Three Personal Tracks of Mine

This is a pre-emptive blog entry for the coming Wednesday as I am going away with my family so won’t be here to make the entry, if I get chance I will be checking back over the course of the week to offer comments but if not I will be adding them when I return.

When I was selecting my track list for our creative sessions at college I tried to keep in mind that it needed to be eclectic and so I have picked songs that range from my childhood through to current date.

The three songs I have chosen to mention are those that I feel I have the most to talk about. In most cases my favourite songs are so because they remind me of a certain person, time or place and sometimes it’s because of a scene in a movie. These are the type of tracks that will make up the rest of the list.

The first track I have chosen to talk about is ‘I Know It’ by Madonna. Madonna has always been someone who’s music I have enjoyed since I was very young and I have grown up listening to it. This track is taken from her first album and is one that I have listened to more than any others lately. She has always been an artist who has changed as I’m sure everyone is familiar. Honestly I would say I’m not a very big fan of her last two albums and do prefer her very pop friendly earlier work in the eighties and nineties. I think Madonna is someone who is often controversial though in the past it seemed more purposeful as she actually had a point to make. In her earlier career some of the stunts she pulled were much more thought provoking such as the Pepsi campaign where she got Pepsi to advertise their drink with pictures of burning crosses, which obviously outraged the Church. Madonna is sometimes referred to as ‘Madge’ this is short for ‘Her Majesty’ she was named so after a certain Magazine labelled her ‘Our Leader’.

The second track I am going to talk about is ‘Good Stuff’ by Kelis a song that was a favourite of mine when I was in my late teens. This track is taken from Kelis’ Debut album ‘Kaleidoscope’ and it is an album on which I like every track which is quite a rare thing to find. This album was produced by the Neptune’s who also were a performing collective known as N.E.R.D. The Neptunes are still producing; however they are no longer making records as N.E.R.D. People may be more familiar with one member of the group Pharrel Williams who can sometimes be seen bobbing around Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears or Gwen Stefani videos, as he has been one of the most popular producers and guest vocalists in pop of recent years, and is the person who wrote this track. This is one of the first examples of their music going mainstream and I was a fan of a lot of the music they went on to produce. Kelis unfortunately didn’t continue with the recognition that she had achieved with this album.

The last track that I am going to discuss is ‘Tears Dry on Their Own’ by Amy Winehouse. This is from her album Back to Black which is one of my favourite albums of late. I liked this track before it was released as a single but I like it even more now that I’ve seen the music video, this is something that usually happens with me, a good video can make a song seem better I think. The video is one that has been produced by David La Chapelle, someone that I have mentioned in a previous blog as a hero of mine and I think it fits with Amy’s personality perfectly. Amy Winehouse was somebody that I noticed a good few years ago on TV but not so much as an artist but as a ‘talking head’ who always had an outrageously funny opinion on something. Unfortunately she is known these days more for her celebrity than her music, although her music is critically acclaimed.

The Year So Far

On returning to college this year I was a bit nervous having had my first encounter with CSS. Not only this, but over the summer we had been given a project to where we had no guidance in the form of class lectures.

This was a real test and in some areas of the project I was pleased with the work that I produced, however in others there were a few issues that needed ironing out afterwards. This did have a knock on effect on the following few weeks in which I had to combine my current work load with amending some errors in previous work.

I feel I coped with this well; one benefit I felt from this was that I feel it strengthened my knowledge of CSS going back and reworking the page I had already produced. However in the future I do not intend to have this happen again and I have strived very hard in the A9 Box Clever project to make sure that I get this correct first time round.

What I worked on this semester was to make a time plan each week and even if I didn’t stick to it rigorously I made a concerted effort to complete the tasks I had set myself for that particular week.

This has been something that has previously affected my work greatly and something I have never managed to get quite right. However in the project A9 Box Clever I feel I have achieved my goal and have never had so much sleep the night before deadline.

On this project I feel that I have not only made leaps of progression with my time planning but also with my written work. This is the first time I have sat in class with a different group of people; it has really helped sharing methods of working. I have made an effort to note in my written work all my references at the time of writing so it is not such an effort to do at a later date. This is a time saving method and probably something you might do naturally, unfortunately it is something that has only just become apparent to me but is definitely the way in which I will work in the future. In addition to this the learning journal exercise in which we had to produce condensed written work helped me to produce a more concise essay helping me identify terms such as ‘I think’ in written work as unnecessary.

The area in which I am most proud of myself is the knowledge I have picked up on the subject of CSS. Combined with the research into its history and its future my practical ability has been enhanced.

Although I have learnt so much I know I still have much more to learn. The page I completed for this assignment can be seen at –

www.drewellis.co.uk/shuffle_page.html

I am very pleased with the look of the page and I like the design, I did want to include some more design elements but unfortunately an image I added was causing layout problems. This is hopefully something I will come to understand at a later time.

The reason I left it out was that I had got my design work finished earlier than expected and so I wanted to see if I could improve on the design and tried to add it in after. This is something that obviously isn’t as simple as drag and drop and it didn’t work out.

My knowledge on CSS became apparent when I was asked to produce a site in CSS as part of a job interview I had. I was given two evenings in which to make the site and ended up spending about seven hours on it as to get it handed in on time. I had to sacrifice time which I would usually spend on design to ensure I got the technical side of things correct.

