OUGD504 Evaluation

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

The Design for Print is by far the brief I have learn't the most. During the brief I had to go away and look into different types of printing, cost of printing, colour and different ways of finsishing. Not only did I have to research it and learn it but I had to go away and put everything into my own words, this is a very good way of getting something into your head! In terms of applying what I have learned thats quite hard to get out it words. I guess when it comes to the two books a produced, I have clearly presented different ways of printing techniques etc to the reader. The simple layout and clear diagrams makes the book to be an easy read. 

Design for Web was very interesting as this is the first time on the course that I have had no idea what so ever how to you a program. Learning web design has been very difficult and extremely stressful. I think I still have a while to go with it as there is so much to remember but hopefully this is something I can visit again in the near future. My final wesbite I was very pleased with. I think that it was too small though, thats something I can't quite explain. On the big mac in the studios my website only just covered more than half of the screen. 

During the summer I spent a very long time working on my 'A History Of..' brief as I was very inexperience on illustrator and it took me a while to get hang of the illustrations. It has paid off now though as I have really improved. The time I spent during the summer I have really benefitted from now. It also mean't that I had a lot to play with when I came back to uni. My Design for Web looks good because the illustrations are creative and easy to recognise. 

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

When it came to starting off a brief I would always go get some paper and simple right down what it was I had to do, once that was nicely in my head I would sit down and start mocking up some ideas. A few times I would go to the computer and start looking and some design that would inspire me to take a certain route in what the design would look like.  Last year I was very bad at making design sheets and this year I have discovered how important they can be. Making a design from scratch on the computer makes no sense to me anymore, its a great way to get stressed. 

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

I have made sure that I have done the work properly and blogged every single stage through a design to shoe people my thought process and design process. This is very important when it comes to hand in as the tutors and clearly see what you have been doing and how you have been doing it. All I can say is this is something I am going to be doing much more of in the future. My main strength is I am hard working. I don't see my self as a very 'strong' designer but the time I spend on things mean I get it done to an acceptable level. `

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

The main weakness is not producing enough products within the breifs. This is something, I regret to say, will probably lose me marks. I need to get out of my comfort zone of working on a computer and get out there and produce more interesting results. In the future I am going to go to screen print, I am going to get inducted on the letter press machine. I am going to go to the laser cutting rooms, I am going to really experiment more as thats where I am going to discover different ways of producing work and in the end I will learn from my experiences. These 1 and a bit years I have left is the best time to play around and make mistakes. Thats something I won't be able to do in the future. 

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

• Time management has to be the main thing I want to improve during the next module. It is very important not to get too carried away on just one brief meaning you have less time to spend on others.
• Experiment! I am always on the computer and all I do when it comes to print is go down do digital print and print on to standard stock. Next time I really need to get myself in to screen print or even go down the road and letterpress.
• I would like to experiment more with packaging as thats something I have only briefly visited. I wish I had time to print packaging for my print processes books ass that would have really made the final outcome better and more professional. This is something I would like to visit on other briefs in the future. Packaging is a great way of finishing work. 
• Be more ready for crits is a big one. When you are ready for a brief I feel you are much more confident. Theres been a couple of times when I haven't brought all my work in or haven't printed of my presentation boards and this makes presenting fairly difficult. 
• Chill out! I have a tendency of getting way to over stressed from the smallest things and this always puts me off. Its important to stay on top of course and that can be stressful, however letting the small stuff get to you is unnecessary. 

Out of FIVE

Attendance :            5

Punctuality :            4

Motivation :             4

Commitment :         4

Quality of Work Produced :            3

Quantity of Work Produced :         3

Contribution to the Group :             5