Angelique Steele

FASHION / UNIT 9

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De Montfort University

I have researched the entry requirements for De Montfort University and the requirements for their portfolio’s.

You will need 112 UCAS points from at least 2 A levels with including grade C in Art and Design. Or a BTEC Extended Diploma DMM in an Art and Design related subject, or International Baccalaureate: 26 points including Art and Design.

To have 5 GCSE’s at grade A* to C which includes English at grade C or above.

Access - Pass QAA Accredited with at least 15 credits in Art and Design at grade Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) at grade C.

The University also accepts the BTEC First Diploma along with 2 GCSE’s including English at grade C or above.

http://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate-courses/contour-fashion-communication-ba-degree/contour-fashion-communication-ba-degree-application-portfolio-advice.aspx

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We visited the main Art College the other day and had our workshops which we signed up for Mine being Glass Melting. I found this workshop very interesting and fun as it is something I have never done before and it is a good skill to have knowledge about.

We firstly got inducted by one of the glass melting lecturers who showed us the process and what we were going to be doing. Initially I thought we were going to be glass blowing and making things such as vases, but we weren’t given a lot of time for the workshop and the teacher had set us a task of using hot, melted glass to burn wet paper to created interesting patterns.

After our induction to the process, we went up one by one to do the task with the help of the teacher. When doing mine, I wanted to create a heart pattern with the hot glass, although didn’t understand how difficult it was to keep control of the glass once it hit the paper and unfortunately burned through my page, which can be see above.

I like the image which I ended up with from the process as it is abstract and different to everyone else’s as it has a hole in it, which other peoples didn’t, which added to the artistic look. I enjoyed this workshop a lot as it has given me an insight and helped open my eyes into the glass work industry.

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Portfolio’s

I have uploaded images of the portfolio work which was brought into class by the second year fashion students, also with the task sheet which we had to fill out about their work.

When we had a few second years visit us to show their work, it certainly inspired me within my own project and work and helped motivate me to do everything to my best of abilities.

When we were taking a look at the portfolios, we had to fill out a task sheet which asks us what we think the specialism is and then to rate the layout, content and overall look, out of 5. Then to add on any comments which you feel are necessary, about the portfolio.

The best portfolio I saw was specialising in media & marketing, typically this would be my favourite as this is something I am interested in and I felt I could relate to the portfolio as it is a style I would like mine to be. I gave this portfolio’s layout a 5 stars, along with the content and overall look being 5 stars too. Adding comments such as the content being outstanding and appealing to look at, also with the good use of colours and materials make the simple, yet detailed pages stand out. Although I added on the end that they could’ve used more personality within their work.

My review of this girls work really helped me reflect on my own work as it gave me an opportunity to review my own work and whether its to the standard that I want it to be, as this girls work which I reviewed looked perfect from first look, although looking deeper into the work and what is needed to be included, showed the flaws which I will need to do with mine so that when people take a deep look, they don’t find anything wrong or missing from my work.

The photo’s I took of different pages from the portfolios all stood out to me. The first, second and third images are vibrant and eye-catching which is what drew me to them the most. This made me think about my own work and whether it is bold enough, whilst also being professional. Also the use of different textures e.g. paint, sweet wrappers and newspapers, all made me reconsider whether i have included different textures like that in my work.

All of the portfolios which we saw, had life drawings in. When I asked one of the second years why they needed life drawings, they simply told me that University’s love to see them as it shows that you understand the body and structure.

When we had a talk by one of the girls, Jess. Jess explained how she only recently realised that she wanted to pursue a career in the contour fashion industry and that’s why her portfolio doesn’t contain much based on lingerie. This wasn’t a problem for her as she clearly showed progression and changes throughout her work which helped when she decided to change her mind onto lingerie.

I only recently realised I am interested in the contour fashion industry, although I hadn’t looked into or researched about which University does the course, as I am more interested in the maths and economics side of it, other than the textile and creating side. When I spoke to Jess away from the class, I told her I am interested in what she is doing, although not to do with textiles and if she has any advice for me on what to do. Thankfully she told me that there is a Contour Fashion Communication course at Der Montfort University in Leicester, which is the only University which does the course. Once I researched into the course, it was everything that I wanted to do and pursue in so I 100% feel as though the second years coming in has helped me and it has made me realise what I really want to be doing within my career. I hope we get more opportunities of people coming in to inspire us with their own work and ideas.

