OUGD603 / Module Evaluation

OUGD603 

Evaluation 

Managing my own time this year for Extended Practice has been a huge learning curve for me. I always slightly struggled with this aspect in first and second year, however having to organise my time efficiently on my own for this module made me plan and utilise my time effectively. Being excited and enthused about the briefs I was doing also was a big help, as well as live and collaborative briefs as I didn’t want to let the client or team member down. 

I found undertaking the number of briefs I did challenging, and at the start of the module fairly overwhelming. I found a great way to keep level headed was to extend my Context of Practice project (the value of hand-made design in the 21st century) as it is an aspect of design I feel very passionately about. By extending this and focussing it towards the craft of ceramics, I was undertaking a lengthy research-led brief that I spent at least one day a week doing throughout Extended Practice. I found having this day of working completely practically kept my ideas fresh as I found a balance between digital and physical projects. I think having this balance is so important, as other wise I could have become bored with my computer based projects. 

The freedom to work collaboratively was something I thoroughly enjoyed this year. This collaborative process has now become a lot more natural and beneficial to me in comparison to when I was first introduced to it in first year. I have found that utilising every member of the teams skill set to compliment one another creates a much more well rounded and comprehensive outcome that would not have been achievable if working individually.

Another aspect of Extended Practice I have enjoyed this year is having the choice to explore new techniques and processes. I was able to get a grasp a much better understanding of video and stop motion this year, as well as using Premier Pro. This is a skill I have always been interested in and I now feel a lot more confident in this area, it is something I will develop on in the future. 

I found feedback in this module very beneficial, I feel that as a class we have learnt to be more critical and by using this to our advantage (critiquing each others work) it has enabled me to grow as a designer. Although sometimes I didn’t take on board every bit of feedback given, I always formed my own judgement based on feedback collected from peers as well people external from the course. 

A weakness I found in this module was not being confident enough in my work and comparing it to others. This made me doubt some of my work and at times lose motivation, however having regular feedback sessions helped subside this and as I learnt that everyones briefs were so different there was no need to compare.

Overall, Extended Practice has been the most challenging yet also the most rewarding module I have undertaken to date. This is because I chose briefs I was passionate about, as well as live briefs, this made me want to create the most professional outcome as possible and therefore really stretched me as a designer. 

OUGD603 / Planning Time

Scan in of my time plan for these past months:

- found this very helpful to have own personal deadlines for separate parts of briefs, splitting them into research ---> ideas ---> design development ---> PRINT / or finish however appropriate

OUGD603 / Restaurant Rebrand / Collaborative Brief / Evaluation

Restaurant Rebrand / Collaborative Brief

Evaluation

The rebrand of Lupe’s Mexican Cantina was an extensive brief. Working collaboratively with Charlie meant we generated a broad range of ideas and utilised both of our different skills to design something most appropriate to the best of our ability. 

Starting out, we both created many different possible logos for the restaurant and after gathering feedback from peers as well as non design conscious people, we formed our own judgement of what was most successful. Before deciding on a definite logo we started creating the designs for flyers and menu’s, testing out different logos to see what worked best across all appropriate platforms. 

An article online on hand-painted signs in Mexico was extremely beneficial and influential for the logo. We based all of our initial designs on these, referring to the strong accents of the letterforms, as well as the fluidity of the more script like typefaces. Referring to these authentic hand-painted signs kept our designs close to the Mexican culture, attempting to portray the authenticity of the restaurants food. 

The concept of the Mexican wrestlers made our design unique and appropriate to our student target audience. The images used are fun yet also distinctly Mexican. Creating a repeat pattern out of these and applying a duotone to fit to the colour scheme of the branding, we were able to use this on any necessary platforms. After the overall image of the branding had taken shape, we extended the brief and created a wide range of outcomes with it. We were both able to do this freely as we were following our own brand guidelines created.

Overall I found working collaboratively on this brief highly rewarding. Both of us having different skill sets allowed us to extended this rebrand in to a big project, which both of us are very happy with the final outcomes.

OUGD603 / UP YER SLEEVE / Evaluation

UP YER SLEEVE

Evaluation

As Secret 7 wasn’t on this year it was great to still be able to create a visual response to a track, being as abstract and experimental as you want. The track I was allocated was Good Name by William Onyeabor, a Nigerian funk artist from the 70’s. I enjoyed researching in to Nigerian funk culture and trying to subtly portray connotations of this era / genre through my own designs. 

