OUGD503 - Responsive - The briefs

Issu document of all 13 re-written briefs that I have entered

OUGD505 - What is good - Wax Seal

Wax seal

The hand rendered type for this brief has been useful in applying the designs for any finishing toucheds such as the closures for the invites. 

In my design thinking I originally thought it would be good to use this as a blind emboss on the bunting however the design is too intricate so a wax seal is the only place this design will feature.


Process of making

The process is almost identical to screen print, exposing the film on the copper to UV light helps mask of areas which does not require acid corrosion. 

The acid corrodes for around 9 hours then I masked off the design with black acrylic and placed in in acid for a further 90 mins, then the whole piece is cut to size using a crimping machine


Using the advice of Liz in Jewellery I have managed to file a perfect edge on the stamp which helps the perfect lines of the seal. 








Glueing the copper onto a mini door handle from the local craft shop has provided a sturdy metal handle for stamping. 

Testing

Result

I am really happy that all the hard work and crafting the stamp has come out very well, the result in the wax is the perfect depth for the letterforms to protrude from the wax. 

OUGD 503 Responsive Report

Bacardi YCN

Batiste Collaboration

My solo input boards

Collaborative boards submitted to DandAD

OUGD503 - Responsive - Module Self Evaluation

Ba(Hons) Graphic Design
Level - 05
Module Code - OUGD503
Module Title - Responsive

End of Module self evaluation

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

This module was my first experience of working on live briefs in a collaborative format, the skills that I learned from the Batiste entry allowed me to approach a second collaboration with a much more informed view on the process. I applied my communication skills and contract writing to the second brief which led to a successful outcome in the form of the Ted Baker entry. Working alongside a peer throughout the start of the module allowed us to push each other to do more work which, I believe helped us both to generate a higher standard of work

Copy-writing for products and submission boards has also improved throughout the module. The information that I include has often been sparse and lacking detail, towards the end of the module I ensured that people looked over the information that I included and having these peer feedback sessions has helped me to apply more information without overcrowding any artwork.

2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

Whilst studying on this module I have learned a lot about what sectors I want to work within at level 06, I have a deeper understanding professional design practices in more detail. I evaluated my progress every time that I reached certain points in each brief. I have created a higher standard of work in comparison to the Level 04 studies which I believe is down to the fact that I have enjoyed the possibility of exposure. I have developed the ability to present a brief to provide a better pitch and product view for a client. I have learned a large amount about creating layouts in InDesign, saving out for PDF booklets and I have gained up industry standards skills which will help my career.

The method of creating clear and achievable goals at the start of every logo brief helped me submit to every contest that I entered throughout the entire module. There have been briefs that I have even discarded because after setting goals I realised that the work would become stale or begin to impede on my other work therefore I have learned when to say no and when to turn away work.

My approaches to creating work for clients throughout this module was always about the final presentation, I have asked the question “will I be confident showing this?” when starting each project. This helped inform my decisions and allowed me to take interest in any research that I carried out because I knew that I could communicate with confidence of the context of each design. If I wasn’t going to be confident in my work, then it was pointless producing the work.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

The main strength of mine when approaching this module was making the descision to start everything early in the module which allowed me to iron out any problems or confidence issues early on that could have effected priroritised and important briefs. Tackling any skills based problems in the 2 months helped me to advance my practice much more quickly.

Presenting work is a key strength of mine now that the OUGD503 module has been completed. I feel that I have learned a lot about how judges and clients receive work in different formats, I also have become aware of how important hard copies of product are when pitching to clients. I feel that this module has given me a clear point of view on how I like to present my work on submission boards, I have learned what information to include and what to leave out.

I used my knowledge of print based processes techniques to better understand what the clients are thinking in terms of production cost and time which is important to their business, this has allowed my to pitch work in a clearer way for the clients benefit.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?

As with the OUGD 504 module I can identify that a weakness within this module is my web coding skills, I was fortunate and clever enough to collaborate with a peer that is much more advanced at web design than myself which allowed us to enter the Batiste brief with confidence. I gave Natalie the skills that I had in applying designs to a product can and creating concepts for product launches, whilst she created the hand rendered patterns and website. This meant that I was not hindered by a weakness, I will still attempt to develop my web design skills further but at this point in time I will not be making it a priority. I could include more detailed print finishing techniques in the work that I produced such as foiling, embossing and die cutting.

