OUGD301 Evaluation

This module has been different to adapt to since it was very self-motivated. It forced me to think about my interest in getting into design for advertising and to think about the kind of work I want to produce for my portfolio and in the future. The independent structure was quite daunting to come to terms with at first, but once I got going I really enjoyed managing my own time and as a result my ability to make decisions has been forced to improve. At the beginning of the term I struggled to get going and spent a lot of time focusing only on the Skype brief but eventually realised that I had to make immediate decisions and run with them. I improved on speeding up the development process through making faster decisions and as a result I think the final outcome benefited. My photoshop, illustrator and inDesign skills have all improved during this module as I have used the software for each project. I’ve applied them to produce all the final pieces and although am happy with my progress, there is more to learn in order for my work to have a professional finish.

My strengths are idea generation and conceptual thinking. I'm more motivated to design for a brief when the concept begins to form, however I think I need to push the design further so that the concept communicates more clearly within the final piece. Although I am really aware of audience and am interested in how communication varies within cultures I know I need to improve my understanding. This has become an integral part of my practice which ties into my dissertation, and is something I want to focus more closely on for my final major project. Although I worked in light of my rationale, I do not think I pushed my exploration far enough and therefore this module has been a really good opening into extending my focus into next term.
I also think that my strengths are within craft and do not feel as though I did myself justice with the Occasions brief. I wanted to branch out by trying to do something different and although I am happy with my improvement on software skills as a result, I think I would have had more of a successful outcome had I stuck to playing with stocks and using my hands more to create the pieces. This is something I would also like to tie into my work & develop next module.

My weakness is time management and balancing my time across multiple briefs. Although I made lists, timetables and plans, I never seemed to stick to any of the deadlines I set myself and as a result had to rush to organise and complete everything before the deadline. Once I had started all my projects however, I really did enjoy managing my time, the problem areas were at the start (when I worked too slowly) and end of the module where I felt more rushed. Next term I am going to force myself to be more efficient and make decisions faster, from the start of the module. Although I have improved on software skills I know I still need to improve but also realise this will come over time & with practice.

Overall, this module has been a great introduction into prepping for my final major project. I'm looking forward to exploring and experimenting more with type, image, language and humour which will tie in with my dissertation. This module has forced me to focus on my future and I am enthusiastic to further improve my skills in preparation.

Presentation boards

Skype boards:







Audi boards:






Occasions boards:






Metro boards:

Metro final campaign

Metro

Metro, fingerprints

Audi design foundation, final poster

When testing the pieces, it was interesting to see that people never used shades of colours which differentiate between the light skintone of the female and dark skintone of the male. It was good to see that even though there were no numbers or key to indicate instructions for the order of the dots, the people still joined the dots in the right order to create the overall finished image. I like that people were left with no conclusion to the piece because this fulfills my objective in that it is apparent that the images are of people, but race is not a considered factor. The dots need to be made smaller and even though the brief specifies that no text or written communication should be used, I want to include the logo and a tagline to tie the piece together so I can include it in my portfolio. As it is not a live brief I changed these details accordingly.

Audi Design Foundation

I've decided to focus on racism for the Audi Design Foundation brief. I wanted to approach the issue in a way that represents the idea that people are equal, irrelevant of their race. I wanted to use a method that could communicate to an audience of all age groups, and in a way that isn't condescending. I was interested in the idea that children are not born with racist opinions; racism is a taught discrimination, which is why I chose to use a simple visual representation with dot to dot. I think it would be interesting to see how people join the dots to form an image of two racially different faces, but with colours other than skin tones... the dots will be joined and the image will form outlines of two faces, it will be recognised that the image is of people and race will not be an issue.





One of my concerns with this is that on typical dot to dots there are numbers to guide the order in which the dots are joined, however the Audi brief dictates that written communication cannot be used (as it needs to be understood universally including illiterate people). My attempt to resolve this is by placing the dots fairly close together as to guide the drawer more accurately along the lines. I will place some test pieces in college to see how well this will work.

Audi Design Foundation

My objective for this brief is to create design which will make a positive change, but the message I communicate needs to get across visually (without words) so that it can be universally understandable.
I've been looking at issues that are affecting the under developed world and considering what message would make a difference.
Looking at the issues in South Africa, one of the main problems is Aids. More people are affected by Aids in South Africa than in any other country and the problem is not improving due to the lack of sex education in the poor areas. I'd like to explore the option of creating an ad campaign for aids awareness which can be understood by both educated and uneducated/illiterate people.

Occasions

Design in context

Complete range

final giftwrap

final giftcard


final giftbag


The images of knuckledusters and gun were removed and replaced with images such as an x-box remote and Nintendo game (below). The result looked a bit cheesy I thought & therefore replaced some of the items and also tried to incorporate slight overlaying to make give a further x-ray effect (above).

Occasions development

Occasions

In order to incorporate objects and type, I experimented with using an ipod to create letterforms. I thought I could perhaps make a male and female version, which is why I've spelt 'his' and 'hers', but think it will be better to focus on the male target audience as initially planned.