End of Module Self Evaluation

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

As this module has been going on throughout the year, I have learnt a lot which has all been valuable. We have covered a wide range of topics, such as things that may seem very simple, but are actually very important and often ignored, such as revisiting English language and covering verbs, nouns, adjectives etc - something that I haven't really had to consider in many years.


The things that stand out to me the most are what I have learnt about colour theory and also what I have learnt about grids. Before this course, I didn't know anything about either of these areas, so since developing these new skills, I have applied them to all of my Graphic Design in general, and therefore have noticed an improvement in my work as a whole, so I think I have applied these skills effectively. Learning about colour theory has made me think more about the choices behind using a colour, what this colour means, and how the use of it effects how the piece looks/is read. Learning about grids has ensured that my pieces have a visual consistency, making them neater and more professional.

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

For this module I haven't researched as much as I have done for other modules, as most of the time has been spent on the visual language sessions. I have completed secondary research for the briefs set on photography, books for the book fair and the what is a line brief. I have used books and the Internet to find examples of inspiring artwork - this including graphic design, illustration, photography, and paper folding - as well as to find out more about the subjects I have chosen to create work for.


All my forms of primary research have been either photography or drawing for this module. I have done a lot more observational drawing as research than before, as usually I only use photography as a method of primary research, and then draw from these photographs, where with this module, especially with the 'What is a line?' brief, I have captured my researched through drawings.

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

As the visual language sessions were only half day sessions, I worked quickly and wasn't too precious about the work I produced. This is actually a good thing, as this way of working allowed me to think of many different responses to a problem, and to be experimental with my work, trying things I wouldn't usually as I would be too scared that it would not work. By trying things outside my 'comfort zone' style of working, I feel I have benefited greatly, and hopefully will capitalise this strength by working this way in my next module. In previous modules, I haven't achieved what I had wanted to as I hadn't experimented much; I had just stuck to my initial ideas.

Relating to the 'being experimental' strength, this module has encouraged me to try new things. After being introduced to photography through the induction, and having an idea for how I could use photography in the 'What is a line?' brief, I bought a fish eye camera and enjoyed taking film photographs with a totally different type of camera to what I am used to. Although I didn't end up using the results for my 'What is a line?' brief, I took some photographs that I quite pleased with, and will be capitalising on this new skill by taking more photographs with this camera.

Another strength is that I think I am improving on aspects I have noted that I wanted to improve on in previous evaluations. For example, at the beginning of the year, I don't feel as if I put enough effort in to my presentation of work, and I didn't experiment much with stocks. In this module, I have taken better care with my presentation of the work I have produced for the brief, printing in digital print where possible. For the books I created for the book fair, I tried out many different stocks before deciding which one to use. I hadn't done this to this extent before, so I hadn't realised how useful this experimentation is, as the use of different stocks can completely effect a piece, from making it stand out more, to making the text easier to read and other aspects.


Overall, I have found this module enjoyable and hope my passion for this subject can be identified in the work I have produced.

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

I think a weakness for the work I have produced for visual language is the lack of quantity of work, compared to the amount of work I have created for other modules. The only way to address this weakness more fully would be to spend more time creating work outside of the sessions.


I found it harder to manage my time for the briefs set for this module than with the other modules, as we only had one half day session a week. Therefore, for the rest of the week, my time was spent concentrating on the other work I had for my other modules. Also, knowing that the module hand in date was quite far away from things were initially being set, I didn't feel the same pressure which motivates me, that I felt for other modules. To address this more fully, I could set myself mini deadlines to ensure I am completing the work as I go, rather than rushing to complete it at the end.



Another weakness is not asking for help and feedback with my briefs for this module. Again, this relates to how the visual language sessions are different to the other modules, so with less time there have been less crits, and less time for detailed feedback on my work. I could address this problem by asking for feedback from other students or emailing tutors about my questions, instead of just waiting for the next week's visual language session for the advice I need.

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

I haven't done much research for this module, so next time, I would like to research the topic we have covered after a session, to expand my knowledge and to find relevant images which could inspire future work. I did this for only a few topics, such as the paper folding session, and was really fascinated about what I found out, so next time feel it would be useful to research a topic without having to be told to do so.

