Team Minutes 21st March 2012

Today the team grouped together in order to arrange what would be completed over the coming 3 weeks. As we wouldn’t be meeting at the university it was essential that everything that required be making or purchasing should be done over the 3 week break period.

We also arranged what time the opening event would start and what time it would finish. This would allow us to send out our private invites to individuals with a time allocated on them of when to arrive.

On the opening night the group has decided that the Exhibition will begin at 4pm. This will allow us to prepare the exhibition during the day and allow for any delays that may occur. The Exhibition will end at 8pm. This has been decided because many of the guests on the open night will possibly be parents or relations to the students holding the Exhibition and who has work there. After office hours will allow for people to view the exhibition while not at work and if businesses are to come and see, then it maybe more practical for them to also arrive after office hours.

I has been decided that myself and Steven from the group will prepare the rubrics cube for the exhibition. This will be made from cardboard and spray painting.

The invites will be issued to all members of the exhibition team for us to deliver invites personally to those we want to invite. This is because the workload would appear too much for an individual to do. However, Kat from our exhibition team had been delegated the task to invite the business companies.

Poster Price Research

As it appears so far nobody from the group has taken any quotes from the Anglia Ruskin’s Digital Services.

So far, some of the group members have been given quotes from A2 prints on exhibition boards for around £25 which is very expensive. I have already seen a sample from these boards and they appear to be of great quality.

I went over to the Digital Services in order to enquire about prices and what they would be able to print onto for our exhibition to see if they could offer a similar print. They informed me that they would be unable to print on A2 boards.  However, they can offer a service where they can print onto A2 poster paper. This paper is thick plastic like paper, the same as professional poster paper for only £10. A huge saving to the previously quotes price. I feel that this would be just as good as the boards previously quoted for as we will be pinning the boards onto exhibition boards supplied by the University anyway.

I decided to upload this information onto facebook to find out what response I got from the other members in the entire group. It appears that some are for it and unfortunately some would rather have the thicker boards. I feel that for a saving of £15, that it’s definitely worth it, that’s over £200 saving on the entire class which could go towards food supplies. I feel that the group will be using the more expensive boards but it was worth the research and notifying the others on the cheaper option.

Anglia Ruskin’s Digital Services Price:

Anglia Ruskin’s Digital Services Poster Example:

Team Minutes: 15th March 2012

Today the layout was drafted up. The draft was a 1:50 scale drawing of the floor structure and layout of the Exhibition area. The model cut outs of the tables, chairs, sofa’s and other furniture already present at the local, these were too scale, created by the measurements that I took the previous week on all of the furniture. By using this cut out we could arrange how the furniture could be placed on the floor and where it should be located to best suit the environment. We also had cut out of the boards, these were also cut out to a 1:50 scales and these could be moved into a location that we felt was most appropriate.

The facts that were taken into consideration when arranging the furniture were:

How would people view our exhibition?

Where would we guide people to walk to?

Where would the project be located, would it be in the darkest area to avoid too much light?

Where would our boards and work presentations be viewed by the public the most?

Can all our work been seen by everybody?

Does the location of the furniture comply with health and safety?

Where are the electrical power supplies?

Where is best to serve refreshments?

Will the layout look suitable?

Would the layout of the boards be suitable and blend in with our theme and graphic layouts?

All these facts were taken into consideration by all the group members and it was decided after several repositioning’s of all of the equipment that it should be laid out like the image below:

Curriculum Vitae Design and Development

The CV has incorporated my theme that I have been using throughout both my Business Card and my website. The theme itself and the design techniques that I have used are both detailed in the creation of the Business Card as this was the first of the 3 to be created.

The Theme:

The CV is mainly based on a standard ink document. I have stuck to using a standard layout of a traditional document for the CV as it enables the CV to be read much more easily. The CV has been broken into standard categories such as my personal contact details at the top and working down towards the bottom of the page:

Personal Profile

Work Experience

Education

Qualifications

Personal Interests

Voluntary Work

I felt that it was important to include my voluntary work experience as I feel that it shows that I’m committed to working and helping others outside of paid work. A willingness to help those less fortunately than myself. I feel that an employer would also take this into consideration as to my personal skills as well as my work experience skills.

To section off each of the categories I have used a symbol that represents my own logo, an ink splatter. This ink splatter is slightly different from that used in the logo however I feel that it works well with breaking down the CV categories. To make the ink splatters blend in with the rest of the document I have also included some large ink splatters in open areas of the CV, this enables the small ink splatters used to break the sectors down, blend in much more easily.

I have also kept to using the Lucida Handwriting font type as I feel that this works extremely well with the headings. The text on the document is a standard calibri (body) font.

At the top of the CV where it is most likely to draw in a potential employer’s interest I have incorporated my logo along with my full name, the business field that I have experience in and one of the most important elements, my website. This will enable any viewer of my CV to view my work.

