First and foremost this module has been everything from challenging, and exciting, to frustrating and eventful. I come out of the module with some pieces I am proud of, and others that I know I could have done better with. I put in the maximum amount of time and effort I could, so I am pleased from that point of view.
Looking back at my rationale, I think I have stayed true to what I wanted and set out to do. My focus throughout the module was on typography and layout, and although I had a variety of briefs which required different deliverables I never really strayed away from that primary focus. I felt I experimented well enough with printing processes and finishes such as screen printing, embossing and foiling, but I didn't put all of them into action in my final pieces, which would have just added an extra dimension to my work.
I stayed true to the type of work I wanted to do, and selected appropriate briefs, which allowed me to do that. I did however, in the end, set out to do too much. With that in mind, I feel I spent too much time in the early stages refining (element brief) that I lost a chunk of time on my other briefs (Premier League).
I do think that my start to the year hindered my progress in the latter stages, however, it did encourage me to make decisions quickly, and put myself under pressure. That meant that I had to work quicker than I usually would but I wouldn't let the quality of my work slip particularly on the Arkitekt and Premier League briefs.
I had a first taste of working outside my comfort zone in the Late Music brief I did, given to me by Richard at Creative Squeeze and I enjoyed designing for the event. Working within that set of restrictions helped me to focus on the things I could expand on. I couldn't play around too much with the formats but I could choose the appropriate colours and typefaces to really sell the events. I'd certainly like to do more live work like the work I did for Late Music and build on what I did for Screen Yorkshire, and Urban Outfitters in the future.
I've also had first hand experience of relying on collaborations. I had intended to use some work of another photographer in the college but after numerous conversations he never delivered the goods I needed. I came through that by using my time effectively to source other images and got everything done on time. I did however, have some good experiences when sourcing imagery I used both a German and Spanish photographers work on two of my briefs who allowed me to use their work free of charge.
I would say that this module has been a success, because I have applied myself fully, and I have got out of it what I wanted, a few good pieces of work for my portfolio, and some issues to address.
OUGD301 - End of Module Evaluation
Brief labels
Just so this is no confusion at assessment time I have linked all the labels here.
Brief 1 - Element Skateboards - http://a-townend0811-dp.blogspot.com/search/label/element
Brief 2 - Late Music Series - http://a-townend0811-dp.blogspot.com/search/label/Late%20Music
Brief 3 - Arkitekt Magazine - http://a-townend0811-dp.blogspot.com/search/label/Arkitekt
Brief 4 - Premier League Report - http://a-townend0811-dp.blogspot.com/search/label/Premier%20League
Brief 5 - Zac Helmore - http://a-townend0811-dp.blogspot.com/search/label/Zac%20Helmore
Brief 6 - Magnetic Man - http://a-townend0811-dp.blogspot.com/search/label/Magnetic%20Man
Brief 7 - Back To The Future - http://a-townend0811-dp.blogspot.com/search/label/ISTD%20Brief
Full Module - http://a-townend0811-dp.blogspot.com/search/label/OUGD301
ISTD - Development and Final
Quickly put together some layouts for the poster resolution for this brief. Really need this done today and printed, so here goes. Hopefully you can see the development until the final at the bottom. I added new elements from the other ideas I had to fill the space a little.
I am happy with this for the amount of time I spent on it, but I would have liked more time to develop it.
ISTD Brief - theme/concept development
I chose to go with the journey of the narrative of the back to the future film. It's a film that has been watched throughout my childhood and is good from a cult point of view too. Very popular film and recognisable.
I started out thinking of developing some sort of mind map across the years that the Doc and Marty time travelled too and cross linking relationships and events with quotes and ideas/theories.
This could get very complex and may not be suitable for such a short brief.
I also came up with this idea of using a dot to dot style mapping system and using the iconic Dolorean as the image map.
This sounds more workable for the time I have.
I also thought of another mind map which stems from hill valley and makes connections between characters and objects, and linking them all together.
This could get quite confusing however.
All Presentation boards
Here are all the presentation boards which will be printed and mounted ready for Wednesday's submission.
Element
Late Music Series Live brief
Arkitekt Magazine
Premier League Report
Magnetic Man competition brief
Zac Helmore live brief
ISTD one day brief - The Train Standing At Platform Two
I felt I could spare one day as long as I worked into the night and made sure my time management was spot on and didn't hinder the rest of my work. I finished the boards during the weekend so got straight into an ISTD brief I had my eye on.
This brief is all about connections and links surrounding metaphorical journeys. It's very open and I thought I could do something for it very quickly and then expand it after the deadline and enter it into the competition.
I jotted down a few quick initial ideas I had for a theme and concept. I could have investigated this in much more depth, but just didn't have the time.
Final Crit Feedback
Dan & Phoenix picked up on the lack of impact boards which I need to think about and also about presenting products in context. They also suggested less imagery.
Liam and Emma picked up photography issues, which will be looked at but can only be rectified to an extent. Obviously, the pressure is on and time is tight so I will change as much as I can.
I am thinking all the boards will have to be reprinted, which is really annoying with the amount of money spent already. I want them to be right though and portray my hard work effectively.
Most of the feedback was useful and I will act on it and take into account what Joe said too.