Reading Week

Yesterday at 9.00am I Received my Reading week assignment, as we all predicted that it would be a presentation, since the last thing Steve talked about was how to do a presentation.

Low and behold it was, before we left for half term he mentioned that everybody’s task will be different, were all given colours, mine was orange so I have being researching into all things orange.

These are the main areas I have being researching into:

• Culture
• Symbolism
• Fruit
• Retail

Throughout yesterday I was researching into all these areas and saving what information I found. I also incorporated some of the key points into a PowerPoint Presentation and I also made a list of notes that I will have to memorize before Monday.

Yesterday I also did a practice presentation to a friend, and to my surprise it wasn’t as bad as I though it would be. And throughout the rest of the day I studied how to use my body language to my advantage, I have compiled another list of notes of have to have the right stance and also how to keep an audiences attention.

Today I have being elaborating more on my presentation and nearly completed it, although it is only 8 or 9 pages, I will elaborate on them in more depth by ether using my notes or making it up as I go along, not suggesting that I wont learn most of it, but to try to be spontaneous so that it doesn’t seem robotic.

In yesterdays email we were told that we could ask Steve one question, I though about what to ask him throughout the day, and my question I finally asked was if we had to wear formal clothing i.e. a suit.
He responded to this by saying not this time, but now I realise that there were better questions
that I could have asked.

Tonight I will be sure to total finish the PowerPoint presentation and throughout the week I will compile the notes I have into smaller, more meaningful chunks and do further practice into
speaking to an audience.

I know that I will be nervous about giving this presentation this Monday but as Steve said it is natural and I should be worried if I wasn’t.

Task to do throughout the rest of the week

• Finish PowerPoint
• Compile Research
• Practice speaking to an audience

P

Half Term

This Journal entry is to basically keep up with what I have done over the past week and what I intend to do over the half term week. I have downloaded the A3 – Back to BASICS document, read through it and have began to compile a list of questions that I can ask Steve about. One thing I will have to read up on is Coding language, e.g. CSS because I have no I idea how to use it.

I was relived about the assignment being handed in, and I know that everyone is nervous about getting the results, ill admit I am, there were some things that I could have made better if I had the time, and in future I will be sure to save some time if I ever need it.

Throughout last week I played about with Photoshop, because in the last assignment I could have made a better template and I was disappointed with myself about not doing so.

Another thing I must research is Dreamweaver, Ive gotten the basic things figured out but there are still some things I am puzzled about, but I'm sure ill get my head round them, Eventually.

I am also preparing myself for the reading week next week, I am anxious to find out what kind of task Steve will be giving us.

Celebrate good times, Come on !!

Its over, the first assignment is done and has being handed in to Steve, I can honestly say I’m relived its like a big weight has been taken off my shoulders.

I feel pleased with the work I have done, I’m not nervous about what grade I get, if I have got the mark I waned, ill simply ask what needs doing and get on with it and work on it to get the grade that I seek.
Unfortunately, Steve is changing the seminar groups, I was getting used to the people in mine but C’est La Vie.

Last night, I realised that I had to print off a CD label for my work, I know that I should have done this weeks ago, but I went to PC World and got a manual labeler, which cost £9.99, which was lucky to say I only had a £10 note on me.

It took me a while to get it printed, because I had to open up a template in Photoshop, edit it, convert it to a PNG, and then print it off on the family computer, because my Printer is on the fritz.

I printed my work out last night, but this morning realize that I had missed a few things, so I managed to get one thing printed off and would you know it, I run out of paper, I was running up and down the house trying to find some, one hour later I found some under a pile of newspapers, I still don’t have a clue how they got there.

After the hand in this morning, we were given a lecture about Presentations, and how to do one effectively, ill admit, I’m abit nervous, because I’ve always hated doing them, but I think if I follow what Steve has told us, I know I will be able to do this.

We were given a couple of tasks to do over the Half Term, one is basically to do another Blog enter about the half term week, but I will probably end up trying to use Dreamweaver, because I think were going to be using it in the next assignment.

