Degree Shows

I visited all three Leeds degree shows and was impressed with a lot of students work. It was very inspiring and beneficial looking around all the work, I have made some notes on my PPD blog about useful things from these shows.

Leeds Met...

Here is some of my favourite work from their degree show. Their course is Graphic Art and Design so its a lot more arty than ours, however, there was lots of nice print work and examples of bookmaking. Although most of the work produced is quite different to the work produced on out course, I still enjoyed looking around this exhibition. 

Leeds Uni...   leedsschoolofdesign.co.uk

At Leeds University degree show, as well as enjoying looking around the graphic design work, I had a good look round the printed pattern shows, as I found there to be a lot of illustrators. The set out of the graphic design show was very unusual, which makes it stand out, especially the fake grass! I liked that there was a graduate show catalogue newspaper, containing all of the names of the graphic design students, so you could find out more about the designers afterwards.

  

Photographs of work

Leeds College of Art...

So much inspiring work from very talented students, makes me feel slightly intimated but hopeful that my show will be this good in my third year!

Business Cards

Yearbook and Degree Show Promotional Material/ Signage

Something that really made Leeds college of art stand out was the quality of the signage up and around college, by a third year graphic student. It was obvious that there was a degree show on, and was easy for everyone to get around, unlike at other shows which were slightly more confusing. 

I also attended last years degree show, and saved the flyer and map for this. 

I have a copy of each third year class' yearbook, and hope that I am in with the chance of working on ours when the time comes.

PPD Presentation

Brief: Produce and deliver a 5-7 minute presentation that communicates a reflective summary of your experiences on the course to date. You should aim to identify who you are as a learner and a designer as well as how the things you have experienced over the past nine months have affected your current aims and ambitions. You should also attempt to communicate your ambitions for next year.

Ideas

To start with, I had a look through my PPD blog for evaluations and targets I'd made throughout the year. Things such as the interim self-evaluation and end of module evaluations proved very useful when reflecting on my year. I decided that in my presentation I would write about: who I am as a designer; who I want to be; how changes outside graphic design have affected me; work that inspires me; work of my own that I like and dislike and my plans for the summer.

Illustrations

As what I think I want to be is an illustrator, I thought it would be fitting to produce some drawings to decorate pages, rather than using stock images. 

 

First Draft

I initially had 35 slides, mainly only images. I decided that a few pointers for what to say would be good, especially if I got nervous when presenting. I also thought I should cut out some slides which weren't as interesting to make sure I wouldn't be in danger of going over the 7 minutes. 

Final Slides

I've tried to keep these slides as simple as possible to stop me from just reading off the slides. I think what I will be saying is more important than what is on the slides.

Things I hope to achieve next year...

In September I made a list of 10 things I want to achieve this year. I looked back at this list a couple of months ago, and was happy with my progress, but now the year is almost over, and I am preparing for my PPD presentation I am going to evaluate how much I have achieved, and also things I want to achieve next year.

Old Targets

1. To improve confidence for talking in front of large groups
- I am still a bit nervous when talking on my own, but feel better about presenting group work to a large group. I have had lots of experience of talking in front of lots of people in crits and presentations, and find it easier the more confident I feel about my work.


2. To learn how to use software other than Photo shop
- I have learnt how to use lots of different software this year, which is a big achievement as I started the year with only limited knowledge of photo shop. I'm not an expert with all of it and may need to ask help with the technicians for a refresh. However, I now feel confident with Photo shop, Illustrator and In design and completing the briefs for these inductions. 


3. To experiment with print and other relevant areas I don't know much about
- I have had inductions in screen printing at Vernon street and here at Blenheim so I now feel like I know what I am doing however I haven't actually put these new skills to use yet


4. To learn to print on different sizes and different materials instead of what I am used to
- I've printed in digital print where possible, printing on a range of sizes up to A1, on different materials such as gloss, matte, tracing paper and more. I've learnt how much a good quality stock can improve a final piece, and how important presentation is.


5. To be organised and update my blog regularly
- I feel I have really achieved this target as I update my blog almost daily and feel I am organised with my work by keeping good time management, especially after the time management sessions earlier on in the year. I now make lists of what I need to do, and stay at college later when I need to.


6. To be more selective about my research to help aid my briefs
- I think I am looking at more relevant research that I did on my previous courses and annotating it to explain how it helps. But I think I need to make it more obvious how it links in to my design practice work.


7. To explore areas of graphic design I haven't previously given much time to as they were not my favourites
- Previously I was most interested in illustration, which still remains my favourite, but I also have really enjoyed learning about all the different areas, which I didn't know much about, from typography to moving image and more. I have really enjoyed all the type and grid work and this is something I'd like to make good use of in the future.


8. To improve presentation of final pieces
- By printing in digital print and choosing good stock, I feel I have improved the presentation of final pieces. Also by just taking more time to be accurate and using things such as a bone folder when folding work have improved presentation. I think I could still improve by making things a bit more interesting with book binding and screen printing and other techniques.


