Interviewer Questions

What is your stand on web-standards? Do you see them as something to aspire to, or do you see them as guidelines?
This question will deterimine how they see Web standards. As someone who has been taught to believe in the nature of web standards I would perhaps look for someone who shares that mindset and as such, without a convincing arguement, might not necessarily hire the candidate.

In your opinion what makes you think you are qualified for the job? What do you expect?
This would find out what they believe they can do and gives an insight into their personality. What they expect might be exactly what I’m looking for in a designer. It might also show how much research they have done about the company.

When building websites do you strive for them to be semantic, and do you try to make them valid?
If so what do you validate them to (e.g. XHTML 1.0 (Strict) and CSS 2.1)?How they answer the bit on semantic code would be a key piece of information. If they don’t strive for semantic code, I probably wouldn’t hire them. Mainly because whether you follow the rigid nature of W3C or not, code should at the very least be logical, used correctly and have structure. If it doesn’t it would impact on future development and cause delays. Validating their code is less important but perhaps something they should do.

In terms of browsers and platforms, which do you design for and why?
This is something all web designers should do, otherwise they alienate a large portion of a client’s audience. Naturally I wouldn’t expect all browsers and platforms to be designed for because that would be both over-kill and time-consuming. Designing for at least the popular platforms of Mac, PC and Linux, I would expect Firefox, Opera, Safari and Internet Explorer to be designed for.

In a hyperthetical situation what software would you use to build a CD digipak and what process would you undergo?
This would show their awareness of different software. If they answer correctly and give reasoning then I’d be pleased, but if they just said "Photoshop. It can do everything InDesign can..." then I’d probably think again about hiring them on the grounds that they can’t use the right tool for the right job.

What’s your stance on design ethics? For example, if a client asked for pictures on their website you felt were offensive would you upload them?
I would take their view seriously. I think that they should have a strong set of ethics and morals and shouldn’t compromise them just because a client doesn’t agree with them. I would expect the interviewee to show tact, decorum and try to negotiate with the client rather than argue and shout too (otherwise they wouldn’t come back).

How would you feel if clients kept changing their mind or rubbished your ideas?
I’d be looking for someone who isn’t disheartened and doesn’t take criticism as personal. I hope they’d try and negotiate one idea and know when to be firm. Also I would hope they go with whatever the client asks for and not change it because they disagree.

Self-Managed Learning Plan Grade Assessment

I have marked my A8 and will now justify and explain my reasons for choosing the grade. Below you will find a break down of Pass, Merit and Distinction criteria. The unit required us to manage our own assignment with little prompting from the tutor. It was self-guided as well as self-managed. We had to write our own objectives and interactive brief. We would then use them and create a unit from them.

Pass Criteria

Learning Outcome 1: 'Investigate use of PHP of its relevance to industry practice' (Research uses)

Looking at the work done for this I would award a pass because I'd done what I said in the learning outcome. I set out to find evidence of uses in the industry and found them. My research also bolsters the use of PHP in the industry and while this wasn't outlined very clearly as part of the outcome it was met also. I managed to find a number of different journal entries on PHP uses and relevance and have therefore used more than one source to strengthen the argument for PHP.

Learning Outcome 2: 'Develop the skills learnt implement PHP in an interactive brief' (Learn PHP using resources/create brief)

I have looked through the journal entries and it does show progression throughout the unit. I have also created a creative brief that requires a PHP form. In terms of learning, I think my explanation of key areas shows that I have learnt about what I set out to learn. Although very brief, these explanations suggest a level of understanding and incidentally at least an appreciation for those techniques/tools. It shows that I know the essentials of PHP and I used the resources.

I could perhaps have stated which resources I used per-week, but in some instances I used them all to achieve a level of understanding and thereby didn't feel it was practical to list them all. I believe I could perhaps have linked to the examples, but this was something I thought of in hindsight. I did what I set out to achieve with the outcome and kept to the word count so I think this outcome also achieves a pass.

