Ivan Kayima Cplat

i am ivan kayima. this is my creative platform blog. i am aspiring to be a entrepreneur within the creative industry. i am not the most creative person but what i do hope is to gain enough knowledge of fields within the creative industries and work out how to make a successful business out of them. i will firstly be taking you through the steps of my most recent projects and the inspirations for them aided by CV and business card research.

Research my industry

My final year project/portfolio is of what i want to do as a career profession. I want to become an internet entrepreneur who builds his own projects with a team. This is what i have done so far in terms of creating projects. I only recently realized that i wanted to do this seriously. I have created a lot of projects in the past in the ‘previous work’ section of my portfolio. A few of the things i have found out, from personal experience, is that not everything will go exactly how you will want it to go. so far i have endured frustration after frustration and i have found out that this is very very common when trying to create a start up. Many modifications and last minute changes are always needed as you will inevitably miss out on things. This is in part because you become so immersed by your idea that you forget to do the basics.

Few years back i took part in an enterprising competition. I was put in charge and had to lead a team to create a basic website with servicing features. The website was used to store student hobbies and  information such as there name. Students could then access this to copy and paste it into whatever else they wanted to do. So in this task i assigned people to their roles, organised the deadline times and kept the team going. I really enjoyed this and fought to myself i want to get into this more.

While researching, i have found out tons of new information about the field i am entering. for one the field is very tough and the chances of success are quite low. This is because people tend to rush into things. The fear of someone else stealing someone else’s work pressures companies into getting there product out there as soon as possible without having a proper business model of success. I learnt that without a decent structure in plan, internet companies will inevitably fail. I have learnt patience is key. To analyse your market and knowing what problems to solve is essential to keeping your business consistent and alive.

Something else i found out about the industry, which is probably the most important thing, is consistency. I learnt that there must always be a balance of what you are doing otherwise external forces around you will bring down what it is you are trying to do.

Researching people in my industry

The first thing i researched was how to go about getting into this type of profession. Through my sources i met up with a internet entrepreneur called Lance Smith. He is the creator of an online web design company called “Front” and part shareholder of another company called “ red station. I met with him and asked him what steps are needed in order to achieve. He told me the basics such as what is it you want to create, whats your intended audience then more advanced things such as knowing laws and contingency plans. He even went as far as to tell me how social networking e-commerce sites should be laid out and what tricks you can put on these sites in order to make them success. When i asked lance about how does he go about advertising himself, he told me it all comes down to timing and executing and knowing what your audience wants and need. He said the most important thing within this industry is customer segments  knowing who your customers are and what they like and adding diversity. he introduced to me the concept of empathy mapping ( as shown in my portfolio section). this is a method that puts you in the eyes of one of your intended audience e.g a musician and you think from their point of view, what it is you would like from a website. This is a great tool for finding out and catering to peoples needs. In terms of diversity, he said this is another form of versatility. In order for a business to run consistently, you have to come up with good updates and new functions and continually bring in new types of audiences. An example of this would be amazon. they appealed to the mass audience then brought in “cloud storage”. This was attractive to a new audience i.e web companies, as it allowed them to store more of there information on amazon servers for great prices. This tells me that in order for an internet entrepreneur to achieve success, there must always be room for improvement.

Some of lances work is below the end of the blog. i shall now be taking you through the steps of my project and the research into it.

 Design and Gantt chart

Researching font and colour for my website.

The colour i have always wanted for my website is the colour blue. To me, blue is such a standard and professional colour. subliminally, the colour blue “ has a calming effect on the psyche”( http://www.digitalskratch.com/color-psychology.php#ixzz2Jx2kZSSR). and that is what i am hoping to achieve. something easy on the brain which allows users to feel comfortable enough to use it. examples of the successful websites which primary colours are blue are FACEBOOK and TWITTER( twitter you have the option of changing the colour however the default colour is blue).

in terms of font, i will hope to give users the option of selecting there own font. as its just a BETA to start off with the font will be Arial.  however, i want users to select their font based on the type of account they want to hold e.g a news article user would want their font in times new roman to make there account page more professional whereas a student may want theirs in Arial as they wont really care about the font colour. 

