Unit 11- Progression

CV

Personal Statement

Progression & Researching Course

For my career after I leave college I plan on sharpening my skills in university and getting a degree creative industries. I want to explore more skills when it comes to creating visual designs, and specifically in conceptual and minimalistic styles. My reasoning behind this curiosity began when I had first started doing photography in high school and felt something missing in my pictures which is why I want to choose this pathway as it encourages my interest. I want to leave an impression on people when it comes to creating designs and give it depth and add my own uniqueness to it. Alongside getting my degree, I plan on working in a creative industry as I feel like it will help me learn more on where I stand in the industry and also motivate and test my limitations.

In order to achieve this goal of mine I have been researching different universities through UCAS. I had originally planned on doing an undergraduate course in Graphic Design, however after looking at the wide areas of arts I came across like Visual Communication and Contemporary Cultures courses. These courses caught my eye right away and whilst reading the course summaries I was intrigued with the idea of applying skills like photography, media elements in different projects. I find it exciting to learn more contemporary visuals and visual cultures and the idea of how pieces are created with use of a unique concept and typographical elements. Which is why I have looked at universities like UAL, Ravensbourne, University of Creative Arts, Royal College of Arts and a few more. 

This is one of the five courses I will be applying too with my personal statement and portfolio. This is a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design Communication in Chelsea College of Arts. The reason why this course seems suitable for me is because of the wide range of design elements they will be providing me with. This course doesn't only focus on a particular type of designer as it provides a tools that helps the students create diverse types of design. This can range from Photography and Film-Making, Illustration, Fashion, Motion Graphics, Installations and many more. I like the idea of working with a wide range of tools as it will help me experiment and discover what field I want to purse in the future. Students here have also been led to a successful career in the future I had discovered in the Online Open day that one of the students had designed Billie Eilish's album cover and works in Los Angeles. 

The course will range from :

Year 1 - Introducing Graphic Design practices and process and the theory of the practice. Then it will range from setting project briefs which will introduce different approaches to play and thinking through making. They will also provide lectures, workshops, seminars and exhibitions visits which will broaden my knowledge and gather inspiration to create my projects. They will also spend some time introducing technical inductions and online and reflective journal practices

Year 2- In the second year I would be introduced to the the notion of strategy an creative practice. This unit would allow me to place a branding in the context of graphic design. I will also have collaborative and collective practices that will engage the students with external audiences and develop creative attributes. Lastly, students will be encouraged to further develop visual literacy skills and knowledge. It will expose a wide a range materials culture and its use in design and society. It will also help develop critical skills needed to operate as a flexible practitioner in our fast-changing world and build a personal practice

Year 3- This unit would consider enquiry and reaction which consists of a major critical project based around a contemporary argument relevant to the themes of developing practise and alive project challenge. There were be written tasks and introduction to building a network and building messages as a narrative. Furthermore, there will also be an opportunity to expressing practices and consist of a major practice project based around the themes of developing practise and entry to a national design award. There will be tasks like exhibition design primer and approaching outward facing practice, and mapping graduate skills and strengths using the UAL Creative Attributes Framework. 

 

Some of the learning and teaching methods would be : 

Academic, production, presentation skills and technical workshops, Analogue and digital demonstrations, Exhibition, studio and other visits and trips, Focused research, Group and individual crits, tutorials and feedback, Group work, Lectures and seminars, Live projects, Portfolio surgeries, Presentations to clients and peers, Project briefings, Research methods and analysis exercises, Self-directed learning, Simulated work-based learning, Studio group teaching, Team projects, Technical orientations, demonstrations and inductions to workshops. 

 

And the entry requirements is a Merit, Pass, Pass (MPP) at BTEC Extended Diploma and 3 GCSE passes at grade 4 or above (grade A*-C)

This course seems to also have a wide range of employment opportunities which is one of the many reasons I feel like this course would be suitable for me as it would allow me to experiment with new and creative briefs while giving me the chance to work with brands like  Adidas, AKQA, ASOS, Bench, Bompass & Parr, Sky Arts, Someone, Studio Moross, Suburbia, Temperley London, The Mill, The Office of Optimism, VIACOM, Village, WGSN, Wednesday, Wolff Olins, Wonderland magazine, BBH, Channel 4, Elle magazine, IDEO, Spring Studios, Vogue magazine and many more.

