In regards to the practical skills that I have developed throughout this module, I feel it would be fair to say that revisiting my ability illustrate has been a very worthwhile process considering that I have neglected it for the majority of this year so far. In direct reference to the 'How to...' and 'Speaking from experience' briefings, I feel that I have developed my approach to drawing considerably from my previous years of study both in terms of how I make use of line qualities as well as thinking about what process I intend to take my work to after the original inking.
As a result, this module has also been useful in providing me with instances in which I have been able to make use of the screen printing process to complete my given resolutions. This can be seen most significantly within the 'Speaking from experience' brief where I have produced a comprehensive body of prints for the first years of next year to take for themselves and learn from in relation to our experiences of this academic year.
What approaches to/methods of problem solving have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
A key aspect of this module for me has definitely been working to short deadlines and instances of quick turn-around. The recognition brief was specifically very challenging in terms of only having one week to complete the research and resolve; not to mention the two thumb print posters that had to be resolved within one hour. Relating to this directly, I am quite confident that developing a better sense of time management helped me to address the problems that were set before me in a such a short space of time. This was done via to-do lists in small note books and diaries, as well as a few specially developed time tables and action plans... something I was very poor and un-organised with towards the beginning of the year.
Another aspect of this module that I feel has helped me to progress as a designer was the 'Communication is a virus' brief which saw me having to collaborate with two fellow members of the course. Although this was comparable to the very first brief of the year, it was clear to myself as well as Ollie and Emma just how much more mature and capable we were of dividing tasks between ourselves and organising what needed to be completed and when. As a result, I feel the resolves to this brief were probably some of the most successful that I have produced to date and the fact that we learnt a lot from each other was also very beneficial.
What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
Given the way that I used to work in previous years and even at the beginning of this academic year, I have noticed how much more informed I have become in making design decisions prior to the construction of a final resolve. It has become far more apparent to me that an array of decisions need to be addressed and carefully considered, especially when it comes down to creating a product for a specific target audience or conceptual message. This can be referenced to such briefs as the 'Recognition Day' brief as well as the 'Speaking from experience' brief geared towards next year's first year.
What weakness can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
Although I was fully aware that there would probably be no alternative, I feel that it would have been nice to have been able to dedicate a larger proportion of time to producing the final 50 print resolve for the 'Speaking from experience' brief; this was in opposition to completing a smaller amount of worthy prints for the module submission last week. Although many things played against my intentions (ie. having my screen split just before it was ready to print), I still wasn't prepared as I perhaps should have been for the final crit and could have therefore managed my time a little better in the closing weeks of that final section of the module... there's always time to manage your time better is there not?
Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
1. Be sure to document the progressive stages of ideas; i.e storyboards and so on. I think a lot of what goes on in my head is lost to a desire to progress rapidly with a resolution. This is most noticeable in developing my final composition for the 'Speaking from experience' poster; I didn't document my alterations and progressions what so ever and I know that this will cost me dearly.
2. Allow more time for the final resolution to be produced; thus allowing for any mistakes or mishaps that might come my way. It would also allow me to experiment further with things such as ink and stock selections in screen printing etc.
3. Make a significantly improved use of my blog. I have it in my head that I need to write pages upon pages of text, when most of the time a simple paragraph would suffice. This I think could be achievable at least once everyday and would therefore build up a bigger bank of influencing design.
4. Get into better sleeping routines, although I am certain this may never change. I am awful for getting up late... or simply getting up early and feeling rubbish. This results in a lot of time wasted even though I am often in the studio until 9pm.
5. Stop procrastinating and give myself shorter deadlines and targets to meet. If I look at the bigger picture and say 'Oh I have 5 weeks to do all of this' I never exploit my full potential and constantly feel I am behind given the maximum that I could achieve.
1. Be sure to document the progressive stages of ideas; i.e storyboards and so on. I think a lot of what goes on in my head is lost to a desire to progress rapidly with a resolution. This is most noticeable in developing my final composition for the 'Speaking from experience' poster; I didn't document my alterations and progressions what so ever and I know that this will cost me dearly.
2. Allow more time for the final resolution to be produced; thus allowing for any mistakes or mishaps that might come my way. It would also allow me to experiment further with things such as ink and stock selections in screen printing etc.
3. Make a significantly improved use of my blog. I have it in my head that I need to write pages upon pages of text, when most of the time a simple paragraph would suffice. This I think could be achievable at least once everyday and would therefore build up a bigger bank of influencing design.
4. Get into better sleeping routines, although I am certain this may never change. I am awful for getting up late... or simply getting up early and feeling rubbish. This results in a lot of time wasted even though I am often in the studio until 9pm.
5. Stop procrastinating and give myself shorter deadlines and targets to meet. If I look at the bigger picture and say 'Oh I have 5 weeks to do all of this' I never exploit my full potential and constantly feel I am behind given the maximum that I could achieve.
How would you grade yourself on the following areas?
Attendance - 5
Punctuality - 3 or 4
Motivation - 4 or 5
Commitment - 4 or 5
Quantity of work produced - 3 or 4
Quality of work produced - 4
Contribution to the group - 4
