Module evaluation (OUGD403)

This module has been a really great start to the course. I loved that we started with a type based brief as its an area I really wanted to explore further. The first brief Alphabet Soup was really good as it gave me chance to experiment with my drawing skills and imagination. The second brief challenged my Illustrator skills and I learnt a lot in the workshops which will be helpful in the future. It was great to design my very own typeface as its not something I thought id ever be able to do. Also the final poster prints for the brief looked really good and it was satisfying to see the typeface displayed well. The third brief was just research which isn't the most fun thing but it only lasted a week and it was challenging trying to perfect my folded leaflet I designed to present what I found. The fourth brief was the one I found the most challenging as posters are something you'd expect to be easy but original ideas were really hard to come up with. I particularly found the image only poster hard to come up with ideas for as i'm use to using type to help communicate a message but it was a good challenge. Using the vinyl cutting machine was a new experience for me and the result was really effective and I will definately be using it again in the future. One thing that went wrong in brief 3 was the ink on the leaflet kept falling away but I solved it by changing the colour and using the black and white printer instead. I also had problems with the placement of the text but after some prototypes I perfected it. This showed me the importance of doing test prints before final ones to save myself money in future projects.

Overall this module has been extremely challenging as the workload has been hard as my timekeeping needs to improve. Next module I will aim to keep on top of all of my blog work so I don't end up having loads to do by the end of each week. The crits were good as I enjoy looking at other peoples work but I wish people would maybe give me more constructive criticism as sometimes I came away from them feeling not helped. I am happy with the final pieces I have designed and the typeface is my favourite as it seems like a big achievement and looks great. I am enjoying the course so far and look forward to the next module. The only bad thing was the amount of money I managed to spend on printing which I will have to get use to and account for next time. Im really glad that the course is quite challenging as it helps me push myself further in my practice and will make me improve. For the next module I will do each design board after I finish each brief to make it less of a panic at the end, I will also make sure my attendance stays at a good level as I don't want to miss out on anything this year.