OUGD504 EVALUATION

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

During the course of '504' I have learnt many different skills. To start with we looked at packaging, this is something that I have not had much experience in. We had to brand a series of different sized packages. From this brief I learnt about net design and how different nets slot together differently when built. There are different designs depending on the product. I learnt how to apply a brand across a series of different products.

The print book brief was a big learning curve for me, I experimented with several different printing processes in order to produce my book. First of all I looked at laser cutting, during this module have created several products on the laser cutter, experimenting with wood, acrylic and paper. I also went down to vernon street to do some embossing and de-bossing which I used in my book. I also used foiling and screen printing in the design book as I wanted to show a wide range of processes. To top it off I decided to bind my book myself, I ended up japanese stitching the book and used a hard back cover which I backed myself.

I think I have developed loads of skills this module and it has resulted in some really nicely finished products. I managed to double side screen print a truck load of products for the ISTD brief and am really happy with the professional finish.

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

Research has helped me allot through this module, particularly the library. During the print book brief I took out a few books which really helped me along the way. The production manual was very useful teaching me all about the different printing methods used in commercial print. This book helped me with all the content I needed to finish my print manual.

Contacting paper and print companies helped to inform my decisions throughout the module. I learnt about different stock types and weights. This allowed me to test out printing and cutting different media. Trial and error screen printing helped to get my final products right. I learnt the hard way by exposing an image that was too big for the screen. This set me back some time but I won't do it again.

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

Over the course of the module I feel I have found something I am good at. Screen printing has been a very fun part of the briefs. And I think all the hard work I put into the print studio has really shone through into the final products. I think the branding for the ISTD restaurant has been produced to a high quality. The products have a professional finish and have been laid out and presented in eye catching way.

I think another strength has been my willingness to experiment with different processes. I pretty much carried out everyone you could do at uni. I have tried to use these processes to the best of my ability. I am allot more comfortable at carrying these out on my own now and will be able to do them comfortably next time. 

I believe this module I have really pushed myself on every brief, covering a wide range of deliverables with each brief. I am getting used to the heavy workload now and feel better about pushing the boundaries.

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

I think one of my weaknesses would be my amount of research, Although I think my products are well informed I think I could of looked at more peoples work for inspiration  It would of also helped with the final outcomes of my products as maybe I would of come up with something differently.

Although for this module my time management has been pretty good. I feel like It could be improved as these past few weeks have been a bit of a rush. I hope to designate days to specific briefs in future. That way I will be able to plan out my week and get hoepfully get more done.

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

1. I will make sure I get the sizing right next time I expose my screens. This meant that the cutting mats I printed out weren't up to scratch. By getting the size right It will allow for finer prints.
2. I think I could of done more research for this module. I think thats whats letting me down If i had researched more I would have a more well informed direction.
3. Experiment more with different stock. Although I researched into it allot and used various ones I think I could of pushed it further.
4. Time plan - I think designation specific days to specific projects will help to stay on top of things.
5. More Design sheets - I feel like I did allot more designing on the mac than I did my hand. Drawing stuff out us a better way of getting out all your ideas.

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

OUGD503 MODULE PROJECT REPORT & EVALUATION

Here is my project report book created on In Design.

EVALUATION

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

Throughout the module I have gained a variety of different skills. I have undertaken various different work over the module which has involved responding to clients feedback and wishes. This was helpful most of the time and helped to narrow down my design decisions on the other hand I found certain  feedback quite contradictory and unhelpful, but its important to produce something the client is happy with and throw out your own personal opinions, this taught me that there are always gonna be problems when working with a client and that its never going to be easy.

My collaborative skills have also improved, I have worked on 2 briefs with 2 separate people. The experience was not as a daunting as Fred made out, I managed to get on with both partners fine, it helped the design process as it was beneficial to bounce ideas off of one another, the combination of both minds helped to build a stronger concept and design style. It was also useful to see how other people work which also built each others knowldge of vaious software.

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

The module has allowed me to build on my idea generation skills I feel, crits and collaboration work has allowed me to think in different ways, working with other people inspires you in different ways, whether its design style or research methods. Working with others has definitly helped the way I think about a project, its important to cover all different angles.

I have also built on my screen printing skills, the self initiated project I took up involved producing a 5 colour print, this was an ambitious task and took days to design and produce but I was happy with the end result. I made lots of mistakes along the way but I managed to sort out the problems, you learn from your mistakes.