Gantt chart

This is my gantt chart detailing the length of time of the website i have created ( this gantt chart and more can be found on my portfolio)

sketches of my website

 This was the first sketch design for my website. Upon feedback from my mentor i found out that its lacks clear functional features and doesn’t look very professional. Because of this, i went back to the drawing board and begun redesigning a new layout.

final, selected design

After review and feedback, the initial drawings were heavily criticized for being rather confusing, avoiding the main point of the website and the layout was not professional. After this feedback, this design (layout inspired by IT weekly) was created to make the website as very simple with a straight to the point interface. The home page is the hub of the whole site; it aims to take the user to their other pages, other user’s pages and displays to them their profile information such as their name.

make it in this industry due to the severe competition.

Research into the methodology regularly used in this industry

Through my research i learnt that Ensuring the right research methodology to be used is essential as it will produce the key results needed. Iterative methodology will be used because frameworks require you to revert, change and update code. The steps taken, in order, will be introduction, problem, literature review, analysis, design, testing and evaluation. The Research method used is preferred over others such as the waterfall one for many reasons. One reason in particular is that with iterative, you can go back and continually improve and update the stages of your project, thus improving the functionality and quality of the design. With waterfall however, once you complete a stage there is no going back. For this project it is crucial to go back onto previous stages and continually update so waterfall will not be sufficient. The testing stage will be constantly modified as any last minute changes to the project that will occur will need to be addressed to the potential testers and users. This is because there will be some undetected errors that will not be apparent until the site goes live so it is essential to address anything noticeable as soon as possible.

Skills needed within this industry

well, according to mindtools.com a person looking to start there own business, must possess the following skills:

• Personal characteristics.
• Interpersonal skills.
• Critical and creative thinking skills.
• Practical skills.

I believe i have skills in each of these fields that can help kick start my career. optimism and initiative are essential skills i need to develop in order to be a successful businessman. Optimism is needed as it will help get you through the tough times that many entrepreneurs experience as they find a business model that works for them. Initiative is also needed because as a entrepreneur you must have the ability to instinctively start problem-solving or business improvement projects.

In terms of interpersonal skills, you need to have great leadership and motivational skills, have great communication skills and be a great listener. being an entrepreneur you must be able to lead and motivate your employers to deliver your vision. there is to much to do on your own at the start so you must motivate the people who work for you to deliver the very best. you must have great communication skills in order to sell your vision to an audience, investors etc. and you must be a great listener so you can understand what others are telling you. you have to be an emphatic and active listener.

For critical and creative thinking skills, problem solving and being opportunistic are key skills to have in this particular industry as well. you need to problem solving because as an entrepreneur, if something isn’t working you must always have an alternative and find a cause and effect for your business. you must be opportunistic in this industry as you must have the ability to see a trend(advantage) ,capitalize on it and use it to your advantage.

Finally, practical skills such as planning and organizing and goal setting are key skills to keep your business alive and consistent. you must regularly set goals for your company in order to let it grow successfully and you must have excellent planning and organizing as you need to coordinate people to achieve their targets efficiently and effectively. you will also need to know how to develop a coherent, well thought-through business plan, including developing and learning from appropriate financial forecasts.

this implies that all of these skills are essential for a budding entrepreneur. these skills are what can make your company a success and without them, you will not

Researching job opportunities

Although i plan on being an Entrepreneur  i do however need a job which will give me the experience needed in order to become an entrepreneur  below are key sites which match my experiences, ability and personality with the most suitable jobs available:

web job searches

entrepreneur job searches

The jobs range from temp, contract work, to full time career options. When starting my career I would look into short temp work to better myself and build my experience and then kick start my own business venture.

Researching portfolios

Due to time constraints I will be looking for HTML5 templates that I could use as a starting point for creating a portfolio, which is one of the deliverable’s for this unit. I have a good understanding of HTML coding so this approach will save me some and allow me to code a  professional looking portfolio. Below are a few sites I have found that hold HTML templates.

www.wix.com

http://html5up.net/

http://www.templatemonster.com/free-html5-templates.php

 Researching my business cards part 1

While building up my project, i wasn’t sure as to what time of business card i would want. i begun researching numerous business cards hoping to be inspired. i intend to find a business card which is appealing but also gets straight to the point. much detail isn’t really needed on a business card except your name, company address and email, but it still has to be unique and effective.

