End of Module Self-Evaluation

What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

I have developed my skills using Illustrator greatly as i have never really used it before this year at all. i now feel i am comfortable using it and find it much better than Photoshop which is the program i used to use for everything. I now tend to use Illustrator as my main piece of software so have found the Illustrator brief very useful to get me using it properly. i have also developed my skills in evaluating work properly for doing the Crits, which i feel is a useful skill needed in graphic design.

What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

i have found i have been developing my ideas a lot better than i have previously in my foudation year and A-level where i pretty much just produced a final piece without development. i have used both sketchbooks for quick drawings and also design sheets where i jot down my way of thinking clearly. i am still not 100% used to working in this way but i am determined to get fluent at it by the end of the year.

What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

I feel i come up with good ideas very easily which helps during the first stages of development instead doing loads n loads of development to get an idea i concentrate of making my idea better. i am also very confident on software so can produce very visually appealing designs.

What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

i am quite lazy i tend to leave things to the last minute and do the bare minimum of work but i feel i have addressed this and attempted to change. i'm not quite there yet and still feel there is a lot of room for improvement. i also have problems with attention span and get easily distracted but the main problem is probably time keeping and organisation skills although i am improving it still requires improvement.

Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

1. I won't leave my blogging to last i will try and blog as i do something new so it shows and accurate timeline of development.

2. I plan to time keep better so i distribute my work evenly instead of doing it all a few days before the deadline.

3. I wish to do more work at home as i tend to mainly do it at college only.

4. Develop my ideas better as i still tend to get one idea in my head and pursuit it.

5.

Attendance 4/5

Punctuality 4

Motivation 3/4

Commitment 4

Quantity of work produced 3

Quality of work produced 3/4

Contribution to the group 3

No News is Good News Mailshot

What is been communicated and how.
here i have communicated the serious problem of binge drinking using a mailshot which would be sent out to my mailing list i have produced with appropriate recipients. It compares teenage drinking to knife crime to show how serious of a problem drinking is.

How well does it answer the brief?
i feel it answers the brief very well. it was able to be posted and also arrived in a good condition. its the correct size. the one problem is i used a label for the address and a label to keep it together which means i used one more stock than i was meant to. on the other hand i did use the right amount of colours.

How well has the idea been visually explored
i did allot of trial and error with this piece so i feel i have done enough development to produce the best i could of in the appointed time.

What are the strenghts of the resolution?
The resolution is a very simple and effect way of sending a message and its something more than a flyer which you would just trough away its something you stand and is intended for one person to show allot of people. it is also very visually appealing and interesting to look at for the viewer.

How could it be improved?
I could improve it by printing double sided so the address doesn't need sticking on which would save time and it would look more profecional printed. Other than that i feel i have designed a very effective mailshot.

No News is Good News Poster Series

What is been communicated and how.
My poster are communicating the number of teenage deaths each year as a set of 3 posters. i chose the quote "1300 teenage deaths each year as a result of binge drinking" i feel this quote is good as its a shocking fact so would grab people attention.

How well does it answer the brief?
I feel it answers the brief very well. I used the right amount of colours which was 2 colours and a stock. all the posters are the correct size and they all work in a series. Also i have kept to the text, image and text and image poster.

How well has the idea been visually explored
i didn't develop it to much and i wish i did a little more because i feel i could have made it look better.

What are the strenghts of the resolution?
i feel it is very visually appealing to look at and i feel it sends the message and illustrates the quote very well.

How could it be improved?

i feel if i developed it more i could have a bit more of an innovative design and maybe have it looking a bit more professional.

Typeface Evaluation

Partners name. Marty

Which personality traits did you choose to respond to and apply to your typeface?
i chose to concentrate Marty's love for music and also how he like to go out party. also look at been laddish so looked as masculinity.

What are the reasons behind the design decisions you have made for the typeface?
concentrating on the music aspect of his life, i looked at his favourite artist which where Muse, Deadmau5 and Rage Against the Machine. I experimented with mixing traits for each artists logos and making one font. i ended up concentrating on 2 of the 3 artists as i feel i could take them further and worked well together. i also chose lower case as its what he preffered and also looked at helvetica as it was his favourite font.

In what ways are the results effective?
i think that mixing aspects of his favourite artist worked very well and using the volume bars makes it obvious he likes his music. i feel the fonts suits his personality as its clean crisp and masculine.

Alphabet Soup Typeface Rational

Brief.
Design a alphabet which communcates visually my partners personality.

Who needs to know?
my audince is my partner and class

What do they ned to know?
they need to know how the typeface communicates the personality of my partner.

Why do they need to know?
as the typeface is about them.

What will they respond to?
at clear legible typeface.

What research is required?
and interview of questions relating to my partner.

Secondary
researching typefaces on the internet and books.

Alphabet Soup. Part one evaluation

What is being communicated and how?
here i have tried to communicate the change of shape when ice is melted in a freeze frame sort of fashion. it is showing despite the letter changing it is still recognisable as a letter F when it is deformed.

How well does this answer the brief?
i think it does answer the brief as the word i got from the randomiser was "Freeze" and i feel i have created a letter form which resemble ice freezing in a sequence.

How well has the idea been visually explored?
i did a lot of drawings and sketches to come up with my ideas. i also took photographs of ice melting, then attempted to make a ice mold for the letter F and then experimented on photoshop how to make letters look like ice. so i feel i did enough background research.

What are the strenghts of the resolution?
i think it all works well as a body of work and you can see my thought process developing. i feel if my ice mold worked then actually photographing the letter melt would have been more strong than a photoshop version.

How could it be improved?
if i had more time i could of prepared a better mold as i only really had time for one attempt.

Alphabet Soup. Part one final outcome

How to self evaluation

What roles did you take on in the group?
my main role in the group was ideas and inspiration. i did alot of brainstorming and list which gave us our final products.

How well do you think you performed in the role?
i feel that i did well in this role i would normally not take as much charge as i did so i am happy how i came out my comfort zone and spoke up about ideas.

How well do you think you worked as a group?
working as a group poses alot of challenges. there were disagreements on the product and ways of working as everyone has a preferred different method of working but other than that we worked well as a team.

What where the positives of working in a group?
the positives where everyone different skills coming together and also the ideas come more fluidly as a group.

What were the negatives of working in a group?
it was hard to assign everyone a task to everyone. also a clash of techniques as some like hand rendered and others prefer computerised.

What will you do next time?
i will take a more leading role in the design as my strength is Photoshop and i feel that i wasn't used to my full capability.

What were the strengths of the presentation?
Luke was very confident and presented our ideas fully and easily to understand. so i feel the presentation went well although i wish we had a finished and printed product.

How to final product

Design Principles Rational

Brief
Use our conceptual and practical skills to solve the problem of "working hard" in a creative manner.

Who needs to know?
the audience is freshers starting university.

What do the need to know?
They need to uderstand what the product will do to help the problem of working hard.

Why do they need to know?
its important for a student to work hard so they need to know that its not just a massive party in the first year.

What will they respond to?
A clear and productive product.

What reaserch is required?
looking at previous products but more importanly our ouwn experiences of university.

10 Things i Wish to Achieve

The 10 things i wish to achieve this year are.
. Broaden my knowledge on Photoshop.
. Learn how to use Illustrator.
. Become confident with screen printing.
. Understand the rules of type better.
. I wish to get a better grasp on humour within graphics.
. I hope to realise which area in graphic design i want to specicalise in.
. familiarise myself with all the different programs avaliable.
. Become more aware of current trends in society.
. Control my time better and organise work better.
. Be able to develop my ideas instead of haivng an idea and producing it.