Stuart Aitken -

More folio talk

stuartaitkendesigner — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:48:16 +0000

I guess employers need to know what kind of person I am. I don’t personally see the point. I was successful though. Its for a call centre job. Not sure what to expect. It might give me a bit of confidence and get me on track for freelance stuff. still going to pursue the design dream.

I am still working on my portfolio. So far so good. The design is there, the structure is there (HTML and CSS), the form is working, links are working. All I need to work on now is a bit of content. The images I am going to need and ultimately a digital version of my portfolio’s body of work.

got some graphic design in there, web design and interactive mobile stuff too. I am hoping to have it up by the end of july.

Wish me luck!!

Looking for a job.

stuartaitkendesigner — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:18:15 +0000

Design really is a passion. To take control of a concept, bring it to life and turn it into something viable as a solution to a problem. It’s a gift.
It’s a gift I work hard at. Enduring all sorts of rain and shine is inevitable for graphic designers. I am sure it’s a matter of time before I find some work, but I am in dire need.

Getting the right job is so important to me. Being able to wake up in the morning with a desire to change the world (even for a day) and to communicate my skills into a tangible product is why I design.

I put my whole heart into my work, but when it’s gone, I’m left with a hole. I’m missing a big part of, well, me.

Wish me luck in my endeavours to seek employment today. Any tips or advice is always welcome.

Hand code or CMS

stuartaitkendesigner — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:21:47 +0000

This is always something I have to consider. Getting started is one thing, but understanding the chosen medium and the final output will be essential to creating a good outcome for the site.

I have looked at my target audience, asked lots of questions about thier needs, and discovered that they are all using the web in a variety of ways.I have become so entagled in how I use the web (power user) that I have assumed everyone else is also a power user.

It turns out they aren’t. Sure they are downloading, streaming and facebooking, but other than that, there isnt really much more. Purchasing online seems to be relevent, but they claim that security hinders a purchase. the not knowing factor also influences their progress online.

If I am to go freelance and try to do something different, I will need to pay attention to these users. What do I need to do to make them comfortable, relaxed and ultimately safe with their purchase.

I intend to use a CMS for this. I have used Moodle for college students, Joomla, Drupal and wordpress. Should I use these for an online shop. I have good control over items for sale, styling and uploading the site, but should I go down the route of creating all of this from scratch? I could do this with HTML5 and CSS3, but would require third party plugins for shopping carts etc. This is an area I am inexperienced in.

The design will be laid out and posted online by saturday. any feedback would be appreciated.

New cv

stuartaitkendesigner — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:24:20 +0000

So i am getting my shit together. Working on a fireworks project at the moment. This will be my website at the end of july. interesting html 5 stuff and some standards based css3.
Hopefully it will give me some
show off room for my portfolio. My print based folio is gonna have to wait. Wish me luck universe.

What will the day bring?

stuartaitkendesigner — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:32:19 +0000

So I’m doing all this digital work. I’m enhancing learning experiences, learning new skills, tweeting and posting.
It is time for a new challenge.
I need something out there. Something inspirational and doable. I want to put pressure on myself to challenge myself physically for a while.
I have always loved the idea of climbing. I want to climb el capitan(yosemite) Serious statement or another thought of the day? Where do I start. I managed a degree when I set my mind to it. Maybe this should be formalized somehow.

Need a job first. What will you do?

Preparing a C.V.

stuartaitkendesigner — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:08:22 +0000

Preparing a CV for me always seems to be a bit of a task. I have full confidence in the application of my career choice, and my passion for design, multimedia and computing in general.

I am open to learning, love teaching and working with others etc. It seems to me that a CV is fake. It is false for the interviewee and for the interviewer in most cases. I guess it is the only way potential employers can take a risk.Too many employers get burned by giving potentials an opportunity, only to find that they can’t / won’t do the job.

That being said, I am working on keeping mine up to date and relevent to the jobs I am applying for. Do I keep one for each area of specialism, one for each industry I am able to work in e.g. graphic design, web design or retail, customer service, contact centre etc.

Couldn’t we digitise peoples experience in a better format? Is that what linkd in, and other social networking site are trying to achieve. I guess it is food for thought.

Getting prepared for freelance

stuartaitkendesigner — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 08:56:48 +0000

The difficulty lies in this, I have very little to show in the way of a portfolio. As a tutor I have spent most of my time getting everyone else’s work up to a good standard.

Someone once said to me, “we teach best what we need to learn most”. This is certainly true in my case.

I am aiming to have my portfolio site functioning by end of July. I have a temporary holding page with some of my work, but there will be more to follow.

Peace out.