I have drawn up inspiration from these 3 business cards. they have given me some sort of idea as to how i want my final card design to be like.

The first design has a twirling effect. I believe this is effective as you will be intrigued to see what it says.

The second design has the text coming off of the card, making it presentable and rather professional. This is something i like and could use as it also stands out to the person you are handing it to.

The third business card design has a unique look to it. I like this because if i made my card similar to this, i could put my project logos on them as a unique selling point.

These 3 cards stood out to me the most. I will be uploading more if i find any more which inspires me: ( these cards can be found at www.webdesignerdepot.com)

From these three, i know that i want a business card, (ideally laminated) which is simple but attractive and professional.

The first business card is a spiral naming one. I quite like this as it is amusing and would draw attention.

The second business card is a see through one but the company name sticks out. this is also another intriguing business card. It takes a stand and seems unique. That is what i want my businesses to be, unique and different.

The third business card is simple and gives you an option to put something into that middle hole. and for my company i would like users to have that kind of option, for them to do whatever they want on the websites i make for there enjoyment.

The Fourth is a business card in the shape of a microphone. I thought this was very clever while doing a good job of making his occupation clear.

This is not a business card, rather a letting sign. This is something i found very interesting because it can be transitioned into a business card and is rather effective.

Developing my business cards

First Draft

This is the first draft of the business card i had created. I drew some inspiration from the business cards i researched but i didn’t do anything fancy or artistic as that is not the industry i am trying to enter. I did it more formal to add a professional effect.

Final business card selection.

This is the final business card design. I went with the logo of my first project so that potential investors or employers. Once this was done i then ordered them from moo.com.

These are my business cards printed from MOO.com.came with casing as well. 350gsm was my business card weight. I wrote on the the back of the cards as moo had a printing error but have since sent me the correct cards.

Part 3

Research for the logo used

For this current project i am creating, i want users to feel as if they are writers.  They are writing articulate pieces of there life to share all around the world. The users of the project will have similar features to that of a sketchbook, novel book etc. So for the logo, i already had the idea of putting two colours in it with a Quill type logo. This is the first logo i created. initially i was quite happy with it but,  after i received a bit of feedback from it, it didn’t quite match the site’s main aim. Numerous members of my intended audience said that the “Spiela” part of the logo was bland and that the text should match the whole idea of story making. so i came up with a new text design. i wrote “Spiela” in joined letters. I did this so it matches the whole concept of users are helping in writing the creation of the website. i didn’t really have an inspiration because in my head i already knew how i wanted it to look like.

 

This is the quill design for the logo. i did this on Photoshop.

As i want the site to appeal to creative writers, the quill represents elegance and that is the aim; for writers to write with elegance.

part 4

Researching the text pages for my project

The main emphasis for my project is to create a site were users can freely interact and swap there views in an easy and cohesive manner. i recently found a webpage on an american football article called “bleacher report” which has inspired how i want my page to look like.

As you can see, the webpage shows you peoples text fields, the amount of votes and the best debate answer. this is exactly how i would want my projects page to run, in a direct and simple manner.

part 5

Researching for my CV

In regards to the CV research, i handed in my first CV to be assessed. Claire scribbled all of the things i would need to input and improve upon in order to make my CV as professional as it can be for now. When i received feedback, i found out that the CV lacked structure and was missing key details. Through research i have learnt its quality over quantity when it comes to making a CV. only relevant experience should be mentioned not everything i have ever done.

 More CV research

Before i begun making  a CV , i took a look at other CV’S to gain an insight as to how it should look like. After 3 days of looking these are the CV’S that appealed to me the most(all the CV’s listed came fromhttp://www.businessinsider.com/insanely-creative-resumes-2011-6?op=1) :

The second CV:

the third CV:

Creating my final CV

This is the final selection CV. I am still building on it and hoping to make an even better version. after some initial feedback, i was told that this isn’t enough information for an employer and that i need to add few more things in and possibly change the structure. my CV was printed on 150gsm.

I did some more research and looked at other CV’s. I really liked the structure of one a fellow student who does law and so i have decided to structure my CV in a similar manner. I believe this is a lot more professional.

Part 6

My s.w.o.t analysis

SWOT Analysis questionnaire.

