Learning Journal
- Mar 27, 2018
- 46 min read
Reflective weekly log
Week Commencing 9th April, 2018
Thanks for reading me !
I am posting my weekly log on Negotiated Major Project. Please see my weekly progress there.
Easter Holidays 19th March- 7th April, 2018
I continued working on my website and on my Negotiated Major Project. I spent some time in baking to make easter cupcakes.
Week commencing 12th March,2018
I finished working on my dissertation last week and also managed to get the print outs. On Tuesday, I submitted the hard and soft copies of my dissertation for Independent Research Module.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, I made additional 3D sketches to show each part of the design element of my project i.e Inter-generational care centre and made design development crit presentation.
On Thursday, I gave my presentation and had positive feedback. It was our last session before Easter holidays so we received a comprehensive feedback in order to continue working during the holiday period as we have a technical design crit straight after Easter holidays.
Week commencing on 5th March, 2018
This week I focused working on the Dissertation written work. I made layout plans and sketches for the Design Development Crit for Negotiated Major Project Module.
Week commencing on 26th February, 2018
On Monday the Applied Professional Practice session was cancelled due to strike. I continued working on my Dissertation for rest of the week.
Week commencing on 19th February, 2018
On Monday morning, we had a trip to Connection furniture showroom. The whole purpose of the visit was to see the latest furniture design trends, to do networking and to expand our knowledge on materials. Please see bellow the journey of the visit through pictures:
The trip to connection showroom was very informative as I up skilled my knowledge re latest trends and materials used in the work place. The presentation consisted of latest works done on the concept of Wild Urbanism. I was fascinated and intrigued by 2020 Olympic stadium in Tokyo Japan, New York Low line, Singapore airport with waterfall in the middle and the Google head office which were the few examples shown during the presentation. Please see the Wild Urbanism examples as follow:
On Tuesday, I submitted my Independent Research Project's visual work.
On Wednesday I did my site visit for Negotiated Final Major Project and later that day, I compiled all the work done to date for the Negotiated Major Project and made a presentation for the Concept Crit.
On Thursday, I gave my Concept Crit presentation for Negotiated Major Project. I did well and get appreciation from my tutor and got some helpful feedback going forward with my project.
Week commencing on 12th February, 2018
On Monday morning, I had a tutorial with Tim for Applied Professional Practice Module. I showed Tim my website to get feedback and he advised me on how to make it more professional and appealing. During our conversation he also showed me the list of minimum requirement for the submission and I made notes during our meeting. The tutorial was of great help as it guided me to develop my website presentation and layout skills.
On Monday afternoon we had a visit to Buttress Architects for a talk on converting period buildings and considerations with refurbishments. Grant Prescott, who is one of the Accredited Consolation Architect working at Buttress Architects gave us a presentation on repurposing existing building. Accredited Consolation Architects are Architects accredited in building conservation & accredited for their knowledge & experience in the care & conservation of historic & listed buildings.
The presentation covered the projects Buttress Architects have done in regards to building control complacence, Heritage Designation, conservation and preservation.
The presentation was packed with useful information in regards to re purposing existing buildings. It's a sustainable approach to re purpose an existing building and it aids you towards designing. Using and implementing re purposing approach you can pick and match the interior matching to the building and preserving its cultural and heritage values. On the other hand you can introduce some fixtures to give a fusion theme too where there is a celebration of history and contemporary.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, I worked on my visual part of dissertation and made final touches to the sketches as next week is the submission for the visual work of dissertation.
On Thursday, I worked on the zonal plan and layout plan for the presentation of concept crit for Negotiated Major Project Module.
On Friday early morning 3 am, I heard the the sad news of my mother in law had passed away. I had arranged a site visit for Negotiated Major Project, which I had to cancel. It was a really sad day for me, the weekend went by people coming for condolences.
Week commencing on 5th February, 2018
On Monday, we had a supplier talk by Bedrock Ceramic tiles company. The director of the company Pete Brown gave us a presentation about the company, projects undertaken and how they can help us on our project. This was a great opportunity to learn about commercial tile specification and the latest industry innovations. Following are the samples of their innovative products:
On Tuesday and Wednesday, I worked in the library on my Independent Research Project Module written part. I had my first tutorial with Tim on Thursday for Negotiated Major Project module. It was a very useful tutorial. Tim guided me through what is expected at design stage and what I need to work on going forward. I started to make a list of accommodation, which helped me to make my zonal plan.
On Friday, I attended Alumni event in the University at the Interior design Studio 5.17. This was a really valuable event for me to attend to start networking. We had six interior designers who talked about their work since they have graduated from the University Of Salford. During their individual presentations, they shared their achievements and successes in the field of Interior design. I was intrigued to see their level of success and what they have achieved within a short space of time and I can not wait to see myself at the same level. I was really inspired by the work and ideas of all the Interior Designers but Luke Artingstall's work was mind blowing. Please see few images below which I managed to take during his presentation.
Week commencing on 29th January, 2018
On Monday morning we had Applied Professional Practice module's session with Tim. During the session we had an overview of the schedule for the following events, visits and talks organised for us in respect to broaden our knowledge of the industry and materials available. We also had a quiz to recall what we covered in the previous trimester, which recalled us of what we have covered so far.
On Monday afternoon, we discussed our Major Project's module launch and had a briefing. The brief was about the aims and learning outcomes of the module in order to develop our autonomy, design skills, collaboration, consideration of the space and building structure, creative design processes, problem solving and exploration of materials.
We also did a small activity to plan a timeline for ourselves to have a direction throughout this module.
Term end holidays 22nd-28th January, 2018
During my holidays, I focused and continued working on Independent Research Module's visual part of Urban sketching. I also went on Urban sketching event organised by urban sketcher group in Manchester Art gallery.
Week commencing on 15th January, 2018
On Monday, we had a Design brief day which involves an activity to develop, design and deliver a brand logo in one day. Students from all levels of Interior design were invited to engage in this activity.
We were six students in one group and were given four different categories to choose from to design a logo. The list included Design consultancy, cloth retailer, Tech company and Hotel chain.
My group chose to design a logo for a cloth retailer. Please see follow the images of our Design brief, Brain storming chart, final poster and the 3D model of our logo.
The word Malabis is an Arabic word which means garments in English. Our rationale to choose an Arabic name brand is to come out with an uncommon/unique name and we wanted a global presence of our brand. We started to form different shapes of M for our logo and finally decided to go for the shape above.
It was really exciting to work on this activity as it was very engaging and gave us a direction and motivation to on our own brand and logo as part of our professional practice. I found this activity extremely useful as not only we work as a part of a team but also shares each others ideas and thoughts.
Week commencing on 8th January, 2018
On Monday, I wrote my design brief. I continued working on my Advanced Research Strategies module to write my journal and continued designing page layouts.
Advanced Research Strategies module gave me an opportunity to undertake in-depth research, enquiry and an evaluation of sources to a required standard which is appropriate to professional design practice.