9. To make sure every project is unique and I am constantly trying new things
- I think I now have better concepts than at the beginning of the year, and especially after learning about primary and secondary quantitative and qualitative research, I feel that I am now more aware of what I should consider before starting a project to ensure that I'm not just doing something that has already been done many times before. 


10. To work as hard out of college on my work as in college
- I have found this difficult as I don't have a mac, but hope to invest in one soon. To get around this problem, I make good use of the mac suites at college and stay late or come in on a Saturday when needed.


New Targets

1. To take advantage of the printing facilities, such as screen printing
2. To not be lazy and use the resources at Vernon street
3. To be able to ask for help when I need it
4. To create a moving image and learn how to use the required software
5. To put in to use the new skills I have learnt in inductions
6. To use initiative and take it upon myself to learn and try new things that what we have been told to
7. To feel more confident and proud about my work, and enter competitions or try to get some freelance work
8. To get the most out of every day at college by arriving early and staying late
9. To update my design context blog more regularly and make sure there is a link between the work I am putting on there and my design practice work 
10. To make my briefs 'live' and actually usable and useful

End of Module Self Evaluation

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

In this module I have learnt more about layouts, type and grid through more sessions with Lorenzo. This is something I didn't except that I would enjoy so much but now I am really interested in it and definitely want to do it again in the future. I applied the skills I learnt with Lorenzo to my In Design article. 

This leads on to another skill that I have developed in this module, which is how to use In Design. I found this difficult to use at first, but now can see how useful this piece of software is and wish I had known how to use it earlier. I haven't applied this new skill yet, other than to my response for the In Design brief, but only because I haven't had the opportunity. I will effectively apply this new skill in the next project.

During this module I also had my screen printing inductions here and at Vernon Street. I found these really interesting and fun and was really impressed with the quality of the prints we produced. However, I don't think I have applied this new skill effectively, as I haven't used it even though I have had opportunity to do so, and I think this is something I need to make good use of in the future.

Through the group work I have learnt to be more confident about getting my own opinion across. I think I have applied this effectively as I don't feel like I just agree with other people's ideas like I might have done in earlier group work briefs. Instead, when I have an idea, I will put it forward, and if I don't agree with someone else's, I will give my reasons for this. In my group work, everyone seemed a lot more confident about their own ideas which does make group work more difficult but also ensures a better final outcome. 

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

I have done a lot of research through this module. It was useful in the 'design is about doing' brief to research all of my ideas before choosing one to start with, rather than just going ahead with my first idea. This made me sure I was making the right decision.

Research was very important in the 'communication is a virus' brief and we all gave ourselves different research tasks to ensure we covered a lot. As our initial idea was persuading people to give more to charity, we felt as if we couldn't ask people to do this unless we actually did something ourselves, which is primary research. We also did surveys, found out what was already available, as well as the graphic design secondary side of research for this project.

Also, for my idea for 'speaking from experience', I made sure it was a good idea and there was need for it by doing secondary research to see what existed already as well as primary research in the form of a questionnaire. I then turned these opinions into pie charts to help show the answers visually. What I found in my research made me sure that my concept was a good one, as what I wanted to create was wanted and deemed useful, and there was nothing like it existing already.

After discussions in tutorials, I have realised that I need to link my research more into influencing my design practice work rather than the research I show on my design context blog existing separately.

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

I think a strength in my work in this module is that I now have better concepts. I think creating concept boards is a really useful part of helping yourself as well as others to understand what you are trying to achieve. I have capitalised on these by creating more unique pieces which actually are useful as a result.

Another strength is trying out different things before deciding where to go next rather than just rushing in with the first idea. This is something I had mentioned in early evaluations that I needed to do, and I feel it has been useful, as ideas that I initially felt I would go with have ended up leading on to other things.

As well as the comments I have received in crits, I have continually asked for feedback about my work from other students on this course and friends who aren't on the course. This is useful as they may be able to spot different things that can be improved that I wouldn't have spotted myself. 

I think I have improved on a lot of the things that I said in previous end of module evaluations that I said I wanted to do differently next time and I think this has had a really positive effect on my progress. I will capitalise on my ability to do this by continuing to evaluate my work and re-read over targets regularly, to ensure continued progress. 

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

I found working in a group very difficult which is a weakness as this is something I'll need to do again in the future. I think in the next group work session it would be good if I had the opportunity to choose who I work with so I could be in a group with people with a similar way of working. Or, just more experiences working in a group would help to sort out this weakness in my opinion. I think our group for the fun shop workshop with John worked really well as we weren't too precious about our own ideas. This was good practice and I think more of this would be useful.

