Szechenyi Baths Self Evaluation

Self Evaluation

Looking back at this brief I feel that it went quite well, and at the end of it I am happy with what I produced and I think that it looks interesting in the photographs, I will be using it as a portfolio piece to show that I can create design work for packaging.

Throughout this brief I explored different methods of packaging and read through a few books that explained packaging and boxes. I think forming the main box pushed my skills and structural knowledge, and the final product is interesting and captivating. As my packaging skills where developing I found that it takes a long time to create a set of boxes and that there is a lot of room for error, and processes may have to be repeated to get right. I also used prototypes to test al of the boxes and the final product benefited from this testing.

I think that the research behind the spa range is really strong, having had the primary experience really helped. I think that the themes of the spa and the research I did comes through in the appearance of the packaging, for instance the use of two strong colour blue and yellow are an unusual and bold choice but they work well in this project. Using such strong colours was also a new design choice I hadn’t really considered before but I think that it has improved my use of colour and it shows that I can and I am aware of tones and hues.

I also feel that the typography used in the packaging is strong and I think that the choice of font compliments the modern aesthetic of the packaging.

There where a few things that didn’t work in this brief for instance an attempt to spot varnish the individual packaging went wrong, the varnish would not pull through the screen, this could have been for numerous reasons which may have been that the screen was too large as it was A1 but I attempted to fix this with the help of workshop staff who stood next to me and pulled the squeegee over the screen and still the varnish did not pull through. I had attempted to see other ways in which I could get the pattern onto the packaging but these experiments also did not work. I think trying this was a good idea but it taught me that I might not be suited to these processes and how to come up with alternatives to problems.

I feel that one thing the packaging could of benefitted from was a slightly different design for the individual product boxes, maybe something that made the sets look a little bit different. However I do think that they are very consistent and maybe this is more suitable for the purpose anyway.

If I was going to do this brief again I would perhaps look at extending the brief into other collateral, however as I completed this brief over quite a long time I lost interest towards the end and I think that there was no reason for me to extend a project I wasn’t as passionate about. I would also look more into the business cards and duplex them properly so that you could see the yellow and blue in between the cards to a fuller potential.

Overall I think that this brief was a success I enjoyed exploring packaging as I had not really done so before in such detail. The brief showed me that even though I like packaging I wouldn’t have the patience to do this type of work for every brief. There is a lot of different elements to consider when creating packaging and I feel that I learnt more about what this consists of in this brief.

Design Publication Review and Evaluation

Design Publication Review and Evaluation

This brief pushed my thinking of a very open brief, at first I struggled to come to terms with what I was being asked to do, I tried not to listen to peers who where just as confused or where confusing me, and I went and clarified with my tutor what the content had to be. I then knew what I needed to do and really as long as I could relate it to my own practice I could produce a publication of any kind on any subject I wanted.

I listed things that I liked whilst looking into what format the book would take. I looked at previous students work and found that I wanted to try produce a publication that had multiple book formats and I wanted to use the Acco binding clips to bind my work, I also knew that this method of binding would make the binding and production a lot easier and I could concentrate of the content and design of the book.

I ended up having three sections to my publication and I think on a subconscious level I had almost replicated the name of the module PPP, and my publication had become principles, practice/ practioners and personality! I think that this is highly appropriate for the brief and I think that the content shows a well- rounded synthesis of my own practice.

I enjoyed working with a combination of formats. If I had had more time I would of considered my choice of stock more to see if there where any better combinations, however I do not feel like the stock choices I made were unsuccessful. I am also very pleased with the front cover(s) of the publication the three covers work really well together and I am happy that the foil on the front almost went perfectly even though it was done using the shorter method of  foiling. I also like that I incorporated the pistachio stock and it adds an extra colour and texture to a book that is content heavy, the pages add breaks to the content and I think that this works well.

Evaluation of Beyond Travel

Evaluation of Beyond Travel

This was my main collaborative brief of the year; the brief was self-initiated by our mutual interest in travel. I felt at the start of the project that it would only be small however at the end of this brief it appears that a lot of work went into it and the deliverables are quite extensive and considered, it is a well-rounded brief and I am happy with the results.