During the module, I critically evaluated the findings of my research which are supported by written, visual and verbal arguments and helped me to produce a well written Research Journal.
As final year is more self studied, its imperative to manage time, plan ahead and keep researching. I managed to follow the schedule and deliver my Research journal for Advanced Research Strategies Module on time.
I was really relaxed and contented after my submission on Friday. I continued working on my website and planned my schedule for Independent Research Project module on the weekend.
Week commencing on 1st January , 2018
Happy New Year ...
On Tuesday, I continued working on my Research Journal and wrote my literature review from the research material I have been collating.
On Wednesday, I gathered all the primary research data from the online survey and Interviews which I had conducted earlier and made info graphics out of the data to transfer the information in my research journal. I am following my schedule which I set for my self at the start of my Christmas break.
On Thursday, I worked on Data analysis of primary and secondary research and made more info graphics to put in my journal. Whilst working on the word file I have been working on Photoshop to make the main page and the layout of the rest of my research journal.
On Friday, I wrote down the conclusion of my primary research, secondary research, Case studies and design solutions for the inter-generational care and how it will help to inform the design brief.
On the weekend, I compiled the research summary and written work to date for the IRP module as there will be a draft submission on next Tuesday. I continued working on my draft submission on the weekend to ensure its complete and I finally submitted it on Sunday. My submission for Research Journal (ARS) is due on next Friday and now I wanted to concentrate on my research journal project. I am quiet satisfied with my pace and time management as all my work is on schedule and hopefully everything will go smoothly.
Week commencing on 25th December, 2017
On Monday, Christmas day... family#friends#Christmas dinner#fun
On Tuesday, boxing day#enjoyment#shopping#family#friends
On Wednesday, I reinstated my work where I left. I started by writing the introduction and the aim and investigation of the research question.
On Thursday and Friday, I continued working to complete my writing about the rationale and aims of the journal.
Week commencing on 18th December, 2017
Christmas break...
I have to plan and prioritise my workload and time effectively during Christmas break due to my kids been off from school. I therefore planned and scheduled each day accordingly to ensure I do spent good few hours every day to complete my research journal in time. In order for me to compile data and write my research journal in detail, I finalised my Contents list and the topics I wanted to cover.
I also arranged few visits to different care homes on Thursday and Friday to interview care home managers to discuss care facilities provided in each care home for elderly people. The managers also sheared their thoughts and ideas about inter-generational care. The interviews were of great help as I gained valuable data for my primary research for the research journal.
Week commencing on 11th December, 2017
On Monday, we had a supplier talk which was cancelled but as I was already in the University, I utilised my time by working on my research project. I started by researching the information re causes of Alzheimer and its awful effects in the society which now a day is a big social issue. Once, I gathered all the relevant information for my research, I made a schedule and prioritise each day for researching, compiling data and creating layouts of each page for my Advanced Research Strategies Module.
On Tuesday, I went out for urban sketching for my Independent Research project. Despite the freezing cold weather my passion for sketching helped and gave me motivation to continue sketching outdoors. I made a sketch in Piccadilly Garden and gave finishing touches at home. I am meticulous in my approach and prioritise my day and week ahead. I planned to work on my Independent Research Project every Tuesday to ensure enough sketches are made to submit and support my artwork option of Independent Research Project.
On Friday, I had a tutorial with Trevor to show and discuss my progress on my Advanced Research Strategies project. During the tutorial, I showed him researched done to date and was advised to make few changes in my presentation. I discussed in detail about what work to be produced for the submission and some hints/tips as it was a last tutorial before we were going to break up for Christmas holidays.
Friday afternoon, I was the only student in Paul's software learning session. I continued practising on Illustrator software and created a page of info graphics which will be a part of my data analysis page in my research journal for Advanced research strategies.
Week commencing on 4th December, 2017
On Monday, during my website review session, Tim really admired and appreciated my work and was impressed with the contents, design and the structure of my website and my work experience journal . Furthermore, he advised me to include all the work i.e. projects, I did during my work placement by adding an entry in a portfolio section of my website as it give's a true reflection and insight of the quality, level of skill set, knowledge and usage of different software's in my projects to prospective employers.
From Tuesday till Thursday, I continued working on my presentation for Advanced Research strategies. I already set up a schedule and a layout to follow. I was actively checking my online survey results too to get the primary data and transfer it in my presentation. I finished working on my presentation on Thursday and rehearsed it in the evening whilst rehearsing I spotted few points which needed to be amended changed it and saved it.
On Friday, I had presentation which I have been working from last two weeks. I rehearsed in the morning too. I gave my presentation really well. I received a very good feedback on my presentation and was advised to research further in Alzheimer too to broaden my research. I had a very busy and productive week. I am feeling so relaxed every thing went really well in my presentation. I need to schedule my weeks ahead to produce a very appealing and comprehensive research report.
Week commencing on 27th November, 2017
On Monday, we had a trip to NEO building in Manchester city centre. The trip was quite useful as we explored the co-working space on the first floor, office furniture showroom on the eighth floor and the company's sample library which helped me to gain in depth knowledge and experience re bespoke office furniture. I personally really enjoyed the whole trip as it was informative and knowledgeable for designing an office space using new technologies, creative ideas and bespoke materials.
On Tuesday, I had a tutorial with Alex re my dissertation. I showed him my up to date work which I have carried out on my research and the sketches of my concept. Alex guided me to categorised the main contents and give a breakdown of my research which will feed into the essay writing part of my dissertation. I had a really useful session with Alex as always.
On Tuesday afternoon, I attended a laser cutting workshop to up skill my model making skills.
On Wednesday and Thursday I have been researching for Advanced Research Strategies, which will feed into my Final Major Project.
On Friday morning I had a tutorial with Trevor. I discussed my research to date and picked few points to research further into the study. I made a graphical story for the presentation.
Friday afternoon with Paul was a self learning session. We were three in a class and chose to work on the software of our choice which we would like to learn more. I wanted to learn the basics of illustrator. Although I had worked on illustrator last year but still was feeling a bit rusty. I started to work with the pen tool and then path finder. By the end of the session I was quite confident in using the illustrator software.
Week commencing on 20th November, 2017
On Monday morning we had a Design Practice Presentation. The whole idea was to cover a deep research and understanding of each design practice in order to analyse the services provided, the sectors they are involved in and to see the examples of their work. All the presentations were informative as they developed my knowledge of the Interior design firms. I have shortlisted few where I would like to apply for a job going forward.
On Tuesday and Wednesday I have been researching for Advanced Research strategies Module.
On Friday morning I took a workshop 'Introduction to casting'. I wanted to take this workshop to enhance my model making skills as casting is a useful tool to implement in interior designing.
In the Afternoon, I had a tutorial with Trevor for Advanced Research Strategies module. This was my first tutorial with him. I talked him through about my proposal of designing a leisure space which will include different indoor sports facilities for all age groups. I also discussed the site layout and functionality with Trevor. He advised me to focus on a specific age group instead of targeting a huge audience. During my one to one discussion, I was making notes and had open discussion of what needed to be done for the next session.