Summer School

Whilst looking at these Universities, in my summer break I had ended up attending the summer school in Ravensbourne with my friend which was on the 22nd of July 2022. I had chosen to do a course in Design and Media and it was a thrilling experience. I had enjoyed my week in creating visual designs and getting the chance to talk to the students in the University and get the chance to work with them whilst also getting some advice on personal statements and all the different courses. Below are some of the pictures I had taken during the experience. We had spent the first day creating a unique typography using different materials they have provided us with. I had tried creating a cursive font using red tapes and wires and had spent some time planning on how I want my typography to look like. After the first day we had then send the next two days creating different 3D typography using different objects. Me and my team had decided to go with the letter M and used sticks to create the 3D typography. It was a completely new experience for me because it had elements of architecture as our teacher had told us we needed to make sure it was strong and had given us different scenarios to deal with to make sure the typographical object could be used in a ''real life'' situation. And the teacher had also ended up testing the 3D models telling us to that there should be enough space for my team to sit in and by pouring some water on the top. And on our last day we had spent the whole day creating an exhibition using a variety of things around the university. We were given a theme which was Busy/Call and were a team of eight and had decided to create an illusion of being in a busy train station and used mannequins from the fashion department and use of sound and visuals through a projector. This was a new experience for me and I learned a lot of different skills that were based around my potential courses and other primary skills like communication, leadership, coming up with ideas in a limited time.

Creating my own Typography 

Creating 3D typography 

Creating 3D typography 

 

Exhibition with themes Busy/Calm

My Certificate of Attendance

Ambitions and Intentions 

My Ambitions and Intentions while studying this course is to achieve a wide range of Visual and Digital Skills that will help me create unique projects in the future. I want to contribute my creative ideas into the different art/media industries and lead a successful team. My intentions are too also create something new and get people talking about the pieces. Furthermore, which is why which is why I always aim to make sure my designs leave an impression on the audience and they are able to relate to it in their own different ways. My ambition in creating Visual and Digital comes from the art practices I had done when I was younger. I have had experience in Henna Art and growing up in a world of technology, I have grown to appreciate the small design details around me. I also am intrigued with the idea of how culture combines with different forms of art which is why I aim on discovering more different cultures of design and shine a light on the wide and creative cultures and create pieces that leave an impression on people because of the messages and visual elements. I want to educate people on the development of cultures in art and design and also show them the practices while keeping a content and enjoyable environment.

UAL Notes

There was a UAL talk held in my college twice. In the talk I got to know about how UAL works and how many campuses they hold. I know that UAL in general has about 6 campuses across London as it holds the record of being number 2nd in Art and Design. This was already eye opening for me as from my own personal research I got to know how they held a wide range of courses which was specific in each element of Art and Design. Which is why I decided to apply to UAL and even though it's acceptance rate is lower because it is highly respected, I want to show them that I am a hard-working student and allowing me to join their team would be a creative journey to learning more about the different minds of design. 

The talk was a helpful guide for me as I got to learn about what to except from the university and what courses they would be providing. I also got to learn about extra curricular activities they are providing people outside the university in aims of gaining more creative skills and get as much guidance possible from the University students and Teachers.  In the talk they had mentioned Summer/Winter schools which I found quite interesting as they mentioned how students would get a chance to improve more of their skills in the different art/media courses. Furthermore, I also got the chance to talk to some of the students who had studied there. One of the students that I had talked to studied Graphic Design (BA) and I got to know about how the course would be like and what type of projects I would be making. Furthermore, I was a little confused about portfolios but talking to the Graphic Design student and the other students I got to know a bit about how to shape my portfolio. I had also got some overall advise on what the University courses would expect from my portfolio which was a good start for me, as I now know how to begin my portfolio and what are their expectations.  UAL also holds portfolio guidance courses which I plan on applying as soon as I am done with my current project in lessons. I found the UAL talks quite helpful and interesting as their talks got me thinking about what I should be currently doing to get into UAL and what goals I should be setting as well.  I also have attended one of UAL Open days to the London College of Communication which I get in more detail below. But overall, I plan on applying in the Camberwell College of Arts campus as I am intrigued with the courses they offer there. 

Ravensbourne Notes 

There was a Ravensbourne talk held in my college where we had a member of the team come and talk to us about the course and give some advise. She started off by telling us about the courses they offer and how they incorporate as a university. Ravensbourne seems to have a wide range of courses ranging from art degrees to advertising and marketing which were two degrees I was already looking into. However they are a newly built university so the courses were still developing as they had also recently built a content creations course. In the talk she mentioned how they work and showed some works of the students themselves. A student in Ravensbourne had created a product design on a Kopparberg and had also attended up winning which I found quite interesting. 

