OUGD101 Design Principles Module self-evaluation

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN		LEVEL	04
Module Code	OUGD101
Module Title	DESIGN PRINCIPLES

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION

NAME

Lisa Whitaker

BLOG. ADDRESS

http://l-whitaker1013.blogspot.com/

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
·       More aware of colour and the science underlying colour.  Colour in terms of RGB for screen and CMYK for print. The Pantone library, colour swatches in Photoshop and Illustrator. ·       Font terminology, X-height, stroke, serif and san serif.  Starting to think about which fonts communicate the message most effectively and why ·       Setting up and updating a Blog.  I am managing to blog regularly however need to make more visual as still do a lot of writing to explain myself. ·       Illustrator skills – the pen tool, pathfinder and tracing.  Applied this to creating my typeface Lewis and also the Illustrator brief reasonably well. ·       The crit groups are providing skills and confidence to look at work beyond just liking or disliking it.  I can see the importance of this skill for the whole group to grow as designers.
2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
Time constraints have led to a lot of the research being sourced online however the library, if difficult to navigate, has been useful.  The library research tends to be more relevant and stronger in the design development process e.g. the Yann Legendre posters from the Graphic Posters annual 08/09 in the No News brief.  Websites like D&AD and Behance are useful for inspiration and also often provided paths to other research, which otherwise may not have found.    The No News research conducted from the Guardian article about underage drinking statistics also proved to be like the start of a huge web of information.  This lead me to the viral advertising on underage drinking performed by comedian Bill Bailey.  The hard-hitting messages certainly were a reality check in terms of the audience and subject.  Up to that point I felt to be taking the moral high ground.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
The main strength in my work has been pinning down an idea/concept quite early on.  For example I was pleased with the pint glass/straw imagery in the No news – interpretation.  On the No news- delivery brief, the ‘wrap your kids in bubble wrap’ metaphor was also strong and relatively easy to translate visually.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
The execution of the ideas into reality is sometimes frustrating in terms of my current software skills. Also due to time constraints I have tended to use Photoshop, which I am stronger in when Illustrator would have been a better tool.  Whenever I come across a problem I usually search for a tutorial or ask one of the Mac suite instructors.  For example I did not know how to get a dotted line around the teenager silhouette but Mike explained how to do this in Illustrator.  I now have a better understanding of Vector images and rastorised images. The only problem with this approach is my skills are limited to grow in line with the demand of each brief.  There is a huge black hole of software I am not utilising.  I plan to try to get more to grips with Illustrator between now and January by speaking with Michael or Simon for the best approach.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
1.    Keep a more visual sketch book and /or design sheets – Design development more structured and more interesting to reflect on 2.    Try to consider a broader range of solutions before selecting.  Due to the tight deadlines I tend to go with the first idea.  The outcome can only be stronger by considering more solutions early on. 3.    Think beyond Photoshop.  More varied solutions 4.    Have the confidence to think beyond software and go back to drawing/painting to get a more hand crafted solution. 5.    Keep up with the background reading including Graphic design journals such as Creative Review.  Keep my work current and informed.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					X
Punctuality					X
Motivation					X
Commitment				X
Quantity of work produced			X
Quality of work produced			X
Contribution to the group				X
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represent s a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.

No news - Message & deliver self- evaluation

What is being communicated , how and to which audience?

The mail shot is aimed at parents of boys aged 10 to 15.  The message communicated is three fold it raises awareness of the shocking statistic that under 18's consume 11.4 pints per second and then goes on to address what can be done about this.  The fact that parents need to talk to their children and then directs them to a website for help.

How well do you think you have answered the brief.

I am pleased that I kept the message clear and focused.  The main reason I think the brief is well answered is because I have clearly identified the target audience and also considered a practical and achievable method of addressing this worrying statistic.  Practically I kept within the constraints of the brief which were the size, two colours plus stockand also delivered a solution which was sucessfully mailed and received.


The strengths of the resolution

Engaging  - the bubble wrap and metaphor' wrapping you kids in bubble wrap'

Two mails shot can be printed on one sheet of A2 double sided paper (economical)

Clear directed solution to the problem.

How could it be improved?

Could be changed to be directed to parents of girls by changing silhouette to a girl.

The message/facts could be simplified further. 

Experiment with different stock to find best weight/finish

Conclusion

This subject was really engaging and interesting ( having two sons) so I did extensive research both about the article and then around the whole subject.  The colour yellow came from an initial idea linked to liver disease which I actually dropped. Generally this effects people later in life so is a difficult concept for parents/children to relate to.  The yellow stuck as I decided this is a good warning color.  The black came from the silhouette.  I was able to find lots of interesting facts and advise however decided the strongest fact was that the best educators for children is their parents.