In the afternoon, I had a lesson with Paul on making renders in Sketch up using V-Ray. We watched a video tutorial first, followed by a video to practise and then we implemented into similar final render. Overall, I had a really productive week with good learning outcomes.
Week commencing on 13th November, 2017
On Monday morning we had a useful session with Tim on Design Sectors/Practices & Aspirations. We discussed and wrote down all different sectors in which interior design works. It was significant exercise which help us develop our knowledge and understanding of different sectors and we also researched on different types of companies providing interior design services. We also were given a list of different interior design and architectural companies to do a research and a presentation presentation for next week.
In the afternoon, we had module launch of Advanced Research Strategies by Julie and Trevor. The aim of this module is to do a research for our final major project and to make a report/magazine. I needed to refresh and upgrade my In-design and illustrator software skill as I will be using the software's to create my report. I have to finalise my site and the functionalities, I will be in-cooperating in my final major project in order for me to start my research. I am feeling quite exciting and can't wait to showcase my skill and abilities.
On Tuesday and Wednesday I have been researching on different case studies of leisure projects, their functions and space distribution provided. I liked few projects and one of the project was a shortlisted competition winner i.e. Sports Tower Project in Ukraine. I was really impressed by an idea of all the indoor stadiums connected with each other where activities take place all year round and there are no cancellations due to bad weather conditions. I researched few others but found the above mentioned project really impressive. Please see follow an image of the sports tower:
On Friday, I refreshed my In-design software skills with Paul. I started off selecting few layouts of portfolio and architectural magazine from Pintrest. I then started working on making those layouts. I was amazed that as soon as I started working my memory was refreshed and I gained my confidence back on working in In-design.
Week commencing 6th November, 2017
On Monday, we had a drop in tutorial with Tim. I had a one to one session earlier with Tim re my CV and website review. Through out the day, I continued working on my Museum project.
On Tuesday, I had my second IRP session with Alex to discuss the summary of my research which I had already forwarded to Alex via email in the morning. During my session, I was advised to fill in an ethical approval form which will enable me to interview designers/ architects in relation to my research.
On Wednesday and Thursday, I worked on my Museum project till late.
On Thursday, I submitted my Museum project which I worked really hard on. I hope my hard work will bring some excellent result. I have enhanced and up skilled my Sketch up and Auto CAD as it was one of my aim during this module. I have excellent ability to draw, sketch and do hand drafting and feel quite confident as these skills are widely used with in the industry. It's a remarkable achievement for me.
On Friday , we had another useful session with Paul on V-ray rendering in Sketch up. I was looking forward for this session for a long time. We started by watching an introduction video followed by an exercise of rendering a file on Sketch up. We were taught Atlantis earlier for rendering but I believe V-Ray is far better and more professional then Atlantis as it renders closer to real life. I will be using it for rendering all my projects. After finishing my task , I started rendering my Museum Project and made a couple of renders using V-Ray.
Week commencing 30th October, 2017
We went on a trip to GK gallery on Monday to view the interior design of the gallery. We had an opportunity to listen to the architect/designer of the gallery and he presented/explained the design project. It's a small gallery owned by the architect's daughter Gina. The gallery itself was not as big as usual art galleries but it was carefully designed although they had some difficulty to achieve their design. but they found the right structural engineer to not let them compromise design wise and they achieved their design targets. I like the space, its small and cosy and gives a homely feeling, that's what their main idea was as well as give an open space for a tea room kitchen a homely kitchen look.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, I have been working on my Museum project and still suffering from tonsillitis.
On Thursday, we had our final presentation before submission. I could not deliver my work and presentation to the best of my abilities and potential as I was suffering from Tonsillitis and had a high fever. Julie and Andrew advised me to apply for Personal Mitigating Circumstances in order for me to get an extension for four working days. I made an appointment to see my Gp and was given a sick ote backdated from the day I started suffering form Tonsillitis. As advised by my professors I submitted the PMC together with a sick note to ensure that I will not be penalised for a late submission. My PMC was approved and I carried on working all day Friday and over the weekend.
Week commencing 23rd October, 2017
We had a session on time management with Tim on Monday morning. We started off with time management exercises which reflected on our personal time keeping and the ways we can improve ourselves followed by another exercise of managing a designers Diary. It was a real which was eye opening for me and gave me a real insight of a designer's schedule.
During the exercises, I have gathered that how critical and imperative it is for a interior designer to organise his/her diary, prioritising his/her work load and deliver the projects on time as this is key to his/her success. It's wise to manage daily and weekly tasks effectively and keeping in mind to leave some spare hours potentially up to at least 15 hours a week for unscheduled circumstances i.e. sickness, appointments, delays due to traffic or other personal circumstances. Please see follow exercise sheets:
Monday afternoon, we had a session with Julie to give us an hints/tips of what we should be doing for our next module i.e. Advanced Research Strategies. Julie gave us a presentation and shared her ideas which can be of great help and can be implemented in our research which contributes towards our Final Major Project. I noted down some important things from the presentation as well as some design examples and the latest design trends in the market which I will be researching on going forward.
I really liked the idea of co-working space, bio mimicry in design, bibliophile and up-cycling and researched into some of the great work done by different designers. I chose to work on a leisure and recreational project as there are so many other things focused that we missed the fun factor of the city so I want to make a project which serves a mixed clientele and focused on well being of the society.
I carried out my research on homelessness pretty much all day on Tuesday for my Independent Research Project.
I started suffering from soar throat, body ache and fever which led to my swollen tonsils. I was badly suffering and shivering with cold and couldn't get out of bed all day Wednesday and for rest of the week.
Week commencing 16th October, 2017
On Monday, we had a session with Tim on Design Team roles & responsibilities. The session was quite useful as we developed our understanding more about the design roles and types of jobs and their responsibilities in the industry.
On Tuesday, I had a tutorial with Alex for Independent Research project. It was quite helpful and i had an informative session with him. I discussed my idea/thoughts and showed Alex my work I did so far. Alex admired my initial ideas and helped me to research further by suggesting to look at few artist and online research.
On Wednesday, I attended a event on "The Future of Work". There were five guests speakers from creative industry and they talked about the Future of work. One of the guest speaker was Mr Ged Cousar, who is the president of Building Design Partnership Manchester office. BDP is one of the biggest architectural firm and have a worldwide presence. Mr Cousar shared and presented some of the work his firm has carried out including small projects to large scale urban planning.
During the event and presentations, I managed to know more about BDP as they specialise in major international practice of architects, designers, engineers and urbanists. It is my passion and dream to work for a company like BDP as they have an interior design department on a very large scale and provide environment friendly designs and solutions.
Please see pictures from the event below:
On Thursday, we had group presentation session with Andrew.
