OUGD504- end of module evaluation

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN		LEVEL	05
Module Code	OUGD504
Module Title	Design Production

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION

NAME	Harrison Park

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? Through this module I have learnt and developed a range of new skills that I probably wouldn’t have shown interest in or had the opportunity to do without doing the projects. The whole process of coding was completely new to me and at first struggled to get my head around it, but after the second web session it seemed to click and it all just seemed like common sense, like you are commanding positions, colour, text through a simple, structured code. I think the understanding and development of web design can be seen through my website, even though it’s only simple in both concept and structure all the knowledge learnt in the sessions has been applied precisely. In return I feel my website is easier to navigate though and to understand.
2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? By developing a further understanding of print and the whole process of printing professionally it has enhanced my designing methods making them smarter such as the way I lay files out or set them up to begin with. It’s key to understand what the printer wants from as much as what you want from him. These methods have helped during the whole printing process of the projects, I found when printing in the dungeon it went swimmingly with no hiccups, whereas last year there always seemed to be something wrong with my file or James would have to intervene and layout my designs correctly for them to print properly. During the design process I was always thinking ahead and asking myself questions like ‘Will it print?’ ‘What will it look like?’ I would have never have done this previously which always hindered me towards the end of projects.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? I feel like my layout skills develop throughout every project and because I pay meticulous detail to the position of every stroke and text box it all ends looking uniform and crisp. Even though as soon as I print it double sided they’re generally around 5mm off because of the automatic feed which then makes all that time spent feel like a waste because it’s not portrayed in the finished piece.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future? I feel like the development stages of my work are always lacking because once I eventually decide on a concept I either have little time left because I couldn’t make a decision quick enough, or I just get an idea and go with it which hinders how far it can be pushed because I’m not exploring the vast corners of an idea instead I have blinkers on and don’t look what’s around and where it could go. By simply spending a little more time exploring and pushing these ideas further it will in turn make the designs much stronger and could make my life easier because I won’t be doubting where it could have gone because I’ve explored and seen where it could go.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these? 1.The biggest thing I would do differently next time would be to just keep on top of the workload, I found it really overwhelming and at sometimes suffocating. Keeping on top of this would allow me to have more freedom to address different concepts as opposed to selecting one because it needs to be done soon. 2. ‘Measure twice, cut once’ This is something I need practice more next time. I spend hours designing and laying up designs and they’re often not aligned when printing double sided or I often make mistakes when trimming, this again is also down to my lack of time management and leaving myself enough time to do the important finishing touches that actually count as much as the design. 3. I found during this module I was always sitting on the fence and too scared to commit to a concept or a brief, this resulted in me time wasting whilst I decided. Although it is good to mull over concepts it is also key to commit and see where it can go and what can be done. Committing will give me more time, more time to rectify mistakes, design, produce and just more time on a project as a whole. 4. I think my approach to a brief should be different next time round, at the start of briefs I’m generally a lot more relaxed and laid back whereas if from the word go I was on the ball the workload and level of my work would in turn increase significantly. 5. Organisation is key to being on top of projects I feel, be it the simple things like keeping my drawer tidy and in order, to design files being put into folders instead of having an overflowing desktop and workspace. It can quickly snowball due to the intensity of the project and I often find myself struggling to find files. This simple task will allow to work more efficiently with a lot less stress.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					x
Punctuality					x
Motivation				x
Commitment				x
Quantity of work produced			x
Quality of work produced				x
Contribution to the group				x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.