I think a weakness is not taking full advantage of the new skills that I have learnt even though the opportunity has been there to do so. For example, I have learnt how to screen print, book bind, create a moving image, use in design and more over the year, yet I have not really put these in to practice. To address this weakness, I would like to try using the facilities and the software that it is available to me over the summer. I think I haven't used it partly because I am scared of things going wrong as its not what I am used to, so if I was to screen print something which wasn't part of a brief I wouldn't have this fear, yet I would still be practising this new skill, which then I would feel more able to use in the next brief. Also, better time management would ensure that there would be time for me to use such software and printing processes which may take more time than what I usually do. 

I have tried to do new things instead of always sticking with what I usually do in this module, but I still feel a bit scared to take risks and do things that I don't feel confident with, and this means that my work isn't as good or special as it could be. This is mainly about personal confidence issues as well as being afraid to make mistakes with my work. I have been encouraged to take risks, so I can address this weakness by asking for help from tutors and technicians when using software that I may not feel I am particularly good at, or asking about ideas that I'm not sure would work. 

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

- Try not to lose motivation with group work, despite conflicting ideas. If we feel stuck, it would be better to make some design ideas and show them to the group than doing nothing. I except that group work would be a more enjoyable task and the results would be better if I did this.

- Keep referring to the briefs. No matter how good a design is, it is still important to check that it still answers what has been set on the brief. For example, in the communication is a virus brief it states that only two colours plus stock can be used on the final pieces, and we ignored this by accident until the end. 

- I have been asking from feedback from friends outside of crit times but I also think it would be useful to ask tutors as well and to keep them updated with my progress so they can tell me how I can improve.

- Next time I'll back up my work as I go along as I have learnt from my mistakes how difficult it is to progress when work goes missing. With the blogger meltdown I unfortunately lost a lot of work that I hadn't backed up, where if I had done this, I would have saved myself a lot of time and stress.

- I need to not be afraid to ask for help from technicians. Sometimes I have ended up doing something other than what I want to because I'm not sure how to do what I want to do, but if I asked the technicians or tutors I may be able to get answers and also find quicker ways of doing things.

6. 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 = 4
Commitment = 3
Quantity of work produced = 3
Quality of work produced = 3
Contribution to the group = 4

Re-designing my Blog

After researching successful blog designs for my current brief, 'Speaking from experience', I thought it was about time that I re-did my blog to make it more attractive, and also easier to use. This is the design I have been using since September. It is quite boring and there is nothing about who I am as a designer reflected in it. 

This is the new design, which looks much better in my opinion, and makes it easier to navigate around the different pages. I have introduced a new page, called 'things I like', which is a bit like an online notebook for me to record inspiring images and websites which may not be relevant to any current project. I have recently been experimenting with creating my own business cards, and so I think there should be a link between the design of my blog and these business cards.

This is my final blog design, bringing in one of my favourite business card designs, but with the colours altered to match my blog. I tried this logo with and without the line used in the business card, but think it looks better without it. I am much happier with my blog after this re-design and feel it is a lot more personal, sophisticated and easier to use now with the new link scheme. However, I think there will probably still be many blog re-designs to come over time!

Final Design:

In Design Brief

Feedback from first crit

I was in a crit group with Sophie, Baljeet, Kirsty A and Kirsty H. I also got some feedback from Lorenzo. Here are the points from this crit:

-Check spellings and grammar

-Consider layout of text, get rid of widows (one word in a line)

-Expand the margin on the right page, and make sure the layout of text works, as at the moment one column ends with 'and' and the right one begins with 'and' which doesn't look right

-The CMYK colour scheme layout was preferred to the black and white one, and the image on this page was also preferred

-Get rid of the centre line as you wouldn't find this in a real magazine

-Try three columns of text instead of two

-Try block coloured background

-Un-check hyphenations on In Design as hyphenated words don't look good

-Good use of negative space, keeps article simple and effective

-Try different fonts

Also consider the general points made in the type and grid sessions, such as:

-Think about trying the headings and completely different sizes, weights and fonts

-Try more informal designs

-Try aligning things diagonally, and be more experimental with designs

-Re-consider the hierarchy of what is on the page

-I should look at other magazines and find layouts that I like, and question why I like it and then try out that layout with my own designs, to test what works and what doesn't.

Final piece

Evaluation

I have struggled with learning how to use In Design more than with any software induction we have had as it something I was really not familiar with, however, I think it will probably be one of the most useful pieces of software I have learnt, and I wish I had learnt how to use it earlier. I have also really enjoyed the type and grid sessions with Lorenzo; my favourite part of all this is drawing out different layout designs by hand. Before learning about magazine layouts, it wasn't something I would have thought that I would have been that interested in but now I would definitely like to do it again in future projects as I've really enjoyed it. The hardest part was making things look sophisticated in In Design, so it looked like a real magazine, but after trying out what I learnt in the induction as well as trial and error, I feel a lot happier. Some of the issues with my article that Lorenzo pointed out like how widows and hyphenations don't look good, or how one column ended with 'and' and then the other began with 'and', I don't think I would have noticed these unless they were pointed out, but now I know to always consider how the text looks. I still think that I have a lot more to learn with In Design but I am really pleased with what I have learnt up to now.