End of Module Evaluation

• What practical skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

At the start of this module i didn't really know who i was as a designer, i generally worked in method i new and liked and didn't venture out discovering new boundaries. However from beginning to end i feel i have developed new processes and the way in which i work and produce has changed. To being with the recognition day brief, i really enjoyed this and personalized it to myself and my feelings, which is a similar to the way i used to work whilst doing fine art. I suddenly realized this was a much more successful way for me to work, although the quality of the images were not that strong, the pieces i produced had deep meaning in them which resulted in my work being chosen and printed for the Recognition Day competition. The next brief 'how to..' was really informative it gave everyone a chance to do something really different and create something informative. I found this brief really useful, i learnt new things about phobias and how to overcome them as i personally don't have one. So far this year i hadn't created a poster or anything informative to the public, which ended up being the result for my final piece. This now looking back at it, wasn't the most successful, there was something missing which backed up positive reinforcements with phobias. But this is a positive mistake as from then on i realize i needed to continuously stretch my ideas and keep adding to them, for the brief to be successful. I went back to my 'safe' place and screen printed, but i really enjoy doing this so why not, however many times i have done this, i accidently double printed and got a really nice effect so i continued and developed a really nice set of posters, which i feel students would put up around there rooms. The colaborative brief really took me back and a lot of negativity came from this and i definitely learn not to work with your friends as things don't always work out! However in this brief i dod learn new skills, for the first time ever i did a stop motion video and took photographs for them. This was really hard work but i still managed to incorporate my new found love of patterns into it. Im glad i got the chance to try it, however it does make me realize i do lack in digital skills, but i don't particularly enjoy doing computer based work anyway. The final large brief of this module was speaking from experience, i definitely feel i pushed the boundaries here and developed as a designer. I learnt lots of new skills wen creating my final piece, i did have to compromise some ideas however which i feel may have being more successful but i did work around these problems. For the first time i used a sand blaster on my piece of acrylic to get a frosted effect on the back. I leant how to cut this plastic with a special cutting tool to make sure the plastic didn't crack. I also used a large electronic sander, which i used to smooth down edges and round off the corners. These are not only new skills but the material i used is also new to me which i really enjoyed discovering and finding out about. Another new material i used was polyprolean plastic, this took many attempts and lots of money to master the art of bending and sticking, a new skill was melting using a hot wire, although this wasn't successful its a new skill and opportunity available to me for future briefs. I also learnt through this that nothing will stick plastic so it is strong, i ended up using double sided tape, no glue or amount of melting would work. Another new skill i recently developed was to use masking tape on plastic when scoring so the plastic doesn't snap and the craft knife follows the line better, as the knife can easily move on the plastic.

• What approaches to/methods of problem solving have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

I found i had most problem in the speaking from experience brief, as i wanted to use the laser cutter, to created either a stencil for my calendar to sandblast onto the plastic so the writing was frosted, or to create a sticker of it, as these are both more permentant ways of leaving a mark on the plastic than screen printing which can easily scratch off. So to work around this is sand blasted the whole of the back layer and screen printed onto it, as the ink is harder to removed from the back side and with frosting. I have learnt that i need to work around my problems as i will find another solution, better or not. Another problem i had was working collaboratively, our opinions clashed but we had to learn to over come this to develop work together and have a successful outcome. Through this i now realize it isn't best working with some one you know as it can ruin friendships, but over best if you have the choice to work alone to avoid clashing ideas and arguments.

• What strengths can you identify in your work and how till you capitalize on these?

I definitely through this module feel i have changed in my way of learning and developing my work, through the simple steps i have previously forgotten to taken. I shall definitely capitalize on this, things such as testing and research more areas before jumping into solutions and getting feedback from other people, that way i'm not just creating something through my opinions but through others as well. Which i feel would help in having a more successful outcome. Another strength i feel i have gained through this module is finding myself a little more in my working method, before i didn't really no what i liked and disliked and now i feel my work is aimed more towards methods and choices i enjoy, meaning i am more likely to enjoy the brief through out the discovery process as well as the end result.

• What weakness can you identify in your work and how will you address  these more fully?

My main weakness through out this whole year has been jumping into things before fully researching and testing. I now no its much better to do all this before having any initial ideas, i feel your more likely to have a better outcome this way. I think i only really started to do this with the last project, so i will have to take this on board for next year. To add to this weakness would also be secondary research, i am not the best at looking at other works and relating it or using it as a positive and letting it help my work develop. I need to be more aware of this and start looking at other graphic designs which could influence my work.