End of module evaluation

BA HONS                                                                                      LEVEL 05

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Module Code: OUGD201

Module Title: Design for Print

END OF MODULE SELF EVALUATION

Name: Robyn Russell

Blog Address: http://r-russell9012.blogspot.com

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1. What practical Skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

This module has been about learning processes and applying them to the work that I want to do. Therefore, my skills have developed in a variety of areas. For example, with this project I have learnt how to succesfully create mock ups that illustrate the commercial process by using the  facilities I have available. An example of this was my Toilet Roll idea, printing on toilet roll. In the industry, the process is called flexography printing but for me to illustrate what I meant I had to mock it up myself. This was achieved through screen printing on toilet paper. Through this process, my skills improved in using screen printing facilities as well as learning that you can successfully print on toilet paper. Also, a lot of my project involved me being hands on in making nets. This has definitely improved my skills in working with nets, whether it be hand making them, designing for them or getting everything laid out so that the printed versions fit perfectly together. Through this project there has been a constant ongoing skills development with software. This includes the workshops we were given, and my own personal development with software such as in-design (for layout purposes and printing examples) as well as illustrator (for my design work). I have also pushed myself to give my work that professional edge. A lot of this has come from photographing my end products, utalising the skills I already had and improving them to make the photographs look more professional. I feel that this shows my work at its best. My overall research skills have improved drastically by making the work I research appropriate to the design work I want to do. Overall, I have developed a lot of skills in this project, in separate areas, and then utalised them as a whole.

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

Researching has become key to my methods of problem solving. I've found that through this process I have become more informed and therefore my project has become more informed. I have learnt that the better my understanding through research, the easier it is to solve problems that have arisen from my project. I have also found that asking more informed and specific questions to tutors has really benefited me. For example, I was very confused about the process of printing on toilet roll. Speaking to Lorenzo and Fred steered me toward more information about the process thus solving my problem. I have also been talking to my fellow students a lot more about my project. This has helped me identify small problems and correct them accordingly. Over the module, there have been people that have known my project from the beginning. Due to crits, they understood what I wanted to achieve and gave me clear advice through a different pair of eyes. This was very helpful when solving certain problems. Constantly doing all of this has helped me stay focused with regards to my design process because I continuously ask questions. This has generated a more informed and functional product.

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

My research has become more focused and driven towards what I am producing, helping me make clear and understandable design decisions that are applicable to what I am doing. This has also made me more confident in the work that I am producing and what I am designing for. My project has become a lot more focused. It hasn't once wavered off track which tends to be what happens with my work. I have deliberately made myself focus by using the skills I mentioned earlier. This has been hugely beneficial and contributed significantly to the quality of my work. The range I have developed across all areas has been a great strength as well as helping me develop skills in different areas that are all transferable from one to another. Another strength of my project was my development in time management. I have managed to cover a large variety of topics in my research whilst still having time to develop the ideas as fully as possible.

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

I have tried very hard with this project not to have any weaknesses, in any areas, because I knew I was planning on doing a lot and didn't want my work to diminish  in quality because of this. I think my main weakness was starting to design a little too late. This did put a bit of pressure on me, but I worked out my time management accordingly and my project hasn't suffered because of this.

5. Identify things you would improve next time and what you would expect to grain from doing these.

- Pushing myself because I know now how much more I can achieve. This will improve the quality of my work as well as giving me more opportunities to learn new things.

- Producing professional looking work - I am getting there but still need to improve on this.

- Spending more time designing - generating more ideas and avenues to investigate.

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In general, I am very happy with what I have achieved with this project. I have learnt a lot and have applied these new skills and knowledge to the best of my ability. The products I have produced have been fun to design and I have pushed myself to be innovative and creative. There are many things that I can take away from this module. Not just things that I have learnt, but a new style of working and approach to things that I didn't have before. I know now more about my potential than I did before which has opened up lots of different avenues for me to explore in the next module.

TASK 2

TRANSNATIONAL:

