End of Module Self Evaluation

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

Through my induction and also through my own experimentation, I have learnt to use Illustrator. Before, I did not understand how Illustrator could be a useful tool and instead always hand drew my images or used Photo shop. I think I have effectively applied my new skills, as they were used not only in the Illustrator brief, but both of the No News is Good News briefs which I created after my Illustrator inductions. Through the group work I also learnt more about Photo shop through my peers.

I have now developed typography skills through this module. In my previous education I had not been taught about typography, so I have found this fascinating as well as extremely useful and have tried to apply what I have learnt about typography in all my briefs. I learnt about the rules of letter forms, but found it quite difficult to apply these when creating my own typeface by hand, and as a result, some letters were out of proportion.

Through this module I have developed visual communication skills. At first I found this difficult, such as with the visual thinking brief, where there is a good idea behind my work but it is not obvious to the viewer. But I believe I have improved these skills, especially after my research for What is Graphic Design, and I think this can be shown through my Alphabet Soup typeface, which I believe is understandable by itself.

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

I have used the Internet, books from the college library as well as relevant existing examples of Graphic Design that I have collected for research. They have informed my design process by showing me what works well, but also in some cases bad examples show me what not to do, such as colours which don't work together. As well as this, research is useful for me to know my competition, so I don't create something which is identical to something which has already been made. Research has been the starting point for each brief, especially important for the mail shot brief, as I had never created a mail shot before, or experimented with unique foldings, so research helped me to understand what a mail shot is and how useful it can be.
I haven't done much primary research, but to improve in further modules I think this important.

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

I am quite critical of my own work and so find it difficult to identify strengths. One strength that stands out in my work is that I am always continuing to develop it after receiving feedback. I regularly discussed my work with tutors to ensure improvements could be made.

Another strength is that I believe I have always created work that is relevant for the target audience. I have always listed considerations such as target audience before planning a piece, and I believe this is how I have capitalised on making my work relevant.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

Although I am creating many design ideas at the start by hand, I tend to stick with one idea from the start, and not attempt to create the others.

Colour is something which I felt I didn't understand well previously, so a lot of the colour I have used seems to be quite irrelevant, more to make a piece look attractive than having a purpose.

I don't think I have focused on presentation as much as I should have, I would address this weakness by using relevant stock and being more careful with folds and cutting in future.


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

Next time I will try different ideas instead of just rushing in with my first idea. Making mock ups of an idea and developing it may lead me to a better quality piece of design.

I will think about stock, experimenting with different stock which may make my pieces stand out, such as the use of stickers. I will try unusual sizes and shapes as well instead of choosing the safe option so that my pieces are unique.

I will evaluate my work as I go instead of just reflecting at the end of a brief, as I feel evaluating has been a really useful process with I never previously used. This reflection will hopefully help me to stop making mistakes and realise what is working well.

Now that I am beginning to understand colour, I will be more careful about picking colours with relevance, rather than just choosing colours I think look good. I think this will help to share my message through visual communication.

I will spend more time considering layout. Some of my designs didn't work too well because of their layout. I will try both horizontal and vertical orientation, and consider how folds can effect a layout. By doing this I can choose a layout which makes the most sense and therefore make my work easier to understand and so more effective.

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

Illustrator Induction

For this brief I have created 26 variations of one letter form on Illustrator based on what I learnt in the Illustrator inductions.

Final Piece: A1

This is the screen image of my final 26 letterforms which I printed horizontally on to A1 tracing paper.

Evaluation

I am generally pleased with my final piece, considering that before the inductions I didn't understand how to use Illustrator. Through what I have learnt from the tutor as well as experimentation with the different tools on Illustrator, I have created a set of varied letterforms. What I have learnt from this brief I have been able to transfer to my other briefs, and so I feel a lot more confident creating things on the computer now instead of just always hand drawing things. To improve this piece, I think I would consider colour better, as apart from on the letterforms where I have experimented with opacity, I have used colour just to make the piece look attractive and ordered, rather than using it to bring out certain parts of the letterforms. 

No News Is Good News: Part 2 - Mail Shots

For this brief I am creating a mail shot regarding the subject of my poster designs from 'No News Is Good News' brief part 1 - poster designs.