We learnt using Masking tool in Photoshop on Friday with Paul. I found masking tool quite productive and useful tool. I practised on colouring free hand sketches and applied materials to the free hand sketches. It was really useful to make quick initial sketches to show the concept.
Week commencing 9th October, 2017
On Monday, I booked a tutorial with my tutor Tim to get my CV and to review my website. I also discussed on how to approach different employers and how to improve my interview skills and future job application prospects. Tim gave me some useful information on how to make a creative CV and to ensure its standout in the crowd in order for me to receive more interview calls. The cumulative outcome of my session with Tim was very informative and eye opening although he admired the layout of my website. After finishing my tutorial with Tim, I researched on Creative CV's and found Pinterest, Dezeen and issuu quite helpful.
On Tuesday, I continued working on my CV. Following Tim's advise/suggestions and after researching on different creative websites mentioned above, I initiated by started working on my logo which will feed into my website, CV and visiting cards layout. I started brainstorming and sketched few ideas as below to finalise one.
On Wednesday, we went on a trip to Birmingham to attend Construction Week show. Trip was quite informative as there were nine different shows under one roof and it was the UK's largest construction trade event.
On Thursday, we had group tutorial with Andrew on the progress of our work for Advanced Studies in Interior Design Module. I found the session quite engaging to have group tutorials, so we can analyse our work comparing to our peers and also tutor's feedback on each individual's work give you more information and knowledge about the task.
On Friday, we had software lesson with Paul. We worked on CAD first and then imported CAD file into Sketch up to make model of the Museum.
Week commencing 2nd October, 2017
On Monday, we had a session with Tim for Applied Professional Practise. we were given a group Task where each of the group was given a website made by the last year students to analyse, justify and give some suggestions. It was a good exercise to practise our critical analysis which further developed us to see our work from a different perspective. We analysed a work of past student and rated the the website for its first impression, Navigation, Content and Communication and at the end we gave a presentation each justifying the rational of the rating and suggestions to improve it to sell our self.
It is important that the website's main page is interesting so the viewer stays more than 30 secs. it should be engaging and user friendly. All contents should be accessible and tabs should work to go further into each page. Visuals should be strong but there should be some reflective writing accompanying the visuals so the viewer can get the most understanding.
On Tuesday, I had a meeting with Adelina to discuss my IRP module and get some tips and advises. I want to explore how Urban sketching can influence to design an interior space. The first thing to do is to join the Manchester Urban sketchers group to explore further into this study and mark some events on my calendar to commit myself with Urban sketches and do some sketches. I also started working on the SMAG project whilst starting making some site drawings.
On Wednesday, I progressed working on my Salford Museum and Art Galley project because on Thursday, we had a presentation to give. So I researched on my design inspiration which was biomimicry, worked on the visual board to present.
On Thursday I kept progressing on the project of SMAG whilst waiting to give my presentation in the afternoon. My visual board was admired by my tutor Andrew and SMAG staff member Kerry. They both liked my Initial ideas and advised to develop it further into my plans.
Week commencing 25 September
On Monday I had an induction session for Applied Professional Practice with Juli our programme leader and our personal tutor and Tim who will be delivering us lectures on Preparation for Industry module each Monday. We had an overview of the module, an introduction with our new tutor Tim who have been working in the industry for nearly 10 years and if we had any questions to ask about the module at the end. It was a kick start session so we can organised our self, fill in our dairies and gear up. At the end of Preparation for Industry induction session we were asked to fill in a questionnaire to mark our self towards a list of required industry skills. By completing it I know where I stand and how to develop this year to become successful interior designer.
On Tuesday, I attended the Independent Research Project launch where we got an overview of the module, we were assigned our tutors and schedule. After the launch we were asked to say hello to our tutors and ask any questions. I availed the opportunity and introduced myself with Alex, spoke about my Idea of dissertation and ask for advise and tips to draft my initial Ideas. He advised me to start sketching and reading about my topic and bring the research material on my next tutorial with him to develop further.
This week was Module launch week where we received three new Modules. On Thursday, we had Module launch of Advanced studies in interior design. In this module we are given a task to Revamp the ground floor of Salford Museum and Art Gallery.
On Thursday evening, there was an opportunity to attend a guest lecturer Naga Shams who is one of the top 40 influential architect presentation on "Designing the iconic city" where he showed the ideology behind the iconic and mega buildings. He showed some his work done in Dubai which included luxurious mega residential projects and the project I really liked was the Dubai College of Tourism.
Our site visit for the Salford Museum and Art Gallery was arranged on Friday morning, whilst visiting the site I took photographs to analyse the site and to make initial sketches. Friday afternoon we had a software lecture with Paul, we start of downloading some plans from the Digimap website of the site Salford Museum and Art Galllery. Then we opened plans in AutoCAD to make the layouts and plot some PDFs to work on Photoshop to make a location visual.
Summer Break June September 20th
During my Summer break I have made a few paintings. I did a freelance Garage conversion project which is on-going as well. I enjoyed my summer going different places around the country and reading few goo books. Most importantly, I passed my practical driving license. I have got a full driving license now.
Week commencing 23 May
After six weeks of my successful work placement, I decided to have an easy start of the week. I have also offered a freelance paid work from my manager during my summer holidays based on my skills, software's knowledge and proficiency which I believe is a real big achievement for me. I scheduled my week by spending few hours every morning in researching for my independent research project whilst my children are in school. I have also decided to start reading driving theory test as I would like to pass my driving license during summer holidays.
Managing and balancing personal, university and work life & commitments with two young dependent children are really crucial. I have to ensure that I spent enough time with my children during their half term school holidays next week and taking them for different activities i.e swimming and days out.
On Tuesday, I arranged a 1-2-1 with Aileen in regards to get some feedback re essay writing as I was distraught with my marks. During my 1-2-1, she suggested to book Harvard referencing workshop through study skills and also work on independent research project during summer vacations. I booked Harvard referencing workshop straight after for next Tuesday.
I am also working on my portfolio and to get the most out of this summer, I have decided to do some out door sketches
This summer I will do research for my independent research project, work on my portfolio, do some painting and develop my children's literacy and numeracy.
Work Placement 30 March - 20 May
I am writing a work experience log on a separate blog where I am writing my dairy to reflect my daily routine and responsibilities. Work experience is an eye opener, I went through the experience of a roller coaster. I have analysed and learnt that to be a successful interior designer one must be really patient, enthusiast, reflective, creative, and be proficient in the software's used in the interior design industry and most importantly time management. Two mainstream software's widely used in the industry are Auto CAD and Sketch up. Almost all companies use Auto CAD for the technical drawings and sketch up for visualization.
I have worked on few university projects using Auto CAD and sketch up where I have gained knowledge, skills and experience on the software's but working on a large scale commercial projects has given me complete new exposure. Working on live projects alongside with senior designers and visualizer not only helped me to gain valuable experience but also gave me an opportunity to enhance my skills and techniques.