Collage and other forms of drawing were experimented with, however the most successful technique I used was moving a collage while scanning it in. This created a distorted effect which reflects the synthesised / electronic aspect of Onyeabor’s music. The use of bright colours such as green and orange are influenced from other Nigerian artworks and designs, I wanted the design to have undertones of this culture. 

Feedback showed that the chosen track was the most popular, this was my preferred design too - I think it visualises the song most accurately. 

OUGD603 / Food Stall Branding / Evaluation

Food Stall Branding

Evaluation 

I found this an exciting brief as the idea arose from a rough idea for a potential business plan with a friend. We came up with the idea about a year ago and I thought by making one of my briefs the branding for it, then if it ever were to happen to identity would already be done. Having this thought of the business going live kept me passionate about the project, meaning this was actually quite a long brief for me as I spent a lot of time gathering feedback and making alterations. 

Having this brief as a long one turned out to be beneficial as some parts didn’t go to plan, therefore by not setting any concrete deadlines I was able to go back and fix it. This was the case with the printing, initially I planned to riso print the menus and loyalty cards as we want the business to be as environmentally friendly as possible, and riso printers are very cost effective. It uses soy-based inks, are extremely energy efficient and generate a minimal amount of waste. Another reason to riso print was to access the bright colours used in the design, these colours are essential as it would make the stall stand out and be appropriate for the bright, fun surroundings of the festival. 

Allowing myself to have more time with this brief meant I could re-print the designs through screen printing, this gave the bright effect I was looking for.

Feedback was essential in this brief as when the menu was first being designed, aesthetic overrode important factors such as reader usability. It was unclear that you could mix and match the dippers to dips, having them directly opposite each other looked like they were permanently paired. This was really useful constructive feedback, after this I designed a range of different layouts, using arrows to communicate the mix-match aspect of the menu. 

I think the overall branding caters to the target audience of festival goers accurately through its use of bright colour and humour - through language and illustration. I am pleased with this brief and after showing it to my friend (who would be the business partner) she said she was really happy with it and even more driven to start it up now that it’s envisioned.

OUGD603 / Ceramics / Research-led Brief / Evaluation

Ceramics / Research-led Brief

Evaluation

This brief was an extension of my Contact of Practice project, exploring the value of hand-made design in the 21st century. By doing this I was going through hand made processes myself and testing the benefits - referring back to the theoretical research on Carl Honore’s beliefs and the positive effects of using slow processes and using our hands.

I have thoroughly enjoyed focussing this  research of hand-made design towards ceramics and have learnt a new skill / hobby in doing so. This is something which I now will carry on with after university and hope to learn and practice more.

Learning all the different steps and stages of ceramics has been the longest, ongoing project I have undertaken this year. It is a very slow process, each of which are equally important so great time and care has to be given at every step. Learning to experiment with different glazes (and not get too attached to the creations in the process) has also been a big learning curve. As the nature of ceramics is so unpredictable (things can break / change colour in the kiln which is out of your control) it’s important to detach yourself from them, even though this is difficult as each one goes through such a long journey!

Having this as an ongoing brief through these 4/5 months has also kept me motivated and passionate about my work. I found having one day a week completely off the computer screen extremely beneficial. This break allowed me to think in much more practical, tactile ways which I felt like I was missing out on when doing digital design work. It also meant I didn’t get tired of my other briefs as I had a balance. These psychological benefits refer back to the contextual research in my Context of Practice project.

OUGD603 / Exhibition Branding / Evaluation

Exhibition Branding

Evaluation

After rewriting the brief and making it appropriate for an individual project, I pushed forward with designing and created a range of possible ideas for the branding. After gathering feedback I formed my own opinion on what worked most successfully and extended the branding to use for the posters and flyers necessary.

I utilised my time well in this brief and set myself personal deadlines meaning after altering the brief it was a fairly linear process. I enjoyed creating a visual output to the concept which Charlie, Charles and I came up with. The branding was created while having feedback from the target audience (students) and therefore caters well for the audience. The logo communicates effectively what the exhibition is about through the ways the letters sit to mimic changing the way things are seen / seeing things differently. The dashed line has connotations of a scientific diagram, similar to a light prism. This demonstrates the concept of perspective in the exhibition.

If I had more time with this brief I would have liked to turn this proposal to reality and put the exhibition on. The presentation would be given infant of the different courses and then putting it on at Studio 24, possibly sourcing work from renowned designers also so that students could be exhibited along side them and possibly mingle with industry.