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I have attached images of the Formal CV which I created. This involves the skills and interests which I wrote down on the fact sheet which I made earlier on, this certainly made it easier for me to complete this CV having one the fact sheet about myself.

I also used this website to help with the template and some extra tips:

https://www.cv-library.co.uk/career-change-cv-template

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Here I have attached images of the creative CV which I made focusing on a fashion based job. From using the facts about me which I done earlier, it made it easy to complete this CV, also with the help of:

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/careers-advice/cv-templates/346/10-things-not-to-do-on-your-cv

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Here I have uploaded photos of what we done in class the other day. 

Starting with the pink CV mind map image, we had to pair up and think of ideas as to what is needed to be on a CV, whilst being in my pair of me and Niamh, we suggested ideas such as your interests, skills, including a personal statement, any work experience and so on.

The second and third images are facts which I need to include on my personal CV. This includes key descriptive words such as enthusiastic, sociable, determined and observant. Also any interests which I have, starting with fashion, maths and travelling. All of these are meant to represent me as my CV is supposed to be all about myself.

I found these tasks very helpful and I thoroughly enjoyed them as it was purely to help myself progress in the real world with work life. 

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Different CV’s

The second CV which I took a look at was a creative CV, made by ‘Oona’ who is an artist looking for a job. 

The good features about this CV is that it with-holds lots of information, although unfortunately didn’t contain the right information. 

Due to the materials used to create this CV, it looks as though it was made on paper with a pencil. This is a huge no to do on a CV as you should always do it online and then print off or upload to a file, accessible to many employers. Also the use of fonts and drawings aren’t acceptable on a CV as it doesn’t show professionalism, although does show immaturity and informality. Whilst also containing an excessive amount of ‘emoji’s’ scattered around the page make the look childlike and not appealing for a job.

There is a few things missing from this CV, such as qualifications and work experience, which both are important when applying for a job as it will show whether the applicant is a suitable fit for the roll that they’re applying for.

I feel as though everything on this CV could be done better. Starting with having the CV done on a computer which will then be further printed out, or emailed by file to an employer which is how it should be done the professional way. 

I overall think that this CV is awful and needs a lot of work done on it for it to be finally suitable to be handed to an employer.

I have attached an image of the CV so that it gives the reader an easier understanding of what I am talking about.

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Different CV’s

I firstly looked at a CV of a man named ‘Steven Jones’ who CV was formal and not a creative one. the good features I noticed on this CV was the good use of layout and structure as it is easy to read and understand. With the use of sub headings and lines to help separate out the page has worked extremely well. Although the bad features which I have noticed is that his personal statement doesn’t say much about himself, nor what he is initially looking for, this makes the content not so good.

With this CV, I haven’t noticed anything missing which makes the CV acceptable to be handed for a job. The layout works very well, making it easy to read and well structured out. I think the only thing which could’ve been done better for this CV would be, as the CV is on one A4 page and some of it is on the back of the page, although he has put some crucial information such as skills, on the back. Whereas he could’ve made the work experience smaller on the page so he could’ve included his skills on the front and possibly had his work experience going from one side of the page onto the other.

My overall opinion on this CV is that it is well thought through and the structure is great as it is easy to understand and read through without getting muddled up or confused. The use of lines to help break up the page works well, although I am not sure I would use them on my own CV.

I have attached a photo of the CV which I was reading to help with the visuals.