Some more information and advise was given in the talk where the team member talked about Personal statements and Portfolio where she listed down a guidance on how we should start off our personal statements and what questions we should be thinking about. Some questions she had mentioned on "Why you want to do this course" and "What are you interested in that would help you in the course." This was an interesting guidance for me as it gave me the opportunity to really think about what I want to do in the future and what career/course path I want to take as well. This is why I believe that I want to now purse in more art direction and advertising other than just graphic design as I love the idea of how discovering more about creative industries and how they work with promotional and communication methods. She also gave us some portfolio advise which I found helpful as that is my next step right after my personal statement. She talked about how to structure the portfolio and what the university would expect from the students and this included finished projects, sketches. mind maps, rough drafts and more. I was also curious about the format in which the portfolio would be presented in and asked her a question. In response, she had given advice on how portfolios can be digital and physical and this can range from websites, PDF'S and physical sketchbooks. I found this quite helpful as now I know where and how to start. I had also attended up asking her a question on what would be the general time an application/portfolio would be seen by universities and she had said around January and start of February. This was also quite helpful as now I am aware of the timelines and structure I should be working in to stay organised and have the chance of showcasing my work in my own unique style.  

Open Days  

London College of Communication 

I have also spent a lot of time applying for open days. I have looked at a wide variation of universities in central London and outside London. When I found a course which was suitable in my interest I had applied for an open day, as it give me the opportunity to learn more about what I will be studying and also learn about the environment of the university. I have attended the UAL open day which was on the 30th June 2022. It was in London College of Communication Campus and was a tour of all the faculties and a chance of talking to the students there and get information on the courses I wanna do. I got the opportunity to talk to some students who do Graphic Design there and learn how the course would be like in LCC. It was a great experience as I got the some guidance on what my life would be like in LCC and how I would manage around as well. During the campus tour I got to explore rooms such as the Printing and Designing room, the Photography room, the Filming room and many more. I also got the opportunity to meet one of the staff there where he showed us some of the printing process and how it would be like for students who will be creating and printing typography. I found that quite interesting as I got to learn about what my education would be like in the university. Furthermore, while touring around the campus I also saw artworks and student works that was happening in the university and got to take a walkthrough of the studios and their works which was a great guidance for me. 

London College of Communication Printing Process

This link above was a video I took where the staff member showed the process of printing typography. 

Kingston University 

I had then attended the Kingston University Open day. It was on the 24th September 2022. It was further away from my house, so the journey was a little longer. However, I had enjoyed my time there as well as they had a wide variation of equipment's for students to use when they had first toured us around the campus. Furthermore, I also enjoyed the courses they were offering. Specifically they had a course know as 'Creative Industries' which was a combination of Business and Creative Industries and the idea of combining these two was new in their course. The reason why it I found that interesting is because it seemed to have a lot of interactive and communication elements which is what I look for while learning something new. Furthermore, they were also offering Creative and Cultural Industries : Art Direction which I was left curious with as I liked their the idea of how they had a wide range of creative courses. Furthermore, they had a lot of unique projects that were done by students and have also offered a chance to work with Studio KT1 which was intriguing for me. 

Chelsea College of Arts 

I also got the opportunity to learn about Chelsea College of Arts. This was a university I found through my research and after looking into the courses I found the course ''Graphic Design Communication'' really interesting. This led me to applying for one of the online open days they were hosting as it was between my college lessons I had to leave for a bit and attend the open day. However there were some technical difficulties but after emailing the organiser I got the access to the open day. In the open day they had members of staff and students from the their third year in the university. They had introduced the course and what was the aim behind this course and why students should choose it. In the online webinar I got guidance on how the course works, they gave a great introduction on how they manage workshops and group meetings with individual practices. What I liked about this open day was the wide range of design elements they were offering to the students and this went from motion graphics to fashion and art. The reason why I found this interesting as I know that if I do this course I will get the chance to work with a wide range of students with different styles/cultures and minds and give me more chance to be creative and give and get inspiration.  They showed facilities they offer students and there was a wide range of studios like the photography, filming, designing studios for students to work and be creative in. Furthermore they also talked about how they had small competitions for physical open days where they would give the students to create their own posters. I found this a fun factor in the open day as it would give the students a chance to discover their own style whilst working on the new projects. 

Overall, I really liked this open day as the course is just what I plan on doing to further my skills and I am glad I got the chance to discover more about the course from the Online Webinar. 

Skills Audit 

This was my Skills Audit I had done for my work experience. This was a great guidance for me to know where my skills stand and for the people I am doing my work experience with. I think it is important to know where my skills lie when applying for work experience as doing that will help me work more on those skills and learn more new skills alongside it as well. Furthermore, for my work experience I going to be working with my father's company and help them in promoting their new architecture design. I will be helping them in creating Leaflets and Booklets that will have the plans for the apartments. To help succeed in this work experience I need to have experience in using the Adobe Apps and I have gained those skills throughout my course. I also have gained essential skills throughout my course and extra curricular experience like working in teams, planning, meeting deadlines and I believe these are important skills when working with a client as the client will have specific requirements which I will have to meet. I enjoy working as a team and individually as it helps me sharpen my skills and also inspire my team and motivate them when coming up with creative ideas.   

