Author Archives: Jsade Stephenson

Studying CeMAP solo? Here are some questions you need to ask yourself

So you’ve started out on a new career path and if you get through this first hurdle (CeMAP) then it would be the beginning of a bright future as a mortgage advisor. Yes, times may be hard at the moment but it’s a sector that will see brighter days again. After all, we are a nation of homeowners aren’t we? The desire for owning property is never going away and once the lending criteria eases up or the economy gets better….you’ll be the one smiling.

Lots of cemap books to study

However, CeMAP qualification stands in your way and you’ve got to crack this first. It would really be too embarrassing to tell your family, friends, and colleagues that you failed your CeMAP certification exam.

If you add up your investment in time, money and emotion, it doesn’t make sense to take the exam with any lingering doubts. You need to take the exam with confidence and be ready to pass!

Be honest and ask yourself these questions.

Have you really put in enough study time?

When you were studying did you really “get it” or were you just turning pages?

Do you know your weakest area in the CeMAP syllabus?

Are you consistently scoring over 70% in each unit?

Do you know the answers to the questions before you even see the answers?
Are you guessing at the right answer a lot?

Do you know how it feels to take the actual CeMAP exam?

Are you willing to keep on paying extra to retake the exam?

Are you confident that you will pass on your first try?

If you answered NO to at least one of the questions above, then you may need some help to get you over the line. It can be very frustrating studying CeMAP on your own. The subject matter is not the most riveting. It helps when you have experienced CeMAP tutors that can help you make imaginative connections to the material. It’s even better when you have a study group for motivation, support and of course to share your success with!

Mac vs. PC

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Mac vs. PC

Mac vs. PC – This is a legendary debate which has been going on for years & will most likely continue for years to come. Many people believe that if you are an artist or designer you must use a Mac & if you are a business that predominantly uses written documents or spreadsheets then a PC is for you. Maybe in the 90’s this belief was valid but is that still the case today?

After reading through many blogs on this topic I have come to the conclusion that Mac’s & PC’s are very similar & ultimately it comes down to your personal preference.

I specifically want to know if there is any significant difference between a Mac & PC when using Adobe creative suite software. The Adobe creative suite contains various design software which is tailored towards specific needs / industries. So I will only look into the areas relating to the design industry.

The Handling Of Graphics, Colour & Type;
For a designer this is probably the most important factor in their decision making when choosing which type of computer to work on. Apple have always made a huge effort to make sure that their product was leading the way in terms of dealing with graphics, colour & type. Over the years the difference between the two machines has been vastly reduced, however Mac’s are still slightly better than PC’s in this category.

Usability;
Regarding usability I strongly believe that it mainly comes down to personal preference. I’m a PC man myself but I used Mac’s for 3 years whilst I was at university but I always found the Adobe software easier to use on my PC. This was mainly due to all the small differences, I was just used to a PC where all the small things were 2^nd nature, but with a Mac I had to remember them. It’s similar to driving two different cars or playing the Xbox & PlayStation, it’s essentially the same, you just have to adjust to the minor differences. Really the main difference between the two machines are the shortcuts. The key fact to remember is that the ‘alt’ & ‘option’ keys do the same job & are interchangeable.

So whether you use Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign or Flash or any other Adobe software you can find all the shortcuts you will ever need here.

Conclusion;
In conclusion, I agree with the common consensus that Mac’s are the best computers for designers to use & this opinion is purely based on the fact that Mac’s handle graphics, colour & type better than a PC. But it is important to mention that this is only noticeable when dealing with high end designs. For anyone starting I would suggest that you choose the computer that best suits you. Ultimately your creativity & software knowledge will determine the outcome of your work, not the spec of your computer.

Futuretrend provides training to those who wish to learn how to use the Adobe software & to those who already possess basic knowledge of the software but wish to build upon that by learning more advanced techniques. So check out our courses: http://bit.ly/mPeNyg

Advance your knowledge > Enhance your potential

http://www.futuretrend.co.uk/

Dreamweaver web design learning dillema: attend a classroom course or study online?

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Adobe Dreamweaver is the most popular web design tool around as such many small business owners purchase a copy with a view to becoming skilled enough at web design in order to create or maintain their web sites.

Indeed there are tons of dreamweaver tutorials online which are somewhat useful,comprehensive and competitively-priced but invariably, they seem targeted towards people who want to build really fancy sites for other people as paid website developers, rather than you as a busy small business owner, a hobbyist or a member of staff that just needs to learn how to update the company web site. The learning curve is not just steep but you have to wade through a maze of technology at the same time. Try taking an online tutorial on divs, float settings & the z-index without sending your brain into melt down!

Dreamweaver is now at version CS5 and has changed immensely since the mid-late 90s, when it was much simpler. It has become enormously feature-laden in keeping with today’s advancing technologies. So it can be a real challenge to get your head around the software. Worse still trying to learn it in solitude without the benefit of being able to ask someone in the know when something starts to go wrong (as it oft will do). Remember, your online video or web design book won’t be able to answer your specific questions!

This is where the clear advantage of intructor-led training kicks in: a few sessions of learning the foundations and various functional concepts behind the programme by a good teacher will set you up nicely…and then you can really start to play around confidently. Further learning will become a lot quicker and easier. You will save a lot more time too.

Still to keep things in balance, many people have no choice but to opt for the eLearning method of training, as they cannot dedicate time for a classroom session or find the travelling involved a deterrent. It is therefore necessary for them to be highly self-motivated and self-disciplined to sit through the various steps of an online dreamweaver tutorial.

The reason for this whole blog was a testimonial received recently from Theo, one of Futuretrend’s recent students. His comments were:

“I’ve learnt more about Dreamweaver from George’s 2 day introductory class than I did from months of reading online tutorials and books… and to be perfectly honest, I don’t have that much free time to spend reading online courses or tutorials. So I will be coming back when I need to progress to the next level. Thanks!”

Click here to find out more about Futuretrend’s Dreamweaver training programs.

Travel to Enfield for Training!?

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Due to the recent riots in London, Enfield has been in the public eye for all the wrong reasons. Futuretrend is a training provider which has been based in Enfield for over 10 years & we would like to remind people why it’s not that bad to come to Enfield for that training course that will advance you in your career.

Enfield boasts a newly refurbished town centre as its focal point, which features a new shopping centre called Palace Gardens; http://www.palacegardensenfield.co.uk/ .

Futuretrend’s training centre is located on the edge of Enfield town, so all our students have an interesting place to visit during their lunch break. Being a part of greater London has it own benefits, one being that Enfield is away from the hustle & bustle you get in the city & the other being that Enfield is exempt from the congestion charge & has free parking available on its streets.

Futuretrends training centre is easily accessible to all. For those who drive we are a few minutes away from the A10 , A406 & M25 and as for those using public transport we are a 5 minute walk away from Enfield Town train station. There are also various buses which stop near our training centre.

Taking the train from the city/central london? Easily hop on a train from Liverpool street that brings you right into Enfield Town (roughly 25 – 30 mins). Hey, if you are a cemap, cefa or dipfa student it’s a great time to go through your revision note books too!

For those who travel from a distance there is a number of local hotels & B&B’s; http://www.futuretrend.co.uk/accomodation.html.

So why not give Enfield a try with Futuretrend.