tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-340318792011-06-13T10:54:46.312+01:00A blog for my HND Interactive Media CourseCraig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.comBlogger851100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-421804609501737332008-05-09T09:29:00.005+01:002008-05-13T09:42:14.594+01:00

The first thing we were ever asked to do on the course was to write a blog. This blog was entitled Where Am I, and How Did I Get Here?. This blog outlined where we were in our skills and most importantly where we wanted to be in 2 years time. That 2 years is now almost up and now is the time to look back at this initial blog and reflect on where we are now and how we got here from that moment 2

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-31846815682117710182008-02-27T16:08:00.002Z2008-02-27T16:10:21.823Z

(Almost) final version of my portfolio now uploaded.I am still not happy with the header but due to restricted fonts at college will experiment with more soon.Also not sure about the colours and may come back to these dependant on feedback from others.

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-47840547350590507702008-02-20T16:30:00.004Z2008-02-20T16:37:56.871Z

My second screen design for my portfolio is now uploaded*.I have tried to incorporate the feedback I was given and remove the large black border and text. I have incorporated a smaller grey border around my design (as was suggested by Scott) however I am still not sure about it. I am also not sure about my navigation it seems a little lost and out of place.I have yet to have chance to experiment

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-80060037510701707062008-02-14T10:39:00.004Z2008-02-14T10:43:39.350Z

My initial design for my portfolio is now uploaded. I've gone for a very simple idea with a high contrast border around the outside to hopefully draw the users attention directly into the centre of my site with my content.Any feedback is as always appreciated.

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-73500015434729054892008-02-06T15:25:00.000Z2008-02-06T16:31:45.940Z

The first site I looked at was a student site - www.lynde.net/ found through www.sessions.edu/Upon first entering the site I was a little shocked to see a very small containing box. This made me think almost instantly that it severely limited the amount of work which could be displayed at any one time. I then noticed the picture on the front page with the 'tagline' for the site, 'Great design.

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-25550166819343424302008-02-04T13:06:00.000Z2008-02-04T13:07:47.307Z

My screen designs for my iTunes redesign are now uploaded to my 'Tune In' blog.Any feedback would be appreciated.

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-65157324412784839462008-01-30T15:16:00.000Z2008-01-30T15:52:09.340Z

Filezilla - FTP (File Transfer Protocol)This will be used to upload all my files to the web server for viewing on the Internet. It will be used for uploading files for testing as well as uploading completed files.XHTML (eXtensive Hyper Text Markup Language) Strict 1.0This will be used to create the skeleton of the site in which all the content will be placed. It will be used on every page of the

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-81209164694864631412008-01-28T15:35:00.000Z2008-02-01T10:19:41.245Z

First Album - Machine gun - Sum 41Cover version - Gold digger - The AutomaticWorld/Traditional/Folk - Fields of Athenry (Live) - Charlie and the bhoysPop - Five Megamix - Five Classical/Opera - Por ti sere - Paul PottsRock - Pledge of allegiance - Louis XIVPersonal choice - Patience - Ruarri JosephRap/Hip-hop/Electro - We are rockstars - Does it offend you, yeah?TV/Movie/Musical - Hundred mile

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-6537862073609494722008-01-23T15:58:00.000Z2008-01-23T16:41:55.235Z

My target audience will be split into 3 distinct groups.My primary target audience is to be educationalists.Educationalists will be attending my presentation and so are the primary target audience. I will be showing them my work and so the complexity of the site is not really an issue. Because I will be showing them my site in college the speed of the connection is quite high and so the file size

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-54962898378540990972008-01-21T13:10:00.000Z2008-03-03T13:15:42.055Z

I have now created a new blog which is solely dedicated to my SMLP (Self Managed Learning Plan) and can be found at http://craigallington-smlp.blogspot.comMy previous post regarding my assesment of my current level of PHP can now be found there.