I feel really lucky that I managed to secure a work placement as I have been given responsibilities by my manager from day one. In addition to just working on given tasks, I used to get involved in the projects. During my six weeks work placement, I personally attended client and suppliers meetings, and carried out site visits along with my manager. I took the ownership of site surveying and making technical drawings on Auto CAD. I worked on Photoshop to make images for presentation, design concepts and posters. Using my power point skills, I made design proposals for client presentations and worked on sketch up to show our client's the proposed layout in 3D.
I am meticulous in my approach, well structured and creative whilst working on a project. I successfully completed my tasks and projects by making mode board for different projects, brain storming the concept and implementing it on the project. I have a creative personality and like to paint and sketch in addition to just using software's. I believe it is imperative for an individual who is going to be a potential future interior designer to have an extensive knowledge of the industry, products, software. materials and good communication skills which I have gained during my six weeks extensive work placement.
My manager, senior designer and the visualizer have great friendly personalities. They made me feel really comfortable and we worked as a team where every one supported and helped each other. Thankfully I wasn't the only one responsible for making coffee. The company was equipped with all facilities to cater its staff which I believe make a big difference.
I successfully completed all my tasks and feel really proud of myself as I have also shared and supported my colleagues by assisting them on Auto CAD. I believe, I have been taught all those skills needed in the industry, which gave me a lot more confidence. I believe, I am definitely going in the right direction and not far from my destination i.e to be a successful interior designer. I have been complimented by my manager on my approach, skills and knowledge on few occasions. I
I believe during the six weeks of my work placement, I have polished and groomed my current skills. I have also up skilled my self in dealing with clients, using software's and have built my confidence. It has also broadened my knowledge whilst working on real time projects and have experienced different design processes.
All is well if ends well. My manager took me for a dinner as well for my farewell.
Easter Break 21 March- 10 April
Week commencing 14 March, 2016
On Monday, whilst, I was in the university, I had a discussion with my personal tutor Matthew Morris re work placement which is a part of our module called professional practice. During our discussion, I informed Matthew that I have secured a place in Hira interiors and will commence my placement in the second week of April. I was really excited to share this great news with Matthew as I had two invites from two different companies. Matthew was really pleased to hear that I have secured a work placement as students who struggle to get a work placement have to study an additional module during the spring break. Matthew also informed me that I am the second student in the whole class up until now who have secured a work placement.
On the same day, I booked and attended my 1-2-1 with Adelina tutor of 'Developing professional practice' module. I also shared the good news re work placement with her. I asked her advice and suggestions to work on the module assignment. I also inquired as to what is expected during my work placement and felt really relaxed, motivated and enthusiastic with Adelina’s suggestions, tips and advice.
On Wednesday, I attended my set design module presentation session. The presentation was optional not compulsory but I volunteered and booked my session to present my set design project which I submitted last week. Along with me only two other class mates booked their presentation session. I was the first one to present my work. I gave my presentation with reflection upon my work and felt quiet confident and competent. I believe presenting and reflecting upon your work gives a better understanding to the audience of why you have carried out a certain project, what material facts are taken into consideration and how it can be beneficial. Overall it was a good experience as not only I presented my personal views, findings and the prototype but also gave me an opportunity to answer audience’s questions.
On Friday, we had our second workshop with Aileen re writing final year’s essay/ report on our chosen area of interest. During the workshop each group and each individual discussed their progress on essay/report writing. During our group discussion with Aileen, I explored all the options with my tutor and decided to go for an essay option with presentation for my final year independent research. I believe it will boost my confidence and presentation skills which are imperative in a competitive market. Furthermore, I have also confirmed my essay title for the final years research and guided her through the progress of my essay and researched I have carried out so far.
Week commencing 7 March, 2016
This week is fully packed up with work load as I have to submit my set design project on Friday the 11/03/2016. I wanted my model to stand out and to ensure the look and feel is eye catching, I used a card board technique instead of a normal card sheets to create my prototype. I took this as a challenge despite the fact I was aware that it is more time consuming and hard to cut card board sheets. I therefore, used a special sculpturing knife to give each piece of card board a nice clean and tidy look. See attached picture of my model.
I created and built my model first as this will give me a better understanding of how and where the camera’s will be placed, their angles, views and specially the overall view in 3D. The main part of this module is to make all the visuals and technical drawings freehand which is quite challenging. At the same time I believe that the hand drawings are therapeutic, more tangible and can be more secure as compared to soft copies.
On Tuesday, I made atmospheric visuals with the help of my model. Freehand is my specialty and I enjoyed making free hand visuals though its time consuming. I produced good quality visuals of each room.
On Wednesday, I drafted all my neat plans, extended elevations and detailed construction drawing all on scale @ 1:50 on A3 sheets.
On Thursday, I created storyboard and checked all my files and drawings for the submission.
On Friday, I went to university to scan and to compile all my drawings for submission. I really enjoyed working on this project and have learned new techniques, ideas and most importantly time management. I feel quite competent in designing a set in future. Furthermore, I volunteered to present my work on set designing to our tutor Andrew in front of my class on the following Wednesday.
I spent quality time with my family on the weekend.
Week commencing 29 February, 2016
On Monday, we were advised to start work on our set design project in studio. We only had two weeks left to work on our project and had to produce and submit nine things i.e Visual research, Script breakdown, Comprehensive props list, Recording schedule, studio plans, construction drawings, white card Model, Story board and atmospheric visuals.
I made few changes in visual research last week and made my final neat plans. Next on my list was script breakdown so I used the time efficiently and effectively to produce them.
On Tuesday, I received a call from one of the Interior design companies in Manchester as I applied to few different companies for a work placement. I had a telephonic interview and at the end of my interview I was offered a work placement. We mutually agreed to an initial three day work experience at the end of March to discuss and to plan my full six weeks work placement going forward. I was over the moon and was getting really excited to start my placement as this will give me a valuable market experience to work on real projects, interact with clients, suppliers, contractors, attend meetings and to utilise my skills and knowledge which I have learnt and gained in the university.
I have previously worked and have gain valuable experience on residential projects as I have successfully completed two residential projects in Manchester. I believe with the help of my work placement, I will be able to learn and gain experience on commercial projects as they are on macro level as compared to micro level residential projects. This evolution and transition in my work experience will have a great impact on my professional history.
On Wednesday, we continued to work in Adobe Photoshop. We were given a complex task. It was from Hogrefe's Visualization tutorials. Our tutor Paul gave us several images from a model in Sketch-Up i.e shadows, edges, wire-frames and sections. We then have to create an abstract presentation board from those images. He showed us the expected final image which we have to use as a guideline. It was a challenging task; I learnt new techniques and was very satisfied with what I have produced.
On Thursday morning, we had a session on making a storyboard for our set design project. Our tutor Adelina gave us a presentation about the script and relates different storyboard techniques to the scenes. This gave me a real visualisation of what my storyboard going to look like. In the afternoon, we had a one-to-one session with Andrew about our progress on the set design project. Whilst I was waiting for my turn, I continued working and started the layout and planning of the recording schedule for the set designing. I finished my recording schedule before my turn. During my discussion with Andrew he showed me how to give detailed construction drawing which was very useful as it broadened my knowledge and skills.
