1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
Well, in this module, I've developed several practical skills which I have transferred to other projects, but I think the way of thinking taught in the module will probably be the most valuable skill I have acquired in the end. The very idea of 'Visual Language' and how shapes make up images, the 'vocabulary' of pictures we use and whatnot. I use a lot of vector-based artwork in my designs, and learning to use simple shapes to explain, in comparison, complex type, proved useful.
I think, to a degree, everyone (well... most people.) in our class will have had some grasp of visual language before they started the module, and what I believe has happened for me is that it has highlighted the 'complex simplicity' of images, forcing me to analyse an image to grasp the background message makes it easier to understand how your audience might find your work confusing or overly elaborate.
That said, on the practical side I found the photography lessons quite beneficial, in that I have used some of the techniques we were shown for a long time, but getting to know how to use them professionally, and knowing the terms used to describe them, i feel, has given my work in that field more of a professional edge, and less of a 'I did it by accident, but it looks good.' vibe.
I think my attitude towards what I was getting out of the lessons has changed since the start, it's easy to look upon this module at face value, and if you stick to that attitude then you're not going to come away from it with much.
An example of where I've applied the knowledge I've gained from this module would be the 'hymen' poster I created for the don't panic brief [at http://0ugd103.blogspot.com], I managed to use near-enough iconography to get my point across and even though it was a two colour image with a simple dotted line, a single header and a scissor icon, it still managed to offend people and those I showed it to knew exactly what I was getting at immediately.
2. What approaches to / methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
Research has always been the bane of my graphic design work, I freely admit that I am not nearly as good as I should be due to this, it's not that I resent carrying out research, I am just terrible at going about it. So, with this module, I'd say perhaps one of the things I've learned to do is use a camera as a source of primary research. I've been using it more to document my work, and, for example with the book brief, I would take photos with a point-and-click of what I intended to create before taking the final shot with an SLR, just to make sure it would come out as it looked in my head.
One thing I have developed, which, although may not strictly be research as such, is at least related in terms of my design process, is the idea of quickly sketching out ideas on worksheets, all too often I find myself drawn into creating small, tight drawings at the development stage when it is unnecessary, and since starting this brief I have tried to take more of a loose attitude to my initial ideas, I think this is apparent with the last few briefs we've been set.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
This time round, I think the strengths which have become apparent for me are things like my ability to take one visual and try and expand on it as much as possible (For me, anyway...). With the sound waves/bars I've been looking at, it was frustrating working with something which I felt was so fixed and static, but I kept pushing at it because I didn't want to have a load of scattered ideas by the end of the module and no real focus. This turned out to be the right way of going about it for me, as the visuals I have ended up with look quite different to those I started with.
On that note, I believe my 'finished' visuals are of a high quality, the work I produce I am proud of, particularly any final resolutions. Given the creative freedom we have within the class (In comparison to the 'real world') I wouldn't feel valuable as a designer if I didn't personally like every final solution I came up with, and I have a tendency to really take time and perfect my finals. I also feel that recently, I've changed my work ethic with regards to the course, and this has improved my output, not just in quantity but quality as well. For example, instead of going upstairs and getting an A3 inkjet printout, I'll go downstairs and spend a bit of money getting a nice, suitable print for the work, work which I will have spent twice as much time on as before.
Mixed media is something I've also dabbled in this time, I've used paints and inks for, I think, the first time on this course. Not a whole lot, but it is for me, and it's hard to peel yourself away from a mac.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
Although I've been using my blogs a lot more lately, I feel I've let it slip a bit in terms of visual language, I set up a second blog specifically for the third module and most of my activity has been on that, so I think my research has suffered as a result. During crits, I'd look at other people's blogs and see that they'd padded them out with online research, so I'd go away from it and upload a post, but then soon forget about it after getting a new brief. Generally on the course, though it's unintentional, visual language seems to take a back seat when we've got other briefs on the go, especially as the deadline seemed so far off. I think to address this I need to maybe select a couple of days a week where my time spent at home is focused on visual language (or, whatever's next for that matter...) so that it's never too far from my mind. If I can keep up to date with my new blog, there's no reason I can't with updates for visual language.
Another thing I feel I've let myself down on with this module is my punctuation and general attendance, at this stage of the module I'm having to scour my draw and my flat for work I've done, but can't be sure I was there at the right time or at all. I tend to stay late at college, but it doesn't really compensate if I'm missing taught sessions.
5. Identify five things you will do differently next time and what you expect to gain from doing these
- Experiment more. Next time round, I think it'd be beneficial for me to explore new media and ways of creating images. Even if it starts out on paper and ends up being scanned in, I think the tools available on a mac are seeming more pre-determined to me now than ever, and thus, showing their limitations.
- Buy paper stock. So far this year a lot of my work has ended up coming out on 90gsm bleached white paper, which while functional, isn't very interesting. I've tried to include a bit more variety with my choice of paper lately but I'm aware that I can do more.
- Set up a blog for every module. I found setting up a blog for the third module made the whole idea of blogging seem fresh, so i was more inclined to update it. I think this is good practice anyway as it makes navigation easier and also allows for more creativity when it comes to layout and whatnot. Plus, I'm aware that we'll be learning Dreamweaver next year so maybe I should get used to tweaking around with HTML again...
- Set personal deadlines. I'm getting sick of it coming to the last week and having to rush around to make sure I've got everything done. I think I'd work more efficiently if I had deadlines that were closer together as I worked through the module, because I seem to snap into action when a deadline rolls around so my logic is if they happen more frequently I'll keep on top of things easier.
- Back up EVERYTHING. With this module, I've had severe technological issues with my PC at home (I shall be buying a mac next month...), the saturday before module hand in, my PC crashed, and would only start in safe mode. Then it wouldn't recognise my USB key or hard drive, so I had to spend hours and hours over the weekend trying different things until I got it running again. And for someone who relies so much on their digital work, it could've been a catastrophe which would've been quite hard to explain without dragging it into college to prove it was broken.
6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas:
Attendance: 2
Punctuality: 2
Motivation: 3
Commitment: 5
Quantity of work produced: 3
Quality of work produced: 4
Contribution to the group: 5
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