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-59701642725757520722008-01-16T15:35:00.000Z2008-01-16T17:34:13.919Z

1. To create a portfolio website using XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS level 2.1.This is quite an obvious goal but a very important one. By using XHTML 1.0 strict it means that it will force the website to be more accessible to a greater number of people (as apposed to XHTML 1.0 transitional or even variations of HTML 4.01)As for choosing CSS level 2.1 I chose this as it is the most widely used level of

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-45097325920736372542007-12-14T11:11:00.000Z2008-11-13T02:35:40.529Z

I've taken the feedback I've been give on my original Trexi design and made some changes seen below.If anyone would like to give me any more feedback on my updated design then that would be great.I'm still not sure about the logo where it is at present. I might change it back and put it somewhere else. I'm still not sure about the PI logo either, I think perhaps I'm trying too hard to use the

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-21218096051782567442007-12-12T21:50:00.001Z2008-11-13T02:35:40.755Z

I've just spent a little while trying to make a header for my Trexi site. I've tried to keep with the theme of the 'police tape' style design of my trexi it's self and came up with this:It's by no means finished, but the basic idea is there. I was just wondering if anyone has any initial feedback before I get too far into the design. I realise it could be quite difficult to comment on the design

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-7223492716662220542007-12-12T14:01:00.001Z2007-12-12T14:51:20.318Z

This past semester has been somewhat...different.To begin the semester was our CSS beauty assignment. This required us to not only learn CSS but also learn about the history of it too. I found this one of the most difficult assignments to date mainly down to the fact that I had never used CSS before, only once previously for our summer assignment. Although I found the assignment very difficult I

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-6301021591630478022007-12-07T11:58:00.000Z2008-11-13T02:35:41.464Z

Below are 2 of my 3 trexi designs. My 3rd idea isn't as strong as these 2 (though I will be uploading it soon) but any feedback on these 2 for the moment would be appreciated.This first idea uses the idea of some sort of tape surrounding my figurine. The yellow tape will contain some sort of text, though at the moment I've not decided on what.For this idea I tried to keep away from my trexi being

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-32278922634467422852007-12-05T14:55:00.000Z2007-12-05T17:21:55.594Z

After spending the past few weeks looking at the National Occupational Standards it is clear that the differences between the 'industry professionals' and BTEC's standards are vast.Before making any sort of comparison I feel it is important to firstly look at who is writing the Skillset standards. The majority of contributors are part of large companies (e.g Sky and Channel 4) and so perhaps

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-49168205872766652452007-11-19T14:00:00.000Z2007-11-19T14:34:35.087Z

For all those wondering 'Who' or perhaps in some cases 'what' was that, my CD track listing from Wednesday was as follows (where possible I've added links to the iTunes store):Let's Get Ready To Rhumble - PJ and DuncanEverybody Hurts - R.E.MWar - Edwin StarrFixing A Hole - The Fray (Radio 2 - Sgt.Peppers 40th Anniversary)The Worst Out Of You - The Freaks Union (First album unavailable on iTunes)

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-58260116335050106362007-11-14T17:10:00.000Z2008-11-13T02:35:41.769Z

Blue and green are very natural colours. Green is of course the colour of plants and blue is of course the colour of the sky. If you look at a picture of the globe from space the most predominant colours you will see are also blue and green. Both colours are all around us and by using these colours in design it gives a much more natural look to your product be it a website or printed piece of

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-74250696609742936822007-11-09T20:26:00.000Z2008-11-13T02:35:41.864Z

Third post in a week, just like old times.Anyway, The Designers Republic has a job vacancy going:I thought after our previous blogs regarding interviews and such I thought it may be interesting to see what a 'real' design company would ask for, just for applying. Besides the basic criteria (3-5 years experience, etc.) the thing that stands out most to me is the 'Your 10 of favourite things - and

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-10316527037160646052007-11-08T19:15:00.000Z2008-11-13T02:35:42.291Z

Below are some of the photos I took from the sculpture park. I've not had time to resize them properly so apologies for the large file sizes. Most are around 2MB so beware when viewing the large images. This turned out to be on of my favourite photo of the day. It was taken inside 'The Basket' and although by accident I really like how the grid is sharp and in focus yet the background behind it

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-77156904401457965772007-11-07T15:59:00.000Z2007-11-07T16:56:47.560Z

Today we visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and once again I began to wonder if we were artists or designers. Visiting a sculpture park seemed to suggest we were in fact 'artists' but my complete lack of understanding of any of the 'art' or sculptures at the park proved the fact I was a obviously a designer (or perhaps maybe just a very bad artist).Walking for 2.5KM to visit a gallery with

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-87801593784906520192007-10-30T13:12:00.000Z2007-10-30T16:15:11.665Z