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

One of my strengths I feel has been my willingness to try something new. I have tried to do as many different styles of projects that I can. I have looked at branding, campaigns, digital work, print based and other forms of media. I wanted to try and get an idea of the different processes, to try and find something that I would like to further improve on in the future.

My briefs have been mainly been directed towards branding, as this has been something that I have become more interested recently. I have had the chance to brand a few companies over this module which I have really enjoyed. I have learnt how to say allot about a company with the least information, I also learnt the importance of branding running across a series of a products, the possibilities should be endless.

The module also lead me to concentrate more concepts when designing, as something can look shit hot, but if it doesn't comunicate the right message to the right audience its essentially useless. So getting down a solid idea was key to most projects and this fed into the design in a later stage. I found crits really helpful as well during this module as its always good to get an outside point of vue.

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

I feel I fall down when it came to the finish of products, I still think there is room for improvement when it comes to print finish etc. I also need to work on my layout skills as this something I am still struggling with. Even with laying at the simple project report I feel I could be much more experimental. I will experiment with grids in order to design in a more structured but playful way as my designs are quite simple and unambitious when it comes to publication layout.

My photoshop skills have been a constant let down I feel, I don't feel I have committed enough time to the software in order to get to grips and use it to its full potential. I hope to develop these skills over summer so I come back to college with a new skill set as I am limited greatly when sticking to Illustrator.

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

Time Management 

Although this always comes up in my evaluations it is something I still struggle with. I personally find it hard to break off and do a bits of work from each module on separate nights and find it much easier to see one through to the end then start on another. But this means I am falling behind on other aspects of the course. The workload has put allot of pressure on this year. I need to try and find a solution to the problem.

Experiment with Different Design Styles

I seem to have a ver illustrator based design outcome for most of my projects so In order to try out different styles I think it is important to get to grips with other software as I am quite limited when it comes to designing. I need to work on my video editing skills and also Photoshop as this something I fall back in.

Developing a Concept

My concepts have become stronger over the course of the module, and I have begun to think more about the message rather than the aesthetics of the design. It is important to keep pushing and pushing ideas to try and produce more unconventional work which has innovative and creative whilst communicating the right message to the intended target audience.

Photographing Work

It is a bit of a shame when I produce some well printed design work and the photographs let the piece down. Often the colours are not clear and there are unnecessary shadows within the photos. I think this is due to my terrible camera and also my photography skills. I will try borrow a decent camera from now on and use correct lighting in order to document my final products in a professional manner.

Picking Briefs Carefully

I think it is important to choose briefs that challenges my skill set but also improves on it. Although it is good to try something new its not always the best idea. If I have a short period of time to do the brief building a website would be a bad idea as I am not very good at this. So I will make sure I carry out briefs that benefit my design practice.

6. How would you grade yourself in the following areas?

(5 = excellent, 4=very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor)

Attendance = 5

Punctuality = 5

Motivation = 5

Commitment = 5

Quantity of Work Produced = 4

Quality of work produced = 4

Contribution to the group = 4

OUGD505 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 that has developed are my skills in the print room. I have an ever growing interest in print and have been looking for excuses to push my screen print practice. This module allowed me to experiment and play with glow in the dark inks which has been a really fun and rewarding process. I had quite a few problems in the print room initially, I had bought glow ion the dark phosphorus powder online which turned out to have quite thick particles ion which didn't exactly fit through the screens. It managed to give a covering of paint but the ability to glow was quite poor with this powder. Fortunately one of the technicians had ordered some proper glow in the dark binder to test something out. She was kind enough to let me use it for my prints.

My time management skills have definitly been on form this module. I havn't been stressed out at all to be honest. I have planned and organized my time to allow room for errors. I managed to get all my illustrations completed in a few days of solid work which set me on track to get in the print room. I had left myself loads of time after printing in order to set up my exhibition. I was all set up and photographed last week so these final few days have been very relaxed
 

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

Trial and error has helped along the way in all the briefs for 505. I created around 4 different walls until I got it right. This took up allot of time but was worth it in the end, I ended up cutting the mirrored sections out wrong twice which was a shame as there are not as many mirrored bricks as I would of liked. This has taught me to double check everything as simple mistakes like that can cost hundreds of pounds in the industry.

