Who am I?

So I guess I should introduce myself a little. My name is Ross Norman, Ross isn't short for anything, its actually Scottish, but I'm not Scottish so that was a rather pointless comment. Never the less, I come from a small town called Rugby which is located in the middle of the country, its near Coventry and if you still have no clue what I'm talking about, It's about an hour away from Birmingham.
I have 2 sisters, both graduated from University;

Avril Norman who is 26 and graduated from Lancaster University getting a degree in Accounting & Finance back in 2010. She is now a manager for RAC in the finance department.

 Lois Norman who is 22 and graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University getting a degree in Textiles in Practice this year. (2014) She has recently gained herself a job working as an air-hostess for British Airways. 

        

                                                                                                    LOCATION OF RUGBY

I'm currently 18 years old, meaning I haven't completed a foundation art - instead I've just finished a BTEC Extended Diploma in Visual Communication that is a 2 year course which also means I didn't do A-levels. It was back in October 2011, when I first discovered my love for graphic design. Sat in an IT lesson, just browsing through youtube, when I saw these rather cool looking youtube backgrounds people had made. Almost instantly, I wanted to do something similar - so that night when I got home from school; I managed to get onto photoshop, and start chipping away at the iceberg. Ever since that day, I have grown to like graphic design more and more in different ways than just one. If you a totally lost and are unsure what youtube backgrounds are, this is what one looked like back then. They may not look much, and pretty Amateur like but it was this exact background which inspired me to start designing. 

                                 2011 YOUTUBE BACKGROUND 

From that day onwards, I began teaching myself the ways of Photoshop and Cinema4D, and over time looking at photo manipulation, youtube banners, logo design, modelling and cartoon design. After about a month of practising night in, night out, I had discovered that there was an actual community of graphic designers all around my age '14 - 18' that would produce concepts for all areas of design, screen record them and then upload them to Youtube. These were also known as 'Speed Arts.'
 I began getting involved with this online community and I have been some what involved with it for the past 3 years pretty much. It was a great way for me to get my work out there, gain feedback from other designers, and also a good way to meet others interested in graphic design. To this date there are so many people involved in the Youtube community that it has blown up so much since I first began.
                 

At GCSE I decided to take Catering, BTEC Art and Dance. Quite an odd combination I'm sure your thinking, but in all honesty I quite like my dance - whether that is contemporary or street, anything goes. I was involved in a boys dance programme from year 7 - year 11 for the majority of my Secondary School experience, I was emerged around dance. I like to cook as well, hence why I decided to take up catering as another one of my options, I just find it challenging yet fun to create a dish from scratch, and also very rewarding! I guess it will soon pay off when I have to cook my own meals in September!
        

I'm quite a big fan of my sports, in the past I participated in Boxing for just under a year and also Gymnastics for just over 2 years. I also quite like athletics, competing and watching as back in school I was one of the best Triple Jumpers. Football is another main sport that I follow, I like to play it from time to time too but for now, I support Coventry City FC - which is the most local team to me and it isn't too far away. 

This blog will help you get to know myself a bit better and also you will start to understand what sort of things interest me and what I do in my spare time. Make sure you check out my other blog as well, as it gives you an insight on who inspires me, visits and events I have been to, photographers I admire and so on.

Idea generation - Environment.

I personally feel that the environment around me helps create ideas of mine. Directly behind my house is an abandoned railway station which is such a great way to source ideas or inspiration if thinking about doing a derelict photography shoot. Train stations, Forests, Landscape views and the Seaside are also places of inspiration and that also able me to think.

Facts about me - Punctual.

