Design Strategies Evalutation

In the term leading up to christmas I am really pleased with the work that I've produced. Having the chance to choose my own briefs really gave me the chance to experiment with my my work. Some briefs I enjoyed much more than I thought I would such as the NASA brief. Working in a multipage format is something that I have not had a world of experience in before but I feel that it was one of the strongest pieces of work I did during the term. I will definitely be making an effort to work in the format again in my FMP. I also think that my layout skills improved dramatically due to a more systematic approach to my design. I think this was showcased in the work I did for Cognosco and Joseph's Well. I think that I also improved the way I spend time understanding what the real aims of each brief was before I started to make any visual decisions. I feel especially in the work I did for the British Music Experience I had a good understanding of the audience I was designing for and this helped to inform my decisions. If I had to pinpoint weaknesses in my work I would say that I could have allowed myself more time for each brief to develop my ideas. I finished all my briefs with approximately a week to go which did allow my ample time for printing and organizing my work for submission, however I do feel that if I had pushed it right to the end I might have developed my ideas even further. The most important part of doing the briefs in the first term has been how much it will inform my decisions of the briefs I take on in my FMP, I feel that I have a stronger understanding now of the designer I want to be than I have ever had before. I know that I am interested in shape, line, pattern and optical illusion visually, I am fascinated with how these visual elements can be put to use to capture peoples attention. The visuality of a thing which challenges your eye is so much more engaging to an audience than something that doesn't ask anything of the viewer. I also know I am extremely interested in print and process. I think that making decisions about material, size and format can inform the visual outcomes of your work much more effectively than designing of a computer and stock being a last minute choice. Material and print is an integral part of my practice and I make decisions about print and process that go hand in hand with the layout and image making part of my practice. I have just started working in the digital print facility which is a great opportunity for me. I am fascinated by print and its use in design and I am thoroughly interested in the possibilities of working in a printing press after I graduate. Working in the digital print room while I study allows me to get hands on experience with large scale printers which will give me an advantage to potential employers. The job also allows me to experiment with the printers more and really understand the possible uses of print. This term I will be hoping to work with print as well as the visual elements I am interested in to create work such as zines, booklets, clothing, exhibition and promotion work as well as design for music. I am interested in the combination of an almost info graphical aesthetic with innovative use of print and process. The work I do should hopefully be a mix of personal ideas and live briefs which will form a portfolio that will be the beginnings of my own personal practice after I graduate.