On Friday, we had a session on reflexive writing in an essay by Lucy Harvey. During the session we discussed and explore the need of good writing techniques as a useful tool to help understand and to present our creative practice to develop our work. The session looked at established artists and designers who discuss the research, motivation, process and creative decision making behind pieces from their portfolios. We were then divided into groups to do a group activity on how we can write reflectively about our own work. It was a very useful session. As a designer, we have to reflect on our work to help the audience understand it better.
On the weekend, I continued working on the set design project. I produced my Comprehensive props list and started to make my white card model. Whilst working on my university projects, I am also working on my house extension project which is keeping me occupied and really busy on the weekends. Please see some pictures below of my set design model whilst I am still working on it.
Week commencing 22 February, 2016
This week we had no formal in class session with Adelina but were advised to come in the studio and work on the set design project. I used this time effectively to work on my plans and my final drafted plan. I have started to apply for my work placement in and around Manchester. Initially, I had a big list of employers but I shortlisted the list by researching into the companies as to what services they provide how long they are in the market for and what are their areas of expertise. I managed to speak to designated individuals in three different interior design companies, introduced myself, and showed my interest for a work placement. Furthermore, I forwarded my CV, covering letter and example of work. I was glad to hear back from all three of them and arranged a telephonic interview with two firms next week
On Tuesday, I also went to city center to drop off my CV and a covering letter by hand to few Interior design companies in regards to my work placement.
On Wednesday, we continued to practice visuals in Photoshop with Paul. He asked us to recreate one of Alex Hogrefe's visual and guided us step by step. Actually, it went really smooth and felt very confident in editing images on Photoshop software.
On Thursday, we had a group tutorial to show our plans in 'Specialist studies in design' module class. Andrew our tutor for this module selected students in each group to ensure each individual perform to their best abilities as this can impact on the overall work produced for this module. Andrew praised my layout and complemented my hallway as interesting hallway. He also asked other students to have a look. I was then advised to start work on elevations. Follow is a plan of Hallway:
On Friday, we had a session with Nichola on how to write a business report in an essay. She showed us different structures and formats of reports. She also explained the difference between writing a report and an essay. At the end of the session she gave us different database websites and advised us to research in relation to our research project topic. I arranged a one-two-one with her after the session to discuss my research project and to get her advice and opinion as to what she believe will be more beneficial i.e. an essay or a report for my final project.
Furthermore, I am concentrating and keep working on my set design project on the weekends. I have started to design the details of the set and made the elevations of the hallway. I really enjoyed designing a 1970's Victorian house set as I have research the Victorian era which has broadened my knowledge of materials used in 1970's and history of English Victorian architecture and interior design.
Week commencing 15 February, 2016
We had an exciting start to the week, as we went out with our tutor Adelina to sketch in the city center on Monday. We were asked to make series of quick sketches to show a story behind the scenes and every one was given the open option to choose any real time story. I went to Print works as it’s a buzzing place. I started making my sketches by giving an outside view first leading towards inside and finished by settling in a restaurant. It was a beneficial activity; we learned how to create a story board and it will aid us in our Set Designing Module.
On Wednesday, we had tutorials on creating different effect to an interior space using Photoshop software. Using a Sketch-Up tool can some times make things look like non realistic. To give a visual a real picture quality and to give the space realistic look, Photoshop can be very useful. I downloaded a Sketch-Up file of a Cafe model from blackboard and saved few jpg images to work further on Photoshop software. I followed some of our tutor Paul's tutorial and experimented few of my own style. I created few amazing images in Photoshop using embedment placement and merging image with dirt maps and learnt new techniques. It was a very useful image which will aid me in future to create photo realistic visuals for my project.
On Thursday, our tutor Andrew invited a prop Assistant 'Maria' who works for Coronation Street to talk to us about props. She explained her work schedule, her job requirements and importance of props in the set. I gained valuable knowledge from this session as it helps me to understand real work requirements and load involved in set designing. After our guest tutorial session we had an individual review on our visual research (the small garden) set design. Andrew our tutor for set designing liked my visual research, and advised me to continue working from visual research to make layouts for the set. I made three different layouts and some 3d sketches to help me understand the space. I am quite optimistic about my layouts. I will keep making layouts and drawings to make a snail track until I have a satisfying layout.
On Friday, we had a session on 'Demonstrating analysis in your writing' with Alex McDonagh, for Responding to creative contexts: 3D practice Module. This session was quite effective as I developed skills and abilities to show analysis in my writing.
Week commencing 8 February, 2016
On Monday, our tutor Adelina for 'developing professional practice' module gave us a tutorial on how to do visualization on a street. Adelina chose and drew a busy street scene in front of all students. Adelina then showed us how to draw in perspective, how to find vanishing points in a drawing and how to use them as a reference to make it look realistic. The session was extremely informative and useful, as I believe to be a successful interior designer we need to have a better understanding and in depth knowledge of different aspects of drawing as well as how external factors make a connection between interior and exterior.
I have also attended a CV workshop on Monday evening held by Andy Kay who is one of the career consultants in Salford advantage. I took a printed version of my CV in order for me to add/ amend important points whilst I am attending the CV workshop. I gained valuable Knowledge and information about CV writing and as summative statement I would say that CV is a marketing tool.
On Wednesday, I worked on Sketch-Up in our software class to change colors of a Cafe' model and to render it in a Artlantis software. The cafe' model was already in place. My task was to change the colours in the entire model as in Artlantis software if you assign a material to certain colour, it automatically assign the material to the same colour used in the rest of the model. I made different rendered views i.e day and night time views. I have implemented the night view using a lighting technique in Artlantis.
On Thursday, our tutor Andrew arranged a visit to view and analyse a set design for one of the famous British soap i.e "Coronation Street". It was an exciting and a great opportunity for me to personally view a real time soap set, to analyse and to have a look and feel. I gained valuable information during my visit. We then visited a news studio of University of Salford in Media City campus. We were invited to physically analyse a news studio and to perform an activity of casting news. I worked in a recording room as a producer, it was an exciting activity, the buzz and the vibe of the surrounding really enticed me.
On Friday, our tutor Aileen for "Responding to creative context" module delivered a lecture on how to write about visuals. I learned impact of colors used in visuals and every colour has a different meaning. How a visual can speak for itself without saying anything and how to analyse a visual in respect to synchronize it in your writing. Last but not the least your visual layout is important as well as your reader would like to see a harmonized essay.
Week commencing 1 February, 2016
This is the first week of our second semester, a new start with stimulating energy. On Monday, we had a 1-2-1 meeting with Adelina. The agenda of the meeting was to talk her through the plans of our work placement, application and looking at design studio etc.
