Friday - 19-11-10 - Summary of the week

Year 1 & 2 ND GAD are working through their design development stages now for their chosen projects, all proposal are in and have been marked and now it is down to the students to make the most of their time whilst in collage. 1- 2 more weeks of development and proto-typing before they will start producing their final pieces.

On Thursday 18-11-10, I taught for the 1st time on the BA Interiors program. The 1st years are just starting a new project in titled "sculptors house", They have been allocated a designer and a location along with the restricted parameters of 3mx3mx3m. They will conceptually produce a house that takes into consideration the sculptors working facilities against their home life and how these spaces can overlap and create shared usage.

POD design movement time line exhibition goes up next week - watch this space

Friday - 12-11-10 - Project Proposals

All GAD student groups across the 2 years had to present their proposals to the rest of the class covering Eco-logic for Y01's and structures for Y02's. Many students had never presented before and were extremely nervous with presentation techniques however there were some fantastic proposals and great ideas from many of the students. In reflection 2 students from Y01 GPC gave such an outstanding presentation in terms of clarity and performance that it made my afternoon. I can't wait now for the next 4 intense weeks to be over and see all these final pieces.

"well Done Guys"

Thursday - 11-11-10 Photography

Today Me and AL Chris took Y02 GPB out on a tour of south end, the weather was to be clear "Extreme" wet and windy was just the start. As the group has a wide interest in photography we took the opportunity to allow them the freedom to spend all day snapping away, we set a small basic agenda to link in with the structures project but the day was up to them. this session is to be followed on next week where we will be producing colour wheels and mood boards using our images captured.

Tuesday - 9-11-10 PixelGarten

Once again me and group 1C had another busy building session leading on from the Eco-posters they designed last session. Having chosen what I believed to be the most effective design I split the group into 3 teams and gave them the influence and reference of Pixelgarten to take this poster onto a 3d scale. Pixelgarten are a well established Graphic/ Branding company taking their 2D innovations onto a 3D scale in order to show fun and depth to their finished pieces. They also always include themselves in their work which I introduced to the students as part of the criteria of the brief. (posting photos up soon)

Monday - 8-11-10 - Koyaanisqatsi

This afternoon we held a session in the Pod to show the students Koyaanisqatsi, the 1st of 3 movies directed and produced by Reggio. This is a non-dialog film in which it creates a conversation about urban life and technology vs the environment and how we have come to depend on both just as much. Each chapter is titled by a track from the soundtrack and reveals the beauty and beast of the world. Many students didn't understand at first why the film didn't have a script and wondered what they would take away from the experience. Hopefully the film has addressed some of the issues they are looking to raise trough their structures project. The link below is a great indication of what to expect (be open minded)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFBijDU8PpE

Thursday - 4-11-10

Thursday for now is treated as an admin day with no scheduled teaching in place, this will change when I hopefully come to teach on the BA interiors program. Today I was introduced to the 1st year BA students to gather up a bit more knowledge on what level they are at. I will probably sit in on these lessons until I am due to teach as it gives me an opportunity to build a bigger relation up with the students and to gain a better insight into the course structure.

I also sat in on course leader lee heys life drawing lesson with group 2B, these sessions are composed of a live model and a different drawing unit/ method covered in each session. today's session was a quick sketch in charcoal and then using different tones of paper build up the image creating high/low lights and shadows.

Wednesday - 3-11-10 - Adobe illustrator tutorial

Today I year 1 group C & A their first taste of adobe illustrator, some students are familiar with photoshop but illustrator was new to them all. 

 The task was a simple yet elegant tracing exercise, students were given a sketch of an anime' character which they had to then scan and upload into illustrator. from there they took their time becoming familiar with they pen tool and getting use to how to operate the system. For some of the students to of never used this design software before and many of them having major fears over the computers, some of the results were fantastic and I know they will only improve their skill set from here.

This lesson will be repeated for Group B on Friday 5-11-10 as part 2 of their Expose' project brief.

Monday - 1-11-10 - Personal statements

As the deadline approaches all year 2 students were concentrating on their personal statements ready for the UCAS deadline. Those intending on further education were looking at what institutes they want to apply to and what courses they are interested in. those looking to enter employment were looking into companies of interest and what industry skills they need to learn before their graduation.