End of Module Self Evaluation

1) What skills have you developed throughout this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

Throughout this module I have developed my skills in computer aided design, especially on Adobe Illustrator as at the beginning of the course I was completely clueless about it.  Having these new skills has enabled me to create designs which previously I would never have been able to do, there is still plenty of room for improvement but I think with more practice it will begin to have a positive effect on my designs.  I also feel that since the start of the module I have gained more confidence in speaking in front of a group, the way the crits make you get involved have certainly helped me.

2) What approaches to/methods of idea generation have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

I have started to do more and more design idea's, putting more thought into the idea's and getting the imagery in my head down on paper whereas before I was bad for just doing one or two designs in my sketchbook but making them look pretty, so when it actually came to designing the final piece I would have a very limited choice.  I still need to persevere with this however.

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

The imagery I use for my work is something I see as being a strength for me, I struggle more when it comes to using type as I'm not an avid typography fan.  This is also something that has been pointed out in crits.

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

A weakness in my work is typography when put into the context of a poster/leaflet.  To address this I think I just need to experiment more with different typefaces when developing work.  Another weakness is the quality of prints.  I need to start getting my work finished with more time before the deadlines so that I can get a print slot for the better quality printers.

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

• At the beginning of briefs I need to be more open-minded and work hard on initial ideas, put in more research in the beginning also to inform my work.
• Carry on more than one idea to Computer Aided Design to see which actually works best to get the best outcome.
• Work on my typography skills to increase impact of the text in my designs and generally make designs more eye-catching and interesting.
• I now know that I need to blog things as I do them so that I don't forget about things.  This is a much less stressful way of keeping up to date with the blog aspect of the course.
• As we have print inductions coming up I would also like to experiment with screen print throughout the next module.  

How would you grade yourself on the following areas?

Attendance = 5

Punctuality = 2

Motivation = 4

Commitment = 4

Quantity of work produced = 2

Quality of work produced = 2

Contribution to the group = 3

(5= excellent 4=very good 3=good 2=average 1=poor)