- Highlight where I'm at now
At the moment I am currently doing a creative digital media apprenticeship with Distinctive publishing. I have been being taught how to create websites using Dreamweaver. By this i mean i have learned how to code and use css style sheets. I have also learned a lot more about the different tools in photo shop and Adobe Illustrator. By learning a lot in this apprenticeship it has giving me a lot more skills using Adobe Programmes such as flash, illustrator, photoshop and dreamweaver.
- Highlight where you want to be
In the future i would love to have my own design business with my friend Jonathan Robinson who is also on the same corse as me at the moment. By design business i mean creating logos, flyers, posters, t-shirt designs, business cards and much more. I would also like to include web design but this wouldn't be a strong point but this is something i could work on in my spare time.
-what the first steps are for me to get there.
The first steps for me to get there would be to just go for it. Start by business early on so i would have a lot more experience than i would in a couple of years. I know the 1st years usually the hardest so it would be best to get it out the way. The second year your meant to break even and the third year is when you start to make some money. So by hearing this i would rather start up as quick as i can as it will give me a lot more experience in the industry.
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Unit 39- Undertake Image Asset Managment
The word asset management can mean a lot of things. Things like what file formats you use, where you save the files, where can they be stored or what will happen if you move the files from their original saved location. These are the things I'm going to be talking about in this blog.
When you are thinking about saving work it is essential that you keep a master copy (the original) saved some where safe. This is because you can always edit the original file if it is a photoshop document or a illustrator file. You don't just want to save it any where, you are going to want to save it some where it won't be deleted. You should also think about saving these on a memory stick or portable hard drive. This is just incase you do delete it by mistake on your computer or mac.
There are a lot of aspects at work which can effect image asset management. For example when i have been creating my website i have been saving all my images into one folder per project. If some one was to move this it would effect my website as they would not load up on my site. In other work places this can be a problem if people were to move images or files as they would not know where they had been moved to. Another problem could be if some one renames the images or files.
To prevent images from physical damage during the work processes images should be stored safely and should always have a back up copies just incase something like this would happen. Another way for the images not to get moved or deleted is by naming them properly. By this i mean give them correct names. For example on my website, I have an image of a Facebook button and i have named it Facebookrollover. If i was to just call it Facebook, some one might just delete it as it does not sound very important. This is why it is very important to name and save your files carefully
When editing any images you want to make sure that you make a separate save to the original image. This is because you will always need to keep the original. When naming your edited images you should name them correctly. For example if I had an image called Button, my edited image could be called Button-edit1. This would make it more clear which files was which and would help avoid confusion.
Before using images for your work it is important that you take a look at all the images that you have (look at the quality and purpose). This is because you don't want to have a lot of useless images taking up any space that aren't going to be getting used. Once you have rated your images it is important that you save them with appropriate names and in an appropriate file structure.
When gathering images it is very important that you get permission to use any images which are copyrighted. This is especially important if you are working in a business because there are copy right laws about needing permission about using other peoples images. It is very important that you do not infringe current laws and guidelines.
When all files are archived appropriately it is important that these images get backed up incase they get deleted or lost. Most companies will back up the files on a disc, memory stick or portable hard drive. Another method of backing up files is to store it online. I have used this method while creating my website by using drop box. It allows you to upload your files online from one computer and download them from another computer. This saved all the hassle of wires and plugging in and out memory sticks/ hard drives.
When you save an image it will almost always have the date it was created, the date it was modified and the date it was last opened saved. This is viewable in they information tab on the images. To do this you just have to right click the image and then go to "get info". It will then open a small tab which will display this information.
When in a company there are organisational procedures used when capturing and downloading images. These can be many things depending on the company. For example when capturing an image for a company it would be very important to store the images in the companies space so that they have access to it. This also means when the company want to use the image they can download it form the companies network and then use the image appropriately. If they were to upload the images by using a camera all they would have to do it plug the camera into a P.C or MAC then drag the files into the space where they would want to be stored (companies area).