Here i have found  publication called 'Graphic' Which is based in South Korea in the capital Seoul. It was started in 2007, and focuses on other trends in the graphics world, stuff that is different from the mainstream. Throughout the publications they have on issue per publication so it has a continuity within. Graphic is an independent magazine which does not depend upon sponsors or any governmental organization for financial help but aims it at independent journalism by emancipating its own editorship from them. The magazine circulates within Europe, Korea, America and Asia.
Korea has achieved one of the strongest recoveries among  OECD countries from the 2008 global recession. It is expected to carry on until 2011 because of the positive impact from external demand spreads futher to the domestic economy. Korea has a lot of plans to create a sustainable country, which is green. This is very positive in respect to the graphics world, it means there will be more companies needing advertising publications, information graphics etc. The positive recovery has stimulated the creative world of graphics and helped magazines/publications such as Graphic flourish in this current climate. Korea is well know for the political divide between the south and the north, The north state being a communist totalitarianism state and in serious poverty. Whereas in the south the government encouraged the growth of family-owned industrial conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai. And they are now currently a major exporter of cars and electronic goods, this is all good for Graphic designers such as myself there is a constant branding/publishing and design work needed for marketing these jobs. Whether its for the large companies or their smaller competitors. Korea runs a multi-party political system leading to a variety of elections and campaigns all of which need designers to do their campaigns which is one avenue I am interested in. The social standing of Korea is varied. Newspaper readership is high and here are more than 100 national and local dailies. The press is often critical of the government. Socially the impact of this is hude and design wise as it means the message is constantly being communicated leading people to discuss and be informed. Which leads to more publishing jobs and layout designers.
Korea is one of the largest technology suppliers to the world therefore they are are the forefront of the technology change, Helping the designers situated there interact with the latest technologies. South kora is at the leading edge of the digital revolution. Its a trailblazer for high speed and wirless connection. Which again has a huge impact on the social scheme in Korea as everyone is connected in one way

TASK 2

EUROPE:

Today i looked at a company called 'Swiss Legacy', they are a design company that really appeals to me they focus on typography and other such practices, working over a variety of medias and this style of working, i feel works best for me. Looking into the European Economic climate was interesting. Since the recession Europe especially was hit pretty hard. One of he main reasons for the currency climate at the moment is because virtually all countries involved have broken their self imposed rules. Every country is in debt, resulting to huge taxes and mass job loses across everywhere. This leads to small creative busniesses being squezzed down. Small businesses are stopped resulting in clients being lost for creative design companies. With regards to the Political standing within Europe, its hard to gage an overall view as there are a lot of political beaders within it. The European Parliment oversees all actions within the EU but that doesnt have any major affect on Graphics companies unless its a large contract and they are dong something possibly contoversial, bhut otherwise its fairly free. The social side of Europe again is very hard to judge. The countries can be divided or joined, the current economic crisis has put a strain on political relationships, which can prove problematic, and as this filters down through the creative industry it can ruin client designer relationships leading to clients walking away or designers having to stop.
The EU is the global leader in many technologies the problem now is that it is facing increasing challenges from traditional competitors and emerging economics alike. The research and development helps contribute to the economic growth which is exactly what the EU needs to re-kindle the financial climate. New technology creates jobs and adresses scoial changes such as poverty, health problems and environmental cha nges. All of these contributing to the creative industry. everything needs and identity, branding and publication.

TASK 2

Where are they and how will they find me?
NATIONAL:

Here i have found a company based in London with a diverse client base called '400'. they are interesting company as they are fairly large and do a variety of different things for their clients. This is surprising as the Uk was hit hard by the recession making job hunting very hard. There were a lot of job cuts and huge businesses went under. I would have thought a company like this wouldn't do very well as their client base would dwindle considerably. For example, Woolworths was a well known and respected family business but as soon as the recession hit it meant that they were run out of business and soon were shut down, this meant that whoever was doing the design work had  lost a huge and valuable client. This can be devastating to companies especially small ones, and some large ones as they get complacent relying on their large contracts. However, now the UK economic standing is slowly beginning to rise again. But the devastating job loses across all the industries, will take a while to regain its feet.
Politically, the UK has had a large election recently leading to innovative ways of campaigning (Gordon Browns Campaigns against David Cameron with the Billboard designs). While this was happening it was a huge design boost for the country, there were a variety of areas that a keen design campaigner could get their teeth into, and its something that heavily interests me. And generally as a country the UK is very social. With a variety of newspapers and publications covering nearly every topic that is being discussed that week/month. These are hundreds of ways to keep socially in-sync, with the amount of reading material readily available. Socially, the country is battling the recession together which means everyone is joined in one. The current job cuts that are mounting across all areas is forcing people to try new things and that leaves a market open for designers to help people try new things and get more involved.
The UK relies quite heavily on imported technological goods, but it is always at the forfront of the technological movement happening in the world. This keeps the people involved and informed and helps create design jobs to help brand and market the new products by promoting and informing people.

TASK 2

Where are they? How will they find me?