This module has really helped develop my conceptual thinking. At the start of the year It was all about producing good looking work, but as the year has gone by it become apparent that a good concept beats a good design any day, but its getting the balance of a good concept and good design that is important. The workshops have helped to expand my creative thinking of how a brand can be extended and pushed through all different kinds of media.

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

Once again time management has definitely been one of my strong points, this meant that I have been able to produce a substantial amount of work for each of the briefs to a professional standard. Giving myself a good amount of time for a brief will ensure that the final outcome is well informed and as good as it can be. Next year I hope to keep up my work flow as this has helped me allot. Designing is more fun when you are satisfied with the outcome.

I think another plus is my curiosity to try something a bit different, I feel too many people rely on james to print stuff out when sometimes it can be more fun or relevant to try different production processes. This module I have experimented with the laser cutter and screen printing, I have gained new knowledge about each of the process which will help with future projects.

I have gathered an extensive amount of research this module for 505 and it has definitely helped along the way, after researching for what is good I felt like I was an expert on glow in the dark, this made it easy for me to explain and talk about my concept in crits as I could cover every question asked.

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

This module has gone great to be honest, if anything has let me down it will be my analytical writing, I could probably write more but some times I just dont know what to say. I guess this will just improve with time. 

Presentation Boards are not one of my strong points, I think I need practice presenting information as I often feel my concept boards look unprofessional. Experimenting with different grids could improve the layout of my boards. I sometimes use too many images and don't take advantage of the white space.

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

Time Management 

Time management went great this module, but I did find I had to work on some small tasks way past when I should of. It didn't come as a problem though as I had left myself enough time to get it done. But next time I will do my work when I get it depending on what over work is due in.

Experiment with Different Programs

I think it will be useful to get to grips with programs I have not given much time such as After effects and photoshop. I find it hard to mock things up as my photoshop skills are not up to scratch. Sometimes it can make a big difference showing how your work can look in context so this is something I would like to develop.

Developing a Concept

My concepts have become stronger over the course of the module, and I have begun to think more about the message rather than the aesthetics of the design. It is important to keep pushing ideas to try and produce clever work.

Photographing Work

Allthough I did develop my photography skills over the module I still think there is room for improvement as not all the photos I got of my products were great. I think it makes a huge difference taking nice pictures as it makes the products looks professional and sometimes can emphasise the finish.

Better Design Boards
My design boards arn't up to scratch and definitly need improving. The better the design board the clearer the message.

6. How would you grade yourself in the following areas?

(5 = excellent, 4=very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor)

Attendance = 5

Punctuality = 5

Motivation = 5

Commitment = 5

Quantity of Work Produced =5

Quality of work produced =4

Contribution to the group = 4

BUSINESS CARD PROGRESS & EGGS

Today I spent the morning in the print workshop foiling my business cards. This didn't really go as well as I would of liked and I ended up wasting allot of expensive glue and ruined the cover versions I tried to print. I managed to get a good few business cards though. Although foiling is not a very cheap process to mass produce, I am a sucker for shiny things and I don't think I could of get a shine good enough for a golden egg without foiling. I also love nicely printed things, and love to try out different design processes.

I had to cut the 2 sides out with scissors and glue them together which is not the neatest way. I am going to see whether I can laser cut them out or even try make a die cutter to cut them all out neatly. Finish means allot, it needs to feel smooth and professional.

 

THE EGGS 

 

After researching online I found a company near by that makes big plastic eggs for a sweet company. I got in contact with them and asked if I could come buy some for my project. When arriving I told them about my project and they showed me round the factory then gave me a handful of eggs for free because they liked the idea so much. I was pretty made up and am looking forward to spray painting them gold!

CREATIVE CV DEVELOPMENT

I wanted the whole golden egg theme to carry through my branding and identity, I plan to incorporate my egg format into my CV. I think this concept can be pushed it is quite a fun and humorous approach to a CV.

I started by working out the content for the CV. I needed to include enough information to give the company an insight into me as a person and also where my skills lie. I wrote up the content starting with an Introduction explaining a little bit about myself. I also needed include my contact details, such as my email address and also telephone number. Because I have not really had any proffesional industry work so I decided to concentrate on my skills which I have developed over the course. I decided the best way to highlight my strengths would be to include briefs which are relevant to each of the programs and processes I am good at.

In order to get an idea of how the pages would look I drew out a rough sketch. I didn't want the booklet to be too long as it needs to be something they can have a flick through. So i decided to go with a A6 12 page booklet. I kept the egg theme and decided to use a combination of small egg clipping masks for photos and a large egg as a contrast to the opposite page.

