COP3 END OF MODULE EVALUATION//OUGD602

END OF MODULE EVALUATION

What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? 
I think the most valuable skill set I have learnt throughout this module is my researching techniques.  This is something that has been hugely improved throughout and as the project progressed it became easier to understand what particular areas of research I needed to undertake in order to get the best results.  I found this module valuable in enabling me to gain an appropriate amount of primary and secondary research in order to feed into my arguments within my essay, this was something I would of found quite intimidating at first, the idea of conducting an interview or carrying out a survey, yet I found it engaging and invaluable to supporting my points.  I also found this module helped to improve the regular activity of blogging and documentation, this was something I felt was improved and I recorded my research in an effective way, reflecting on the work and developing my ideas through evaluative blog posts.  I feel the development stages of my practical were successful and allowed me to progress and form new ideas and concepts which helped to further the final outcomes.  Another skill I feel has been improved is the planning and organising throughout this project.  There was a lot to consider in terms of planning research, considering theory and trying to synthesis the two elements and I felt down to planning and organising this helped to approach the task.

What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
I feel I have developed my design skills in terms of designing something that will be put into practice in terms of being used to promote the exhibition that will be displayed during the summer.  This is something I had to consider when designing and needed to apply the relevant information in order to inform my audience.  I also thought my research into modernist design really helped to inform my designs for my own work and I paid more attention to detail whilst designing in order to apply the modernist theory into my practice.  I have also improved on my mock up skills and visually displaying my digital work in a more professional style. 

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

I felt elements of the practical work were strong in terms of type and visuals and using my own photography for the designs.  Another strength I capitalised on was the understanding of theory into practice, I thought the concept of proposing an exhibition was a suitable format that synthesised successfully with my essay as I was looking at the success of the London Undergrounds design and an exhibition is the perfect way to showcase these successes.  In terms of actually applying theory to my design I took a modernist approach to the visual elements as this was a theory applied in my essay.  I also tried to display, in the best possible way, the design principles and theories that I investigated whilst researching for my essay.  I thought my final presentation boards were displayed well and concisely explained the general outline of the project and how I intend to push it further.  I feel the ongoing reflection of the project and the development were the most successful parts of this module for me.

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

There were periods of this module, especially at the start, where I felt quite lost and was unsure of certain directions to take within both the written and practical element.  This is something that would of benefitted my final results hugely and feel I should of been more clinical and decisive when being faced with problems to avoid time limitations and to get the best final results out of my work.  I feel the product range should of been developed further but struggled with generating ideas and how I could push it further as it was a proposed exhibition which I will be putting together in the summer, so found the preparation work to be harder than anticipated.  I feel although my essay was written quite eloquently and I had a wide range of both primary and secondary research, post feedback I realised I should of been more analytical but due to the time scale, when considering printing and binding for the essay, I could not amend it as much as I would of liked to.

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

• Time management - I feel this is something I am constantly trying to improve, however I feel there were considerable improvements from the previous module.  I felt as the module progressed my time management skills started to decline and towards the end felt myself running out of time to get the most out of my practical elements
• Writing skills - Although I felt my essay was structured well and I explored my subject matter in depth I felt there were areas of it that needed to be improved.
• Range of products/outcome - This should of been pushed further, to give the final design outcomes more depth
• On reflection, I needed to have a clearer understanding of what I was trying to achieve from the very start, this was something I was slightly unclear with at first and so some time was squandered, this would of been useful towards the end of the module when I felt slightly pressed for time.
• I would of liked to explored more design processes when creating my final products, this is something I will look to heavily improve in extended practice.
• photographing my final work - this does not do the final designs justice if I have not taken out the time to photograph my work in a professional manner
• mock ups in context - this would put my final designs in context and show the designs working in an environment that could communicate my design successfully 

Attendance = 5
Punctuality = 5
Motivation = 4
Commitment = 4
Quantity of work produced = 3
Quality of work produced = 3