Much like my Organised post, I feel i'm very punctual too - I hate being late to gatherings or meetings, I feel it gives off a bad impression. If you can't manage your time properly then what else can't you manage? So I always make sure I'm on time or early to anything whether that is work deadlines or meet ups, they both come under the same belt, but I can only be punctual if Im organised. I normally end up laying my clothes out in the evening for the following morning if I know I need to be somewhere, this saves a lot of time because I normally keep changing my mind about what to wear wasting precious time. As well as this, something I've always done since school is sort my bag the night before, I'm normally wide a wake in the evening and by ticking off a list I'd know if I had forgotten anything than in the morning where I'm rushing around and consequently forgetting things.

What I won't miss - Nagging.

Living in a house with my mum and sister, they are always asking me to do things around the house or help them with something utterly pointless. It's time that this malarky should be stopped. It will be so nice to wake up and not hear the yelling of;

"ROSS, COME HERE..." or "ROSS, HAVE YOU DONE THIS?"

Don't get me wrong I love them to pieces, but I much rather do things of my own accord than being forced to do something almost immediately
unless I actually have to - but hoovering the stairs can wait until tomorrow.

What I won't miss - Weather.

Seeing as I live in the midlands, the Weather is usually 75% of the time either dull, wet or windy - comparing to London's weather forecasts where it normally is Sunny; it will be a nice change to have some warmth for a while. It will be a nice excuse to get outside for and enjoy the outdoors with the good weather, compared to being stuck in on a dull, wet afternoon.

Facts about me - Open Minded.

I see myself as a very open minded person; has Hipster as this sounds but talking about secret societies, space and extraterrestrial life really fascinates me. I could easily hold hour long conversations on any of these subjects and just go into great detail about my opinion and what I know. Although I failed science at GCSE, I'm find myself reading about the most recent discoveries found in space, or new planets that scientists have identified - for some reason I am quite mind-blow about the whole process.
With secret societies side of things, there are hidden groups of people called; Free Masons, The order of the nine angles and quite known, The Illuminati which are supposedly running the world without anyone knowing, sort of like a 3rd world order. So they are Apparently above our presidents / prime ministers ect; these groups are telling them what to do. So again, like the space theory this is something that I find rather intriguing - because in all honesty I doubt we'd ever find anything out in our life time - but we all have our own theory's and opinions on the whole concept. Finally is the extraterrestrial life scenario. This may make me sound slightly nerdy, but it relates back to the space situation. I love reading up on newly found unidentified objects or what not and also reading into the past - I started watching this documentary called Ancient Aliens and in all fairness after watching the first episode I was hooked.

Free Masons Symbol.

Order Of The 9 Angles symbol.

Illuminati Symbol.

Idea generation - Games.

As I like to relax and play games from time to time, I feel that some of my ideas and thoughts do actually come from the games that I play. Whether that is the environment the game is set in, the characters appearance / personality or even the advertisements in the game its self.

Facts about me - 3D.

For a about 2 years now I have self-taught myself a 3D modelling programme called 'Cinema 4D', which I am still learning new things to it each day. In my spare time, I produce small 3D models of scene's or cities if I have the time - but this is just a hobby. I have become quite renowned for my Low Poly Isometric styled scene's on youtube and behance.

These are just a few models that I have done;

China Town.

Normans Barbershop.

Sega Rally.

Welcome to London.

What I won't miss - Clinking.

I think we all know what I say when I talk about those pots and pans being smashed together downstairs making an almighty ruckus. The culprit? It has to be mother. Persistent clinking of cups, washing up, plates at stupid o'clock like 6am - its almost as if they are pretending to be your alarm clock with the snooze button broken. But that is something I definitely will not miss, unless one of my flat mates decides they like early morning washing up.

Idea generation - Dreaming.

Linking in with my bedroom theory, I feel that dreams are also a huge part of where my ideas come from. As soon as I wake up I have these wacky, crazy ideas that I’ve normally picked out from my dreams. As much as I should start to make a dream diary, each time I remember to; i’ve always forgotten the dream I have had. Im also very intrigued by ‘LUCID DREAMING’ which is basically being able to control your dreams and recall pretty much exactly what your doing - scary stuff.

Facts about me - Early Bird & Night Owl.

