Presentation/feedback

Due to placement interviews, I was the last to do my presentation on my work so far. I like presentations. I hate speaking in a formal setting, where what I say might matter. Nevertheless, this is something I have had to contend with especially with various placement interviews this year. Some have gone disastrously, 1 went ok. Stage fright is normal but never feels normal and may be a necessary evil in this field, especially if pitching products or ideas. Below is my slide deck and rough sketch layout of my content. I practiced a few times as we had a time limit of ten minutes, but I’m not gonna lie I didn’t over practice. Times I’ve practiced so much before that it had the opposite effect when going to speak.

The presentation went ok despite a few technical difficulties. I managed to stay near the time frame, going just over the 10minute mark. I received good feedback on my work so far and even though I thought I had made a mess of my website project it was good to reflect on that and improve my process within the elements project. My slide show could have been neater and needed a more concise layout throughout, reflecting my own brand. I have taken this on board and will improve on going forward.

I think the results really show the difference in approach to each. I feel like the elements project really gave me the confidence to improve during each of my placement interviews, whilst the Portfolio project helped get my foot in the door. Overall this semester has taught me so much about designing with content and UI/UX requirements for furthering my career in the field.

 

My Projects Overview

 

Reflecting on my work has taught me to try and compare myself to the designer I was yesterday, not the designer someone else is today. Comparison is indeed the thief of joy and I find that is something I often struggle with and that causes doubt in my own work. In September I had never used Figma, Webflow, and had come from a very short-spanned graphic design background. Today I have a placement in product design secured, created a portfolio website, and also a working prototype. In 3 months that is amazing progress. My portfolio site is by far not perfect but it was those mistakes that led me to progress and work so well in my elements project.

Comparing my own two pieces of work I can see where I went wrong and improved on those areas. I think that reflects in my elements project. My website is now something I will work on over the remainder of the year and bring up to standard, as I now know how to make it responsive through the breakpoints with the correct layout e.g grids, columns,  Flex layout. My elements Project will make a great new case study to add to my site as well as create my new portfolio social media, now that I feel I am more confident in my abilities as an interaction designer.