Hello all,
It has been another decent week regarding the CSS stuff we are doing with John, I feel like I am making some progress with the understanding of it all. This will be helped by reading my CSS books when I can squeeze it in. It is a nice feeling though to have the penny drop, from being fearful of it I am now a bit more excited about it.
That can be said of the new project also, 'On the Job' will start Monday, and I have been nominated as team leader. At first I did not really want it, but I think it will be okay, I think I may actually enjoy it, but 'Daves' let me know if I get power crazy!!
We do not know yet what the project entails but I think it is going to throw up some 'interesting' problems, for me definitely. I am not sure yet how I am going to be a 'leader' (again team, let me know if I do anything you don't agree with), I do not want to come across as 'bossy' but also I want to do the best I can, and hope my team feels the same way.
I think the next blog regarding the 'On the Job' project will be a good read!
I am dropping my 'peak of the week' because I feel pretty much, on an even keel, and it would probably be a repetition of the last one regarding CSS.
Aims
To get off to a good start with the new project. I want to ask the right questions, be presentable and involve my team as much as possible. I do not want 'distance' between team members. If we communicate I think we can do a good job. RARRRR well that's my rallying cry!
Thanks for reading
Mark
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
CSS Joy...........At Last!
Its been a good week if, for nothing else, that some CSS pennies have started to drop. It seems my fear of CSS is lifting a little. After Tuesdays tutorial with John, when the miracle occurred, I felt a lot better about using CSS, the 'box model' makes sense to me and I can see how using CSS can be beneficial for designers and the user. Not bad for 1 lesson!
I am yet to do CSS tutorials online but that is going to be my intention as part of my self learning and my 6 month action plan regarding that. At least now I do not have the scary feeling of not knowing what I am doing completely, I feel I have a little knowledge!
The other thing I have been giving thought to is my future as in the last post. I am getting the impression from talking to people in 'the know' that if an employment opportunity should arise it should be grasped.
I am actually coming around to this way of thinking as the sooner I get on the web design 'ladder' the sooner I can start to move up it. I have also started to play down working for myself in my own head. I think it would be wise for me to gain employment and get some experience, use the employer as a way of finding my feet, then gradually start to do my own work and if it takes off then consider my best option.
The downside to this theory is that I may not gain employment immediately and so I may have to do my own work straight after leaving college, with no business experience. But that bridge will be crossed when I come to it.
Peak of the Week
CSS! it has to be, it has been bothering me for so long and now I feel good about it, hopefully it will continue!
Thanks for reading and don't be shy with feedback and comments.
Mark
I am yet to do CSS tutorials online but that is going to be my intention as part of my self learning and my 6 month action plan regarding that. At least now I do not have the scary feeling of not knowing what I am doing completely, I feel I have a little knowledge!
The other thing I have been giving thought to is my future as in the last post. I am getting the impression from talking to people in 'the know' that if an employment opportunity should arise it should be grasped.
I am actually coming around to this way of thinking as the sooner I get on the web design 'ladder' the sooner I can start to move up it. I have also started to play down working for myself in my own head. I think it would be wise for me to gain employment and get some experience, use the employer as a way of finding my feet, then gradually start to do my own work and if it takes off then consider my best option.
The downside to this theory is that I may not gain employment immediately and so I may have to do my own work straight after leaving college, with no business experience. But that bridge will be crossed when I come to it.
Peak of the Week
CSS! it has to be, it has been bothering me for so long and now I feel good about it, hopefully it will continue!
Thanks for reading and don't be shy with feedback and comments.
Mark
Monday, November 06, 2006
It's a Plan, But is it Fullproof?
Hello again,
As a student and future designer you need to look at software and skills you need to learn. I have done a little bit of research into this, I signed up to a job website that emails me with details of current vacancies and what the employer requires. It is quite an eye opener because there are software applications I have not even heard of.