Colour management plays a big part in capturing images and downloading images within a company. This is because when images are being transferred between different devices they need to keep the same colours. Colour management try's to obtain a good match across all the devices so the colours all look the same. By different devices i mean computer LCD monitors, plasma TV's and printed documents. it basically helps the colours have the same appearance on all of the devices.
When you are thinking about saving work it is essential that you keep a master copy (the original) saved some where safe. This is because you can always edit the original file if it is a photoshop document or a illustrator file. You don't just want to save it any where, you are going to want to save it some where it won't be deleted. You should also think about saving these on a memory stick or portable hard drive. This is just incase you do delete it by mistake on your computer or mac.
There are a lot of aspects at work which can effect image asset management. For example when i have been creating my website i have been saving all my images into one folder per project. If some one was to move this it would effect my website as they would not load up on my site. In other work places this can be a problem if people were to move images or files as they would not know where they had been moved to. Another problem could be if some one renames the images or files.
To prevent images from physical damage during the work processes images should be stored safely and should always have a back up copies just incase something like this would happen. Another way for the images not to get moved or deleted is by naming them properly. By this i mean give them correct names. For example on my website, I have an image of a Facebook button and i have named it Facebookrollover. If i was to just call it Facebook, some one might just delete it as it does not sound very important. This is why it is very important to name and save your files carefully
When editing any images you want to make sure that you make a separate save to the original image. This is because you will always need to keep the original. When naming your edited images you should name them correctly. For example if I had an image called Button, my edited image could be called Button-edit1. This would make it more clear which files was which and would help avoid confusion.
Before using images for your work it is important that you take a look at all the images that you have (look at the quality and purpose). This is because you don't want to have a lot of useless images taking up any space that aren't going to be getting used. Once you have rated your images it is important that you save them with appropriate names and in an appropriate file structure.
When gathering images it is very important that you get permission to use any images which are copyrighted. This is especially important if you are working in a business because there are copy right laws about needing permission about using other peoples images. It is very important that you do not infringe current laws and guidelines.
When all files are archived appropriately it is important that these images get backed up incase they get deleted or lost. Most companies will back up the files on a disc, memory stick or portable hard drive. Another method of backing up files is to store it online. I have used this method while creating my website by using drop box. It allows you to upload your files online from one computer and download them from another computer. This saved all the hassle of wires and plugging in and out memory sticks/ hard drives.
When you save an image it will almost always have the date it was created, the date it was modified and the date it was last opened saved. This is viewable in they information tab on the images. To do this you just have to right click the image and then go to "get info". It will then open a small tab which will display this information.
Friday, 16 March 2012
Unit 35- Undertake Technical Adjustments of Images
Editing images in photoshop is very easy, even for people who have never used the programme before. To change the colours of images photo shop uses a thing called RGB colour. This refers to red, blue and green which are primary colours. These three colours are able to make over 16 million different colours. The reason we used RGB on photoshop to edit images is that they are used to be viewed on the computer screen. These colours all have a colour value of 255. When you change the value of each colour the colour you are trying to get will change.
When editing an image it is better to have a big image (high resolution) so that the image does not pixilate when editing it or rescaling it. It is also a good idea to rescale the image when you are ready to the size you want it before adding it into another programme. This will save you time and the image won't need rescaling on the other programme.
There are a lot of different editing software which is relative for editing images but the best of them all has to be Adobe Photoshop. It has so many different features, tools and uses as it allows you to change the image mode from RGB colour or to Grayscale etc. There are a lot of different methods to editing images depending on your design style that you are aiming for. By this i mean there are a lot of tools used for different things. These tools can help you achieve the image edited how you want it to be edited.
To get the images into the software all you have to do is go to file >open> then select the file. If in Photoshop it is better to have the photoshop file as it would have the layers already set out for you. One of the worst things you can do as a designer is not save the original image with all the layers on because if you need to come back to change anything you won't be able to. In programs like photoshop there are options for grids and rulers to help you when scaling images or editing. These are basically guild lines on where/ where not to edit.
