End of module evaluation

Evaluation

Overall, I think one of my strengths for this module was definitely a growth in confidence regarding design approaches, especially in using design principles to my best ability; I really saw a difference in how professional the poster concepts turned out, as I followed these principles in order to communicate my ideas. Additionally, I enjoyed having more independence and being able to introduce illustration into my work; I think that in reference to the actual posters, the index poster was my strongest design as I think it worked best for a contemporary poster due to its’ interactive stickers. 

In terms of weaknesses, I think that this module was a lot easier to get stuck on working in a particular way, which is why I tried to push myself into various design avenues such as photography and collage; however, I found at the start of the project most of what I produced was collaged material. Due to this, I feel like I could have pushed my concepts further earlier on, instead of focusing on one way of working. 

In this module I think my research and inspiration from contemporary graphic design helped me develop really strong concepts behind my poster designs, and being more informed on context allowed me to design more for a purpose in comparison to the Bloomberg project; the ideas behind this project seemed more interesting and fun to experiment with. In terms of experimenting, I was really happy with how much I produced this project through experimenting - there wasn’t a time where I stopped producing new compositions and posters. 

I think in terms of risk taking, my designs in this project were a lot bolder and I felt more confident in them; like previously mentioned, I chose not to stick to one method, and didn’t do everything digitally. I enjoyed the process of physically seeing my posters pasted up in person/large scale, as it gave me a better perception of my work and an alternative perspective of how my work looked up close.

The initial ideas process was definitely the hardest part of the project, as from my perspective I found it difficult to have so much information to choose what to communicate and how to do it; eventually I found it a lot easier when I had my three icon, index and symbol concepts. As well as this, it was interesting to produce design boards for the first time, as it pushed me to actually re evaluate my ideas and explain them; I think this gave me a better standing on my designs and provided a broader perspective through linking back to the context of the project. In terms of the easiest part of the project, I really enjoyed developing my designs and transforming ideas into the final pieces; in particular I loved making my posters interactive with my stickers, as it really added personality/playfulness to the final designs.

For the most part, I think I have reached my potential in this project as I have produced so much decent work over such a short span of time; I think this was mainly due to my thorough research and general experimentation over the module. Unlike the previous module, I haven’t really been stuck for ideas for a long period of time, which meant I could constantly develop my designs and make something I was happy with. However, this is not to say I am fully content with the final outcomes; I still think I could have pushed my use of design principles further and played around a bit more, such as using colour. In future modules I think I need to question myself more - even when I am happy with my final pieces; this is because even tweaking a final piece slightly could improve it and remove a sense of frustration afterwards. 

This module I found that working in different environments helped me be more productive; I don't think sitting in the studio all day helps me produce the best work as it feels restricting. Due to this, it would be nice to continue this work ethic into the next modules as it really helped. Furthermore, I have found peer feedback helpful, as it has guided me to make some of my best work; the index posters’ style was influenced by comments in my group crit; I think group crits are a lot more helpful, as it is often difficult to translate ideas to written words.I also found digital print helpful again to help me produce my stickers; one issue this time was that I realised how busy it can get when booking slots.  

Workload wise, I think I have found this module pretty easy as I have enjoyed it a lot more than the previous one; this is widely down to having more freedom and probably a Christmas break too. Nevertheless, I think I have managed it well, and have developed a good work/life balance; I think I have gotten into a good routine of doing a bit of work every night (usually). For future modules I will just use the same approach, and make work with the same level of enthusiasm as it has really helped me produce lots of work.