Week One Progress Crit

- Don't need to include all aspects of the three poster design on mail shot - keep it simple, only use what is necessary
- Maybe include other celebrity gossip weddings / stories
- Entice readers to visit the website with promises of exclusive photographs, etc
- Make the reader feel special, like they are V.I.P's or invited by a celebrity into their world
- On the middle page spread, include the website address, as where it is placed on the back cover doesn't grab attention, where the middle page does
- On the middle page, experiment with layout of type, try having a different opinion on each side so they are opposing
- The front cover doesn't invite readers in -  needs to be more attention grabbing

Final Crit
Evaluation 1: Francesca & Frankie
What is being communicated and how?  
The marriage between Russell Brand and Katy Perry - Celebrity gossip website
How well does this answer the brief?  
- Appropriate mailing list - Subject matter/sending a message - Correct size
Who is the audience and how well does the resolution communicate its message/content to them? 
- Gossip lovers/ Celebrity followers  - Mainly female (typeface and use of colour appeals more to females) - use of image - recognising faces draws you in
What are the strengths of the resolution? 
-Outside is appealing - Way it opens out - Colour scheme, colours work well together
How could it be improved?
-More in the centre of the envelope/layout could be experimented with
- Maybe use colours that could be more fitting to the subject
General Comments...
-Simple / effective, tells the message - Outside visually appealing, want to open it - Strong use of red

Evaluation 2: Matt & Emily

What is being communicated and how? 

Advert for celebrity gossip site (blog almost)
How well does this answer the brief?
- Set audience - consistent colour - Simple/to the point -intruiging/entertaining -mutual perspective -open/inviting
Who is the audience and how well does the resolution communicate its message/content to them?
Followers of celebrities, magazine readers, groupies/fans, opinionated people
What are the strengths of the resolution?
-Eye catching colour - relevant type - inventive folding design - images make it look upbeat/gossip like

How could it be improved?
- Use a brighter yellow colour - Try a different stock
General Comments...
Good piece of work, overall very intriguing

My Evaluation
I agree with the comments made in the evaluations by other students. I am happy with the fold, and how the envelope opens out to be the actual piece. This would save money if this was a real mail shot as only one a4 piece needs to be used. The comments about the use of colour also came across in part one of this brief, so I feel as if I should have considered colour better. I chose to use red to symbolise love, and gold to symbolise the luxury of the wedding of Katy Perry and Russell Brand, and then white as I felt that this colour would go well with red and gold. I could have used colours that related more to India, or just brighter colours to make the piece really stand out. I altered the layout of the text in the centre of the mail shot because it did not fit in with the fold, however, the layout I used for the final piece also doesn't work too well. If I had the time and money to recreate these mail shots, I would have tried lots more experimentation with the layout of text, as my piece proves that things that work on screen may not work when they are printed and folded.


Final Mailshot

Mailing List

No News Is Good News: Part 1-Posters

Evaluation
Response from other students
We displayed our work in a crit, and then recieved anoynmous feedback, which allowed the person viewing our work to be totally honest. I think this research was useful as it showed me which parts of my posters I thought woud be obvious weren't actually understood by the person evaluating my work, for example in the second image, where a sentence is spelt out with images. This allows me to make changes to designs, so I can make them simpler and more understandable. At the same time, this type of crit meant that I couldn't explain my reasons behind design decisions.

Evaluation 1 
Which statement/fact/question is being communcaited to you? Two famous people from different countries have married in India
Is this being communicated in a clear and focused way? Unsure
What could be developed further? More connotations to India and marriage
Have the posters been kept "simple and to the point?" Unsure
Is a statement, fact or question being posed? Image only poster is too fussy so is not clear, there are seperate images, space between parts of images need to be smaller
Has the restriction of two colours plus stock been met? Yes
Are the two colours plus stock appropriate to the solution? Unsure
Why are the two colours plus stock appropriate/inappropriate? Links to the countries could have been made in relation to colour. Or even what Katy is famous for wearing - candy etc
Do the posters work as a set or series? No
Why do they work/don't work as part of a set or series and could this be developed further? Image only just looks like it was done last minute, a nicer layout would be better. Images in image and text are too different to images used in image only.
Is it clearly evident which poster is type, image and type and image? Unclear. Image and type poster looks too much in the style of only images.
Are the posters"memorable, immediate high impact and clear"? I really like the simplicity of the text only poster, use this device throughout and you would have to consistancy needed.
Do you feel the brief has been fulfilled to its full potential? No
Further feedback? Try to use images with no detail, just block, it would suit the style used within text only