Learning Outcome 3: 'Plan and execute a simple website that is fit for purpose and uses skills learnt' (Build website)

I think that I have done what I set out to achieve with this unit. Using the creative brief I built a website that meets the requirements of the company as well as building the PHP form script. I think the website is more creative than previous units and I managed to overcome obstacles to achieve the success of a working PHP form without help. I managed to go by what I learnt through the course of the unit and build a working PHP form. I added validation to the form (htmlspecialchars), it captures data in variables using the POST function and it automatically adds the data to the database on submission. In the database I setup the fields and added an extra field for a self-incrementing ID for each order.

Although the form isn't overly complex, I don't feel that it has to be to achieve the goal. Whilst true I could have added complex functions it would bloat the form. I also managed to troubleshoot the script and fix any problems (and in parts remove portions of validation). I think for a pass criteria the form has managed to achieve this.

Learning Outcome 4: 'Critically and effectively evaluate the products created and the Self-Managed Learning Plan (SMLP)' (Evaluate work/SMLP)

I wrote a self-critical evaluation that outlines the strengths and weaknesses throughout the unit and outlined problems with the form. It explains how I would improve on the unit if I did it again, and looks forward to future assignments. I managed to achieve the set word that I stated in the criteria. I think that this would achieve a pass grade because it's self-critical and outlines both strengths and weaknesses as well as giving an action pan. It's a balanced evaluation that justifies reasoning and explains how I felt during the assignment and was reflective.

Merit Criteria

M1: 'Relevant theories have been applied'

I don't think the work I've done uses enough PHP facilities to achieve a merit. I've not used all the things I learnt, which could have improved the overall functioning of the form. To achieve an M1 I needed to add a lot more to the functionality of the form. I also would have been required to explain things by commenting my code.

M2: 'The appropriate structure and approach have been used'

I used the journal to record weekly understanding of the skills I learnt and used them to evaluate my work as well as during the build of the unit. These entries monitor the progression throughout the unit and show what I have learnt that week. I also have produced an in-depth timesheet showing a breakdown of how my time was managed. This could have been further broken down but would have gone onto multiple pages and was asked to try and fit it onto one page. I think that I have achieved an M2 as a result of this because it shows I have used a range of devices to show the progress of the assignment.

M3: Complex problems with more than one variable have been explored'

I haven't achieved an M3 because, while I may have problem-solved the assignment unaided, the creativity isn't near a professional standard. Likewise, I don't think that the PHP script is complicated enough to constitute a merit as I would have been required to use include files, a range of validation techniques that I didn't use (loops, conditional statements, etc.).

Distinction Criteria

D1: Self-criticism of approach has taken place

I have achieved a D1 through the evaluation that I produced. In part, I hint at self-criticism in my weekly journal entries too. The evaluation I produced shows that I have outlined strengths and weaknesses and remained balanced giving reasoning for both. I have also outlined an action plan for further assignments and development. I reflect on how I felt during the assignment and explained the problems I had and how I overcame them and this justified some of my reasoning. As such, I believe I managed to achieve a D1.

D2: Autonomy/Independence has been demonstrated

I also think I managed to achieve a D2. I collated the resources, used them together for best results and built a website using them without help from peers or the tutor. I also troubleshooted the problems that arose independently and successfully managed to get the form/website to work. I self-taught myself more CSS/XHTML without the help of the tutor and didn't need to ask questions during the assignment.

D3: Innovation and creative thought have been applied

Whilst my creativity for the website was better than the first year and I am pleased with the results, I don't think I achieved a D3. Furthermore, I don't see my technical knowledge to be of a professional standard either and see room for improvement in both areas. I think that the layout of the website was designed well but the actual elements let it down (use of calls-to-action, emphasis and mainly the banner).