It was interesting to see what some employers also expect for their money. In one instance the vacancy required you to have 2 years experience with PHP/MySQL, HTML, CSS, CMS and then a list of 'like you to have' skills all for £20,000-£24,000 a year.
Then I found a vacancy that required experience in Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash that paid £30,000-£45,000. Bit of a difference eh?
I don't know if this means that some employers take you for what they can, or just that there are more and more web designers out there and so we are not such a valuable commodity.
Of course looking at employment is all well and good but it isn't the only option. I have also been looking at universities, local ones in particular. Huddersfield, Leeds and Bradford all seem okay but it is going to be a question of how many more years to get the degree.
I have to admit that another 2 years does not sound great at the moment, partly because I want to get earning and partly because it means only been nearly half way through my education.
If I had no other commitments and was 10 years younger, I probably wouldn't have any issues with 2 more years (so some of you should realise how lucky you are) but I feel as though I should be further along a career path than I am.
It may be possible to achieve the degree with just 1 more year but there are a lot of 'ifs' and 'buts', so we will see!
Ideally I would like to get a degree, partly to prove something to myself and also I think it puts you in a stronger bargaining position with prospective employers.
So, what will I do? I think the best plan of action for me is to keep trying to do as well as possible on the course, learn as many software applications as possible to make myself saleable, talk to universities and maybe apply now.
If I do find employment I can always try and fit the degree in, if an employer will not allow that, then I will have to make a decision on which is the most important, the degree or the money.
For now then its a case of keeping a look out for possibilities.
Bye for now, Mark
As a student and future designer you need to look at software and skills you need to learn. I have done a little bit of research into this, I signed up to a job website that emails me with details of current vacancies and what the employer requires. It is quite an eye opener because there are software applications I have not even heard of.
It was interesting to see what some employers also expect for their money. In one instance the vacancy required you to have 2 years experience with PHP/MySQL, HTML, CSS, CMS and then a list of 'like you to have' skills all for £20,000-£24,000 a year.
Then I found a vacancy that required experience in Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash that paid £30,000-£45,000. Bit of a difference eh?
I don't know if this means that some employers take you for what they can, or just that there are more and more web designers out there and so we are not such a valuable commodity.
Of course looking at employment is all well and good but it isn't the only option. I have also been looking at universities, local ones in particular. Huddersfield, Leeds and Bradford all seem okay but it is going to be a question of how many more years to get the degree.
I have to admit that another 2 years does not sound great at the moment, partly because I want to get earning and partly because it means only been nearly half way through my education.
If I had no other commitments and was 10 years younger, I probably wouldn't have any issues with 2 more years (so some of you should realise how lucky you are) but I feel as though I should be further along a career path than I am.
It may be possible to achieve the degree with just 1 more year but there are a lot of 'ifs' and 'buts', so we will see!
Ideally I would like to get a degree, partly to prove something to myself and also I think it puts you in a stronger bargaining position with prospective employers.
So, what will I do? I think the best plan of action for me is to keep trying to do as well as possible on the course, learn as many software applications as possible to make myself saleable, talk to universities and maybe apply now.
If I do find employment I can always try and fit the degree in, if an employer will not allow that, then I will have to make a decision on which is the most important, the degree or the money.
For now then its a case of keeping a look out for possibilities.
Bye for now, Mark
Friday, October 27, 2006
Half Term Blog
Hi all,
Well it has been a mixed week, I haven't managed to get all my aims done from last week but I feel as though I have done a decent job of the work I have done.
The reason I have not got all the tasks done is because on my time planning sheet I have under estimated the amount of time it will take to do individual tasks. This is something I will look to remedy next week. Though I have not yet implemented it, my plan is to record time taken to do tasks. Start and finish times and any time out, such as breaks, will be noted.
If I can start to get a better feel for time and what I can get done in it, then I think I will work a lot more efficiently.
