OUGD406 - End Of Module Evaluation

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
The main skill I have developed in this module is the use of InDesign. I had used it once before but was pretty much completely unfamiliar with the software. Through the workshops and my own use, I quickly learnt how to use the software and how it can be useful in the briefs I have been given, particularly when I want to create a book. Before, I was just creating the whole thing in Illustrator and then putting them into InDesign, but now it is a fifty-fifty split between the two.
I think I have also increased the amount of design sheets and drawn work in the briefs. I didn’t have many in the last practical module. This has definitely aided my development throughout the briefs.

2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
I have worked a lot more in hand drawn design sheets to lay out work before creating them digitally. I have found that drawing it out by hand gives me the freedom to place things where I want instead of being limited to the screen. From these designs, it then makes it very easy for me to create them digitally as mock ups and then choose the one to go with instead of taking a long time to digitally experiment and take up the valuable time where I can be furthering the final outcome creatively.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
The strengths in my work have been the fact that when given a brief, I can come up with a concept very quickly and stick with it, experimenting within the concept and strengthening it instead of having too many different concept ideas and no idea which one to go with. I think this strengthens my work as it allows me to get a more resolute outcome which includes a lot more contextual research and back up to it.
I also think I have a strength in making editorial work. I find it a lot easier to do something large like a book than a single piece of artwork.
I also have a strength in digitally produced work as I understand the software and am now quickly producing work and experiments in quick time.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
I think my weaknesses in my work for this module lie in my layout skills. I don’t think I have been as experimental as I could have been, especially in the last brief of the module where I used it the most. I think that because I am usually strong in this area I haven’t bothered with it as much and now it has negatively affected my work.
I think the amount of hand rendered work is also a weakness. I have more than in the last module, but I do feel that I should do more and better my skills in this area, and even potentially do a final outcome in this media instead of being digital all the time.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

• Be more experimental with layout designs. I do create a variety, but they are all of a similar form and aren’t as creative as I could make them. Next time when working with layout, I will aim to be a lot more creative with it and try stay away from the typical look that I have become accustomed to.
• Do more hand-rendered work. As I know how to use all the software on the computer now, it has taken over my design process and I have been lacking in the hand-drawn side of design. I aim to start including it more and developing it.
• Work in different media. I have worked mainly digitally throughout this module, and think I need to start working in other media, such as screen printing or incorporating design using the laser cutter or hand rendered design.
• Work on a larger scale. All my work has been relatively small for this module, so in the future I would like to work on a larger scale, producing work of an A2/A1 size.
• Be more creative when it comes to typography. I think throughout this module I have generally used the same kind of typefaces and haven’t really developed any of my own. I think experimentation with this is key.

OUGD406 - Speaking From Experience (3)

Stock Choices

Once I had completed the five sections, I started to look into what stock to use. I found a burgundy coloured stock which went perfectly with the colour scheme, so decided upon that for the section pages & front/back covers.

Stock Choices

The issue came when trying to choose a stock for the body pages of the book. I had found four which I particularly liked and they all seemed to work against the burgundy. I printed the same page out on the four stock choices to see which one looked the best.

My initial thought was that I definitely will not be using the Grey Marl paper (2) as the red makes the stock seem a green coloured and it just doesn't work well at all.
To solve this problem, I took these along to the final crit to ask for feedback.

Final Crit 26.4.13

Chosen stock
The chosen stock is Bulky newsprint as the images look the best quality and the stock is smooth and not too thick or thin.

Point size

The other thing mentioned at the crit was the point size of the text on the definition page, which is printed on the coloured stock. I did it at the same size as the main body text of the book for continuity, but as the coloured stock is quite dark, it makes it hard to read it.

I repeated the same definition five times over in five different point sizes, on the coloured stock, to see which ones were readable. They were initially at 8pt. I tried them at 8pt, 10pt, 12pt, 14pt & 15pt. 

I thought maybe the 15pt was too large, given the small size of the text on the opposite page, so decided upon 14pt.

Definition page corrected

Notable Designers

During the crit, I asked people to tell me designers they most commonly use/take influence from. Many of there were ones I had already included in the book, but there were a few I had not.

One thing I was concerned about while creating the publication was that there are designers who don't necessarily fit into the five groups of design, as they do a variety of different things and are more notable for their work in typography or layout, or something that's not specifically in those five areas.

After speaking in the crit, I decided to add another section to the publication, a list of 10 designers who should be recognised.

Designer Research

Once again I wanted a mixture of old & contemporary designers. I had a list of twenty to begin with but brought that down to eleven.

• Neville Brody
• Paul Rand
• Jarrik Muller
• Saul Bass
• Craig Ward
• Dan Cassaro
• Sagmeister & Walsh
• Alan Kitching
• Josef Muller Brockmann
• Massimo Vignelli
• Si Scott

Surrounding Pages

After completing all sections of the publication, I began work on the surrounding pages.

• Front page note
• Contents
• Blogs
• Index

Front page note - I didn't want the publication to go straight from the front page to the contents so was going to have a blank page between, however I found that when it was printed it didn't look right, so added just a short note into what exactly the book was.

Contents - Staying in the same format as the whole book, I just split it down into the seven sections of the book.

Blogs - I collected a number of blogs, and after going through them all, I decided upon three for each section, and five for general design as these ones lead to more specified blogs and would be helpful for first years.

I added an index to the back, in alphabetical order. Its just an added extra so it makes it even easier to find a specific designer instead of going through all the sections. A couple of designers are also repeated, so this gives the exact page numbers of where they appear.

PDF Book

Final Images

Self Evaluation