end of module evaluation:
I feel this course, especially this module, has been invaluable to me in terms of progressing as a designer. I feel this year, for me, has been the most focused in terms of what I want to be doing and where I want to be going. Since starting the module as the months have gone on I feel I have developed a direction within my practice that I am beginning to feel happy with. In the previous two years I have never really been happy with the end result or felt as though my design was a bit of a compromise either down to poor time management or lack of skill set. However this year, being as independent and as focused as it has been has really allowed me to develop work I can build on, ideas I can speak about confidently and work that could be put into a portfolio. I felt for the first part of the year (from september-december) I wasn't focused enough on extended practice, I felt like I hadn't got a clear direction yet and with focusing on COP I felt like that was distracting some of my practice. Before the december hand in I wasn't especially happy with anything I had produced, either the final outcome had been a disappointment, for example with Spectrum (collaboration with Emily Ball) the development and research were what we wanted to focus on and the final outcome ended up being a compromise and not turning out how we had wanted it. I felt from january onwards I had started to find a style and more focused area within design.
Since starting the course I had always been more interested in editorial and publication design but I felt in the second part of the year I began to produce more editorial work. I think being able to have your personal input in the briefs made the whole of extended practice really interesting and engaging for me as I was incorporating areas of interest I liked not only within graphics but outside of design. The COP publication was something I really enjoyed putting together as I felt it allowed me to sum up visually but also contextually what my practice has been about this year and the research that has gone into the ideas, briefs and decisions I've made. I think a big focus for me this year was research, I was really eager to try and incorporate as much primary research into my briefs as possible as I feel from past experience this made the final outcome of my design a lot more successful and innovative. There were various briefs (contemporary culture, unsung heroes and heroines, museum of childhood) that I had written up that relied heavily on primary research, and reflecting back on the module now I would say they have been some of my preferred briefs in terms of actually designing but also preferred in terms of the final outcome. I feel it allowed me to become more confident in engaging with the public and gathering an archive of research I could constantly refer to to improve my design. I feel this year a lot of skills have improved, because I have been engaged and enthusiastic about what I've been doing it allowed me to explore processes I wasn't that experienced in and was able to be happy with the outcomes. For example brief 03, Absolutely Fabulous, experimenting with screen print and colour was not only something I really enjoyed doing but I was happy with the results.
This year I feel I have incorporated photography into my work more than I have in previous years and I think my work has gained from this. I have been using a lot of film photography this year which I think is a really nice aesthetic that adds something to my work that can't really be imitated in the same authentic way. I feel this module more than any other has allowed me to develop a more consistent style within my work and presents a certain style and aesthetic that, although needs working on and improving on, I am happy with the ground work. Although I have always enjoyed working on the course I feel extended practice really gave me a freedom that
Funnily enough, towards the end of this year I feel I have progressed hugely in terms of technical skills such as inDesign and photoshop. Producing so many publications towards the end really allowed me to get to grips with inDesign in a more professional manner and I feel I can use it a lot more confidently now. The same goes for Photoshop, before this year I would of never of used it, not even to edit photographs, however after consistently trying to get the hang of certain techniques I now feel a lot more comfortable using it and can produce certain bits of work from it. I think another thing that has been a huge improvement for me this year is the photographing of my work, this is something, I've not learnt, makes all the difference to the presentation and professionalism of your own work. Before third year I had never booked a photography studio out or used any kind of lighting equipment. I could see straight away from the first shoot I did of my work how beneficial that extra bit of effort is, it can change the whole appearance of your final design. My one regret with photographing the work this year is running out of time to properly photography the publication Lisa and I designed for 'An exhibition of Paris' this is something we will have to revisit when putting the final bits of our portfolio together.
I've learnt the importance of development work this year as we had such long time periods to work on chosen briefs it really effected the final outcome for me as I kept trying to go further with the brief and on occasions the deliverables or outcomes of the original brief would change, however I felt this was beneficial to my design in the end as it was more thought through and thorough.