I am disappointed that I have not yet achieved all last weeks aims, but on the other hand I have had a lot of other things going on. I have juggled my work and my personal life reasonably well I feel, and in a way I have got a bit of an insight on what things may be like if I become self employed. I am going to have to learn to separate 'home life' from 'work life'. Time management skills will have to be seriously improved upon.
Peak of the Week
My peak of the week this week is getting the cultural essay finished, well at least until feedback. I am finding it easier to write and express myself through written work. I hope I do manage to keep a good balance between personal opinion and analysis though. I do not want to over personalise.
Aims
1. To get CiSSy web plan done.
2. To do some CSS tutorials.
3. To plan my time better (again)
Though some of my aims haven't been achieved they still remain targets!
Thanks for reading, comments, as usual are welcome.
Mark
Well it has been a mixed week, I haven't managed to get all my aims done from last week but I feel as though I have done a decent job of the work I have done.
The reason I have not got all the tasks done is because on my time planning sheet I have under estimated the amount of time it will take to do individual tasks. This is something I will look to remedy next week. Though I have not yet implemented it, my plan is to record time taken to do tasks. Start and finish times and any time out, such as breaks, will be noted.
If I can start to get a better feel for time and what I can get done in it, then I think I will work a lot more efficiently.
I am disappointed that I have not yet achieved all last weeks aims, but on the other hand I have had a lot of other things going on. I have juggled my work and my personal life reasonably well I feel, and in a way I have got a bit of an insight on what things may be like if I become self employed. I am going to have to learn to separate 'home life' from 'work life'. Time management skills will have to be seriously improved upon.
Peak of the Week
My peak of the week this week is getting the cultural essay finished, well at least until feedback. I am finding it easier to write and express myself through written work. I hope I do manage to keep a good balance between personal opinion and analysis though. I do not want to over personalise.
Aims
1. To get CiSSy web plan done.
2. To do some CSS tutorials.
3. To plan my time better (again)
Though some of my aims haven't been achieved they still remain targets!
Thanks for reading, comments, as usual are welcome.
Mark
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Day 10 in the Big Brother House
Hi again,
After handing 'the Biz' project in I am now looking forward to getting stuck into the other assignments. I think I will enjoy doing the 'Culture Vulture' project because I have got an interesting research topic.
My choice was the Adidas brand and there are already a number of cultures that Adidas have influenced coming to the surface, such as their involvement with hip hop and the 'retro' fashion scene.
I feel a little more positive about the 'CiSSy' project this week, it has helped that we have had a brief tutorial on CSS. I did not get anywhere near finishing the tasks but there is a flicker of knowledge that I intend to expand on. I am going to do this by finishing the tutorial and also looking for different lessons too.
The CiSSy essay had to be handed in today and in general my feedback was okay, there are aspects that need changing such as repetition in the content and not enough detail in places.
In the past It has been said that I go to in depth with subjects, so it would seem I have gone too far the other way! I think that with the subject being quite a large one I have, in trying to keep within the word limit, over condensed my content.
In other places however I have over done it, I think a little restructure will put the essay right, or nearer to it at least.
The 'iME' project partly involves this blog. There are some issues with my previous entries such as, over personal / friendly comments. I will be aiming to make this blog more professional in the coming weeks by cutting out the throw away comments and concentrating on presenting myself in the best light.
Peak of the Week
I would say this week it has been quite an even keel for me, my peak would probably be getting the 'CiSSy' essay out of the way. Also something to look forward to after half term is the creative stuff, we are going in! and i can't wait
My aims for the week are here as usual, maybe a few more than normal though.
Aims
1. To get the 'iME' web plan completed
2. To get the 'CiSSy' web plan completed
3. To complete the CSS tutorial
4. To make a detailed learning plan
5. To do some reading, CSS books preferably, get a feel for the basics.
6. To organise my sketchbook, I am becoming cluttered
7. To re-write my essay on CSS
Well time to go, I have a busy week, thanks for reading and please feedback to me with any useful tips or comments.