Overall Grade: Pass

Preparing For Industry

Job Title: WEB DEVELOPER CHY/16589
Location: CHESTER
Hours: MON-FRI
Wage: £21,000 - £26,000
Work Pattern: Days
Employer: Business Connection
Closing Date: 12/10/2009
Pension: No details held
Duration: PERMANENT ONLY
Description

This Local Employment Partnership employer shares information about new starters with Jobcentre Plus for statistical purposes only. See www.dwp.gov.uk for more information. This vacancy is being advertised by Business Connection who are operating as an employment agency. A programming role as opposed to a web design role you will be attending Expos to support the sales team and provide advice to clients whilst promoting the business. Passionate about your skills and driven to achieve deadlines knowledge of Django is ideal although the company will consider candidates with PHP and Cake framework skills. In addition the company will consider graduates with relevant degrees. Free on site gym and free parking are just some of the benefits to this exciting role.

Full advert

The role is a programming rather than designing position with the company. I think that this role is perhaps a more suited one at present because I think I am better at coding than I am at designing websites, etc. I think the role has a lot to offer and requires at least one skill I have in PHP. While I don’t know about the other two frameworks I’m sure that I could pick them up. They want people to be able to achieve deadlines, which I think this course has given me.

The role requires me to give advice, work with clients and promote the business. I think that once I start looking for jobs I’ll be able to do this and it is just personal problems that hinder this at present. .

I think I would stand a good chance with getting a job like this because they would look at PHP skills. Whilst I do not currently have those other programming languages, I am confident I could pick them up. I picked PHP up fairly easily so I hope that I could do the same with other languages.

To prepare for a job like this I would have to improve my communication skills, confidence, and my knowledge of programming languages. I will, incidentally, continue to improve on my current knowledge of PHP, XHTML and CSS.

A role like this would push me to be more independent, more confident and also help me develop skills required to promote the business. I like the idea of going and promoting the business as well as advice because it would get me away from literally sitting in a room every day 9-5 and coding. While it might be a good thing as far as it’s my current strength (beside academic), I’m unsure whether I would be happy to just do that and rarely see many people.

Furthermore, as I’ve said it would also make me a better coder. With more confidence I’d also be more likely to interact with people and ask for their help and advice. This would increase my knowledge of the language I was using and help me solve problems quicker than I would if I problem-solved on my own. While I’m capable of doing this, I don’t think it would be very productive in a working environment. So I think working in a team would be better than alone in some ways. Admittedly, it would take some getting used to, but I’d be up to the challenge.

In conclusion, I chose the advert because it’s more suited to my current skillset and I think I could pick up other languages and frameworks fairly easily. I think that once I start searching for jobs, I’d be confident enough to do my role. I like the going and promoting/advising aspect of the job as it gets me away from the office. Overall, it sounds like the sort of role I’d apply for, sometime after the end of the course.

Glad To Be Back

Well, having got back to college this year I was amazed how quickly we got back into routine having had so long away from assignments. Seems surreal that we’re back so soon and no doubt it will feel equally surreal when we finish the course.

As far as the work goes, I think it’s been a good start to the year. I’m feeling confident I can learn PHP in the time and am looking forward to the upcoming assignment on Wednesday.

I did feel a little frustrated Thursday though, I must say. Firstly because it seemed to take all morning to get anything done due to problems logging onto the computer and some enrollment problems. And secondly because I couldn’t seem to get started, despite the lecture’s guidance. Nevertheless, after a short while I got to grips with the work and managed to get it pretty much done before we went.

So despite some setbacks I’m feeling relatively confident about the second year so far. Looking back through my reflection of the first year I’m certainly more confident than I was throughout. A little apprehensive that things are harder, but then it wasn’t really surprising.

I’m still nervous about the group work, but my goals are much the same as they were prior to the summer break. My aims for this year are as follows:

• To try and be positive and get work done without getting too worked-up over it.
• Improve my design work.
• Ask for help if particularly stuck or want advice (be that Steve or another peer).
• To pass each unit and hopefully get at least another merit (something I struggled. with last year, so I’m trying not to be overly ambitious).

In summary, I’m glad to be back and am looking forward to getting the work done.

Resource List For SMLP

I intend to use the following resources for my SMLP:

1. PHP.net

This is the definitive source for PHP and explains what PHP is and gives some examples on how it can be used. It is also updated regularly and has all the up-to-date information on PHP.

