OUGD203: Design Practice 2 - Evaluation...

I expected the Design Practice 2 (Individual practice) module to be the most challenging of any module so far. Now that I have completed it I can safely say I was right, but for many reasons, and most of them are positive.

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
This module has helped me to develop skills in several areas, due to my choice of 3 quite different briefs. I have improved my skills with hand drawn type. This provided the base of my designs for the Postcards brief, and I really put a lot of effort into creating interesting, and quirky type that I think suited the brief. This has also improved my drawing skills, and given me the confidence to try similar design in the future.

The running of three different briefs at the same time, meant I have had to be really conscious of my time management. I have tried to stick to the timetable I drew up for myself at the beginning of the project, but obviously things changes, sessions moved and I had to deal with this by planning ahead. For example I booked a print session early, conscious that the facility would fill up, and it helped to know that I had to be ready for this session as it was my only opportunity. My time management has improved, and I think that I will try to timetable my briefs in the future.

My skills with information have also improved; the Lonely Planet and Homebase briefs both required written information incorporated as part of the design, and this made me very aware that I would need to plan my designs well from the beginning. I really enjoyed this informational side of the design work, and would like to do more with information graphics in the future.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
The Homebase brief was asking for a re-design of a product range. I was able to look at the existing range they had, and identify what needed improving and how this could be done. Researching in this way helped me to create a design that was functional as well as aesthetically pleasing, and well designed.

For the Postcard briefs I wanted to work with an existing theme. Alice in Wonderland seemed to fit rather well, and I was able to research the characters and story in good depth. I even decided to read the stories whilst I was working on the brief; Researching a brief in this way enabled me to fully understand the words and themes within the book. I think that if a subject has a literary or theoretical background, then some reading can really help you to understand what angle you should use, and how you can design a response.

My development work, and the way I work has remained fairly similar to previous briefs. But I do think that I have become more accustomed to working on lots of projects at one time and learning to divide my time well. I have found that being able to switch off from one brief and onto another very quickly is something that I will need to get more adapted to in the future.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I know that I am a very organised person, and that this probably helped me a lot with this module. I know that planning my work has been integral to getting everything done, and I need to continue this with future briefs.

I have found a new love of hand drawn type, and several of my peers commented on how much they liked the resolutions I produced. I think that exploring this area more, and experimenting with this skill could create some good opportunities for me in the future.

I am a very thorough individual, and I do not like to leave any stone unturned. I have tried to explore all of the possible options for each brief (within the timescale I allotted them) so that I could feel that I was producing appropriate and strong design solutions to the briefs.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
I feel that I am very controlled in my work. I would like to be able to create more interesting, colourful, vibrant and exciting work. I am not sure how exactly I am going to do this; I think that maybe picking briefs that are slightly more out of my comfort zone and giving them ago would probably help.

I would like to have possibly done a fourth brief, as a one day project. I used to dislike one-dayers a lot, but a opportunities earlier this year told me different. I was not brave enough to choose a one-dayer for this set of briefs, but in the future I would like to give a few a go, and be a bit more daring.

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

I will try to keep a log of my work. Creating the timetable really helped me to get an idea of how efficiently I had to work. I think that recording my work will help me see how efficient I am, and where I can improve.

My motivation for the briefs needs to improve. There are of course outside elements that dictate mood and willingness to work; I never want these to become a distraction from my work, and I will try harder to not let them be. I think that if I can focus better on my work, then the quality will improve and I will also be preparing myself for a job in the design industry.

I has to reprint my labels for my work several times due to a very silly spelling error. This may not seem like a massive issue, but reprinting took time because the computer suites and printers were very busy, and it took much longer than I intended. In future I will make sure that my work is spell checked and that I prepare myself for the busy periods in the computer suites.

I found the idea I was working on for the Postcard briefs was not working, and I wasn’t enjoying it. I made the decision to change the direction of the brief, but was very worried that I would not be able to make it work. In future I would like to be able to make the decision with a bit more conviction, and have more faith that my ideas will pan out, and that I am good enough at what I do to at least make a go of it.

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

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

Myself
Attendance 5
Punctuality 5
Motivation 4
Commitment 3
Quantity of work produced 4
Quality of work produced 3.5
Contribution to the group 4