Mark
After handing 'the Biz' project in I am now looking forward to getting stuck into the other assignments. I think I will enjoy doing the 'Culture Vulture' project because I have got an interesting research topic.
My choice was the Adidas brand and there are already a number of cultures that Adidas have influenced coming to the surface, such as their involvement with hip hop and the 'retro' fashion scene.
I feel a little more positive about the 'CiSSy' project this week, it has helped that we have had a brief tutorial on CSS. I did not get anywhere near finishing the tasks but there is a flicker of knowledge that I intend to expand on. I am going to do this by finishing the tutorial and also looking for different lessons too.
The CiSSy essay had to be handed in today and in general my feedback was okay, there are aspects that need changing such as repetition in the content and not enough detail in places.
In the past It has been said that I go to in depth with subjects, so it would seem I have gone too far the other way! I think that with the subject being quite a large one I have, in trying to keep within the word limit, over condensed my content.
In other places however I have over done it, I think a little restructure will put the essay right, or nearer to it at least.
The 'iME' project partly involves this blog. There are some issues with my previous entries such as, over personal / friendly comments. I will be aiming to make this blog more professional in the coming weeks by cutting out the throw away comments and concentrating on presenting myself in the best light.
Peak of the Week
I would say this week it has been quite an even keel for me, my peak would probably be getting the 'CiSSy' essay out of the way. Also something to look forward to after half term is the creative stuff, we are going in! and i can't wait
My aims for the week are here as usual, maybe a few more than normal though.
Aims
1. To get the 'iME' web plan completed
2. To get the 'CiSSy' web plan completed
3. To complete the CSS tutorial
4. To make a detailed learning plan
5. To do some reading, CSS books preferably, get a feel for the basics.
6. To organise my sketchbook, I am becoming cluttered
7. To re-write my essay on CSS
Well time to go, I have a busy week, thanks for reading and please feedback to me with any useful tips or comments.
Mark
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Deadline Day Dizzyness
Hi folks,
Well its been a week since my last entry, though it really doesn't feel like it.
And what a week, where do I start? Well its been hectic because of deadline day looming ominously over us.
I really had a panic because it didn't look like I would meet the deadline. I did however, but only just, it took several late nights, running into early mornings to get the job done.
Analysing what went wrong I have come to the conclusion that I still have not got a grip of my time management, this is starting to bug me now. It is not entirely down to that though, I have found myself sat in front of the computer for 4 days ,pretty much solid, and suffering mental blocks.
You know when your brain just says "NO"? But here's a tip! I took time out and went to the gym, did something completely different and hey presto! A clear mind again. It works, honest.
I have started to list my tasks again for the forthcoming week, I am going to try and stick to times, if the task is not done within that time then it gets left, I am then building in extra time to catch up on the things that didn't get done. This way at least I will get some part of all the sections of projects done.
This will benefit me I think because I seem to find starting a new task the most difficult bit of getting on with my work.
Peak of the Week!
Well here it is, my 1st official peak of the week. There was only really one winner this week and that was getting the project handed in, though being told in feedback, that my work was acceptable for marking comes in a close 2nd.
Aims
1. To get stuck into the CiSSy and iME projects, get back on track.
2. To organise my time better. (again)
3. To divide my time up more evenly, similar to above but relevant. No more doing all my work in big solid blocks, its too painful!
Thanks for reading and goodnight.
P.S Anymore suggestions for clearing the mind or relaxation techniques are very welcome. Keep it clean!
Well its been a week since my last entry, though it really doesn't feel like it.
And what a week, where do I start? Well its been hectic because of deadline day looming ominously over us.
I really had a panic because it didn't look like I would meet the deadline. I did however, but only just, it took several late nights, running into early mornings to get the job done.
Analysing what went wrong I have come to the conclusion that I still have not got a grip of my time management, this is starting to bug me now. It is not entirely down to that though, I have found myself sat in front of the computer for 4 days ,pretty much solid, and suffering mental blocks.
