feedback for my first efforts in the Interface Design module. In the second semester I had the chance again to try improving on my previous efforts with the Digital Imaging module tasks. I was satisfied that I managed to be more creative this time round and that my design skills had vastly improved.
- Overall I was happy with how my design skills developed over the year.
I think the most enjoyable experience of my first year was when we learnt the Typography module. It was very absorbing and there was a great element of fun learning the subject, especially when it came to the many class quizzes where we had to distinguish typefaces. The least enjoyable experience of the year was when I had to undertake a 3-minute pitch presentation in the Interface Design module. It was probably one of the most nerve racking experiences I have ever dealt with, but I am glad that I had the opportunity to hone my presentational skill.
The ‘Light bulb moment’ came for me when I received my final grade for PPD1, to find that it was marginally short of distinction level. It was something that I did not anticipate at all, and it came at a time when I was feeling rather negative and was questioning whether I had it in me to last the duration of the course. It helped to restore some much needed self-belief in my ability.
I now see myself making good strides to my goal of being a web designer, but I believe personal circumstances have had an impact, hampering my progress in some areas of my learning. I do not believe I am competent enough with XHTML and CSS to step into industry as of yet, but I am hoping I can rectify this by making up some ground in this area in the very near future. I plan in using the summer break to set myself some small achievable tasks, harnessing the skills I have learnt so far.
