1. What skills have you developed throughout this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
I have developed a number of skills throughout this module. One of the first and main skills has been collaboration/group work and this has been applied effectively because we managed to produce all the elements needed for the module and presentation. Another factor that showed to effectiveness of this skill was the research we all did seperately because this was brough together to produce our business plan. Although the application of this skill wasn't constant throughout, we definitely managed to bring it together in the end. I have developed linear business skills throughout this module because I had to understand how setting up a business worked in terms of both the maths and proposal elements. These have been applied in the best way possible considering this is something I had no experience in previously, proof of the application of these skills has been shown throughout both the presentation and the business plan itself. Another skill I have developed throughout this module is my presentation ability. This has been applied very effectively because I said my equal part throughout our presentation in order to gain confidence and show my understanding of the work that we had produced. The final skill I have developed is a research skill because this informed the tasks I have completed for the module but also the business section of the module. This has been a huge part of the whole module because a lot of the elements were based on research and looking at what is already existing within the industry. This skill has definitely been applied successfully because I wouldn't have been able to finish the tasks or complete our business idea without the help of the research I found.
2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
One of the approaches I have developed throughout this module is the idea of building a concept starting with one element and moving on to another in a certain order, for example, coming up with a company name and what we are about and then researching into these types of companies to inform the next stage. Without using this method of concept building the project would have never come together like it did because one thing has to be done before another as each element informs another and means we as a group could move on to the next stage of building our business. In a sense we also worked a bit backwards with this project because we came up with the name after we had thought about how we would like our design studio to be. This has actually benefitted us in the long run because the name was informed via the type of studio we were going to have 'upstairs downstairs'. The logo also came after everything else but this is something else that informed our design development process well because it meant we concentrated on the main and possibly most important elements of our project first and then thought about these elements which meant we could have a bit more fun with it because we weren't worrying about everything else. I learnt that its sometimes better to work backwards because certain decisions inform others and its important that parts of projects are prioritised over others depending on how time consuming they may be.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
The research element has definitely been a huge strength throughout this module because it has informed many decisions throughout the tasks and also within our business idea. In future I will keep up this amount of research that I did because I found that the more you had, the more informed some of the decisions were and it also meant you had a lot of back up for the decisions you were making. My general organisation has also been a strength throughout this module but more so toward approaching the deadline because i've managed to produce the work within the deadline and our own personal deadlines based on when we needed certain elements to be done by so that we could move on with our work. In future to capitalise I will make sure I start the module organised too because the pressure won't be as much and decisions may become more informed because i'm not pressured to get things done. General idea generation has been a further strength throughout this module because i've helped contribute to some of the creative decisions. To capitalise on this in future I will continue to come up with a range of ideas before settling on something. When it comes to the tasks a strength I have is understanding a certain area of the industry that I am interested in to a satisfactory degree. In future I will research even further so I become an 'expert' on the things I am discussing because I may actually learn something that I didn't know.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in future?
My presentation writing skill has been a small weakness within this module because there was quite a lot of text which can be quite off putting for the audience as they feel a bit bombarded and may spend more time reading than actually paying attention. In future I will keep my presentation as minimal as possible and speak more about things rather than having it word for word on the screen. I will also make my presentations more visually exciting because although this one was, it could have been more so. Communication skills have been a weakness in terms of the collaboration because there was points in which we didn't discuss ideas for a while. In future I will make sure that I converse with people about a project as often as possible or when nescessary so that there is no confusion and everyone in the group is kept in a loop.
5. Identify five things you will do differently next time and what you expect to gain from doing these?
1. Refer to sources in the library more.
They are likely to be more realiable than the internet and I may come across something that someone else won't have found or thought of. This may inform my work in a more positive way because i'd be seeing something new.
2. Converse more when it comes to group work.
There will generally be better organisation and the workload will be easy to keep track of and also keep on top of. We can also discuss if people have come up with new ideas to capitalise on the ones we already had.
3. Work to personal a deadline before the brief stated deadline.
This is more of a personal gain because I feel that I would be a lot less stressed about what was left to do and would take more time in completing any outstanding work. There would also be more time to go back and change elements if need be.
4. Prioritise a brief just as much as all others.
This means that the work flow will be steady and constant and won't seem as daunting. There will be more organisation through doing this and said brief won't be forgotten about so much.
5. Blog as I go.
Keeping on top of the blogging means it won't be so much of a task at the end and i'd be less likely to miss something out.
6. How would you grade yourself in the following areas:
Attendence 5
Punctuality 5
Motivation 3
Commitment 3
Quantity of work produced 4
Quality of work produced 3
Contribution to the group 4
(1 being poor and 5 being excellent)
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