Image of top of cv here

The main reason I have chosen to create my CV in the layout that it is in is mainly because I have tried to keep the document layout in a standard format so that it can be easily read. This has meant sticking to my theme with the black and white ink format. I have also cleaned the CV up from the draft version that I had produced as the original graphic CV was too busy and had too much going on which would have distracted the reader and most likely put them off reading it.

The Original Graphic CV Design:

This CV has too many complex colours inlcuding the green which is too light and would perhaps not be visible by those that perhaps could not view colours The CV is too busy and the layout along with the font colour and format does not match any of my theme. I feel that creating this CV was a good learning curve and has enabled me to develop a better cv from identifing my mistakes in this version.

I feel that the CV that I have designed and created now is much more appropriate for the job roles that I will be applying too and I feel that it will give me more of an opportunity at getting to an interview stage that the old original version. It also works well with my business card and website and displays a clear connection between the three.

The Previous Graphic CV Design:

I have made some necessary adjustments to the final design of the CV, this is due to factors that have been identified within the document that have caused it to become un-balanced.

There has been a number of changes within the document and these major changes can be identified through the red circles that are seen below.

1.       The first change was to adjust the positioning of my name along with the logo. I have now centred this into the centre of the document and moved the contact details to the right hand side of the logo and name. This had made the document become more balanced.

2.       The second major change is the change in the positioning of the centre mainline text. As it appeared first, it was over to the right hand side too far and has now be adjusted to appear more central.

3.       The third major change is the font style. I created a PDF version of the previous CV and asked a number of people to view the text. The feedback identified that the text could not be fully 100% readable due to the font style that it was in. I have not changed the font style to Sylfaen.

4.       Positioning of the bottom of the page from the bottom of the text line has been corrected as it appeared too close.

5.       Wording has also been adjusted for more suitability for a Graphic / Web Design job post

I feel that the CV design layout is much more acceptable and has currently been in use to distribute CV’s to potential employers when rendered into a PDF format.

Final render of the Digital Graphic CV can be seen below:

Business Card Design

For the development of my Business card I wanted to create a card that would hold all my contact details and relevant information so that a potential  employee could contact me and access data with regards to a CV, work experience and existing models and designs. I understand that it wasn’t a requirement of the module to develop a website but by creating a website that was aimed as an add-on for my CV and Business Card, it has enabled me to create a theme that can be used throughout my portfolio. It has also boosted my skills and confidence is creating a portfolio that I could potentially use to aid me to getting a job on successful completion of my degree.

The Business Card is based mainly on a theme that is constructed with my logo and a 3D image that consists of my black, white and green colours. The 3D image is a representation of my 3D animation and modelling capabilities as well as the colour theme. This has been incorporated into the theme and design of the business card. It is also the theme of my website.

Once the theme had been established after several hours of testing with different types of symbols and imagery for a theme, I stuck to the image that is incorporated into the business card now as I felt that it works particularly well with my colour theme of black, white and green. The green colours are not to strong and remain clearly visible. There are elements of white within this 3D image theme but I feel that they work well as the backgrounds on both the CV and Business card are white. The two green bars used within the business card form a structure support to the card itself and the text enclosed between them.  

The main objective of this business card is to sell myself to a potential employer with the skills that I feel are my strongest. I had given myself a title on the business card that I feel strongly advertises myself and my strongest skills (3D Animator and IT Graphic Designer). This is the title of the business card as it is the most important element of the card and will be the selling point of myself and my skills.

The second element of importance on this business card is my name and design logo.  I have incorporated my design logo into my name so that it blends in well together with the business card. I have attempted to keep everything in a centre margin on the business card so as to maintain a balance. I have reduced alot of the content that was originally on the business card layout to simplify it.

All the text used on this Business Card remains in black. This is because I feel that with the 3D theme fits in well with my black, white and green colour theme and also keeps the business card clean, tidy and clearly visible to read the information.

On the back of the business card I have used the same design and layout as on the front, keeping everything in the centre and the same template. On the back I have included my contact details. I felt that these appeared too crowded on the front and it was essential that I had use of the space on the rear.

Personal Logo Design

The first stage of developing my personal logo was to start with a digital mood board. This would consist of a collection of digital imagery that I could use in order to represent myself to an employee, and other people. The main task that I had in mind was to express myself as an Animator and/or Designer within the multimedia computer software industry.

The mood board below consists of a collection of different types of images that range from design logos to personal designer logos.

These logos and designs all have a main sector in common. They all represent drawings and design. In the first stages of designing most of it is done on paper with ink. For my personal logo and perhaps a theme that I will be using throughout my portfolio is a theme of an ink splatter. By keeping to an ink theme enables me to develop a theme that could be based on just black and white. However, when creating a mood board in order to find colour matches I particularly liked a colour mix of black for the representation of Ink and green, my favourite colour. Green is a fresh colour, representing fresh designs with a pure rich colour.

