405 Module Evaluation

I learnt a lot throughout this project which surprised me because at first glance the way finding system brief seemed a bit dry; I was able to add my own style to it with choosing a client and writing our own rationale. I think the most successful part of the way finding brief was the design section, I did do a lot of research for the project however some of it proved useless and I could have done without, I need to learn how to sort through research to get the information I need. After the research stage came the initial ideas and I used some primary research in the form of photographs taken around the city, I took inspiration from the architecture of the buildings both new and old to draw rough sketches and ideas to think about and get feedback on from my peers in critiques. I find these really helpful as a fresh set of eyes is exactly what you need sometimes, and seeing other peoples work is inspiring, often giving me the little push I need. I think I could have explored my initial ideas a little more adding more variation rather than just using the architecture, I could have looked into the background of the places or played with the history of the Capital of Culture more. The design development was my favourite part of the brief as I experimented to ensure the option I chose in the end was the most appropriate. The final designs for my pictograms and arrows were a success and convey what the rationale set out to, however when it came to production there was an issue with the pictogram designs, saying this it could be easily resolved on Illustrator.

I didn’t enjoy the object project as much as I felt it was all a bit rushed and the study tasks we were set as research didn’t end up being relevant to what I produced. However in terms of practical skills I learnt a lot - bookbinding, indesign pagination, mono printing and to not be afraid to try new techniques. It made me really want to utilise the facilities on offer in future projects rather than being wary of things going wrong. This module was all about process and experimentation before settling on an idea and I did do this significantly for the object project, I had 4 initial ideas thought out and mocked up. This way of working takes a lot of time however the finished result is worth it, seeing something printed and working out how it will fold and look in real life is much more useful than the whole process being on a Mac. I think I have really developed as a designer in the last module looking back at the work I had produced prior makes me realise my way of thinking has changed and the process I use is a lot more efficient and produces more work.