OUGD502 - Design Practice Module Evaluation

Design Practice Module Evaluation

For Studio Brief 2 it was initially quite difficult to work out what to do the project on and pinpointing the specific focus within that topic, however once decided it was good to do the project on something of interest. Refining the subject matter down to a focused question was really important to help come up with ideas on what the brief could be, similarly considering what the ideas aimed to achieve in relation to the original question was important. The City Patch Project took my interest for nature and allowed me to considered it in a different context that I had not thought of before, making it interesting to research this further and allowed me to learn new things during the project. Thinking about how the branding could be distributed and applied to a range of outcomes was interesting and making the membership pack meant that I was designing things that I hadn’t done before. Researching quite heavily had its pros and cons. I felt more informed when designing the outcomes however at the beginning it was difficult not to get too bogged down in it and to refine it down to work out where the project was going.

For Studio Brief 1 choosing Ambient music, which I didn’t know anything about at the beginning of the project, helped me keep an open mind on the topic and when thinking of ideas. It was interesting to work in a three-dimensional way again as I like to make and produce things. The physicality of the design meant that I had to think more about materials and how they would look together rather than on screen as this never looked like the finished thing. Working in a three-dimensional way allowed for more experimentation with forms, and materials as well as digital elements which I think created quite a fun, quirky and playful object. Using quotes from articles was the most helpful to the project as it gave visuals for a subjective topic. The project as a whole was quite conceptual which allowed me to be looser with ideas and the three-dimensional aspect of the brief led to some more experimental approaches.

In both projects I learnt new design skills and production techniques. In Studio Brief 2 layout and cover considerations were the most difficult parts of designing. Combining type and image for covers and in experimentation was challenging however after researching other magazine covers it was found specific types of images are used with more background to allow type to stand out against imagery. Also, I learnt that images didn’t always have to be combined with brand elements instead they can be separate but still work together. In terms of the layout of the newsletter, although having the grid system, it was difficult to place imagery and content so that it didn’t look too structured and so that content still linked with the relevant images. Considering the importance of negative space and not over-complicating a design helped to create more refined outcomes. In terms of production methods in both projects new things that were learnt were creating packaging nets, laminating, using clear vinyl and joining Perspex. Making the nets allowed me to consider forms that could be created from a flat design. Laminating was found to be an easy process and created an effective protective covering to the folder which will be useful in other printed projects. Previously I have made wooden boxes, which are joined with glue however Perspex had to be welded together with another product. Clear vinyl produced more vibrant designs than expected however in other projects it needs to be considered that the colours will change.  

      

Overall, I think I managed my time quite well considering the module was balanced with Responsive at the beginning and COP at the end, however there was still quite a lot to do at the end of the project.