OUGD406: Brief 4- Speaking From Experience

Brief & Initial thoughts

This brief is incredibly individual/personal but also quite broad in its possibilities compared to the restrictions of previous briefs, therefore to begin this brief I will list problems/ important points that will influence this brief but also what I have experienced. 

From looking at my mass amounts of notes I split the "problems" into three definite sections/ sub headings:

The first was for general students and not necessarily art/design based.

The problems included; 

- Living away from home

- Missing family and friends and overcoming homesickness

- New city and location to get used to

- Buses/trains/public transport

- Personal safety within halls/ city/ belongings 

- Social events for students (prices and music taste)

- Food prices and stores

- Learning to cook 

- Budgeting overall for essentials and social life

- Meeting new people and coping the new experience as a whole

The second is quite a focused problem based on location, which includes;

- Knowing where to find inspiration for art/design

- Knowing which are the best galleries to visit

- Finding out where good book stores are for inspiration

- Finding out where other sources of inspiration could be which others have found such as comic book stores/ conventions

- Getting in the know about upcoming exhibitions in Leeds

Lastly I put a wide variety of problems found along with being on the course itself. These included; 

- Different research methods and idea generation

- Difficulties with time management and balancing work/social, I found that in particular I became far too stressed and over worked myself unnecessarily

- Being able to understand what crits were for, coming from a sixth form we never had formal crits so this was incredibly different and I was unsure on how I would receive/ give feedback correctly

- How to present work efficiently and in a manner where it is simple and can be understood, this is in conjunction with learning how to create design boards, present work through spoken presentations and also in smaller groups

- Having confidence in my own work and feeling as though I was good enough to be on the course in comparison to others

- Lack of knowledge about software (adobe illustrator/ indesign), digital printing (correctly), terminology (type especially) and also different methods of creating work such as screen printing/ book binding

Typical feelings:

http://portal.surrey.ac.uk/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/SCC/SELF%20HELP%20RESOURCES/SELF%20HELP%20LEAFLETS/1781-0909%20COUNSELLING%20LEAFLET%20FRESHERS%20GUIDE%20A5%203.PDF

I thought it would be worthwhile to ask others their advice who are in contact with students;

I decided to ask Nobrow for some advice which they would give to students: 24/03/14

I also tweeted Jared Thompson who is part of a art/design blog which showcases artists and designers work. Work showcased is of freelancers, graduates, students.

"Owned and run by Jared Thompson, Design Juices is an online creative blog which showcases the best inspirational designers, artists, photographers & more. The site aims to be updated with as much creativity and inspiration, aswell as interviewing top designers to share an insight into their craft and work."  

http://www.designjuices.co.uk/about-me/

In response:

Personally, the problem which seems to stand out the most from all the others is the lack of confidence with my own work and feeling as though I wasn't good enough for the course compared to others. I found the transition from sixth form a levels to degree standard graphic design incredibly challenging. This was because at the beginning of the term I felt completely out of my depth due to being not only one of the youngest on the course but also I felt as though I was one of the least experienced with software and graphic design as an entire discipline. 

I also found that throughout the first few months of the course I did and still sometimes do compare myself to others based on ideas/concepts and how people were tackling briefs both aesthetically and through their ideas. This really affected my confidence as I found myself thinking that my own ideas wouldn't be valued as highly as the others. This in turn meant that I found crits and presentations of work difficult due to a lack of self confidence and belief. 

However as the year has progressed I feel as though I have become more aware of how I was feeling at the beginning of the course and have realised that certain amounts of advice from tutors and other students have helped me. Gaining tips about forming a greater understand of "self" in PPP with John and Amber has been vital in developing a form of confidence and overall a further understanding that individuality is okay. Gaining positive feedback in crits from Simon and also members of the class has also been rewarding as at the beginning of term I seemed to gain only negative responses. 

Although much like other students I have come across other problems most of which I have mentioned above the most important in terms of myself would be the lack of confidence. This issue doesn't seem to be something which openly discussed even though it affected a large majority of students on the course. 

I also looked at different ways in which people have looked at the idea of lack of confidence in creative practises one of which was David Kelly on TED talks:

http://blog.ted.com/2012/03/01/building-creative-confidence-david-kelley-at-ted2012/

His talk was quite lengthy and in depth but I found a short summary after watching to place onto my blog as a reminder.

David Kelley starts off his story in third grade, at Oakdale School in Ohio. His friend Brian was making a horse out of clay. One of the girls sitting at his table looked over and said, “that’s terrible! That’s not what a horse looks like.” Brian’s shoulders sank, he wadded up the clay and threw away his horse–and Kelley never saw him take on a project quite like that again. This type of thing happens all the time. People often become uncomfortable around creativity — and yet surely creativity is not the domain of only a chosen few.

Then he puts his own wish to the audience. Don’t divide the world into “creative” and “non-creative,” he urges. Let people realize they are naturally creative. “Let their ideas fly; let them achieve what Bandura calls self-efficacy,” he concludes. ”When people regain that confidence, magic happens.”

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From listening to his talk and realising that I have also experienced this along with many others is possibly a reason in itself to chose this issue to solve. I also created a survey:

What do you think has helped improved your confidence (in work)?

