I really feel this is one of my strongest models yet as I got to work with concepts and personal practice. The main skill that is evident in this module and is the ability to time manage as there numerous briefs to work on at the same time with different periods of time to work with. This with the other modules alongside means constant organisation and self-management in order to keep all the briefs at the right speed for the deadlines. I enjoyed developing this skill it allowed me to work on briefs in my time at my own pace and leisure which meant that I was able to enjoy them more. I think I applied this effectively as all briefs were finished on deadline completion and all submitted correctly as well as through the plan of action I created for the collaborative brief to make sure we achieved targets on time. I also feel that the presentation of my work in it's final digital stage and boards have come along away in this brief. Due to the fact that these were being submitted and judged by professions I really worked on presented my work effectively to try and give them the best chance. This meant I thought a lot more about what I said and the way I split and presented the designs appropriately. Looking back at boards from the past it is visually evident that they have improved a lot and I feel it has meant I am more proud and confident in showing my work as I feel and look more professional. Another skill that I learnt due to never doing it before was working collaboratively with one other person. This was an experience I enjoyed as I really value another persons view, opinion and critique in the process of designing. Using both our strengths and weaknesses to our advantage we balanced out each other flaws to create a strong concept and considered design that communicated.By managing and splitting our load effectively to our design aspirations and skills we applied ourselves to both our advantages. I concentrated on packaging as they are my aspirations and it allowed me to work closely with nets and formats. A very valuable skill that has been developed through this module was fulfilling brief requirements. A lot of the briefs had specifications of dimensions, formats and file types to submit in which meant I had to work to a set of varied requirements for each. This I feel improved my professional practice as I had to work to clients requests rather than creating the formats and dimensions myself. This skill can be particularly shown in the Batiste brief and the Penguin brief as both asked for the artwork to be to there templates provided.
What approaches to methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
The biggest method of design production I have developed is pushing a concept and design across product, range and distribution. The has allowed me to see the potential and opportunity of designs and how far they can go. The penguin brief was to simply design a book cover and I expanded this in to a range of up to date versions of classic childhood tales. This idea then got pushed further onto a whole range of interior decoration which promoted the concept of making the childhood classic story become an intregal part of childhood again as well as engaging with parents nostalgia. I feel this brief in particular showed the potential for a concept to be spread across a range of digital, print based and functioning products. This moves across to designing for specifications and requirements as the briefs were particular formats such Batiste can, Penguin book cover and ToDryFor screen printed tea towel. These different format meant the final resolution had to be designed particularly to it. The can had to fit the required information and demonstrate the branding on a relatively small front among a mass of other products with a strong shelf appeal. This meant the design had to impact instantly on the front in order to express it's purpose and brand identity. The same with Penguin and ToDryFor as they required particular colour palettes. Penguin had specific Pantone colour books to work to as it was a printed product as well a template size specification where the logo and barcode information had to be in a fixed position to match there other publications. ToDryFor also had colour restrictions due to it's production process, screen print. This meant that colour should be considered as it would cost more to produce with more colours. These brief specifications meant limitations,things to work around and consider as well as influence you when designing. They have developed my process as it meant considering these factors when designing and developing my concepts as it had to work to these factors.
What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
As mentioned in my evaluation of my skills, time management is something I've vastly improved on just because of the extent that this module pushed it. I was prepared and had no rushed submission for competitions which made the process a lot more enjoyable. I managed to do varied amount of time framed briefs from long briefs spread over a few months (Penguin) and briefs which were completed in an afternoon (Uk Greetings). However I feel this didn't comprise the actual concept or production work even though there was a short frame time, if anything I think I actually worked well or better under it. This will benefit me in the future on the course but also in industry as the time frame of briefs varies depending on clients and projects. This strength is something key to working in industry and will benefit me next year when independent study is the focus. Something this brief has really shown is my ability to pick out what I liked and want to do in design. As I was going through briefs and choosing myself what it was I wanted to do due to either the client, the outcome or potential prize, it really showed me what I liked and what I aspired for in my practice. A lot of my briefs were packaging design and I can now capitalise on this as I can use these briefs as portfolio potential which will show my vast response to briefs but also the focus on a sector on the industry to studios in similar fields. I feel strength of mine is concepts and this is also something I want to focus on in the future. The varied briefs I chose allowed me to come up with different concepts and put them into practice and strengthen my ability in coming up with ideas in different time frames. Through different means I was inspired and this allowed me to respond effectively to briefs answering and communicating what they asked. This strength will strength my portfolio because not only is there a focus on packaging design but also the concepts behind them are thought through and considered. I plan on improving on this skill further particularly in 505.
What weaknesses can you identify in your and work and how will you address these in the future?
The main weakness I can identify in my work is going from digital to practical products. The only brief that I produced something for was the collaborative as it was a packaging based concept which needed testing and demonstrating. Although the net I made worked and folded correctly the quality of the finished product wasn't as I had hoped. This is really something I am going to improve on for the rest of the year as the main way of seeing a design work is in practice and in it's context. Although my mock up and proposal skills have improved this has limited me from producing the actual product through lack of success in the past and there being enough of a representation through digital illustration. I'm going to address this by at least attempting in my next brief and learn from the failings I make if it doesn't succeed as hoped. I think another weakness is limiting my text on my boards, I feel have to explain a lot when submitting presentation boards to make known my thoughts and this leads to a lot information which actually might come to disadvantage me. In the future I am going to limit myself to one block of text and express myself articulately in a confined manner and let the design communicate itself. Another weakness I haven't pursued but had the opportunity to in this module is different media and processes. As I haven't produced much practical work I haven't explored different choices of media or processes such as letterpress or screen print which are skills I really want to try gain at least a knowledge in. As I design for print a lot I want to produce the pieces in the future to gain more knowledge of how the design translates across screen to an actual form. This will allow me to design appropriately and more effectively in the future.
Identify 5 things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from these?
Produce practical pieces
I am going to gain knowledge and understanding of print in practice not theory as well as gain confidence in my work and production ability skills.
Find live briefs
I am going to try and find briefs across courses where the actual designs become active and used so I can use them in my portfolio and show a real experience with working with people.
Try processes
Although I did try embossing in this module a lot more processes could be explored and defiantly more practiced as the embossing didn't go entirely to plan.
Limit writing on boards
As mentioned above I am learning to articulate myself a lot better which is something I have struggled with in the past but I can also improve further on this by defining exactly what needs to be said in presentations.
Work collaboratively with different people
I have worked in groups and in a pair now and found both experiences entirely different. I would like to work collaboratively with different people on the course and see how we can benefit each other in balancing strengths and weaknesses.
Attendance - 5
Punctuality - 5
Motivation - 4
Commitment - 4
Quantity or work produced - 4
Quality of work produced - 4
Contribution to the group - 5
Punctuality - 5
Motivation - 4
Commitment - 4
Quantity or work produced - 4
Quality of work produced - 4
Contribution to the group - 5
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