OUGD502 Last years challenges

Last years challenges:

Sharing my ideas
Last year I found it hard to share my ideas with my peers, I think this was because I was overwhelmed with how talented people on the course are. I preferred smaller groups to larger crit groups as it didn't feel as intimidating, making me more relaxed. I have noticed within second year that I am still struggling with this problem, i'll rush through what I'm saying or won't get to say everything that I wanted to. This is definitely something that I need to try and gain more confidence with, as it will have an impact on my work, I might not get the feedback that I need to develop as a designer. To improve in these situations I just need to keep pushing myself into them and be clear, point by point what it is I need to talk about.

Presentations
Whether it's individually or in a group this is something that I really struggled with and my nerves are extremely obvious. I think it might be the action of getting up and standing in front of everyone, it's usually when all eyes are on me. Last year for the PPP presentation I asked to go into a smaller group as I didn't feel confident to present to more than a couple of people. Next time I'm going to try and make myself more at ease, going over my presentation and practicing really helps me so that I don't freeze up. I am going to try and look into presentation skills more by watching other peoples such as TED talks. I could also look at tips online and in books.

Workload jump
The shift from an art and foundation to a graphic design degree seemed quite substantial, and I initially felt overwhelmed. As the first year went on it gradually did improve, but I still felt like I could have been better organised and prepared for dealing with different deadlines all at the same time. This year time management needs to be really kept in check to keep on top of a heavy workload. I intend to plan out my time week by week so that I am motivated and know what needs to be done, instead of being lost under a mountain of work where I don't know where to start.

Using the design programs
As I come from a fine art background I haven't much skill on the design programs. I have noticed where this has limited and impacted my work last year, slowing my down. I need to try and watch tutorials and go to tutors when I am stuck so that I start to slowly get to grips with things.