Planning
I began to make some spider diagrams in order to asses what I had learnt over the past year.
The first spider diagram I made expanded on the skills I had learned this year, and how this have helped me to improve over the year.
Blogging - I have learnt how to talk about my designs, discuss my design decisions and development and explain my ideas, as well as give evidence and articulate myself.
Time management - I learnt how long I should spend on each area of design, eg concept, initial ideas, development, and final product. i have also learnt to leave enough time for booking appointments in workshops or at printers. A great skill I have learnt on this course is how to balance briefs, there have been times on the course where we have been given more than one brief to balance at a time and i think this has been very beneficial to my progress, as I will work on multiple briefs at a time in the working world.
Working in alternate media - I have learnt on the course what media is best for me to work in, I have worked in a range of media, Watercolour, Acrylic, Digital work, Screen print and paper cutting I have become a lot stronger using the digital programs, however I do feel my hand rendered skills, mostly drawing, have taken a back seat and it is something I would like to go back to next year and work on more.
New design processes - At the start of the year i didn't consider design processes as much as I should have, and I think this was down to the fact that I spent all my time focusing on creating the design rather than the execution of it, as I was less confident with the computer programs back then. However as I came more confident with the adobe suite, and I could produce work more efficiently i began to make more time for new production processes. Due to this I have now been to the binding workshop twice, as well as binding by myself and more recently tried screen printing, which I have absolutely grown to love.
Techinal aspects of design - Learning about this for example, the anatomy of type, grids and layouts and colour theory, has really given me more appreciation for the process for designing, and it has also improved my designs drastically. I am not able to formulate layouts, with grids that adhere to the needs of my project, I am able to pick the right colours to communicate certain things and create compatible combinations. The anatomy of type section for the design principles module was a really great lesson for me as I am very interested in type, and learning how I am able to create successful typefaces is something very critical for my future practice, as i want to continue to work with type in the future.
Research - I have learnt how critical research is when designing, and more importantly how much more beneficial it is to collect the correct research. At the start of the year I would go onto the internet and cull as much research as possible as I thought it was better to have too much research than too little. However I have now learnt the importance of what is the right research to collect? What sources do I need to look at in order to get this, Is this primary or secondary, do I need to visit anywhere or talk to anyone? It is also better to collect critical information, rather than overwhelming yourself and your project by collecting anything that you can find.
Concept Building - Something that I have really enjoyed this year is concept building. I really enjoy the moment when we are first given the brief, and my mind starts to go crazy with a mass of ideas. But refining these ideas Is what I really enjoy. I like to format designs so that the audience can make links between the context or the message and the aesthetic of the product. I like to be playful with designs often making them interactive.
Computer programs - Before I started the course I had rarely used the adobe suite, neither had I studied Graphic design before, and so, when I was constructing my portfolio to get onto the course, I used to google what I needed to know, follow the instructions exactly and then forget what I have just done. Learning how to use the adobe suite has really increased the quality and efficiency of my work, as I now know what tools I need to use and how to use them.
Working in groups - Although it is quite hard working in a group with other designers who have other styles and wants than you, I enjoyed working in a group scenario. Not only did I like that In a group there are more designers in which input ideas into a project, I also just enjoyed working in and around the studio, surrounded by designers whom could give me great and honest feedback in order to better my work.
The Second spider diagram I made talks about my likes and dislikes on the course referencing the type of design I liked doing, and the designers in which I like and the projects I disliked doing.
Likes - The work that I very much enjoyed doing this year was mainly illustration based, as I feel throughout the course that this is where my strengths have started to lie.
One of my favourite projects I did this year was the children's rhythmic book I made for the context of practice module, not only did I enjoy writing the whole story myself, I also designed the set of around 25 illustrations. Making this book really made me realise that I really enjoy designing for books and producing them myself. I also enjoyed the aspect of taking something I had learnt and translating it into a language that another audience (children) could understand, as well as matching the context of the book (a story of modernism) to the overall aesthetic.
I also enjoyed designing and making a board game for my speaking from experience project. Again I created a range of consistent illustrations for the project and then took it to binding to create the physical board.
Dislike - The Project that I disliked doing this year was the editorial piece which we create for the Indesign brief for module OUGD406. When I first started the year, I thought because I didn't know how to use illustrator very well, and couldn't create my own illustrations, that Editorial would be my calling, It would involve me taking photos, which I could do, writing bodycopy and headlines which I was confident with, and choosing typefaces. However I felt as I was doing the project that my creativity was capped. I also found it quite hard to organise this information into an editorial layout and just did not enjoy the project, as it came at a point when I had already started to enjoy illustration based work.
My favourite designers which constantly inspire me:
Kate Forrester - Kate Forrester is probably one of my favourite Graphic designers whom I found out about whilst on the course. She comes from a background in which she focuses on hand rendered typography and illustrations and has also done a lot of work for books, some of which is my favourite of her works. She has a feminine style from which flows into her work through the embedding of flourishes and additions of swashes when she produces typefaces. She has been working in the middle East for the past three years, and this is apparent from the culture that Is saturated within her work, not only do I love some of the designs she has created, including some recent pattern designs, I would also love to take the jump to work abroad in the future, to open my eyes to another world of graphic design.
Book designs.
Pattern Design:
Packaging design:
Martina Flor - Martina Flor comes from the same background, in which she designs illustrations and makes her own typography, However unlike Kate, she doesn't have a particular signature style. Instead, she creates pieces with a range of aesthetic approaches, as Kate is approached for her particular style Martina is approached due to her ability to mould to what the client needs. One of the reasons Martina is one of my favourite designers is also due to the way in which she produces her pieces (such as hand rendered text) through traditional processes such as screen print.
Custom type:
Custom Illustration and type:
Custom type in an embossed finish:
Custom Type screen printed:
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