Evaluation: Paper Product/Valentines...

This brief presented the opportunity to do print work that was driven by the outcome and not the content. I enjoyed the process of choosing a theme and finding opportunities to exploit this further. I never intended to produce three ranges of products, but the design development and ideas produced three quite different but viable commercial ranges.

I was able to use laser cutting with this brief, which proved a really strong finishing technique for one of the ranges. My crafting skills have also improved, having to make wrapping paper, cards and gift bags that all look professional and would photograph well. The strength of this brief is that it is fun and appealing in a non-designer context. It is generic, but in a good way and would appeal to a range of people.

Paper product is a very enjoyable medium to work within and I feel that I could excel in it. However, I feel that it would quickly close me off from the other areas of design that I enjoy so much and want to better myself in. Paper product design feels like it could be more of a hobby on one off occasions, rather than a design discipline for me personally.

Evaluation: Orion Books...

This brief has been quite experimental and an opportunity to have a bit of fun. I was pleased that I got to work with hand drawn type again because I enjoy working with hand drawn elements and then developing them into digital work.

I got quite positive feedback from this brief from the outset, and speaking to tutors about it frequently has helped me to develop it in a very strong direction. Crit feedback has been mixed, which I have taken on board and tried to include within my development. The final outcomes, I feel, are very strong and fit to the briefs description of 'modern and eye-catching'.

I expanded the brief to include posters, banners, postcards and bookmarks. This step was quite easy because the design work was already there, it just needed application. Expanding the brief has shown me the impact it can have when a design is applied to a lot of different media. The final photographs I took and used on my boards were really strong and impacting, which is what this brief was always meant me to be.

Publishing design has become a part of my skills set in these last two modules. It is something that I would like to pursue further and will consider taking on in the future. I have enjoyed this brief because of the element of fun that went along with it. I am pleased I chose this brief because that outcome is better than I ever expected it to be.

Evaluation: Fashion Yearbook

This project has been collaborative and client driven, which has meant a lot of discussion and compromise over ideas and possible outcomes. I think that the main strength of this brief is the fact that so many people have cared about the outcome being strong that it has improved the overall design.

The collaborative aspect has been good, though I do think that in some cases the work load did not require three people. Saying that, I do think that it was better to have three people with too little work than one or two with too much. The final outcome has been a culmination of all of our design ideas and we have all had a lot of input into the development of it. I feel that we have worked equally toward this outcome, and that no one person made decisions or contributed to the design without discussion and input from the rest of the team and the fashion team.

The organisation of this project has been quite strong. For something that we knew would take a long time to complete, we have actually turned it around rather quickly. The main issues have lain with getting information off students and organising the photography of the head shots. Some of the fashion students have been really uncooperative and left giving us information until the last minute, which meant that we couldn't submit to the printer. Thankfully, quick turn arounds with changes, and a good relationship with the printer has meant that we were able to organise the document quickly and get it to print in time for it to be delivered for fashion to take to graduate fashion week.

Overall this brief has been quite an eye opener. It has shown me that relying on others for information is sometimes dangerous, and that people need a push to get things organised. I have also found that as long as everyone is dedicated to the group and not the individual gain from a collaborative brief then it will work out and run smoothly. In our case I think that we have done pretty well to focus on the group, but in some instances there have needed to be reminders that this is a group project and not an individual opportunity to better oneself within the group.

Evaluation: End of Year Show...

This brief has been an amazing opportunity. I am very lucky to have had my concept chosen, and even luckier to have been trusted to complete all of the artwork for it. Working with the marketing team has been fantastic. They are very organised and were keen to get the work completed quickly. Their dedication to the project has also been really great, I could have asked for a better team to be working for.

My experience of working for clients has been improved so much here. The way in which we have communicated and worked together has shown me that being able to constantly bounce ideas around really helps the design process.

I am really proud to be able to put this work into my portfolio because the college chose me and I feel that this will hold a lot of weight when I present my work to potential employers. I am so thankful that I was chosen, and I feel that I have really worked hard and to the best of my ability to give the college and marketing team a strong outcome that will present the college in a positive and exciting way.

Evaluation: Look-Book...

This project was a very fast and last-minute brief. I really enjoyed the pressure that this brief brought because I had never done a project this quickly before. Overall I think that the opportunities this brief presented were minimal, but it has given me a lot of confidence in myself and design work. I am more willing to take on fast turn around briefs now, because I know that I am good at working to tight deadlines and that when the decisions are made quickly the work can be really strong.

Evaluation: Value Packaging...

Initially I was quite excited about this brief. The development stages and idea generation went quite well and crit feedback was positive. My problems arose when I was given conflicting feedback at crits. Before Easter my design ideas were quite brutally shot down, and I was advised to go back several steps to an idea that I had discarded early on. I was disappointed by this as I had intended to finish the design work during the first week of Easter and have it ready for photography by the time I got back to Leeds. I took this advice in my stride and made further developments over Easter and came up with a much stronger design solution, which I was pleased with.

In the final progress crit I got some feedback that suggested I use just a single colour print to save on print costs. This has been part of my initial idea, and I was again disappointed and a little incensed because I had been through all of this already. I concluded from other feedback that the design I had come up with and I wanted to present as my final design was suitable and strong.

Conflicting feedback is a real problem because it sends you in two directions without any real guidance of what is best. I think that more in depth feedback is occasionally required, rather than a few scribbled words on a post-it note.

I feel that overall this project taught me a lot about how to approach a brief, and that getting feedback about initial ideas is really important. Taking feedback on board and making it relevant to project is necessary, there are times when you just have to make decisions for yourself. Packaging design is one of my main interest and I want to pursue it further because I really enjoy the processes involved.

Evaluation: Topshop...

This brief has been quite fast paced. I had a break from it whilst I completed the majority of my other briefs, and picked this up again during Easter. I think that this time away from the brief helped me to consider which designs worked best, and when I came back I was able to look at it with fresh eyes and pick what stood out best. The main focus of this project has been branding and identity, and the opportunity of creating three quite diverse brands has been really challenging. I have enjoyed being able to create a set that come together under one heading, but are all quite different from each other. I haven't really had any problems with this brief, the overall process has run quite smoothly and I am pleased to say that I was positive about all of the outcomes.

I used laser cutting in this brief which I have not used before with print work. I enjoyed learning how to use the machine and experiencing all of the things you could do with it. The use of it has shown me that effective print finish can be quite simple if done well.

I would like to have possibly produced more identities for other possible brands for Topshop. If I had had the time I would have expanded the brief to include maybe a range of sportsware, a new footware brand and toiletries range. I may do this as a personal project for my portfolio at a later date.

Branding and identity are going to remain a strong hold of my design skill set. I think that being able to design for this quite simple area is important because it can lead into so many other areas of print work.