OUGD505 - Evaluation

I approached the module by doing work based on topics that I find dear to me. In brief 01 I looked into 19th century design, my appetite for history fuelled the design process. In brief 02, I looked into political correctness, and the idea that it is stifling legitimate political debate, an issue that I feel strongly about and I was glad to have an opportunity to approach it in my practice. I wanted to create a movement that would be powerful and affect a large audience.

In the first brief I worked well to complete it under my time management. The overall project didn't take long but my solid research allowed me to produce a successful piece of design. I was keen to explore the history of design processes which has allowed me to appreciate a greater understanding for design. I think the authenticity of the overall design accounts for an engaging result. The project developed into me creating my own wooden type blocks which was a technique I enjoyed and is something I am keen to export in my final year.
I left the second brief rather late which is a shame because as I have got more into this project, I have realised it's potential and how I can expand it even more. This project is something I am keen to actually continue into third year and even after university. There are many projects and campaigns similar to the the one I have produced, however, I don't think they are as successful as they could be. Their design and visuals are often un-engaging and they don't take advantage of todays technology. I undertook a lot of research to know what I was talking about in this project and I found myself learning more than I thought I would. This project has turned into something I am increasingly caring about. Because of the strength of my research, I think this has helped to produce a strong design.

I made sure I attended every lecture for each brief and my attendance was good however my time management wasn't the strongest, but this has affected other modules and I am aware of how much I need to focus on planning my time even more. The concepts for each of my projects are strong and suits its target audience. The first brief is as authentic as it can be, and the second brief addressed 'boring' politics with a bit more interest and appeal for the younger audience. It did develop a long way from the problem that I originally looked into, however, I think that increasing how much young people are educated in politics will solve more than one issue as it will have a knock on effect.

I did look into trends in current websites and similar campaigns and projects as well as websites aimed at the target audience to get an understanding of what attracts them and trends in design. I think this research paid off as the end result is an in trend and engaging design that successfully achieves what it is trying to.

With the amount of time I produced both of the projects in I am impressed with the quality of work. The only way I could think of improving it is if I had more time. I do plan to take studio brief 02 further and so maybe this can be achieved. It is successful in it's design and is presented well. I could have taken advantage of my use of after effects to animate the webpage in the second brief, and it would have been nice to produce real enamel pin badges. I have enjoyed the use of letterpress and creating my own type blocks and this is a method I will be looking in further in my future projects.

I really enjoyed bringing both these projects together, with the second knowing it will make a difference in todays politics. It is important to me that young people vote more and more and this project will help achieve that. Both of these projects have introduced something I will be taking forward in the future. I am keen to experiment further with letterpress and hopefully start the campaign for real as I feel it would be successful.