Module 1 - FINAL EVALUATION

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

I have developed a wide range of skills which I would never have been able to do before. Including how to use Adobe Illustrator, which i found incredibly useful as I have always wanted to use this in my work.

I have also learned how to manage my time a lot more effectively, learning to balance work and fun and also learned how to work at a pace which suits the brief. I've completed briefs a lot quicker than I ever have before, and come up with effective results in the time allocated.

Alongside this I have also learned how to react to constructive criticism and where to go with my own instincts and when to go with the ideas of others.

2. What approaches to/methods of problem solving have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

I have learned to work both on design sheets and in sketchbooks. I have also learned to keep communicating both with tutors and other students, the ideas they come up with have always been really helpful both in and out of timetabled crit times... almost learning to use other people as an idea tool to bounce ideas and experimentation off each other.

Also, i found taking an interest and listening to the questions of others helped me in my own development as a designer, meeting so many people from different places, which such a wide range of different skills and approaches has really taught me a lot.

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

I've found I have built up a wide range of skills on the computer which I never had before, and am really enjoying using these as a tool.
I personally feel that my strengths lie in my ideas, I seem to have countless ones for each brief (some being completely useless, silly or completely off the point) but some are really good. I needs to built up more confidence to carry them out to their full potential.
Confidence is definitely something I feel the need to work on.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

Although i have definitely seen an improvement in my personal time-management skills, I still feel I need to address this more and spend more time on ideas and design sheets rather than spending my entire time on the final piece... and not developing it to its true potential. I need to stop stressing out... the briefs have been designed to fit the time... it is all relative and I think I need to realize this more.

I would also like to further my illustrator skills and feel this is achievable through endless practise... things will go wrong, but that is how you learn. Again... I need to learn this.

5. Identify 5 things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

1. On the next module I will definitely try and get things done as we go along and not try and leave it all to the last minute. 2. I will try and keep on top of ALL the blogs... keep them going as I go along as they will be no use to me if I rush them, forget things and push them aside. 3. I want to come up with more ideas sheets and development work as I go along, as I have got into a habit of having an idea... then not writing it down, then subsequently forgetting it. Which is a shame. 4. I am going to try and pay far more attention in seminars - and try and stop asking so many questions. Not that I don't pay attention... I just feel i need to stop being distracted and make more notes. Ive found the notes I have made have really helped me along the way... so I definitely feel this is something I need to keep up. 5. I want to stay late after college, I feel that even putting in extra hours here and there... coming in on a saturday (which I have been doing) really helped me with hours and development, helped me keep on top of my work.

Are there any things we could have done differently that would have benifitted your progress?

No, I can't honestly think of anything that I would want to have changed about how you're teaching or how the course is set out.

How would you grade yourself in the following areas:
(please indicate using an 'x')
5=excellent, 4=very good, 3=good, 2=average, 1=poor

Attendance - 4

Punctuality - 4
Motivation - 3
Commitment - 4
Quantity of work produced - 3
Quality of work produced - 3
Contribution to the group - 5

Module 1 - FINAL EVALUATION

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

I have developed a wide range of skills which I would never have been able to do before. Including how to use Adobe Illustrator, which i found incredibly useful as I have always wanted to use this in my work. I have also learned how to manage my time a lot more effectively, learning to balance work and fun and also learned how to work at a pace which suits the brief. I've completed briefs a lot quicker than I ever have before, and come up with effective results in the time allocated. Alongside this I have also learned how to react to constructive criticism and where to go with my own instincts and when to go with the ideas of others.

2. What approaches to/methods of problem solving have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? I have learned to work both on design sheets and in sketchbooks. I have also learned to keep communicating both with tutors and other students, the ideas they come up with have always been really helpful both in and out of timetabled crit times... almost learning to use other people as an idea tool to bounce ideas and experimentation off each other. Also, i found taking an interest and listening to the questions of others helped me in my own development as a designer, meeting so many people from different places, which such a wide range of different skills and approaches has really taught me a lot.