LOCAL:
Here i have looked at a local creative business near me called 'Creative Design'. Not only do i know of them i actually spent 4 weeks working with them this summer. It was an interesting experience, and different to what i was expecting. Creative Design is not a large company it is rather small with only 3 Graphic Designers in charge of everything (this is where i worked) and 6 other people who are employed to make everything else run i.e printing and making etc.
Creative Design is situated in a small town called Stamford (Lincolnshire). The town itself economically is fairly stable as it is a very wealthy town and area, a lot of private schools and local business's such as farming and agriculture. this brings a lot of money into the area, and local business's selling their products whether it be food clothing etc. This creates a variety of jobs for the creative industry, whether it be branding or marketing or general publishing. Stamford is also situated within a good commuting distance to London, this means there are a lot of expensive hotels around the area. Creative Design themselves get a lot of the contracts for the hotels, which means creating letter heads and menus. So there are a variety of medias available to market within. This all creates a very successful economic grounding for the companies in the area as everyone plays off one another.
Stamford is a very conservative area, and generally doesn't have any run-ins with the local MPs or Government, they just get on with things and therefore the town has no real political battle as everyone is generally of the same view. The area doesn't generally receive a lot of government funding either which also allows local companies and areas to get on with what they want to do. As the town is quite small and the area itself, people generally know everyone and their business which helps a lot for businesses beginning out as there is a lot of word of mouth that happens. This is highly beneficial to a company such as Creative Design, because when people need design work doing then it means people can suggest them and they know where to go, this way they get a fairly varied but big client base. The social interaction within the community really helps businesses grow.
Technology wise, Stamford doesn't exactly have a big standing within the market. However as the area is quite wealthy it tends to have a lot of new and innovative gadgets/cars etc, which means the community have quite a big interaction with the technological market out there. This helps Designers in the area live with a constantly changing and upgrading area making them versatile to the current market climate.

Group PPD

What are your concerns about industrial experience?

- Finding an area that i thought i would love to be a complete waste of time

- Aiming to low and not having the confidence to go to big companies

- Jumping for the first thing i find, thinking its the best thing when it actually isn't

- Not being fully prepared (portfolio)

- Not finding the company that suits me the most

Group PPD

What areas of the industry are you interested in?

Packaging

Branding

Editorial

Type and Grid

Group PPD

What form/format can industrial experience take?

There are a variety of forms industry experience can take such as freelance, working solely with clients. Working within agencies from big to small. Working within printing and manufacturing companies. Working within in House productions such as the BBC, logo design etc. Working in galleries and promotional shows, exhibitions.

In-house production

Exhibitions

Galleries

Group PPD

What can you learn from industrial experience?

Theres so much you can learn from industrial experience, the whole design process from start to finish. Communicating with the clients and gaining their ideas. Learning the 'nitty gritty' of print processes and what the entail. You get to learn who the people are behind the certain process within a studio, for example who the editors are, the creative directors etc. You can create contacts within the industry and specifically where you want to go. you can learn how designers deal with the time scales that are given to them. you can learn what parts of the industry you're really interested in and which ones you want to avoid.



-Print process from start to finish

CREATIVE DESIGN 
- a company i worked for over the summer who were designers and printers. Means i now have contacts with them

Group PPD

What is industrial experience?

Industrial experience is not all about doing a work placement or doing a couple of days in a studio as a coffee runner. Its about understanding the industry I am interested in to a far more detailed depth. Its the opportunity to talk to people in their chosen environments, its about learning the process from start to finish from client to final print. It's gaining an immense amount of knowledge that no lecture could ever teach you. It's all about the experience. It gives you an opportunity to find out what you love and hate about the industry and learn from it. It's about creating those contacts in an industry that is hard to make yourself known in.

Pentagram Studios in London, New York

Eddie Opara, Partner of Pentagram

(Talking to people you wouldn't normally

get the chance to talk to)

Progress Crit

PPD TASK

What do you want to achieve this academic year?

- Professional standard of work, and working method

- Improved skills in the areas that I enjoy working such as; photography, screen print, software, typography.

- Become more informed about all aspects of Graphic Design and their related areas

- Improved blogging technique and organisation with regards to blogging. 

What do you want to achieve by then end of this course?

- Contacts within the design industry

- Placements organised in order to get a job (internship etc)

- Thorough knowledge of the industry and processes within Graphic Design

- A clear and professional portfolio that reflects every aspect of me and who I am as a designer

- Greater understanding of who I am as a Graphic Designer and where it's appropriate to market myself.

- The knowledge to freelance successfully

- A small client base I can work with

- My own website to help promote myself

What do you want to achieve in your career?

- Working within a small environment that covers a variety of processes

- To have worked with both big and and small firms

- Experimented with all styles of design i am interested in

- To have worked across a variety of places, within the UK and abroad.

- Have a thorough network of reliable clients that i know and they know me.

- Professional typographer

- Have my own skills which are perfected and recognised in the Design industry

- Money