OUGD504 Overall Evaluation

I enjoyed this module as a whole because it really challenged me as a creative - studio brief 1 was quite restrictive in the design as the contents was handed over and the fact we had to give our ideas and contents to one of our peers taught me that sometimes you have to let go in order to create something good, it was also a good learning experience in the real world of work I will have briefs that I can't really relate to or are that interested in and that is where research comes in and is very important. Although I spoke about not enjoying sb1 that much because it was print, it has made me more interested in this area, although I am still more comfortable with screen based design I am more curious about print and would like to learn more about it in terms of production from indesign to stock choice and binding options - it is good to get out of your comfort zone. Studio brief 2 was a lot more open which as a starting point is quite difficult as settling on one idea is hard, trying to figure out which would be most suitable for my style of design and which will allow me to make the most of the brief. This module has also taught me a lot about time management and organisation, with the print brief a lot of design was involved as well as planning and time taken for production, this brief ended up running into the time left for design for screen however this was okay as the app was a lot faster to produce and refine. One of the ways I kept on top of this submission was to create my design boards for finished briefs rather than leaving them till last minute, I have also learnt to keep my blog up to date when I produce work or do any research as this makes the design boards a lot easier - I know what I was thinking and why I made decisions at the time rather than having to try and think back. Something that I enjoyed was researching UX design as it is a lot more technical and user based than just looking pretty, for an app to be successful the wireframe underneath how it looks must work seamlessly with the navigation allowing access to every page - once this was perfected there was time to make the app 'look pretty'. Overall looking back on work before this module I can see how much I have grown as a designer, both in terms of creative skill but also how I organise myself and manage time, as well as how I act with my peers in critiques and group situations.