No news - message & delivery - Final Crit

No news - message & delivery - Final outcome

Alphabet soup -Ilustrator final outcome

Alphabet soup - Illustrator self-evaluation

How well does this answer the brief?

I have produced an A1 landscape poster with 26 letter form variations.

How well as the idea been visually explored?

Due to my developing skills in Illustrator and the time constraints caused by other brief deadlines I have not visually explored each letterform as much as I would have liked.

What are the strengths of the resolution?

The knitted three layer orator font I used as the basis for the development lent itself to a great variety of experimentation.  The nature of this experimentation meant I fully explored the pen tool, experimented with opacity of colour and also created pattern swatches. I was also able to use the pathfinder tool to unite, intersect and cut out various shapes. The poster is visually interesting and I want to put it on my wall at home!   

How could it be improved?

I could have tried to make the letters almost illegible to see how far the manipulation could be taken.  I also had problems creating the pattern swatches which meant my Illustrator file kept crashing.  If this had not have happened I would have had more hard evidence of the experimentation.

GENERAL COMMENTS

I also used these techniques to develop the Alphabet soup font in Illustrator.  Going forward I need to resolve why the programme kept crashing when I created a pattern swatch

No news- progress crit

The progress crit group lead by Amber included Luke, Sarah, Sophie, Kirsty and Charlotte.


Issues


  The feedback was really useful as I had not appreciated the brief was not being fulfilled if I used more than one stock ie the bubble wrap.  Amber said it was a good idea and I could use it but maybe I could try re-creating the 'bubble wrap' in Illustrator.  Also I expressed some concern over cutting out the paper dolls as this wa time consuming and also they were quite fragile.  Luke also pointed out the white paper showed through so maybe using black paper would work.  The problem is there is no facility to print with white ink at college.  Sara and Sophie suggested maybe handcrfting them instead.  Amber's idea was my favourite, adding 'cut out' lines which allude to them being cut out.


Actions

Try bubble wrap


Cut out lines


Look at options for net layout.

The crit groups are becoming more relaxed and as a result people seem more confident at providing each other with feedback. 

No news - Message & deliver brief

No news - message & interpretation self -evaluation

Do you think statement/fact was communicated?

I clearly communicated a simple shocking statistic.


Is the message communicated in a clear and focused way?


Yes

What could be developed further

The image could be refined

Have the posters been kept simple and to the point?

Yes

Has the restriction of two colours plus been met?

Yes

Why are the two colours plus stock approriate/inapproriate?

I think the colours are appropriate as the red, white and blue represents the UK.  Also the colours are bright and eye catching.  The red font draws your eye to the under 18's fact which is the underlying shock statistic linked to the 11.4 pints a second. 

Do the posters work well as a set? Yes as a series.

I wanted to draw the viewer in initially with the bright coloured pop art image which hopfully then raises a question about the straw in the pint glass.  This then leads the viewer to an easily understood volume of 11.4 pints but then raises the question again, of 11.4 pints a second?  I think the seriousness of the message was communicated by using the Arial font as opposed to using a softer, pop art font

It is clearly evident which is image, type and image and type.

Conclusion

The initial fact I picked from the article was under 18's are drinking the equivalent of 6.9 million pints a week.  The fact which I finally used (which is directly proportional) of 11.4 pints a second is much easier to visualise and relate to.  And no less shocking! From this perspective the communication of the statistic is succesful as it is both visually engaging and easy to understand.

No news - Message & interpretation outcome

No news - Crit feedback

No new - Research self evaluation

The Guardian newspaper article I chose was covering the main details linked to a report released by the charity Alcohol Concern.  The article was full of information which provided a leads into both underage drinking and also alcohol misuse in general. 

The general tone of the article was to create a sense of shock  and offered some expert opinions and or blame into the reasons for the alarming statistics.  This lead me to research Alcohol advertising legislation, Drinkaware and find advertising images and viral advertising.

The fact which made the most impact on me was in the UK the equivalent of 6.9 million pints are drank by underage drinkers every week.

The opinion which directed quite a lot of my research was' As long as alcohol remains as heavily promoted as it currently is, young drinkers will continue to consume far more than they might otherwise leading to inevitable health harms and wasting ambulance and police time.' Don Shenker CEO of Alcohol Concern.

My opinion "The large rise in the number of underage drinkers in A&E is a consequence of our cultural relationship with alcohol"

Conclusion
The article I chose, being both informative and topical, proved an interesting subject to research and subsequently worked well with both the No News message and interpretation and message and delivery briefs.

No news message & interpretation brief