Photoshop is a great tool since you can save the original photoshop file image then edit from that and make more images from that. For example a client might want a poster made on photoshop. Once i had finished it i would then save it as a photo shop file. I would then reopen this and edit the colours of the poster then save it again as a Jpeg. I could do this three or four times, this would then give me more examples to show the client and see which one they prefer. If they didn't like it then i could open the photoshop file and edit the original. It is very important that you save your files the correct format as it can effect the quality of the image. This can also matter if you don't want a background on an image and you don't save it as a PNG.
By law a photographer will own all copyright on any photos that they have taken. This only applies if they were taking for themselves. For example if some one was to take images for a company then those images would belong to the company not the person who took those images. Another way that it wouldn't apply is that if the photographer signed an agreement that assigns the copyright to some one else.
It is quite important to mark your work as it will make it clear that the copyright exists on you images and then they would know who to contact to obtain permission to use these images. This could potentially make you a little bit of money if people wanted to use your work. For example most photographers will charge people for using there images.
Unit 27- 2D Animation For Interactive Media Products
The main use/purpose of computer animation in interactive products is to make the page stop being static. Its to draw the viewers eyes away from the page for a second. . They are mainly used in banners. For example on my website i have used 2D animation at the very top of my website to point at the buttons and say click for more information.
The main techniques used in 2D animations are frames and tweens. A frame is a still image and by having a lot of frames together it makes it look like the image is moving smoothly. To make the image move you would make a tween between a large group of frames. To increase the speed of the animation you would increase the amount of frames per second. To create these animations people use Adobe Flash.
People expectations of animations have increased a lot over the years since technology is improving fast and is improve so fast. This means peoples expectations are very high. Since i am not a animator my animations obviously wasn't going to be great so i made quite a simple animation which went with my website.
To save my animation i saved it as a flash file but i also had to export it as a movie. This would then allow me to put it on my website. If i had any changes that needed to be made i would edit the flash file then save over the exported one. My animation matched the theme of my website and wasn't to flashy.
When creating the animation it is important to name your layers so you don't get confused. It is also a good idea before you start creating your flash animation to import all the image files/ sound files that you will be using throughout the animation.
The main techniques used in 2D animations are frames and tweens. A frame is a still image and by having a lot of frames together it makes it look like the image is moving smoothly. To make the image move you would make a tween between a large group of frames. To increase the speed of the animation you would increase the amount of frames per second. To create these animations people use Adobe Flash.
People expectations of animations have increased a lot over the years since technology is improving fast and is improve so fast. This means peoples expectations are very high. Since i am not a animator my animations obviously wasn't going to be great so i made quite a simple animation which went with my website.
To save my animation i saved it as a flash file but i also had to export it as a movie. This would then allow me to put it on my website. If i had any changes that needed to be made i would edit the flash file then save over the exported one. My animation matched the theme of my website and wasn't to flashy.
When creating the animation it is important to name your layers so you don't get confused. It is also a good idea before you start creating your flash animation to import all the image files/ sound files that you will be using throughout the animation.
Unit 25- Produce Copy for Interactive Media
When creating a website or blog you will be wanting to make it look good for your target audience. This nears that your constraints will depend on what type of audience you are aiming for. For example if you were to make a website for a professional company you aren't going to make it bright pink with flowers. You are going to want to make it look clean and professional. This can be annoying for designers as most designers have there own style and may think some things look better then others.
When using a content management system there can be a lot of issues. The main issues you will encounter will be coding issues. This can be a huge problem since it would effect your whole website and give you a lot of problems whereas if you made a mistake using HTML you would only have to change the small mistake you made. There are a lot of advantages while using content management systems though. The main advantage of using a content management system is that it is very easy to use and get used to even if its your first time on using it.
When making a website it is very important that you keep the same style through out the whole website. This means that the text and colour scheme should stay consistent throughout. This means if you use Arial on 75% of you pages and times new roman on the other 25% your website if going to look very un-proffesional. You must also make sure that you check your grammar, punctuation and spelling before posting anything online as this can look very un-professional. When adding text on your website as the main content it would be a good idea to space it out (add some images in as well). No body wants to read a huge block of text as most people would just find it boring. When typing your text you are going to want to make it accessible for every one. Im not saying to dumb it down but don't use huge words which no one has heard of etc. It would also be a good idea to add in hyperlinks with your text content. For example if i mentioned my portfolio i could link it from the word portfolio so people could go take a look. Along with the grammar and spelling it is very important to include appropriate captions / descriptions to go along with the content.