This week I have continued my 'self learning' journey, this time however regarding my musical tastes. Never before did I realise how much 'emo' style music I actually own, although not all of it typical shouting and yelling, it is 'emo' none the less. This has caused quite a deal of difficulty trying to make a 'diverse' CD to inspire me and the rest of the group in college. Saying this however I

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-11004871643698358142007-10-24T11:38:00.000+01:002007-10-24T12:25:43.565+01:00

With the mass telling off we received last week regarding our communication skills we were then told we had to conform to the following WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) Guidelines - 1.1, 2.2, 4.2, 13.1, 14.1 and 14.3.I thought I was hitting most of these guidelines, perhaps 1.1 needed a little work, and 14.1 is a mine field, but on the whole I was relatively happy with my 'learning journal'. I

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-90933609388908713532007-10-22T15:09:00.000+01:002007-10-22T16:51:59.951+01:00

Already half way through the first term of the second year and it seems like only yesterday I was struggling to remember every one's names and resorted to 'Dave'. It's hard to believe it's been 7 weeks.Coming back to the second year I knew it was going to be hard, the work level had increased, the requirements to pass assignments had increased and the tight nit group had dramatically decreased.

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-18842340369877350472007-10-16T12:41:00.001+01:002007-10-16T13:04:07.849+01:00

After my abysmal attempt in my first set of interview questions I decided to take a different approach. Instead of sitting and thinking about my answers I decided to think how I would react if I was asked a question I hadn't prepared for and answered from the top of my head.I think in some ways this worked well, I answered much better than in my previous interview questions but perhaps this was

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-48220422952522813072007-10-10T15:57:00.000+01:002007-10-10T16:19:42.690+01:00

Describe yourself in three words.Enthusiastic, passionate, creativeHow would you measure the effectiveness of your Interactive Media products?I currently use an analysis tool called 'Google Analytics' to monitor my portfolio and online learning journal sites. It gives me a break down of who is accessing my website, where from, and other vital pieces of information such as browsers used etc.By

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-33260391896142904802007-10-06T17:17:00.000+01:002007-10-06T17:46:34.842+01:00

After last weeks 'Online Journal Entry' it is clear that if I were ever to apply for a real job I would be turned away almost immediately. Admittedly I did mistake the entry last week to be applying for a job via a letter not interview questions but it still doesn't account for the frankly abysmal answers I gave.This may seem over critical but in my opinion is a honest response and would not like

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-82612977513426832922007-10-03T16:42:00.000+01:002007-10-03T17:22:56.799+01:00

Company - Netstep Corporate Communications LtdSalary - £18000Job Type - PermanentLocation - YorkshireReference - NET14Contact - Carla MarshallAddress - The Spire, Leeds Road, Lightcliffe, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX3 8NUTelephone - 01422 200308Fax - 01422 200306Found at - CreativeMatch.co.ukWhy Do You Want the Job?After just completing 2 years on a HND Interactive Media course, I am now ready to

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-42806397802006366202007-09-26T16:34:00.000+01:002007-09-26T17:44:11.452+01:00

An online portfolio should include evidence of both commercial print and web work as employers look more at skills than qualifications. Approaches to potential employers should include a written CV, both posted and emailed and followed up by a phone call to confirm receipt. Good design practice involves preparing my self mentally for knock backs from clients and design for them and not my self.

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-28567394553421810252007-09-25T10:49:00.000+01:002007-09-25T11:06:34.458+01:00

This week I've being trying to create a design for my CSS Beauty site, and decided some feedback might be useful. I realise it's perhaps a little late to be asking for feedback (they day before the lesson) but I've being trying to get it as completed as possible.This isn't to say it is completed. There's still alot I need to do, and creating it all in InDesign when I've never used it before has

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-15174226071949319342007-09-19T16:32:00.001+01:002007-09-25T09:41:34.349+01:00

After the past few weeks of 'themed' blogs I am glad to finally get the chance to write a weekly evaluative blog like in the first year.The first week kicked off with a slightly strange start as the first 'day' back at college after the holidays was to give a presentation to the first years. A voluntary presentation? What was I thinking. Luckily however it all seemed to go ok, despite me both

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-39031884241520006152007-09-12T16:37:00.000+01:002007-09-19T16:31:39.018+01:00

