OUGD503 - MODULE EVALUATION

OUGD503 - Module Evaluation 

OUGD503 has been the most individually rewarding module to date, choosing briefs that engage my individual design interests has resulted in enjoying process of creating work a lot more and appreciating the final resolutions, knowing the extent of this design process. The live nature of the module has elevated my work output and in instances made this design process more difficult, because I wanted to ensure a high quality resolution. The prestige of the judging bodies such as D&AD and YCN made me want to work harder as this validation from winning a major design competition would greatly improve my confidence as a designer, allowing a personal reflection that the work I have produced is completed to a high industry standard.

I have overcome a number of personal challenges within this module, demanding a highly efficient design process in terms of time management, the nature of my resolutions created high quality mock ups that demanded a refined sense of planning, outsourcing materials and pre-booking college resources to ensure these elements were completed on time. This sense of time management extended into collaborative practice working with two different course schedules was initially difficult however was impressed with how me and my creative partner individually met set deadlines and found time to come together to discuss ideas and development.

Development was large part my design process within my resolution to the briefs. Due to the extended nature of the substantial briefs this required constant development from students and tutors to ensure the design direction was representative of the brief and didn’t go off on a tangent. Presenting the final resolutions to tutors who had no previous involvement with this development was a great way to receive further development and evaluate how effective my resolutions were in resolving the problems defined within the brief. This further represented how the judging panel would react to my impact boards thus giving me further opportunity to refine any ambiguous elements in my articulation of the resolutions ensuring this articulation was as clear and concise as possible.

I am creatively satisfied with the results achieved through the development of this module, it has definitely improved my confidence as a designer giving me a better understanding of how I would respond to live briefs within a commercial design studio. The smaller briefs engaged my creativity to produce appropriate design solutions to the briefs and experiment with different media focusing more on the creative exploration of my development as opposed to a deeply overthought design process. This has extended my practice in a more holistic and refined sense utilising different processes and media that I haven’t had a chance to work with before.

The substantial briefs define how I can successful develop and implement a concept into an extended resolution that cohesively covers a range of collateral. These briefs have also allowed me to develop presentational pitch skills in the articulation of the brief, which can be utilised when transitioning into industry and engaging with clients. The UCC coffee brief allowed me to explore the conceptual elements of revitalising a brand in order to reposition the product with it’s consumer and embed this concept holistically throughout the resolution. Utilising appropriate materials to reinforce this revitalisation and adopting the tone of voice identified within the brief to ensure the resolution is representative of the brands ethos and speaks directly to its target audience.

Collaborative practice gave me critical awareness of working in industry as briefs are rarely undertaken individually and typically works as a collaborative effort within a design team. Overcoming these initial difficulties of choosing a creative partner I found a good match choosing a singular illustrator as a team of two felt the most efficient and would allow us to both bring out individual specialisms to the brief to create a well resolved concept and implement this successfully within the resolution to the brief. I found the process of collaborating stressful at times working to two different course schedules however was rewarding to see the finished resolution. This identified that collaboration is beneficial in order to utilise different skill sets that resulted in a far more successful resolution to the brief that I would not have been able to create individually. Regardless of the outcome of professional judging I feel satisfied in my resolutions these beliefs particularly the substantial resolution to the YCN UCC coffee brief which I can see becoming a key piece within my developing portfolio, alongside a range of the work developed as part of this module.