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

There are several things that I will do differently when working on live briefs and responding to the needs of a client in live briefs such as the Marriott work and Leeds Brewery work. Firstly I will look to develop a strong relationship between myself as the designer or entrant, and the client or competition host, having done this in only 3 briefs, I feel that I could have been more successful in all other entries. It is interesting to realise that the briefs I communicated on were the most enjoyable and ultimately the most successful ones in gaining contacts or getting produced commercially.

I will also look to generate more awareness of primary research, not in terms of gathering it after a briefing, but I would like to have more experiences and interests outside of design that will in turn inform any quick turn around briefs. By having more life experiences I could have created much better logos for the Design Crowd entries, because I chose to do these in a very short space of time, I had no time to do as much primary research as I needed but if I had knowledge of these sectors prior to attempting them, I would have not relied on research as much.

My motivation was never in question for the OUGD503 module, however I have lacked motivation for other aspects of the course, I believe that if I had learned to juggle other modules and interlink them with OUGD503 that I would have been much more successful in my work for all modules this year. My work has suffered because of my lack of interest in certain parts of the course, this transferred into the OUGD503 module towards the latter stages of the year but I will now approach Level 06 with the knowledge that I should have created a strict calender of deadlines and try hard not to let personal life impact on my University life.

I have learned an vast amount about working with clients and fellow designers when producing work for this module, I feel most importantly though tat this module has felt nothing like university work, instead, it feels that I have worked on projects that will be seen and not just not graded. Since last year I think the design sheets that I produce have improved in quality and communication of a final idea, I do still need to look into produce more of them on a regular basis.

Table of marking

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					X
Punctuality					X
Motivation					X
Commitment				X
Quantity of work produced				X
Quality of work produced				X
Contribution to the group					X
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.

OUGD503 - Responsive - Automated Currencies

Darren Lange Swimming Academy

Ted Baker

Network Central

SIGG x Tony Hawk Foundation

OUGD505 - reflective

Analysis of key aspects of research




Analysis of methods of distribution



Mistakes I have made

OUGD505 - What is good 16 page Research book

The final book

The booklet contains information about wedding stationary and why it is effective in presenting specific information in a way that is unique to each wedding.

Images

It was highlighted in the sessions that the work must be of industry standard, therefore I wanted to start this with my booklet. I have used processes that are new to me and relevant to the craft theme for the couple. Producing the booklet in a basic format has made me realise that I would like the invites to"pop" a little, the colours don't really reflect a summer wedding so I will change that also.



Binding

This bind was quick to do so in terms of a large scale production could be easy to replicate, it serves a purpose and works well, it is my intention to use this form of binding over that of a Japanese or perfect bind method.




Upon reflection I am pleased with testing the techniques in this book, I feel it has allowed me to focus on producing a tactile set of invites and wedding collateral, I have also decided that foiling and other print finishing techniques could look tacky and clash with my theme. 

OUGD505 - What is Good - Client conversations

Client interaction diary

This brief has proven very difficult to get my teeth into due to the vast amount of client requests and amends. several things have been changed at various stages. This is one of the reasons that I wanted to get a client in second year, in order for me to practice juggling University work and client based work. 

Keeping a mini diary of all the conversations is helping me figure out what to do at each stage, I am no doubt going to find it very tough to produce this work for this brief. 

The client has raised the issue of money here with the binding techniques that I have suggested for the closures and belly binds. Ashleigh raises a good point about posting buttons adding cost, it made me realise the weight and bulkiness of the invite adds to the cost, not just the overall dimensions. 

Purple is creeping into the colour scheme now, I must find out the finalised colour system that she wants. 

Recently for this brief, I have to constantly get around problems of the design that the client is wanting.

Giving the client hints of what I would like to see at the wedding is helping her out with a focus which seems to be making my job easier. I need to let her think about what impact she wants to have on the day as well as a month before in the invites that are sent out. 

I would love to wax seal the envelopes, something that I will need to use Vernon Street and Jewellery studios for, buying a pre-made seal will bring the design down therefore I need to create my own.