Over the past year we have learnt many things, all of which are linked to the industry. There have been times when I, and probably some others, may have felt that what we were learning at the time had no real point, but in the end it always makes sense.Personal development planning is one of these such examples. On first glance PDP's sound a little too academic but the more I think about them the

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-17570620054299835492007-09-05T16:32:00.000+01:002007-09-05T17:10:46.098+01:00

The second year officially started today and with it many changes. The first being having 5 less people in the group, the second being our 'blogs now being called 'Online Learning Journals' and being 'themed'. Lucky for me then that the first week's theme is on targets both the next 6 months and the next few years.The next 6 months or so is easy enough. Come February time we will be onto our 5th

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-57550357744180362612007-08-30T11:36:00.000+01:002007-08-30T11:48:12.158+01:00

Just a quick blog regarding testing of websites. For the last assignment I used the BrowserCam website. It was a really useful website that gave you screenshots of your website in all different browsers, sizes, etc. The problem with this website was that it costs money to sign up for it (though you do get a free trial).Today however, whilst using StumbleUpon I came across BrowserShots, it's

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-58623418818197559162007-08-06T10:13:00.000+01:002008-11-13T02:35:43.130Z

As it is the holidays, and my assignment is now finished I decided to take this time to write a less academic blog but which got me thinking about my previous CD artwork assignment and how I tried, and quite possibly failed, to be different.Now, being fortunate (working for a street team) I have had the chance to meet one of my favourite bands (Hard-Fi) on numerous occasions throughout their

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-63553528778988578522007-07-31T14:16:00.000+01:002007-07-31T14:17:22.811+01:00

For the assignment we were asked to do a series of tasks including looking into copyright legislation, come up with our idea of a good team roles combination, create a valid CSS/XHTML website, note the differences between various browsers, and create an executive business summary for our own freelance web design company.This assignment was a relatively simple one once it got going, though there

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-17996547408520745592007-07-06T13:25:00.000+01:002007-07-06T13:38:03.237+01:00

Since my last blog I have made a huge start on the assignment. Not only is my website finished (I think), so is my copyright essay, team roles essay, and 99% of my executive summary. My time plans are really filling up, and I have highlighted everything that still needs to be done in red so I know what is left to do. I'm glad to say that the majority of my time planning sheet isn't red which is a

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-15345072138078241282007-06-12T19:24:00.001+01:002007-06-12T19:48:02.669+01:00

This week I made a start on my website for the new assignment. I went out and took some pictures of various 'interesting objects' around my house, and have decided to make my website on my local high school.Because I have never made a website solely in CSS before, I decided it was best to look into it somewhat. I looked through a few magazines I had previously bought and took a few ideas, and

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-15397323222832714772007-06-08T13:28:00.000+01:002007-06-08T14:03:45.208+01:00

THIS is the new £400,000 Olympic logo for the 2012 Olympics in London, and less than a week after it was unveiled it is already under strict criticism from what seems to be the entire nation.Almost half a million pounds was spent designing and creating it and it's difficult to see what exactly this money went on. Obviously not on gaining user feedback that's for sure. And with the recent

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-85751181587530318362007-05-31T18:36:00.000+01:002007-05-31T18:47:34.038+01:00

Only a few weeks into the holidays and already I feel as if I am behind. With a new assignment to be done, a client to find, and almost a 2 week handicap on the deadline I can't help but think I should at least have started the assignment.The truth is however, I haven't even looked at it since we left.At the moment I am taking the attitude of 'it's a holiday' but that isn't going to pass me the

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-48445910256196936972007-05-10T15:14:00.000+01:002007-05-16T10:56:20.409+01:00

On September 14th 2006 my first blog was written, titled 'Who Am I, and How Did I Get Here?'. In it I wrote about myself, and my previous experiences and I also wrote one key paragraph:"This now brings me to my reason for writing this. It is not so that in 50 years, when I’m old and grey, I can see what I was like as a child, but hopefully, so that in 2 years, I can look back at the end of my

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-71708290828608061092007-05-10T08:50:00.000+01:002007-05-10T13:12:17.379+01:00

This week has focused mainly on copyright, and with KFC suing a local restaurant over the use of it's trademark of 'family feast' in the news yesterday, it just proves how seriously the little details should be taken.This is a lesson I have learnt this week, and something I wish I had learnt a lot sooner. My image that I used for my CD cover was removed from the SXC website due to copyright

