OUGD603 Evaluation

At the beginning of the module I was very set on the majority of my briefs being packaging as this is the career path I wanted to go down. However as time progressed and I began working on the briefs I discovered that packaging was only one of the areas that I was really interested in. I began thinking more and more about how the products would be sold or promoted, and this led me to extend the projects by considering brand image, advertisements and branding. 

My plans and briefs have constantly changed over the year as I have developed and reflected on what skills I will need for industry. I really wanted to use the Extended Practice module as a way of preparing myself for the real world of design whilst simultaneously creating a strong portfolio of work I am proud of. I chose different types of briefs - competition, live/client based, self initiated and collaborative as they all taught me different things. Working collaboratively taught me a lot about negotiation and idea generation, it also showed me how much work could be produced in shorter time frames when working as a team. Live briefs were really useful as it was great experience at dealing with clients appropriately, it also taught me about sending work and clearly presenting my ideas. Competition briefs were also great because I enjoyed having to think of creative and innovative solutions to the brief whilst working within guidelines. Self initiated briefs were probably my favourite because I could choose whatever I wanted it to be, this meant that I picked projects that I had a genuine interest in and I enjoyed the challenge of having to create a brief and set myself restrictions to work within. The briefs had varying overlapping time frames so that it would be more reflective of industry; some projects lasted months whilst others would just be a few days. 

This module has really developed my thinking process and how I approach briefs. I have noticed that I now think about things on a much more conceptual level opposed to just going with the first obvious design. I feel confident taking on any brief, unlike before, because I now have a clear design process and stages I go through to generate an idea and create an outcome. I have come to appreciate how useful visual and contextual research is before beginning a project and how important research is throughout the brief. I have also realised the importance of experimenting with different ideas and sketching things out on paper before working digitally as this has really improved my design process.

The other noticeable difference is that I have grown in independence and in confidence. This module has really cemented what areas of design interest me and allowed me to explore them in great depth. It has given me a clear idea where I want to go in the future and what sort of design I want to create. I feel more confident presenting my ideas and speaking about my work with passion and enthusiasm. 

My time management throughout this module has been meticulous and organised so that I could get the most out of my time. I was wary that I was going to be out of education pretty soon so I really wanted to use my time wisely to prepare my self best I can for industry. I have shocked myself with the amount of good quality work I can produce in what feels like no time at all.

Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed this module, I have learnt so much from all of the briefs and I have come out of it with a portfolio I am proud of and I feel confident talking about. Being in charge of the year myself and choosing what briefs I do meant that I really considered every decision I made because I didn’t want to do things aimlessly or without purpose, nor did I want to take part in briefs that wouldn’t help my progression.

Olivia's Deli: Evaluation

Vanessa and I chose Olivia’s because we wanted to create a visual identity for a small independent company. Olivia’s deli was perfect because there was a large range of materials we could produce from packaging, to menus, to loyalty cards...the list goes on.

The brief has taught me how a simple idea or design can be very effective. The hand rendered illustrations looked basic when we painted them but after digitally putting them into designs it formed a very strong and clear visual aesthetic.

I really enjoyed the brief because I was able to delve into the packaging aspect and create a strong design that worked with the other elements Ness created. The packaging was different from other briefs because I didn’t assemble any boxes or consider packaging shape, it was more appropriate to design labels which the client could stick onto clear tubs as and when they needed to.

It has also been great experience at working in a team to come up with conceptual ideas and to produce designs. The challenge was defining a clear style that we both used in order to make the designs cohesive. I found working together to be very beneficial as we were able to work a lot quicker. We were on the same wave length most of the time and whenever we had differences of opinion we were able to agree on the best decision which was most fitting for the company’s identity.

Overall, the brief was a success. We were able to produce a range of appropriate outcomes that really considered the needs of the client as well as what visually would appeal to the desired market.

Feathr: Evaluation

I decided to take part in Feathr because I wanted to develop my illustration skills and create a design that was more a piece of art. I had a clear idea of what I wanted to produce but I still found it useful to do research and experimentation before I began designing.

In the end I used black ink to produce two Dutch house themed wallpaper designs - one in colour and one black and white.