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

I've found I have built up a wide range of skills on the computer which I never had before, and am really enjoying using these as a tool. I personally feel that my strengths lie in my ideas, I seem to have countless ones for each brief (some being completely useless, silly or completely off the point) but some are really good. I needs to built up more confidence to carry them out to their full potential. Confidence is definitely something I feel the need to work on.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully? Although i have definitely seen an improvement in my personal time-management skills, I still feel I need to address this more and spend more time on ideas and design sheets rather than spending my entire time on the final piece... and not developing it to its true potential. I need to stop stressing out... the briefs have been designed to fit the time... it is all relative and I think I need to realize this more. I would also like to further my illustrator skills and feel this is achievable through endless practise... things will go wrong, but that is how you learn. Again... I need to learn this.

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

1. On the next module I will definitely try and get things done as we go along and not try and leave it all to the last minute. 2. I will try and keep on top of ALL the blogs... keep them going as I go along as they will be no use to me if I rush them, forget things and push them aside. 3. I want to come up with more ideas sheets and development work as I go along, as I have got into a habit of having an idea... then not writing it down, then subsequently forgetting it. Which is a shame. 4. I am going to try and pay far more attention in seminars - and try and stop asking so many questions. Not that I don't pay attention... I just feel i need to stop being distracted and make more notes. Ive found the notes I have made have really helped me along the way... so I definitely feel this is something I need to keep up. 5. I want to stay late after college, I feel that even putting in extra hours here and there... coming in on a saturday (which I have been doing) really helped me with hours and development, helped me keep on top of my work.

Are there any things we could have done differently that would have benefitted your progress? There is always something you could have done to make something better. And, this being the first module, I want to use it as a stepping-stone, the one I made the mistakes on and then subsequently learned from these and higher myself in the next module... keep myself focused and on the ball all the time. I feel if I had managed my time better... and kept everything ticking along as it came about, then I would have achieved a lot better results, but, I will definitely learn from this.

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’) 5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor

Attendance - 4

Punctuality - 4

Motivation - 3

Commitment - 4

Quantity of work produced - 3

Quality of work produced - 3

Contribution to the group - 4

No News Is Good News - Mailshot - Final Crit

In this crit we were split into groups of 8 with a member of staff and told to present our work, alongside the posters from the previous week.
I found this crit really helpful and really liked the way it was set out. I was with people I hadn't really worked with before, therefore got real truthful feedback.
All in all, everyone understood what my whole project was about really quickly (which was what i was aiming for) and people liked the visuals and the setting out of the mailshot. To my surprise one of their favourite features was the sticker on the back of the envelope... keeping it together, it was a nice touch.
They also said to address the envelope design. Maybe add another flap on the bottom to contain the cards without having the pouch... therefore resulting in a more effective envelope to actually go in the mail. Also it would give me more space for the information on the cards, rather than having all my information squashed on the paper, literally just fitting in the envelope.

I feel this is all very useful to my further development of this project and will try out this new envelope design this weekend.


As far as my feelings towards the whole 'No News Is Good News' brief, this has been my favourite so far... its been focusing on both image and type which is what I really enjoy, i love the challenge of trying to get it right. Keeping it balanced but also keeping it simple and to the point. For some reason it felt like the first brief which I totally associate with 'Graphic Design'... but maybe that's just me.
I really enjoyed working to a brief which interests me as well, and the amount of research I did in the first week really helped me work at a pace which i enjoyed in the 3 following weeks.
All in all I am really proud of what I have produced.

No News Is Good News - Mailshot - feedback - mid-brief critique

Mid-way through the brief we were put into groups of five and made to present our work as far as we had done and give each other feedback... this was mine.

Issues raised :
Questionnaire could be good - what format?
Tongue in cheek humour works really well... how much is needed though?
Good colour-scheme, in keeping to the posters, which worked well. Will it work in an envelope (folding etc...)
Double-sided printing could be problematic/expensieve

Action to be taken to resolve the issues raised :
Research into different quiz formats... look at magazines and such... i think i'm going to use a multi-answer format.
I think it works well... comparing twitter to a substance addiction... therefore creating my own rehab center and "talk to frank" slogan... enough.
I have to experiment with the stock... if the existing one does not work in the way i want it to, find another in a different thickness/texture as close to the colour as possible.
I may print double sided for 2 of the envelopes and the rest just spray mount together... depending on price.



