End of Module Self Evaluation

OUGD403 Design Skills

End of Module Self Evaluation

What I’ve learnt during the module

How my skills have developed

How I thought each project went overall

This module has allowed me to expand my contextual and applicable knowledge on typefaces and the structure and relevance of lettering in communicating a given aim. I feel I have been able to fully indulge myself in something that before, I would’ve paid little notice to, and that my built understanding on the topic will form the basis of the way I approach future projects.

Additionally, I have also learnt the idea of less can be more, and to try not to over complicate things. The beauty in simplicity can be more effective and communicate a stronger idea than trying to attempt to achieve too much from many different angles of approach. In this way, my design skills have developed to a more practical approach, where relevance and aesthetic should work side by side in the creation of my designs. Moreover, my approach to the design process has been set out in a clear and organised structure, which allows me to develop my work in a coherent way, whereby the idea is advanced by new influences and challenges. This therefore enables my design to be stronger and more valid through its exposure to consensus.

Recording and reflecting on sessions through the blog, allowed me to become aware of my own ideas and relate certain approaches to their motivators. For example, our activities with kerning and ligature pushed me towards experimenting with these techniques in one of my logotypes. This was mainly due to my new found understanding on the effects this has to the identity of the company and thus acting as a driving force for the project.

Overall, I feel each project went well in the sense of following a timeline of development and evolving an idea relevantly and applicably. Nonetheless, I would express that being my first project in this area of design, and not being very comfortable in the Adobe programs, did hinder my abilities to produce work. I often found that I had ideas that I couldn’t carry out due to not knowing how to physically produce them on Illustrator or Photoshop. Subsequently, this forced my designs to somewhat settle for less, which I don’t really like the idea of, and it is not a good mentality to have.

Still, both my logotype and typeface were appropriate for their cause and are well informed by useful and relevant research. As such, each design had a strong context, and was well justified. I found the overall aesthetic to seem somewhat professional, and with a bit more development could be used practically as a logotype and typeface - which was essentially the aim of the module.