BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN Module Code
OUGD301
Module Title
DESIGN PRACTICE 3
LEVEL
06
END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION NAME
Max Gregory
1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? This module I have found really helpful and although I have lacked in many areas, which I will get to soon, I also feel like I始ve developed a great deal. I think the skill I have improved in the most is my final presentation of the briefs, I am really pleased with my boards and think they communicate how the briefs have turned out really well. With communication and presentation being two skills I was really hoping to improve on from second year can take this as a real positive from here on. I also think I have improved greatly to take a brief from conception to resolution in a much shorter time and be pleased with the outcome. Although this should not really have been the case with some of my briefs, I think I managed the time I had left towards the end well to come up with products and concepts that hold together well. I have been a little more decisive In selection of ideas and have definitely benefited from it overall.
2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? The majority of the briefs I selected for this module revolved around the production of some kind of publication and developing an aesthetic or identity to go with it. I put a lot of time into layout as this is one of the main skills that I want to come through in my portfolio and work from now on. Again I think this is a skill that benefited from the choice of briefs, however along with this came the crafting of a lot of books. Another skill that I really wanted to develop from second year and I think I have succeeded in doing through this module. I am now much more able to bind books, and have a fairly good knowledge of the processes best suited to the different types of books I wanted to produce and the effect I wanted to achieve with the finished product. This involves everything from good practice and habits to have when binding books (because of the amount of binding I始ve been doing) to the various types of binds and technicalities of stitching and glueing etc. Something I think I can continue to work into my practice as a skill that is considered fairly specialist.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? I think continuing from second year, my main strengths throughout the module have been in type and layout however I am also really pleased with the crafting quality of my resolutions. I think this is a very good way to put myself apart from other potential employees and will improve my employability.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future? The main weaknesses in my work I think are use of colour and experimentation, or pushing ideas to their extent to find out what is possible with what Iʼve produced. I often find an idea that I like and work around it instead of really pushing it to find out what it could be. So although my outcomes are often quite nice, they are also fairly sterile and I hope to improve on this in the future. I think Iʼve got a little better at pushing ideas since second year but I still think I can improve on it massively.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these? -
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As mentioned above, I hope to take ideas as far as I can before reigning them back. As I think this will provide me with much stronger outcomes, both in terms of concept and aesthetic, than taking them to the point I feel content with and then altering it. I need to project and time manage much more effectively. This module I have managed to miss print slots and let briefs get on top of me as they tend to do very quickly when Iʼm not working efficiently enough. Using the project file to its full potential would be much more helpful aswell as planning my time and giving myself daily deadlines in order to get to a point each day that provides me with a basis for further development. Work more evenly across my briefs, although this potentially comes in the section above, I donʼt think this is entirely down to project management as I let briefs I wasnʼt enjoying quite as much build up gradually to a point where I had left it probably a little too late. I was then sacrificing time on others to allow for work I had not done and it had a knock on effect on all my projects. This will potentially resolve time management issues and allow my briefs to be explored equally. Need to blog more consistently as I go along, possibly planning in a certain amount of time each day to blog the days findings and developments, as I have found blogging has got on top of me much more in this module than previous. Due to the amount of projects running at the same time I think organising my blog and having a set way in which I photograph and present information will prove really useful as I will then be able to see where I am falling behind on and address it quickly. Collaborate and use peers to gain constant feedback on my work and concepts. I find this is always massively helpful and taking the time to seek this kind of feedback myself I think would benefit all involved. Similarly to blogging, putting time aside after each decision to discuss my project development with peers will only help me to improve.
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
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5 x
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.