Following on from the previous point, after researching relevant work for a topic, I would like to revisit what I have learnt in my own time, and spend a bit longer on the quality and presentation of my work. Everything I have learnt in this module I have enjoyed, and it has been a nice change from the other modules as it is so different, but I don't think I have fully capitalised on what I have learnt as I haven't managed to use the skills in other projects.

Next time, if I was set a brief where the majority of work was to be completed over a holiday away from college, I would be sure to plan ahead better. When I went home for Easter, I needed to work, which meant that I had a lot less time to concentrate on this brief, as well as facing difficulties due to not having very good equipment. At home there were many distractions so I found it quite hard to do any work. Next time, I would set aside some time to return to college during the break as it is a much better environment to work in, and at college I would have access to facilities such as the Mac suite and digital print.
I changed my idea for the book for the book fair over half way through the brief which left me with very little time to actually produce my book. While I am still pleased with the book I eventually produced for the fair, I think next time I could gain more time to spend improving the quality of my work by thinking through my idea more thoroughly before starting to design. I don't think I considered aspects such as the purpose of my book or my target audience until much later on, and when I did, thinking about these considerations made me change my idea.
As relating to the weakness I have stated in the question above, next time, when I feel I am at a dead end with my ideas and stuck what to do next, I will ask others for their advice. This will allow me to get on with my work, rather than waiting around or putting off this work. From doing this, the quality and quantity of my work should improve.

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

Visual Language: What is a line?

Our own brief

Written by me:

The Brief:

I am to produce a body of work that visually investigates the following definition of what a line is: "A mark indicating position, connection or boundaries."

Considerations:

I will photography and draw peoples palms and look into how reading the lines of a palm can supposedly tell some one's future.

Target Audience:

Adults, not just those who are interested in fortune telling.

Tone of Voice:

Light hearted, entertaining, informative.

Background:

I will need to research palm reading, as well as different drawing styles.

Mandatory Requirements:

I will need to draw regularly, and ensure good time management.

Deliverables:

A set of notebooks/sketchbooks and drawings/images in an organised, rational and considered format.

A final piece showing my collection of drawings/photographs.

Written by Will:

The Brief:

You are to produce a body of work that visually investigates the following definition of what a line is: "A mark indicating position, connection or boundaries."

Considerations:

You will use photography and draw peoples palms and look into how palm reading is based around lines that supposedly tell the future. This could be analog or digital photography. You could get interesting results with a fish eye camera.

Target Audience:

Adults, designers, artists, creative types.

Tone of Voice:

Light hearted, entertaining, informative (in relation to palm reading), visually interesting to look at.

Background:

Research into palm reading. Research into various different drawing styles: - continuous line drawing - still life - drawing with opposite hand - drawing blind folded. Research into photography and which camera to use.

Mandatory Requirements:

Set out a certain period of time each day to create a routine for drawing your hands, managing how much you want to get done each day/week.

Deliverables:

- Set of studies in sketchbooks/notebooks

- Final poster - outcome of body of research

Action Plan

Action - Research artists, illustrators and photographers (look at Jemmy Cowalt and Rob Gardiner). Get at least four books out of the library that will help. Research the hand in science books to get a better understanding of what you are working from. Experiment with photography (fish eye, Diana, Polaroid etc) and drawing (- continuous line drawing - still life - drawing with opposite hand - drawing blind folded) techniques and begin to consider which process you will use. Deadline - 22nd March

Action - Start to take photographs of hands, and begin to draw from these in your chosen styles. Research palm reading and what the lines on the hands mean. Ask Amber and other students about your work as this is the last chance to show other people before the Easter break. Deadline - 29th March

Action - Continue with photography, and start putting together studies of hands in relation to what you have found out about palm reading. Reflect on progress and consider if you are following action plan properly. Deadline - 5th April

Action - Continue to produce hand studies. Explore and try out different ways of presenting ready for starting the final piece. Reflect on progress and consider if you are following action plan properly. Deadline - 12th April

Action - Decide which stock you will use and what size the final piece will be. Begin to work on final piece. Deadline - 19th April

Action - Complete all work for 26th April

Evaluation

I would've liked to screen print my final pieces, as this is a process I have recently learnt and what to use this skill, also, I think there is a better quality to hand printed final pieces than with digital printed pieces. However, by printing my final pieces in the digital print room I am still pleased with the outcome. I didn't have the opportunity to screen print my final pieces as I had work commitments that didn't allow me to come back to Leeds during the Easter holidays.

