End of Module - Self Evaluation

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

The first area where I have vastly improved my skills is the idea generating process, through in depth development and research my final ideas are better informed, resulting in work where the content & ideas is just as important, as the final aesthetic of the design. 

The second area is around my use and knowledge of typography, again through in depth studies of current typefaces and typographers I have learnt some of the rules of typography to apply to my own typefaces. The use of typography in my work has also improved, rather than just using very modern sans serif typefaces such as Helvetica I have been experimenting with serif type and seeing how they can affect the elegance and overall feel to design work.

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

The most influential approach has been to do with the pace of the projects and research. This fast approach doesn’t leave any time to mess about and complete the work last minute, this keeps me occupied and engaged with the work I’m doing meaning I get relevant and interesting research done which has a huge influence in my design work.

The other approach that has developed my design process has been blogging, it allows me to access all my work without having to carry round a folder of work. It also means it is quick and easy too refer back to any old research or work on other briefs.

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

Within my work over this module a key strength has been my craft and finishing skills, I always make sure I took time when cutting things out using the scalpel properly and when tracing my typeface I made sure that the stroke of the illustrations was consistent as well as keeping the letters as crisp as possible. I aim to keep this up as well as practicing when possible to further improve the finished craft of my work.

Another area has been meeting deadlines, always making sure that an idea of finished piece of design is completed for crits allowing relevant feedback, giving me time to improve and change work when possible. In future briefs I want to spend as much time as I can on briefs and make sure I have pushed each one to my full potential.

What weaknesses can you identity in your work and how will you address these more fully?

The first weakness in this module is my experimentation; I tend to rely on techniques that are familiar to me, in future briefs I want to expand my range of techniques and process, push my ideas as far as possible and learn from the mistakes I make. Areas that especially interest me are bookmaking and different print methods such as screen-printing which I hope to try out when appropriate and possible within the brief deadlines.

Secondly my language skills have room for improvement, I need to make sure that when analyzing my own and others work I am critical and use correct terminology especially within typography-based work. I can improve these skills by researching relevant words and by making sure I complete any written tasks to the best of my ability, getting feedback when possible.

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

Push my work in the initial design stages making sure I have as many options and ideas as possible to help progress through the rest of the brief.

Expand my research techniques giving me informed, in depth, therefore better informed background knowledge about the content of what I am designing for/ about.

Triple check, and get others to check work before printing to avoid typos or layout mistakes, saving me money and time.

Create mock-ups in early stages to get a better idea of how the design or final idea may look closer to completion allowing decisions to be made earlier on.

Explore a range of techniques before I settle on one for my final idea to improve my knowledge of the subject and processes.

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: 5 - excellent, 4 - very good, 3 - good, 2 - average, 1 - poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					X
Punctuality				X
Motivation				X
Commitment			X
Quantity of work produced		X
Quality of work produced			X
Contribution to the group			X

Mailshot - Crit 2

a - Chris & Matt
b - Francesca & Frankie

What is being communicated and how?
a. Identity fraud - communicated by informing us, also gives simple steps to avoid identity fraud
b. Identity fraud - communicated through advice

How well does this answer the brief?
a. Brief is answered very well. Gives simple steps and its not overwhelming with information, and has nice aesthetics.
b. Clear & focused, sending message, visually engaging

Who is the audience and how well does the resolution communicate its message/ content to them?
a. The audience is relevant to rich business men in London, possibly add some students to the list as well who aren't aware of the risks.
b. Upper class londoners, clarity through content to make it appropriate to chosen audience, simple and sophisticated - outside looks elegant

What are the strengths of the resolution?
a. Crisp, simple, clear and informative
Visually pleasing
b. How clear and effective it is, effective design - you know what to do with it, visually engaging, appropriate for audience

How could it be improved?
a. Add something which gives additional advice, what to do if you have been a victim of identity frayd or if you suspect it. Would have more impact if it was personalized
b. Doesn't need a lot, its very clear and effective, effectively answers the brief

General Comments
a. Visually appealing, good project
b. Visually enjoyable piece of graphic design, posters also effective

Mailshot - Crit 1

Issues Raised 
- Not enough visual content / work to show at the crit
- Information overload - could put people off reading the content
- Poster might be unnecessary within the mailshot
- Work on a range of ideas

Action to be taken
- Explore image research and think about a typeface
- Create posters - typographic/ image
- Create sticker designs to replace the wax seal
- Explore the idea of post it notes
- Go back to some original ideas and explore other possibilities
- Get idea and work concluded for monday
- Choose stock & colour scheme
- Look at other fraud visual communication
- Bring relevant work to future crits

No News - Feedback

Anonymous feedback for my current fraud poster designs, from two people.

What statement/ fact/ question is being communicated to you?
a. Fraud and card cloning is getting worse/ on the rise
b. Fraud costs a lot of money

Is this being communicated in a clear and focused way? Yes / No / Unsure
What could be developed further?
a. Yes - I don't like the Gill Sans 's' or c, perhaps they could be developed. The tracking on the word fraud could be developed, the 'r' and 'a' are a little to close. Perhaps try a black background.
b. Yes - Maybe the image only poster doesn't really suggest that money is wasted because of fraud

Have the posters been kept "simple and to the point?" Yes / No / Unsure
Is a statement, fact or question being posed?
a. Yes - The typography communicated this in a clear and readable way. The simplicity of the type and image is easy to understand.
b. Yes - Facts/ statements

Has the restriction of two colours plus stock been met? Yes / No
a. Yes
b. Yes

Are the two colours plus stock appropriate to the solution? Yes / No / Unsure
why are the two colours plus stock appropriate/ innappropriate?
a. Yes - The green reminds you of the digits on a cashpoint, on white it stands out.
b. Unsure - Its alright but it seems like green is always used for environmental stuff these days, but it does work well im just not sure why green.