On Wednesday, we worked in Sketch-Up and learnt about layering in Sketch-Up. Later during the lecture our tutor Paul introduced a new rendering software called 'Artlantis'. It's the fastest stand-alone 3D rendering and animation application designed especially for architects and designers.
A new module called 'Set Designing' was introduced on Thursday. Our tutor Andrew gave us script handouts to read and to digest information as we will be designing a set for this script. After discussing a script, it was concluded that we need to design three rooms i.e. kitchen, study and a hallway. I will be designing props and composite set for this module. We had a lecture on different types of TV programmes. The lecture was really informative as I learnt as to why set designing play a vital role in a successful soap, theater drama, film and have an impact on programmes and viewers
On Friday, our tutor Aileen introduced us to "Responding to creative context module". Breakdown of the lecture was to overlook at things which will be covered in this Module. We did in-class team work activities. We were asked to draw spider diagrams and to write our feedback and comments on our last year's assignments. This activity gave us an opportunity to identify the areas of success and failure. By keeping that in mind we now will be able to improve on our weaknesses and can implement better ideas, thoughts and can improve going forward.
Inter-Semester break 25-31 January, 2016
Week commencing 18 January, 1016
On Monday, our tutor Adelina for developing professional practice had a discussion with us in regards to our progress towards working on blogs and websites. The class was advised to book a 1-2-1 meeting slots with her in order to give us some feedback on our CV.
On Wednesday, our tutor Paul introduced new Software called 'Autodesk® Dynamo Studio'. This software is a standalone programming environment that lets designers create visual logic to explore parametric conceptual designs and automates tasks. It helps solve challenges faster by designing workflows that drive the geometry and behavior of design models.
After introduction, I started exploring Dynamo software by following online tutorials from YouTube i.e. 'Dynamo part 18 getting started with number sequence', 'Basic line management', 'Part 28 Nested list management' and 'Part 3A computational logic'.
On Thursday and Friday we had no classes, so I decided to search for Interior Design companies for my placement. I searched a lot of Interior design companies within Manchester and made a list of them all. I further researched on each company about what services they provide and checked each of their websites and down listed a few to apply.
On weekend I worked on my CV and sent it to Adelina to get feedback.
Week Commencing 11 January, 2016
On Monday, all our group members decided to have a last meeting re Ordsall Hall Feasibility Report. The Agenda of the meeting was to finalize group report and to suggest any area of improvement in each other’s Report. Actions of the meeting were recorded in a Critical & Contextual document and we all agree to bring our finished work of Ordsall Hall Feasibility Report on Wednesday to compile it together.
On Wednesday morning, Developing Professional Practice (Software) lecture did not go ahead as there were only few students in the class. We were asked to improve our skills on any software of our choice. I chose SketchUp software to enhance my skills and made a following desk Model.
On Wednesday afternoon, as agreed all team members brought their work to compile the Ordsall Hall Feasibility Report. We compiled and finished our Report and gave the ownership of submitting the Report to one of our group member. On Thursday, I wrote my Reflective Statement for building analysis module and compiled my work i.e Fire Escape Poster, Design Proposal, Reflective statement for the submission on Friday.
Finally, I submitted my assignment on Friday.
Christmas Holidays 18/12/2012- 10/01/2016
Week commencing 14 December, 2015
This week was the last week before Xmas holiday. On Tuesday, we had a self-directed studio and I progress working on my Ordsall Hall Plans for Group Report re Feasibility Report on Ordsall Hall Building.
On Wednesday, Our tutor Paul for developing professional practice gave a tutorial on making an animation for Christmas using GIF format in Photoshop. I made a Christmas snow fall scene and send to all my friends.
On Thursday, we had a lesson with our Building Analysis Module’s tutor Matt in PC suite. He showed us Alex Hogrefe's blog, who is a great American architect. His blog name is ‘visualizing architecture’ in his blog he had given different tutorials about how to render an image without any particular render software. I started to do some of his tutorials and getting a good hand in Photoshop.
Week commencing 7 December, 2015
Our group members decided to have a follow up group meeting on Tuesday morning re Ordsall Hall feasibility report. Main purpose of the meeting was to share best practices, ideas, layouts and prototype of the report. During our meeting all group members shared their work in order to ensure we chose the best layouts and prototype. In the afternoon, we had a lecture about building regulations which involves Design processes and construction.
On Thursday, the class was given a task to draw a bunny using a Illustrator software. It was a real challenge for me, as I did not used this software before. Firstly, I gathered my thoughts and with the help of my Tutors initial instructions, I managed to learn the software Commands and tools really quickly. I managed to complete my task with in the required time scale of 30 minutes.
Furthermore, I have decided to learn the Illustrator software in detail to enhance my skills and knowledge. I have added this as a part of my personal development plan as I would like to have a full command on on all the software used in the industry.
On Friday, we had a group presentation on consumerism and gender. I took the ownership and a night before, I texted all my group members to ensure we all arrive an hour early. The main purpose is to share our thoughts and rehearse to identify any weaknesses and to boost our confidence. As a result our presentation went really well, had a really good feedback from the audience. At the end of our presentation, I handled and answered audience questions.
All is well if ends well...
Week Commencing 30 November, 2015
On Tuesday ,we had a lecture on Finding the grid, Layout and structures on Tuesday. During the lecture I learned new technical terminologies i.e. datum, FFL (Finished Floor Level) and few others.
On Wednesday, we had a Presentation on `Presentation Skills` from Viv Bell who is a consultant at `Salford Ask Us". It was a great help as I learned new skills and techniques re presentation which I will implement going forward in Group presentations.
On Thursday, we had a team meeting in the morning with our tutor "Matt". This meeting gave me and other group members an opportunity to discuss and liaise information re Ordsall Hall feasibility report. Key part of our group discussions were around typeface, design processes and font sizes.
Thursday afternoon, our tutor "Matt" introduced an Indesign software. The class was given the handouts to practice and learn the software. Whilst practicing and getting an in depth knowledge of the InDesign software, I gathered and learnt tools to help create multipage and/or master layouts with text blocks, photos and other artwork. The text wrap functionality i.e wraping text around images and objects is absolutely fantastic and a lot easier and simpler as compared to using the similar functionality in the illustrator software. With in Indesign software you can also embed elements from an Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop.
Earlier this week, I finalized my Consumerism and Gender group presentation slides and submitted it on Thursday. Me and one of the group member (Emily) took the ownership to compile, proof read and made few amendments to all other group members slides for a final group presentation and submission.
Week Commencing 23 November, 2015
Continuing from last week, I successfully finished my freehand drawing for the fire exit poster of Centenary ground floor building. I then imported the drawing into Photoshop to enhance creativity, functionality and user interface.
On Thursday morning the class was asked by our tutor "Matt" to present our Fire Escape poster of Centenary Building on class walls. The class was also given the responsibility to analyse and to mark each other posters fairly. Part of the exercise was also to mark the posters in three different perspectives i.e "The most functional", "The most creative" and "The most Functional/creative". The class has to vote according to their choice in a ballet box. At the end, our tutor "Matt" announced the results. It was a proud moment for me as my poster got the most votes for "The Most Functional and Creative".
