On Monday we received our feedback, and results from our latest completed project, the A5 Builder. This has probably been the most difficult brief so far for me, as it was my first experience of building a web site in XHTML, and CSS.
At first I found the introductions on these languages very hard to digest, which for a while made me doubt my performance on the course. After much research, practice, and tutorials, everything started to fall into place, eventually my web page began to look like my initial design.
I have been offered web design work in the past, but because of my lack of knowledge in this domain I have avoided this subject over the years, which is why I eventually enrolled on the this course. So when finally I was confronted with building my site this for me was more than just a college brief, it was like biting the bullet, or facing the music. In retrospect I think this was the reason I was so apprehensive at the beginning of the course.
Because of a recent foot operation, I have had much more time to devote myself to the course over the last several weeks. If I was working the same long hours as during the early stages of the course, I would have struggled with this brief, especially my time management.
Given my pessimistic nature, to start with, I thought this brief would be the making or breaking of me, but once again I proved my doubts wrong.
I am delighted with my performance, and my results. My aim now is to keep it up over the summer, which will hopefully put me in good stead for the second year.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Signal: Robotron, Album Review
With its minimalist, hypnotic rhythmic beats, energy pulses, clicks, and bristling static sounds, Signal-Robotron, was released in 2007 by Raster-Noton, this cutting edge album will most definitely be sought by keen minimal electronic music enthusiasts. It reminds me of a set played by the music producer and DJ Sven Vath back in 1999, when I was then a regular visitor to certain venues of industrial, and minimal Techno music, such as the Orbit in Morley, near Leeds. With Raster Noton’s electronic wizardry, this also evokes memories of another German group called Kraftwerk, who treaded into a similar domain around thirty years ago. My own personal interest in electronic music stems from being a child, listening to my mother, playing the music of Kraftwerk, and Gary Numan with his group Tubeway Army.
In 1996 Olaf Bender (aka Byetone), and Frank Bretschneider set up the German art-electronic
record label Rastermusik, which was based in Chemnitz, Germany, as a means of releasing their own music.
In 1999 they merged with Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto) who had ran the Noton label, to form Raster Noton, and in the following year they released their debut album “Centrum”, which proved a success.
With the increase of music technology, and the expanding use of the internet, within a few years the Raster Noton label had made a name for itself, and because of this, worldwide connections were made.
Apart, the three artists have very busy careers producing their own music, despite this, they always find time to collaborate. “Robotron”, which was recorded over a five year period is their second album release since 1999.
It has been a very long time since I have heard anything like this, but with repeated playing on my part, I was quite amazed and pleased by this album. With the energetic sound of rhythmic clicks and deep bass pulses, this makes a surprisingly powerful compilation . The tracks blend seamlessly together, even though they are a collection of various live and studio music, recorded across the globe, from Berlin, and Chemnitz to Tokyo. The album starts with a short droning intro, developing into ultraminimal techno on “Ermafa”, but my favourite track is “Robotron”, as it features clean mid-frequency sign tones, which is common in Bretschneider’s work.
After listening to the album several times, and visiting their website, I can see myself going to experience one of their live performances, the next time they visit the UK.
For those music fans seeking melodies, or commercial dance floor hits they would probably not appreciate the simplicity of this album, as it relies mainly on a small set of percussive sounds, but for the electronic minimalist, abstract, and experimental fan, this unique creation is a must. The album design is equally artistic, incorporating a totally unconventional and minimal packaged sleeve.
Hopefully we will not have to wait too long for their next album release.
In 1996 Olaf Bender (aka Byetone), and Frank Bretschneider set up the German art-electronic
record label Rastermusik, which was based in Chemnitz, Germany, as a means of releasing their own music.
In 1999 they merged with Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto) who had ran the Noton label, to form Raster Noton, and in the following year they released their debut album “Centrum”, which proved a success.
With the increase of music technology, and the expanding use of the internet, within a few years the Raster Noton label had made a name for itself, and because of this, worldwide connections were made.
Apart, the three artists have very busy careers producing their own music, despite this, they always find time to collaborate. “Robotron”, which was recorded over a five year period is their second album release since 1999.
