I began trying to find days which had something significant to the course such as presentations and typogateaux i was going to fill the book with tips on how to cope with the first year workload but it wasn't about that so much is was more giving them a visually more interesting aid to learn there own time management and organisation skills as I struggled with this and I believe that when you have just signed up for a graphic design course and the first thing that is handed to you is a boring black business type diary with no colour or inspiration puts me off entirely!
Speaking from experience
This brief is about designing something with my knowledge of the first year graphics course at leeds college of art for there upcoming first years! immediately this sounds to me like I am creating an almost survival guide how to get through the year and letting the students know what to expect as it is a course with demanding deadlines and hard work must be given at all times! I began thinking about all the things which I had difficulties in and took a while to get to grips with. Here are the things I was outlining::
- Making friends
- Directions around university
- access to workshops when and where!
- Time management
- Directions to get to university
- Where to eat
- Cheapest food stores
- How to get the most out of freshers
- Getting on with flat mates
- Bus routes
- Train timetables
- Getting organised
- Where to get help(student services, advice clinics etc)
- Taxi numbers - which ones are cheap!
- Food takeaways
- Handy websites help with research and inspiration
- Shops with student discounts!
- Cheap nights out in leeds
- How to do the washing and ironing
- Housework
- where to purchase art materials
- How to save money
- Where to visit on research week
- Good museums around leeds
- Cheap days out
- Choosing best accommodation
- Booking times in print room and workshops
- Accessing digital cameras video etc.
- Talking to the I.T people in he bubble!
- Missing home
- Organisation
- Blog!
With this in mind I went on to think about products:
Deck of cards- I have got this idea from students who when they go out often " Pre drink " and most of the games need a full deck of cards! Yet my set would be useful as a deck of cards but on the back have achievements or things they have to find out, which they have to target and there will be on for every week 52 cards 52 week in a year!
Website/ Blog- Students can visit give each other tips and ideas about the course where they can purchase things blog where the cheapest hardware for graphics such as wacum tablets etc.
Book- Food recipes with only 3/4 ingredients, cheapest place to purchase them.
Bingo chart- Has challenges and activities to complete around Leeds Hand in to the student union when collected things from different sites and win a prize E.G festival tickets, concert ticket, free entry to clubs.
Trading cards- With tips and tricks to make first year easier only have a set of 10 each with a poster that contains numbered boxes need to ask others there tips to fill in the poster! making friends and helping difficult situations such as software problems or where to buy things
Shopping List- From food/clothes/art materials
S.O.S fresher pack- Must do's and dont's in your first year different sets in the pack uni, accommodation, nights out etc.
Diary- Use a diary yet on the pages have tips to get on to get through each week and be able to record deadlines and organise there time.
Cards for wallets and purses- cards with comical hints where NOT to spend/ Waste your money!!
I have chosen to go with the diary idea because when I started in first year everyone was given a diary which was something I have never used to this day and my organisation has got better due to a colourful white board which is hung on my notice board. I believe this is because I can interact with it it is a check list that i can change what is read on it. The diary that I received from the college was a plain black boring thing no colour I thought I had enrolled onto a Business course not a design! I researched into diaries which are currently like the one I wanted to create for inspiration and just to see what is out there. I soon came to realise there wasn't any like mine only things that people had drew onto the pages just for fun yet wasn't practical enough to sell as there was no space to write onto. Also I decided I wanted Just to do the months of a student not the full year! So therefore was immediately grabbing my target audience.
Things may include in the diary:
Funny comments overheard in the studio:
- Wonder what soup it is today?
- Food is awful in the canteen don't know why i keep buying it!
- Right im deffinantly going to start making dinner from now on I cant afford to buy it everyday!
- Anyone want to go for chocolate?
- Cheese and onoin pasty again for dinner £1 from Ainsleys! NOW COOPLANDS much to my annoyance !!
- The walk to uni still kills me!
- Printing is far too expensive
- Print to the libary colouerd printer much cheaper!
- Buy your own paper and do a paper feed in the mac suites much cheaper!
- Signing in at half nine is stupid were not kids!
- Anyone got a pen?
- We get far too much work for first years!!
- My pic for the year wall is awful
- Did anyone see a certain someone from the year always nod off in fred monday morning briefings?!
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