Issues raised
I like the the folding of the envelope, you should definitely have pouches.
But how durable will the envelope be?
All the information may be heavy, how durable is the stock?

Action to be taken to resolve the issues
I will investigate different ways to fold the envelope to include the cards effectively... different positioning of pouches...
The envelope will be folded such that it would endure the postal system... no bits sticking out etc.
The stock i used last week is really durable and thick... however quite heavy and tricky to fold.. i may have to re-think the stock i use.


"The colours used are really good, along with the stock, the imagery is nice and simple, i feel this all works really well, just experiment with the envelope design and placing of the information"

No News Is Good News - Mailshot - Evaluation

NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS - MESSAGE AND DELIVERY - CONCEPT BUILDING.

WHAT?
Informing peopler of twitter as a new and important addiction.

WHY?
People need to be aware that if they get a twitter account, there is a danger that they will get addicted to it...

HOW?
Small sheets of facts, a quiz to establish the extent of peoples personal addictions to the website, information on how to get un-addicted... talk to frank... talk to @ellieujel. All contained in an envelope which has information on it.

WHO?
Twitter addicts - the celebrities who update the most, the celebrities with the most followers.

INFORM/INSTRUCT/PERSUADE/PROMOTE?
In a way... it could be all of them. However I think that I am INFORMING people of twitter as a new addiction.
People need to be informed of this...

FORMAT
An envelope with a flap on the inside containing seperate cards... a questionnaire with results, a business card and an advert for a rehability center.

COLOUR/STOCK
The same as the posters.
Twitter blue, black, with pale blue stock.

The stock might be difficult as far as a folding point of view goes... but I will experiment and maybe find a different stock, the same colour but with a different thickness and texture.

Alphabet soup - Illustrator brief - evaulation

This has been a very interesting project for me to do, as outlined in my 'Ten things I want to achieve' post earlier in the module, one of my main areas of interest/aims for this year is to learn how to use illustrator... and this is the opportunity for it.
I missed the first illustrator induction because of the swine flu I managed to catch... I was completely gutted, but luckily some other people took me through what I needed to know. The second induction was really useful... for someone who's never used the programme I was really excited with the amount i could use it for future projects. Alongside the inductions I decided I really wanted to teach myself some of the techniques by practising... and this project really helped with that as its all about experimentation.
We were asked to trace one of our letterforms from the 'dissect' brief (i chose the 'Z') and adapt it into 26 different variations.
It was so tempting to use the filters and the editing features on the programme... but not only would this be lazy, it would be completely pointless to me furthering my knowledge of illustrator (and give me a bad mark)... so i spent my time experimenting with different features, such as altering the stroke, removing certain parts of the letterforms, adapting the opacity etc.
The fact that we had to keep to one CMYK colour also added a restriction to work in... this made the end result a lot more aesthetically pleasing as an A1 poster.

I really enjoyed experimenting with this project and has been one of my favourites so far. I loved the range of things that we could do with one individual letterform.

No News Is Good News - Pupil Evaluation - 3 Posters

These were done anonymously to get the optimum amount of un-biased feedback. I feel this has been a lot more useful than other ways of carrying out these crits.
Not even the theme or any design ideas or sheets were presented... the people critiquing the work had no previous idea of what was going on in the posters so it was a true test to see if they communicated what I was trying to say.
I'm personally really happy with the feedback... it appears I clearly communicated what i was trying to tell people (even though it says it very clearly in the type... not much guessing involved).
If i had more time I would definitely look into more addictions and their visuals... I could maybe be more creative with the ones that I used, further develop the addiction ideas.

