OUGD603 End of Module Evaluation

What skills have you developed throughout this module and how effectively have you applied them?

This module has ensured myself a path within graphic design, which is primarily branding and identity. I have developed my ability to identify a concept and ensure that it is a running theme throughout me designs. On top of this I have taken much more care over my choices of stock and the quality of my printed materials. I have found that this year I have been striving to push myself further in terms of my designs and also my ideas. I have tried to always ensure innovation in my designs and make them completely unique.

Working with a range of clients has made me much more aware of how to work in industry, and has improved my ability to identify the wants and needs of a client. Similarly, after the interim submission I have been striving to pay more attention to my target audience, and what they want from the product or event. My skills relating to layout have greatly improved, as well as paying attention to detail in mocking up images.

This module has been most successful in defining where my strengths lie, and leading me on a path that I feel I can excel on. I have developed a lot of existing skills with has resulted in me producing work that, for the first time on the course, I am really proud of.

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

This module I have tried hard to pay more attention to the context of my designs, and thinking about the placement of the products or posters and the setting in which they will be presented. This in turn has informed my approach to much of the designs I have produced this year, as I am more aware of the manner in which my audience will see them. Similarly, given that a lot of my briefs were focused around brand identity, I have become aware of the importance of researching into the ethos and ideals in the brand. This is something I learnt while completing Brief 2 (Born Free) as their mission statement and ethos of the foundation are evident in all of their campaigns.

I have found myself spending a lot more time on the initial stages of development, which was an aim of mine for this module. This has ensured more variety in my options and has also ensured that I have chosen the best option to pursue.

While another one of my aims was to develop my skills at designing for on screen purposes, I have since realised that this area is not one of my strengths, and so I have been more focused on print based design.

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

I have been able to identify that my biggest strength is in branding and identity, and promotional design, and most of my briefs have been centered around these two aspects of graphic design. I really love the outcome to Brief 1 (Cannes) which was a brief I pulled all of my energy into and tried to ensure not to restrict myself. I have realized that when it comes to promotional design I can work to a very short timescale, and this has actually improved my work, as with no room for error, I find myself making fewer mistakes. By ensuring these two aspects to design are evenly weighted, as well as the incorporation of typography, I have been able to produce a varied portfolio.

While much of my work falls into the branding and identity bracket, I think that there is enough variation within this to show that I approach every brief differently, and avoid similarities in them.

I have managed to develop the manner in which I deal with client briefs, and have found myself doing the appropriate amount of research to be able to interpret their ideas well. I have also found that I have developed my patience skills when working with clients, and with groups, as has been evidenced in some of the more difficult briefs.

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

I have found that in several instances I have struggled with constructing packaging. One of my aims of this year was to improve my crafting skills, but when it came down to it I still found myself struggling to put some designs together. This is something that I am going to try and spend time practicing, as I think where I am struggling is in not doing enough test pieces to get it right. While I am aware that this skill may not be relevant for the field I aim to go into, having the understanding and ability to perfect this skill will always be beneficial.

I have at times struggled with having confidence in my work and wanting to present it to people. This year I have produced work that I have found myself taking great pride in and I am much more comfortable with people seeing my work. This module has taught me to understand the way in which I work and how to apply that effectively, which has resulted in me know feeling confident enough to apply myself to the industry.

Brief 13: Personal Branding for Makeup Artist Design Boards and Evaluation

This brief was short, as all the client wanted was a logo and business cards. She was a great client as she was very specific about what she wanted, and had already seen some of my work that she liked, wanting her logo produced in a similar fashion.

The final logo fits the brief well as in incorporates bright splashes of colour and a facial feature. The design is very current and quite edgy, but also does not hint at any particular preference of makeup styles. The logo is easy to vary in terms of colour and context, and could also be adapted to fit different aspects of her job.

The business cards are consistent with the logo by featuring the inky texture on the back of the card. Similarly the web design is appropriately minimal due the the busy nature of the logo. This could have been made more succinct with the overall design, but given that this was not included with the brief, I chose to keep it simple to see if she wanted to use it, which in the end she decided to use.

I was pleased with the outcome of this brief, and how easy it was to design due to the very detailed brief the client gave me. Due to this I was able to turn around the logo quickly and had very little changes to make to it. It was also a big plus that she wanted to use the web design for her website, as this pulled the whole brand together.

Brief 12: Book of Monkman Design Boards and Evaluation

Given that this was a live brief set by a Creative Advertising student, he was very particular about what he wanted. This was to be a bible-looking digital portfolio, playing on his name - Will Monkman. He told me that he wanted it to appear aged and weathered, with some illustrative embellishments on the page. I made the point that embellishments on the page could distract from the work itself, but he was adamant that it wouldn't.

There are some aspects to this brief that worked well and some that I don't worked as well. The parchment style texture works for the theme of his portfolio, as does the aged leather cover. The front page as a whole gives the appropriate impression of his work, and also insinuates that his work is like following a religion and he is hugely dedicated to it. However, the cross on the front page could easily be taken the wrong way and may even be seen as blasphemous or disrespectful. However, Will was sure that people seeing his portfolio would understand that it is just a play on words.

I managed to change his mind in terms of the embellishments, and they ended up being just on the front two and back two pages which didn't hold any work. This made the portfolio appear much more professional. However, the type used could be considered too decorative, and may distract from the work further. A simple Roman typeface would have been more appropriate, but not as in keeping with the theme and type examples Will had chosen.

