Module Evaluation

At this point in the year I would say that my biggest strengths are working with image and image treatment. This is exemplified in the Oripeau project as well as the zines for PPP. In my opinion, these examples of work show the strongest abilities and understanding of design out of the work I have made so far. This comes from a lot of previous practice with collage and Photoshop editing, so the work that I make is constantly improving in these areas as I create more and more.

However, I would say that I still really struggle with type - especially making my own typefaces. I really struggled with that project and to this day dread making my own type for a new project. I think that the overall way that I think about type has improved, but I still struggle with experimentation in that area as I am scared of failing or creating a ‘bad’ typeface. 

I also feel that my amount of experimentation could improve. I tend to limit myself to very few ideas and could really reach out more and try things that I haven’t before, like animation, which I really want to do. I have generally stuck to what I am good at, like digital design and photography, but I should definitely be trying more new things.

At the start of the year, I approached briefs with a lot of nervousness, and it would usually take me a while to actually get going with an idea that I liked. Now, I understand that what works best for me is speed. By working quickly at the start of a brief I don’t give myself time to worry about failing or ‘wasting time’ on ideas that don’t follow through. I definitely work best by mind-mapping my ideas and getting to work quickly rather than just taking too long at the start of a brief to get going.

I have learnt that the most important thing to consider when designing is the justification. Before, when designing something my main consideration was the aesthetics and I simply thought about how a design looked rather than what it was communicating. Now, when designing I am always thinking about the reason behind what I am doing and the importance of justification within design. 

My new favourite creative strategy is definitely using the scanner to manipulate images. This is something that I only used to do for my fine art and never considered using this approach for graphic design, However, I have begun to realise that I can blur the lines as much as I want and actually utilize the ways of working that I used for my fine art in my design too. DR. ME coming in to talk to us and saying that they use the scanner to add noise and texture to images also gave me the confidence that I am doing the right thing with this process.

The most difficult part of the design process is after the experimentation, having to settle on an idea to choose as the final outcome. I have a lot of difficulty at this stage because I begin to put a lot of pressure on myself to choose the ‘best’ idea to develop as a final, and it results in me making a lack of work and lacking development at this stage. To improve on this I really need to inject the same level of motivation that I have at the start of a project to this particular part, so that I can continue to produce the best work throughout the entire brief.

In contrast, my favourite part of the design process is the experimentation with new ideas at the start. I really enjoy being able to work through things quickly and not focusing on perfection too much at this early stage. It gives me a chance to really think about which ideas are the strongest and deserve to be taken forward and perfected. 

One of the skills that I would really like to improve upon is animation. It is one of my goals to learn how to use Adobe After Effects as I think that it would be a really effective and useful tool as a designer to know. I would love to create beautiful motion graphics that could be used by businesses or brands. I currently know how to animate in Photoshop, however, as this programme is not built for animation like After Effects, it is really difficult to produce effective work. This skill is definitely attainable at University for me and I am really eager to incorporate this into a future project so that I can expand my skills. I think that it would be really interesting to see my personal style, which I can already see developing, in motion.

New Packaging

After my crit with Orlando - I rethought the packaging of my zines. Although mocking them up in an Oxfam carrier bag is a much simpler final outcome, I think that it is more effective. I can justify it a lot more as it links more directly to me and my inspirations.
I also had the idea of making my little 'information card' into a receipt, which fills out the idea more and adds another element.
I really like the realism of the Oxfam logo on the bag - it' not necessarily 'pretty' or pleasing to the eye but gives off an authentic feel of having found a piece of charity shop gold and carrying it home. The receipt and price tag are extra details that help with giving off this realistic effect.

Crit with Orlando

Positives
- The collection of zines feels like a purposeful set. How can it be portrayed in a way that brings them together more? A box-set?
- The colours work well especially for the Nostalgia theme as they feel faded and washed out.
- The zines are of good enough quality that they could be presented on their own and still be strong.

Things to work on:
- There is no clear takeaway from the final outcome.
- VHS Tapes have a link to Nostalgia, however, this is not very strong. If I was really inspired by film or had an idea of what the tapes were of, then it could work but for now they add no real value to the final outcome. If they we're taken away, nothing would be lost - and so they are not really justifiable.
- I need to design a small card / element that briefly explains my 'Nostalgia' themes and introduces the collection of zines. This would create some clarity, explain my ideas better bring the zines more together. - An 'introductory statement card'. 
- I also need to come up with a smart way to package my zines that evokes my personality and ideas that is not the VHS tapes. It needs to put the zines into some sort of interesting context and control the viewer's impression of the zines.
- Something that links to the nostalgia theme with a stronger link to me is packaging them as though they were found in a charity shop. I find a lot of inspiration from charity shop finds so it could be interesting to mock them up as though in a paper bag / sleeve with a hand-written price tag and Oxfam logo.
- If I did this, the 'introductory statement card' could be mocked up as a receipt and put inside the bag.

VHS Tapes

Advice Zine

Aims Zine

- My biggest fear whilst producing these zines was that the design layout would become uninteresting and too plain. Upon reflection, on some pages I decided to collage more elaborately than on others - and that's okay. It stops the final product from being too messy or too minimal.

Creative Strategies Zine

- Continuing on with the zine making process I am really happy with how it is going so far. The development is tedious and repetitive as every single image is being bitmapped, however, the constant ever-changing layout and results keep it exciting and new. I am really enjoying that when I am not to sure of how to layout a page I tend to re-visit the same techniques, as these are becoming unique to me and my tendencies. 

Sketchbook Pages