Crits to give feedback where people have pointed out things they like about others' work.

The sessions we've had as well as the group tasks.

Positive feedback, getting used to the practice, making friends, and a touch of self belief.

Just generally my work has improved, I'm actually somewhat proud of it now

presenting every week

Receiving feedback and grades

having other work to compare yours to ( this may sound quite shallow but i think healthy competition isa good thing it also makes me raise my game if i think someone has done better then me or come up with a really great concept)

Reassurance through tutorials and realising that other people have the same kind of anxieties as me.

Crit sessions, receiving positive but constructive feedback has shown that my work is strong but also encouraging to have suggestions as to how I can push my work further

Have to do presentations all the times, the more we do them the less stressed out I get.

getting to know people has made it easier to present in front of them

Being shown better ways to present

Do you think that confidence is an issue for freshers (art degrees)?

Yes in all degrees i think, due to maybe moving to a different place as well as moving away from home!

Definitely, an institute of this level can be seriously daunting, especially for quieter people who struggle to voice their opinions.

depends, confidence is something which is different for everybody

Confidence has always been a bit of an issue for me , I think more ice breakers and more lively student union I think would've helped.

i think with certain people it is, at the end of the day it all depends on your personality. but even if you are a very confident person their is still a certain level of nerves expected when moving to a new city and to a new course

Yes - especially if coming from A levels. I found that I came from a place where I was basically the best and most enthusiastic, to a place where everyone was enthusiastic and I was just average, which is good, but also intimidating.

Definitely think that having a lack of confidence is very common for a fresher and can be an issue if you let it hold you back but its important to know that everyone is in the same boat to varying degrees and to just try and be confident not being afraid to ask for help if needed.

Don't worry everyone else will be just as nervous. If you are passionate talking about your work, confidence comes from that.
Yer. People that pitch with abit of cofiedence are more likable.

The feedback/answers I got from the survey were really helpful and definitely worthwhile creating. The main focus I got from the answers was that freshers need reassurance generally because it is quite a big leap- living on your own, new experiences. 

I think this would of really helped me as a fresher too, as for the majority of the first year I've struggled thinking that others were far better than myself and I wasn't sure what I was doing. A little reassurance and for someone to say they've been through it too is really helpful, over time I've been able to speak to people on the course but I think it would really benefit people in the initial stages of the first year. 

Brief rewritten for myself: 

Brief

The transition from previous institutions to LCA Graphic Design can be quite a daunting process which in turn impacts on an individuals confidence. A lack of confidence in work but also generally can impact on how an individual performs on the course but also affect them emotionally. 

These concerns and worries are often kept to themselves, as a first year give advice, statements and opinions on how to cope with the transition. You should also consider how you could impact the individuals opinions of themselves and their artwork to become more confident and have a positive outlook. 

Create a visual response which acts as an informative and advisory piece to ease the nerves of new students about their worries. Consider the tone of voice and aesthetics as this is vitally important and should appeal to the target audience.   

Considerations

What do they need to know? 

What tone of voice will you use? Will it be informal, formal, serious or humorous ? 

How will the audience interact with what you have created?

Requirements

A piece of graphic design which visually explores and clearly fulfils your intentions.

Documentation of progress, sketchbooks, design boards and evaluation. 

Advice which has been incredibly useful throughout the course and through researching myself online and in books I adore: 

It's not who you are that hold's you back... it's who you think you are.

Don't compete… create! 

The greatest and most famous designers are ordinary.

Individuality is wonderful. 

Think yourself to be good and you will be great. 

It is almost impossible to please every individual that you know, you must please yourself and the audience it is for, the others may wickedly laugh but who is the winner?

It is incredibly important to have confidence in your own abilities, a good idea will be seen as GREAT with just a small amount of thrilling self esteem. 

The greatest and most famous designers are ordinary.

Confidence comes from not always being right but not fearing to be wrong. 

Creatives are persistent, they never give up until they have the perfect masterpiece. 

Thinking too much of what others think of you ultimately changes what you think of yourself- Written in 2004 by T.H., Age 13 --- Alberta, Canada

http://www.motivateus.com/teens41.htm

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” 
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” 

Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

Which design will they remember after the crit? The one that shocked them or the one that looked the same? 

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit”  E.E. Cummings

The things that make me different are the things that make me.” A.A. Milne

You laugh at me because I am different. I laugh at you because youíre all the same." 

Vick Imbornoni

Conformity is the death of individualism." Ralph Waldo Emerson

From looking at a variety of different quotes I have gathered of advice I would like to give to the first years I have realised they somewhat appear to be in categories:

Believing in yourself and your work.

Changing a mindset and becoming positive. 

Allowing yourself to make mistakes to improve.

Understanding that designers and famous creatives came from a similar institution and were in your shoes once of a day. 

Challenging yourself to create something different and not follow the crowd. 

These ideas could be solved in a variety of different solutions which could be a set or series of motivational posters, a blog which contains these posters and links to positive behaviour or a small personal book. I spoke to a few students and they agreed that the book would be really interesting because it allows students to be quite personal as confidence is quite a silent topic which isn't spoken about. (See context blog for research).