On Thursday afternoon our tutor "Matt" have introduced 'Critical and Contextual' document for our team meetings so that we can keep a record of our the team meetings including meeting agenda, minutes and actions which I believe a brilliant professional document specially when you are working as a part of a team.
Earlier this week, the class was given an exercise to create an Image of our own choice using Adobe Photoshop. Please see an image below which I have created using the software.
Week Commencing 16 November, 2015
On Monday, I attended a lecture in our developing professional practice class. Key areas of the lecture were around grids, annotation and revision cloud. The class was advised to analyse the Victory man, Vitruvian man by Leonardo da Vinci and Golden Ratio Spiral to establish different structures of the grid and share our ideas. As a result, it broadened my knowledge, vision and provided me with great help to start working on Ordsall Hall Building Analysis Report.
During this week, I am working on my Fire escape Poster. I have tried to make a 3D view of the centenary ground floor building in “Revit” software. The end result was not up to my expectations; therefore I have decided to do a free hand drawing and will then embed into Adobe Photoshop.
Following our previous week group presentation task on Consumerism and Gender, I researched, gathered my thoughts and chose to present my part on Consumerism as I believe a successful designer should know and visualize the effects on sustainability and consumerism caused by design. Furthermore, I researched on the internet and books gathered all the relevant information and prepare all my slides for the presentation.
On Thursday, our tutor “Matt” arranged a Ordsall Hall site visit. I was really impressed with the building architecture, design and its gardens.
Week Commencing 9 November, 2015
This week the class was given a feedback on their Reception desk project. My feedback from the tutor was really positive and was beyond my expectations even though I could not finish my whole project due to unforeseen family circumstances. My tutor really appreciate my detailed drawings as I am meticulous in my approach. I was suggested to amend few things and to add more views in my final drawing presentation.
This week we started a new module called Building Analysis Interior Architecture. As a part of the module the class was given a task to design a fire exit poster for centenary building. I analysed the Centenary building thoroughly inside out, fire exits, refuge points, vicinity and fire assembly points. I took some internal and external pictures to get the better understanding of the building architecture, structural and physical layout of the building. Furthermore, I studied some internal resources which gave me a better understanding to analyse centenary building and were useful to design my fire exit poster.
On Friday, in our 'Responding to creative context' Module we are having a Presentation on transgression. it is our last session on four different themes of presentation. Now from all these four themes which are : Masculine and feminine, Consuming, Mashup and Transgression, we have to chose one to make a presentation on. In this module we are grouped as different professional from creative background.
In this presenta I believe, it's a good practice to interact and work collaboratively with other professionals i.e. photographer, fashion image maker's, graphic designer's and Illustrator's as we all share ideas, experiences, best practices. we are a group of all capabilities high and low and that's the idea of working and dealing with the people of different abilities and capabilities.
My Software classes are going well and I am improving my skills. I am still working on Revit as this is a totally new software for me and a real challenge. So far so good.
Week commencing 26 October- 7 November, 2015
I am writing my two weeks journal, as I was away for two weeks due to some unforeseen family circumstances. I was really upset and was unable to complete all my University work. It completely disturbed my schedules and my learning dairy.
Whilst away, I was working on my reception desk project to the best of my abilities and resources available. I managed to submit my project on the due date i.e 06/11/2015 although it wasn't up to my standard.
Adeline, tutor for Developing professional practice, gave the whole class a project to carry out a research work on upcycling and to present a prototype using upcyclying material. When I came back, I grouped up with Ester and put extra work and time as we only had a week to complete and present our prototype.
I came up with an idea to design and to built a corner table using wooden hangers with acrylic top. Main reasons, I chose to upcycle hangers was due to the fact that wooden hangers gives a nice neutral and designer look and feel. Wooden hangers are also readily available and from cost perspective they are not expensive to purchase. Secondly, using an acrylic top instead of a glass top is more user friendly specially in high traffic areas i.e homes with young children, cafes, restaurants, reception areas e.t.c. Please see below complete final image of my upcycled prototype.
To enhance my academic writing skills, I also attended four wordscope workshop.
Week Commencing 19 October, 2015
Following my preliminary work on my reception desk project , this week I have to move forward and started to work on detailed construction drawings and 3D views using an AutoCAD software. It has been a long time, I have used and worked on AutoCAD so it took me good few hours to understand the keys, and functions but then I started with a flow.
On Wednesday, our tutor 'Paul' delivered a tutorial on 'cutting into walls', 'stairs' and 'layering' in a 'Revit' software.
On Friday, in our 'Responding to Creative Contexts' Module we had a presentation on 'Consumerism' by Visiting tutor Nichola. I enjoyed the presentation as it depicted that how designing is effecting consumerism and how industrial revolution gradually brought consumerism in Modern world.
I am also moving forward with my software classes. Finally, I had a workshop induction by Tim Bailey and I can now work and experiment on model making using workshop tools and facilities.
Week Commencing 12 October, 2015
On Monday, Adelina tutor of 'Developing professional practice' delivered a presentation on creating a designer CV and showed us few examples. It was really interesting and informative as it gives me an opportunity to learn and gain knowledge towards writing a good CV.
On Tuesday, as a part of a class exercise, I presented my conceptual and developed sketches of a reception desk. At the end of each presentation, class and tutor has to give feedback. It was a real proud moment for me when my tutor Matt really appreciated my sketches and gave me a positive back. I was over the moon when he commented and said " You are very competent and professional in your work". Matt also suggested some areas of improvements which I took on board and ensured I will embed them in my final design.
Really liked my software class We are working on Revit and exploring it. Alongside I am trying to work on SketchUp to start with some basics as I have not worked on it before and my rest of the class know it really well.
Week Commencing 05 October, 2015
Second week, everything under control. Last week we were given introduction to new module, Architectural Tech and spatial design. we have been given option of Designing and give constructional detailing to Either a reception desk or a staircase. I am thinking to do both. but all in the air like a bubble...
28 September
Hi,this is my first post. I am Really excited that I am back to my journey and on my track to become an Interior designer. Back to studies after 5 years.... I have achieved so much in my personal life in these years but my career seemed to be stagnant which used to bug me a lot , hence I took this big decision of continuing my Journey to become an interior designer. I have studied Interior design from one of the top University in Pakistan. Same Year as I graduated, I got married, I worked as Visual merchandiser/Interior designer in a furniture showroom before getting married and have to relocate to UK as my spouse was British citizen. AND my life take a whole new turn, which was quite unexpected for me. Life taught many new lessons, I faced many challenges and my achievement is I am a proud mum of two, One is Four years old and other is Two years old. Whilst raising my children up and being pregnant I was working full time before First child's birth and part time after their birth. I have no family support and I deal with every challenge on my own. Hence I am organised, Hard working, energetic.
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