U101 TMA11 Design Thinking Essay Example for Free

U101 TMA11 Design Thinking Essay Being a sole trader. I started my company as I had a passion for creating and designing. It gives me the opportunity to nurture my creativity as well as allow me personal and financial independence. I first realised I enjoyed creating and designing when I was at school and this is still true. When the time came to look for work I instantly knew what I wanted to do. I built the entire business myself. I designed and built the website, I created my customer base, I created the designs, I marketed the products and the list goes on. The second role is one that I find incredibly rewarding, and that is being a Mother to my son Charlie. I love him unconditionally and being a mother means so much more to me than I could have ever imagined. I found that being a parent is so much more though, I have to nurture him both emotionally, physically and on an intellectual level. This role ensures that there is never a dull moment in my life. Every day means that my life embarks on a new challenge. Question 1B From carrying out the learning styles questionnaire I have learnt that I need to do the following: I need to create a study plan that will suit my learning style. So I will ensure that I set it up so I study for shorter periods. I need to ensure that I read everything correctly and brainstorm prior to answering questions. I must make sure that I double check my work afterwards and proof read all assignments. Question 2B The learning situation I have chosen is learning to design an invitation to a wedding. I feel that this most suits me as I face this situation on a regular basis. When faced with the decision of creating wedding stationery I first look into the different styles of invitations there are, for example; greeting card style, plain flat styled, chequebook or layered style etc. Further to this, potential suppliers need to be researched in depth so as to find reliable and good quality products. Another valid, if not vital topic that needs to be looked into is how you would print the invitations. You can use an inkjet printer; however this would not give a good quality finish. A laser printer; would provide a good quality finish, however, the cost would increase. There are more extravagant routes for printing designs; thermography, engraving and finally letterpress. These would be a very expensive and time consuming option however; it is these types of printing are becoming increasingly popular in this day and age. Therefore I would have to discuss with the customer(s) what they would want in order to choose the right printing process. I would then look into what customer(s) are looking to gain from their invitation, so if they are having a formal or informal wedding we would look into the style of wording that needs to be chosen in order to suit this. Further to all of this information a rough mood board would be created of materials (card, ribbons and various other textured materials) to show the customer(s) their options so they can decide what would best suited for her wedding. A customer may have a themed wedding or colour scheme too. For example if a customer was to have a vintage themed wedding they may use colours like; nude, champagne, peach, pinks, creams and ivory. These suggestions and ideas would have to be input into the design. The customer(s) may wish for the invitation to have depth to it so they may ask for embellishments, like pearls etc. Once all these steps have been carried out I would then proceed to designing an electronic proof (a mock-up) where customer(s) can see design ideas without materials being wasted if they do not like the design. If the customer(s) do like the design then we would proceed to creating an actual full scale sample. This sample would then be sent out to the customers directly so that they can review that all information is how they would want it to appear etc. Once a design had been finalised then the process of producing items in bulk would commence. A Question 2C After looking into my results I have reflected on my learning style. I feel that I think logically at learning tasks. I like to have everything laid out and research into what I can achieve. This style suits me well as I am very inquisitive and further myself by looking into subjects in depth. The learning style question I feel is accurate in some sense I do not prefer to get things done quickly sometimes I feel that I enjoy taking my time. Question 2d As I embark on studying U101 I am sure that I will certainly gain a lot of experience and acquire the knowledge to further myself in future studies. I feel that I may learn different techniques and ideas from working when working in a group. Things that may require further development are learning how to layout assignments in a professional manner, as well as wording them so they are suitable for academic use. Another area that I may show weakness in would be getting myself organised. Understanding what is needed to be done and then making effective and efficient steps in order to complete the task(s)