I have uploaded it to www.drewellis.co.uk/yorkshire_water.html

Please take a look and feel free to offer comments. My ability to produce this in such a short period of time has given me a confidence boost and, though at this point in time I have not heard whether I have got this position, I feel that I gained something by going for it even if it doesn’t work out.

The thing to learn from this semester so far would be; my time planning is more important than I give it credit for and has an effect on the quality of the work I produce. What helped me with my time planning was being provided with a schedule the college sessions, in being given this information I was able to see more clearly what I should have finished and by when.

Also I need to make sure that the way in which I complete tasks is the most efficient way of doing things by comparing with peers.

Overall I feel that this has been a fast paced and informative half semester and I look forward to getting back and developing further. In addition the next project looks to be a very interesting one which should test all of us and our creative abilities.

Interview Part Two

Describe yourself in 3 words

Colourful, Artistic, Driven

How would you measure the effectiveness of Interactive Media products?

I would measure the effectiveness by conducting user tests and gaining feedback. I would have the product tested with its target audience to gain feedback. In addition if it were a website I was testing I would test it in several different browsers to ensure that it was performing correctly in each of them.

How would you handle criticism?

I am not unfamiliar with receiving criticism; in my educational experiences I have studied in artistic subjects where I have had to be involved in many group critiques and so I am used to receiving opinions of others on my work both good and bad. Also I am aware that when somebody gives their opinion they are offering you a chance to improve your work and so it is meant as a positive thing. I would not take criticism negatively due to these factors.

Describe a difficult problem you have encountered and how you have solved it?

Whilst studying interactive media I have been faced with problems on various occasions when it has come to self study. One of these occasions would be when I had to make my first ever website, I had no previous knowledge and I was finding this very difficult. I overcame this by making numerous attempts at my website and each time I made a mistake I would start over instead of looking for a quick fix. I found that in doing this I was able to learn the subject in depth and it also ensured that the final product performed perfectly. I found this was time consuming but in the end very rewarding.

Describe how you fit into a team.

As I am quite a driven, decisive, diplomatic person I would say that firstly I’d contend to be the leader in a team or group of people. However if I am not the most suitable person for that role then I am a very good team player and am always willing to play a supporting role.

Do you have any other questions?

Will there be much opportunity for promotion within the company?

Do you have any bonus or incentive schemes?

What was the reason for the position becoming available? Is the company growing?

Interactive Media Position - Revisited

I found the previous exercise very useful as it has refreshed my memory on the things that I need to consider when looking for employment.

Writing about my strengths and weaknesses gave me chance to take a step back and analyse myself and the way I work. Personally I dislike writing about myself in this way knowing that it will be read by everybody as I don’t like to come across too self confident but it isn’t an occasion to be modest when applying for a job, you have to be ruthless.

Given that I had these feelings I still feel I did the task justice. I felt that the best way to address the weakness point was to put a positive spin on it also as not to talk the employer out of employing me.

When it came to writing about my hero I decided to go with one of heroes in the design world as I am not very familiar with people in the web design industry so this has highlighted for me that this is something that maybe I should brush up my knowledge on. This was backed up when I had to mention a new technology that I was excited about. My knowledge on this area was limited and so I had to mention CSS3 as this was something we had recently learnt in class.

Going forward I will have to extend my knowledge, hopefully this is something that would happen naturally anyway as I continue to be involved in the industry.

Overall though I feel that I completed the task with success and am pleased with the response that I gave.

Interactive Media Position

Job Title: TRAINEE WEB DESIGNER

Location
BURTON-ON-TRENT, STAFFORDSHIRE

Hours
MON-FRI, 9-5

Wage
13000 - 15000

Work Pattern
Days

Employer
Devmac Systems Ltd

Closing Date
12/10/2007


Pension
No details held

Duration
PERMANENT ONLY

Link:http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/Internet/viewVacancy.do?selectedVacancy=75&ref=BTR/7204

Why do I want this job?

I want this job as I am keen to join a design company and work in a position in web design. This position offers me the opportunity to implement the skills I have recently acquired but also provides the chance to further develop my skills. I am a creative individual and so a position such as this would give me an outlet to be creative in a beneficial way.

Greatest Strength

My greatest strength is my creative skills. I am able to develop and produce work that is of a high standard and that is commercial. I am able to adapt to any brief and produce work to the best standard and offer the most suitable solution. My work is fashionable and I am aware of the current trends in popular culture which means my work always appears to be modern however I am also able to work to briefs and provide designs that look corporate or whatever else is required. In addition to this I am a fast learner who is capable of picking up new skills quickly.

Greatest Weakness

A weakness of mine is that I am a perfectionist when it comes to my design work and can sometimes spend too much time on the creative elements of my work which means that other areas can suffer.

Where will I be in 5 years?

In five years time I plan to be working for a design company in the area of graphic/web design. I plan to be at least at a medium level of employment at this time. The company would be one that had major clients and would have a good reputation in the design industry.

What current Interactive Media innovation excites me most?

Currently I am most excited about CSS level 3 as it promises to provide solutions to current issues experienced with level 1 and 2.1. CSS3 will allow web designers to be more creative in their approach to web design as there won’t be as many things to hinder them. In addition it offers support for more devices.

Who is your Hero/Heroine?

A hero of mine would be David La Chapelle as I feel that his work is very inspiring and a great mark of popular culture. David La Chapelle has provided covers for Rolling Stone and produced music videos for various Music Artists. I feel that he leads the way in creativity and I am a big fan of his work.