6. What new skills will you develop after leaving the course?...

An interesting question this one....How can I comment, at this current stage, on any future learning routes I undertake or on any potential new skills I might learn in the future. If I could foresee the future, then I would break one of my personal moral codes and buy a ticket for the National Lottery! As Del Boy used to say, "This time next year Rodney!"

One of my business aims is to attend a course to learn the technical skills required to do "vehicle wraps" and to be able to add this potentially lucrative area to my business.

I also want to be able to spend more time, actually some time, on developing (love the pun!) my Photoshop and photographic skills. I am a keen photographer and subscribe to the excellent magazine, Digital Photo. Each month they publish a DVD full of various tutorials, tips and techniques which I yearn to practice and experiment with. But, with college, work and home to consider, I do not have the time at this stage.

These are the two main areas where I aim to develop my skills in the future and they would both, either separately or individually, be of immense benefit to my business.

I am unsure if any new skills have been learnt, but my existing skills have certainly been developed. The course has forced me to evaluate and to adapt and hone many of my personal and technical skills.

Personal Skills - Time management:

Running a business and having a family life whilst studying for the degree has meant that I am constantly juggling many different balls; and it has been a challenge ensuring that I do not drop any. The methods that I use to keep track of everything have been sharpened and I am more methodical in preparing my work schedule for the coming days and weeks. I make greater use of simple tools such as "to do" lists, email/BlackBerry reminders and diary appointments. I am also more forceful when liaising with suppliers and clients about timescales and delivery dates.

I have booked to attend a Business Link seminar on "Time Management - How To Stop Others Stealing Your Time". This should prove invaluable as it will be very interesting to learn any methods I can employ to better organise my schedule and to help prevent clients wasting my time. This course is scheduled for 24th February, 2009.

Personal Skills - Creativity:

I was never the best one for using things such as "thumbnails" as a method of preparing and exploring design solutions; mainly due to the pressure from clients to get on with their projects. The degree course has helped me to see that taking the time to prepare, even very  simple sketches, can have huge benefits further down the line and that they can add value to the finished designs.

Also, the course has made me aware of other potential design solutions that can be utilised on a project. These small changes to the way I think and operate will, hopefully, develop even more as time goes on and will be of benefit to me and the designs I create for my clients.

Technical Skills - Research:

I am better at researching projects prior to commencing them; the web is a superb resource, although care must be taken to ensure that correct facts/figures and outcomes are arrived at. Also, the course has given me greater confidence to be able to suggest alternative avenues for consideration both by myself, as a designer, and for my clients. This helps to achieve designs which are better thought out and, therefore, able to deliver the clients message more effectively and to a larger audience.

Technical Skills - Multi Cultural Awareness:

Prior to the course I was conscious of the need to be aware of "multi cultural" issues. However, this was only in a "general" way and not specifically aligned to the needs of graphic design or to the wider demands of my business.

As a result of my studies for the course, I have developed a wider understanding of the need to carefully consider and address the issues that various groups, whether due to ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious or political viewpoints, may have. Graphic designers need to think about the markets and clients which they are designing for and to put themselves, where possible, into the shoes of the intended target audience.

A white, heterosexual, British male designer has to think incredibly carefully about the methods he employs and the designs he creates for a Muslim, female demographic. At least two of my previous clients have been from different cultural groups to my own; one was a female Muslim who was opening a shop and required signage and a logo design whilst the other was/is a lesbian running a business providing clothing to her peer group. Both projects required me to tailor my use of wording when in discussions with these clients as some phrases, whilst entirely innocent in many settings, could be upsetting; and other factors such as my choice of images and typography had to be well reasoned.

7. Generic employability skills...

Some of the key generic employability skills, and how they contribute to my business, are:

Communication: the ability to listen, to understand and to learn; reading, comprehending and using written materials (e.g. graphs, charts and displays); sharing information and ideas can lead to productive and harmonious relations between staff and customers.

Team work: the skills needed to work well with colleagues, clients and suppliers. Being able to encourage, support and promote productive working relationships to affect positive outcomes. The willingness to "give and take" in order to complete projects.

My team work can be demonstrated in at least two areas of the course so far. Firstly, in the work I have done on Personal Project 6 (the Brighouse Pride calendar) and,secondly, in the work done to date, and for future work planned, on my collaboration with Louise Doubble and Joanna Flynn for our Major Project, designing an identity for the band "Freefall".

Problem-solving: productive business outcomes.

Initiative/enterprise: seek out innovative ideas and build towards successful outcomes.

Planning and organisational: the ability to plan and support the long-term or short-term strategies required for the success of my business.

Personal management: the combination of skills, attitudes and behaviours required to get, keep, and progress on a job and to achieve the best results. It refers to people who can demonstrate positive attitudes and behaviours, responsibility and adaptability and can result in employee satisfaction, individual and business wide rewards, and enhanced career prospects

Learning / Academic: skills which provide the basic foundation to get, keep, and progress on a job to achieve the best results. The phrase is used to refer to people who can communicate, think, and continue to learn all their lives and provides the means for self improvement for employees which can lead to successful opportunities expansion for the business.

 
Technology:  leads to greater effectiveness and helps achieve successful working practices.

Creative thinking: identifying and suggesting new ideas and means in which to get the job done; thinking, both critically and logically, develops understanding and provides the means by which problems are solved.

PMA: a "positive mental attitude" - having honesty, integrity and personal and business ethics.

Adaptability: be willing to try new avenues, seek out new suppliers or markets. This is closely related to having a positive attitude towards change.

Responsibility: you should be accountable for any actions you have undertaken. exerting a high level of effort and perseveres towards goal attainment.

Leadership: to lead by example or by instruction as and when appropriate, helping to mobilizing the business towards better performance and rewards.

8. Quantitative and qualitative data...

In the course of running my business, I am faced with a bewildering series of decisions to make  concerning facts, figures and numbers.

An average day will see me preparing quotations for clients, assessing quotations from suppliers, calculating profit margins on projects, calculating materials required to complete a project, assessing the suitability of one product against another, conducting banking transactions, negotiating discounts from suppliers and arranging account terms. These are just a few of the types of decisions i have to consider regarding "quantitative and qualitative data".

I never saw this as anything other than "getting on with things"!

Please see the details on my pricing structure on my PDP 5 / 6 Business Plan.

Things to do...

..bring the original Action Plan (PDP5) up to date with this one (PDP6). I know - confusing!

Keep my Reflective Log current - I must add the Jeff Koons images from our NY visit - and get a grip on the final 4 modules of the course.

The second year begins...

Last night (October 1st) heralded the start of our second (and final - big cheer!!) year of the degree course.