2. w3schools

This website is fairly easy to understand and builds up from the basics of PHP. It also gives some good tutorials for more advanced usage and has a variety of handy references. Furthermore, it can teach you a variety of other languages if you so desire to learn them.

3. about.com

About.com is similar to W3Schools in that it teaches you from the beginning of PHP. However, some of the information is worded a little easier to follow in parts. It is also updated regularly with articles and new methods of doing things, as well as news. It is a useful resource for anyone wanting to learn PHP (or indeed anything else).

4. tizag.com

This website is very easy to follow and goes through a range of different variables, commands and builds up to more advanced tutorials. It’s fairly expansive for learning the basics and it seems to cover them in more detail than perhaps some of the previous sites.

5. devzone.zend.com

This website is dedicated to PHP and has many useful tutorials and articles as well as a PHP manual. Furthermore, there is a forum which I could sign up to should I feel the need to seek further help.

6. PHP 5 for Dummies by Janet Valade

This is an easy to follow book that, unlike some websites and books, assumes you know nothing about programming and thus nothing about PHP. It explains how its used, gives good examples of scripts and even common pitfalls. The books helps novice and experienced programmers write scripts and I think is a good starting point for anybody wanting to learn PHP and working with databases.

7. freewebmasterhelp.com

This website offers a number of different tutorials on PHP and would further my understanding of PHP, as well as provide me with another different set of tutorials to help me learn.

8. phphelps.com

This site has a variety of tutorials for beginners, helping the reader get an understanding of PHP and programming.

9. lynda.com

Lynda.com is an online tutorial website whose method of teaching is through videos. There are a number of free videos as well as videos you can buy within each subject. Having used Lynda.com before, and having looked at some of the videos, I am in no doubt that this is an invaluable resource for learning PHP (or anything else for that matter). They offer DVDs of their lessons, or an online subscription.

10. devilsworkshop.org

Like the other websites in this list, this site offers a number of resources for learning PHP and lists several tutorials. These tutorials are tailored for the beginner and as an introduction to the language.

SMLP Justification for PHP

Having researched a number of programming languages and potential skills I have decided PHP would be the best choice for my SMLP.

PHP would allow web pages to be updated much easier and requires little or no knowledge of computer languages. One example would be a content management system (CMS) as content is easily updated by a client. PHP would allow much more flexibility in how a web page is displayed. It also means a client has less code to alter and potentially break. A good example is a form or even an image gallery.

PHP has many uses, one of which is security. Forms can be built using Javascript but are by no means secure. PHP forms are much more secure, offer protection and allow for membership areas, such as recommended content like on Amazon.

It can be used to protect source code and even load certain sytlesheets based on browser or even resolutation. It can greatly speed up a web page’s loading time and avoid plugin problems (such as with Javascript forms).

It can also be used to create applications, such as a calendar or other useful applications. It can be used in conjunction with other languages and is easy to use/setup.

PHP can be used to save to a database. Data can be sent or received from a database, which offers many potential scenarios, including search engines. A number of databases are compatible with PHP, the most common of which is MySQL. Due to the close relationship between these two languages, I will also learn MySQL alongside PHP.

All of which means it’s a vital component of web design, and is in high demand in this industry as backed up by some research into skills and qualifcations required by employers. Most of the web design jobs I found on job sites wanted knowledge of PHP and MySQL, therefore making it the best choice for my SMLP.

End of Year Reflection and Looking Forward

Handing in my final assignment of the year feels strange: it doesn’t feel like yesterday that it was September. It’s gone quick and I’m in no doubt that next year will go equally as quick. Now that I’ve finished it's time to reflect over the year, and then look forward to next year.

A2: A journey of 1000 Miles...
In reflection, I think that it was one of the easiest assignments I’ve done and I can certainly see why it was at the beginning of the course. I think I was most confident about this assignment because I didn’t second guess myself towards the end.

Overall I did well, but think my time-keeping was a little poor. It’s a shame we didn’t get the merit and distinction sheet as I’m sure I could have done better. However, I passed first time so I’m grateful for that!

