I really struggled at the beginning of the 'What is a line' project, I was confused as to where I wanted to take it and wasn't really enjoying it. I kept putting it off to a point where I actually went a few weeks without even touching it. This did result in my work suffering. It got to the point where it was 3 weeks before the deadline, and I was still confused as to which direction I was going to take it. I had somewhat final ideas but they were in completely different subject areas. The crit helped a lot though and pushed me into a final stage of work. I know one of the reasons for this was that I didn't chose a specific statement at the beginning, I started by looking into all the different interpretations and ways I could take them which made it harder to chose a direction. I should of made decisions sooner and limited myself to a specific area of work.
I really should of managed my time better during this project too. As it was an ongoing project, and was going on while we had all the short briefs to do, I felt that the other briefs were more of a priority, and because it was a long project I thought I had time to do it. I really didn't. I should of taken time out more regularly work on this project. I'm now at the very end of this project, and although I have a final piece, there are so much more ideas and developments I would like to do, but now don't have the time.
When it did come to a point where I had chosen a direction, I thoroughly enjoyed doing it, and was happy with the work I was producing, but then I hit a brick wall. I didn't realise we had to come to a final outcome, and that our work needed a context and audience, I thought we were just handing in a body of work which was quite naive of me as we are on a graphic design course after all. I overcome this though and produced a final piece I am very happy with.
Although I did push myself towards the end of the project, I really wish I had put more effort in at the beginning. It would of given me more opportunity to experiment into my final idea, and improved my final outcome.
I wrote all this before I found out we had to fill in a self evaluation sheet, so here it is anyway. I apologise if I repeat some points I've discussed already.
What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
I have learnt the basic skills of drawing perspectives. I now know about vanishing points and can apply these skills to basic shapes as well as type. This is now something thats always on my mind when drawing.
This module has given me the opportunity to enhance my drawing skills. I feel a lot more confident about drawing now, and can draw more freely, whereas before I was very rigid and worried about who was going to see it rather than just focussing on getting my ideas down.
I have learnt about how to find different ways to represent a word or an action. This has enabled me to think outside the box more and opened my mind to different possibilities.
My confidence has improved dramatically when it come to presentations. At the beginning of this module, I was very nervous about presenting and talking about my work which resulted in stuttering a lot, and basically completely forgetting everything I wanted to say. Although I still get nervous, obviously, I feel more confident and am able to talk more freely. I feel this is shown in the last presentation, where we had to present our work for 3-5 minutes. Normally, I wouldn't have spoke for very long, but I managed to go over 5 minutes without even realising. I was quite happy/proud with how this went.
Also, my photography skills have developed dramatically. Even though I'm still struggling, I now have more knowledge and confidence than I did before this module. I am now renting out cameras more regularly, and using it as much as I can. I feel these skills are shown in the photographic documentation throughout my blog.
What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
The way I have constantly documented my progress throughout this project. I have kept an ongoing diary on my blog, documenting my thoughts, opinions and reasons why I have moved on from a particular piece of work. It really helped me manage this project in terms of helping me make decisions based on points I've said and rules I've stuck to.
What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
Time management. I know I keep repeating myself but it really was an issue within this module. I plan to start doing more time management sheets and sticking to them. I will use all the time we are given for a project appropriately, starting it when we get it, and not pushing it to one side to complete other briefs.
I am very indecisive, and this let me down in the 'What is a line' project. At one point I was tackling two different pieces of work just because I couldn't decide which to do. If i'd of chosen sooner, I would of had more time to develop my final outcome.
I also need to work on putting my ideas down on paper quicker. During the lessons with Lorenzo with the icons and pictograms, I was too busy making sure it looked good, rather than concentrating on getting all my ideas down. This is also something that has let me down in other modules and I plan to resolve it by trying to work more freely, and also by working in pen straight away. That way I can't rub it out.
Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
1. I know I keep mentioning this, but I really need to manage my time more effectively. I should start the project as soon as I'm given it, we're given that amount of time for a reason.
2. Do more design sheets. Although I feel comfortable working in a sketchbook, I feel I would benefit from working on something of a larger scale.
3. Start thinking about audience and context from the beginning. This way I will be able to make decisions based on what's relevant to the context.
4. Take even more photos of my work. When gathering all my work at the end of this project, some was missing and unfortunately I have no photographic record of it.
5.
How would you grade yourself on the following areas:
5= exellent, 4= very good, 3= good, 2= average, 1= poor
Attendance: 3
Punctuality: 4
Motivation: 4
Commitment: 3
Quantity of work produced: 2
Quality of work produced: 4
Contribution to the group: 3
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