Self Evaluation

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

From this module I have learnt that extensive research is essential. By researching in depth I found it much easier to come up with ideas and develop them, I found my self constantly revisiting websites and linking from site to site with more research than I could blog. At first it was difficult to find relevant information but the more I searched the easier it became. My software skills have progressed substantially also. In Photoshop I learnt to edit photos in a non-destructive way, I also learnt how to change the hue, saturation contrast and other filters. These skills allowed me to produce my 5 post cards, I think this worked rather well and I am pleased with the end products. Using the marque tool I was able to spin sections of the photos around to create interesting shapes and patterns. My illustrator skills have also been developed over the course of this module, I have learnt how to use clipping masks and the pathfinder tool also which was a big part of my 100 things brief.

Time management is something that has slowly got better over the course of the module. This last project proved quite difficult as 5 weeks still did not seem long enough, but I think I have managed to keep on top of things the best I can. Ideally it could of gone a bit smoother but I think I have managed my time to a good standard. Next time I will make sure I book my print slots well in advance as this has been a problem over this module.

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

Research has helped me allot through this module, finding exsiting work to inspire me has been a big aspect of the module, its a good starting point for ideas and has helped the develop,ment and production of my ideas and products. I found that design Sheets have helped alot, they are a good way of getting a clear indication of where the project is going. Sketching out as many ideas as possible has really helped me too. This has been a useful way of getting out all the not so good ideas and helped to really focus on more inovative ideas.

In terms of software development, my skills have improved greatly in both photoshop and Illustrator. From extensive use of the programs I have slowly learnt most of the short cut keys and a few effects I had not used before. Before this module I had never used photoshop and after  hours of playing about with the filters and tools, I feel fairly confident that I can edit photos to a good standard. I am really happy with the outcome of my post cards, I feel I have produced some interesting and quirky post cards that fit the brief. However If I had more time I feel they could of been printed to a high quality as I was only able to print them off in the mac suite.

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

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Our first project in the module was a group brief and I feel we all worked rather well together, we all managed to pull our ideas together and create a product of a runnng theme and style, this experience was tough to start with but overall a very beneficial and helpful experience. I feel that brief has given me the confidence to express and explain my work and ideas.

Another strength I feel I have gained over the course of this module is my software skills, I am really impressed and happy with the progress I have made. I have learnt to work alot quicker when designing digitally, and seem to be picking up short cuts and tips on a daily basis. This learning process has been very enjoyable and has been a real eye opener to how complicated these software packages really are.

I also feel I have produced some nice simple imagery which looks interesting and is also informative. I have learnt that simple and effective designs work best and to not over complicate things. Its good to stick to a colour scheme also as this means that everything works in a set or series. At first I used quite a range of colours and found that this was not a good thing.

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

One of my main weaknesses to start with was time management, I have found it quite difficult juggling my time around as there is so much going on in every module and I also have to go to work 3 nights a week. This has been a really stressful period for me and I feel this may show in my work. If I had more time I would of liked to improve the quality of my final products. Originally I had planned to screen print my posters, but due to the busy schedule and print slots I was not able to do this which is a great shame. I screen printed quite allot last year and really enjoyed it so this is something I will have to make time for in the up and coming modules. I also did not have time to double side print my post cards so because of this I had to stick the images back to back on some card. This is not how I intended them to look but at least this should give me an incentive to manage my time better next time. Blogging has been a bit of a weakness as well but I think this links in with time management.

I feel I could have had a wider range of products in the 100 things brief as I ended up producing quite allot of posters. Although I am happy with how they turned out I think it would of been nice to have other outcomes. I would of liked to of produced a informative booklet with more help on surviving the recession as I feel most of my products did not hold as much information as I would of liked. They were generally just single facts, so I feel the set of products as a whole were lacking so in depth content. I feel this could of been due to my direction change 3 weeks into the project as originally I was looking at Lost Cities. I researched this topic extensively and pretty much exhausted it. After a crit with amber I was persuaded to look at money, my research was very broad and I couldn't find a clear direction so in the end I just conveyed facts I found interesting.

