End of module self-evaluation.

1. What skills have you developed throughout this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? 

For the second half of the module, I have developed the ability to write my own brief. This has been applied effectively and can be seen throughout the development of my project because without this brief, I wouldn’t have created the work and outcomes that I have. I have also developed the ability to be able to create a range of products based on initially just one product. This has also been applied effectively because my final products are all part of a range that are based on just one magazine initially. I have developed the ability to create things for proposal because if I had actually printed my whole range I would have had at least 50 pieces so it made more sense to propose certain elements. This has been applied effectively because i’ve actually applied some of these proposed elements in context therefor emphasizing what they actually are. I feel that my people skills have also developed throughout the module through both the YCN brief and the Little White Lies because i’ve taken on board a lot of suggestions i’ve had in order to come out with the best possible final outcomes. 

What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? 

I have developed the ability to mock elements up for photographs so instead of them being completely perfect, they are satisfactory enough to work for photographs. This has informed my design development process because it means I can propose something would be a certain size rather than actually printing it that size. It also means I can spend more time working on other elements and not waste time making something completely perfect when it doesn’t have to be. I have also developed the ability to use whats already existing if it is relevant to my project. For example, I made the most of Little White Lies existing logo and tailored it to suit what I was already doing. This has informed my design development in the sense that I didn’t spend too long playing around with the logo and it meant I had more focus on the actual products. 

What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? 

With the YCN brief I feel that my time management has been a strength throughout my work because I felt really motivated to get on with things as I would not only but letting myself down otherwise but also someone else. As a whole I feel that the ability to try new things is a strength throughout my work because I have created products that I’ve never designed before and I’ve also tried new approaches to design such as laser cutting. This whole module has been a definite confidence boost and I feel as though I want to continue to try new things. To capitalize on these I will just make sure I apply them to everything I do in future and do the best I can to make it even better. 

What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in future? 

Within the second part of the module I feel that design development has been a weakness because I haven’t really pushed the development of my products, I’ve made quick decisions and just moved on. In future I feel that I need to get designing/developing as soon as possible rather than dwelling on my concept too much once I know this is at a stage I can work with it. If i’d have spent more time on the development stage there is a chance that the final outcomes could be even better. 

Identify five things you will do differently next time and what you expect to gain from doing these? 

Begin designing sooner; the development will not be lacking and it won’t feel like such a rush to get things done. 

Blog as I go; this is something I really need to get back up to standard. Again, it won’t feel like such a rushed process if I keep on top of it and I won’t miss anything important. 

Get more peer feedback out of crits; although I have done this more so than usual I need to capitalize on this even further because i’ve learnt how useful this can be. 

Spend more time researching; I may find something really useful that could be very informative for my design development. 

Better time management; more products can be produced if I manage my time therefor making my range even greater. 

6. How would you grade yourself in the following areas: 

Attendence 5

Punctuality 5  

Motivation 4

Commitment 4

Quantity of work produced 4

Quality of work produced 4

Contribution to the group 3

(1 being poor and 5 being excellent)

Product/Range/Distribution; Design boards.

These boards showcase all the outcomes I have created for the product, range and distribution section of the module and explain a little bit about them. 

YCN; My design boards.

These are the design boards i've created to showcase my personal contribution to the YCN collaborative competition brief. Each board has a short explination to explain the imagery included. 

Product/Range/Distribution; Context.

A lot of the elements I have created have a specific context so here i've applied each of them. 

The t-shirts would be sold online on the Little White Lies store for a cost of £25. When each edition of the magazine is released, the relevent t-shirt will also be available to buy and will stay on the website. 

The magazine would also be available to buy online in the store so people could have it posted to them. 

The prints would be sold online on the Little White Lies store for £20. They would also be released as the magazines are and will stay on the website. 

A digital version of the magazine would be available to view online and would be found on the Little White Lies website. 

The physical copy of the magazine would be sold in HMV, Urban outfitters and WHSmiths. 

Product/Range/Distribution; Photographs.

I printed just one set of outcomes for one of the top 12 films to indicate how the products would look when they are printed. It made sense to print this set because the magazines would be released in backward order and this is the first to be released. I've also included my signature on the outcomes as sometimes this is what designers do when they have designed the cover, again keeping the whole design unique to me and adding to the limited edition factor. 

These are the photos form the photoshoot that I did to get good images for my final boards. The lighter images at the end of the selction are the ones I have chosen and edited to go on my boards. I took a range so I had a lot to choose from and got the best looking ones for my boards. 

Product/Range/Distribution; CD cover.

I decided to design a quick CD case cover for my submission CD. I've used an image from the first brief (YCN) and also one from this current brief just because this will be the content of the CD.

Product/Range/Distribution; Re-written brief.

*Deliverables - all limited edition*

Coming to the end of the project I decided to re-write my brief again to see how everything had changed from the first time i've written it. Some of the outcomes seem to have changed but I put this down to the fact i've prioritised some elements over others and even though this is the case I still have a good range. The problem is a lot more defined on this brief because as i've gone through i've understood it better myself. The problem is also genuine because Little White Lies tends to be an art-house based film magazine so doesn't really cover the full target audience that it has the potential to. The considerations haven't really changed but because the idea has stayed the same, they didn't really need to. Although the brief overall seems quite simple I think it explains the idea well. I've also written a focused target audience of 18+, the reason for this age is because some films tend to have their own age rating anyway and tend to be more suitable for this age group with the few exceptions. It seems like a safe target audience. The deliverables are limited edition as a one off way to gain interest. If this was to be successful it could mean using mainstream films more often throughout the magazine issues. 

I chose the top 12 films of 2011 as my topic because they were available online so were genuine top films and not just ones i'd picked out myself. 12 was the number chosen because there are 12 months in a year and each edition will be released each month throughout 2013. 

Product/Range/Distribution; Packaging design.

T-shirt packaging. 

Based on the research I did on packaging nets, I decided to take one from one of the books I found that I really liked. I knew I would maybe have to taylor this to fit my t-shirt as the packaging is rectangular. I'd add my own personal twist but wanted the packaging to be quite simple so its in keeping with the rest of the designs i've produced. There hasn't been much development for this but because I decided on a design that i'd found I didn't really need to experiment as such. 

This is the final mocked-up packaging design printed on cartridge paper. The edges and logo would be foil blocked to give it a high quality finish. Simplistic but I feel it looks relevent to everything else i've designed. 

Product/Range/Distribution; T-shirt development.

The only thing I really needed to develop in terms of the t-shirt was the location of the logo on the t-shirt. Overall I decided the best place was the top of it just below the collar because this is in keeping with previous designs i've done for things such as the prints. There wasn't much development in terms of imagery layout as this was taken from the prints too. 

I purchased a t-shirt and applied my design to see what it would look like as a real item. This will be used in my final photographs for my boards.