OUGD603 / EXTENDED PRACTICE
PROJECT FILE
BRIEFS & EVALUATIONS.
DR.ME
EVALUATION
I did enjoy this day of working with DR.ME. I feel it gave a very good example of how a small design studio works often getting briefs that have to completed in a day. Even though I feel that the work generated through this particular studio is very specific to the music industry and the work that they produce are very similar in methods and techniques., they are a good example of how you can find yourself in the market and making sure you are doing work that you enjoy and therefor gain more success.
I liked the way that you could just take something and just run with it instead of having to justify every step you take and I think this is the way when designing for music as most of the time you are designing from inturprritaion which can only eve be a personal thing.
I feel that Ant and I had a very productive day and even though the last 2 briefs seems a little rushed, I think that our outcomes were successful and fitting to the clients they were created for.
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EVALUATION
This brief was really fun for my and I am really happy with
its outcome. The talks that accompanied this brief were very inspiring, as I
would love to work for them. I feel that the way in which they were explaining
their design process really resonated with me and I feel I could fit in
somewhere like this.
I really enjoyed the project its self because I had started
with a strong yet simple concept, which allowed a good level of expansion that
could be further developed still. The visuals are very strong which is an
important part of a city council due to its authoritarian role.
My mock up skills have improved a lot through out this brief
and I have learnt a couple of new software skills that with help me in the
future. Realising the importance of image quality is also something I have
realised throughout this process.
This project has been proof to me that working on a concept
and a view point before anything else is a more successful way of finding a
solution and allow you to work in a more efficient way.
Being one of the runners up was a great feeling, especially
because of how much I love this design studio.
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DBA
EVALUATION
I really enjoyed this project and being so heavily involved in the winning team was an amazing experience. I take greg sense of pride in all of us due to the fact that we had real difficulties in the beginning while trying to come up with ideas.
Working as part of a group with people I hadn't worked with before was a great experience and considering we were quite a large group, we were able to work well and designate jobs fairly and efficiently. We were also very good at letting each other know if we weren't happy with something in a constructive way. at no time in this process did i feel undermined and criticised in a negative way. i feel that we all had a mutual understanding of what we had to do and how we needed to do it.
Seeing how excited the DBA guys were during our presentation made all the hard work seem so worth it. Any questions that were asked about our solute we were able to answer and back up which i think impressed them.
the visuals we created are really intriguing and could work in the real world. Mocking up and photoshop skills really came into play during this project and and i feel that these skills improved greatly. Especially having others around you meant that we could share these skills and teach each other while working.
My presentation skills and confidence also improved through the preparation and presentation of this project. Answering question after the presentation came with ease and I felt comfortable making points and backing these up.
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IAN ANDERSON
Brief 1
Brief 2
EVALUATION
INITIAL BRIEF
I enjoyed the freedom of
this little project and interjected my own personality with a quote I had heard
from an interview taken with Ian Anderson. I feel the outcome was fun, vibrant
and intriguing.
SOMETHING POINTLESS
Even though this project
and accompanying workshop were very challenging, I did enjoy and appreciate the
outcomes and lessons learnt through out.
The project allowed me to
think differently about possible approaches that can be made to design and the
documentation of research. I enjoyed the fact that we were all able to take
something that was seen as pointless and make it into something relevant and
interesting. It made me realise that nothing is pointless and that
experimentation is vital to ones design practice as it can implement new and
exciting interpretations.
It was also great to get
feed back from Ian in regards to our presentation skills. I feel that I need to
work on my deliverance more when talking about my work and have more confidence
in what I am doing.
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ACTORS PORTFOLIO
EVALUATION
I have really enjoyed working on this project. Making a
promotional piece for an actor was very interesting as the consideration they
have to have regarding what goes into their resume’s is very different from the
documents we know as a graphic designer.
I really enjoyed doing my own photography, as this is
something I haven’t really been able to do so much this year. I feel that this
has given me confidence to do more photography, whether it is part of my design
practice or whether it’s just for a bit of creative fun.
The outcome works very well as the fold out nature of the
document adds an intrigue as the images on the outside are obscured and un
clear. This makes the reader want to open out the document further were you can
then see clearer images of the actor. The added insert gives the fold out a
little more character and the fact that the smaller photographs can be torn off
and kept means that the recipient can keep these head shots along with the
actors business card.
Unfortunately the double sided printing didn’t line up very
well concerning the business card, however you can still understand the way in
which the portfolio work and thins printing error can be resolved at a
different printers.
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WEDDING THANK YOUS
EVALUATION
I really enjoyed working on
this brief not only because of the personal involvement in it, but also because
it let me explore multiple different ways I which I could present and package
the photographs. I love the simplicity of the out come and how the foil acts as
an accent but all the main focus is on the photos themselves.
I didn’t comprehend how
fiddly it was cutting out every photo and every cover, this is something I
would maybe look into because I would have to recreate each one a number of
times so everybody could have one.
I improved my skills on
editing and arranging photographs on Photoshop and trying something new with
foil printing was also very enjoyable. Foiling on photographs is something I
would love to experiment more wit in the future. I feel it adds a whole new
dimension to a photographic image.
So of my foiling sessions
didn’t work out in the first session which meant I only had time to make two
versions for hand in which disappointed me slightly, so I think that time
management could have been considered a little more during the project.
I’m really happy with the
outcome of this project and I think that the items I did manage to finish were
to a high quality in terms of crafting skills. I also enjoyed photographing
this project and getting used to using props that helped to enhance the product
itself and put it into a nice context.
