Evaluation

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
I have pretty much discovered the whole pantone colour swatch system throughout this module. I never really appreciated how useful exact colour matches are, and how complex it is to create similar colours without them. I have also improved my photoshop skills enormously. I didn't know how to use simple things like the duotone menu and I think this will help me immensely in future. I now feel more confident using colour in general as I know that when it comes to print, there is a lot that can be done to ensure the colours turn out correctly on paper.

2. What approaches to generating work and solutions to problems have you developed and how have they helped?
This year, I have rediscovered drawing thumbnails. I'd previously absolutely hated doing this, but it allows me to produce lots of different designs in a systematic method. I can change each one slightly without the huge effort of doing the same thing on a mac. Furthermore, it seems to allow me to produce quite nice design sheets. They look better in a grid format than in my... organic way of working... sometimes things extend off the pages and it doesn't look quite as structured. I also have lost a bit of the fear I've always had about drawing people. I realise now that its more the proportions of features that I struggle with, and balancing facial features.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
As I mentioned previously, the ability to work systematically. I think my secondary research has been really strong with regard to 1950's graphic design, but was let down a little by the primary research. I think my use of image worked reasonably well, and I did attempt to use small amounts of body copy in my envelope designs despite having a fear of using typography generally, as it feels out of my comfort zone. I also think that my use of the blog has improved a lot as a method of evaluating my work. It seems more professional to do it this way sometimes, as opposed to scribble notes here and there which sometimes look scruffy.


4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how could you exploit these more fully?
I think limiting myself to a vintage style hindered my working process with the good brief. Also, working in a small sketchbook has always been a bad habit of mine, particularly before I started this course, and for some reason I decided to revisit this silly idea at the start of colour for print. I tend to get too precious about my work when I work in a sketchbook and it hinders my ability to produce a lot of work in a short space of time. Also, I think I should have paid more attention to my primary research. The questionnaire I did was reasonably effective in gaining people's opinions/thoughts on the subject of tea, but I think I dismissed these results without much thought. Also, I think I took too long to make a decision about what exactly I wanted to produce, and lacked clarity in my crit when I was explaining my general idea.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
1. Make design decisions earlier.. even if they are wrong, i can learn from them and move on at a quicker pace
2. Never miss a crit no matter how ill I feel... This really hindered my progress I think
3 Clarify ideas properly before a crit
4. To not be afraid to go out of my comfort zone... to use photoshop as a tool when I need to
5. Don't be too precious about my development work


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

Attendance - 3
Punctuality - 4
Motivation - 3
Commitment -4
Quantity Of Work Produced - 4
Quality Of Work Produced - 3/4
Contribution To The Group - 3/4