The main difference in this brief is that there is a combination of styles and it is not typical of my projects. For example the main logo was originally hand written by Lizzy, and then edited by myself and I added the small plane, she then suggested a drop shadow which made the design more three dimensional as opposed to a piece of flat design which is something I do not really do in my own design, however for this it was really appropriate and it made the logo stand out.

Another new technique is the use of colour, the strong turquoise has been used across most of the deliverables and this has been complimented with the use of the bold pattern of Park Guel’s walls.

The other main reason why we decided to collaborate was that I wanted to look into digital design whereas Lizzy wanted to work on her print, and so these being our own strengths we reversed roles and so Lizzy helped me on the digital side and I helped her with the print. I think we learned a lot from each other and it was good to be guided. I think that the outcomes are definitely stronger for this constant style of critique.

The brief was really good to work on and I think doing a collaborative with someone you are familiar with but not close to is a good idea as it works better, as well as this there was a lot produced and it was helpful to have someone else alongside for the production and photography of the deliverables.

I am really pleased with the look of the app that I designed I think that some pages are particularly strong and the whole app is coherent and feasible. A highlight is the main description page which is shown in one of the mock ups, I think this is the best page and it is clear that my app design skills have come along way and using this brief as an experience to develop this means I can be more confident and consider app design at a basic level.

 However I do feel that when it comes to the finer details of how the app works it may not be perfect and I think that it shows I am neither very passionate nor interested in designing apps at a high level, but I have attempted to do this and in future I think if I was asked to design an app, a app builder would either need to tell me how excactly it would work or guide after the design process or both.

DBA Final Presentation

Our final Capital North presentation 

Design Publication: Making

I printed out the three publications, they where printed digitally as single sheets. 

I cut the sheets out by hand using a scalpel and metal ruler, I felt that this was more accurate.  

I was pleased that the format had worked as I was worried there wouldn't be enough space around each publication. 

When I got to the third publication half way through cutting it out I realised that the pages hadn't paginated properly, I realised that this was because a blank page had not printed and so all the pages had shuffled along.

However I did cut out the third books front cover to see what all of the books looked like together I was pleased with the result. 

I then decided what stock I would use for publication one and two, looking at the third book I  wanted the colours to match. And so for the second book I had some stock I had accidentally ordered for another brief spare, and so I used pistachio green for the cover.

I also had some grey stock and I tested this out I felt that this went well. And so I selected this stock.

After I had selected the stock for the second front cover, and then I used this came stock to create the index pages, I did this as I felt that the the green would add more colour to the publication and it is an obvious visual break between each section.

I decided that I would try to foil the front cover, which is the fibonacci spiral, I did this because on the third image part of the sculpture is silver and I thought that this would tie the two together. 

To transfer the foil onto the design I had to use the heat press, this transfers the foil on to the design by heating up the ink which the foil sticks to. The press is set to 160 degrees and is pressed for 12 seconds. 

I felt that the foil transfer went really well, I liked the effect and I felt that it looked professional. I would use this for the front cover of the first publication.

I then put the book together, to put the holes into the book I drew around the holes of the binding clips, and I then had to get the holes drilled as the book was too thick, I hadn't thought I would need to do this but the college has the facilities I needed, I then pushed the clips through the holes. I think that the foil and the clips works well as they are both silver, I think that the covers work well together and I am happy with the result.  

DEN Self Evaluation

DEN Self Evaluation 

I really enjoyed this brief as I have a strong personal interest in its context and content. I think again this brief went well and I was very happy with the logo I created for the brand.

In this brief I explored lino printing which is something I had done over five years ago at school, I found doing the small scale print was enjoyable and I enjoyed the whole print process. I think that creating the image in this way provided an interesting and different solution that was created by me, nobody could create it in the exact same way. It provided a traditional and personal look to brand and identity, which is different to a lot of things I had created before.

The logo is a real strength of the brief and even the name is successful and the name is the concept of the brand, which is homely and comfy. The word and image suggest somewhere quite snug and inviting and I think that it appeals to homeware customers.

I also concentrated on the website for the shop the most in this brief and with help from peers it became much more developed and successful, I was happy with the digital application of the homeware shop and I had not gone into so much detail on a digital element before, I feel that it went quite successfully and looks like it could be an existing website.

I did look into the print side but I had got caught up in a busy time of the year and so the photography of these pieces don’t do them complete justice however in front of you physically I am happy with the outcomes and in addition to the website I feel like the brief is quite well-rounded.