No News is Good News - Research Brief

This week we were given the task to research into a self-chosen headline.
There were a few which I thought were interesting enough to me for me to want to spend weeks working with.
There was one particular one about the price of skiing holidays which caught my eye... skiing is one of my biggest passion, but, i didn't feel that this was the perfect headline for me to work with for a prolonged period of time... I could see it starting to get annoying.
Then I found the perfect headline for me... "Twitter Twits". It was an article about celebrities and their Twitter usage... the outlandish things they say and the amount they use the website. Being a fully-fledged twitter addict myself... i decided this was definitely a topic which I could work with.
I started investigating the different aspects of the website... looking up facts and figures, exploring into the different reasons people use it (advertisement, publicity, networking... keeping up with friends), the ridiculous amount that some people use it and news articles about it as a dangerous tool.

I then narrowed my research down to three specific areas...

• Celebrity Twitter usage... getting into trouble in the media surrounding antics on the website
• Celebrity tweets as opposed to friend tweets
• Twitter as an addiction

I then had to narrow this down to one specific area of research and decided I could work really well with "Twitter is becoming an addiction".

I feel spending an entire week on research alone will definitely pay off when it comes to the other parts of this brief as I will have much more time to focus on ideas as the research will all already be there.
I wish we could do this with every brief... this is not possible however. But I've really enjoyed having the time to really delve deep into a subject to have enough research to back up my work.

Alphabet soup 2 - For a partner - Self-Evaluation

Overall I feel that this has been my least successful brief overall.
The fact that I got ill for the first week did not help matters and made me rush my final idea and produce something that was not only ineffective and didn't follow the brief properly but that I was not proud of as a designer.
I would have liked to carry the dubstep idea a lot further and investigate many different ways which i could manipulate the existing typeface to make it look like it belonged on a dubstep poster/flyer.
After my unsucessful final crit i decided to completely re-think my idea... and decided to go off on a tangent with the cowboy idea and found this much easier to work with... and looked a lot more successful as a result.
I spent a lot of time experimenting with different things surrounding the cowboy and western theme... with stirrups and cowboy print, spurs and ropes... and the most successful result was the rope idea, using the frays as serifs.
Now this idea I felt worked a lot more and I felt better about myself as a designer with this as a result. The idea needs to be re-produced and a lot more work to make it look perfect but I definitely feel this goes with the brief a lot better.
Its fun and about cowboys at the same time... which really communicates Chris... now i just have to produce the whole thing.

Alphabet soup 2 - For a partner - Evaluation on Chris's typeface based on me

What personality traits do you interpret from the typeface designed to represent you?
Chris has split each of the letterforms into 1/2 upper-case and 1/2 lowercase and combined them to make one.
I told him i had a tendency to slightly bi-polar sometimes... therefore I am assuming that this is the idea that he is working with.

Describe what you think of the typeface :
I think that this typeface is a really well-designed piece of work... it's incredibly well designed and thought out... it looks very professional.

In what ways is it effective, and in what way is it ineffective of representing you?
I think, in the sense of the bi-polar side to me, that this represents me very well... however, to me as a whole, i feel Chris didn't take into account the larger parts of my personality... the typeface is very neat and concise, but not very fun... which i feel would have portrayed me a lot more effectively.

Alphabet soup 2 - For a partner - Evaluation on the re-visited typeface

Partner - Chris Anderson

Which personality traits did you choose to respond to and apply to the typeface?
I chose to use the fact that Chris wanted to dress up as a cowboy at a fancy-dress party. I feel this also communicate his fun and childish sides (which he also described himself as).

What are the reasons behind the design decisions you have made for the typeface?
Whilst looking into different aspects of the cowboy theme... I discovered there were so many different visuals i could incorporate into the designs... I didn't want to throw in the kitchen sink if you will... i thought that using ropes to form the letters was an effective and simple way to portray this. I then decided to add frays into the ropes to add a bit more detail.

In what ways are the results effective?
I think they effectively show what I am trying to portray... the letterforms are clearly created out of frayed ropes.