Evaluation 2
Which statement/fact/question is being communcaited to you? The marriage of Russell Brand and Katy Perry - dates and places of the event (Celebrity Gossip)
Is this being communicated in a clear and focused way? Yes
What could be developed further? I feel the posters could carry on as a story e.g. the wedding and events of the marriage's state. Also some more cut-out deisngs in different shapes/colours.
Have the posters been kept "simple and to the point?" Yes
Is a statement, fact or question being posed? Fact. The date is October 23rd which has already happened. The fact that the date is stated twice and in a large print on the 3rd poster portrays this well and informs.
Has the restriction of two colours plus stock been met? Yes
Are the two colours plus stock appropriate to the solution? No
Why are the two colours plus stock appropriate/inappropriate? Russell Brand and Katy Perry are big, interesting and over the top characters, therefore more colour and brighter colours would have been appropriate to their personalities
Do the posters work as a set or series? Yes
Why do they work/don't work as part of a set or series and could this be developed further? It could definately be developed further, you could make endless cut out designs to this subject. They work as a set, all simple, same style, the font is used throughout and the un-even cut out images fit in with the colour scheme
Is it clearly evident which poster is type, image and type and image? The image poster is clearly the middle one and this is visually successful. I feel the type and image could have had more type on it as they are too similar to the cut out images, maybe the use of a different more simple font like the style of the images in the middle poster.
Are the posters"memorable, immediate high impact and clear"? The image only and text only are very clear, bold and communicate the article well. However the text and image could have worked better with either one of the images from image only or a font similar to them. I like how the names of the celebrities stand out compared to the dates and facts on the type only poster.
Do you feel the brief has been fulfilled to its full potential? Yes
Further feedback? It has been successful and visually communicates the article well, althought including another typeface (simple and clean) would have made it even more effective and clear.

My Response
After speaking to a tutor about my three posters, I realised that I had concentrated too much on ensuring that each piece worked as an individual to focus on other aspects, and therefore my pieces don't work as a set. Different issues rose after the feedback, such as realising that the image only poster wasn't understandable, and so may work better with type, as if it was a puzzle. By changing the layout of the image only poster, I could make it easier to read. The image and type poster didn't contain much type, and I had focused too much on making the image look visually attractive when I could have used this as an oppurtunity to communicate more information or pose a question about the article. The image and type poster could have contained much more detail, to show the extravagance of the wedding. The posters could have contained a different colour scheme, that focused more on the theme of Indian wedding rather than traditional red and gold. The posters may actually work better landscape, this is something I need to experiment with.

Developed Final Pieces
Taking on board the feedback I recieved from my evaluation, I made some changes to my final posters.

Personality Alphabet

Rational
What is the problem you intend to solve?: I am creating an alphabet and 6 glyphs which will represent five important personality traits of my partner, Eddie.
Who needs to know?: Obviously my partner, Eddie, but also a general audience, and therefore it must be easy to understand for those who may not know him.
What do they need to know?: Eddie needs to know why the typeface is relevant to him, and why I've made the decisions that have led me to my final outcome.
Why do they need to know?: The typeface will be personal to Eddie.
What will they respond to?: Eddie will connect to the outcome if it is clear, visual, legible, readable, and easy to understand.
What research is required?
Primary- I will need to find out first hand information from Eddie about his personality by asking him a series of questions.
Secondary- I will research existing letter forms that are relevant to what I am trying to communicate about Eddie's personality.


Week One Progress Crit
Issues raised
In my one week progress crit, I shared with other classmates and my tutor the work that I had completed at this stage. It made me feel confident that my ideas were working as planned, particularly the theme of the maze, and the mysterious shadows, but made me realise that I need much more development until I can reach a final alphabet.
Actions Taken
To develop my work further, I need to try every single letter of the alphabet with the style I am aiming to use. When experimenting with things such as uppercase type and italics, I need to use quite a few examples to understand that a style can work with some letters but not others.


Final Crit
Which personality traits did you choose to respond to and apply to the typeface?

The five adjectives I decided suited what I understood of Eddie’s personality are laid back, fun, mysterious, indecisive and informal. Unintentionally I seem to have concentrated on the adjective ‘mysterious’, and not added any aspects of ‘fun’ to the typeface. There are aspects of ‘indecisive’ and ‘informal’ applied to my font, but after development, I ended up removing the aspects of ‘laid back.’

What are the reasons behind the design decisions you have made for the typeface?

I used the font ‘Trisect’ which contains connecting thin lines, which I believe look like the lines in a maze, showing how I think Eddie is confusing and mysterious. I have also been inspired by the font ‘Wyvern Blocko’, which contains a block shadow, which I have added into my typeface to show how parts of Eddie are hidden, like things hiding away in shadows. I have only drawn outlines and not filled in the typeface with block colour, to show that Eddie doesn’t come across as being bold, and also to show there are things about himself he seems unsure of. For example, when completing the initial questionnaires we asked each other when gaining first hand research, Eddie left many questions unanswered.

The font ‘Jigsaw’, where the pieces aren’t joined together but are separate like a stencil, also represents Eddie’s indecisive nature, as bits of the letters seem to be missing. I have also used a font which Eddie said he liked, to help make this font visually attractive to Eddie. I have used a lowercase typeface, as Eddie is an informal, relaxed person, and I feel uppercase would have suggested that he was a bold, loud person. Originally, to show that Eddie is laid back, I had the letters physically leaning back, but decided this was too much of an obvious design decision, and that it didn’t add anything to the attractiveness of the font.

