Task 3d: Critical questions and issues that emerged

Do some very specific ideas emerge about your networking and sources? 

When I am looking back on the "Sources of Information" I have to admit that I do not use the options and potential of the Internet in it fully extent. I think I have really to expand my contacts relating to my profession. 

Does your engagement to date seem appropriate? Limited? Focused? Planned? Unplanned?

Actually my engagement in this programme, my reflection and application in my professional practice seems to me appropriate. I am also open for suggestions of improvement and constructive criticism. I will continuing to improve my English. Sure I am aware of the fact that it is nearly impossible for me to get as good as a native speaker, but I will try my best. Learning vocabularies, listen to English music and movies, reading and writing a lot in English. This programme is a great chance to me improve and using this wonderful language. 

Are your ideas, position or concerns shared by others within and/or beyond your professional area of work?

I have recognized that also people which are working in an complete different professional area do have the same ideas, position or concerns. I will searching for one proper example and adding it here.

But I can already say that I didn´t expect that so many fellow students here do have the same thoughts or attitudes like me.

Does sharing ideas and communicating with others shift your thinking, planning or practice?

I can clearly say: Yes. Reading about the different ideas on the blogs, talking with some people about some issues or theories, communicate with fellow students and friends do shift my thinking. I am more open for new ideas and different point of views. This programme has changed my thinking and behaviour already. Today, like Patrick mentioned on his blog, I could help him a little. But only because we have communicate. Sharing ideas and communicate with each other is fundamentally for development. 

Does critical reflection help you decide what really matters and the actions to take?

Again, Yes. Writing in my Journal, thinking and reflecting about some situations/events and eventually changing some behaviour and knowing which actions to take makes me more self-confident. 

Than again I can reflect about the possible changes that emerged. 

To what extent do concepts and theories assist you in thinking about your professional

networking in different ways? And do these different ways of thinking have some

purpose for you?

Now I am aware of that Affiliation is a need of every human and therefore everybody must have interest in joining other people. But I also think that many people use TIT FOR TAT in their daily social interaction. So, we have to be careful it is a approximately balance between give and take. I do also think that we don´t have to precisely.

Are you left thinking differently prior to this part of the module? And if so, how?

I am left thinking differently prior to this part of the module, because I didn´t expected that so many theories and concepts are existing about the issue Learning, Affiliation and Networking. I have thought and talked a lot about the Game Theories and if this also working in real-life-situations. I came to the conclusion that this doesn´t work very well. Also other theories were so interesting that I had to read more about and I do like now to use Google Scholar. Google Scholar shows only scientific documents. Sometimes you can only find a summary of the literature or an extract of the book. I would really like to go in a library to loans one of the books. We have one English library here in Cologne. I will try to get some books there. 

Task 3c: Sources of Information

I can divide my 5 main sources of information in two sections:

1. Exchange of information with others

- Former and current colleagues

- Former and current fellow students

- Friends

- My Family 

2. Research on the internet

-  YouTube, websites and forums

Exchange of information with others

Former and current colleagues

They are a big support when I do need help or have questions. If I need information about something I do only have to ask and get a answer as soon as possible. That makes working easier for me, because I can implement the new information directly. In such a big company where I am working in there a usually always one who knows the answer for a question or can give specific information. That is a great benefit.

Former and current fellow students

I do also get informations from former students. Some of them are my friends too. We sharing similar interests and that is also important for networking. I also get informations when I do read through Blogs. E.g. Daniel Kremer do give many useful information for Graphic Designers. I do share ideas and impressions with Korliane Suy, which is a friend as well as a fellow student.

Friends

Talking and discussing with my friends it is also very useful to get new impressions and another point of view. Sometimes they have new informations for me. But it is also helpful to exchange ideas and inputs.

My Family

I have fortunately well informed family members. E.g. my mother do read a lot and are interesting in different issues. She has always a good idea or a good advice. As well as my father she is very professional and both have a wide range of knowledge. They do help me with they knowledge and they support.

Research on the Internet

Internet 

When I do have a specific question relating to my work as an Graphic Designer or I don´t know somebody who could answer this question, I do try to find these information in on a website e.g. "Forum Mediengestalter". Like Patrick Abels maybe I should also attend to "Forrst", which is a community of designer to help each other. I also do watch tutorial on YouTube and other videos which contains information about something that I am interesting in.

I realized that I have to work out a system to administrate all my sources of information. During my research for the different tasks I found so many useful links that I also want to share. I would like to try out the Reader on Google. I am not sure how this is working but I think I will get my head around it.

Task 3b: Theories Related to Networks

So, after reading, discussing and thinking about the different Theories:


Theories Related to Networks

I am curious about your opinion. Please tell me what do you think.

Task 3a: Current Network

My current networking tools are:

• Email-accounts 
• Mobilephone/Phone
• Skype
• Facebook
• Face-2-Face

My main tools to correspond and stay in touch with people are by email and mobile phone. When I am at home I am using my private email-accounts. At the moment I have more than one, for different purposes. Because when I am expecting advertises I use another one than to communicate with my friends. And I have a third one for business emails. In the office where I am working in, there is a independent email-system. This system is very comfortable and easy to use. So, when I am at work I am using this system for checking and answering emails. That is my note for contacts at work. Other tools which I am using private are of course Facebook and sometimes Skype. During the last month I get the impression that my private and my professional life are very merged with one another. On Facebook there are also colleagues as well as friends. I do not really want to share the same with everybody. Private should be private and work should be work. But on Facebook this distinction are very difficult. Of course we can choose who can see our posts or pictures, but that is all. But when I begin to select all what I want to show to people and to select which I allowed to see it, where are than the sense of Facebook anymore? in my point of view it is not possible to refuse an invitation of your chief or an colleague, because that is not polite. I have found a similar statement on Leanne Watson´s Blog:  "Like most people I have found the problem of mixing my social and professional lives on  facebook, I recently had a new employer add me on facebook and this gave me the problem of not wanting to refuse her but also not wanting her to see my social life."


