Day 1: About Me

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My Skills + Attributes 

- I have a degree in graphic design!
- I have experience in various digital and traditional areas of graphic design such as branding, motion design, illustration, UI design, packaging design, printmaking, editorial design and print design. 
- I have experience using software such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe XD, Adobe After Effects, Figma, Autodesk Maya and Procreate. 
- I have knowledge of hierarchy, colour theory, negative space, typography and grid systems. 
- Problem-solving: My education in graphic design taught me that design should communicate rather than decorate. This philosophy changed my design process, enabling me to view every creative decision, such as a choice of colour or font, as an opportunity to visually communicate information. 
- Thorough research skills: Throughout my graphic design studies, researching relevant historical and cultural references, artists and designers, industry trends and statistics has helped me to identify problems and solve them more effectively. Research is a very important part of my design process. 
- Methodical design process. 
- Making creative connections.
- Attention to detail. 

My Interests 

Games I've been playing recently: Half-Life series, Portal 1 + 2, Among Us, Firewatch, House Flipper, A Little to the Left, Red Dead Redemption 2, Wii Party and Mario Party Superstars. 

Since I was young, I have enjoyed games which offer a sense of freedom, exploration and creativity, so I naturally gravitated towards open-world games such as Bully, GTA 3 and Minecraft. In adulthood, I found an appreciation for more narrative-based games, such as Half-Life, developed by Valve. Although Half-Life has a linear storyline, the absence of obvious waypoints and the use of environmental storytelling enables the player to move freely through the game levels and experience the story at their own pace, making the game feel more spontaneous and immersive. 



Initial Ideas for My Masters 

Since I come from a graphic design background, I aim to specialise in an area in which I can use my graphic design experience, such as prop design, user interface design, texture art or tabletop game design. Currently, I am most interested in exploring prop design within game design, due to discovering designers such as Annie Atkins and Matthew Clark during my graphic design studies.  

What I Aim to Explore 

- Game design theory, to understand what makes a game fun, challenging, engaging and rewarding. 
- Specialisms such as, prop design, UI design, texture art and tabletop game design.
- The game design industry: software, roles, techniques, principles...
- Game design studios, artists and designers.
- Examples of industry-standard prop design, UI design, texture art and tabletop game design.
Location: Preston, UK

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