Self Evaluation - end of module

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

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION

NAME Robyn Russell

BLOG. ADDRESS

http://r-russell0912.blogspot.com/

1. What practical skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? I have developed my skills with working in illustrator and utalising the software to explore a large variation in all my ideas and different ways to tackle things. This has benefitted me hugely especially in regards to my last projects, i already feel like i have learn't so much. I have also gained a new respect and skill in picking the right colours for what you want to produce i didn't truly understand how important that is but now i do.
2. What approaches to/methods of problem solving have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
I have developed a new way of working on work sheets which has worked really well, i love the use of the blog to then later go and annotate on. I use my work sheets now to get my ideas down and make my own notes, this means i can then think separately later to analyise the designs. This has helped because when i work i may think one idea is pretty bad but when i later reflect on it, it has potential. I am still working on this new way but so far it has a lot of benefits which i plan to keep using.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? I think my strengths so far have been my generation of ideas and then going into trying a variety of new ideas. I think that i have covered a lot of things since i started this course and i am happy with my work load management as i have achieved everything i have set out to do, it might not be in the most detail due to the amount of projects but i have completed extra projects that i wanted to. I plan to keep this work ethic up so that i can achieve more, but so far i am relatively happy with my progress. I know that i won't be that good at the beginning but i know with dedication i plan to achieve much more.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
My weaknesses are research i need to start researching more artists and styles so that i can learn from them, i haven't done enough of that and plan to change this in the future and try and get a balance between ideas and research. I need to do more research behind me ideas and look at more influences.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
1. More research - gain a better understanding of different artists, and hopefully expand my way of thinking and experimenting. 2. Work more in college so i can separate my work at college and life at home. This is so i can relax at home and be more focused in college. 3. try different levels of media, maybe photography? video? Stop animation? things like that to see if i can do them and whether they would work. This helps me push myself in different areas. 4. Stay on top of my blog at all times, update it everyday so as not to have to do a large amount to do in one day. I did this with the last project i just did and this worked very well. 5. Keep my work more organised in the folders so that it is clean and crisp and can be accessed easily.
Are there any things we could have done differently that would have benefitted your progress? No not really, i am still trying to learn try and do stuff for myself and i think the way the studio works, works well for me.
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	5
Punctuality	5
Motivation	4
Commitment	5
Quantity of work produced	3
Quality of work produced	3
Contribution to the group	4
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents 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 is Good News... - Self Evaluation of Mail Shot.

The mail shot was very hard to do, i struggled quite a bit on getting the right layout for my pieces. the content i was happy with, i wanted it to be minimal and simple which it was. I also wanted to keep the same style as the posters so that on a whole it worked as a set. Which it does. My main concern, which was brought up in the crit was looking at the week day calendar on the inside and to make it look more like a calendar the problem was when i tried this out it just looked too messy and i really didn't like the style. Having said that the same issue was raised at the final crit and i ahve managed to come up with come other ideas which i am planning on tying out.

I really enjoyed this crit and on a whole i think the concept was successful and visually pleasing which is what i was aiming for too, i think it has a slight inter-activeness even though i took out the main part of it being interactive. I am happy with the responses i got and will work on this project further just tweaking it.

No News is Good News... - Self Evaluation of Posters.

With this last project I am really happy with the response that i got not only to my final pieces but my inital ideas. when everyone went through the posters they got exactly what i wanted them to (to raise awareness). Although the idea was simple I really feel it was effective and it hit the criteria that I wanted to hit. The area that, if i had time, i would further develop is the hands. Although i am using the hospital symbol the hand shape it ugly and looks poor so therefore i would do something else, possibly have just two hand prints on the design like the hand prints on the text and image. I will try these out and see what they look like. Having said that i think the set works and there are a few tweaks but generally i am happy.

No News is Good News... Brief - Part 2 Crit

We had a crit half way through our project to check on our initial ideas and to see what was working best, where to improve and where to just not use ideas. This was really helpful for me, we managed to discuss ideas about how to layout my content on a fold out. the development work for this is shown on my DP blog and i go into more detail there. Here are what people raised for my project in the crit. I have only scanned the relevant parts.

No News is good news - Research concept building

Today we had to look at the newspaper that we picked up on saturday in order to pick out a headline and story. We were then split into partners to discuss the headline and help narrow our search down to one headline. We had to look for a title that we would be able to research as this would be the source of inspiration for the forceable future. We were then given a sheet to help build our concept and separate our areas of research. Highlighted is the headline i chose.

