~ Extended practice - module evaluation ~

Module evaluation OUGD603

This year has been a huge change in direction for me - in terms of my frame of mind and design process. I've seen a shift towards live briefs and working with clients. This has completely changed the process in that; i've had constant and direct feedback on outcomes, i've had to consider real life print/production methods and document set up and had the opportunity to see my design work in real context (measure success in reality). 

My two favourite briefs

The Zoo - The Zoo Cafe branding was a live client brief, in which I was personally approached by the new management. It was great in that I got full creative freedom and trusted to take the most appropriate direction. The client loved the work I did and gave me constructive feedback directly on the changes he wanted throughout. I got to produce the design for the menu, coffee bag stamp and even hand-painted the sign on the front of the cafe. Seeing my designs successfully working within real world application shows how appropriate the final brand identity was. I am really proud to be able to walk into a place and eat surrounded by my own work.

Jessy Lanza X Leeds Print Festival - Another of my favourite briefs this year was my exhibition submission for LPF. Within my initial project plan for the year, I specified that I wanted engage with a traditional print based brief in order to challenge my skills. I felt my final outcome was a perfect representation of the song/context and looked really bold. I was proud to exhibit this work as it represents my colourful and expressive style well.

My two least favourite briefs this year were Go Higher West Yorkshire and James Shaw (ShawFit). They were both branding briefs and very similar in tone of voice - corporate, professional and with little creative freedom. Im glad I did them as it demonstrates that I can produce a well rounded corporate identity, but it's not a way I personally enjoy working. It's made me aware of what briefs I prefer and which ones to avoid in the future.

This year I have seen a huge improvement in my critical awareness, demonstrated in creating design decisions informed by contextual/visual research and brief specifications/restrictions. I've previously found myself being over-influenced by other designers work and 'design styles' and trying to work towards a certain aesthetic. But this year i've made work purely based on conceptual and information elements within each brief. This has resulted in much better consideration and designs that fit far better - purpose over aesthetic. This change has automatically improved my cognitive skills and ability to talk about my work and concepts behind it with clarity. Having a clear and concise process and path that has lead me to each final outcome makes discussing my work within my portfolio a much easier and more effective process. 

My overall portfolio is now full to the brim of professional looking outcomes that demonstrate a large range of practical skills. Over this year all of my skills have improved (typography, layout, concept development, illustration, consideration of print methods etc.) but I have also developed and learnt some new ones - particularly animation, a skill that sets me apart and has helped me gain many live client briefs over the year. With this new level of professionalism within my work the overall improvement in visual quality is obvious. I have developed a preferred way of working, using shape and colour expressively. All of my outcomes are bold and do not fit into the category of generic design. This visual quality is what will help me stand out when going into industry. 

This module for me has been all about developing transferable skills that I can take with me into industry. I've worked with as many live briefs as possible in order to gain a full understand of real world quality, production and communication needed for success. 

I'd say possibly my biggest downfall of the year has been time planning and organisation. In general I felt like I took on too many briefs making it tricky to navigate between multiple at once - particularly with keeping in contact with so many different people all at once. It's something that pushed me to the peak of productivity. But I did prove to/show myself that I am able to manage multiple projects at once to finish but I should take on less at once in the future in order to be able to focus more.

Overall i've found level 6 to be a completely different experiance to the two previous. I've found a space for myself within the creative industry where clients genuinely want to work with me. I've gained valuable skills and returning clients that will enable me to work in industry as soon as I graduate.