If I had more time to re-create this typeface I would definitely have looked into different ways of using the ropes to create the letterforms... maybe use the lassoo idea? maybe incorporate more of a Western feel?

Alphabet soup 2 - For a partner - Evaluation on the original typeface

Partner's name - Chris Anderson

Which personality trait did you choose to respond to and apply to the typeface?
I chose the fact that Chris is very into his music... particularly dubstep and drum & base. I also picked up that he is quite fun and vibrant... and his favourite colour is orange.

What are the reasons behind the design decisions you have made for this typeface?
I wanted to find a font which would look appropriate on a flyer or poster advertising dubstep and drum&base club nights or shows. One that caught the eye, was bold and colourful and then edit it to incorporate more of Chris's personality.

In what ways are the results effective?
I think they are effective in that they achieved my goal. I could imagine this typeface on a dubstep flyer/poster... the orange is very bright and eye-catching.


In the final crit for this project, with the help of Fred and the others in the session I realized that my typeface was not altered enough from the original I used from the internet... so in a way, was plagerism.
I decided following this to take a completely different direction and try to create an original typeface... which followed the brief properly.
I decided to use another answer to Chris's quiz... the fact that he wanted to dress up as a cowboy. There are some really strong visuals surrounding the whole cowboy tradition so felt that this would be an effective way to go.
After creating a few letterforms using ropes as a base, I decided this looked a lot more effective than the previous idea.

Alphabet soup 1 - dissect - Evaluation

This is the feedback I received from another student on the course in response to my typeface for the word 'Dissect'.

WHAT IS BEING COMMUNICATED AND HOW?
I do feel like it communicates really well, at first it took me a little while to properly understand. Dissect is quite clear once seen however, from the skin print down to the bone, very literal but its really effective. I like it. It's quite hard to see what each image/photograph is, but that might be for the best, as it could be quite disgusting, but then it might communicate in a stronger way.

HOW WELL DOES THIS ANSWER THE BRIEF?
It answers the brief really well, existing letterforms have been used and have been altered to show the appropriate meaning. There's been no change in colour or editing which makes it easier to see clearly.

HOW WELL HAS THE IDEA BEEN VISUALLY EXPLORED?
The design sheets clearly show where you started and how you came to what you produced as a result.

WHAT ARE THE STRENGTHS OF THE RESOLUTION?
The strengths of the resolution are how literal it is and how well it communicates the word. Dissect conjures up a lot of images and this would be the most vivid, it is also straight to the point.

HOW COULD IT BE IMPROVED?
Maybe if it was done on the computer it would be a lot more professional and could really try different ways - like letters showing more of the underneath layers.





My response to the feedback.

I totally agree with this feedback, my intention this week was to make the letters clearly but simply convey the word dissect... which I feel I did by keeping a very literal view throughout... which, all in all, is what I feel graphic design is about... visually communicating what you're trying to say... so people can understand what you're trying to say.
I also agree with the idea of reproducing the letters on the computer... as to my knowledge of the programmes at this point, i do not feel i would be able to do this to its best advantage as I would probably spend most of my time trying to figure how to work the programme rather than doing anything productive with the letterforms... maybe at a later date I will be able to re-address this and push this project to its best.

Alphabet soup 2 - For a partner - formative feedback

In this crit... two people assess your work with the back-up ideas and designs.
This was my feedback -

STRENGTHS -
Good research into existing type, good annotation in sketchbook and a good use of colour.

WEAKNESSES -
No brainstorm of ideas or real research into his character. Work just loose sketches not stuck into book or annotated, what are they? what are they for? and how do they relate to Chris?
The typeface has not been manipulated enough.

ACTIONS -
Present the whole re-visited alphabet.
Stick in loose sketches and annotate better.
Experiment with more colour.
Why rope? explain...




STRENGTHS -
Good research on typeface. Deep investigation into dubstep.
Annotated sketchbook.

WEAKNESSES -
Not much research into the cowboy theme, how it links to chris... in the sketchbook.
The typeface hasn't been modified much, its simple and doesn't communicate all that well.