CONCEPT:

' The torture files must be released'

'What a way to treat our heroes'

'Twitter Twits'

'So why does everyone hate you, Mr President?'

'Leslie ash reveals MRSA Painkillers plight'

' The superbug saved my life'

IDEAS:

1. Looking at MRSA superbug

2. Celebrity Crash - alcoholics etc

3. Alcoholics - alcohol fueled life

4. Leslie Ash's story

5. Wife Beating

6. Lee - Her husband documented argument

7. Leslie before

8. Other failed actors/actresses

9. Similar Stories

10. Wake up call stories for everyday people and celebs.

SELECT THREE IDEAS THAT YOU WILL TAKE FORWARD TO RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATE FURTHER (expand on research methods processes):

1. MRSA - the superbug - What it entails - what symptoms - how you get it - why you get it - what it does to your system - how it can be controlled - what hospitals have it the most - cures/prevention - looking on the internet/ journals etc.

2. Alcoholics - Main stream celebrities. Why they are, what happened to them (dead/alive) - what it does to your system. Leslie story - abusive relationships - what effect it has on other people.

3. 'Rash wake up calls' - any stories can be celebs etc. Look at varying stories but life changing stories.

Alphabet Type - Formative Feedback

Today we were split into pairs to then mark another pairs work. We had to look at the Visual thinking module/unit outcomes in order to break down the project to mark it, and to help understand what we have to work towards to get the marks we need to pass each module.

Here are the results of my project being marked. Both responses are under the titles and illustrated in different colours.

Strengths:

Lots of research - good development. Clear view of the 'Star trek' Theme.

In depth research, clear process of thought in the development, clever construction and type symbols.

Weakness:

Only one theme could of expand on the person more, some letters are overloaded too much going on and images illustration could have been constructed around the shape of the letter in order to make them more legible.

Only one theme throughout. I think? Shame some of the arm actions don't make the letters themselves.

Actions:

Make lines more bold, maybe block fill some areas perhaps the costume to create greater contrast and therefor more legible perhaps a conclusion of colour.

Could try block filling/simplifying. Try maybe the arms move involved with the shape.

Self Evaluation:

All the points above are valid, i think i went too over the top when it came to drawing the letters and kind of went off track. The points above reiterate what Fred said on Friday in my crit, i have already started developing new letters trying to make them simpler and completely taking the arms out of the equation and they do look better.

Self Evaluation - Alphabet Type

The evaluation after designing a type for one another.

Your Name: Robyn Russell Partners Name: Josh

Which personality traits did you choose to respond to and apply the typeface?

I find Josh funny and quite bubbly and he really likes Star Trek so i wanted to chose those characteristics and make it quite fun to look at with a star trek theme, thats why i chose a cartoonie style (to match his personality)

What are the reasons behind the design decisions you have made for the typeface?

I wanted to try and show a bit of his personality with the type thats why its in a cartoon style and fun to look. and the best way to show his passion for star trek i thought would be to use the uniforms from the series as this is obvious and will clearly stand out.

In what ways are the results effective?

The typeface achieves everything that i set out to do, in my opinion. It shows his personality as well as getting the star trek message across obviously. I wanted my typeface to work well together simply and obviously which personally i think it does.

(Refering to the typeface that has been designed for you)

What personality traits do toy interpret from th typeface designed to represent you?

Its fun and colourful which i like - the zips show my love for the rocky horror picture show which works well with the colour.

Describe what you think of the typeface?

Each letter is legible and would be readable when all put together. Personally i think its a little simple and maybe doesn't show the complete aspects of me but visually it does work.

In what ways is it effective and in what way is it ineffective of representing you?

The use of colour with zips and curls defiantly shows what u spoke to Josh about. I know what Josh wanted to add more which would probably have represented me better.

Alphabet Soup - Evaluation 1.

This is the results of an evaluation from a student led crit that happened on friday.

Your Name: Robyn Russell Partners Name: Josh

How are the four words selected to represent the typeface explored:

Original 4 Words: Space, Cult, Uniform and Alien, i shortened it down to two - Space, Uniform. The type faces have interlocking factors as they sport the uniform and the uniform is for space.

Why is the existing typeface that has been selected to manipulate an inappropriate/appropriate?

Its on an obvious level - Star trek type which matches the theme and the serifs look like bodies making the idea visually clear.

What are the reasons behind the design decisions you have made for the typeface so far?

Main interest for Josh is star trek and he is a funny person so the type will be fun to look at. Wanted to get the message of him across in the most obvious sense i could and not over complicate the type face.

Action to be taken:

1. Experimenting with body/arms

2. Layout of letters

3. Colour?