End of Module Evaluation

Design principals formed the fundamental basis of my personal development throughout graphic design Level 4. Tying in with the colour theory learnt in the COP lectures, as well as the basic progression of work and learning the software programs such as InDesign, I was able to develop my understanding of constructing and producing work that is informed and skilful. 

Even using the simplest of grids has allowed my work to become a lot more structured when needs be. Moreover, the idea of breaking the grid has allowed my work to develop from random placing into somewhat organised chaos. If each design decision is justified, then sometimes breaking the grid is relevant for the outcome of that particular brief. 

Fundamentally, this module has allowed me to start making informed decisions about my work throughout the course, and not just for these particular tasks. Why am I choosing to use this colour, why this type, why this layout and so on instead of simply ‘what looks good’. For example, the choice to use a san-serif font for a tech company is probably more suited than for a high-end fashion magazine. Likewise, colours emit a certain mood and connote different characteristics of our personality, thus I know that using the colour orange has more positive and energetic connotations than black, which is more mysterious and powerful. With type, I am able to draw more theoretical and practical decisions of what typeface or typography to use for a logotype or body of text. This is best exemplified through the typeface 'Tilda' designed by Jessica Hirche for Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom, which comes in two size specific versions, for use in headings and body of texts, to preserve its delicacy, and allow it to remain clear. This extravagant typeface however, would not be used to present an informative body of text such as in a book, as is more of a display type. 

At the start of the module I really struggled with understanding a lot of what was expected of me from the year. My use of the software was very poor (particularly Illustrator) and I hadn’t been using grid systems for my layout. Resultantly, even doing a colour swatch on an image was hard to navigate within Illustrator. Although being frustrating, it encouraged me to learn and develop my skills digitally, which has helped the progression of my work into a more competent aesthetic. Furthermore, I found the more enjoyable parts of the module to be book binding, and putting together to layout of type and imagery together into a resolution. Additionally, I found the freedom to use our own photography really motivating, allowing us to broaden our skill set and get off the computers and out in Leeds, making the end product a lot more personal. If I had more time and money, I would explore using different stock of the book, possibly experiment with acetate and a hard book cover.