To Do List

This is my 'to-do' list for the coming year:

• Last year, as well as whilst I was studying at college, I struggled the most with managing my time. I would often procrastinate and leave work until the very last minute. This obviously will and has effected the quality of the design work that I produce and thus impacting on the grades I have had so far. This year, I am going to make sure that I stay on top of all of my projects and complete all the work we are set to my full potential.

• Linked in with the idea of time management, blogging was another one of my flaws of my first year. Having never done blogging before I found it quite hard to adjust to at first. I struggled to get into the habit of blogging frequently which meant that I always had to spend hours catching up on the documentation of my work. This year I am going to make sure that I stay on top of my blogging by sticking to a routine. Because I don't own a laptop, the only time that I get to work is when I am at university so I am going to ensure that every day I stay behind until I have blogged everything from the day.

• Something that I had only previously had little experience with yet has really caught my attention this year is working with an array of processes. These include screen printing, spot varnishing, foiling, embossing, book-binding and vinyl cutting. Most of these I have never actually used myself but would definitely like to experiment with them this year.

• It was made aware to us last year that looking into design blogs and studio was essential in order to keep up to date on the type of design work being made in the real world. I took this on board and have spent much time over the summer break looking into studios that particularly interest me. This year I would like to begin getting into contact with studios in an attempt to get my name out there and perhaps even get a placement for over the Christmas or summer break.

• Networking is something I had never thought about until it was mentioned to us a few weeks before we left for summer. Since then, I have been looking into various different websites that I could use to start networking and getting in touch with working professionals.

• An element of graphic design that really grabbed my attention last year was working on publications; using InDesign was completely new to me at first but has become something I am much more confident in using. I would like to continue working in this area mainly whilst also looking into other areas that interest me such as branding and identity.

• In addition to the networking and the contacting of studios, I would like to start looking for freelancing work and live briefs in order to start getting myself established as a designer. I thoroughly enjoyed working on the competition brief 'Secret 7' and think that this is a good way in order to stay creative and keep challenging myself.

• 3-D Design is something that I haven't had any actual experience in working with but do have an interest in looking at. It is something that I think could really add something unique to my work and I feel as though it would benefit me to know whether or not it is something that I want to look into further.