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-68002452449710343042007-05-03T19:51:00.000+01:002007-05-03T19:54:36.559+01:00

As last week this is blog deux. See below for this weeks main blog.Anyway, in feedback groups today with Steve the question was posed, 'Album or Arist' which is more important. 2 of us said album, 2 of us said artist. I have since asked 2 more people and one said artist one said album.So I now put the question out to fellow HND/HNCers. Which is more important on a album. The name of the album, or

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-47840793033602619842007-05-03T16:03:00.000+01:002007-05-03T16:31:40.206+01:00

With less than 2 weeks to go before the final deadline of the year, the class has had a serious feel to it this week. The usual banter had subsided and all faces were fixed at the screens, with the work load slowly reducing, and the the time quickly running out.Perhaps this is just me, but the room was definitely a lot quieter this week.This time last week I was nervous about failing my

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-41272871112442792082007-04-26T12:53:00.000+01:002007-04-26T16:45:05.118+01:00

*Note* - This is not my main weekly blog, more of an interim blog. For my main weekly blog, please see below.With the assignment deadline only a few weeks away, today I began to think about the website its self. Although I already have a working progress site, it is so far just something that I have designed and created without caring about usability and other vital issues.With my previous

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-4471129551154480842007-04-26T12:51:00.000+01:002008-11-13T02:35:44.135Z

The first week back from the holidays and once again back into the reality of the ever approaching deadline.Steve wanted to pre-assess sketchbooks this week, and with the knowledge I was already failing my sketchbook assignment, I decided to leave it until almost last to go see him about it. I have actually got more evidence for the assignment than I first thought, and perhaps I'm not failing as

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-75859766563998299922007-04-23T15:26:00.000+01:002007-04-23T15:45:06.576+01:00

After spending the last 2 weeks away on holiday, the past few days have taken on some serious work.Although I had planned to do some work over the holidays, I just didn't get the chance to. I managed to do an odd hour here and there but nowhere near as much as I had hoped to. However, the past few days have allowed me to catch up with some of this work, and I pretty much have all my designs done

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-80797722180555502007-04-05T11:10:00.000+01:002007-04-05T11:28:48.684+01:00

Almost a week into the Easter holidays and the 'holiday' has yet to arrive. Due to me going away for 2 weeks, the whole week has been devoted to trying to get my work done. So far, I've completely changed my mind about the website site structure, and made that again (luckily however, before any work had gone into actually making the website content), created a page for my website, and began

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-69001299438096019902007-03-29T15:50:00.000+01:002007-03-29T16:20:56.039+01:00

Never before in almost a year of the course have numbers ever being so prominent. Although the learning outcomes have always been majorly important, this week Steve really pushed them home.The main reason for this is, as has been said in quite a few of my blog entries as of late, the sketchblog assignment is somewhat lacking, and learning outcomes are being 'ignored'. Although I may have

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-49677444007895881092007-03-22T16:38:00.000Z2007-03-22T16:56:48.946Z

Logo design was once again the main agenda of the week this week and with a large discussion on Wednesday afternoon messing up every ones time plans it was soon decided that finished ideas would have to be created for next week for formal presentations to the rest of the group. This may seem like one of the biggest events of the week, however this was the week in which we received our CD's for

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-3221644298935220332007-03-18T18:56:00.000Z2007-03-18T19:27:02.600Z

3 blogs in less than a week. Surely some kind of record.Anyway, due to switching broadband providers, I will have limited access to the internet over the next few days (at least). For this reason, I am uploading my logo ideas so far to my blog (along with some fonts) and would appreciated if people could take a look at them and give me some feedback on them so that I can make a good start on them

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-19852862358411861182007-03-15T20:20:00.000Z2008-11-13T02:35:44.513Z

2 blogs in one day. Lucky lucky people.For all of those that missed the conversation earlier today, there is a magic number called 'Phi' pronounced 'phee' () and is actually 1.618 (to 3DP). The actual formula to work out Phi is (5 + 1)/2 apparently, but basically it is a ratio of 1:1.618, well inside the 1:1 - 1:2 ratio that we were given in yesterdays lecture. There is also another version of

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-54146181436071485492007-03-15T16:24:00.001Z2007-03-15T16:50:48.356Z

