OUGD405 - Final Evaluation

Design Principles Final Evaluation

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

In this module I don't know if I have learnt any new skills, but I have certainly developed my existing ones, such as time management and research skills. I have found that I have more disipline and motivation to do my work before last minute, and not to lose all hope if it gets that way. I have become less of a perfectionist, but I still really love the work that I produce.
I have learnt that if you can, you must manipulate the thing that you are working on to something that you enjoy, or you will have no motivation to continue. Some things have to be done with no compromise of course, but you must always find a way round it to make it enjoyable.

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

I have found more enthusiasm in researching, becoming almost engrossed at the task at hand, meaning that I have been more focused and aware of what I'm about to carry out. It certainly has made my work more interesting and therefore easier to execute.

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

I have discovered my strengths in illustration and paper engineering. Although I want to be a diverse designer, I have found that the projects I most enjoy should be the ones that I should pursue further.

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

Weaknesses I can identify in my work are inconsistency (of print in this case). I'm still working on my time management, and in this case, I wasn't quick enough in getting all of my artwork completed in time to be printed from the same printer and so looks mismatching. I really want to make sure this doesn't happen again!!

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

• Blog everything as I go so it doesn't mount up again!
• Make sure I'm up to date with past tasks before pursuing current ones - so I don't end up confused as to what I'm supposed to be doing.
• Do a little bit of work everyday rather than drag it out for hours at night to keep concentration levels up and keep an equal balance between work and social time rather than just work.
• Get involved in other styles and lines of work to keep my work interesting and diverse.
• Pursue my favourite elements of graphic design and start talking to designers for work experience.

6. How well do you think you've done/5?

Attendance   

5

Punctuality   

4.9

Motivation    

4.9

Commitment 

4.9

Quantity of work produced

5

Quality of work produced

5

Contribution to the group

4.5

OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate : PRODUCT self evaluation

In this project we were asked to create a product based on our research theme. My research theme was Buddhism. I decided to create a pop-up information book about the story of Siddhartha Gautama for children.

Things I like about my final resolution:

I really like the way my final resolution turned out because I think personally it is the most professional piece of work I have done so far, especially considering the time frame I was given. I think I have definitely speeded up as a designer and are more efficient in my design decisions. The pop ups are all working and work well will the story.

Things I wish I had done differently:

If I could do this project over again I would make sure I got all of my artwork done as quickly as possible and organise printing sessions as early as possible to ensure there are no problems. I found that because my pop-up artwork itself was not finished in time for my reprographics booking time, I only printed my book itself in the reprographics and the pop ups were printed on the laser printer. This meant that some of the colours came out differently to the book itself and the toner ink started to flake off of the folds on the pop ups themselves. This could have been avoided.
In the crit on 25th Jan, I was told that my book did not fulfill the brief set because it wasn't very informative. Although I could argue that everything I included in the book was factual and critical to Buddhism as a religion, I agree that it wasn't very informative and probably wouldn't count as infographics. I would have needed to include more facts and statistics. 
After the crit I had an idea that I would create a belly band for around the book to keep it closed and also to display some infographics. I even thought about having this in silver foil to make it look like a special 'factual infographic' edition. Although I think that this would look really good, I did not pursue it, mainly because I didn't think I had enough time this week to execute it, but also because I didn't think that that would appeal to my target market. But I know I chose the target market myself and so essentially chose to not stick to the brief.

Overall I really like my final design but there are still some things I need to work on to build up my skills and time management.

OUGD405 - Design Principles - How to get someone to try something new - Evaluation

How to ... - Self Evaluation

What role(s) did you take on in the group?

Team leader/organiser, illustrator for poster designs and creator of advertisement posters.

How well do you think you performed in the role(s)?

I think I worked OK, but not as good as I could have done. I feel that I lacked motivation due to lack of interest in our chosen subject matter, which we all could have addressed.

How well do you think you worked as a group?

We worked very well with each other as in we got along and there were no disputes, but I think we could of worked a lot harder because we were honestly not very productive.

What were the positives of working in a group?

More idea input, more work can be produced (theoretically) 

What were the negatives of working in a group?

We found it hard to come together and meet outside of college hours.

What will you do differently next time?

Next time I would make sure that we all agree on the subject matter if we have the opportunity to, so that all team members are interested and motivated enough to do some work!

Where could you have improved your resolution?

We could have done something more creative/ diverse/ innovative, and produced a lot more.

What were the strengths of your presentation?

The final product looked very professional, worked well and served it's purpose.