Module Evaluation
Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed this module. I felt like it has challenged my creative thinking and developed my skills as a designer. Each brief that I chose I felt were answered in an appropriate and effective way. I've found that the briefs that I chose are more art based than type or editorial, this is something I believe worked to my advantage as it was something I enjoyed doing however I feel this may be the blame as to why I felt myself so lost on some briefs as I strove too far away from the principles of graphic design and focused more on creating something that looked pretty. However I'm not suggesting that the briefs did not contain any conceptual meaning but that I struggled to keep structure within the brief leaving some outcomes looking amateur and rushed. The method in answering the briefs as always helped initiate ideas and inform my mind on the topic I was researching. Starting off with research using primary and secondary rescourses helped my investigation on the brief and how to approach it, after thoroughly researching into every aspect of the brief I usually have a few ideas floating around which I then jot down in my notebook. Trying not to knuckle down on one idea I made sure I exhausted every idea I had to ensure that if the idea I developed further did not work I would have previous ideas to fall back on and try out. The strengths I have found in my own work is the illustrative style I have tried which I think can be drastically improved in future modules. Type is extremely hard but is still something I want to build a good enough skill in, however after purchasing a graphics tablet I found that drawing various illustrative styles on that really helped my ideas and answered the briefs in an appropriate way. Although I know I still have a long way to go when it comes to illustrations and using Illustrator and Photoshop, with future workshops and a lot of practice I believe I can get to a good enough standard by third year which is something I'm extremely excited about. My weaknesses I believe start with time management, I say this with every evaluation but I believe I am improving each time to get my work in on time to a good enough standard. As this module was a long one I found that I was running out of motive by the time it came to submission however I was still pleased with the outcomes I had created and the way I had responded to the briefs. Some briefs were a lot stronger than others which I think is very clear, two of them I literally had next to no time to do and had to use time very efficiently to achieve what I did, however I do not believe this is exactly a weak point as I've learnt I can answer briefs in a short amount of time, but in future I will be better at responding to briefs if was in that situation again. Another weakness I believe is colour. I need to investigate and study further into colour because I believe thats what let me down on some particular briefs but once I get a grasp of I think will drastically improve my work and final outcomes.
Overall I have enjoyed this module even though I found it extremely challenging. Entering competitions for the first time was daunting at first but I soon found its not the end of the world and to stop fretting so much about what other people think of my work. The first brief I did was the Royal Mint brief where I had to design the new one pound coin for the UK coming in 2017. Thinking I had missed the deadline until the day before I think the outcome was okay but nothing exciting, I believe the concept was there and with more time the outcome could have been presented in a more effective and appropriate way. The second brief I chose was the christmas card one for Leeds College Of Art, once again I thought I had missed the deadline until three days before and feel if I had more time and feedback from crits I could have definitely improved the visual side of the design before rushing into handing it in on time. The third brief I chose was the wallpaper brief was Feathr, this brief I had more time and on believe the conceptual meaning was as strong as the outcome in the end, after submitting it onto the website I did manage to get on the front page of the popular page but by the end of the competition I could not even find my design. However looking at other designs on the website I could see that a lot more time and care had gone into their designs and looked a lot more professional and usable for a home. My design I think was very daring and almost unsightly depending on your taste but that is the affect I was hoping to achieve, I wanted to completely stand out from the rest of the designs and see how extreme I could push a wallpaper design. The fourth brief I answered was Secret 7, now even though I spent a full week on the design I don't feel like the conceptual meaning was there to support it. Last year when I won the competition I had really studied into the band and came up with a suitable and effective concept, however this year I felt I was too excited to use my graphics table to come up with a strong concept that would stand out from other competitors. Thus leaving my design looking amateur and weak in my eyes but definitely a learning curve for future designs. The final brief I answered was the poster brief. Now being the final brief I feel like it was my strongest by far as the concept was there and the visual outcome was there to support it. Not only was big fish one of my favourite films I found that visualising a poster for the film almost came naturally and was something I really enjoyed doing. Now the final outcome was a little rushed at the end and if I had more time I would definitely consider using the laser cutter on the design to make it stand out and have more depth however I tried the best I could to achieve a similar affect with the time I had. Finally the collaborative brief was one of the most enjoyable briefs I chose. My partner was doing a Creative Advertising course in my uni so I thought it would be a great opportunity to put our minds together to answer the chosen brief for YCN. We worked hard on gathering enough research and insights into the brief to look at it from different angles and I feel we answered the brief in an effective and professional looking manner. I would definitely look to work with my partner in the future again as it appeared we both bounced ideas to one and another and work together as a great time to get the campaign done, she helped me get a better insight into different elements to research and consider whilst I helped her get ideas for the visuals and ideas of the campaign.
To conclude this evaluation I feel I have definitely improved my skills as a studying designer and the time pressures, the briefs have drastically developed my approaches and way of thinking to answering the briefs. Time management is still something I need to improve but I feel like I'm making progress in keeping on top of work so as I don't feel as rushed towards the end.