What a week. Just where to start? I suppose the logical answer would be Wednesday, the start of the new assignment, but it all began much sooner than that.With a 'week off' from work I decided to use the time to reflect on the year as a whole so far. I came up with many thoughts and feelings that I have associated with the year but will save them for a later blog. The main thought that did occur

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-29566720283621307062007-03-08T16:39:00.000Z2007-03-08T21:01:09.599Z

A6 has been probably one of the strangest assignments we have had to do. In fact, it has been probably one of the strangest assignments I have ever had to do, ever.Because of the nature of the assignment (to test and prepare) it has been extremely difficult to prepare for a lot of things. Although this is what the industry will be like, experiencing it for the first time has been a huge step.6

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-63087195589404126102007-03-02T10:14:00.000Z2007-03-02T10:56:31.989Z

For anyone who watched Life on Mars (BBC3) last week or for anyone who watches it this coming Tuesday (BBC1), you will understand what I mean when I say it inspired this weeks blog entry. I do apologise for it's length.Options are something we are all given in life, chances are on a every day basis.What do I have to drink? What do I get for my dinner? When do I go to bed? Choices are everywhere.

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-84931935908492119192007-02-26T11:01:00.000Z2007-02-26T11:30:46.140Z

Note: Before I get full swing into my blog, I would like to point out that as Steve keeps mentioning - "Blogs should be an interactive thing and so links should be added." For this reason, I will try to make my blog a bit more interactive this week. I hope you enjoy it. (Also, before anyone comments, this paragraph is meant to be a smaller text size)Numerous words could be used to fit the gap,

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-11925991357976265152007-02-15T16:36:00.000Z2007-02-15T16:53:23.545Z

This week has been a relatively straightforward week (for a change). Wednesday was primarily spent testing each others websites and then fixing the problems, where as Thursday morning was spent doing 'task bombs' whilst Thursday afternoon was time for us to work on our presentations.The user testing went better than I had imagined, most of my feedback was positive although I was quite worried

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-27026871437198534062007-02-08T15:53:00.000Z2007-02-08T16:17:17.056Z

Almost at the end of the first year is not when I thought that I would be asked to decide where I 'fit in' to a team with my peers. However that is exactly what we have been asked to do this week, using the Belbin website and the Belbin team roles summary table.Resource Investigator seems to fit me quite well. On my previous course, we had to work as a group to create a website for a given client

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-89521272735981584912007-02-07T16:33:00.000Z2008-11-13T02:35:44.954Z

Below are two images of the projects we created last Thursday. My newspaper design and my paint pot design. My B2B website can also be found at www.craig-allington.co.uk/b2b.Paint Pot DesignNewspaper Article

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-51306152090959975552007-02-01T16:11:00.000Z2007-02-01T16:50:56.326Z

Even spending 2 hours on a train to London was going to be worth while as we were to visit the Tate Modern. And we did. Briefly. Arriving in London we walked to the Tate and saw signs exclaiming about strikes, of which we all took no notice of. We arrived at the Tate to find however that perhaps we should of paid attention to these signs. The Tate was closed.Well, I exaggerate, the exhibitions

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-60246138493772504162007-01-25T18:24:00.000Z2007-01-28T16:36:13.081Z

Much thanks to Steve and all at The Design Mechanics for giving me (and I'm sure the rest of the group) an opportunity to go to The Design Mechanics studio to see them at work. It was a fantastic experience.Firstly, a quick apology to all of my peers who I am sure are all eager to hear about my experience at The Design Mechanics studio. I like to think that perhaps this late blog has increased

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-56849433014749270192007-01-22T11:35:00.000Z2007-01-22T11:52:06.020Z

Coming from the AVCE at Wakefield College we were told to create a website to do with anything of our choosing. We were also told we could use either Notepad or FrontPage to create our site. Of course with these two amazing options to chose from, I chose FrontPage.The site I created was on The Subways and I got an A grade for it. I'm hoping that if I can create a site like that with no real

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-21646262366603481282007-01-18T14:27:00.000Z2007-01-18T19:43:00.646Z

Firstly, I would like to apologise to my fellow peers for arriving late on Wednesday morning. This could not be helped as it was due to a problem with the trains (mid journey) and I hope my late arrival did not disturb the lesson too much.Anyway, on with the week...And what a week it's been.When I finally arrived at college, I was greeted with a task of discussing our thoughts on the second

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-64712065507293608432007-01-11T17:44:00.000Z2007-01-12T11:15:45.080Z