But, what do you think about this topic?

So, I would really prefer a social platform where it would be possible to separate work contacts from friends. Actually, we have only the choice to be a member of Facebook and Xing. But that doesn´t solve the problem of the colleagues and chiefs as "Friends" on Facebook. So, do you have any solutions? E.g. two Facebook Account? I would really like to know who do handle this? 

As mentioned my ideal "technical network" would have the opportunity to separation private and professional contacts. Additional to this it should have a tool to administrate contacts, emails, contactinformations, meetings, events, pictures, videos and Links. So, if you would take all useful tools of Google, Facebook and Xing and bring them together to one main platform, that would be ideal for me. Google has many opportunities, much more than any email-account. The tools to administrate emails and informations making the platform well structured and the contacts easy to handle. I do only miss that there are not many friend of mine. But it is also possible to invite other people. I really want to reduce the many contactplatforms (Facebook, Xing and different Emailaccounts) to a few. I do not like to waste time to check different websites everyday.


How much time do you spend to check all you emails everyday?

I have thought about social networking already before I have even began with the BAPP. I have noticed that many decision maker and successful people do have a strong and dense networks. I do see them calling with their mobile phones, sending and checking emails the whole day, meeting with people or making appointments. I am wondering how that is working. It can only work because of systems which remember them of important events and dates. I think with the new technologies this became easier and faster. 

But I am also interested in the verbal communication methods which they using. I would really like to know more about this item.


Does anybody know literature about the communications in networks or how we have to communicate to develop a professional network?

After reading a lot about the issue social networking on the Reader, on the internet and on the blogs here I will try to get new contacts and will nurturing my already existing contacts in the reallife. Like Stephanie Thomas mentioned on her blog: "I want to be more aware of taking every opportunity to engage in conversations, take up as many offers as possible to see work, and nurture my existing network by being active in keeping in touch."

Please feel free to comment.

Task 2d: Inquiry

What I am really enthusiastic about, has nothing whatsoever to do with my work as a graphic designer. I am curious in knowing more about the structure of the company which I am working in. Sometimes that company remains me on a busy anthill. I know I am not the first person which does make this comparison. However, nobody can doubt the similarity between a big company and an anthill, especially when 14.400 are working in, there. Like in an anthill, nobody does really have a complete overview but the system is working and existing. That is fantastic, because it does mean that this system is self-regulating. It is working just because of many little elements which are branched into many little sections and ends with every employee. The success of a company is also related to the effort of every little unit. And I am a little part of it too. I really do not know why I do evaluate about the establishment. Usually I think: It can not be worthless to know more about the system I am working in. 

I would really like to know if somebody else here evaluates about the background structure of his or her workplace.

Curiosity is important in many business fields, especially in the creative sector. My curiosity is also a part of my job. I have to collect impressions as well as informations. Afterwards I have to de- and restructure them to build something else, something new. This process is really difficult and exhausting, because I have to remember on many facts, must decide which are important, have to sort out and than bring them all together to one work. This piece of work has to:

1. represent the company

2. explain one or different services 

3. transport a statement

4. be attention-grapping

5. satisfy my superior

I do love my job for this complexity. Every piece of work has new requirements. That makes this kind of job so exciting. Additional to this I can, as I have already mentioned, still my need of knowledge. The job is social (I have contact with many people). And most important, like the famous British designer Conran said:

by Fabien Barral

The fact that some people think graphic design would be easier than other jobs is making me both: angry and sad at the same time. I suppose or rather feel that some colleagues which are no graphic designers think like this. But during my working for different BAPP tasks, I have found a quote that made me calm: 

by Fabien Barral

But I am not really satisfied with this statement. Not Designers but their works has to be loved and understood. So, I would change the sentence a little bit and cancel the last three letters in the first word. 

The pictures above are made from Fabien Barral. A designer which I really admire. I found his blog during my work on the task "Journal writing experience". I was searching for info graphs and found his blog by accident. 

The graphic design works on his blog are very impressive. If you are curious, have a look:

http://www.graphic-exchange.com/home.html

This is his website:

http://www.fabienbarral.com/home.htm

Related to the quote on the Poster from the designer Conran which Barral has visualized, his works have evoked "an emotional response" inside me. His works are so multi-faceted. He plays with colors, materials, graphic elements, with typo and creates such round, balanced and beautiful peaces of work. I have rarely seen works from graphic designers with such a fine awareness of forms, typo, colors and materials. The combination fits together. I do not really understand how full of ideas a person must be to create such fantastic works. He made also another piece which maybe gives the answer:

by Fabien Barral

But how do emotions develop? Do we have to make experience to feel something? Do we have to see, feel, hear or smell to be moved by something? Are our sensory impressions responsible for our emotions? I suppose that the connection of a sensory stimulation and our feeling in a certain situation builds a good or bad emotion. E.g. as a child we were lying in the grass and smelled the plants, flowers and the earth. That was a positive feeling, because we hadn´t got to clean our room. We were free and relaxed. Isn´t that the reason why we have to paint our office in green in order to remember this feeling? 

by Fabien Barral