This Friday, the 1st of May, I will hand in my last ever university assignment. I’ve had a great three years at Oxford Brookes and have learnt so much creatively. It does beg the question what is next, but before we answer that let’s rewind to 2017 when I joined Oxford Brookes.

FIRST YEAR: 2017 - 2019

My first year saw many health complications and far too many visits to the John Radcliffe, despite this, I feel I came out of that year stronger and more motivated than ever. I was first introduced to InDesign in Introduction to Magazine Publishing. Where I learnt from playing around on the software to produce the media-kit for our proposed magazine coursework. From that moment on I was hooked to the art of digital design.

Originally, I was studying for a combined degree in Publishing Median and History of Art. After much thought, I decided that the best way for me to utilise my time at university was to change to single honours Publishing Media. I decided this due to how much I enjoyed making the media kit for our magazine, and I was enthusiastic to complete all the digital design modules that were offered on the Publishing course; however, this wasn’t possible to do unless I dropped History of Art. I was sad to drop it but as made obvious by this blog I’ve not let my love for the arts be hindered and I’m still incredibly invested in the art world.

SECOND YEAR: 2018 - 2019

Choosing to change to single honours allowed for full focus to be on the design modules as well as the core modules on the Publishing Media course. Throughout the second year of university, I was able to grow my confidence using the Adobe Creative Suite software and successfully create and finish projects I was very happy with. I feel incredibly fortunate to have access to a dedicated Publishing Media suite with iMacs. I benefited from having this room to play around with the software and to be surrounded by Publishing students.

THIRD YEAR: 2019 - 2020

Final year allowed me to apply the knowledge I have learnt over the last three years. Within the Publishing List Development module, I put myself forward to be the lead for design. I enjoyed being able to use the skills I had learnt over the last three years and to be able to create three book covers and a marketing campaign for each title. I spent a large amount of time in the Publishing Suite making these designs and I’m really happy with how they turned out. I also wrote my dissertation which explored how the media treatment of the British Royal Family has evolved since Princess Diana’s death. If you know me you know I struggle a lot with spelling and grammar, so finishing 10,000 words is and will always be something I’m so proud of.

WHAT NOW?

Whilst I am sad that my university experience came to an abrupt I feel that I am in a fortunate position where I have produced a fair amount of work that I am extremely proud of whilst at Oxford Brookes, particularly the work I completed in Publishing List Development. I’m using my time in lockdown to try to improve my portfolio and to add the work I have completed over the last three years. After speaking to some of my friends about how lockdown has impacted them it has inspired me to use this time creatively. I was also influenced by the information I found on the Tate Collective who emphasised on the importance of personal projects. I can’t be certain what will happen after Friday but I can be sure that I’ll keep putting time and effort into making content.

Thank you for everything Oxford Brookes, I hope to see you soon! 😊