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CV

Things to include on a cv:

- Education

- Chronological order: most recent (Not primary school, include College)

- References. (References available on request, avoid immediate family and friends, e.g. previous employers. Only two, most recent)

- Work experience (Relevant to job applying to)

- Contact information (Name, Address, Email)

- Skills and interests (If relevant)

- Social Media (Linkedin)

- Tasks and responsibilities 

- Education and qualifications (Be honest)

- Styling (avoid fancy fonts, orders, tables graphics, not pages long)

- Use active language

- 2 sides of A4

- Spelling and punctuation

- Not big gaps in your employment history (They’ll wonder what you’ve been doing, e.g. gap year)

- Don’t include short jobs

- Don’t apply for a position where you’re not qualified

- Don’t bury important information

- Don’t include irrelevant hobbies and interests

- Don’t include spelling errors, typo’s or poor grammar.

- Makes recruiters nervous for big gaps.

- Don’t lie or mislead information 

- Don’t have long CV.

- No fancy fonts

I have attached a photo of the mind map which I created in class to help with what needs to be on a cv.

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Portfolios

From looking at these portfolios, the formal elements which I have seen demonstrated in the examples are lots of different tones to help represent their theme and help with their speciality. 

I have seen many which don’t use a lot of formal elements such as shape and form, although do focus well with tone and line. This has helped me with thinking about my own portfolio and what to include. I want to implement lines and textures and patterns in my portfolio as the theme I want to be pursuing is based in the intimate industry focusing on lingerie. Different textures and patterns would help a lot. 

I feel as though I am confident with my work and presenting it, although it is still something I would like to approve and work upon. A strength of mine would be my blog as it is where I like to record most of my work. As I am less textile based, I like to record my work in a more digital way.

A weakness of mine would be when I am having to express myself through my work in my sketchbook as I find it hard to be creative and step out of my comfort zone with different materials etc.

One of the three key things I have learnt about professional portfolios is that you don’t have to keep it simple, you can express yourself, but don’t make the work look busy and unorganised. 

Another thing which I have learnt is to put your best work at the front so that the person looking through is intrigued from the beginning and want to keep looking. Also to put some of your best work at the back so that the portfolio ends on a high note.

The third and final thing I have learnt about professional portfolios is that you have to contain a life drawing to show you understand the body and the form of it.

Here are a few tips on your portfolio:

- Put your name on everything.

- Keep everything safe inside and keep the portfolio folder safe.

- Show your skills through your work as best as you can.

- Do your work to your best ability.

- Keep your sketchbook safe and in good condition.

- Learn how to budget everything.

finish stuff on google class room

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Where will my adventures take me next?

There is a select things which I like to do inside College and out. I have a huge interest in Fashion and always will, things such as shopping, travelling to big cities to see the big branded shops is a huge favourite of mine as I love visiting new places and seeing new things, especially if it involves fashion! I also like socialising and meeting new people. Although this isn’t considered a hobby, meeting new people and finding out what they’re about is always interesting to me and I enjoy it.

Careers which involve the Fashion Industry are highly appealing to me as they include my biggest interest; Fashion. But Fashion can vary amongst a number of things, although I am interested mainly in Contour Fashion. Focusing on the Contour Communication side of things as I enjoy maths and economics, rather than textiles. A job which allows me to use my maths skills within the contour fashion business would be ideal for me, also with socialising and meeting new people being a huge factor within the industry is appealing to me too.

I know I want to work in the Contour Fashion Industry as I like the concept of the Industry and being able to use my ideas within the business is interesting towards me and I find the whole area interesting and it is definitely what I want to focus on. Also being able to help empower women with their bodies and focusing on self-love is what attracts me too.

I already know I want to go to University as it will give me an opportunity to be independent and grow up. I also feel like it will give me a better chance into getting a career into the industry which I want to, as it will help with my skills and knowledge about the subject/course which will help me later in life with my career.

I already know I want to study Contour Fashion Communication at University. Although I am still open minded about other courses and subjects to do and if something stands out to me more than what the CFC has, then I will look into a different course and keep an open mind about the opportunities available. 

I am not interested in staying located in Plymouth as I want to explore what the rest of the U.K. has to offer within the education and career wise. From moving from Southampton to Plymouth to go to Plymouth College of Art it has opened my eyes to want to travel and explore the country. I also don’t like living in the same place for too long as as I mentioned earlier, I like adventure and curiosity, so to have the opportunity to travel elsewhere to go to University it is definitely appealing to me. I would prefer to live in a city as it will have more facilities and I prefer the busy lifestyle of a city rather than the countryside. Also with part-time jobs more accessible and available located in a city.

