Writing
Below is the writing portion.
Reflection of the industry engagement event
At the industry panel event it was interesting to hear what careers were available from studying graphic design at UC. I was excited to hear the steps each panel speaker took to get to the position they are in today. I found the talk of internships and what to do if you have a burnout most valuable.
Andrew had a good strategy for burnouts by thinking of it as slow brain and fast brain. When it feels like you are burning out, step away from your work and do something else such as exercise or socialising. The panellist also had some good points about how they think AI will impact the future of possible career in the design industry. I found it valuable to learn that AI is see as another tool to use at this stage. The panel had some good points about how to secure a job after graduation such as how to network and reach out to as many companies as you see fit with your requirements. According to the panellists, sometimes the company that you intern for will offer you a job while still at university or once you have graduated.
I wanted to learn about how to manage criticism at the panel and Grace had some good points such as asking what the clients likes as well as what they dislike and ask questions how what they prefer. For example, if you are designing an advertisement for a brand and they dislike the colours you chose, ask the client what colours they do like. This also ensure a good relationship with the client which was another point the panellists said was important to maintain.
In this networking event I did not get to ask any questions or talk to any of the panellists afterwards. For future networking events, I will ensure I ask any questions that I have and make time to talk to the panellists afterwards.
Reflection of the unit
I learned the possible careers I can pursue through my course. I learnt how to organise my time management by making timetable and do to lists to kept onto of assignments and tasks.
I found the industry panel useful for learning the necessary steps I would have to take to excel in the design industry. The panellists gave worthy information on how to get valuable internships and how to get a job after graduation.
What held me back was the first assignment, the reflective response. I am still unsure what direction I want to go in for my career, so I found this assignment difficult. I also do not have much experience with talking in front of a group of people, so the group assignment taught me some skills with presenting.
To improve my outcomes for my next semester, I would make a timetable like I did for this semester to concentrate on my time management to ensure I do not fall behind in assignments. I hope to build on the skills I learnt this unit for in the future such as making semester plans and writing reflective responses that I will use in future units.
Codes and Conduct
The codes of conduct and social responsibility of designers is important to ensure an ethical practice of design. The codes of conduct list designers' requirements to promote fairness and ethos. An example of one requirement within the codes of conducts is Fair Compensation. If a client has requested for me to present a piece of work to be in the running for a paid contract, that would be called speculative practice. According to the codes of conduct, speculative practice is unethical and encourages poor practice. Another example of a requirement within the codes of conduct is Legal Compliance. As a designer it would be my responsibility to inform my client of their intellectual property rights, health and safety rights and any other relevant regulations. The responsibility of a designer is how they interact with clients and audiences, as well as how they respond in ethical circumstances. An example of the social responsibility of a designer would be abiding to the client's sustainable commitments, such as using non-toxic inks for printing and efficient recycling of disposables. By abiding by the codes of conduct and knowing the social responsibility, a designer can ensure they are practicing ethical design practices.
Readings Review
Within the design process goal setting and attitudes are necessary to succeed. It is useful to know the difference between short-term, midterm and long-term goals. Short-term goals focus on the daily tasks and possibly weekly tasks to complete (Stewart, I. and M. (n.d.). Midterm goals focus on yearly goals and university aspiration. Long term goals focus on goals for after university and future goals. Having good attitudes can be linked to emotional intelligence and understanding how verbal and non-verbal communication can show emotions. Body language and haptic communication such as touch can be as effective to showing emotions as facial expressions (Hansen, 2014)
Ethics are important in the design process. The Australian Indigenous Design Charter, Communication Design’s role is to ensure an excellent ethical standard of the representation of Indigenous peoples in design practice (Australian Indigenous Design Charter. (n.d.) The Ethical Design Manifesto touches on a similar criterion when it comes to ethics within design practice practices (Ethical Design Manifesto. (n.d.). It links ethics with human rights, human effort, and human experience. As a designer, you must respect all three to ensure an ethical design practice.
Productivity and being able to receive criticism are important as a designer. According to John Trougakos, (D’Efilippo, Lufkin. 2018), 75% of people tend to be most productive between the hours of 9am and 11am. Following the Circadian rhythm, 11am would line up with when people get most tasks done. Criticism is important for improving projects within the design process. A good way of giving and receiving criticism is with a ‘criticism sandwich’ (Seiter, 2014). You start with a positive followed by the criticism ending with another positive.
Self-branding is essential in the design industry. Self-branding is a way to display a designer’s skills to the rest of the industry. It creates the impression and reputation of that designer. Social media can be used for self-branding. A designer can use social media to promote their talents for future potential employers. This also means that social media can be used to exclude from future job opportunities with a future potential employer seeing the designer’s social media negatively.
Role, objective, Messaging
The role of this portfolio is to showcase my skills and experience. My future employers will be able to use this digital portfolio to see all my past work and will decide if they want to employ me based on what they see.
The objective of this portfolio is to showcase what I can do the best I can. The digital portfolio is the first impression of me as a designer. Its objective is to show a respectable first impression. This portfolio should be visually appealing and professional looking.
I hope this digital portfolio sends a clear and professional message to any future employers. I hope this digital portfolio shows a high level of creativity and willingness to learn new skills. I hope through the aesthetics of this digital portfolio I will attract future potential employers.
Why it's important to communicate and engage with Indigenous Australians in ethical and culturally respectful ways in relevant design projects
It is important to communicate and engage with Indigenous Australians in ethical and culturally respectful ways to show mutual respect and appropriation when designing, for example, using specific styles of patterns in designs. Australian clothing company Magpie Goose sells clothing with Indigenous Australian patterns. The company was set up by two non-Indigenous women which was met with criticism. The owners license the artworks for the garments from remote Indigenous communities which caused concerns on social media regarding the licensing arrangements. The control of the business was handed over to an Indigenous man. This change of ownership boosted sales for the company as it was seen as a positive ethical change. Communicating and engaging with Indigenous Australians ethically and culturally respectfully in design projects can impact certain design projects.