Orphan Waves

A pass grade was all I could muster for the last assignment. A bit disappointed to say the least as I am trying to pull out all the stops to achieve what I know I can achieve. I thought I had all the merit and distinction criteria covered but alas, it was not to be. Until I get my mark sheet I won't know on which parts of the learning outcome I failed to do.

The next assignment will be different; I have my eye on the goals and my finger on the pulse. I had a one to one with Mr Munday on Tuesday!! which opened my eyes a little as to what time planning is all about. I have always filled out the forms honestly and fairly as regards a diary of my self study but I can see now that the 'forward' planning is not just about pleasing the tutors but to aid me in my own planning of a task. And you know what? it works. Thanks John for a very informative hour that would have been far better being two hours, even three.

Being able to split the next assignment into hours, and the hours into separate tasks I can see beyond the trees for once. Although the sheet I handed in on Wednesday did not really contain the information I wanted it to, as I had only gained this insight on the Tuesday afternoon before.

Our Wednesday morning session was just as enjoyable as the previous Wednesdays. Being able to look at the logos that my fellow peers had created was an eye opener. This type of task is when you can see how the rest of the group thinks. I was particularly impressed with Rich's, Bens, Mirhads’ and Marcs’. When the majority was unsure of which they liked best, reducing them to a small size usually made up their mind for them.

The group was split when it came to my 4 main designs and in the end it was my decision using the feedback I had been given, I am now experimenting with different colours on my final 2.

It has been an interesting self study week when I finally got round to designing my logo in Freehand. I am finally getting to grips with how the basic tools work and how path points and curves are created. I would like to go into Freehand more in-depth but I need to keep the rest of the assignment in my mind and stick to my planning sheet which so far is going to schedule. I had to rearrange it a little bit on Wednesday as some of my logos would not open at college due to the lack of fonts, so I used the time to research a bit into Spyra, the whole concept of creating electronic ambient music and gathered some ideas together on what the target market would want to see on the CD cover from the information I had translated from listening to the music.

When I listened to the CD for the first time, I sat with my sketchbook and wrote down keywords and thoughts that cropped up in my mind from hearing each track. The list by the end of the CD looked like a nostalgia trip to the eighties. I now have more understanding on what this type of listener would want to see on a CD of this genre and hopefully I will fulfill that with my final design in time.

As you all know I buy a lot from Amazon. I regard these people to be one of the best in the buying online market.
Every now and again they send me emails with a list of recommended reading material that is supposed to be a 'personal' insight into what I might like. Either they have a camera hidden in my house or they can read my mind. I have included a screenshot to show you what they recommend this month. It's uncanny.

Have a good Easter holiday and will see you all in 3 weeks refreshed and overdosed on Chocolate.