The brief was a nice change from computer based work as I found it taught me to slow down and be more patient as I am used to being able to CMD Z every mistake. I had to take my time and carefully plan out how I wanted everything before I began painting.

Overall I really enjoyed this brief, it was really nice to be able to step back from the screen and have some time to paint an outcome. Whilst I have painted elements for other briefs, this has been the only one where the outcome is solely my drawing.

Ringtons Tea: Evaluation

I chose this brief because I wanted to create packaging for a FMCG such as tea, and I settled on Ringtons because I had never heard of it before but thought it had such an interesting history and such a boring package design. My aim was to update the Ringtons brand image so that it appealed to a modern audience whilst remaining true to its British history.

In the end I redesigned packaging for 4 flavours of tea, created advertisements for the products, as well as considering the brand image at points of interaction with customers, i.e ordering and door to door delivery. I found the brief extremely useful as it got me thinking about the bigger picture and how the brand image can be applied coherently across a range of different designs.

Another reason for choosing this brief was because I wanted experience at designing one packaging concept but applying it to a range of flavours. In the past I have only ever designed stand alone packages so I thought it would be beneficial for me to challenge myself now and gain an understanding before entering the industry.

In the end I feel I successfully updated the brand image  whilst retaining a British element. This project has given me a better understanding of how to develop a brand identity that expresses its personality and history, as well as how and where it can be appropriately applied.

River Cottage Menu: Evaluation

This was a one week competition brief that I chose firstly because I wanted to do something not related to packaging, and secondly because I have never attempted a menu design before. I felt the brief was a good opportunity to improve my type hierarchy skill set and really think about what order the information should be read in and how a hierarchy can make it easier and more pleasant to read.

The brief has taught me about the importance of layout and the placement of information as well as how individual elements such as type, colour, illustration and image can be combined to create a pleasing design.

The brief format and colour restrictions forced me to think about what elements would bring life and personality into the menu design whilst still being within the limits. I think I have been successful in creating a design that is both interesting and engaging but also importantly in keeping with the existing River Cottage visual identity.

I have also learnt when to stop working on an idea and admit that it isn’t the most appropriate or effective outcome. For quite a while I tried to get the menu design to work with a painting but in the end an image worked far better at communicating to the customers than the painting ever could.

Overall the brief has been a success as it has helped me develop all the skills I wanted to work on and I’ve produced an outcome that I am proud of.

Secret 7: Evaluation

I wanted to take part in Secret 7 because it was a good opportunity to design something completely different from what I usually do.  I chose to design the album artwork for Tame Impala’s - The Less I Know The Better purely because it was the only song I really liked.

This brief has taught me that I can produce outcomes in a very short space of time. This is always something I have been skeptical of and have found quite challenging. However I’ve learnt that by following the same design process and giving the outcome consideration I am able to produce a design in a much shorter time frame. This will be a very useful skill when it comes to (hopefully) working in industry and this brief has reassured me that I am more than capable of producing work in less time.

Overall, I found this brief to be refreshing - it was nice to have something completely different and in a much shorter time frame. I am happy with the outcome as I feel I have produced a design which is in keeping with the artists other visuals whilst also fitting in conceptually with the song.

Feel Good Drinks: Evaluation

I chose this brief because I wanted to have at least one beverage based design in my portfolio. The competition brief was set by YCN and was intentionally an open brief. I was attracted towards this because it meant I could tackle the project from more than one angle and explore my growing interest in advertising and promotion. I wanted to create a coherent campaign which would involve the redesign of bottles, a package and also a poster series.

This brief has taught me a lot about designing for a brand and working within guidelines to ensure that all designs are consistent. I have improved on my ability to create a clear visual identity which is in keeping with the brands beliefs, personality and ethos. This is something I was really keen to work on as I felt it would be an important and beneficial skill set when it came to working in industry.

With this brief I have found myself beginning to think more conceptually about the designs, how they work in context, what the context is and who it its the designs are aiming at.  I feel this begun to change how I approached briefs and the design process I carried out. I also found that information I learnt whilst reading for my dissertation has come into play. For example breaking the product category norm by packaging the bottles in a box opposed to a carton board belly band.

Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed this brief as I found the challenge of depicting a brand and its values to be a rewarding learning step.