Level 5 Review
Overall, this year has been fantastic. The skills I have learned and the development I have made have gone beyond what I could have imagined at the start of Level 5. It has been extremely challenging, but it has pushed what I thought my design capabilities were and helped me grow massively as a designer.
Throughout the year, I have explored UI/UX, interactive design and immersive design through 3D, 4D, augmented reality and virtual reality. I have worked with tools and techniques I never thought I would try, especially Unreal Engine, creating work in VR and using a mocap suit. A lot of this was completely new to me, so at times I found it difficult to understand and navigate. However, I am really grateful that I had the opportunity to learn these skills, as it has widened my scope as a designer and given me a much stronger range of creative tools to work with.
My favourite module of the year was UI/UX design, as this was an area I had not properly explored before. I had never really created an app, so learning how to design interfaces and build prototypes in Figma was a really valuable experience. At first, it was new to me, but I quickly started to enjoy the process of creating layouts, thinking about user journeys and making the design feel clear and easy to use. Figma has now become one of my favourite pieces of software, and I use it beyond just app prototypes. I now also use it to create presentations, structure my ideas and present my projects in a more visual and professional way using components.
In terms of my on the job work, I feel I have exceeded my own expectations. One of the biggest highlights of the year was having the opportunity to design the Durham Cricket T20 kit. It still feels surreal seeing the players wear it live on TV and in person at games. It is crazy to see my design become part of something so big and public facing.
I have also made a conscious effort to apply the skills I have learned at university directly into my job role. For example, I have started using Adobe After Effects more regularly to add motion and animation into my daily design work. This has helped me elevate campaign materials, social graphics and video content, while showing that I am not just learning new techniques, but actively bringing them into real world projects.
This year has been one of the most challenging but rewarding stages of my development so far. I have stepped outside of my comfort zone, explored new areas of design and gained more confidence in my ability to adapt, learn and improve.