I didn't work as well at home as I would've done at college because of the distractions as well as not having as good equipment and facilities to use. Also, it was difficult to know if I was on the right track as I didn't have the opportunity for feedback crits to hear responses from my tutors and other students.

I really enjoyed this brief as I did quite a lot of drawings I didn't feel too precious about them so got to be experimental with different styles. I also enjoyed the secondary research as I think I learnt quite a lot from this and looked at some images that may inspire future projects.

Although I didn't use my fish eye photographs in my final piece, as I was unhappy with how these particular photographs turned out, this is something I will continue to experiment with in future projects as I like the unique results from the other photographs.

I don't think I managed my time too well as I had planned out in the time plan as I ended up spending quite a long time learning about palm reading and reading others palms, yet I don't think I spent long enough on my final piece.

I had a lot of ideas for this project but didn't have a lot of time due to me having my elective during the Easter holidays and having work commitments, so I think I could've gone further with this project if I had managed my time correctly.

Final Pieces

Poster

Booklet

Visual Language: Book Fair

Design Work

Week One Crit

We had a crit with other students to discuss our initial ideas, asking questions about stock, colour, crafting, process, format, and whether or not the book works as a poster as well. 

Issues Raised

- What stock will be used? Plain white paper can look cheap, it would look better on a thicker stock, maybe with a texture or colour behind it.

- Will you hand draw the images or create them on illustrator? It may look more professional on illustrator but will take longer to do.

- The text inside on the poster looks too much in comparison to the other pages, and also it doesn't have any shape to the layout. You could re-arrange the layout and maybe have a big three in the middle instead.

After the crit I decided to create a developed version of my book, re-arranging different aspects.

Week Two Crit

Considerations

Format: A4

Stock: I will try printing my book on to different stocks, ideally something with colour and a slight texture that is still thin, such as parcel paper or newsprint

Interactions: Just something to look at

Is it image, text, or text/image: Images made out of text, possibly hand drawn and scanned in, or created on illustrator

In our second crit we had to explain our ideas and reasons to a different group of people than in the first crit. After explaining my book, showing my mock-up and listening to others feedback, I realised that I was still unsure about my book, as I thought the images looked a bit scruffy, and I was worried I do not have the skills on illustrator to create the images. So I decided to go along with an early idea - a book containing text and illustrations about the significance of the number three in children's fairytales and nursery rhymes. I will still keep the book the same format, and still intend to print on the same stock. It was a difficult decision to change my idea so late on in the brief, as it meant I wouldn't get the feedback I had received recieve for my first idea, and obviously I had a lot less time to complete my book. However, after asking my peers about this decision, the general response was that the second idea was stronger.

Final Book Screenshots

Photographs of Final Book 

Books with belly bands

Front Cover

Book pages

Inside Poster

Showing hot dog fold

Evaluation
I am much happier with my final book since changing my idea, although this left me with difficulties, such as a shorter time to work with, and not having the opportunity to present my new book in class crits. I have experimented with stocks of different colours, textures and weights for this brief, which I haven't really done before, but I think the use of a different stock allows for a more exciting final product. I think as the outcome of this brief has always been about the physical book, I have taken better care with my presentation, which is something that I previously noticed I needed to improve on. I think the restrictions on size and layout have actually helped me within this brief, rather than limiting my design as I first worried they might. 

Photography Workshop

Evaluation

Here are my final 10 photographs from the photography induction workshop. I took lots of photographs in this session and I really enjoyed playing around with the different studio lighting, coloured fills and camera settings as this is something I have never done before. The results are really interesting as the same objects look completely different colours with the use of different lighting. I have tried different colours against each other, based on what I learnt in previous colour theory sessions, to see how this changes how a colour is seen. I especially like the shadows that are created and also how the colour can be seen through the transparent objects. I would like to borrow the equipment to do another photo shoot in the future, with more exciting objects. I will print these photographs at A6 size in digitial print, preferably on gloss paper.

Development on DP blog