A Creative Strategy

Engage with professional industries

• Creative spaces
• Shops
• Galleries
• Exhibitions
• Talks
• Creative networks  

Points

• Importance of have an awareness of whats going on nationally and internationally, whats being talked about. 
• Not being able to communicate will limit you as a graphic designer
• Putting self in difficult situations - growth/learning
• PPP should be a journey of development - learning a new process, becoming more confident in
• By end of 2nd year, should know what to do in 3rd year
• Start to think what we want our practise to be and specialize, identify strengths to be more informed of this decision.
• Be able to identify studios that specific to practise - gives foot in door when it comes to graduation, work opportunities 
• Be willing to improve
• Having anxiety and worry can enhance your practise

Analysis of difficulties

• Anything we found challenging, uncomfortable.
• Why we found it difficult
• How we can resolve this/confront this

Comparing myself to others

In level 4 I was coming into this course with not a lot of graphic design specific experience and more of a fine art and illustration background. To transfer into graphic design was difficult as I found myself comparing my work and progress to others a lot of the time. I think its important to just focus on your own progress rather than others, I think this is the best solution to this and will continue to keep this mind set for the rest of my time at college.

Presenting work

Going again off my previous worries I found it difficult speaking in front of others especially my piers, I lack a lot of confidence in my own abilities and sometimes feel down about not knowing as much, I think theres a vulnerability to presenting and puts you in a position where all the focus is on just you, which I find quite an un comfortable situation to be in. I know the importance of presenting and hopefully with more experiences and going outside my comfort zone more frequently and gaining enough confidence I'll be able to overcome this anxiety. Although I've always seen being anxious about these things a negative part of my personality I think it can also give a drive to your practice. 

Organisation 

I found it hard to manage my time effectively in the first year, with such a large amount of work I found it overwhelming at times, however by making my own personal timetable on when to work I've found it a lot easier managing my time between free time and working. I'm hoping to continue with this and find even more ways to be more organised and stay on top of work. Attending all the timetabled college sessions and as well as taking extra time to work more I've found it a lot easier to understand and organise my time better.