You know when your brain just says "NO"? But here's a tip! I took time out and went to the gym, did something completely different and hey presto! A clear mind again. It works, honest.
I have started to list my tasks again for the forthcoming week, I am going to try and stick to times, if the task is not done within that time then it gets left, I am then building in extra time to catch up on the things that didn't get done. This way at least I will get some part of all the sections of projects done.
This will benefit me I think because I seem to find starting a new task the most difficult bit of getting on with my work.
Peak of the Week!
Well here it is, my 1st official peak of the week. There was only really one winner this week and that was getting the project handed in, though being told in feedback, that my work was acceptable for marking comes in a close 2nd.
Aims
1. To get stuck into the CiSSy and iME projects, get back on track.
2. To organise my time better. (again)
3. To divide my time up more evenly, similar to above but relevant. No more doing all my work in big solid blocks, its too painful!
Thanks for reading and goodnight.
P.S Anymore suggestions for clearing the mind or relaxation techniques are very welcome. Keep it clean!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Ups and Downs
Ups and downs, peaks and troughs, whatever you call them, this week I have had them.
Its been a difficult week in some senses, I have found myself struggling to get to grips with 'The Biz' project and I feel I am behind with the 'CiSSy' and 'iME' projects also.
After my first one to one chat with John it was suggested that I have an inefficient / too in depth approach to my research, this is down to me trying to cover all points on the assignment sheets. I agree with what was said but again, as in previous blog, it is a matter of changing the way my mind works. A case of re-training if you like.
If I can get myself taking notes rater than recording whole passages of text I will hopefully save a lot of time. A valuable commodity!
I feel as though this is where I am getting behind, too much time spent digging for information that, probably I don't need. This has been the case when writing my essays, I have more information researched than I can fit into a 1000 word essay.
My peak this week, (theres an idea for a sub-title, My Peak of the Week!) came about as a result of my being behind, I felt I had to re-assess what needed to be done and when.
It took me half an hour to arrange my time on my time plan sheet, dividing tasks into hour blocks.
I was determined to stick to the plan, and for most of the day it worked. It was a nice feeling checking off a few tasks one after the other. It went a bit wayward towards the end of the afternoon but that was down to me underestimating how long things would take me.
Aims
So to my aims for next week:
1 I am going to try and scan research material rather than read the whole book!
2 Notes need to be more bullet point rather than 'bullet to my head please' when reading them.
3 Time plan, try to replicate what I achieved on Monday more often.
Next week my new feature 'Peak of the Week'
Thanks for reading and bye for now
Mark
Its been a difficult week in some senses, I have found myself struggling to get to grips with 'The Biz' project and I feel I am behind with the 'CiSSy' and 'iME' projects also.
After my first one to one chat with John it was suggested that I have an inefficient / too in depth approach to my research, this is down to me trying to cover all points on the assignment sheets. I agree with what was said but again, as in previous blog, it is a matter of changing the way my mind works. A case of re-training if you like.
If I can get myself taking notes rater than recording whole passages of text I will hopefully save a lot of time. A valuable commodity!
I feel as though this is where I am getting behind, too much time spent digging for information that, probably I don't need. This has been the case when writing my essays, I have more information researched than I can fit into a 1000 word essay.
My peak this week, (theres an idea for a sub-title, My Peak of the Week!) came about as a result of my being behind, I felt I had to re-assess what needed to be done and when.
It took me half an hour to arrange my time on my time plan sheet, dividing tasks into hour blocks.
I was determined to stick to the plan, and for most of the day it worked. It was a nice feeling checking off a few tasks one after the other. It went a bit wayward towards the end of the afternoon but that was down to me underestimating how long things would take me.
Aims
So to my aims for next week:
1 I am going to try and scan research material rather than read the whole book!
2 Notes need to be more bullet point rather than 'bullet to my head please' when reading them.
3 Time plan, try to replicate what I achieved on Monday more often.
Next week my new feature 'Peak of the Week'
Thanks for reading and bye for now
Mark
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