As well as creating a group post card i have also created two of my own which will be within my press pack and would have also been available within my show space. I felt designing two would allow people choice of which they preferred as a customer/ potential employee may be drawn more so to one; however, not to the other. I have decided to use the font that is consistent on my CV and business cards so all the items link together. As well as this, much like my business card i have also decided to create my postcard double sided so no matter which way it is seen it can still draw the eye and wont look like a scrap of paper of it has fallen on the floor.

For both post cards i have also decided to keep the front as just an image and the back with some imagery; however, mainly focusing on my details. I feel having the front as just an image may encourage people to keep the post card if they like the image and display it somewhere and then if some one else sees it and really likes the design all my essential info is on the back.

So the back and front of the postcards link together i have decided to keep the front and back background hues the same or relatable and also use very similar and relatable imagery. Although all my designs coordinate together as a collection if a post card gets taken away from the collection it is not obvious that there are 30 coordinating designs so i think it is key the imagery links as closely together as is possible.

With the state of the country not getting better any time soon and most likely to get progressively worse i have decided to remove all the stuff from my desk and take it home. Now we are advised to spend as least time as possible at the university and around each other i feel having these items at home will be vastly more useful than them sitting at my desk.

At some point i will collage all these items within my sketchbook across a double page as i feel this will be a nice way of presenting all these items and save them going to waist. But, whilst the country is still active i am focusing on the things which need to be done which rely on outside companies such as my press pack and fabrics. I am sure at some point we will go into lock down and i will have to spend a vast amount of time at home in Cardiff on my own which is when i can do tasks such as this. It is such a shame this is what it has come to but now i must be efficient and prioritise what needs to be done.

Out of all the things to predict happening within my third year at CSAD a global virus outbreak shutting down entire countries i must admit was not on my list. It was really only about a week ago that i started to realise the scale of the situation and that my last few months at CSAD would be drastically changed.

Since this epidemic has come to the UK the university have been sending us emails updating us on the situation. At the start these were helpful; however, as times have progressed and the state of the epidemic has grown ever worse these have really started to induce a serious amount of anxiety for myself personally. On some days we as students have recieved well over a dozen emails from different TD’s across the school about how this will effect work shops shutting down; however, although we are being made aware of this we have no information regarding how this will effect our final submissions directly. This is a state of emergency that no one is prepared for so it is understandable that no one has a clear idea what is going on, but i have now realised that checking these emails is doing more harm than good.

In first year i had a vast amount of mental health issues and over my time at CSAD i have sort out counselling, mentoring, study skills and a support worker to help me work through my issues. Now in third year and the happiest i have ever been i am forever grateful for these services as i now understand myself, my emotions, responses to situations and more importantly how to deal with things.

Taking on board everything i have learnt from my support in this turbulent time i have decided to do what is best for myself and my studies. I have realised school emails induce a ridiculous amount of stress and anxiety so have decided to only check these every few days and asked for my tutorials to be through email. I am a lot happier and my mental state stays positive if i stay at home and get on with my work on my own. Although i may be missing out on direction from tutors i have to first look at how things are effecting my mental health. I am confident that i have picked up all the skills i need over the three years to produce a good body of work, even without normal support.

As well as restricting the amount of time i spend looking at school emails another way i have been managing the situation is by carrying on with my project as if this all wasn’t happening. No one knows what is now required of us, what we are meant to be planning for nor if our submission requirements will change. However, i do not want to sit and waist time waiting for an answer which may not come for weeks. Instead of waiting for direction i am completing my project to its original brief and getting all the tasks done which need to be before Cardiff goes into lockdown such as, ordering fabrics and materials for my products. I have now ordered about half my collection on fabric and also prioritised ordering the fabrics i need to make products so when we go into lock down instead of sitting there twiddling my thumbs i can be making my fairy wings, bunting and a cushion.

This is a truly disturbing time for everyone, not just at Cardiff Met but the entire world. This is really not the way i wanted to end my degree but as long as i persist and know i have done everything i could possibly have done i will be able to look back at these last few months and say it was hard but i know i done everything i could have to get the degree i wanted.