In what ways are the results effective?
I feel that I have responded to some personality traits better than others, in particular 'mysterious'. Eddie may disagree that he is not particularly mysterious, but this is just how i have interpreted him, as I do not know him very well. I think the other aspects of his personality that I have applied to my font are not obvious unless they are explained. Therefore, I think my typeface looks good, but is not completely effective.

To improve and develop my typeface, I could experiment with also creating a set of uppercase letters, and to check that the typeface is readable, by creating words and sentences with the letters at different sizes. 


Response from Tutor
The use of closed letters and block shadows actually make the letters easier to read, which goes against what I am trying to portraying about Eddie being confusing. The maze outline also gives away some of the letters completely, such as p and q. Letters such as t do not work as well with the missing gaps. 
To continue to develop this alphabet, I should try uppercase letters, as well as connecting each of the letters together and possibly creating a new name badge. I should trace over the final piece, and see what the alphabet would like without the use of shadow and outline, and fix 'problem' letters, so that this alphabet looks more like what I am aiming to communicate.

Final Piece: Alphabet & 6 Glyphs on A1 Tracing Paper

4.5cm x 9cm Name Badge

Alphabet Soup (Knit)

Evaluation


What is being communicated and how?

The work I have produced in this brief communicates my interpretation of the random word 'knit' within typography. I have produced 10 x A6 hand drawn letter forms of the letter k to show this.

How well does this answer the brief?

As stated in the brief, I have manipulated existing letter forms to solve this problem, showing visual thinking, and therefore belief I have answered the brief as requested.

How well has the idea been visually explored?

Bearing in mind the small amount of time given for this task, I believe I have visually explored this idea well, developing each initial design a few times before deciding on the idea which I would take further. 

What are the strengths of the resolution?

I believe the strength of my resolution is the idea and thought behind the final piece, rather than the presentation. I have not took knit just to mean the physical craft of knitting, but have really put thought into the design process, coming up with my own interpretation. I have defined the word knit to most importantly mean to join, and for the joins to be secure and close together. 

I have used a mixture of sans/ sans serif pieces of letter forms, as well as clashing typefaces against each other, to make it obvious that these letter forms are not just from one standard font.

How could it be improved?

I believe the ten letters need to communicate better visually with an audience who don't know anything about the task. I aim to develop my letters further by sectioning off each different area, possibly with colour, or a join line. This will make the whole idea of the different pieces from the fonts being 'knitted' together be more obvious. I will then present this work to people who do not know about this task, to see what they can understand from it, and then I will know if my communication has improved.

Another improvement could be to spend more time on the presentation of each letter. I have kept them simple, but they could be developed with the use of colour, or by adding texture to the letters, as seen in some of the fonts I was inspired by when finding research for this task.

A final improvement which I feel would be beneficial would be to pick my favourite of the styles, and then explore some other letters with this style, giving me an idea of what a typeface in this particular style could look like.

Final Piece 10 x A6 letter forms communicating 'knit'

How To Engage With Your Flatmates...

Rational
Group Members
Dom, Francesca, Eddie, Emily & I
The Problem
People who have just started at university (freshers) may be struggling to make friends in their new environment.
The Evidence
It may be difficult to engage if you are shy, have low self- esteem, have nothing in common with the other flat mates, and don't make the effort.
We Intend To..

We intend to get the flatmates to engage with each other by partaking in a week of cooking for each other. We intend to create a poster/ leaflet to encourage the flatmates to join in. This task would provide a talking amusement points, and will guarantee that the flatmates spend time together so no one is lonely, as all will sit and eat together.

Evaluation


What role did you take on in the group?
We all worked together as a group on this brief, rather than each of us having an individual role. Therefore, I joined in with most aspects of the task, some to a greater or lesser extent, due to personal strengths and weaknesses within design. For example, I wrote the text for the poster, as I consider creative writing to be a personal strength, compared to others in the group who were more experienced with Photo Shop.

How well do you think you performed in the role?
As we didn't have specific roles, I think I worked well in the role of group member. I could have worked harder at the elements I wasn't confident within, to help improve my own skills.

How well do you think you worked as a group?
It was difficult in some aspects, but in the end, we all pulled together as we had a shared goal.

What were the positives of working in a group?
I learnt new things, as each member of the group had different skills which we could share with each other. It was helpful to have other respected opinions when making important decisions, and people to check over work to spot mistakes that may had not been noticed if working as individuals.

What were the negatives of working in a group?
Absences of group members made it slower to progress making it feel like some time was wasted. Also, it was difficult to work at home as I couldn't always get in touch with other members.

What will you do differently next time?
Next time it may be beneficial to give each group member a role, so that we could all get on with the task without wasting any time.

Where could you have improved your resolution?
If we had all spent more time on the project, more developed design ideas could have been created.

What were the strengths of your presentation?
The presentation showed the journey of the brief, right from the initial planning to the final product.

Final Piece A3 Poster & Four Recipe Card Fridge Magnets