Tuesday, 27 September 2011

PPD Task 1 Why Am I Here - What do I want to Learn?

Identify and explain 5 reasons why you chose to study on this programme.



  1. I like leeds, my brother attended Leeds University and graduated three years ago. I used to visit him when I used to visit him when I could so I got to know the city a little bit. It's similar to Manchester but smaller and more focused so which is perfect for me. 

  2. I liked what I saw and heard on the open day. The tutor to student ratio was appealing because I came from a foundation course that had 210 students and only 8 tutors and it wasn't quite enough.
  3. I didn't want to do an airy fairy course where you don't get taught and you only go in for a few hours a week. I wanted to be on a course that would motivate me and be more strict because its so easy to fall into the habit of being lazy and unproductive. The course, from what I gathered would make me be more passionate, proactive and competitive so I knew I would be getting my money's worth.
  4. Graphic design is one of my biggest passions in life. Being creative has always been fun and engaging for me since I was young and designing computer games. I went from wanted to be a games designer to an animated film maker to a fine artist and then finally I found my true joy lay with graphic design. It however was not my first choice of career paths, I was making progress towards becoming a professional rugby union player until I sustained an injury. Since then I have focussed on my creative work and hope to return to playing amateur rugby later in life.



Identify and explain 5 things that you want to learn during your time on the programme.




  1. I have some knowledge and skills on design software such as Illustrator, Photoshop and Indesign however there are big gaps, I really would like to become quick and efficient on all the software so I can create lots of different types of design in the future and respond to briefs in a variety of ways.
  2. How to promote and publicise myself if i were to go freelance and also for when I apply for a job.
  3. I would like to learn more about typography as most of my work is based on image.
  4. I would like to extend my imaging skills in the areas of illustration, photography and vector graphics.
  5. I would like to learn how to print in alternative ways to given my work some unique qualities.


Identify and explain 5 skills that you think are your strengths.




  1. I'm persistant, I will come in early and stay late and spend as much time as I can doing my work in order to get it done.
  2. Working in groups.
  3. Punctuality.
  4. Managing a work load and knowing when I'm struggling and when I need to ask for advice.
  5. Reproducing lots of variations in compositions for my work.


Identify and explain 5 things that you want to improve.




  1. My creative thinking in relation to technology, scale and delivery of my response.
  2. I would like to increase my work pace and efficiency when working to get things done quicker so I can have more time to design and also to enjoy more parts of life outside of college and my work.
  3. I would like to improve how ambitious I am with my final pieces in terms of print processes and professionalism, last year I would slack off with the final deliverable and I would much rather put in more effort and have something that I am proud of instead.
  4. I would like to improve my primary research skills and go out more to collect information, samples and photographs.
  5. Improve my pool game.


Identify and explain 5 ways that you will evaluate your progress.




  1. I will monitor how long it takes me to complete tasks.
  2. I will post my work to other blogs to get feedback from other designers and critics to get more opinions and ideas than the limitations of the people on the course.
  3. get a range of students to crit my work from the 3rd, 2nd and 1st year.
  4. I plan to make lists of things to do each day or for every 2 days and I will go over the list of tasks at intervals during the day to make sure i'm on top of everything and if i'm not I will make changes to get back to where I need to be with my work.
  5. Interim crits with members of the course.


Identify 5 questions that you want to find the answer to.




  1. What type of designer do I want to be? I have never been focussed enough to know what I like the most within the design industry, I love print based design and innovative packaging but I spend most of my time illustrating and doodling. Furthermore, since starting the course I have become increasingly interested in publication and book making.
  2. Where do I want to go? I would like to stay in leeds for a bit longer after my degree however I would really like to see some parts of the world whilst I'm young before settling somewhere and having a permanent job.
  3. Who do I want to work for/with? I want to focus down what my ethics and motivations for doing graphic design are so I can become part of an agency or community of designers that will share the same views. I would hate to be working for someone or somewhere that doesn't share the same views.
  4. How can I get more involved with art and design events and begin to make money and a name for myself through my work?
  5. How much does the average graphic designer make?

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