These questions are designed to help you with your career SWOT analysis

Strengths

•What are your advantages?

I possess very good oral and written communication skills. I am confident and very

Flexible always offering an alternative to achieve the best solution possible. I am a confident team member and know how to manage my deadlines while producing the best results.

•What do you do well?

. I have moderate skills in a range of fields within web programming and frame working.

•Why did you decide to enter the field you will enter upon graduation?

I have always envisioned creating something that can benefit the world. A program which can educate as well as entertain and I believe only I have the right direction as to where it should go. Also I do not think I can work under people for the rest of my life.

•What were the motivating factors and influences?

My motivation actually stemmed from a conversation with my family and partaking in a few enterprise sessions during 6^th form. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but I always knew that I couldn’t work for someone and I always thought I had great ideas for projects running through my mind but never knew how to execute them. After talking through exactly what it is I want to do, with guidance, I was creating projects and feeling really good about it and figured I can do this for a living.

•Do these factors still represent some of your inherent strengths?

Yes they do. My confidence, public speaking and quick thinking were developed from the enterprise courses that I did. I realised that I can appropriately manage a team of people and can cope quite well under pressure. I credit that to my ability of quickly breaking down what it is that people expect and delivering it.

•What need do you expect to fill?

The need to satisfy clients. Or well in my situation, the mass audience I hope to target.

•What have been your most notable achievements?

Leading my enterprise unit in 6^th form, I was able to put a team together and design a database and user interface for other students to register there hobbies. I assembled the group and gave them each an assignment to achieve. It was a rocky start but we completed in the end on time (month period) and delivered it effectively.

•To what do you attribute your success?

My leadership skills, organisation, alternative solutions and patience and team player ability are keys to my success.

•How do you measure your success?

I measure success based on the problems that occur and how you solve it and then deliver it. I believe triumphing over adversity is what leads you to success.

•What knowledge or expertise will you bring to the company you join

 that may not have been available to the organisation before?

i have a motor. I become obsessed with challenges and make sure it is done to perfection. I would bring a hunger to an organisation topped off with a unique unorthodox style to motivate others around me to achieve our goals.

•What is your greatest asset?

My pen, pad and keyboard.

Weaknesses

I can be at fault for not fully understand what is needed of me. I am so eager to impress and do it I may miss out crucial things. Also, when an alternative doesn’t seem to be working I cant recover in time, causing my nerves to get the best of me at times.

•What could be improved?

I need to slow down and listen more and not rush. I need to come into situations with more recovery options and just to slow down and listen. All these things are easily correctable.

•What do you do badly?

At times, be to willing to help others and not focusing 100% on my task, making things uncompleted.

•What should you avoid?

I should avoid being to willing to help others stuck when I am not at a good stage on my own part. I must ensure I do my part to the best of my ability and avoid hurting the other team members.

 

•What are your professional weaknesses?

I do not have any I am aware of to date.

•How do they affect your job performance? (These might include

 weakness in technical skill areas or in leadership or interpersonal skills.)

N/A

•Think about your most unpleasant experiences in school or in past jobs

 and consider whether some aspect of your personal or professional life

 could be a root cause.

I was Failing a lot of my tests because I wasn’t focused enough. But this stemmed back to my father and brothers death which affected my confidence and mentality. I was always rushing because I wanted to get things done as quickly as possible because at that time I couldn’t take anymore bad news.

 

Opportunities

•Where are the promising prospects facing you?

It is facing me in the creative industry, especially in the project leadership sector.

•What is the “state of the art” in your particular area of expertise?

My ability to be a leader, my creativity and quick thinking.

•Are you doing everything you can to enhance your exposure to this area?

Yes, I am constantly bettering myself and building networks with people.

•What formal training and education can you add to your credentials that might position you appropriately for more opportunities?

Working under my uncle who is a project leader.

•Would an MSc/MA or another graduate degree add to your advantage?

Yes defiantly it shows I am at a good level to handle an industry task.

•How quickly are you likely to advance in your chosen career?

I would say, with a consistent workrate and steady growth, I would say 2-3 years. As long as I build on experiences I believe within that time I will be ready.

