OUGD403 - Module Evaluation

Evaluation of Module

In this module, I particularly liked the structure that comes with working with typography and the focus this can give. This creates restraints where letterforms have to be adapted to represent an idea or serve a purpose.  This has allowed me to think more creatively and use problem solving skills to portray a concept to the viewer. On the other hand, I have found that the rules can broken within typography to create more experimental work, whilst still retaining understanding because of the use of a common understanding of language.

During this module, my understanding of typographic terminology has been greatly improved. During Foundation, I touched upon this subject in one of my projects, however I now feel more confident in discussing typography technically. Research into typefaces and their characteristics, as well as looking at how other branding uses typographic features to evoke certain qualities, has shown me the importance of how type characteristics can influence the personality of type and its appropriateness to its function. This understanding of type will be applicable to a range of applications in the future such as branding, layouts and poster design where word and image are used in conjunction.

Research has been particularly important within the development of my projects. This provides a basis for design interpretation and allows for a more meaningful interpretation of a brief. It has provided me with a means of taking the less obvious route, which in turn has made my work more challenging and engaging. Research has made my concepts stronger and allowed me to back my work up with reasoning, which people are more likely to relate to. In this module, as a starting point for designing it was important to research the word, its meanings, history and synonyms for ideas to develop from. In future briefs, I will use this as a tool for research and ideas.

Feedback in crits have allowed me to understand which ideas are working well and what can be improved. Suggestions from this feedback have provided ways of refining ideas and developing them further. Gaining opinion from other people has brought a fresh pair of eyes when evaluating the effectiveness of my work, as this is often difficult when you have been part of the whole design process.

In terms of producing work, hand rendered designs have enabled me to create multiple versions quickly and easily. It has also allowed for greater control over the design process and manipulations of ideas, allowing more variation within my work than if I just used the computer. I also find that digital work can take much longer and become frustrating when trying to create initial ideas. It is better used as a tool of refining a few ideas rather than many. However, tools in Illustrator such as the offset path tool, manipulation of anchor points and the ability to compress typography have allowed me to modify designs quickly and easily without having to redrawn the whole design again. 

During this module, I often found I was prioritising design work over blogging which led to me having to backtrack to write about the work. This I found was actually inhibiting my work because I felt the blogging was holding me back rather than helping me, which it is supposed to do. In the future, rather than doing a lot of design work all at the same time I will break it down into chunks and write about each part as I go along, preferably on the same day. This I feel will aid my design work more and enable me to keep on top of things better.