It has been a very long time since I have heard anything like this, but with repeated playing on my part, I was quite amazed and pleased by this album. With the energetic sound of rhythmic clicks and deep bass pulses, this makes a surprisingly powerful compilation . The tracks blend seamlessly together, even though they are a collection of various live and studio music, recorded across the globe, from Berlin, and Chemnitz to Tokyo. The album starts with a short droning intro, developing into ultraminimal techno on “Ermafa”, but my favourite track is “Robotron”, as it features clean mid-frequency sign tones, which is common in Bretschneider’s work.
After listening to the album several times, and visiting their website, I can see myself going to experience one of their live performances, the next time they visit the UK.
For those music fans seeking melodies, or commercial dance floor hits they would probably not appreciate the simplicity of this album, as it relies mainly on a small set of percussive sounds, but for the electronic minimalist, abstract, and experimental fan, this unique creation is a must. The album design is equally artistic, incorporating a totally unconventional and minimal packaged sleeve.
Hopefully we will not have to wait too long for their next album release.
Monday, 2 February 2009
Diligence is a Virtue
Last Monday we received our results for the A3 brief. I was hoping for a pass, but I received a referral. In a way, I was relieved that the errors were only minor and would not take too long to amend, however, they were silly mistakes, and I was annoyed with once myself again for not noticing these during the project.
One of my main faults was not keeping a detailed account of my self study on my time sheets. I admit they were put on the back burner, especially over the Christmas period, and I did rush them off towards the end. This will not happen again, and I will fill them in properly from now on.
Another mistake was on the “Who is query”, in which I had put the wrong domain name in instead of the proposed name for the site I intend to build. I think at the time I was so concerned other elements had to be correct that I over looked this fault, which was staring at me in all the time.
My last fault was not having enough detailed measurements on my screen design. Again this was a something I have learned from, and I will make sure all my measurements are more detailed in the future.
We were all given a week to amend our work, and resubmission was this morning. Hopefully everything should be fine now, and I will be able to concentrate more on the latest A5 (builder) brief, which we started last week.
One of my main faults was not keeping a detailed account of my self study on my time sheets. I admit they were put on the back burner, especially over the Christmas period, and I did rush them off towards the end. This will not happen again, and I will fill them in properly from now on.
Another mistake was on the “Who is query”, in which I had put the wrong domain name in instead of the proposed name for the site I intend to build. I think at the time I was so concerned other elements had to be correct that I over looked this fault, which was staring at me in all the time.
My last fault was not having enough detailed measurements on my screen design. Again this was a something I have learned from, and I will make sure all my measurements are more detailed in the future.
We were all given a week to amend our work, and resubmission was this morning. Hopefully everything should be fine now, and I will be able to concentrate more on the latest A5 (builder) brief, which we started last week.
Monday, 19 January 2009
Time Flies
With the second semester approaching already, I can honestly say time does fly. Steve assured us a the beginning that the course would would be over before we knew it, but I never thought it would go by at this fast. It only seems like yesterday when we were dropping eggs in the induction period.
At the beginning of the course I mentioned to Steve that I would like to consider transferring
on to the the full-time HND course at some point, or maybe in the second year. He advised me at the time to play it by ear and see how the course progresses, and that we would discuss the option again at a later date. Maybe at the time I didn’t realise what I would be taking on board if I was to join the HND. I think I underestimated how hard the course was, and the workload involved. In retrospect, I know now that I would really struggle studying the full-time course and working a full-time job outside of college. The HNC is demanding enough, and several occasions this last semester I have been hard pushed at times to get the work done.
If I had the opportunity, or if I could afford to leave my job and study on the HND, I would do tomorrow, however, my current situation dictates that I will have to stay on the HNC. I am just a bit disappointed that I have missed out the typography brief, which looked so interesting, and that I will miss out on the interactive module, but that is how the course is.
I just need to make sure that I try and get as much out of the course as possible.
Last Monday it was a relief to hand in the A3 assignment. The proofing of the work took longer expected, and I didn’t leave myself as much tinker time as I wanted. Because of that, combined the with hours at work, I had very little sleep the last weekend before submission, and the fear of sleeping in on Monday meant I didn’t sleep much Sunday night either. To make things worse certain software on my computer wouldn’t work properly, at first I thought it was some type of virus, and in the end I had to re-install CS3. That again added to the stress levels. Why would my machine work fine all semester, then error just few days before submission? I have been less nervous in about job interviews than I was about submission last Monday.
