evaluation

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN Module Code

OUGD301

Module Title

DESIGN PROCESS

LEVEL

06

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION NAME

FRANKIE ROBERTS

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

The application of typography within my designs has definitely improved this year. For previous modules I’ve largely focused on image and didn’t pay much attention to type, however, I’ve found it’s produced a much more professional finish to the designs when using grids and baselines in InDesign. Knowing the importance of this has really effected the way I work as I found myself spending a lot of time on the logo designs for both ‘me and thee’ and ‘tenten’ in order to perfect that visual identity of a brand.

My collaboration skills have improved this year as when working on the ‘me and thee’ bief with Liv Chapman I feel like I contributed a lot to that brief and being in a collaboration really helped with organising set tasks and design jobs.

Working with photography in the ‘me and thee’ brief really helped the aesthetics of the design development process as well as improving my skills in image. I’ve been wanting to include photography into my designs this year and I’m really happy with how they turned out as the client loved the ink images and I was able to include them into the promotional designs for ‘me and thee’.

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

I think my work has been a lot more conceptual within this module due to the fact that I’ve put a lot of thought into the context of each brief and how appropriate my designs are for the aesthetics of the brand. Take the ‘starkey’ brief for example where I tried to apply imagery that would not only suit the content of the album music but the context of how the vinyl will sit n the environment.

This term I’ve been using the studio space and college facilities a lot more then I have in the past and I’ve found its really helped with the design process. In previous years I’ve been convinced that I work better from home, however, after spending more time in the studio and staying later I’ve come to realise I get a lot more work done in the college environment. Although I feel like I’ve been working hard this year, I still know I could be pushing myself a lot harder & next term I aim to do so.

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

Logo design & development has to be one of the strengths from the briefs as I feel like I put a lot of time, thought and effort into type and as a result I feel both ‘me and thee’ and ‘tenten’ have current, sophisticated logo designs.

It’s something I will continue to pay more attention to in the future as the logo is the face of the visual identity and holds great importance for the brand. I’ll be applying type in a more professional manor next term.

Another strength would be my photographic skills as I think the ink photographs were appropriate and some of them came out really nicely. Next term I’d like to have a higher focus on this and maybe create some sort of publication in which I can bring both photography and typography into my designs.

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

Throughout my time on the course I’ve always struggled to grasp blogging and it’s really frustrated me toward the end of this module. I feel like I’ve stepped up the work load considerably this year but I’m not sure if this comes across on my blog. Over the Christmas break I aim to develop some sort of action plan that will help solve this issue. Atleast one blog post a day is probably something I should aim for and that way I won’t have the last minute stress of it all!

I feel like I put most the work in with the collaboration for ‘me and thee’ and as a result my other briefs didn’t get my time and attention as much they should have done. Although I enjoyed working in a collaboration, I feel like I was putting in a lot more effort & design work than Liv and found myself trying to organise too many things which I think had an effect on my other briefs as they could’ve been developed further. Next time when working in a collaboration I think a more structured plan would really help as I could spread my time more efficiently across all my briefs.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these? > Blogging as I go along will help my organisation skills and help portray the actual amount of work I’m doing. > Spread my time more efficiently over briefs as not only will it help me develop the designs as far as I can but it will allow me to do more short briefs on the side, improving my design skills and outcomes. > Next term I want to be using nicer stock as it will really help with the confidence I have in my designs. I often don’t feel happy with how they come out and I think stock choice has a massive part to play in this. Ordering some appropriate stock for the briefs next term will really improve the professional quality and help make me proud of the work I’ve produced. > Preparation for crits will be vital for design development. > I think proposing more, in terms of the visual outcomes, would really help my work. I tend to look at the printed outcomes but should propose bigger ideas, even if the brief budget couldn’t cover it.

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ʻxʼ) 5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor 1

2

3 x

4

5

Attendance x Punctuality x Motivation x Commitment x Quantity of work produced x Quality of work produced x Contribution to the group The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.