I'm both an early bird and also a night owl, I'm normally up at 7 / 7:30am latest, well I try to be. That way the day goes longer and it gives me more time to get things done because as we all know there are never enough hours in the day anymore.
 I also like working until its fairly late at night 1:30 / 2am, its at this point where my head is fully functioning and I get a lot done because for some reason my work ethic is so high at this point in time. I find working at night better as in the day time I get so distracted by just generally anything but when it comes to the evening; everyones asleep, you don't want to make any noise to wake anyone up, You end up having more ME time and its just so peaceful outside.

Idea generation - London Underground.

Whilst in London, I normally find myself using the tubes a lot, which I personally think is a great idea; loads of people travelling and commuting  right beneath our feet. When sat or stood on the tube, a lot like the Train Journey theory, I find myself with a fair amount of spare time on my hands. This comes in useful when looking for inspiration or anything visual - it could be again on a person or in a paper ect. Also seeing all of the advertisements around the underground and on the platform always spark up some inspiration or idea.

Facts about me - 5 Cats.

Quite simply, I have 5 cats.

  Pickle, Zena, Dora 
     Percy, Bailey

What I won't miss - Morning Drunks.

My house is about a 2 minute walk from a pub, and conveniently everyone that enters and gets bladdered, decides to walk down my road and make the most abundant amount of noise. Haha, and I'm not just talking about at 10pm or even 11pm, no no no... this is at least around 3 or 4 in the morning every single day. Although I'm sure student halls won't be much different it would just be nice to get aware from all the raging & screaming drunks in the early hours of the morning for a while.

Idea generation - Train Journeys.

Seeing has I travel by train a lot, mainly because Im heading to London half the time to look at exhibitions / galleries or all over the UK to meet and greet family, I find myself having an awful amount of spare time on my hands. This is normally a great opportunity and time for me to think about ideas and thoughts, whether I gain inspiration from the people on board, the newspaper I'm reading, or what I see out of the window, it all helps.

Facts about me - Third Dimension.

Between March and December 2013, I had set-up and ran my own clothing line from scratch called Third Dimension Clothing or '3D'. Initially, I wanted to do something along side my college work, but something that I could see physically, which struck up the idea of clothing. Now at this point in time, independent apparel companies where on a high and constantly popping up, so I felt this was probably my best chance to get in the mix. Over the course of the 9 months, I was able to get Connor Ball from The Vamps help promote the brand, This in the long run really helped. I also learned very simple html coding by sorting out the website which I found very useful and it came to be very useful. As well as these points, I also learned out about marketing and getting across to my audience, all in all I'm so glad I took the time to do this. Even though it wasn't a big company by the time I finished up, I still really enjoyed the whole experience and also learning some other things along the way.

 Below are just a couple of photo's from the website, photo shoots, and also Connor helping me promote the company. 

Screenshot from Third Dimension's website.

Screenshot from Third Dimension's website.

    

   

One of many shots from location photo shoot.

What I won't miss - Familiar Faces.

As much as it's going to be slightly emotional when I move away in September, I can't help but express how nice it will be not see a familiar face. After 18 years of seeing people I know when walking to town or what not, it all becomes a bit childish, 'guess who I saw...' Moving to a new place, over 100 miles away, will do me good and to practically see nobody that I know at all!

Facts about me - Music & Festival Enthusiast.

Music is a huge part of my life, my taste in it is fairly diverse and varied; from Future Garage & Deep House to Electro Swing & Jazz. Below are just some of my favourite albums including; Gramatik, Flume, Doctor P. With me loving music so much, I guess it explains why I love going to festivals; the whole atmosphere and vibe that you get there is literally like nothing else. I've been to a few festivals in my time but hopefully plan to go to even more in the future; I have been to the likes of Reading, V-festival and Parklife but I would love to go to Creamfields and Global Gathering.  I guess the whole love of festivals also ties in with me being fairly adventurous and exploring as at most events you have to camp up and stay in a tent for a few days maybe 2 or more, but it all sort of ties in.