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

1.  I will manage my time more effecitvely - Hopefully this will give me more time to get some blogging done and also give me more time to produce more indepth design sheets
2. I will book print slots well in advance - This will mean I will not be as stressed out when it comes to deadlines
3. More testing - I didn't have much time for testing and only had time to print out my final designs straight off so this meant I did not spot a minor mistake which could be crucial.
4. Experiment More - I will look at a wider range of products and possible outcomes next time steering away from A3 posters 
5. Clearer Research Direction - I need to be more focused and decisive with where and what I want to do.

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6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas: 

Attendance = 4

Punctuality = 4

Motivation = 3

Commitment =4

Quantity of work produced = 3

Quality of work produced = 3

Contribution to the group =4

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Post Card Brief

For the post card brief I have chose purple as my colour, I have changed and manipulated photos I have taken to produce new and interesting images

 Post Card 1

 The first post card I have created has been made from a photo I took in Cambodia

to start with I created a mask layer then changed the Hue and Saturation to create

a purple sky

 Next I used the marque tool to draw out squares, I cut and pasted the selection and rotated it

45 degrees over and over at different sizes to create this crazy pattern

I created another mask layer and played with the hue once more, I think

this yellow colour compliments the purple.

Final Outcome

Post Card 2

My second post card has been created using 

a photo of the space museum in Berlin

I used the same process as before changing the Hue 

and Saturation to give a purple background

I Cut and pasted Shapes from the image and rotated

them once again to get the desired effect

Final Outcome

Post Card 3

This image was made from a photo from Val D'Isere

 I follwed the same stages as the other post cards playing with shapes

then rotating them

Final outcome

Post Card 4

This post card has been edited from another photo from cambodia

 I created another layer and changed the hue

 Rotated circular shapes again

Final Outcome

Post Card 5

 My final postcard has been made from a photo of

a lamp shade I took

 Once again I changed the Hue

Using the Polygonal Lasoo tool I drew a triangle shape

I then copied aspects of the image and rotated them

Once I had a pattern I liked I followed the same steps but with 

circle shapes to create the image below

Final Outcome

FINAL POSTCARDS

Unfotunatley due to time I was not able to double side print them on nice stock
however if I had more time I would of liked to have a nice gloss finished
stock, I think the colours work well an I have thoroughly enjoyed the 
process and look forward to experimenting with Photoshop

FINAL PRODUCTS

Here are my final products:

100 THINGS // STICKERS

I decided to create some stickers on the vinyl cutter as I was quite interested how the machine worked. The stickers came out really well but unfortunately cost a fortune!!!

100 THINGS // PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT BOOKLET

From the research I found online I created a booklet of info graphs, showing the rates of production and destruction of bank notes over the years. I thought of ways I could represent the information, below is a design sheet with various ideas. In the end I decided to use an image of each bank note and create a graph over the top to represent the facts and figures.

 

 From here I went on to look at how I could turn it into a booklet, I thought about doing a hot dog fold booklet but decided against the idea and just went for a 5 fold double sided booklet. I decided to keep the colour scheme quite simple so It fit in with rest of the products I had thought about doing.

I looked at producing graphs for all the statistical data I found but due to time restraints I did not manage to complete this.

Here is the cover for the booklet, I think this works quite well, it is simple and easy to read and also fits in with the rest of the products.

Final Product Booklet

Overall I am quite happy with how the booklet came out, If I had more time I would of produced the booklet on some gloss finished paper as this would of given the booklet a more professional feel, the stock I used was some antique paper, and due to time restrictions I could not pront double sided so I had to stick the paper back to back which made the booklet quite thick and had to stay flat. I would of liked to of made the graphs a bit more inventive too as they are pretty much bar charts, but I feel they do the job and convey the information well.