OUGD504: Module Evaluation

This module presented some interesting and unexpected challenges mainly due to studio brief one. The exchange of research completed over summer was an interesting development however the idea that it would allow students to face solely on the design of the publication instead of the content did not relate to my work as I was given little content to work from despite handing over edited photos, written up recipes and additional tips the for my partner to include within the publication. Furthermore substantial in-depth research had already been completed on my surrounding topic of healthy baking / recipes suitable for those with specific dietary requirements. However I receive a simple word document bullet pointing different beer personalities which had been copied and pasted from an article found later whilst conducting my own research into the topic in order to create content to make the publication on. Due to the lack of content received a significant amount of time was spent creating content for the publication by interviewing bar staff in order to gain a greater understanding of each personality provided by the client as little understanding could be gained from the information provided. Therefor causing limited time to be available to full develop the concept and design of the publication resulting in the final publication falling short of its full potential. Personally the hand-off process would have been beneficial if the amount of research and work done before hand had been reciprocated as I felt was at a disadvantage as my previous hard work had been discounted resulting in me starting from scratch instead of going straight into designing. Once the hand off had taken place both designers followed their own concepts based on the information provided, allowing for a more abstract interpretation to the limited information provided. Overall I feel studio brief 1 would have been more beneficial if everyone had been given a significant level of content to work from as adequate time would have been available to develop and refine the publication. Studio brief 2 was more manageable due to the advice given by Matt from Only both within crits and during his studio visits which helped develop my website more effectively as I was able to gain a professionals opinion as this was who my website was aimed at. Throughout this brief I had the opportunity to explore a new area of design which I’d had limited exposure to previously resulting in new skills being developed by working with new software such as after effects. Furthermore due to the open nature of this brief personal interpretation allowed for the production of a website based on an area of personal interest. However as design for screen was a new specialism I feel i would have benefited for induction into more revenant software such as After Effects rather than Photoshop. Overall my experience with this brief was positive despite the limitations of software which reduced why ability to produce a working prototype of the website to effectively showcase the user experience.