In terms of things I still need to improve upon, time management again is the one constant reoccurring thing. I felt this year was a real challenge as we were completely in charge of our own deadlines our own work ethic and our self discipline. I felt this improved hugely towards the second part of the year as in the first part of the year I felt I was still finding out exactly what I wanted to do. Although I feel there were some things that were impacted by some poor time management, I do feel like that has improved every year. Another thing I feel I need to focus on more is my attention to detail at the end of a project, I feel sometimes with the finishing touches I become slightly impatient and this could possibly impact on the end result due to lack of patience.
This course and this module has given me a completely new outlook on what I want to do and has motivated me in so many ways, it has given me a work ethic and a direction and the amount I have learnt and improved since starting has been a considerable amount.
Thursday, 22 May 2014
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
BRIEF 15: AN EXHIBITION OF PARIS//FINAL PRESENTATION BOARDS AND EVALUATION
brief 15_an exhibition of Paris (collaboration with Lisa Burns)
evaluation
This was a brief I enjoyed as the subject is something Im very interested in. I feel this brief allowed m to improve on quite a few skills such as screen printing, film photography and book binding. Lisa and I wrote the brief based on individual trips we were taking to Paris. This really allowed us both to do a lot of primary research, which i've noticed based on all my briefs, seem to have better outcomes when informed by first hand information. We explored a few processes, the most important being screen printing, which we did for the cover of the booklet, we also explored foiling which I thought was a good process for this brief. In terms of collaboration it was good to work with Lisa as we both had similar ideas about how we wanted the visual outcome to look and the type of aesthetic we wanted for the brief. I think one thing that really let the whole project down was the photographs of the final publication, due to bad time management the final photographs were rushed and do the final publication no justice. This is something we will have to rephotograph for our portfolios.
evaluation
This was a brief I enjoyed as the subject is something Im very interested in. I feel this brief allowed m to improve on quite a few skills such as screen printing, film photography and book binding. Lisa and I wrote the brief based on individual trips we were taking to Paris. This really allowed us both to do a lot of primary research, which i've noticed based on all my briefs, seem to have better outcomes when informed by first hand information. We explored a few processes, the most important being screen printing, which we did for the cover of the booklet, we also explored foiling which I thought was a good process for this brief. In terms of collaboration it was good to work with Lisa as we both had similar ideas about how we wanted the visual outcome to look and the type of aesthetic we wanted for the brief. I think one thing that really let the whole project down was the photographs of the final publication, due to bad time management the final photographs were rushed and do the final publication no justice. This is something we will have to rephotograph for our portfolios.
BRIEF 14: DIALOGUE//FINAL PRESENTATION BOARDS AND EVALUATION//OUGD603
brief 14_dialogue
evaluation
This was a quick response for a brief written by Eve and Nathan to be involved with the dialogue exhibition which took place at the corn exchange. Even though ultimately I didn't use the primary research I collected I still enjoyed the process of collecting it and I will use these techniques and extend the certain area I was researching for a different brief. Originally my idea was to collect conversations and use this information to form a dialogue themed poster of random snippets of conversation. However, the idea never developed far enough as I came up with a new design that I thought fit more appropriately for the exhibition. I thought this brief was good in terms of having to work to certain requirements, because we have had the freedom to write our own briefs this year, most of the outcomes have been suited to the criteria I wanted. This brief allowed you to work to A3 scale, black and white and either vector or half toned images. Shockingly enough this was the first time I had learnt how to and used the half tone effect. I feel myself becoming slightly more confident on photoshop, which is really encouraging because a couple of months ago I wouldn't of even edited photos on there. Im learning, even though I am far more confident on illustrator, that some things are so much easier and effective when using photoshop. The design itself I was pleased with in the end as I thought it depicted the theme of 'dialogue' quite well. The photograph that I had taken fit perfectly for the quote that I found which really highlighted conversation/dialogue, from the catcher in the rye. I also made a colour copy which I think I would prefer in my portfolio, as the original design had to meet the requirements of the brief set.
