End of module Evaluation ougd203

This module has been a massive learning curve for me in terms of beginning to decide what type of designer I want to be and having to understanding what the difference between needing to do something and wanting to. Having done the design practice brief I really enjoyed it as it was more the type of design i.e. design for music that really interests me so I felt more passion for it. Also illustrating is something that really interests me so it was enjoyable to mainly focus on that aspect of it. However I do feel I need to get faster at it and develop a more distinct / better style but this is something I have time to work on and can improve upon.
I feel as well that I could have spent so much more time trying to get the images right and feel I concentrated too much on just illustrating so definitely need to get faster. In terms of a design strategy I think this will be something to focus on for my 3rd year - it's what I'm good at. One thing I need to think about is how the image might look in context - I've left massive areas around the image so when trying to put into context it is often in a circle or a square so I need to start thinking about how it might look on a product.
I was disappointed that I ran out of time to screen print up some t-shirts and this in the future will need factoring in as it is something I want to get better at but need better time management skills. 

Having learned about building and making websites, this too is something that I really started to enjoy - there's so much to learn but it felt great to add another string to my skills. If I'm been honest I think if the brief was to design a website for ourselves it might have been more rewarding, but there's no reason why I can't do this over the summer as well.
The YCN brief I found the most challenging in terms of having to marry my style with someone elses. I do feel I struggled to put my stamp on it and the end result wasn't really me at all. I need to be more commanding at times and a little bit less shy.
All in all like I say it has been a big learning curve but I now feel I have a more decisive direction to base my 3rd year on so it's been very rewarding.

Serial Cut

PDF MAILOUT VERSION ONE

Open publication - Free publishing

Enterprise Evaluation

This module has really been beneficial to me and given me the confidence to go out into the world of work without feeling I'm going to get ripped off. I think the lectures were structured in a way that made it easy to understand without being bombarded with heavy business jargon. I also think that it has been very worthwhile learning how to manage money and various sections of business structures, as it makes going into the work place a much less scarier thing to think about.
However, having to do some of the tests has been a little difficult for me to get my head around - trying to understand SWOT and PEST has been quite difficult to apply to real life situations and companies without being rude. 
I've also found it a bit difficult to think about what it is I want to do and where it is I want to go, but having done the group business plan and looking around at various companies in various areas has made me think very quickly what it is I want to do. 
I feel that our group presentation went really well. We decided to split the business plan into 4 main areas - location, SWOT/PEST, start up costs and finance and I think this made it really manageable to break down as I don't think our presentation would have been as thorough as it was and I was so pleased with the feedback we got from Jane after the presentation. 
I also want to thank my group for making the group process really easy, despite the challenging content at times I think we had a strong, hard working group and I think all the research we did fitted really well together. We were good at making decisions and it made the process very quick and enjoyable to do. It was nice at times to think that what we were doing was real and that we could potentially do this in the future or doing it individually which made it quite exciting. 
I think a massive positive came out of this module / presentation, which was the fact that I felt quite confident getting up and speaking in front of a group of people, which has given me even more confidence which is definitely going to benefit me in the future. I feel I can talk to people now and am overcoming my shyness. 

Enterprise Presentation

Open publication - Free publishing - More enterprise

My section to talk about during the presentation (notes):

• In order to get hold of capital we need to obtain a bank loan which requires us to put up half of the £25000 start up costs ourselves - show level of commitment to the business. 
• As business is 4 years in future - gives us time to work for our share or borrow from family and friends (£3215).
• Based on interest rates with Alliance and Lecister of 6.9% APR typical, a loan of £12500 payable over 3 years would be £385 a month.
• To obtain loan - need to provide cash flow showing indirect costs - insurance, utilities etc and direct costs such as wages.
• Whilst attracting new clients we foresee the 1st 6 months to be difficult financially.
• We predict sales for 1st month to be £6400 and after 6 months achieve £13200 a month to break even. We envisage to have enough money left over from start up loan to cover overhead costs in the 1st 6 months. 
• We had decided to keep track of our own accounts using a Microsoft accountancy package to cut costs of paying an accountant. 
• We each need to work an average of 16.5 days a month - 8 hours a day to cover costs. This will be challenging in the initial stages whilst attracting new clients. 
• To compensate we have raised our base hourly rate of a cost covering £16.40 to £25 each an hour - £800 for all 4 of us for 8 hours.

Links to the others PPD sites in my group

http://j-finch0912-ppd.blogspot.com/
http://j-catlow0912-ppd.blogspot.com/
http://h-gage0912-ppd.blogspot.com/

So... in summary - what have we chosen?

What type of company? Partnership.
Which bank loan?

Which insurance? Barcalays banks loan:

Where do we stand on a solicitor? Keep in touch with one but only pay as and when we actually need one.
Where do we stand on an accountant? Manage our own accounts using a Microsoft package. Cut costs.
What is our desired annual salary each? £22000
What is our daily rate? £25 an hour - £800 as a studio (based on all four of us working 8 hrs a day).
Projected cash sales for the first 6 months:

Various bank loans - which is the cheapest

Natwest

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