Module Evaluation

During this module, I had found myself facing problems and challenges I had never encountered before. The wayfinding project was very open-ended, and at first I struggled with choosing a concept knowing that I will have to carry out all the design stages for it myself. The project, in a way, was to create something from nothing, a design approach I've almost always avoided. The idea I choose was something that I myself found interesting, which I realised helped me to feel more comfortable as well as helped to generate ideas. What I found most challenging, however, was the knowledge that the ideas I had been developing were still out of my reach as a designer. To come up with the final outcomes I had to hop between softwares and the tools/techniques I was familiar with, and was continuously still unhappy with the results. Even now, I am not a hundred percent happy with the work I had produced, because I know that I could have done better if I had motivated myself more. However, even though I struggled with visually producing work in the way I imagined it, I still found myself developing my software skills and learning little new things.

Personally, what is most disappointing to me are my wayfinding 'on site' mock-ups. I had never attempted to create perspective mock-ups before and significantly struggled with it, which I'm sure is evident in the mock-ups themselves. What I should have done was taken a different approach into presenting my final outcomes, an approach I was more comfortable with, such as the analogue. Hand collages or even real-life applications of my wayfinding system would have been a lot more appropriate and effective than the poor digital attempts.

Within the second Studio Brief, I had done the opposite and worked by hand, making my battery packaging into 3D and photographing it. I believe the difference between my skill in digital and analogue is clear across my design boards. What to take away from this module is that I shouldn't attempt or expect brilliant results from techniques I am not familiar or comfortable with, but rather stick to what I know until I can gain enough practice to do the other stuff successfully. 

In comparison to the last module, however, I have hugely developed. My understanding of layout designs, colour, and presentation has noticeably advanced. I feel a lot more comfortable with the idea of starting design work on a blank piece of paper, and have a much better understanding of the building blocks of the design process. I feel as if I am gaining a more professional understanding of design and can critique others' work a lot more constructively. I am also starting to enjoy more and more the process of creating work, and starting to feel more proud of it. Overall, this module. although at times frustrating, has helped me to develop as a designer, and the conclusion of it makes me feel excited for new things to come.