From many different searches and finally realising what I want to focus on, I have found a Contour Fashion Communication Course BA (HONS) available at Der Montfort University in Leicester. Which is the only University I have found which focuses on such a course.

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CV - Curriculum Vitae

The first example that we saw was simple and didn’t have the correct information needed and was too simple, although the information that they did provide was good enough.

The second CV example we got better than the first, although it held too much information which wasn’t needed and it made it look messy.

On the third CV we looked at, it looked unprofessional as it had images that weren’t appropriate for a CV, e.g. a duck. It also wasn’t the correct layout and ended up looking tacky and immature.

For the first cover letter that we looked at, it had a lot of writing which wasn’t needed, although I liked the layout which they chose because it looked professional and structured.

With the second cover letter, it had a professional and smart layout alongside a good use of colour showing creativity. Although it contained too much information for a cover letter as they’re supposed to just be an overview for a CV.

The third cover letter we saw was my favourite as it had the appropriate amount of colour used and it had the right amount of writing which contained the correct information that was needed for the job, without going on too  much about irrelevant stuff.

What to include in a CV:

-contact information (phone number, email, address)

-education and qualifications (school, college, GCSE’s)

-personal information (about myself)

-work experience (previous jobs, placements)

-skills (e.g. barista)

-training courses (first aid, beauty)

-computer and tech skills (coding, photoshop)

-languages (Spanish, Chinese)

-Interests (fashion, sports)

-achievements (marathons, awards)

-references (previous jobs, education)

Tips:

-Avoid graphics and images

-Correct grammar and spelling

-Laid out appropriately

-Factual and believable

-Concise

-Max 2 sides of A4

-Easy to read

-Relevant

-Match to the market or job roll you’re applying to

-PDF and email friendly

-Avoid weak words: Contributed, established, implemented, negotiated, organised.

Above I have attached two images of the task which got handed out, involving completing sections on this sheet which help with our creative CV. I have tried my hardest to fill out as much as I can, although I did find this task hard as it is about self confidence and proving yourself, as I am young it is hard as I haven’t had a lot of experience in the workforce just yet, which is why I’m looking forward to learning more in the Unit 9 sessions. 

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Group Critique

When I received positive feedback about my work, it made me feel happy about the work which I had spent so much time on and made me proud of what I had accomplished so far.

It was difficult for me to identify my skill set when writing about what I am professionally good at. This is because thinking of what I have achieved is difficult because I feel as though I still have a lot to learn and achieve. Although it was easy for me to identify that I had developed my Photoshop skills and screen printing skills since starting as I knew next to nothing about either.

When I identified my skill set and looked around at other people’s work, it made made me want to try harder and step up my game, although everyone has a different way of expressing themselves through their work and people are better than doing some things than others.

From today’s session, I now know that I need to improve upon my use of mood boards and how I create and design them as other people have used a variety of materials and textures to create visual language within the viewers thoughts.

Above I have uploaded an image of the Professional Skills which we have developed through College to date. I found this hard as I had to say what is good about myself and how I have developed, which I find hard to do.

Although I feel as though all of the above of correct and I am proud of how far I have come within this course and I am extremely excited for what the rest of the course has to offer for me and my skill set and I am excited about learning and achieving more.

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What is Unit 9 about?

Unit 9 is about introducing myself to the opportunities available within the Art and Design workforce. 

One of the targets I will be achieving is to understand the progression and opportunities available. Also to understand the communication skills needed, and then understanding the presentation skills.

The criteria needed for me to achieve the Unit is:

Firstly to be able to critically describe the progression opportunities available within the art and design employment structure. Alongside being able to use knowledge of the understanding to support the progress throughout.

Being able to critically describe communication skills within art and design so that my work can be done to it’s best ability. Then using this constructive criticism to support progression.

Finally to be able to critically describe presentation skills for progression is important to be able to progress throughout.

What is going to be included in Unit 9?

-Higher Education

-Apprenticeship

-Work

-Self-employment

-Voluntary