So far in one semester I learned more about graphic design than I did in my first two years on my BA, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. of course at times it has stressful, but no one said it was going to be easy. If I knew now what I knew then I would of bothered enrolling on a BA, I would of studied a HND, or HNC instead, but in hindsight I guess we all would change things.
My aim for semester two is to have more time to dedicate to the course, to find a better paid job, with more consistent hours, that isn’t so tiring. Unlike my previous jobs I now work different shifts every week, and this does make my time time management harder to handle, as I don’t know what I am working one week to the next. Hopefully something more suitable will come up in the near future.
At the beginning of the course I mentioned to Steve that I would like to consider transferring
on to the the full-time HND course at some point, or maybe in the second year. He advised me at the time to play it by ear and see how the course progresses, and that we would discuss the option again at a later date. Maybe at the time I didn’t realise what I would be taking on board if I was to join the HND. I think I underestimated how hard the course was, and the workload involved. In retrospect, I know now that I would really struggle studying the full-time course and working a full-time job outside of college. The HNC is demanding enough, and several occasions this last semester I have been hard pushed at times to get the work done.
If I had the opportunity, or if I could afford to leave my job and study on the HND, I would do tomorrow, however, my current situation dictates that I will have to stay on the HNC. I am just a bit disappointed that I have missed out the typography brief, which looked so interesting, and that I will miss out on the interactive module, but that is how the course is.
I just need to make sure that I try and get as much out of the course as possible.
Last Monday it was a relief to hand in the A3 assignment. The proofing of the work took longer expected, and I didn’t leave myself as much tinker time as I wanted. Because of that, combined the with hours at work, I had very little sleep the last weekend before submission, and the fear of sleeping in on Monday meant I didn’t sleep much Sunday night either. To make things worse certain software on my computer wouldn’t work properly, at first I thought it was some type of virus, and in the end I had to re-install CS3. That again added to the stress levels. Why would my machine work fine all semester, then error just few days before submission? I have been less nervous in about job interviews than I was about submission last Monday.
So far in one semester I learned more about graphic design than I did in my first two years on my BA, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. of course at times it has stressful, but no one said it was going to be easy. If I knew now what I knew then I would of bothered enrolling on a BA, I would of studied a HND, or HNC instead, but in hindsight I guess we all would change things.
My aim for semester two is to have more time to dedicate to the course, to find a better paid job, with more consistent hours, that isn’t so tiring. Unlike my previous jobs I now work different shifts every week, and this does make my time time management harder to handle, as I don’t know what I am working one week to the next. Hopefully something more suitable will come up in the near future.
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Panic-stricken
Since my last post, life has been very busy. There was no time to celebrate Christmas this year, it got cancelled. For a while I was panic-stricken about the work load, as I do fear falling behind on the course. Balancing my work hours with my college work over the festive period has been both physically and mentally demanding, and I am quite relieved that it is over. Hopefully I will not be in the same position next Christmas.
With the A3 project deadline approaching, this last week has been stressful. Since last Monday there has been quite a lot of refining to do. As well as the Assets list to finish, and evaluation to complete, my web page needed re-designing, which took longer than I expected, however, I am much more satisfied with it now than the previous version.
The A3 brief has been harder than I anticipated. Certain aspects were quite hard to digest at first, for example, measurable goals, and delivery requirements, but after a while things began to fall in to place, and make sense. The competitive analysis was the most challenging part of the write up, having to break down and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a website, with a limited amount of words to use. The main test of this project has been managing my time, as I mentioned earlier balancing my work hours with college seems to be an ongoing struggle.
Fortunately, the next several week wont be so busy, and I will have a lot more free time to dedicate my self to the course.
With the A3 project deadline approaching, this last week has been stressful. Since last Monday there has been quite a lot of refining to do. As well as the Assets list to finish, and evaluation to complete, my web page needed re-designing, which took longer than I expected, however, I am much more satisfied with it now than the previous version.
The A3 brief has been harder than I anticipated. Certain aspects were quite hard to digest at first, for example, measurable goals, and delivery requirements, but after a while things began to fall in to place, and make sense. The competitive analysis was the most challenging part of the write up, having to break down and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a website, with a limited amount of words to use. The main test of this project has been managing my time, as I mentioned earlier balancing my work hours with college seems to be an ongoing struggle.
Fortunately, the next several week wont be so busy, and I will have a lot more free time to dedicate my self to the course.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Bah humbug!
