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.

The Folly!

The folly has started to go up - sooner than I expected! I went down and took some photos of the work in progress to post to here, sadly I don't think it will be finished before I hand in, so there wont be a totally finished photograph, but you can always pop outside to see it!

OUGD303 FMP Evaluation...

The main focus of this module has been print. Designing for print in a variety of disciplines, with each of my chosen briefs forming part of an overall skill set. I have learnt a lot during this module, the majority of which has come from working with a client and using their input to better a brief. The End of Year Show and Fashion Yearbook briefs have both been very high-profile in this module and taken a considerable amount of time to produce, due to checking and proofing before printing. Gaining the input from a client makes designing easier because there is a clear starting point and a clear outcome, the client knows what they want and are able to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ more easily than I can. Both of these briefs have required liaising with printers. The Fashion Yearbook especially, has been very focused on finding the right printer and working with them to get exactly what we want. Numerous phone calls, emails and negotiating quotes has shown me that being a designer is equal parts creativity and management. I feel that this has helped me to understand ‘real world’ designing a little better, and is undoubtedly a very valuable experience. I am also now much more aware of the processes and protocols that are required when sending a finished brief to print.

My general design practice and skills have become more polished. As I have been able to focus on briefs that I know will play to my strengths, I have taken it as a priority to use the unexplored as an opportunity to better myself. The Look-Book brief was turned around in 24 hours, which is something I have never done before. Through this I have discovered that I can produce strong and suitable work in a short space of time when the brief is clear and the decisions are quick. I enjoyed this brief, partially because of the pressure, but mainly because I was able to focus purely on one thing for 24 hours and get it resolved.

My design context showed me that designers really enjoy seeing/handling their finished work. I have experienced this with a couple of briefs, and it is incredibly satisfying. The real pleasure comes when presenting the client with a final finished product, their reaction is very rewarding and fulfilling. Being told that you’ve done a good job is wonderful.

This module has been very long and it is hard to remember even starting some of these briefs. If I could start over I think that I would have preferred to work on each brief individually for a week. Being able to really focus in and get ideas rolling before moving onto something totally different would possibly have helped my idea development and increased the number of briefs that I could have completed. The diversity of the briefs I have produced has been really enjoyable, I am proud to include each one in my portfolio and show the breadth of skills that I have to offer.

For me this module represented an opportunity to full exploit all of the areas that I have developed in through my three years. With a total of seven briefs completed, three of which have had considerable client input, I feel that my work has moved up a gear and I am now able to design ‘in the real world’ and communicate with clients on a very professional level.

Fashion Hand-in...

We have put together a project file for the fashion brief. We wanted to hand in something that would show how we had managed the project. So, we have collated the correspondence we had with the fashion team and the emails we sent to the students and put it together with our information from the various printers we have contacted. It has been bound together and placed in a separate file and will be handed in with all of our names on it.

Folly and Invitations...

Chloe has informed me that the external signage for the Folly is going up today! I am quite excited to see it but also a little bit nervous as it is SO big. As I said before it is made up of 4 panels and each of these is split down further to be attached to the folly.

The finished invitations should also be delivered today. I am not 100% clear on whether these have ben changed regarding the problem with the foiling. However, they seem to have been finished and will be on their way to the post/packing people, and a small remainder will be delivered to college. I am quite excited to see these, but not getting my hopes to high having seen the previous problem.

Poster/Leaflet...

We have received the finished poster/leaflets from the printers! 20,000 copies have been printed, which is a little scary! Some have been delivered to the company that put together the mail outs and the rest have been delivered to college. I have photographed the finished product for my presentation boards, and here are some of the photographs...

Finished Yearbook...

These are photos of the final yearbooks that we received today. We were very excited when they arrived and were very pleased to see the final outcome. The finishing is very good and the overall book is near perfect. We are very happy, and hope that the fashion team are as well.

Here are some photos of the finished book...

The poster didn't work...

I printed the poster/book wrap back to back earlier this week, and when the yearbooks arrived I endeavored to fold it around a book and photograph it. Unfortunately the thing didn't really work - in fact the book pretty much chewed up the poster and it looked shocking. I didn't plan for the depth of the book, and the thickness of the paper just didn't allow it to fold properly. So, I sadly had to abandon the actual product, but here is the artwork of what could have been!

Interior poster...

I have made the decision that I am not going to be able to used 'colour' images because the yellow doesn't stand out well enough. against the white background. I have decided to use the black and white images, and to use a black banner - otherwise the design will favour one pathway (ahhhh!).

These is the basic idea of what I am going to produce. I have used coloured text to bring the colours into the design. On the second image below I have added a coloured outline to the banner, half in yellow and half in pink. I think I prefer the second design, with the coloured outline. It has a little more punch and brings more of the colour into the design.

The images I have chosen have strong images that have good black and white contrasts so that they stand out really well agains the white background. The images with the mid grey or black backgrounds won't work here because they have to join in the middle and the light on the images is more about showing shape rather than the entire garment.

Poster...

I am going to produce a poster that complements the finished fashion yearbook. My colleagues are also exploiting the brief further, but in different ways. I have decided to make a poster that works as a wrap around cover for the book, specifically for Graduate Fashion Week where the book will be available for visitors to take away. I want the exterior to work as the cover for the book, and the interior to be a poster that acts as a memento from GFW. I have put together a few ideas for the interior design of the poster, though I am aware that the design cannot favour one or other pathway...

I have worked out how the paper will fold around the book - using old portfolio pages to work out the size and shape of the paper I need (hence the random printing on the mock up)

The exterior of the poster is going to be very simple, and will mirror the cover underneath. This is the basic idea of what it will look like:

New Cover...

I have reprinted the cover and foiled the entire design. It looks much better now and more professionally finished. I have changed the back cover, making the logo much smaller so that is feels more refined.

City Centre Signage..

I have finished the artwork for the signage that will be displayed at the city centre building. There are a total of 5 signs going up around the building and each one is a different shape and shows different information.

The main issue with the city centre is that the main entrance will be shut for the duration of the show. So, the signage needs to direct people to the other entrance and the Brodrick's Building. The signs below are going to be printed on corrugated plastic.

1. Vernon Street - Glass Panel

2. Percivil Street - Square wall sign

3. Rossington Street - Door sign

4. Rossington Street - Railing sign

5. Brodrick's Building panel

Creative Review...

This is the advert published in the Creative Review Graduate Guide 2010. I am a little disappointed with this advert because the image is slightly pixelated, which is odd when neither of the other adverts have been a problem. Anyway, here it is....