I think I've become more efficient and organised when working in a group. The 'how to' brief was our second group brief, the first one since our first week at LCA and I think it was quite clear to see that everyone had grown and become more comfortable with the way the course works and also more comfortable with working a group since then.
My particular specific task within the group was making the logo for the product. It allowed me to further develop my interest in making logos and badges and I think I've become better at it, especially since I started the course. I was pretty clueless before the course! I think my logo for my 100 things project is also quite effective and one of my favourite parts of the final work. So I think I've become more productive and effective when it comes to logo design.
I've also started applying more colour to my work, rather than going for a monotone look all the time as a safe option, applying colour has took my work a step further sometimes, which is good.
2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
I've realised that research and knowledge of the subject is incredibly important, maybe more so than the design and 'making things look pretty' This module was interesting in that the more I researched, the more I had an idea of what I was interested in the most, what I wanted to make and how I wanted to make it. The research kind of took care of the product itself and the final piece was me basically visualising facts and interesting quotes I had found, both through primary and secondary sources.
I also started doing more design sheets, especially for the How To project. I think most of them are me just getting ideas down for my logo I was working on and I think it definitely helped. In the end for the final logo, I ended up combining elements from different ideas I had sketched down, so it was good for me personally to use my own logos as the primary source of inspiration rather than found logos from other sources. On a similar note though, I didn't carry this on to the 100 things brief, I should have done more design sheets, but I think at the same time, it was a much more heavily research driven project so I think I spent more time blogging and finding out interesting stuff.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I think, as with the 403 module, my work is quite simplistic and not that illustrative, (which is also abit disappointing personally) but on one side of it - not alot can really go wrong and it's all quite legible. I think I've handled colour pretty well in this brief, I had to make sure I did as Bollywood and India are synonymous with colour. I like the posters personally, I think the colours pop quite nicely, they look abit flourescent at times and I'm quite happy with them. Again, I think the content of the posters could do with abit of revision.
I think with the group How To brief I worked well within a group and often when working in a group, I find myself being the sort of 'leader' or the one who sets people tasks. Maybe i'm just abit bossy and OCD about everything? But I do think sometimes that if it wasn't for me making people crack on, it could have gone quite differently, so I think I did quite well here. I also elected to be the main speaker for the 5 minute presentation and I think me and the group on the whole did quite well here, so I was pleased.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
My work needs to be more thought out and more consistent. I think the last module (403) was alot more consistent, I think I've struggled abit with issues outside of college and it's affected my work somewhat. I think at the start of the briefs I had these big wonderful ideas of what I wanted to make, but I don't think I achieved my vision. Especially with the 100 things brief. I had alot going on outside of college with the How To brief, but as much as I think I played an important part and offered a fair amount to the group and the project - it was a group project so me being a bit off-form wasn't maybe so telling. The 100 things brief was obviously individual so it was important I was working steadily and I think I had a few days where I just wasn't with it and like I said, I think it could be so much more appropriate for the subject, than I think it is.
I also think I need to see the products in other peoples eyes and not just mine. For example, I always try and keep my work as simple and clean as possible, this is my style, but for the 100 things product, I'm in a way selling the style and culture of a whole country and movie industry and need to apply the style and culture of my research and not just me making things look nice how I want them too, it's all about finding a balance between the two. Apart from the logo which I think reflects retro indian cinema and the posters, I don't think I did this too well with the playing cards.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
I think next time I'll definitely try and be a bit more intelligent about my work and make it more well thought out. I think with the 100 things, I had an idea which I really liked and I didn't probably consider other options as much as I should have. When everyone else was stil contemplating and planning, I was cracking on with this idea. It was a bit of a tunnel vision moment and at the end of the day, I think some other peoples work is a lot more thought out and more valid in the real world than mine is.
They also probably tell more about the subject they researched than mine. I found out loads of stuff in my initial research over xmas, but you probably couldn't tell that from my final product as I ended up making a card game, with a rigid set of facts and attributes applied to each card.
I'll also be more varied with the development process of my work. I need to start drawing more, I always moan that I'm on the mac all the time, but the reason for that is me. It's hard to change your habits sometimes, but the only one that will change it is me. Drawing and getting ideas down will make my work much more interesting. Sometimes when you draw, you have to force yourself through all the obvious dull ideas and after that you start getting more whacky and interesting ideas down, I just need to draw, draw and draw.
I also need to think outside the box more. It's easy to think of just making something on illustrator and printing it out.. but I can laser cut, make things out of wood, I can make 3d stuff, I can mess about with acetate and photocopy and do all kinds of weird things. I can do literally anything, but I always seem to just make stuff digitally and print it out. I think I need to go abit more 'mad' with my making side of it and like I said, be a bit more reflective and do whatever is best for the product and aims of the project and not just what's convenient to me.
I also need to start reflecting on my work more and looking back at past statements and think about where I am and where I've come from more. Especially statements about my aims for the briefs I have and what I want to achieve, and if I actually achieved what I said. It'll make my work more informed and stop me going off on tangents.
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