Metadata is used on webpages to identify what language it written in and what tools have been used to create it. It will also say where to go for more on the subject. By using this is will increase the quality of the original data/files.
One of the best ways to check any errors on your website while creating it is "Preview in Browser window". This will allow you to see what your site will look like when it actually goes live. This means that you can look for mistakes (for example an image may not load and you may have to re-upload it). To check text a good way to see if its all correct is to copy it into Microsoft word and spell check it all.
When filling in the content to your website you don't want to be typing in any false information. This means that i would make sure what i was talking about is true before writing a big page of text and it all being wrong. It is also a good idea to link your sources of information so that viewers can take a look for themselves if they don't get what you are talking about.
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Unit 24- Manage and Market Own Freelance Services
One of the best way to find contents for business in this industry would be to look online. This will allow you to filter your search and find clients that are looking for the work you are looking to complete. Another method of finding clients for work could be face book or other social media. All you would have to do is advertise yourself and ask them to get in touch with you if they were looking for a designer. Another way to get work in through design crowd or other websites like this. There will be clients which post briefs and as a designer it is up to you to complete these projects and have a chance of winning and getting the money.
The best way to keep your clients is to keep in touch with them. For example you could get there number or add them on Facebook or ask them to follow your Facebook page if you have one. This way they would see any updates. By using a Facebook page it means you can add an e-mail to stay in touch or they could just message you on the Facebook website itself. This would make keeping in touch a lot easier.
By participating in networks and expert organisations to support being a freelancer will help you promote yourself within the industry. It will also allow you to attend different events that take place with the organisations. When going to these events it would be a great idea to being business cards or flyers with you to exchange with any other designers or new clients.
Since i am finishing my job here at distinctive as an apprentice designer i have thought about ways to promote myself. One of then set ways is to use a lot of social media. By linking my portfolio on my Facebook it allows 200+ people to look at my work and if they enjoy it they could share that link which would then lead to me getting more views and then could lead to more work.
There are a lot of different systems available to get in touch with you when there is new work available. For example there are creative media sites which you can sign up to which would then message you when work was available to apply for.
In the last paragraph i talked about different websites that would message you when there was new work available. These sites can potentially be classed as agents as they find you work. By signing up to these websites i am representing them by finding a job through them. Another way that i could find different agents would be to look for different creative media companies online in my area.
Websites like design crowd have the feature to comment on your work. This means that you are able to get feedback on your work that you have posted on the site. Since i have posted a lot of my work on Facebook, people are able to comment and give feedback to any of the images that i have uploaded. This will give me the opportunity to see what i have did wrong and know how to change it for next time.
As a freelance designer it is important to work flexibly. This means not to spend to much time working or spending to much time in your personal life. Its about finding the right balance of work and fun. But when work needs to be done it better to get it out the way. For example if i knew i had a project due in in 3 days i would organise my time so that i know i would have everything finished in time.
There are a lot of important business decisions while being a freelance designer. Like how much work are you going to do over a certain amount of time or what type of design that it is that you would want to do. Me myself would prefer to be an all round designer and do logos, flyers, posters, business cards and the odd website from time to time. By opening up your options it gives you the chance to get more work.
One of the most effective ways tho manage your budget as a designer is record everything you buy/ need. This will let you plan out how much you have to spend over periods of time. For example you could make a spreadsheet to add up how much bills, materials etc costs and then have it add up how much you have to spend on yourself.
Being a freelance designer means you never know what work is going to come in which means you don't know how much you will be getting paid until the work actually comes to you. This can be a bit of a problem to maintain a good amount of cash-flow as your pay will be in big chunks. You will have to manage your money well and make decisions of what you can and can't spend.
To find out how well you have performed it would be a god idea to ask your employer. This way they will be honest with you so you can get the best feedback you can get. Also by doing this you can compare it to the last time you asked which means you can see how you have improved.