Do the posters work as a set or seris? Yes / No / Unsure
Why do they work/ don't work as part of a set series and could this be developed furthur?
a. Yes - The colour scheme has been kept the same throughout, the grey bounding line shows they are part of a set.
b. Yes - The image only poster works well when placed next to one of the other posters but not when viewed alone.

Is it clearly evident which poster is TYPE, IMAGE and TYPE & IMAGE?
a. Yes it is clear, same type and simple design throughout.
b. Yes

Are the posters "memorable, immediate, high impact and clear?
a. Yes the use of a bold font hits you straight away, all 3 posters are engaging, visually pleasing and informative.
b. Yes they are, the fonts good, layouts good and delivers the right message. Already mentioned the only issue.

Do you feel the brief has been fulfilled to it's full potential? Yes / No / Unsure
a. Yes
b. Image poster needs more of an idea that suggests money is being wasted. Other than that they are fresh.

Alphabet Soup - Typeface

Self Evaluation

Which personality traits did you choose to respond to and apply to the typeface?

Musical

What are the reasons behind the design decisions you have made for the typeface?

Many of the decisions and ideas are based around replacing sections of the letterforms, playing around with legibility to see how little of the letter can represent it, as well as integrating the musical equipment with the type. I choose to use electronic based music equipment, because when doing the questionnaires many of my partner’s interests lay around DJing and that style of music.

In what ways are the results effective?

The typeface is a very clean and well rendered, it works on a range of scales, it is legible and the illustrations integrate well with the letterforms. I also think it is a good representation of my partner however over the next week I hope to play around with other elements of his personality and see where my ideas take me.

Problem Analysis

Brief

Design a typeface including six glyphs that represent the personality/interests of my partner

Who needs to know?

Peers, Tutors & partner

What do they need to know?

The personality and character of my partner and why the typeface is relevant to them

Why do they need to know?

To understand how we have responded to their personality

What will they respond to?

They will respond to our typeface and how we have represented out partner

What research is required?

Primary - Information from parent through surveys and conversation

Secondary – Research typefaces, print techniques, colour, typographers and websites

Crit Feedback

Issues Raised

Need to do more work, more research into type

More musical imagery, try and work with my own photos

Think about scale, much smaller designs

Explore glyphs (guitar pedals, jacks)

Work on name badge (90 x 45mm)

Explore other interests outside music

Alphabet Soup

Self Evaluation

What is being communicated and how?

My interpretations of the word inflate through visual exploration of type, using the idea of replacing or inflating different elements of each letter form, as well as exploring concepts of legibility and creating my own type with a basis of existing typefaces.

How well does this answer the brief?

I think it answers the brief reasonably well however had it of been a longer project I would have liked to explore other ideas, and a more engaging final idea.

How well has the idea been visually explored?

Throughout my sketchbooks and planning sheets I have been visually studying the different letterforms using a range of techniques, mediums and processes. I spent a lot of time looking at things such as upper and lower case, serif and sans serif seeing how different elements of the letters can represent my idea of inflate. I was also experimenting with how much of the letter could be covered, replaced or inflated before it became illegible.

What are the strengths of the resolution?

It’s a simple yet bold idea with a very direct and easy to read outcome that answers the brief, it also shows a strong final idea from an in depth look into typography, and the relation between type and image.

How could it be improved?

Further investigation into my chosen type to edit and explore, as well as a type that maybe engaged with the theme of inflate and balloons through the typeface.

How to

Self Evaluation

What Roles did I take in the group?

Within the group I designed the logo and the sign to hang over the door handle, I was also involved in the idea development stages of the project.

How well did I perform within these roles?

I think for the sections of the project I was set I worked hard and got the work I was supposed to do done, however I would have liked to get more involved with the group which is something I will try and focus on during my next group based project.

How well did we work as a group?

I think initially we found it hard putting ideas forward and did not click as a group initially, but once we gained some direction with our ideas most of the group finished all the design work we decided to share within the group. However I do think a few key members held it together and pushed the project forward.

What were the positives of working within a group?

It was very quick and easy to produce a much larger amount of work than when working on my own, it also gave a far greater range of ideas and allowed us to give feedback amongst ourselves.

What were the negatives of working in a group?

Conflicting ideas and concepts, and cannot always do the work that you think is the best option. Also not knowing the person that well means you don’t know anyone’s strengths and weaknesses.

What will you do differently next time?

Make far more effort to get the group together and try and make everyone commit to an equal amount of work,

Where could you have improved your resolution?

This final solution could be improved by printing the package and by researching the initial problem giving us a more educated and informed final design.

What were the strengths of your presentation?

It was a reasonably well-rehearsed, time effective presentation that was engaging and easy to follow.

10 Achievements

10 Things that I wish to achieve by the end of the year.

Advance my knowledge of colour theory

Improve on my group work skills

Develop the public presentation of work

Keep on top of my time management

Increase my knowledge of designers/ illustrators/ artists

Expand my analytical and writing ability

Increase my range printing techniques

Gain a basic understanding of HTML

Improve video techniques and software skills

Extend my knowledge of typography