OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 - Self Evaluation

End of Module Self Evaluation

OUGD505 - What is Good - Public Response

I have begun to receive some positive feedback about the invites that were sent out into the public domain, the target audience has to be specified as both male and females as my brief stated families in the target audience. However it is most often the case that the females always respond or are most likley to take note of the invites. 

The client is happy with how things are coming along, this brief has consumed the overall planning for the event and upon reflection I should have been much more strict with the bride in order to keep to deadlines. 

Only four back so far, however this is a good start to the wedding event. 

OUGD505 - What is Good - Presentation Boards

Boards

OUGD505 - What is Good - Guest Book

Guest Book

As part of furthering my product range for the event I have produced a book from scratch at the Vernon Street site using book binder Sarah's tutorials. It has been incredibly rewarding and left me wondering why I have not done this over the past 2 years. The process is slow but came cheap at just £2.70 for all the materials and tutors time. 

Test shots of the book show the embossing on the front, this was tested on a piece of card first to ensure the whole thing did not squash too far before placing in the leafs. 

Detailing shows the embossing, Ben McKenna from 3rd year showed me his work on a DVD box set where he embossed over the book lining, working along side several 3rd year students at Vernon helped me realise my potential with this brief and I will definitely be using the site more over the course of the summer and 3rd year. 

The bone folders I used help pronounce the spine of the book, making it look of professional standard which is important. This book will be used at the wedding therefore it will need to be durable and last the tests of time. 

My research showed that there are going to be a number of children at the reception, there is also a generally younger audience of mid twenties attending therefore I felt it a good design decision to add a section on each DPS for a drawing, any guest can doodle or play in the book for the bride and groom to take away and laugh over. 

The stitching method that I used for the research booklet has directly influenced my final piece, this helped incredibly as it is the first time I have stitched. Originally I wanted to Japanese stitch the entire book but upon reflection and advice from Sarah it was decided that this method would be much more durable in the hands of about 100 people. 

OUGD505 - What is good - Napkin rings

Napkin rings provide a great way of instantly accessing the Pinterest link, after my research I considered the accessibility of Pinterest and the fact that most of the guests will be technologically illiterate or unaware of the existence of this type of website. 

I chose Pinterest as it is the most user friendly for novices and already has a strong design so my time can be spent getting people to access it rather than designing it. 


Sketches



Design Progress

In context

The QR code gets direct mobile access to the Pin-Board that is to be used, guests can then deviate from the board (which the couple also pin stuff they like to) onto the other craft based images and boards. 

The nature of Pinterest allows you to click through to the original web pages and guests can pick up craft ideas from there, thus sharing the world of craft with everyone at the wedding. 

OUGD505 - Exhibition poster

Mind explosion

With a quick turn around, I have let my head wander into the far reaches, this is a competition between peers and therefore I want to stand out using uncommon materials for an exhibition space. 

(sketches)


My research has led me to the point where I know that I can use an idea of abandonment through a piece of wood or vinyl which would cover the entire frame, showing a sense of a derelict area under redevelopment. 


(3 concepts)

The concepts were received well in the crit, the wood poster was highly praised in relation to the other ideas. I will be working with the wood idea as I believe it has a much better impact on the space as a whole.

There is limitations of using the 3D aspect in this brief such as cost to the course for providing several pieces of wood and the process of fixing them to the frames without damage. The process used would have to be ink or vinyl stickers. 





(improved idea)

Futura used for the impact it has, the weight of the type allows for easier screen printing onto the uneven surface of the wood. There is also  a risk with thin weight type for the ink to absorb and bleed into the wood grain. 

The copywriting I have used reflects the idea of a derelict area which no-one uses anymore, the area is under development and will be revealed to the public soon. 

The photograph of the wood came out grainy and the nature of the wood is very dark therefore I will be changing the wood for the background image. 