A few months ago, we were asked to write our first blog entry about ourselves, our backgrounds, and our futures. Now that our first semester is over, it's time to see how far on to achieving my goal at the end of the two years.The first semester has been, dare I say it, easier than I first imagined. This is not to say that the first semester has been easy, I think that I had just prepared myself

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-5175826961870775692006-12-20T12:53:00.000Z2006-12-20T13:54:29.071Z

Before creating this blog I came up with many 'Lego' related titles - 'Brickin' It', 'Riding the Emotional Rollercoaster', 'Coming Together Piece by Piece', etc.I decided to choose a completely different title, due to the fact that all are true. Like a steady progression as the day goes on.Starting off the day 'Brickin' It' would have been my title of choice. Arriving at college with a very

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-47503515067324175212006-12-14T16:04:00.000Z2006-12-14T16:24:58.644Z

Christmas is usually a time of joy. Sadly not this year. With deadline day looming a mere 7 days away Christmas is the last thing on every ones minds as the countdown has really begun.This week was the week I was dreading. The last feedback meetings of the semester. An hour long special to discuss the assignments in detail. This could only mean one thing. Corrections.Of course corrections should

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-70281497958093646692006-12-08T10:41:00.000Z2008-11-13T02:35:45.681Z

Below are my advertising banners for two different artists for a Wakefield Jazz club. Feedback welcomed.

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-74880169489945526452006-12-07T16:05:00.000Z2006-12-07T16:30:10.795Z

The week started with a free day to simply work. A lot of work had to be done, and a lot of work did get done. Before the start of the week I still had my feedback meeting changes to complete, and my digital screen designs to design. By the end of the day it was done, and 99% of my B2B assignment is now completed. Hurrah.Then Thursday rolled around. For some reason I always say that I like

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-85873717007021735282006-12-05T11:54:00.000Z2008-11-13T02:35:46.118Z

Here's my first attempt at photo restoration through Photoshop.BeforeAfterUpdated Version

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-15839016598758545742006-11-30T17:11:00.001Z2006-12-01T08:31:03.662Z

After the 'joyous' presentation of last week, I wasn't much looking forward to college this week I'm sad to say. I was exhausted from lack of sleep, and was ill which didn't really help. College was the last place I wanted to be. So as Wednesday rolled around once again, and I dragged myself out of bed and onto the train I began wondering what Steve had planned for us this week. More

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-2283366381167923522006-11-29T14:08:00.000Z2006-11-29T16:19:17.330Z

Below are my two 'thumbnail' ideas. Because they're 'thumbnails', they're nothing special, and are by no means finished or even correctly proportioned. But they do give a rough idea of what my final designs will look like. Any feedback on which is the preferential idea, why it is, or why it isn't, or even just what you like and dislike about each idea would be greatly received.Option 1 Option 2

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-80472882662399767062006-11-23T15:59:00.000Z2006-11-29T16:18:54.959Z

Red - In some places red symbolises love, Christmas, religion, importance, victory and good luck. So why is it to me that red symbolises anger, hate, and resent?Well up until yesterday it didn't, I was happily swanning along in the positive side of red as I arrived at college wearing a blue t-shirt (trusting, calm, relaxed)*. I sat down red-y for a presentation from Steve, sketchbook and pen in

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-53636782069544354902006-11-16T16:44:00.000Z2006-11-16T17:18:42.195Z

BlogN: an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page; also called Weblog, Web logThis pretty much sums up most of my week. Researching the Internet for different terms and writing them out in my own words. I can't say it was hard, research is quite an easy task, but time consuming and frustrating are two words that I would definitely 'look up'. This was in aid

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-26500933280306990002006-11-10T11:49:00.000Z2006-11-10T16:13:51.786Z

Sadly I'm not Noel Edmonds, and I don't have £250k to give away for opening a box, but I have been posed by another question. The 'Art VS Design' question once more. And as usual once more when I start trying to do an assignment I get sidetracked easily by MSN, music and random links I've been sent in e-mails. This was also a problem I had in the first assignment.So I decided to do something

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-5083695450565203322006-11-09T15:22:00.000Z2006-11-09T16:29:19.956Z