I now know that it won’t be long before the next assignment, so over the next two weeks:

• Week 1: Relax, recollect myself.
• Week 2: Prepare for second assignment, complete the reading week work.

For the rest of the week I’m going to re collect myself and prepare for what is next, I know it’s going to be a lot harder than this assignment, but now I think I’m getting used to it, and if, so bring it on.

And so i face, the final curtain

The end of the assignment is drawing near, this time next week it will all be over, I’m relived I must say but the week I’m going to push my self to the limits.

Over the past couple of weeks I feel I’ve been stressed a lot more than I usually am, I’m getting the work done but I keep finding mistakes.

For example, I received feedback of Steve earlier and I found that I have various things missing and that the format for my work is completely wrong. I have a lot to this week, and I know that I’m going to be up all hours doing it.

One of my main problems for this week is my tables I have created, I’ve done them completely wrong, I've drawn them using a box and lines but in InDesign there is a table tool which I have only just today discovered. I should really learn to read things more.

Yesterday we had our weekly seminar group with John, our task for last week was to do a checklist of the tasks that we were doing last week, but we had to break it down, I did this, but didn’t word process it, so that is one of my tasks to do for this week, I must also make an index for my sketchbook, which will be easier for Steve to find my work for the assignment.

I’ve had to go into the library and get another book and use it to reference a couple of the things I’ve missed. I wish I had gotten this book earlier, it has the entire web plan mapped out at the beginning of the book, I think if I had gotten it earlier I would have has this assignment done by now.

Although I have found I still have quite a bit to do, I see no reason what I should not have the full assignment finished by Tuesday, if not Monday.

Here is a list of the Task I need to do this week:

• Create Tables properly
• Reference FTP
• Find more Paper-based references
• Format the assignment in accordance with the handbook
• Recreate Budget Statement
• Reference the Sketchbook
• Buy tabs for binder
• Find the HEX Information for the colours used in the screen designs
• Hand in the completed assignment on Tuesday morning

And now, the end is near.....

Well nearly the end of my first assignment anyway, I’ve got a lot of work to do this week, I’m not behind, I just need to do a little tweaking here and there. What I need to do this week is complete the last three tasks of the assignment, I'm sure that the only one I’m going to struggle with is the screen design.

Yesterday Steve went over the template we will be using to import the written work into, and also how the entire assignment should be laid out, which in my opinion helped a lot because for the competitive analysis I made a table for the SWOT analysis.

It seems that the text I wrote in that doesn’t count really so I’ve had to write a few paragraphs to summarize both sites and to explain what good parts of the sites I will use in my own.

I’ve began to create the design template for my site in Photoshop but I’m not sure how to go about it, I’m trying to create a retro design since I’m doing it about Charlie Chaplin I’ve not really use it before and I do feel that I need help.

I managed to get permission to use an image on the template, I found it on a fan site and asked her permission to use it, she replied saying that I have to email www.charliechaplin.com. I did this and told them why I needed it and to my shock they said yes. I’ve taken screen shots of both emails and put them in my sketchbook.

For John Mundays Seminar, we were split into groups of for and were given tasks to do for the week ahead, we were also given feedback for last weeks Seminar and were given some tips on how to check for grammar errors properly, in-case spell checker doesn’t get them all.

All day today I have being doing as much on page maker as I can, I downloaded PageMaker 7 Trial for at home, so I could complete the rest of my work, but its not opening the .T65 or the .P65 files, and I’m unsure why.

Its clear that my only option at the moment is to attempt Adobe InDesign, I’ve heard that’s its more complex to use that PageMaker, but in the end the work has to be done, by any means necessary.

I have set myself some goals for the week ahead, they are as follows:

· Complete competitive analysis

· Complete Screen Designs

· Create and complete assets List

· Create and complete Budget Statement

· Ensure all written work is spell checked and completed

· Attempt to use Adobe InDesign to compile work

· Sort out and arrange References

· Begin Evaluation

…..So Basically Complete the Assignment