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NAIL SALON / LA BELLA
EVALUATION
Despite any printing difficulties that have occurred
through out the project, I am very pleases with the proposed outcome. Working
with bold colours in such away is something that I have really done before and
I feel that working on this brief has given me more confidence with the
application of colour.
I feel that the outcome is very suited to its purpose. As
well as the colour, the dainty, and calming aesthetics is something that is
very much a part of the atmosphere with in the salon. The addition of the polka
dot pattern that features as an accent adds a little bit of bubbliness and
youthfulness. This reflects the target audience as well as the owner of the
company.
The layout and logo design remain quite simple so as not to
over complicate the vibrant aesthetic. I feel that this adds a lot of strength
to the identity, which is an important asset when trying to portray a
professional and reliable business.
During the initial stages of this project I was able to put
into practice lessons I had learnt through out the years, especially through
the context of practice module. I made a real effort when explaining and
presenting my initial ideas and logo options to ensure that the client
understood what it was I was trying to portray for her and her business. I feel
this worked very well as communication between my client and my self remained
at this level through out as we had a mutual understanding of what each us
wanted for the brand.
This process of presentation is something I want to be able
to apply from now on in my design practice as it gives a great foundation from
which you can then work. It is also a great benefit to my professional conduct
and lets the client know that I am reliable.
Even though I had issues with the printing, this is a project
that I will continue to work on as it is a live brief.
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BONE BROTHS 1& 2
Brief 1 & 2
I have really enjoyed this project and I have learnt an incredible amount in regards to customer relations and professional conduct. The creative aspect of this project has also helped me to improve my illustration skills as well as my ability to utilise a ready made platform in order get the most impact out of the packaging prototype.
With this project being a live brief, I encountered the positive aspects of working with a real client. The positives have been being able to work out costs and what to charge form my work as well as how to organise the times of these payments. Because I had to work through an outside source in the packaging manufacturer, this allowed me to see how this kind of processes works. I learnt how to communicate with this type of business and now have a better understanding of the process a product has to go through before it is ready to have in store.
There hasn’t really been and negatives to working on the projects, however there have been frustrations in regards to the combination of the chosen logo from the original brief and the more detailed illustrations that came along as requested in the second half of the project. Personally I feel that these to aspect do not really sit right with each other. Even though they both are illustrative images, they are still very different in composition and style. I did explain these concerns to the client, however they were happy with the outcome and combination.
I feel that this project could have possibly been pushed in a more refined and cohesive direction, however I feel that this could be down to my initial naivety at the beginning of the project and not really understanding how to present my work and explain properly the aesthetic and concept that I thought would be the most suiting to the product. Its only now that I realise this and I think this realisation came through the research I gathered in relation to my Context of Practice module.
Even though I cant do anything about this now, I am definitely more aware of my responsibility to explain ideas and concepts more clearly and implement this into my design process.
Overall I am very happy with the outcome of this project and I feel that its evolution has created a very viable product and packaging that is ready to stocked on supermarket shelves. Even though there is a part of me that feels a little unsatisfied with the logo, as long as the client is happy, there isn’t too much to get frustrated about and maybe if I knew then what I knew now, I could have conducted myself and my ideas with more clarity. The illustrations I created for this project are definitely the best I have ever don’t and I feel that this skill has been developed in to a great weapon in my creative arsenal.
I have a big regret about this project and this is the Design boards. I didn't realise how time consuming it would be to create design boards as well as research boards and I feel that my boards are not as good as they should have been regarding the size of this project, especially the second half. I wasn't able to add much of my further development because I simply ran out of time before could print these boards in time for submission.
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JOHN LEWIS
EVALUATION
Over all I feel that Sarah and I worked really well together through out the project. I feel we both offered our strength and helped each other with our weakness which ultimately made this a strong and successful solution. From the beginning of the project to the end, I feel that we designated ourselves suitable and fair tasks and we made sure we updated each other along the way.
The project its-self I am very proud of and I feel that we answered the brief very well. i think that our concept and its execution is very viable and could work in real world situations. I really like the fact that we didn't stick with the routine, mundane delivery packaging that simple had imagery on the box. I think that the interaction of the design and the mechanisms used to open the box and present the content is a new and exciting way to deliver produce.
There is not only a physical connection through the workings of the box, there is also an emotional connection with the universal icon of a bow and ribbon which is recognisable to a special occasion and celebration of the recipient. It dent matter whether this is just a treat for ones self or if it is a purchase made for another.
Even though I do love this project, I wish we could have photographed and presented our concept in a stronger and more professional fashion, however time did not allow us to do this to our full abilities. i feel that we may have let our strong aesthetic and concept down a little by not making our presentations strong as these elements. Again, time was an issue due to other work we had to complete at the same time.
The bow on the tall box did not align centrally like we had planned which is something I would have liked to have corrected and I would have also liked to have pushed this project a little further (This is something I may try to accomplish if I have the time before module hand in).
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INTERN MAGAZINE
EVALUATION
This project was very
rewarding in regards to the fact that the magazine was seen as a viable product
that could really work as a real travel and tourism publication. We started
with a simple concept that eventually snowballed and gathered a great concept
that could be added to a refined very well.
We worked well as a team
and communicated are ideas and responses effectively. We were then able to
implement these ideas efficiently while utilising each others skills and
strengths. This was notable not only through the execution of the proposal but
also through the presentation.
I really enjoyed this brief
and would be very interested in pushing this publication further and even look
to seeing if it would be possible to create and pursue as a project.
