Somewhere…

…in the jungle of Steves education…

…and on the treacherous and twisting trail of Professional Development in Graphic Design…

…stands the tree

…stands the tree of knowledge & practice

A tree that grew from the seed of ‘A’ level Art…

…became a tiny shoot on a college 1 year Art Foundation course…

…was nourished 3 more years on a Graphics degree in the nurseries of the North East…

…and finally transplanted into the rich soil of the South East in the field of publishing.

…and finally transplanted into the rich soil of the South East in the field of publishing.

Knowledge and Practice 1A Graphics/web : historical & current context Knowledge and Practice “ The advancement of my historical knowledge has been minimal since lectures back in college days and current awareness has been acquired mainly via trade magazines. ” Development plan… Read authorative books ie. ‘Meggs History of Graphic Design’ and ‘Design Source Book’ (MacDonalds) Consult guides on current styles in Typography, Web design etc Create my own brief history of ‘graphics’ and the ‘web’ Visit exhibitions / websites showcasing contemporary designs End goal… Have sufficient breadth of knowledge to access relevant examples for use in teaching materials, project setting and my own freelance designing.

Knowledge and Practice 2B Essential Software Skills Knowledge and Practice Current levels V Future levels Photoshop Photoshop Elements Dreamweaver Flash InDesign Illustrator 60% 40% 20% 80% 50% 70% Development plan… Attend training courses with Adobe accredited instructors Use subscriber online video tutorials for Adobe software Specialist trade magazines – workshop tutorials End goal… Achieve a level of working knowledge and competency in the main Adobe software enabling me to teach courses in print and web at short notice.

Knowledge and Practice 3C Programming Languages Knowledge and Practice Current levels V Future levels 70% 60% 15% 0% 10% Html Cascading Style Sheets Javascript JQuery PHP 80% 40% 50% Development plan… Attend training courses with accredited instructors Use online tutorials ie. www.w3schoools.com Private study from programme manuals and 1:1 tuition End goal… To become capable of building websites with a greater range of interactivity and employment of server-side page construction

Knowledge and Practice 4D Managing Databases Knowledge and Practice Current level V Future level 10% MySQL (Structured Query Language) 50% Development plan… Attend training courses with accredited instructors Use online tutorials ie. www.mysql.com Private study and 1:1 tuition End goal… To reach a level of competency enabling me to build datebase driven websites and so increase my business and source of income opportunities

Knowledge and Practice 5E Industry Best Practice Knowledge and Practice Current levels V Future levels 30% 50% 70% 20% 40% Web hosting Search Engine Optimisation Accessibility standards Freelance pricing Printing processes (and artwork preparation) 70% 90% Development plan… Receive advice from ‘Service Providers’ – print and web Investigate standards / practices - online and literature Acquire accessibility software tools ie. screenreaders End goal… Be as up-to-date as possible with relevant industry practices so that I can deliver a quality freelance service and communicate effectively in teaching

Knowledge and Practice 6F National Learning Levels / Networking Knowledge and Practice Current levels V Future levels 20% Graphic Design levels (1-5) Web Design levels (1-5) 80% Development plan… Online research for current level content descriptions Talk to major players who devise curriculum content for national levels in my specialisms and acquire documentation for reference Network with key web practitioners promoting ‘best practise’ standards ie. http://www.webstandards.org Get advice from practitioners in teaching/training/offender learning ie. Dominic Murphy, director of The Learning Journey Receive news on jobs, web practice etc. email alerters (*see attached sheet) End goal… To apply appropriately the content of my subject specialism to match the national levels of learning 1-5. Maximise awareness of job market / industry.

Knowledge and Practice 7G Capturing Source Material Knowledge and Practice Current levels V Future levels 40% 10% 0% Photography Video Music media Podcasting 60% 50% 30% Development plan… Training courses / workshops / personal projects Online research – articles and demos Private study – books / magazines Personal connections and 1:1 tuition End goal… To reach a level of working knowledge applicable for print/web and equip me to offer more in my teaching and engage with a wider audience of learners

The Tree of Knowledge and Practice