So I have created a logo that I feel would represent me as an Animator as well as an IT Multimedia Graphics Designer using the first letter of my name within a black ink splatter. It was difficult to construct a logo that would incorporate both animation and design as they are both different methods of creation within the multimedia industry. I have then been able to incorporate the rest of my name using a Lucida Handwriting type font with ink dripping from the lettering. This will give the impression that the logo has been freshly created and has a connection or bond with designing with the aid of ink. This logo will be both incorporated into the design and structure of my CV and Business card.

Logo Symbol

The Logo Incorporated into my name. This will be used within my Portfolio, CV and Business Card Designs.

CV Keyword Development Ideas

Below is a brainstorm of ideas that could be used to build my CV. There are a number of key words that I feel best describe my talents and skills that could be used within a work environment. The first sectors of the words are those that describe me, second are the adjectives that best describe that skill or talent. These words I can use within my CV to use to sell my skills to a potential employer. Some of the key words also contain a third word. This is a key word that best describes the adjective in a shape, colour and number format.

CV Key Image Designs

Below is an image created from shapes, numbers, symbols and colours that I feel best describe the adjectives in image form. With each of the adjectives above there is a third word to describe that adjective which represents my skills and talents, these images I feel suit adequately to these adjectives. As well as the worded descriptions these images can also be used to assist in the designing of my Graphic CV. These shapes, colours and symbols can be used to perhaps create one complex shape or key design that represents me to an employer in the industry of Graphic Design.



Exhibition Floor Plan

Today  (1st March 2012) together with another 2 members of the Exhibition group we measured up a floor plan of the Exhibition floor. It was vital that we measured every section of the floor, this included stairway width, exit widths, height and width and length of all of the walls, sides, railings etc. It was also vital that all of the furniture that is currently located there, that cannot be moved was also measured. A documentation of all of the measurements was recorded and a detailed and accurate floor pan will be scaled and drawn up. This will allow us to create a floor plan so that we can arrange where everything will go and were our boards will also be located. It will be necessary to arrange where members of the exhibition will display their work so that on the day each of us knows exactly where to place their work. It will also help to range seating for the guests and arrangement of the Equipment.  

Contacting Local Radio Stations

I have so far contacted some local radio stations that are within my area as I live pretty far out in Sudbury which is located in Suffolk.

The companies within this area that I contacted were:

BBC Radio Suffolk - 020 7766 6000

Capital FM - 020 7484 8958

Heart Radio Suffolk - 01245 525 252

BBC Radio Suffolk

I spoke with their customer service advisor and they informed me that they would return my call with somebody who was in the advertising department for the radio broadcast department. Unfortunately I have not heard back from the company.

Contacted on: 15^th Feb 2012

Capital FM

I contacted this radio broadcast company and informed them of our exhibition. They said that there would be a charge in order to advertise our exhibition on the radio and that it could cost in the region of up to £100. I said that this was too expensive and that could they perhaps sponsor us and we would place their logos on our exhibition boards. They informed me that they didn’t do sponsors towards outside companies or organisations. A difficult company to co-operate with.

Contacted on: 15^th Feb 2012

Heart Radio Suffolk

I contacted this radio broadcast company, the result was a very simple call and they informed me that our exhibition was not within the area for notifying radio listeners of our Exhibition for free without payment. Very similar to the Capital FM as they also do not sponsor.

Contacted on 15^th Feb 2012

Personal Branding Logo

I have created a Logo for my Personal Branding, below is the image of the logo that will appear on my CV and on my Business Card.

I chose to create my personal brand liken this because my intention once I finish my course at University is to develop a career in either Graphic Designing or 3D Animation. I wanted to keep the colours natural so I have kept to a black and white theme. This is mainly because graphic designing is digital art, the opposite of art using ink and paper. This is also the reason why I have created the ink splatter and incorporated it into the designing of my name. I have attempted to display a branding that is digital but follows a traditional theme of ink.

Timetable FInalising

The timetable has been finalised and changed to the original decision.

To start I created a draft version of the timetable and placed all the names that I had collected, those students that wanted preference to the days that they were going to staff the exhibition. I handed a form round so that all students could write their shifts onto. This was a first come first serve basis.

Due to the availability of the furniture that we are to use in the exhibition such as the display boards it has been decided that the exhibition will now only be held on Monday, the opening day until Thursday. Friday will now be the day in which the Exhibition will be dis-assembled.

On Monday and Friday all students are to attend and are to participate in at least 1 shift during the week.

The weekday shifts are 9am – 1:30pm and 1:30pm until 6pm.

Below is an image of the new timetable.