I think that the main skill that have developed is to look through research and identify the research that is appropriate and understand how to take that forward. I think that I did a lot of research during this module and have realised that although it might be interesting or informative it might just not be useful or appropriate to the brief or the direction that I am taking the brief in.
I have also learned to understand that the link between the research, development and resolution is important and each part has to have a strong link to the next for the resolution to work effectively.
When we started the final part of the collection 100 brief I was thinking about producing skateboard deck designs as a solution. Looking over my research and development so far I eventually realised that a series of 100 skateboard decks was not an appropriate resolution. There was no research to suggest that designing 100 skateboard deck graphics would solve any problem and actually there were no problems that I could even relate skateboard decks to. Trying to go in a direction that I wanted to instead of needed to was a waste of time because I spent too long thinking about an unnecessary resolution and then had to rethink the whole thing anyway.
In terms of physical skills I have developed my crafting skill a lot since the beginning of the module. The book binding workshop was really helpful in showing how crafting detail and the quality of the finished product is really important in making the product as good as it can be. I usually have issues with making marks on final prints and when gluing is involved I almost always make the work look messy and leave marks. This showed a lot in the prototype resolution of the collection 100 brief and this was mainly an issue with the stock. I only tested the colours on the stock and not the thickness of the stock itself, so when it came to folding and gluing then a lot of the measurements were out by a few millimeters and caused the whole product to be thicker and not fit together as well. When it came to gluing parts together it was really difficult to make things line up and the end result was a total mess.
When I remade the product I used a much thinner stock and was really careful in the crafting of it. I think it really shows that the final resolution is much better quality than the prototype.
2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
In the What If... brief it was made really obvious that research is one of the most important parts of solving a brief. If you can get as much research as possible covering all different types and kinds of research then you can analyze the whole thing and find patterns and issues within the bulk of research which you can take forward and specify more and more towards a solution.
Primary research is probably the most important and useful kind of research. Primary research is always correct and there can be no doubt of the source. Primary research can be totally controlled exactly the way you want it so the results that you get will always be useful.
I used Quantitative research to make statistics. Examples of this are things like during the Collection 100 brief when I got percentages of peoples opinions by asking a yes/no question. Quantitative is kind of like a broad method of research used to gather an overall understanding of something. Qualitative is the exact opposite and is useful for being specific and understanding exactly why the statistics show what they do. I used this again in the Collection 100 brief by asking open ended questions which gave a much longer answer and showed people's personal opinions and experience on the topic of skateboarding.
We also used qualitative research in the What If... brief by asking open ended questions in the online survey and by calling the Crypt homeless shelter and asking questions directly over the phone.
Secondary research has definitely had it's uses in this module as well. Using qualitative and quantitative secondary research is almost like a basis for conducting your own research. By finding existing research you can see patterns and issues that other people have researched and then conduct your own research along those lines to make it reliable.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
The strengths in my work during this module were mostly around the use of design software. I used Photoshop and Illustrator quite a lot over the briefs and I think I am becoming really good at using different aspects of the programs properly and appropriately.
Another strength in my work during this module was my time management and the quantity of work produced. I could tell myself just by the amount of work that I was producing each day that I was working a lot better and getting a lot more done in a specific time. Looking over my sketchbook and the regularity and detail of my blog posts I can see that I have produced a lot of work which I am actually really surprised and pleased about. I have always been more into quality than quantity but I think I'm really balancing both and keeping them at a high standard.
Other strengths would be decision making and crafting skill which I can see have improved over a short space of time. I have learned to make decisions quickly and not spend too long in wondering where to go next and just keep on working to get the best result. My crafting skill has definitely got better with the help of book binding and taking care in cutting precisely and making sure that any gluing doesn't leave dirty marks or patches.
| 4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully? | |||||
My most obvious weakness that I can see is that I need to spend more time thinking about the production of the resolution. I have managed to make sure that I have a lot of development and given myself enough time to design an appropriate resolution but I keep making mistakes when it comes to printing and refining the final resolution. In the instance of the collection 100 resolution it was the printing and the stock that I had not thought about enough. Because the poster needed to be folded four times it had to be a thin stock. I focussed too much on the quality of the print that I didn't think about the stock thickness and it spoilt ever layer of the resolution from that point because it affected all of my measurements.
Another weakness that I notice is working with colour, but I think that I am getting better at this. Sometimes I find it really difficult to choose appropriate colours and make them work together but through trial and error I am learning to work with colour a lot more effectively.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
- Give myself more time to deal with issues in the production of my resolutions to make sure that they are the highest quality possible.
- Make sure that I have thought about each part of the resolution including the stock that I use to make sure there are no problems with the resolution.
- Think about how the resolution would have a place in the outside world (e.g. product branding, distribution etc). This module made me realise that it is important to put the resolution into context within the world outside of the course.
- Do more research into similar design as well as just the topics. I focussed a lot more on the subject than design based on the subject. Existing design could really help to influence my design decisions.
- Make a time plan to help show me what has to be done by a specific day or date. This should help me keep on top of my work and give me enough time to deal with every aspect of it as best as I can.
| 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 | |||||
| Attendance = 5 | |||||
| Punctuality = 5 | |||||
| Motivation = 4 | |||||
| Commitment = 4 | |||||
| Quantity of work produced = 4 | |||||
| Quality of work produced = 3 | |||||
| Contribution to the group = 4 | |||||
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