Short selection of various
albums I'm in to.

           

Reading 2013 - Front of Knife Party.
(BANDANA)

        

Discoveries - Coral Beach.

In my eyes, the most interesting thing that I have ‘found’ is more of a discovery than a find. On a family holiday in July 2010, we went up to the ISLE OF SKYE, which is a small island off the Northwest coast of Scotland. Around on the 5th day of the holiday we ventured-out following signs to a ‘coral beach’. After about a 30 minute car drive and then another hour walk we come across this unreal spot. The water was like something you would find in a Caribbean island it was literally clear blue, the sand was pure white and the skies didn’t have a cloud in the sky.

There was nobody around and the fact about half an hour the other way where we had came from it was all marsh and groggy, the sky was grey and this ‘beach’ felt a whole new world. There wasn’t a noise in the air, only the waves lightly crashing against the rocks.
 This is no doubt, one of the most magical places I have been to and discovered.

Idea generation - Working.

I do honestly find that my thoughts and ideas normally generate quicker whilst I'm working on another project. For example, I could be working on a branding design then ideas would spring to mind for a photography or advertising project. So all in all, I feel my ideas come from when I begin to start work and my brain is in motion, this is also another great way to collate groups of thoughts together at once.

What I won't miss - Restrictions.

I won't miss the restrictions that in place whilst living at home - fair enough they are there for my safety ect, but it will be nice to have some freedom come september time. Do everything for myself, the only person I would need to rely on then is myself, oh and my other flat mates - but there are very few limitations at university than comparing to home. It will also be nice to know, that if I mess up - then its my fault, no more blaming it on anyone else, I need to take the brunt of it.

Facts about me - Organiser.

Being organised is a huge thing for me, if I'm not organised then I usually end up forgetting important dates, deadlines, meet ups ect. So for me the most productive way to keep me in line is to make lists, notes, folders, labels - anything where everything is organised together under one belt so I know where it all is. It makes me feel that little bit less stressed; it also helps me not to forget anything if I'm going out. Working in a tidy environment is vital for me if I'm in my own space, I can't even begin to crack down with working if the rest of room is in a tip.  A quote that I go by;

"A tidy room is a tidy mind".

Facts about me - Trumpet Player.

I used to play the trumpet for about 6 years and I achieved Grade 5, but I was on track to start my Grade 6 - I think playing the trumpet has given me such a diverse music choice and what I listen to. In future, I guess I would carry it back on if I gave it a bit of practice again because I did really enjoy playing it.

Idea generation - Bedroom.

One of the main places that I gather thoughts, Ideas or even concepts is my bedroom. Before this photo was originally taken, my walls were covered in pretty much anything I thought looked visual and inspiring. From posters, to pages out of a GRAFIK magazine and even designs from an illustration newspaper. In this place, I feel that my mind can think and in a way work at its best as just looking around can give me a sense of inspiration.

What I won't miss - Cat Food.

Seeing as I have 5 cats, you can imagine the stench that 5 bowls of cat food gives of - especially in the morning. When I venture into the kitchen its more of a task to see how long I can go with, without breathing through my nose whilst I quickly grab my breakfast and make a swift exit. Sometimes, I forget and gag as soon as I walk in there, the smell is horrendous.

Facts about me - Adventurous.

I see myself as a fairly adventurous person, I love the thought of discovering a new place or even designer for that matter. Im not afraid to be lost, because the beauty of being lost is that you actually take in much more of your surroundings looking for signs, or iconic structures that you would recognise than if you knew exactly where you were going. I think this is another reason why I would love to go abroad so much, so I can find out about different cultures and lifestyles from all around the world. Grabbing a map, setting up a tent, starting a fire and being in an unknown location to explore is something right up my street, purely for the fact that you have no clue on what your going to discover, or find along your exploration.