OUGD603
FINAL EVALUATION
I have used the visiting professional briefs to my advantage, by creating the student publication brief which has given me the unique chance to sit down and interview them. As a result I feel I have made a number of lasting contacts with in the industry as well as improving my conversation skills with industry professionals, I feel that this will really help me in the future in job interviews and client meetings.
I have been able to develop a number of different skills throughout this year. In particular my crafting skills have improved greatly, this is evident in my YCN Interflora brief. The brief outcome was completely out of my comfort zone and challenged me to design for a target audience I had never designed for. The hand crafted flowers were very time time consuming but add a great 3D element to the final outcome.
Branding and identity has always been one of my strongest areas of disciplines. I was able to practise this in a number of different briefs including the end of year show pitch and Rebecca Ishaques branding. Both briefs had very different outcomes and challenged me in different ways.
The end of year show pitch had a set of stringent rules and regulations put in place by the Leeds College of Art Marketing Department. It was a challenge to stick to these as it felt like they slightly hindered the creative process, however it was also really important to work on such an important brief for important clients. I was also still keen to push the brief as far as possible.
Rebecca Ishaques branding was another brief that challenged the way I worked. The client wanted a design that wasn't necessarily with in my designer comfort zone. I think it is always good to set high challenges. I provided Rebecca with a number of different logo developments which intact slowed the design process down as there was too many for her to choose from. In the end I was able to fuse my clean, minimal aesthetic with Rebecca's feminine and soft style.
Editorial and publication design is another of my chosen areas of focus. I worked on a number of briefs this year to fulfil that. Being able to work with the guidance and feedback magazine editor Alec Dudson for the intern brief has really influenced me throughout the year. It taught me the importance on conceptual development and reasoning.
My design publication is another brief in which I got to practice my editorial and publication design. It came with its own set of format challenges and layout restrictions, that taught me a lot about prototyping and print testing. Over all I am pleased with the outcome.
Working with Adam on the Art and Design year book has been one of the most rewarding briefs. The final outcome has developed along way from our original designs. The gathering of the content was often frustrating as the art and design team weren't as organised as we had hoped, however this taught me the importance of setting strict deadlines and chasing up after clients.
It has come to my attention on reflection of my briefs that I have worked collaboratively a lot more than i had first expected to. Some of my strongest briefs have been collaborations. I think that the nature of graphic design is to collaborate and there will not be very many times in the industry when collaboration is not practiced. At the start of the year collaborating was something I was not keen on and tried to avoid. However throughout the year I have learned the importance of collaborating and working as part of a team. I also feel that in many of my collaborations I have become a project manager helping to organise not only my self but my team members too.
Over all this year has developed greatly from what I had expected it to be. I have actively involved my self in as many live briefs as possible in order to give my self a taste of the industry after university. I have learned the importance of collaborating and working as part of a team. I have been able to practice and further my areas of strength such as branding and editorial, as well as challenge my self with briefs out of my comfort zone such as the white wall brief and the Interflora brief. This year has been an important stepping stone in my development and as I prepare to leave I feel more like a professional than a student. I still have lots to learn and look forward to developing the skills I have learned over the year and pushing my practice even further in the future.
