Evaluation

What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
Over the course of the module I feel that I have learnt a lot. There are techniques, skills and processes that I would have never thought to consider when designing for print that I know now to do so. As well as looking at a piece of design critically in a creative way I have the understanding of how it is potentially printed. I also feel that I have broadened the use of the adobe software programs, now coming into contact with adobe Indesign.  Starting after the workshops in the mac suites and type sessions with Grahaem I have realised how I can utilise Indesign to aid my design work, just another skill to my ever growing creative arsenal. 




What approached to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
As so much of the start of this brief was research, there is only so much you can research before you loose interest or run out of things to research. Thanks to the many crit sessions and seminars I have come to realise that there are other ways to think, lateral is not the only way. Blogging while I go has been more successful in this module, I have been able to keep on top of what I research and look at which I can later look back on or relate to when it comes to explaining my work.




What strengths can identify in your work and how have / will you capitalise on these?
I feel that I have expanded the range of visual variations that I produced throughout the projects within the module. Often I would generate a range of ideas choose a small range and slowly narrow it down to one or two and in the later stages neglecting the experimentation and variation that could expand my ideas and range further. In this module I have experimented with different variations later on, where I have only tweaked certain aspects of the designs.




What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
Because I was so involved in research and gathering what I could on my 'Good' I lost sight of the larger picture of having to design and produce a body of work with a final outcome. The designing started at a later stage than anticipated which pushed everything back a notch from there. I also feel that I my range lacked range, I was too hung up on the fact of trying to find what to design on before I had found the context and content of the work. If I had generated the content first potentially this could have lead to a me producing a wider range of products.  




Identify a few different things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing this?
One thing for definite is that I need to produce more physical work in the form of mock ups and off screen products so I can see how people interact with my designs and ideas. Having something actually physical helps to clarify what message and concept you have, this is often something that I struggle with, not being able to visually show what I am doing in a crit because it either on screen or in my head not in a format that is easily explanatory. I also now that I have a broader understanding of print I will be able to apply this to more of my work, a lot of the time there are many different forms that my work could take but I don't explore how to do it, often opting for the easy option which can have a negative affect on the finished product.