Since the referral on the A2 brief, life has been a bit hectic. I managed to find another job, but they pay is considerably less than previous, therefore I am having to work more hours.
To add to that, the arrival of Christmas has just made things even more intense, as this time of the years is the busiest in the cheffing trade. I just hope it doesn’t affect my college work.
You could say I am Looking forward to getting Christmas out of the way, so I reduce my hours, and focus more on college, once my financial situation is stable again.
On a light note, I got my result on Monday for my A2 referral, and was delighted to find out I had passed. The mood in the studio was a bit more serious than usual, some more apprehensive than others, as we waited for the results.
Apart from that, the last few weeks have been really interesting at college. We have had lectures on certain design fundamentals, like the grid system. We have looked at the principles of the acronym PARC ( Proximity, Alignment, Repetition, Contrast), and lastly we had an introduction to colour theory, which the HNC and myself are doing a presentation on next week. All these principles mentioned above are essential, and are implemented in all aspects of design. Im looking forward to using and applying them more in my future work.
The A3 project seems to be going okay at the moment, but there is quite a bit of refining to do on my competitive analysis, which has been harder than I anticipated, however I have gained
much knowledge on the subject, which will prove beneficial long term.
To add to that, the arrival of Christmas has just made things even more intense, as this time of the years is the busiest in the cheffing trade. I just hope it doesn’t affect my college work.
You could say I am Looking forward to getting Christmas out of the way, so I reduce my hours, and focus more on college, once my financial situation is stable again.
On a light note, I got my result on Monday for my A2 referral, and was delighted to find out I had passed. The mood in the studio was a bit more serious than usual, some more apprehensive than others, as we waited for the results.
Apart from that, the last few weeks have been really interesting at college. We have had lectures on certain design fundamentals, like the grid system. We have looked at the principles of the acronym PARC ( Proximity, Alignment, Repetition, Contrast), and lastly we had an introduction to colour theory, which the HNC and myself are doing a presentation on next week. All these principles mentioned above are essential, and are implemented in all aspects of design. Im looking forward to using and applying them more in my future work.
The A3 project seems to be going okay at the moment, but there is quite a bit of refining to do on my competitive analysis, which has been harder than I anticipated, however I have gained
much knowledge on the subject, which will prove beneficial long term.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Last Monday we received our results for the A2 (Journey of a 1000 miles) brief. Unfortunately I got what I feared, a referral. At first I was disappointed with the result, and annoyed with myself. I thought the project was perfect on submission date, however, after the feedback it was obvious there were things I had missed, which just goes to show no matter how many times you scrutinize your own work, you may still never notice the errors. It also proves, that it always pays to get someone else to proof-read your work, as well a yourself.
After some discussion, and sharing my result with other class members, it turned out, I wasn’t on my own, and most of group was in the same boat. In a way, this alleviated my embarrassment, and made it easier for me to accept my mistakes made.
The deadline for the A2 referral is on the 1st December. I have amended what needs to be done, I just hope it will pass this time.
The A3 (Sounds like a plan) brief is the latest project I am working on. At first I found it quite hard to digest what was required, but now things do seem to be falling in to place. This brief not only builds on what we learn't previous, but educates us on building and proposing a website for a client, for example: project schedule, goals, requirements, competitive analysis, and screen designs, etc.
Apart from the referral, everything at college seems to be going okay at the moment. Outside of college things are not going too well. Dues to cuts backs at work, I lost my job two weeks ago, so I am currently seeking employment. Its just a case of finding a job that fits around college hours. Hopefully something will come up soon.
After some discussion, and sharing my result with other class members, it turned out, I wasn’t on my own, and most of group was in the same boat. In a way, this alleviated my embarrassment, and made it easier for me to accept my mistakes made.
The deadline for the A2 referral is on the 1st December. I have amended what needs to be done, I just hope it will pass this time.
The A3 (Sounds like a plan) brief is the latest project I am working on. At first I found it quite hard to digest what was required, but now things do seem to be falling in to place. This brief not only builds on what we learn't previous, but educates us on building and proposing a website for a client, for example: project schedule, goals, requirements, competitive analysis, and screen designs, etc.
Apart from the referral, everything at college seems to be going okay at the moment. Outside of college things are not going too well. Dues to cuts backs at work, I lost my job two weeks ago, so I am currently seeking employment. Its just a case of finding a job that fits around college hours. Hopefully something will come up soon.
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