Final Evaluation

This module has been very hard but also very rewarding. I have learnt lots through being in the studio everyday, discussing, showing and evaluating my work and the work of others. Having this constant discussion makes briefs come to life through other peoples enthusiasm and encouragement. The yearbook was a bit of a learning curve in the way of organising, photographing and getting the book ready for the printers. But I am very happy with how the collaboration went. The people in the group all had elements of their personalities and design skills which blended well together. It was a real eye opener into how a design group can make a project really successful. Before this experience I was never 100% happy with collaboration projects so this has made the future seem brighter as colloborations are how most studios work. The yearbook made me realise that design is more to do with people than you anticipate. The yearbook proved hard as you had to please the tutors, the students, the design team and your self. But through discussion and perseverance I think everyone is happy with the result. Organising content for the yearbook was a difficult as you were forever chasing up people for different files, copy and information.

Other projects that have gone successfully in this module that have furthered my understanding and passion for packaging / branding design were the Papa Loko rum brief and the Quentin Tarantino brief. I think I enjoyed them because they both had strong concepts behind the design. They were different concepts, but having one there brings out better ideas which create more interesting resolutions. Both of them have pushed my understanding of materials and techniques to create interesting design. In this module I found that through my DC publication and development on my own work I have decided I want to design more for high end, high spec, concept led and bespoke work. This rather than boring commercial stuff really excites me and when you have passion for something you try harder so you get better design at the end of it. Doing the Ocean Giants project, Yearbook and DC publication I have definitely got a better understanding of layout. I hadn’t really touched on this area of design before FMP but I think the skills I have learnt about type, grids and layout are invaluable. Although this part of graphic design isn’t my strongest I feel that the skills I have learnt are sufficient enough to get me by. For some of the briefs I felt if I had more time I could of expanded them further, pushing ideas and resolutions but sometimes there can never be enough time for a project and deadlines can be a good thing. As for the time management side of things I think I organised my time well enough considering I had a 2 week placement. Overall this module has built my confidence and competence as a designer which is good as this is what I came here to do.