OUGD502 Module Evaluation

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

Throughout this module I think the main thing we can take is the idea of moving into the more professional side of design. This has happened this year through proposing our own design studio businesses in life's a pitch, through the business of design seminars that we had with Fred and also through the talks we have had with John where we can listen to experiences and advise and put it into our own practice. We have also learnt and developed skills in analysis such as through SWOT and the 4Ps, which is valuable when looking at studios and also ourselves to identify areas for improvement and opportunities to take that could improve studios or our own practice further. Through Life's a Pitch we have also been able to develop our team work skills as it was crucial that people worked well together to make the module successful. I also think that I have been to look more at who I am and who I want to be as a designer and how I can communicate that especially in the design presence brief where we had to brand ourselves so that we can be promoting ourselves to studios over summer and into the third year. 
What approaches to/ methods of idea generation have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? 

Because concepts have been an important focus in the second year, we have been able to transfer this form of idea generation into creating concepts for personal branding, however I think that sometimes when I come up with concepts they tend to just pop up at different times when I'm not really thinking about them, as opposed to concentrating hard on concepts in the studio, but this means that I can just note down ideas when they come to me, and this is something I think  I should begin to apply to my blogging, whenever I see something or think of something I should try and just put it down straight away. 
What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/ will you capitalise on theses? 

I think that my ability to research has been something that has improved with this module, as it was the main part of this brief to look into studios and research cvs and mail outs etc. I do still think I could do more but since last year I think this has been a strength that I can capitalise on through summer to inform my design practice going into third year. I think that concept and idea generation for the design presence brief has been one of my strengths, as I think that my concept for the personal branding is quite fun and original and would hopefully make studios that I like take notice. 
What weakness can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?

My weaknesses in this module have been mainly linked to my poor time management and also my loss of motivation with this module. Because of the amount of work we have had to do for other modules, and the fact that this is longest module that we have in the year, I put everything for this on the back burner whilst I sorted out everything else, when really if I had just set aside a little bit of time every day I could have created something to a higher standard and it meant that I would not have had to rush everything that I have done for this module. I also failed to contact studios or network, even though we got told by John that 'shy bairns get nowt' I have refused to leave my comfort zone to talk to new people and designers and this has left me feeling behind in this area whilst other people progress with placements for the summer. I also think that the quality of my promo pack is lacking, despite being pleased with the concept. 

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

I would manage my time more effectively so that I am not rushing to complete my promo pack and branding. 

I would make an effort to actually contact studios and network more.

Research more into studios that I could potentially talk to as I feel I have only looked at a limited amount.

Work on developing my analytical skills when it comes to using swot analysis of studios.

Push my ideas further so that I could create branding that really stands out.

How would you grade yourself on the following areas.

5= Excellent 4= Very Good 3= Good 2= Average 1= Poor
Attendance: 5
Punctuality: 5
Motivation: 3
Commitment: 4
Quantity of work produced: 3

Quality of work produced: 3

A Design Presence: Presentation Boards

These are my final presentation boards for the PPP Design Presence module. I definitely think that in the third year I would like the push my ideas with personal branding further, but for now I think that I have done what is necessary to get my name out there just so I can try and find studio visits and placements.

A Design Presence: Website Development

Following on from the inspiration I've had for this part of the brief, I have been mocking up the designs for my own website, with a similar format or large images that can be scrolled down to see through other projects. There is an about tab to the side of each image which when clicked on reveals the information about the project in a darkened box that appears over the imagery. These images are just experimentations with the use and placement of text and the way that the images appear, and I think that I am happy with this simple layout, as it allows the viewer to just look at the projects on a slightly larger scale and makes it more interactive than an ordinary online portfolio.

A Design Presence: Website Inspiration

I have been looking at a lot of different studio and designer online portfolios over the last few weeks, but with my small amount of projects I was unsure how I would be able to layout my work without the site feeling somewhat empty. I recently came across the work of designer/creative Francis North, whose site has actually given me the basis for my own, as I think that the use of large full screen images makes the site feel a lot more complete and I like the way that the scroll feature reveals more projects. At this stage in my design branding I think this style of website is the best way for me to, with a few little tweaks to make it stand out a little.

Also just realised that he is second year student like me...yikes.

A Design Presence: Business Card Development

Creative CV: Part 2 Finished CV

This is my completed digital version of my creative CV which would be sent out to design studios/designers whom I would like to have a studio visit or a placement with. I am overall quite pleased with its design, although I do feel given more time I could have pushed the concept further, but I think using the concept on the first page means it is eye catching enough to be at least given a second glance.

A Design Presence: Logo/Type Development

I have been developing the type and logo for my personal branding, experimenting with different typefaces, both serif and sans serif, to see which one I think best suits my personality and style, and as I have looked at the different typefaces, I have decided that the typeface Otama Ep, a fashion and style based font, reflects my personality best and therefore I will be using this as my logo type. I have not yet decided on a body copy typeface that would be used for the information on my business card and other branding, but I will probably be using either a more subtle serif typeface or a contrasting, contemporary sans serif typeface to make sure it retains a balance design wise. I am actually really happy with the logo, its simple and I do think that the use of type is more reflective of my design practice than an attempt to create a really fancy logo that has no real meaning behind it.