3. Somewhere…

4. …in the jungle of Steves education…

5. …and on the treacherous and twisting trail of Professional Development in Graphic Design…

6. …stands the tree

7. …stands the tree of knowledge & practice

8. A tree that grew from the seed of ‘A’ level Art…

9. …became a tiny shoot on a college 1 year Art Foundation course…

10. …was nourished 3 more years on a Graphics degree in the nurseries of the North East…

11. …and finally transplanted
into the rich soil of the South East in the field of publishing.

12. …and finally transplanted
into the rich soil of the South East in the field of publishing.

20. Knowledge and Practice
1A Graphics/web : historical & current context
Knowledge and Practice
“ The advancement of my historical knowledge has been minimal since lectures back in college days and current awareness has been acquired mainly via trade magazines. ”
Development plan…
Read authorative books ie. ‘Meggs History of Graphic Design’ and ‘Design Source Book’ (MacDonalds)
Consult guides on current styles in Typography, Web design etc
Create my own brief history of ‘graphics’ and the ‘web’
Visit exhibitions / websites showcasing contemporary designs
End goal…
Have sufficient breadth of knowledge to access relevant examples for use in teaching materials, project setting and my own freelance designing.

22. Knowledge and Practice
2B Essential Software Skills
Knowledge and Practice
Current levels V
Future levels
Photoshop
Photoshop Elements
Dreamweaver
Flash
InDesign
Illustrator
60%
40%
20%
80%
50%
70%
Development plan…
Attend training courses with Adobe accredited instructors
Use subscriber online video tutorials for Adobe software
Specialist trade magazines – workshop tutorials
End goal…
Achieve a level of working knowledge and competency in the main Adobe software enabling me to teach courses in print and web at short notice.

24. Knowledge and Practice
3C Programming Languages
Knowledge and Practice
Current levels V
Future levels
70%
60%
15% 0%
10%
Html
Cascading Style Sheets
Javascript
JQuery
PHP
80%
40%
50%
Development plan…
Attend training courses with accredited instructors
Use online tutorials ie.
Private study from programme manuals and 1:1 tuition
End goal…
To become capable of building websites with a greater range of interactivity and employment of server-side page construction

26. Knowledge and Practice
4D Managing Databases
Knowledge and Practice
Current level V
Future level
10%
MySQL
(Structured Query Language)
50%
Development plan…
Attend training courses with accredited instructors
Use online tutorials ie.
Private study and 1:1 tuition
End goal…
To reach a level of competency enabling me to build datebase driven websites and so increase my business and source of income opportunities

28. Knowledge and Practice
5E Industry Best Practice
Knowledge and Practice
Current levels V
Future levels
30%
50%
70%
20%
40%
Web hosting
Search Engine Optimisation
Accessibility standards
Freelance pricing
Printing processes
(and artwork preparation)
70%
90%
Development plan…
Receive advice from ‘Service Providers’ – print and web
Investigate standards / practices - online and literature
Acquire accessibility software tools ie. screenreaders
End goal…
Be as up-to-date as possible with relevant industry practices so that I can deliver a quality freelance service and communicate effectively in teaching

30. Knowledge and Practice
6F National Learning Levels / Networking
Knowledge and Practice
Current levels V
Future levels
20%
Graphic Design levels (1-5)
Web Design levels (1-5)
80%
Development plan…
Online research for current level content descriptions
Talk to major players who devise curriculum content for national levels in my specialisms and acquire documentation for reference
Network with key web practitioners promoting ‘best practise’ standards ie.
Get advice from practitioners in teaching/training/offender learning ie. Dominic Murphy, director of The Learning Journey
Receive news on jobs, web practice etc. alerters (*see attached sheet)
End goal…
To apply appropriately the content of my subject specialism to match the national levels of learning 1-5. Maximise awareness of job market / industry.

32. Knowledge and Practice
7G Capturing Source Material
Knowledge and Practice
Current levels V
Future levels
40%
10% 0%
Photography
Video
Music media
Podcasting
60%
50%
30%
Development plan…
Training courses / workshops / personal projects
Online research – articles and demos
Private study – books / magazines
Personal connections and 1:1 tuition
End goal…
To reach a level of working knowledge applicable for print/web and equip me to offer more in my teaching and engage with a wider audience of learners

33. The Tree of Knowledge and Practice