D E S I G N P R A C T I C E: November 2009

1. Your ability to select develop and evaluate a range of appropriate source material gathered through a breadth of appropriate research methods.

My approach to this module was heavily weighted toward research and gathering source information, but in reflection I feel this may have been my most significant downfall despite it being essential to my conceptual progression with the brief.

Over the past five weeks the research that I have gathered was relevant and justified and I firmly believe that I managed to explore, develop and evaluate a range of primary, secondary, qualitative and quantitative avenues. In gathering primary sourced information for 'What is Good?' I asked people to respond to surveys posted on E-Studio, conduct left-handed writing experiments and to fill in quick one-to-one questionnaires that were delivered personally. This was crucial in developing my concept as allowing people the freedom to provide the information I needed was particularly time consuming and problematic.

In terms of secondary data, sourcing information from books proved invaluable. Information such as historical left handed personalities and the scientific ways in which left handed people think broadened my knowledge and heavily informed my design decisions. Despite this however, I am confident in saying that I invested far too much time into this process (inclusive of deciding what information would be useful to work from) and as a result my visual development towards a final resolve was neglected, not to mention my exploration regarding crucial print processes that were essential in directly answering the requirements set by the brief.

Overall I am in a position where I do not feel that my skills to select, develop and evaluate were directly at fault; but perhaps in relation to time available I could have identified a key concept earlier and exhausted that option more thoroughly as opposed to multiple ideas... Having said that, my approach to research did pay off in the design process of the 16pg booklet.

2. The level of investigation and experimentation into appropriate production media, processes and technologies.

My investigation into print production media, processes and technologies was in my opinion to a sufficient standard. I took this module as an opportunity to explore the usage of spot and special colours, mono/duo/tri and half toning and in particular print finishes that give a tangible quality to the end product. That said, my experimentation and actual hands-on approach would be something that I'd say I have regrettably neglected a little bit and simply not dedicated enough time towards. Had I have given myself the opportunity to do so, I would of grabbed the bull by the horns and gotten my hands dirty with foil blocking, flocking and embossing/debossing. Needless to say I believe I have educated myself to the best of my abilities through relevant books and publications and therefore this module was theoretically very useful for me.

3. The breadth and quality of practical skills, ideas and design development.

In the literal sense of practical I would say my application of skills was fairly limited and (as mentioned previously) a key area in which I could have explored further. I feel my strengths certainly lie in doing things by hand as identified in last years Design Practice module be it illustration, collage or otherwise; but this again was an area that didn't materialize. Ironically however, the past five weeks were unquestionably useful in developing my approach to design through digital means, more specifically cross-software development. Never before have I switched so fluidly between Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign to get a design idea completed; and as something I wanted to build upon from last year, I am satisfied. I feel this is likely to be down to the workshops provided; to say they were beneficial would be an understatement. What's more, to expand on this the typography workshops with Graham were in my opinion priceless and as a result I feel my knowledge in this field has improved considerably already.

Looking back to my idea and design development, the module on a whole was a very eye opening experience and insightful as to what can happen when you get caught up in a particular mindset. Through having to change my approach for the 'What is Good?' concept with little more than two weeks to go, I was shown first hand the consequences of losing sight of what was intended originally. In a summative sentence, 'be sure to pursue more frequent feedback from peers and tutors alike' is the lesson I learnt.

4. The documentation, organisation and presentation of your work for this module.

As something that let me down slightly last year, I have to say I feel this was one of my strongest areas throughout the duration of the module and possibly something that has manifested into an obsession. Over the period of the last five weeks I experienced a somewhat overwhelming desire to document, clarify, order and re-order my design development until I was satisfied, and it was a thing that constantly niggled at me until I was either asleep or the problem was resolved. I managed to keep track of my progress in three separate 'To-do List' books as well as a personal diary and action plan sheets. I believe that it showed on submission day where I disturbingly felt quite relaxed in the middle of an action packed studio.

Regarding each brief set, I documented my design development in separate A3 folders that were subsequently categorised chronologically. I obtained additional photographic documentary through cameras and scanning and in light of this compulsion, the presentation of my work for the five A2 boards and critically edited pdf came as a natural progression that required little stress.

The only negative to arise from this is that I may have bitten off more than I can chew in terms of blog posting.

Never the less, this is certainly as aspect of my work ethic that has improved.

5. The success of your final products in relation to the briefs.

Although my resolutions have their positive and negative points, I am collectively satisfied with the end products for both my 'What is Good?' and 'What is Design for Print?' briefs.

Starting with 'What is Good?', the most pleasing aspect for me was the fact that I was able to successfully package a concept that dealt with something which wasn't physical (as opposed to a commonly packaged item such as an event or piece of food). My ability to think laterally was at times pushed to the limit, but this is something I am pleased to have over-come. The resolve itself works conceptually and reflects what was unearthed through conducting thorough, in-depth research. The ability to re-brand an existing organization was also a focus that proved to be of great success and an aspect that subsequently existed as an ideal outlet to design for a series of branded products.

My A2 boards and critically edited .pdf were additionally useful in order to filter out my design development into a summative progression that displayed only what was imperative.

In relation to the 16 page booklet I would have liked to have had more opportunity to experiment with layout to further explore the lessons learnt within my typography workshops with Graham. Non-the-less, the content that I produced sums up what I feel I have learnt most about the design for print process throughout the module and therefore it answers the brief directly. I am openly surprised as to how well it turned out given that the time I spent on it was fractional in comparison to the 'What is Good?' brief. The brief as a whole was absolutely crucial in developing my skills on Indesign and in that respect I am highly appreciative of the task.

Things to do differently next time:

1. Allow more time to explore and complete the final resolution instead of neglecting visual development for research.

2. Be sure to get first hand experience with processes relevant to the brief. In this instance foil blocking and embossing.

3. Set myself smaller deadlines within briefs of this duration. I work a thousand times more efficiently whilst under pressure.

4. Arrange a series of self-initiated crits in order to avoid the conceptual development of an idea riddled with faults.

5. Be realistic with my blogging. Posting a lot isn't always effective or necessary. Design smart.