•Useful opportunities can come from such things as:

o Changes in technology and markets on both a broad and industry-specific

scale

o Changes in government policy related to your field

o Changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, etc.

Threats

•What obstacles do you face?

A major obstacle is the competition out there and my lack of connections. I have to work 10 times harder out there as competition is ferocious so I must make sure I am constantly on my toes.

•Are the requirements for your desired job field changing?

More tweaking, not changing.

•Does changing technology threaten your prospective position?

No not at all. Programming languages remain the same and frameworks do not change they just update.

•What is the current trend line for your personal area of expertise?

Users are becoming younger and younger. I must use this to my advantage.  I have to make things suitable for them such as educational projects.

•Could your area of interest be fading in comparison with more emergent fields?

No as it’s a variety of projects I intend on doing so I will always be doing up to date things.

•Is your chosen field subject to internal politics that will lead to conflict?

Possibly, that is why I must explore all the laws before I begin the projects.

•Is there any way to change the politics or to perhaps defuse your involvement in

Potential disputes?

Yes, as long as I follow guidelines and abide to an extent were I wont get into trouble then disputes will be resolved. I want to create projects which will possibly change minds.

 •How might the economy negatively affect your future company and your work group?

Unless new laws come out stipulating that free speech is no longer allowed (which isn’t likely) then no it wont effect it.

 •Will your future company provide enough access to new challenges to keep you sharp —  and marketable — in the event of sudden unemployment?

Yes. I plan on implementing the Moscow option. So I will release the project and then over time gradually release  already made exciting new features and update to keep excitement.

this swot analysis was done to help explore my strengths and weaknesses. it has been a very useful tool in aiding me with my units and determining which is the most suitable field for me to eventually work in. 

to view, please visit http://ivankayimafinalyearproject.posterous.com/pages/swot-analysis

 

Some of lances businesses

This is red station  a successful server selling website which he helped found and now has a massive stake in it.

This is the company which he founded and retired from. Front. a web design and front end enterprising company. He is someone i am in constant contact because i want to learn the ropes of how to own a chain of internet businesses. 

I really like this website as it is extremely functional and gets to the point. it does what it says it does. This is something i need to learn in order to attract an audience.

Examples of  bad websites

 these are examples of two very bad websites. although they are quite old and haven’t been touched by the newest web developments, they still lack fundamentals. To many theme colours which disrupts the flow of the site. There is no table or some sort of cohesive layout making the site look very messy and unprofessional. And the worst thing about the sites; its impossible to know what their purposes are as there is no clear indication.

 

 

Part 10:

Similar work which has inspired me(resarch)

 I have gathered inspiration from this website called sosius. Its web interfaces basic but yet very appealing. it all comes together. This is how i want my internet company’s to be formed. On a framework which makes the site easy and appealing. This is why i am using the YII framework.

i really quite like this site zoho because of its aim. Like front, its a servicing site which gets straight down to the point of what it does, no delays. while i want users to take time to browse and look around my site, i also want them to know this is a servicing site. this has definitely inspired me.

Work example: Creating my portfolio

In the end i chose to go with wix because they boast a wider range of templates and the HTML editor has a really good and basic set up which allows me to comfortably adjust the template to how i want it to exactly look.

can be found at : http://ikayima.wix.com/ivankayimafinal

My personal portfolio holds most of my work from my three years in university. the aim for this is to be a simple yet effective portfolio website.

WORK EXAMPLE: my comic book website LIMIT BREAK

The first web project i actually made was a comic book website called limit break. I drew up the images and constructed the website. Although i no longer want to pursue this, i am still happy with how much i did. This helped open my eyes to what i actually want to do.

Evaluation

  These steps for my research have been taken although there is still room for massive improvement for what i need to do to be successful in my chosen field of work. the main objective is to appeal to a mass audience of different demographics. It is possible that when i have learnt enough and i’m ready to take the next step, i could go and possibly create the next big thing. if there was more things i could differently with more time, i would have investigated more successful people who took the same steps i am attempting to make. lance is a great mentor but he is not representative enough. but all in all, i believe i am at a good vantage point with intermediate knowledge to progress in the field of entrepreneurial ship. my cv and business cards are not the most creative things but then again i am attempting to go into the business side of creative technology such as owning companies and not doing designs as that is not my strong suit.