Creative Industries- Self-Promotion 

Self-Promotion is the idea of allowing other people to acknowledge one's growth and process. It helps the audience understand the person more and allows one's self to be authentic and share ideas, talents and achievements in the manner of promoting themselves. Furthermore, the reason why I believe self promotion is important is because it gives the chance to grow professionally and even work outside your comfort zone and inspire other people around you. Speaking up and talking about the ideas and schemes a person comes up with helps in promoting not only their creative mind but also their personality and ideologies which can be a great guidance to others and even the person itself as they can judge from the feedback they get and conclude and be even better.  

Website Portfolio- A Website Portfolio is when a person creates a website that showcases all their works they have created. Website portfolio gives the applicant a chance to show all of their different creative skills they hold and also allows them to show their thought process and thinking behind their projects. This helps in showing the interviewee on where the ideas come from, the inspiration and the final project. A website portfolio also helps in showing creatives skills outside the projects, and this can be doe in the way they design their website and they had the layouts. The reason why this might help the applicant is because it enhances their style or aesthetic and gives them a chance to show how they manage themselves when promoting themselves. 

However, even though Website Portfolio has a wide range of advantages and gives the applicant a chance to stand out from the rest it can also have some drawbacks. Some drawbacks can include the compatibly of the Website Portfolio itself. As if not exported in a appropriate size it can cause the interviewee to not be able to open it or even open it with a lower quality which can risk the Website Portfolio and all the projects and hard-work in it. Furthermore, sometimes creating Website Portfolios can be expensive, as even if there are free websites most of them require some sort of membership or subscription. This means that in order to show some more creative skills the applicant has to pay an amount which they might not be able to afford and can risk in showing their creative skills. 

Linkedin - Linkedin is the world's largest professional network that allows a person to find the right job or internship for them. It also allows a person to connect with professionals and learn the skills you would need to succeed in your career. Furthermore, the reason why Linkedin might be useful for self-promotion is because it gives the person a chance to list out their skills and even link their portfolio and past jobs. This gives the person looking at the application a chance to see if the person is suitable for the job and create a professional relationship with them while communicating with them back and forth. It is a highly engaging network that allows people to make connections in the industry and self promote themselves more.                                                                    

However, being the world's largest network means they have a wide range things that people may give negative feedback on. Some can say that people might not reply on time or some companies might forget to update if the job is still available or not which mean you have to invest a lot of time in the network itself to get a response. This slow reaction of time can lead to the person just giving up on the job. Furthermore, there is also a high risk of where your information is going. As even though the person is putting all their information in the network it is important to make sure it is not being saved in the wrong places. And there is also a high risk of email spams and how some companies might spam you about the job. 

Savee is a self promotion application and website used by a wide range of creative artists, designers, directors and even students. The app is known for getting the best way to get inspiration as it contains a all types of work possible done by other professional and freelancers. Furthermore, the person can also upload their projects and inspire other people as well and create their social presence on it. You can also create boards for different project which gives the m chance to be organised and divide their work in different boards with suitable names. I find this quite interesting as nothing is better than getting inspiration from someone who is already a professional themselves and even better if they are in the same field as you, so you can understand the criteria you need to meet while designing. 

However, there is not an option for feedback or messaging privately which I find hard. The reason is because even though I am giving inspiration and promoting myself I also want to be able to get some feedback on time and know where I should improve or what could've been better in the project itself. So them not having that option can be a bit hard, as I can't even message someone if I want to ask them what font or what type of style they used. Furthermore, the app does not offer titling your projects too. The reason why that might be a drawback in because even though Savee organises your search themselves we do not know on what criteria our work might be going in which can be a little frustrating as people might want to title their projects or add extra links.  

Freelance

Freelancing is when a person acts independently without the authority or affliction of an organisation. Freelancers tend to have no boss and are self-employed which means they get the chance to work freely and get to do a wide range of creative tasks. Furthermore, free lancers do not focus on like one company like a job would mostly would they tend to work all around the industry approaching different brands and clients and communicating with them. They also do not have any restrictions or any specific requirements to meet like a uniform or how much they are working as they themselves are the one to decide how much they are working and what they are doing. 

However, even though you are your own boss it can be a drawback as you do not know how much your total income would be as there might be times where you might get a lot of clients but then the next month you might only get a few which can be a high risk of how much money you are earning and also impact you physically and mentally. As working on so many projects can once can leave you tired and lose some motivation as well or you can just get heavily stressed out from too many or too less projects, so there is not a consistent amount of work you get and makes it less certain.