OUGD603 - Module Evaluation

For extended practice I created and fully realised 13 briefs. Each brief was different and met my interests as a designer. I was drawn to  packaging and branding at the start of this year and focussed quite a lot of my briefs on this part of graphic design, though I feel like I am a versatile designer and wanted to push my skills into new areas. 

Over the 13 briefs I have completed, I have tackled packaging, branding, web design, publication design and art direction. Targeting a wide range of skills has helped me develop my overall practice and boosted my time management and organisation skills. I feel as though I have improved as a designer in general and now I am able to produce work to a professional quality. 

Planning my time efficiently was a very important part of this module and helped me complete all of my briefs for the submission. I gave myself a timescale for each of the briefs and while not all of them were not completed on time, some were completed early so this balanced out and allowed me to finish all of the projects within the overall timescale. 

Conducting research for all of my briefs was crucial to better my understanding of the project, audience and existing graphic design. I found this part of the module challenging but beneficial, as it showed me new areas that I had not yet considered. Throughout this module I have also encountered many challenges in producing the final outcomes. Problem solving was a large part of this module and ensured that I was always learning and building on my knowledge as a designer. Creating packaging design was often quite a challenge as visualising the final design was quite difficult, and would only be fully understood once printed and assembled. I also ran into difficulties when photographing products using props. Art direction is a new skill for me and producing a set in which my designs would fit was a rewarding obstacle to overcome. 

This module has helped me become aware of what kinds of design I enjoy and what I do not. Learning this in a practical setting was useful and allowed me to explore other routes while not fully committing myself to that kind of design (e.g. web design). I have developed an interest in packaging, branding and children’s design as my practice is colourful, fun and vector based. These areas are where I am most comfortable working and throughout this module I have developed a style that comes naturally to me.

Extended Practice was a vast module that tested a lot of my abilities. Ensuring that everything was finalised for the submission was a challenge on my organisation and time management skills, and creating the work itself was a test of my abilities as a designer. Overall, this module has developed a broad range of skills and helped me to become the best designer I can be. 

eden keshia / evaluation

eden keshia / design boards

The brief was to create a look book and promotional packaging for Eden Hardwick's fashion line. She will be using the deliverables at Graduate Fashion week and the work produced will get exposure across a new industry

Overall this brief was challenging due to timescale but the actual resolutions were quick and simple to create. As Eden had a clear idea of what she wanted and already had branding, it was just a case of creating designs that fit her brand guidelines.

Unfortunately the swing tags were unable to be produced in the short timescale of this brief as they needed special finishings applied, but everything else was printed to a high standard and ready before the deadline.

It would have been beneficial to have more time on this brief and to work more thoroughly with Eden, but as the deadlines were so close it was difficult to have enough time to properly develop the designs in my own style. As Eden doesn't need the actual deliverables for some time, it leaves an opportunity to develop the deliverables further after submission.

eden keshia / final outcome

The final outcome for Eden's brief includes all of the deliverables apart from the swing tags which could not be produced in the given time frame. Everything was printed to a high standard using satin or gloss stock to enhance the colours and images which are an important aspect to Eden's brand.

eden keshia / production

Most of the production for Eden's deliverables were fairly straightforward. Unfortunately the swing tags were unable to be produced as they needed to be gold foil on thick black stock and this was not achievable in the time frame.

The look book was printed on thin, shiny stock to bring out the images and to keep it lightweight and easy to fit into the promo pack. The folder was printed on satin to keep it professional and not too shiny. The folder is going to be handled a lot so satin will help with reducing fingerprints and marks.

The A6 Bio's were printed on double sided 200gsm gloss card to allow them to be attached to the garments and not get damaged/creased in the process.

The CV was also printed on satin to match with the feel of the folder and keep consistency throughout the deliverables.

eden keshia / promo pack

The promo pack for eden includes a folder, CV and stickers. I created a folder that matches her colour scheme (pink and black) which will match the existing stickers that Eden has signed off on:

Stickers

Folder Design

The folder will contain all of the deliverables for eden to hand out to prospective clients and employers.

Eden's CV was sent to me as follows:

She wanted me to develop it to fit her branding. As the typeface was in all caps and there was a lot of text, this part of the brief was a particular challenge. I started by making the background black and using the pale pink across the top of the page:

Development

I removed the uppercase text as this is not easy to read in large amounts. The page was split into two columns to draw the readers eye to one section of the CV and make it easier to understand the different sections. I finished off the CV with including Eden's logo on the bottom:

the internet's love of dogs / evaluation

This brief was based around research conducted over quite a lengthy period of time. The goal was to produce an appropriate response to the research that was gathered over primary and secondary sources.

I conducted surveys, polls and looked into secondary areas of interest to do with the theme of the project: dog memes. This subject is quite a new area of interest across the internet and has become extremely popular on social media. The output was an encyclopaedia of all the information gathered throughout the project. This was the most suitable outcome as it goes through each dog meme in alphabetical order explaining it to the audience.

Improvements to the brief could have been the binding method (as using tape and glue wasn't the initial choice for the publication), with a perfect bind being the preferred choice. As memes in general are always evolving, changing and new ones being created, a more adaptable outcome could have been produced, e.g. an online documentation of memes whereby more content can be added when it's created. Unfortunately, my skills as a designer are not suited to creating digital platforms, so a way around this could be to create an annual every year to discuss the latest trends and content available surrounding dog memes. This could also be expanded to other popular animals such as cats and reptiles.

Overall, in the given timeframe and research conducted, this outcome meets the brief and shows off the research in an easily understandable and ironic way that is suited to the content.