I will package my CV in golden eggs and send them off to the studio. This is a much more interesting package than a email or your stand letter. I think this may help my chances of standing out and being more original.

The front cover will be foiled with my logo on black card. I want the booklet to standout and draw interest so I think using gold foil will achieve this and also link with my business cards.

Introduction - I wrote a brief statement about myself as a designer and as a person I even included an egg pun in there to show I like to take a humorous approach to my work. I also included my contact details. I decided my address was not that important as I would be moving very shortly.

I included information about my previous and current eduction.

The next section in the book highlights my skills as a designer, the right page

 is on branding and Illustrator.

I used a combination off egg clipping masks to display my work.

Indesign & Photoshop   

 

Screen Printing & Laser Cutting

 

Experimental Design & Dream Weaver

Finish

I think I highlighted my main strengths and kept writing to a minimum. I didn't want to include loads of information so I used lots of images of my work which should hopefully be enough. I would like to print it out on nice stock but I feel time is an issue here so for the purpose of the module I will just use the mac suit I think this will still look great with the foiled cover, that will hopefully draw the attention away from the mac suite pages.

SELF BRANDING CONCEPT & DEVELOPMENT

Business Card

My initial concept for my branding was based around willy wonkas golden ticket. As a child I would of loved a golden ticket and still to this day have a soft spot, I thought I could play on the fact that the tickets are special and you are lucky to have one. So people can place that emotional bond with the ticket/business card. It would also be shiny which people always love. I wanted to recreate it in my own way.

I used the collusiem font as it is bold and stands out well on the ticket. I also wanted to resemble the ticket in the child hood classic. I would say the font represents my personality in away its big, bold and communicates well.

 I was a bit unsure at what fonts complemented each other so tried a few variations 

Govenor worked quite well, being quite another bold font.

I decided Cambria worked well in the end, I stuck with the serif fonts as I think they match one another. It also worked well in lower case, placing more emphasis on my name.

 

I used a clipping mask with a gold foil texture to see how the card might look. I experimented with different designs to see what would work best and how it would work in monochrome black and white.

Here are a couple of other versions I experimented with.

Re- Think

After spending far too much time on the business cards I decided I wasn't a big fan any more and decided I wanted something a bit more original and funky.

 

  I started thinking of other Items that are quite wacky but desirable and started thinking about Golden eggs, the concept kind of came from the golden chocolate eggs on willy wonker and also the story of the goose that laid the golden eggs. 

The golden egg theme is supposed to represent my regular idea generation of golden ideas. I am the goose in essence and the golden eggs is my trade mark. 

I thought their is allot I could do with this concept and Idea as it is quite fun and wacky which gets over my personality and image. It also shows I'm not too serious and like to have a YOLK.

 I drew an egg shape that fits within the constraints of the standard business card 85mmx55mm. I experimented with the placement of text to try and find a layout that worked best. This was far too crowded and 

needed more room for the gold.

I liked the positioning of the text round the edge it kind of resembles a shadow on the egg which is quite a nice touch. I am not keen on the landscape format however.

 After deciding to have double sided business cards it became allot easier to place information on the cards. I had allot more room to work with which allowed for more white space which makes the design look ten times better. I also decided to not used Cambria on the front of the card as I felt it didn't work within the logo, I wanted something abit more illustrative and hands on to try and represent that side of my practice. I came across Motion Picture House which is a great contrast to Collesium.

I decided to play on the whole egg theme and call my company Crackin Design, this is abit of a play on the fact that I'm northern and this is a pretty northern phrase. I also think its quite humours and also represents hatching that new golden idea or plan, which I think is a nice concept to work with. 

Preparing for Foiling

 Business Cards

CV Cover

I prepared my artwork ready to print out and take to the print work shop, I am unsure about how I will cut them out at this moment in time, I would like to use the laser cutter but I feel I run the risk of ruining my business cards if it all goes wrong and I have little time to compensate for errors.
 

Pushing It Further

I think I could push this concept allot further and their is room for loads more eggcelent yolks. I am looking forward to seeing what I can produce. I am thinking of packaging my CV in golden eggs and sending them off to the studios. I have been in contact with a plastic company Mirfieled which makes plastic eggs for sweets and have organized a visit to get some eggs straight from the factory. I will produce a Small Creative Cv which carrys the whole egg theme throughout.