When reading contracts as a freelance designers i would make sure i read it around 3 times so i knew exactly what i was signing. I would make sure that the contract meets legal and industry requirements by comparing it to past contracts that i have signed or finding an old draft contract. When communicating the obligations of all parties you want to be able to speak clearly and not mumble so they know exactly what you are saying.
With very important lets such as a final copy of a signed contact it is very important that you store it very securely. To do this i would keep a copy of it on something like drop box as it means i would always be able to get a copy of it if needed. With the written copy i would keep it in a folder which i would keep organised so i wouldn't loose it.
The best way to keep your clients is to keep in touch with them. For example you could get there number or add them on Facebook or ask them to follow your Facebook page if you have one. This way they would see any updates. By using a Facebook page it means you can add an e-mail to stay in touch or they could just message you on the Facebook website itself. This would make keeping in touch a lot easier.
By participating in networks and expert organisations to support being a freelancer will help you promote yourself within the industry. It will also allow you to attend different events that take place with the organisations. When going to these events it would be a great idea to being business cards or flyers with you to exchange with any other designers or new clients.
Since i am finishing my job here at distinctive as an apprentice designer i have thought about ways to promote myself. One of then set ways is to use a lot of social media. By linking my portfolio on my Facebook it allows 200+ people to look at my work and if they enjoy it they could share that link which would then lead to me getting more views and then could lead to more work.
There are a lot of different systems available to get in touch with you when there is new work available. For example there are creative media sites which you can sign up to which would then message you when work was available to apply for.
In the last paragraph i talked about different websites that would message you when there was new work available. These sites can potentially be classed as agents as they find you work. By signing up to these websites i am representing them by finding a job through them. Another way that i could find different agents would be to look for different creative media companies online in my area.
Websites like design crowd have the feature to comment on your work. This means that you are able to get feedback on your work that you have posted on the site. Since i have posted a lot of my work on Facebook, people are able to comment and give feedback to any of the images that i have uploaded. This will give me the opportunity to see what i have did wrong and know how to change it for next time.
As a freelance designer it is important to work flexibly. This means not to spend to much time working or spending to much time in your personal life. Its about finding the right balance of work and fun. But when work needs to be done it better to get it out the way. For example if i knew i had a project due in in 3 days i would organise my time so that i know i would have everything finished in time.
There are a lot of important business decisions while being a freelance designer. Like how much work are you going to do over a certain amount of time or what type of design that it is that you would want to do. Me myself would prefer to be an all round designer and do logos, flyers, posters, business cards and the odd website from time to time. By opening up your options it gives you the chance to get more work.
One of the most effective ways tho manage your budget as a designer is record everything you buy/ need. This will let you plan out how much you have to spend over periods of time. For example you could make a spreadsheet to add up how much bills, materials etc costs and then have it add up how much you have to spend on yourself.
Being a freelance designer means you never know what work is going to come in which means you don't know how much you will be getting paid until the work actually comes to you. This can be a bit of a problem to maintain a good amount of cash-flow as your pay will be in big chunks. You will have to manage your money well and make decisions of what you can and can't spend.
To find out how well you have performed it would be a god idea to ask your employer. This way they will be honest with you so you can get the best feedback you can get. Also by doing this you can compare it to the last time you asked which means you can see how you have improved.
When reading contracts as a freelance designers i would make sure i read it around 3 times so i knew exactly what i was signing. I would make sure that the contract meets legal and industry requirements by comparing it to past contracts that i have signed or finding an old draft contract. When communicating the obligations of all parties you want to be able to speak clearly and not mumble so they know exactly what you are saying.
With very important lets such as a final copy of a signed contact it is very important that you store it very securely. To do this i would keep a copy of it on something like drop box as it means i would always be able to get a copy of it if needed. With the written copy i would keep it in a folder which i would keep organised so i wouldn't loose it.