Final resolution

In context

Final crit & judging

For the final crit I had concluded that I could not afford the £25 from B&Q for a piece of particle board, therefore I chose to use the digital print facility and use a very high resolution image. This proved to be effective as I had one of the only responses at A1 size. Technologically the piece of work is low-fi and has maximum impact for a lower cost for the course to provide. 

I think that in comparison to other directions that were taken on this brief my design decisions had much more of an impact on the social space. 


Result and Evaluation

Unfortunately I did not get in the final 7 places, however I feel as thought if I had bought the piece of wood and used vinyl lettering to mock the piece up further I would have made more of a memorable impact. 

By exploring this side of graphic design, I think that my practice has improved in terms of communication of a message, I stayed away from the computer for the majority of the briefs duration, only using InDesign for the type layout. After much deliberation and the research that I carried out, I appreciate outlook on visual comunication and typography as a way of conveying a message. 

OUGD505 - What is good - construction

I will be providing the client with 2 versions of her invites at a budget of under 50p per invite. This is an incredibly tight budget and therefore my finish pieces for the reception will be a lower cost run. The second batch for the ceremony guests will reflect a luxury crafted pieces given a higher split of the budget. 

Budget Invite set After about 8 hours of cutting by hand, everything is cut and ready for construction, the one I make for my hand in will differ because these had a budget of 45p each, certain aspects such as double sided printing and flocking, foiling etc had to be axed from the brief.

The first instinct for the client was to receive off white or cream invites using the colour on the print rather than the card, after testing the results for the ivory pantone it became apparent that these files would be difficult to get correct without clashing with the pink. 

Fitting 10 of each set of bunting allows for maximum print for less cost, for the printers sake I named each file "three of these" etc and placed a reminder on each print. 

As each invite needed to be tailored for the amount of guests coming at the request of the client I simply had to multiply each version and mix the variation of the designs to still fit as many as possible onto one sheert,  this was very time consuming and became hard to track which ones had been added and which I had left to print. 

Sending these screen shots as a digital proof to the client helped before going to print. 

The budget invites came out real well, the stock was a Epson matt 230GSM from a leeds based printers that only prints on this card stock for its crisp white nature.

Finalised "Luxury" invites

I have booked slots for the bookbinding areas and vernon street copper etching areas in order to begin construction of the final set of invites to the ceremony. 

The studio sessions provided me with a look at what quality of work my peers are producing .. and project management skills.

Finalised proofs tested on greyscale help gauge the final scale of them before going to print. 

To keep costs low on a larger scale run, I have combined the piece of the invite as best as possible onto A4 sheets using crop marks. 

The date

Emphasis on the date of the wedding is important to the client as it is her "big day" therefore the blind embossing of the date will feature as a point of focus. Making a copper embossing plate will allow me to carry the message of the day of summer celebration through all of the ephemera. 

Testing the emboss on the card to see what pressure is needed in the machine, thicker card only needs around 1000PS, thinner weight stocks such as the envelope need much higher up to 5000. I have found that on the thinner stocker, the best way to gauge the pressure is that when the dial reaches 12 O'clock then it is pretty much done. 

The envelope came out as I expected, the lines are clean and my registration set up was perfect for it to fall inline with the point in the envelope. This will line up with the wax seal for a perfect alignment. 

The date needs to carry through into the invites therefore I have included them in twice inside, the RSVP sits between the blind emboss on the folder across the flap, metaphorically asking the recipients to be a part of the day. 

The registration here is off centre but I am really pleased with he quality of the pressing and adds to the craft feel of the invite. This is yet to be stuck to the folder but I has primarily threaded the bunting through this section of card also. 

Before I begin the finally construction I have tested the opening of the invite and it works very well, the bunting took a long time to place correctly so that it does not hang low. 

These colours of envelopes were used as a test run for colour matching, they do not reflect any level of sophistication for the ceremony therefore I have chosen a Plum/Burgundy colour at the same expense.

The final RSVP's are as the client requested (love hearts tick boxes and all) and I have produced them single sided to keep the costs of print down. I was sceptical about the pink not suiting the darker plum colour but I feel that it works when you see it in the physical form. 

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.