ACTIONS -
Develop ideas, more brainstorming
Work on letterforms to communicate his personality.
Experiment with colour, materials and methods of producing type.

HOW TO... - self evaluation

WHAT ROLE(S) DID YOU TAKE IN THE GROUP?

- All 7 of us spent monday and thursday's sessions on idea generation. A lot of mine were taken into consideration.
- I took the photographs of the end product (stickers) in appropriate surroundings and edited them on photoshop in a way to best put them into context for the presentation in Friday's presentation.
- I helped present the work to the rest of the group.

HOW WELL DO YOU THINK YOU PERFORMED IN THE ROLE(S)?

I feel i came up with some good ideas which were taken into consideration and used in the end product.
I was really happy with the way the photographs turned out. I learnt about aspects of photoshop I hadn't used before and feel they were effective in presenting the stickers.

HOW WELL DO YOU FEEL YOU WORKED AS A GROUP?

At first i feel we worked quite slowly as there were so many different ideas and a few clashes on what to finalise on. We found it quite difficult to balance all the different ideas and to come up with an end result and how to go about it.
When we got into it and had assigned roles, I feel everyone got on with it all really well. There was good communication within the group. No-one went off and did what they wanted without considering everyone else.

WHAT WERE THE POSITIVES OF WORKING IN A GROUP?

The amount of initial ideas everyone came up with was astounding, then building on these ideas all together.
Everyone had different styles and strengths so we could all have different roles in which we used these. It resulted in a much broader end product and presentation.
We learnt from each other how to do certain things we didn't previously know.
I would never have been able to come up with the designs/presentation that we produced in such a short time if i had been doing the work as an independent project.

WHAT WERE THE NEGATIVES OF WORKING IN A GROUP?

There were so many different styles and ideas that we found it difficult to come to a conclusion as to what to finalise on. There were a few disagreements throughout the week.
Some people ended up doing a lot more work than others. Not purposefully, but the end result ended up in people having specialist roles according to what they were good at...

WHAT WILL YOU DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME?

I would listen to other people's ideas more...
Manage my time in my role better...
Look into the ideas that we did come up with better... more research.

WHERE COULD YOU HAVE IMPROVED YOUR RESOLUTION?

We could have done more research into nets and packaging designs for the sticker packaging.
Again... more research into some of the facts and points we put on the stickers. Maybe if we had had more time we could have come up with more of a variety.

WHAT ARE THE STRENGTHS OF YOUR PRESENTATION?

I think we visually communicated the stickers as best as we could. The black and white photography with the sticker designs in colour really helped them stant out and put them into perspective. Also the variety of places which we put them. They looked good presented on the projector.
There was a good balance of humour and seriousness in the presentation which helped us put accross our points and also keep the group listening.
We also had the stickers and packaging prepared to show everyone what they would look like. So it was an actual product rather than just an idea...

10 things i would like to achieve this year...

1. I would like to learn how to manage my time better... not leave things until the last minute.

2. I would like to firstly learn how to use Adobe Illustrator, then improve my skills with practise to become fully comprehensive with the features.

3. I would like to further my skills in Adobe Photoshop, learning about the different features that can be used rather than my basic knowlege of photo enhancement that I possess at the moment.

4. I would like to be able to successfully manage my time with the course and my social life... learn how to put the important stuff first but not get completely bogged down.

5. I would like to keep on top of my work and get each brief done to the best of my ability. Not leave anything un-finished or use the phrase "I'll do that later"

6. I want to develop my own style. I want people to see a piece of work and think "that's ellie's" without even having to ask.

7. I want to use the inductions we get tought, try and incorporate everything i learn this year into one or more projects. Not just stick to my comfort zone.

8. I want to learn how to work better as a team. With friends/ people I know... and total strangers. Learn to manage the work easily and effectively.

9. I want to learn off other students, pick up some skills/ shortcuts/ tips that we won't necessarily be taught this year by the tutors. Learn to bounce and pick ideas up off the others in the group.

10. I would like to make it onto the second year... not just scrape on... ace it!