Unit 7- Creative Industry Awareness
There are a lot of fields in the creative media sector. For example there is a all round designer, people who do print, the manager of a design company who only does account would still count as being in the creative media sector. This is the same for other industries like sport for example, In football a physio is like a doctor but it would still be classes as in the sporting industry. As for the different industries with in creative media there is a huge list. Here are just some of the big industries with in the creative media sector: animation industry, computer games, films, publishing, photo imagery and the television industry.
Most industries within the creative media sector work t together. By this i mean if a publishing company made a book then the film industry could use that book to make a film out of it then split some of the profits. This will created a good relationship between the two companies and maybe create work between them both again in the future. By two companies working together in the same industry it means that they could potentially advertise together. This could mean that the film industry could put a advertisement on the TV about a knew movie which is out and they could also say check out the books during the commercial. This could get both companies more customers and would be cheaper then having two separate adverts.
In the creative media sector there are 4 stages of a life cycle. This means there is a sequence of activities which happens with new projects which are created. First of all they go through a birth phase where everything is defined (first ideas). Then they will go onto a planning phase. This means they will plan out the project in detail. The next phase is the execution of the plan. This means when the project starts getting build (coming to life). The last phase is the exit phase. This is when the project has been successfully developed. These 4 stages have names. The 1st stage (birth phase) it originally called the imitation phase. The second phase is originally called the planning phase where everything gets analysed. the third phase is originally called execution and controlling. This is probably the most import an phase during the life cycle as it ensures the project activities are properly executed and controlled. The last phase is originally named closure or exit as the project manager must ensure that the project is brought to a completion.
If you are to create a project in an industry you must make sure that all teams in that industry are working well together. For example if i was in the film industry there would be many departments like audio, special effects and the actors. For the film to work well these different departments would have to work together well so that the project can be as good as it can with out any problems. Even if some of the departments don't get along it is import ants that they still try and work together with out any hassle. In the different departments there are around 8 members of a team. The creators which are split up in to two sections (the plants and the resource). The next set of members are leaders which are also split up into two groups (the coordinators and the shapers). After the leaders then comes the implementers and yes these are also split into two groups (team builders and team implementers). The last members out of them are called the completers. These are the people who finish up the tasks at hand. These are also split into two groups called the monitors and the completer finishers. As you can image a lot of communication is needed between the teams.
Most industries within the creative media sector work t together. By this i mean if a publishing company made a book then the film industry could use that book to make a film out of it then split some of the profits. This will created a good relationship between the two companies and maybe create work between them both again in the future. By two companies working together in the same industry it means that they could potentially advertise together. This could mean that the film industry could put a advertisement on the TV about a knew movie which is out and they could also say check out the books during the commercial. This could get both companies more customers and would be cheaper then having two separate adverts.
In the creative media sector there are 4 stages of a life cycle. This means there is a sequence of activities which happens with new projects which are created. First of all they go through a birth phase where everything is defined (first ideas). Then they will go onto a planning phase. This means they will plan out the project in detail. The next phase is the execution of the plan. This means when the project starts getting build (coming to life). The last phase is the exit phase. This is when the project has been successfully developed. These 4 stages have names. The 1st stage (birth phase) it originally called the imitation phase. The second phase is originally called the planning phase where everything gets analysed. the third phase is originally called execution and controlling. This is probably the most import an phase during the life cycle as it ensures the project activities are properly executed and controlled. The last phase is originally named closure or exit as the project manager must ensure that the project is brought to a completion.
If you are to create a project in an industry you must make sure that all teams in that industry are working well together. For example if i was in the film industry there would be many departments like audio, special effects and the actors. For the film to work well these different departments would have to work together well so that the project can be as good as it can with out any problems. Even if some of the departments don't get along it is import ants that they still try and work together with out any hassle. In the different departments there are around 8 members of a team. The creators which are split up in to two sections (the plants and the resource). The next set of members are leaders which are also split up into two groups (the coordinators and the shapers). After the leaders then comes the implementers and yes these are also split into two groups (team builders and team implementers). The last members out of them are called the completers. These are the people who finish up the tasks at hand. These are also split into two groups called the monitors and the completer finishers. As you can image a lot of communication is needed between the teams.
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