BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN LEVEL
05 Module Code OUGD501 Module Title context of practice 2
END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION NAME SARAH GOLDTHORPE
1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? I think I have definitely started to hone the skill of translation in terms of, being able to synthesise a piece of work and convey this through the realms of both written and practical work. I feel that due to my improvement in this area, the pieces of work I have produced (final essay and packaging) are a direct reflection of one another. I have also adapted to new writing skills including methods such as triangulation in which I am able to write about arguments and multiple authors in a harmonic way to improve the strength of points I make in written work, and therefore well evidence them. This is something that I really worked hard on in my essay, to find academic and reliable sources and interlink them into this method of writing, further supported by other sources included in the essay. Developing on and working on this skill has in consequence given me the best grade (draft grade) that I have ever achieved on a piece of written work.
2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? There are two elements that I worked on developing when creating my practical piece, and these are craft and adaptation. As for my practical piece, I was designing for an already existent brand, although be it in my own direction, i want to make sure the visual aesthetic mirrored that of the brand already created. This is something I have had to do on previous projects this year, and have actually really enjoyed / been successful at doing. In terms of my final product (Barbie packaging) I really feel as though in terms of style it is an honest impression of the Barbie identity. I have also practiced, and realised how important it is to craft things properly. I think one of the reasons why my final piece looks like a true depiction of the Barbie brand is because of my care for details. Everything from the aesthetic of the box, the shape of the box, the use of acetate to mirror the plastic window, the proportional items I made to go with the doll, the idea that when inside the box, she is inside her bedroom, and how
this links in with my concept of living an integral life. I have really learnt how important it is to be truly considerate to your brief and concept, and how any little detail can improve and contribute to this or take away from it.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? I think that the strength within my work is evidence. In terms of my essay, I worked hard to put together a combination of solely strong academic sources, which as previously mentioned, when written using the method of triangulation, made a strong set of arguments that were well evidenced and therefore, easy to base my own opinions upon. In reference to my practical piece, I think it is easy to see from the design that after reading my essay, and also looking at the development on my blog although this is not particularly needed, that every detail I have put into the design, has a link to something written in my essay which Is what I think makes my work strong. This combined with again, how well I have adapted my own creation to the already existing Barbie brand makes not only the concept of the piece very strong, but also the aesthetic. I also feel that this year on the context of practice module I have really taken into consideration how important good research is. I picked a topic to write about in my essay which many people strayed away from, as we had not had much teaching time on this in comparison to other themes. However this is the one which interested me most, and so I spent a long time researching and educating myself on the subject of Globalisation from a few different angles, this Is what I, and I hope others can identify from my work. In terms of the practical piece, I then applied the research from my essay, and combined this with further research which I had done about the large western icon Barbie.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future? I think that aside from slight crafting errors such as ripples in the plastic window and having to glue the box layers back to back. The main weakness, or more so issue with my work would be its distribution etc. The piece of design I have created is more so a personal response to my essay. It is not something that would be sold in stores, played with by children or displayed in homes, it is just my practical view of what is discussed in my essay. Although I do believe, being such a political piece, it is something that some with strong opinions on the subject would like to own. I don’t particularly know how this would be distributed by them, and then of course there is always copy right issues with large companies such as Barbie. However I do believe that the product makes a statement not to be missed by many, and therefore I could see it as part of a campaign in which the younger generation are convinced more so, to lead more social lives outside the boundaries of the internet and mobile, and integrate within both their local and global communities again, it could even go as far as, convincing people to get back in touch with their culture, particularly in the east, or for the west, learn more about cultures in the east. Although it is a piece of Graphic communication, it has a strong message, evidenced by my essay and one well research, I fear that the piece I have created dangles on the edge of a piece of Graphic design or a piece of art. This is something I would definitely work on in the future, as I believe that it is the one effective error for my piece, I will make sure to work just as hard on the purpose and distribution of a piece as I do on building the concept, in order to create something that is successful all around.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
- One thing that I will definitely do next time is really try to concrete my idea down before I start any kind of development. One of my downfalls for the module was that we had no critiques at all before submission and so I flitted from idea to idea trying to find something I was really confident with. Although I went to see a tutor and discussed my idea, I was still not happy with it and therefore changed my idea. Next time I will ask for there to be some organised crits as i feel a lot of people could have benefited from them, as well as organising smaller group crits with my peers. - I feel that to further improve the strength of my essay I could have conducted some kind of practical research. I know that this is something now, that I will need to be doing for COP3 and so not only could this have boosted my grade, but also improved my practice and prepared me for next year. - Creating more for the practical piece. I would have liked to create a bit more for the practical piece, such as actually producing a model of Barbie’s standardised house, in order to create a more whole design, however due to time constraints I was only able to mention this within the piece. - Although I think I did well with crafting my box, there were a couple of blips along the way, such as having to stick my double sided box back to back as the printing wouldn’t line up. Seeing if there were other ways I could have gone about foiling such as accessing the facilities at vernon street.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’) 5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor 1 2 3 4 5 Attendance
5
Punctuality
5
Motivation
4
Commitment
5
Quantity of work produced
4
Quality of work produced
4
Contribution to the group
4
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.