OUGD502 EVALUATION

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


I think one of the main skills I have gained over this module is my ability to analyze and assess others work and other designers. It is really beneeficial to consider others work and business strageys. The knowledge we have learnt over the seminars this year has been invaluable information which I plan to carry on researching further.

I think my confidence in myself and my work has also grown, I have made the effort to go and chat to visiting professionals and particularly enjoyed the talk with si scott, After the lecture I went and had a chat with him which I found really enjoyable. I will do my best to network with other professionals as I find its not always what you know but who you know.

The module also helped my collaboration skills, the lifes a pitch brief gave us the opportunity to divide the group into different roles, helping to split the workload whilst trying to highlight each others strengths. I really enjoyed this brief and its a shame we didnt have more time to do it as this brief didn't really fit along side the other briefs easily at the time. We were all fairly busy around this section of the course.

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

For my self branding brief I experimented with foiling again, after producing only a handful of business cards due to errors I realised that maybe this could be a quite expensive product to mass produce. However I am a huge fan of shiny stuff and printing processes so it references what I am into. But this has made me think further into the cost of making things and how it might work out on a large scale.

I think Johns talks were probably one of the most helpful aspects of this module. The seminars were easy to understand but also filled you in on the bigger picture explaining it in an way that has stuck with me. HE often highlighted things I hadn't considered. I think asking questions is something I need to start doing from now on I find it pretty difficult to think up stuff on the spot, preparing questions to ask tutors and professionals will help my practice.

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

My presentation skills have improved loads this year, I was barely nervous until I got up there, I found my nerves disappeared after the 2nd slide which was great for my confidence and my speech. I found it easy to talk about my work and actually enjoyed it, I think its important to make people laugh and kind of break the ice, no body likes a boring presentation so I tried to add some humorous elements.

I think my branding skills have developed loads. For my self branding I really pushed my concept in order to see how far I could take it. I think I have produced a really good package of work which sells my creative and fun size whilst giving off a professional vibe. I will keep pushing ideas to see how far that can be taken its always better tho think above your capabilities as anything is possible you just need yo put in the time and effort.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?  

I think one thing I could of done better was write up y experience from talks given by visiting professional, this year I attended pretty much all the talks, but lost my notebook before I had the chance to type them on my blog. But i won't make the same mistake again. I will blog as soon as I can so I don't run into this situation again.

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

1. Do my work as soon as I get it - this will make sure I don't lose work and end up with missing work. It will also mean I don;t get a pile up of work.
2. Designate at least 1 night a week to PPP I need to make sure I keep on top of this next year as the workload will be considerably larger.
3. Prepare questions to ask proffesionals - I always get nervous around lecturers that come in and never really know what to say which makes networking pretty tough, I will try prepare things to ask in order to start conversion.
4. Regular blogging will ensure I have a balanced body of well informed research.
5. Network more - I will get involved with linked in and stat asking questions.

6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas: 

Attendance = 5

Punctuality = 4

Motivation = 4

Commitment =4

Quantity of work produced = 4

Quality of work produced = 5