YEAR 1
SEMESTER 1 REFLECTION
_____________________
♥
GRAPHIC DESIGN PRACTICE MODULE 1
For this first semester I had to visit an area in London, and then base the project around the area, I chose London Bridge as I liked the area as a whole. I visited London Bridge at the start of the summer to begin the research element of it I had to take a lot of photographs to get a good body of work about the place because I would be basing my project around it all when I started in September. I felt that the body of work I collected helped me throughout the project as I had enough work to support me at each point. We then begun the term by creating 3 typographical compositions on the area of London Bridge, I feel that 2 of them had more work than the 3rd one as they had more process and development to them, although I feel all the sketch book work and annotation for each poster was good as you can see clear development with each one. Once these were complete we then had to create a font based on the area, my letterforms all developed from borough market which is situated in London Bridge, I used the iron work in the roof of the market as the base of my design, it really inspired me, and the photos I took really helped when designing it. I feel that overall my alphabet come out really well, out of everything I made it was the one thing I designed that I really enjoyed designing and ultimately feel had a really nice finish to it, I also feel the spec sheets I created have a professional finish to them, and I feel that I managed to show London Bridge off through each single letter. We also had to create 4 adverts for London Bridge, 2 that are for the area and 2 that are against the area, I feel that the research i’d gathered over the summer really helped with this as I was able to see good points and bad points in London Bridge. I feel that the adverts come out well as they show off the area well in the good posters, and the bad posters show off the bad points of London Bridge in a stylish way too. Overall, I feel that I worked hard at the module even though I had to deal with the illness I was going through, I feel that my body of work was good although I could have developed my ideas more and I could have put research into other designers’ work but overall I feel the project ended well.
♥
INTRODUCTION TO TYPOGRAPHY
For this first semester I had to research 8 graphic and font designers, for the first part we had to choose 2 of people and then we had to design 2 posters using their styles. For my first poster I chose April Grieman as I liked her use of layers, and pixelated imaging which all add design and effect to the images. I feel that this poster worked well although, I could have put more thought into the font that was used as I only used a plain arial font and I think this spoiled the poster as a whole, and if I was to do it again that is the main thing that I would change. It was also hard because she uses lots of bold colours and shapes and I was stuck just using black and white with one spot colour so I think I maybe should have used April Grieman for the magazine spread instead. My 2nd poster was on Herbert Bayer, I chose him as I liked his simple posters, that are easy to understand, and each one has a functional requirement. I think I have got his style across as the poster I have created is very ordered and organised and the text and shapes are in a grid which keeps them all in line, the text on the poster and is very spaced out which suits his style. I also used a Bauhaus font for the text on the poster which suits it really well as Bayer himself was part of the Bauhaus. For the second part of the module we then had to create 2 magazine spreads on 2 of the other designers from our research list. For my first magazine spread I chose Kurt Schwitters, I chose him as I liked his use of textures and how he reused papers and images to create his own images, he also inspired me because of his input in the magazine ‘Merz’. I think that the spread I designed worked well as I did my own layering for the piece which took a while but as worth the effort. For my 2nd magazine spread I chose Anthony Froshaug who I chose because of his neat spacious mag spreads, that have lots of white space but the information is clearly there. I feel the spread I created works well, as I followed his style well because I wanted it to be perfect and I kept the white space like he used. Overall I feel that I could have done some more research on each artist then I did, and I could have researched more into the chose designers but I feel the work there is sufficient but for my next project I will work harder.
♥
THEORY
Over the semester we took part in lectures about different movements and artists and we also took part in many tasks such as the timeline task and debating task to help us work as part of a group and also to get us used to the different topics in graphic design which we will be visiting whilst on the course. I made sure that every lecture I took lots of notes that would be relevant for me at a later date, I also took photocopies of the notes and put these in a folder incase anything should ever happen to my book. When we finally got the essay titles I decided to choose one about typography, which was handy as we had looked into typography and swiss style in previous lectures. Once I had the title sorted, I began to research using a range of books and internet sources making sure that every one I had used I wrote down ready to type up in the bibliography when finished. I begun my essay by creating subheadings that I would write at least 300 words on each heading to make sure I fill the 1500 word quota. The essay is something I have struggled with majorly due to my illness as I haven’t had full vision in my right eye which has caused many problems and this is why I have had to complete the essay whilst completing the new pieces of work as it was still mitigated from the previous semester so has taken up quiet a lot of time, but I’m glad that I took my time with it and got it completed to an acceptable level even though it was a huge struggle to get it done.
SEMESTER 2 REFLECTION
_____________________
This semester was a major struggle for myself personally due to health reasons which I had struggled with and meant that I was house bound for a majority of semester 2.
♥
GRAPHIC DESIGN PRACTICE MODULE 2
I was pleased with the work that I had created for this module as I feel this was the strongest module out of my semester too, as this is the book that was completed and handed in on time, whereas the other two modules become mitigated. To begin I thought that the Shakespeare theme would have dragged on a little bit and would have been hard to get interested from experiences of reading Shakespeare in school, but where we had to created our own updated story of the play this is what made me begin to enjoy and really get involved with this module. I think my play covers where the strongest part of this module and because I enjoyed creating these, this is where the rest of my ideas came from for the editorial spreads.
♥
GRAPHIC DESIGN RESEARCH 2- DRAWING
I feel that I could of put alot more work into my drawing module as I felt that I focused more time into my main practical module and this sketchbook lacked slightly, although I made sure that the criteria for each part was met for each part and made sure that I did the weekly assignments that were set out by Dave. I feel that I could have used my time more wisely and could have drawn more in my spare time instead of just doing what was asked of me I could have pushed the boundaries more and this is something that I intend to bring into my 2nd year is using my time more wisely.
