22 May 2013

OUGD503 Module Evaluation

This module has been really interesting and enjoyable for me, and I have developed new skills and discovered more of my strengths and weaknesses within design.

In terms of design I don't feel like I have developed any of my skills significantly, but I have attempted new things which I think will help me in the modules left for the rest of this year and into the third year. On my main brief I have developed the ability to focus on digital, considering the use of type and layout on a mobile phone app which was difficult to begin with, but I became more confident with it as the brief developed, and am now happy with the design I submitted. I have learnt about the briefs that I now prefer doing, which I don't think I have really taken from any other module. With OUGD503 the freedom to pick and choose which briefs we undertook was difficult at first because there was so much choice, but it allowed me to try things I had wanted to, but not done before. Where this was most true was on my Very brief and my Penguin Design Award brief, as these areas of design - fashion graphics and book cover design - were ones that I was very keen to work in, and in the end, I think they have been my most successful briefs.  I have also developed the ability to work more professionally, and present my design boards in a more professional manner, which was useful when submitting to YCN, as the quality of the work presented has to be high. I also developed the ability to collaborate in a small group, sharing responsibilities based on our strengths, which will become more useful in the third year. The collaborative brief became one of my favourites to complete because of the team dynamic, as we were able to share the work load which eased some of the pressure, whilst also being able to create more of what we enjoy doing in briefs. I also developed my skills in copy writing, both in creating the designs, and also on the design boards that I had to submit.  Copy writing was important throughout because it was vital to reach the target audience successfully through all forms of communication.

 My strengths in this module have been analysing and targeting the defined audience more successfully than I have previously, such as in the Very brief. The design style that Very described in their brand guidelines felt very youthful and contradictory to the 25-44 audience they were trying to reach out to, so I developed the design style, taking the most important parts of their identity and losing the parts that I felt were too 'teenager' such as the bright pink colour. Something else that I feel has been my strength throughout the module has been the copy I have created for each of the briefs and the submission boards. Again, Very developed this skill a lot, as they had a very distinct tone of voice that I had to communicate using. I also created the copy for the UK Greetings brief with David Gaskell and Suzanne Moore, using a humorous approach to reach our young target audience.

My weaknesses in this module have been my time management on many of the prolonged briefs, much of the design I left to the last minute instead of developing it over the course of the module, which has at times affected the designs and the ideas that I had, as some of it ended up looking rushed. I also feel like I have not been as experimental and imaginative with some of the designs as I could have been, because of some of the designs having to be rushed due to poor time management. This was particularly true on the Hellfire brief, which is the design I am least happy with. I also didn't print anything off for this brief, relying on mocking up products on photoshop instead of factoring in time to print work off.

Overall I am happy with work I have produced minus a few errors are areas for improvement I have identified looking back over my briefs, but I am keen to create more design for live projects and competitions, and definitely want to focus more on creating book covers and fashion graphics.

Things I would do differently next time are...
Research more extensively into the audience I am creating the designs for so that they are more informed.
Make a to do list every day that allows me to keep on top of my projects.
Be more experimental with my designs.  
Work more on briefs that I enjoy doing, such as book covers and fashion graphics.
Complete more briefs towards the beginning of the module as I feel that the time I spent at the beginning was slightly wasted.


 5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
 Attendance 4
Punctuality 4
Motivation 4
Commitment 4
Quantity of work produced 3
Quality of work produced 3

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