This week has been a bit of a disaster week for me. To start the week off, my USB we were given at the start of the year malfunctioned, and therefore I lost all my work, and then on Thursday, after re-doing some of the work, I manged to leave my USB at home. Typical. Despite all this however, I have quite enjoyed myself this week.As I said in my last blog, I ordered a new book called 'Adobe

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-87186809347899426242006-11-02T16:24:00.000Z2006-11-02T16:48:34.032Z

The first week back after half term, and straight back into assignments. We were given yet another TWO assignments this week. One similar to our previous assignment of which we have to create a web plan (although this time the website will be created) and one that is very Photoshop based. This it's self has already cost me £17 of my student loan as I have purchased an up to date book about

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-75836231994768568322006-10-25T14:48:00.000+01:002006-10-25T15:40:45.320+01:00

Well the assignments in and the holidays have begun. Assignment day was just as I expected really. I got into college early and handed my work straight in at reception and went up to the room feeling both extremely calm, and happy that I had handed it in and I didn't have to worry about it anymore. There were a few people in the room, some panicking slightly, some not. I decided that seen as I

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-82894610350182978862006-10-18T11:49:00.000+01:002006-10-18T13:38:49.173+01:00

It is a day before the deadline. I feel I should be worried, yet surprisingly I'm not. No nerves. No mad state of panic. Nothing. This is why I am writing my blog entry for the week less than 24 hours before the deadline.Saying this however, the weeks not been all calm. Tuesday was quite a hectic day, making sure that all my work was printed, putting everything into plastic wallets, making sure

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-41770794185838557162006-10-12T19:31:00.000+01:002006-10-12T19:33:19.827+01:00

Life seems to be imitating art this week as Matt Bellamy (Lead vocalist of Muse) can be heard echoing in my ears with 'Time Is Running Out'. After all, time really is running out for us at this moment in time in the course. It's now less than a week before our first deadline which means I'm thinking more in terms of days rather than weeks. Luckily however, I've managed to get the majority of my

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-165491291991421872006-10-06T10:10:00.000+01:002006-10-12T15:39:12.267+01:00

Well, another week over already. Time seems to be flying at the moment. Once more I’m unsure if that’s a good thing. Half term is only 2 weeks away, but so is our first deadline, looming over us growing closer every day. No, time flying is definitely not a good thing.With just one week until our assignments have to be up to submission standard, it’s been yet another manic week, importing all the

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-1159528980490645202006-09-29T11:29:00.000+01:002006-10-12T15:39:03.472+01:00

This week, most of Wednesday was spent learning PageMaker. Now, PageMaker may not be the most technological of tools – in fact in the industry it's laughable - but apparently it's a 'good learning tool'. So learn we did. For a change I found PageMaker extremely easy to use, and got a good grasp of it straight away. If that keeps up then I’ll have no problems learning all the other pieces of

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-1158925362096888842006-09-22T12:09:00.000+01:002006-10-12T16:31:03.770+01:00

SCREEN designs. Five. Grainy, sketched, and annotated. Seek honest feedback from all readers. See below. Comments or E-Mail.One:Two:Three:Four:Five:

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-1158861840665959422006-09-21T19:00:00.000+01:002006-10-12T15:38:28.576+01:00

Three weeks into the course and already the tone is set. We’ve already got two assignments, one of which we’re already a third of the way through. Yet despite all this it’s been a relatively easy week. After all, all we’ve had to really do is continuous work on the ‘That’s The Plan’ assignment throwing up question after question, problem after problem, and lecture after lecture. Ok, so maybe it’s

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-1158340058903517622006-09-15T16:39:00.000+01:002006-10-12T16:30:17.901+01:00

We’re only the second week into the course and already 2 assignments. I'm starting to realise just what the definition of hard work is. The scary thing is it's probably going to get even harder.The ‘Great Briton’ assignment is actually quite fun, in the fact it’s giving us a chance to research and plan a website based around our ‘Great Briton’. I was a bit sceptical about the idea at first,

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34031879.post-1158257799814513592006-09-14T19:15:00.000+01:002006-10-12T16:09:30.017+01:00

I’ve come from a life that has always been very computer orientated. From a very young age I was always into gadgets, new toys I could play with. The computer was always my favourite however, and for that reason I began to explore it for more than just playing games. I began experimenting. Now, experimenting is not always a good thing. Many a time a new, ‘experimental’ recipe someone thought

Craig Allingtonnoreply@blogger.com0