10 things i want to be successful at this year

In today's session we were split into groups of 9 to discuss what we felt had been a success from last year. We were told to think about what we had personally thought had gone well and what we thought had changed about ourselves over the year. It was interesting to comment and reflect on what we had learned over the year and to see how we had all developed. 

The list below is the one are group thought of.

1. We successfully learned how to screen print independently
2. Using certain computer software and using short cuts
3. Management of time/punctuality
4. Management of money
5. Be more confident in presenting work
6. Creative and theoretical writing 
7. Summative and formative feedback 
8. Knowledge of contemporary sources 
9. Collaborative work  
10. Execution of work 
11. Module hand in structure 
12. Studio workshop and skill development 

After each group had finished we discussed as a whole group what everyone had come up with, selecting what we all thought were the most important ones. 

1. Presentation skills
2. Feedback
3. Workshops
4. Independent
5. Research/Development
6. Understand time management
7. Working with others/Specialism
8. Independence/Motivations
9. Theory/Context
10. Style - Finding yourself

Next we were set the task of selecting 10 things we feel we want to be successful at this year. 

1. Using more printing methods, such as screenprint, laser cut, lettepress. Using different methods of printing will help me to experiment and gather a number of different resolutions as my work develops to a final outcome. I also really like the quality of printed work. 
2. Time management will become even more important this year because we will have a large amount of work to do. Managing my time will help leave time for experimentation and let me get the mundane tasks out of the way quickly. 
3. Presentation skills, i feel my presenting skills have improved slightly but is still something that can be worked on A LOT, getting my point across and presenting my work is something that is very important in the industry. 
4. Throughout last year i really enjoyed certain parts and workshops, during level 5 i want to start to focus on what i really like and to gain my own style (finding myself) and have an idea of where i might be heading within Graphic Design.  
5. Starting to look at more studios and visiting studios will help me get a feel of what the industry is like and how things work. Also it will allow me to see what kind of work is being produced. Knowing whats happening in the industry is extremely important because after my degree i will be more prepared it will also help me to build contacts. 
6. Last year we did a lot of group work, i really enjoyed doing this and its something i think is really important, again because in the industry most projects will be done in groups so preparing myself by doing group work will be really important. 
7. One thing i need to improve on is the execution of my work. I made some packaging last year but it was poorly put together or didn't look how i envisioned it to look, so with good time management i feel i'll be able to select good stock and carefully craft my final piece. 
8. Blogging i found last year became something i spent hours on near to a hand in date, this is time wasted when i could be doing it on the work in hand, blogging is something i hope i can improve on this year, doing a little now and then should help me to keep up to date and allow me to focus on the serious stuff! 
9. Looking at design blogs and studios for research is something i did last year but want to improve on a lot more this year, it is a great way of seeing work in the professional world and to gain some inspiration and ideas for my own work.  
10. One area i struggled with last year was theory/context, although i found the sessions very interesting i found it difficult to write essays and critical analysis, so it is something i want to try and focus on and do better in.