♥
THEORY
I should have been more on top with my theory to get this completed first but as I struggled with problems with my sight this caused a lot of problems for me and where I was struggling so much I just gave up which I shouldn’t have done and I should had stayed more dedicated to it. It has shown me that I shouldn’t give up at the first hurdle and even though things are hard stick to them to get them completed and finished. Although the essay was completed it was done with a lot of help which I should have been able to do myself, so it’s made me realise that I need to stayed focused and on top with the theory modules.
YEAR 2
SEMESTER 1&2 REFLECTION
_____________________
For me personally this was these were two of the toughest semesters I had to experience due to ongoing health issues that have been playing up at every possible point and have caused me many issues when coming to completing modules on time and causing me to mitigate my work. Semester 1 started off well and I managed to get my essay in on time and was pleased with myself due to this, I also managed to complete my design work on time which was a struggle to complete all 3 modules but I managed to get there with the help and support from family and also at college. Although continuing into semester 2 it went down hill and this cost me vital time as I spent a lot of time in hospital and unable to attend college, although with mitigating my work and help from college I managed to get this completed in time and was able to continue with my studies as I had worked extremely hard to get to the stage I had go to.
YEAR 3
SEMESTER 1 REFLECTION
_____________________
♥
GRAPHIC DESIGN RESEARCH MODULE 4
I feel that I collated an extensive research module I feel that in part it could have been extended more in parts and I feel this holes in certain parts may let me down slightly which would disappoint me as I have worked extremely hard on this module and have put a lot of time and effort into it. Although I feel that the research I have put together has a order to it and all connects with the following part and I have considered each part extensively with mind maps and annotation to explain my thought process at each point. My presentation book I created I felt was my best piece of design work to date and was something that I put a lot of thought and design work into. I feel that that use of information design and pictograms, with a simple clear, understandable was something that helped make it look like a very stylish piece of design work. I felt that my presentation and the book went well and everyone understood everything I had said and spoke about as no one felt they needed to ask any questions, which in my mind was a good thing as everything I had said was clear and to the point. Overall this was one of my best modules mainly because I have been faint free for the entirety of it and this gave me the confidence to give my all, as I wanted to prove more for myself that I could design the pieces of work that I should of throughout the past two years without health issues causing any problems for me. I’m confident that this will turn into one of my best pieces of design works yet and that my final presentation at my end of year show will be something I can be extremely proud of.
♥
THESIS
Essay writing is the one thing I have had a love/hate relationship with throughout my BA hons although I must admit that I throughly enjoyed completing my thesis and enjoyed researching the topic I had chosen. My title was Information Design: Do Pictures Speak Louder Than Words? I chose this myself as I felt it was fitting with my research module which would later become my design module. One thing I have always struggled with is keeping my writing in third person as there are many me’s and I’s that sneak into many of my paragraphs without meaning to. Although I am hoping that my work gets me a good mark as I have put more effort into this than I ever have done for anything before. I feel that I could have added a few more quotes than I did but I feel that what I handed in was a piece of work that was well thought out, well ordered and I felt that I followed my plan that I had set out before hand. I wanted to complete and hand in on time due to all the issues I had experience the previous semesters and personally wanted to make myself proud that I could achieve something that I had struggled with before.
SEMESTER 2 REFLECTION
_____________________
♥
GRAPHIC DESIGN PRACTICE MODULE 4
This was one of my favourite modules as I finally got to create something that was souly mine and I could say that I had created every part from the beginning, as well as all the research. I worked extremely hard on this module as I wanted to give it my all, and come out with the best grade possible, as I have struggled the entire way through my degree due to health issues. I feel that my final 16 flow fairy tale flow charts and character poster come out exactly as I had wanted, as they told each fairytale quickly and clearly. The main concept of the project was to depict a total of 16 fairy tale narratives in an infographic flow chart that people are able to understand easily. In constructing each narrative I created an extensive series of the characters, props and scenery that have all been designed individually. I wanted to involve fairy tales in my work as they are seen to be associated with the past which people have possibly lost interest in. The main idea behind the final series of designed pictograms will help to involve children more with the tales and encourage them become more intrigued and excited about the prospect of reading. Therefore in creating these infographic flow charts I hoped that it will attempt to make reading the tales more accessible to those who might not normally pick up a book and to also help people to begin to understand, that not all fairy tales need to be depicted in the Disney manner. As they are something which do no necessarily remain true to the nature of the original narratives from which they are derived in films. They are classic tales that everyone should have a chance to experience growing up as they show children that life can be full of hazards and teach them to build strong inner qualities such as courage and belief. Plus the happy endings help give children belief in their own futures later on in life. I feel that I achieved this and that putting all the posters into a book was a way that I would be able to show children in a quick and simple way. If I could change one thing about my project I would go back and make more outcomes, and would have possibly extended the 16 fairy tale flow charts to 20 odd, just to add a bigger range and I could have chosen some of the fairy tales that weren’t as well known as others, but overall this has been the best module I have completed and I hope that this will be shown in my grade at the end. From completing this project I now have a full set of fairy tale characters and scenery and props which I have turned into separate cards to show with my work at the final exhibition. I am looking forward to showing my work and seeing what other people think of my concepts.
♥
GRAPHIC DESIGN RESEARCH MODULE 5
aimeejoyjones 