This was a quick response for a brief written by Eve and Nathan to be involved with the dialogue exhibition which took place at the corn exchange. Even though ultimately I didn't use the primary research I collected I still enjoyed the process of collecting it and I will use these techniques and extend the certain area I was researching for a different brief. Originally my idea was to collect conversations and use this information to form a dialogue themed poster of random snippets of conversation. However, the idea never developed far enough as I came up with a new design that I thought fit more appropriately for the exhibition. I thought this brief was good in terms of having to work to certain requirements, because we have had the freedom to write our own briefs this year, most of the outcomes have been suited to the criteria I wanted. This brief allowed you to work to A3 scale, black and white and either vector or half toned images. Shockingly enough this was the first time I had learnt how to and used the half tone effect. I feel myself becoming slightly more confident on photoshop, which is really encouraging because a couple of months ago I wouldn't of even edited photos on there. Im learning, even though I am far more confident on illustrator, that some things are so much easier and effective when using photoshop. The design itself I was pleased with in the end as I thought it depicted the theme of 'dialogue' quite well. The photograph that I had taken fit perfectly for the quote that I found which really highlighted conversation/dialogue, from the catcher in the rye. I also made a colour copy which I think I would prefer in my portfolio, as the original design had to meet the requirements of the brief set.
BRIEF 13: THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF ROSY LEE//BOARDS AND EVALUATION//OUGD603
brief 13_the collected writings of rosy lee
BRIEF 12: SECRET 7"//FINAL PRESENTATION BORADS AND EVALUATION//OUGD603
brief 12_secret 7" (collaboration with Emily Ball)
evaluation
I enjoyed collaborating on this brief, this was another outcome that I was happy with in the end, and learnt a lot from the printing experience. After collaborating on Spectrum Emily and I decided to collaborate on this as we work well together but didn't get the outcomes we particularly wanted from the brief. I felt this was a brief where the outcome was successful in terms of taking the brief into consideration, not only with how it turned out visually but also with the concept behind it. Emily worked on the visuals and I researched on how we could build a concept around it. The feel and atmosphere of the song and music is what influenced the visual behind it, the lyrics are what influenced the concept, the song being called karmacoma, I looked into karma symbolism in various cultures. This symbol (the endless knot) was embedded into the colourful and trippy pattern for a subtle result. After doing this we extended it further as I looked at how type could be incorporated into the design. I feel this brief taught me how to work to a tight deadline as the original design was done in one session. The biggest learning curve, that seems to be a reappearing theme this year is printing. When Emily and I first printed we were really unhappy with the colours, the design on screen involved a lot of vibrant colours which were dull and murky when printed on the stock we got from Leeds uni.
Again, something that I've mentioned that is beneficial to the overall outcome of the work is the photography. Again I used professional equipment in the photography studio which is something I'd never done before third year. We then went onto make another version of the sleeve that worked as a pair, contrasting in colours. Overall I am happy with the final result and I think the collaboration allowed us to create something we were both keen to try in terms off aesthetics.
evaluation
I enjoyed collaborating on this brief, this was another outcome that I was happy with in the end, and learnt a lot from the printing experience. After collaborating on Spectrum Emily and I decided to collaborate on this as we work well together but didn't get the outcomes we particularly wanted from the brief. I felt this was a brief where the outcome was successful in terms of taking the brief into consideration, not only with how it turned out visually but also with the concept behind it. Emily worked on the visuals and I researched on how we could build a concept around it. The feel and atmosphere of the song and music is what influenced the visual behind it, the lyrics are what influenced the concept, the song being called karmacoma, I looked into karma symbolism in various cultures. This symbol (the endless knot) was embedded into the colourful and trippy pattern for a subtle result. After doing this we extended it further as I looked at how type could be incorporated into the design. I feel this brief taught me how to work to a tight deadline as the original design was done in one session. The biggest learning curve, that seems to be a reappearing theme this year is printing. When Emily and I first printed we were really unhappy with the colours, the design on screen involved a lot of vibrant colours which were dull and murky when printed on the stock we got from Leeds uni.
After asking James we learnt that his paper would had chemicals in that would allow the colours to be printed to a much higher quality. Once the nets were printed and assembled we were happy with the final outcome.
Again, something that I've mentioned that is beneficial to the overall outcome of the work is the photography. Again I used professional equipment in the photography studio which is something I'd never done before third year. We then went onto make another version of the sleeve that worked as a pair, contrasting in colours. Overall I am happy with the final result and I think the collaboration allowed us to create something we were both keen to try in terms off aesthetics.
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