Overall, this was a client brief and the client was happy with it, but if it weren't there would have been several changes I would have made to it. However, this was a good lesson in working for clients, and understanding that I may not like everything I produce, but as long as the client does it's a job well done.

Brief 11: DBA Design Boards and Evaluation

Our group for this brief consisted of Joe Harrison, Leo Sims, Anna Sergison, Jake Greenhalgh and myself. Although each person was assigned a different aspect of the brief to design, there is a high level of consistency throughout. Having changed the logo a few times, which was a collective task, the design we landed on is an appropriate representation of our concept for the Capital North brand, which was to exhibit the diversity and culture within each city, while presented them as a unified capital of the North.

This concept is kept apparent throughout the designs of the trains and taxis, as the imagery of each design is individual to the city in which it would be based, while maintaining their unity through the layout and colour scheme, which is kept simple and recognisable. While it may have been beneficial to find some other ways of exhibiting each city, for example incorporating more big landmarks into the designs, this was the idea that the group all decided on.

While the logo was designed well, showing each city in a geographical manner around the N, I feel that it may have been a better option to make the colours more different to each other. This is because if the designs in Liverpool were in one colour, and then travelled to Hull, and saw another colour, they are similar enough that the difference may not be noticed, when the variation in colour is vital to the display of diversity in the brand.

Our group worked well, each of us given an even weighting in tasks and coming together once or twice a week to ensure we were on a similar path. However, a couple of days before presenting it came to our attention that one member hadn't done the work they were responsible for, leaving the other members only a day to complete all the work he was meant to do. Because of this, we presented our brand without him, and stopped associating him with our group.

In spite of a couple of hiccups along the way, the remaining four members of our group worked really well together, each person with equal responsibility and equal say in the design process. All of our ideas were landed on collectively and were of a good standard. Given the chance to do something differently, we may have needed to spend more time on the logo design, as this was a point of weakness in the brand that was picked up by the judges we were presenting to. However, I would be more than happy to work with the same people again as I was really pleased with our outcome.

Brief 10: Secret 7 Design Boards and Evaluation

Having done the Secret 7 brief before, with the restrictions of not using the artists name or song title, it is a challenge that I look forward to and acted as a good break from Context of Practice. The layout is a good reflection of the vocals of Diana Ross & The Supremes, the three of them singing much of 'Reflections' in harmony.

The use of tambourines is apparent in the song and so is a good theme to bring forward in the designs, and while the illustrations are an appropriate modern twist on the instrument, it may not be totally in keeping with the era the song was at it's peak. However, the aim I had was to bring the song and that genre of music into a more focal point in this time, which was achieved here.

Similarly, the colour scheme of the designs are current and do not particularly coincide with the artists previous album artwork, but again these were dated. The set up of the illustrations shows the unity of the vocalists in the song and how they all overlap each other.

Overall, I was really pleased with this outcome, especially considering only a couple of days was spent on it. I think that it brings the song and the genre of music into the 21st century without altering any aspect to it. Given the time I would have liked to spend some more time coming up with some alternative illustrations because there is little variation in the designs themselves, and this way another, perhaps better idea could have become apparent. However, with the time I had, I feel that the outcome is innovative and unlike other designs that may be made for the same song.

Brief 9: DR ME Design Boards and Evaluation

This brief gave me an awareness of just how much I can get done with limited time. On top of this, designing for the music sector is something I have been interested in in my time at LCA. I was also pleased to be working with Grace, who I have worked with before and has always been a good partner.

The vinyl cover design was drawn up based on the nature of the song we were assigned, and it accurately depicts the varied elements of the track that all come together. The nature of the overlapping shapes also lend themselves to some of the technical elements to the music. However, some more variation in terms of visuals could have been beneficial, as the same idea was repeated in different ways to land on one that worked.

The promotional poster design for Odonis Odonis is based upon what we thought fans of the artist would want to see, or what would make them inclined to go. One of the design uses a mechanical structure which embodies the nature of their music, while the other gives more obvious impact. More time could have been spent developing the layout and type choices, but time was limited anyway.

The final personal design was meant to be a reflection of our own graphic design interests, which is why it features a typeface I went on to design. It is strictly a header typeface and would not work on a smaller scale, but it as a bold poster design it works well in context with the word 'melting'.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this day, as this is a manner in which I would love to work in the future, with strict time constraints. Although it means that research is limited, I also found that given there was no wiggle room to make mistakes with it, I was actually making much fewer mistakes than I ordinarily would, and I found that my work benefitted greatly from being under large time pressure.

Brief 8: Atha Developments Design Boards and Evaluation

This was the first live brief of the year, and the first which was centred around an existing brand's identity. The work produced is a good reflection of the process behind construction and how every aspect of it may influence several others. The logo fits the description of what the clients wanted, a modern approach without being too industrial looking.

All of the wants of the client were met, however if this was not a client brief, the typeface used for 'Atha Developments' in the logo would have been different, as the use of Ariel Black seems to take away from the impact of the initials 'AD' due to it's heavy nature.

Although the clients did not ask for a website design, their lack of a web presence was very noticeable when doing research into the brand, and so I designed the website anyway, for them to use if they saw fit. It is simply laid out making it easy for users to direct around, however, again due to the limited information that was only available via their Facebook page, the content is fairly sparse, using only photos to direct around the site.

Had this not been a short client brief, the work would have benefitted from being expanded over other materials, and some more time spent on the webpage would have made it more appealing to viewers. However, the clients were very happy with the outcome and were pleased with the way the logo translated onto other aspects of their brand.