A3: Sounds Like a Plan
A3 went well considering it was the start of timesheets and multiple assignments. The latter meant time management suffered. I wish I’d been more creative with my screen design and done more design work.

I don’t think it was nearly as bad as I thought it was at the time, though. My time keeping needed addressing and I might have benefitted from clarification and help, but overall the assignment was straightforward.

A4: Typecast
A4 went well too. I struggled with font recognition and some of the typographic terms, but with college blocking the font game and my internet connection being unreliable this was hardly surprising.

I second guessed myself and doubted my ability to do the assignment, affecting the journal entries at the time. I got 90% on the test and Steve was pleased with some of my design work. The rest had minor amendments but there was nothing majorly wrong and no referral necessary. Therefore, I don’t think I did as bad as I thought.

Continually learning new fonts would’ve aided my other work, but that’s something to work on for next year. Overall, A4 was a success. It’s just a shame that I kept getting worked up and worrying when I didn’t need to.

A5: Builder
The assignment I most looked forward to all year. It was what I started the course to learn. I made real progress with this and have continued to improve my understanding of the theoretical elements and structure of my code.

I could have improved the design but I tried to keep to my original design and was verged on stubborn about it. I also think I should probably have asked John some of the questions which I needed answering instead of trying to find them out myself.

However, whatever my problems, I managed to work out any code problems myself. I also managed to build it myself without help so that in itself shows I’m capable of it. Having done that site (and now another for A7), I’ve found something I want to carry on doing.

A6: The Big Picture
A6 also went well. However, I did have some amendments to do. I would prefer to use a better upload method because it didn’t upload my files correctly. Nevertheless, I know now to give myself more time for this. I did like doing the assignment and I think I learnt how to use Photoshop. I don’t think that it was as stressful as I first thought.

A7: Rasterised
The final assignment came and went in a heartbeat. I think this was one of the least stressful assignments and was one of the most enjoyed. I liked learning the theory and new software. I think that the client meetings made it easy to work out what was required. As a result I managed to complete the assignment on time and haven’t felt as nearly stressed throughout.

A1: SketchBlog
I found my inspiration work difficult at first but once a weekly theme was set, it made it easier. I managed to start doing nearly a page of annotation. I was a little disappointed that A6 meant I had to cut my word counts down. Nevertheless, it meant I had to be concise and brief.

At first, the development work was very slow going. I realised this though and it steadily improved. In A6 I used new ideas generation techniques and this helped me to get better ideas. I then improved on this in A7. I think that while it was a slow process I turned it around and no longer worried about my results.

Summary of Year 1
I think that my work throughout the year has steadily improved. At the beginning I was worried about how I would handle the design work, web work and the course in general. I was nervous about the group of people around me. As the course has gone I realised none of these things were a major issue.

I have learnt a lot this year about print design as well as web design. I now see the need to learn how to do print design before web. I found it frustrating that the web hasn’t caught up to print though. I was pleased to have learnt how to use InDesign, Photoshop and Freehand. I am confident that I can use them correctly now.

I’ve developed creatively over the year and am especially pleased with my A7 work. I feel that I’m able to use typography as part of my design, which was something I never really thought about in the past.

Progression to Second Year
I’m looking forward to improving my skills. I think it will be a good learning experience all round. The idea of having a real client scenario is a little daunting but I’m sure I can rise to the challenge. It should help me become a better designer, developer or whatever position I’m given.

Aims for Next Year:
I said at the beginning of the course that I wanted to get the most out of the course and learn a lot. Generally, I wanted to better myself and learn about the industry. Having learnt a lot this year, it is still my main driving point.

As I mentioned above, I can see need for improvement for next year. Next year I hope:

• I can be more positive and more confident in my own abilities;
• Get around 3 Passes, 4 Merits and hopefully at least one Distinctions;
• Ask for more help and advice;
• Use the Showcase thread for feedback;
• Learn at least one new computer language. Perhaps JavaScript;
• Improve design work, font recognition and learn how to use software more effectively.