Reviewing my second year

Gender Games (Studio Module)
At the beginning of the module I struggled to get motivated for this project, maybe being it was the first of the year or I didn't feel entirely confident with the task in hand however after a few weeks of collecting information, various research and guidance from my peers and lecturers I was filled of ideas and was excited to start my designing process. I was pleased to find out that we could choose to produce a fashion or textile outcome or dabble in the both, which meant I didn't have to break my boundaries and create a textile outcome. I was really pleased with my final outcome for the project as I felt it reflected the message I wanted to create along with having the research and information to back it up.

Development of Fashion Construction (Support Module)
I was already looking forward to this module as I feel that construction is one of my strengths and I enjoy practicing and developing my skills. Rather than creating various types of samples with a fairly directed outcome which not much freedom to explore and design we were given the opportunity to go almost as crazy and innovative as we wanted. I enjoyed this freedom as I was able to independently design and develop my ideas into an outcome which I was satisfied with.

Next Childrens-wear Brief - Encounter Culture (Studio Module)
Although I have not completed this brief yet I feel like I have successfully pushed myself out my comfort zone and am completing a good standard and variety of work. I think that the Encounter Culture trend is an extremely successful mix with the Next girl's (2-6 year olds) clothing as there are so many possibilities and ideas to be explored. Although I am slightly disappointed that there is no physical outcome to the project - because how adorable would the tiny clothes be?! - I am excited to present my ideas to the company and am looking forward to their feedback.

Development/Breaking Textile Boundaries (Support Module)
As you can probably guess, I wasn't hugely excited for this brief given it being as one of my weaknesses. Again, we were able to have the freedom to choose what trend we wanted to follow and show through our work which I was happy about as I was able to choose a monotone and minimalistic trend. Reluctantly I have enjoyed the module so far and am looking forward to completing and having a successful print collection.

Developmental Research
Admittedly, I often struggle to keep concentration during lectures as I tend to become distracted easily. However I do enjoy the variety of information we receive from the various lecturers and guest speakers which volunteer their time and work for us as I believe all have payed an important and successful impact to my essay and will do leading up to my dissertation. I was able to narrow down subjects which I possess strong opinions for and enabled me to discover myself and my personal philosophy. I would describe my presentation as satisfactory, I know that I could have improved this however I know it could have gone worse.

Personal development plan

The second year of my degree has been focused on developing previous skills in order to create my own style and philosophy in my work, through this I have also been slowly discovering what I plan to do after my course and what I aim to achieve in the near and far future.

During the first semester of my second year I stayed in my comfort zone and produced a fashion garment as a final outcome to the Gender Games project as it is the area I feel most comfortable in and is my strongest asset in my opinion. When looking at the options for briefs in the second semester I was heavily interested with the M&S brief studying the 'Pause' trend as it appealed to me the most with its modernity and simplicity. However I decided I wanted to push myself outside my comfort zone in order to create a more varied collection of work, showing that I can do more than just one style of work.

Now I am coming to the end of my second year I think I can successfully say that I have completed and applied my short term and medium term goals from last year to my work. Them being:

• To successfully complete my first year
• Understand the course requirements for the future
• Expand my knowledge and skills
• Keep an open mind on new experiences and projects
• Develop and expand knowledge and skills
• Challenge my learning abilities

My short term objectives for this year:

• Continue successfully developing and understanding my own style of work, expanding my knowledge and skills with an open mind to new techniques
• Stay motivated in my work 
• Find the balance between my degree, my job and social life

My medium term objectives for this year:

• Begin to develop a brand for myself using social media, using my blog, instagram andtumblr to advertise and showcase my work
• Search for work placements and opportunities that I can use to my advantage in terms of my work and career

My long term objects remain almost the same as the previous year:

• Completion of my degree with the highest possible grade I can achieve
• Successfully achieve a name for myself in the fashion industry
• Explore future career options i.e. teacher training or business courses