Study Task 1- Why am I here? What do I want to learn?

• identify and explain 5 reasons why you chose to study on this programme.

1. The preparation received by tutors that are still involved within the industry, this is reassuring, knowing that you are not being taught outdated information. It gives you a sense of belief in the course, especially for such a fast paced environment things can become outdated faster than other courses. 
2. The links with the industry, not only are we taught by tutors involves within the professional world, links are also made by a variety of visiting professionals. This allows us to realise that what we are learning is so relevant. When the question "What do you wish you'd learnt at university?" the replies are always things that we have/are/will learn. That sort of thing is always comforting. 
3. The facilities at this college also persuaded me to study here, its all really up to date and it's obvious that theres a lot of support for each area. This includes the mac suites, the high volume of mac's here is something that since joining I've realised is such a strong point to the college, especially on our course.
4. The mac and adobe suite tuition is something that has really strengthened me as a designer, I had very weak mac skils before I came and they may not be the strongest but they are indeed improving, the software inductions and briefs really help! 
5. Leeds also really appealed to me, when I came to visit I was shocked to see the city, I had a very uninformed idea but the mix of universities and people and the high amount of students gives the city a really good and mixed nightlife and atmosphere. 

• Identify and explain 5 things that you want to learn during your time on the programme

1. I want to learn how to use the adobe suite more effectively and widen my knowledge, this will help me create better work and use my time effectively. 
2. I want to improve my knowledge of colour management and print production, this is something that I am interested in and will help make me stand out at a graduate. 
3. I would like to generally improve researching skills, this will give much more power and argument to my work. 
4. I would like in improve my communication skills, allowing me to make contact with other designers and learn from them. Effective communication can only be a positive and improvement

• Identify and explain 5 skills that you think are your strengths.

1. I think where I am at the moment my biggest strength is the desire to learn, coming back into second year I have realised how little I know and how short the 3 years will be so I need to make the most of being here! 
2.  I think I am have a fairly good level of communication, this sometimes translates to group work but mostly I work better on my own as I have a methodical way of working through briefs which can sometimes be disrupted by others input 
3. Time constraints really help me organise my time more constructively, they allow me to work under pressure and it seems silly but the threatening element and pressure to give results ends in me working to my fullest. 
4. The use of research has allowed me to  broaden my limitations, it makes me realise that what I can do is a lot broader than what I originally thought. It informs me as a designer and makes me realise that what I see, is sometime what I'm capable of.  
5. Tighter briefs that make me limit what stock or colour or subject I am using allow me to really focus the research or exploration I follow, this makes me realise what I can do or achieve in some subject areas. This creates a challenge, similarly to a time constraint, it causes me to be more focussed. 

• Identify and explain 5 things that you want to improve

1. I want to incease my time management for all projects, although they vary in time scale, I need to become more efficient in every length of time.
2. My research needs to be more effective and indepth for specifil rationals. 
3. My choice on tone of voice needs to be more specific to the target audience, resulting in better design and more effective communication. 
4. My content needs to improve, I need to produce more work generally, this will increase my understanding background research and experimentations in design. 
5. The standard of final pieces also needs to increase, the level of final outcomes needs to dramatically improve for a more impressive portfolio. 

• Identify and explain 5 ways that you will evaluate your progress

1. Blogging, encouraging quality of work, can compare how each project compares to piers. 
2. Lists of targets, personally evauluating how each project can be broken down and improved. 
3. PPD blog will let me evaluate how I work and what designers I admire, the analysis of work gone before will change how I work and improve my designing. 
4. Crits and feedback from tutors will be constructive criticism, this will allow me to improve with professional influences. 
5. Personal comparison, each project to the next, I mentally change my income/outcome of each project, I realise personal mistakes and this allows me to personally to grow as a designer. 

• Identify 5 questions that you want to find the answer to.

1. What is the best conversation starter with a graphic design company?
2. What is the best email for a editorial magazine whom which I want experience with?
3. How do I make myself stand out?
4. What do I need when I graduate?
5. Where is the best place for a graphic designer to be situated with work/living/home?