One of the main problems that I have identified is that I try to put too much into a final design to make it look like I've put effort into it when, in most cases, this works against me and makes my outcomes look too confusing and unnecessarily overdone. Recently, I have tried to keep it simpler and the results and feedback have been much better. At the start of the year, I used to get hung up on my first idea and go with it but then this was stopped relatively early on when Fred asked us to do 50 potential ideas, which make me realise that my first idea wasn't the best and since then I have done more thorough and in depth design sheets that explore a wider range of ideas. I also found that I often got on a computer too quick which resulted in frustration as my designs weren't very good, this was due to rough and simple thumbnails, I have started spending more time on research and design sheets than designing on screen, which is the opposite of my approach at the beginning of the year.
Evaluate the key considerations that you had to take into account when investigating this brief
The main considerations that I have become aware of from the first part of the year is Audience and Execution. We have been working with Audience all year, which is something I hadn't properly considered. Designing a typeface for a specific person was the beginning of this consideration but it was the recent 'rain' posters we did for Erik Kessels that really made me understand how important it is to define and understand your audience. Execution of my work has improved a lot, I used to have more of a 'that'll do' attitude, whereas now I put more consideration into choice of stock, format and aesthetics, I now think that a simple idea that is executed well- printed well and assembled well works better than a complicated idea that is poorly put together. I learnt this from the '100 things' brief as I think that the aesthetics of the products weren't fluent and I was trying to pack to much information onto things. e.g this burger box would be good if I simplified it and got the net perfect so it looked like a real product.
Evaluate the research activities that you had to undertake in order to resolve the brief
We have tried a lot of research methods, the most extensive and thorough being the 100 things brief which generated primary and secondary qualitative and quantitative research. Trustworthy internet sites are best for secondary qualitative and quantitative data. For the 'Tins of Things' brief I found that setting up an internet survey is very effective for getting primary research as you can ask questions that receive both qualitative and quantitative results and if you send it out to your target audience then the results are relevant and up to date.
Evaluate the examples of secondary research that informed your design decisions
Secondary research has mainly been internet based, design blogs and books have helped me find designers who's work I like and various internet sites have informed the information I've used in my work which has often been ill-informed. For example, in the 'How to get rid of hiccups' brief we were basing our entire project on a small amount of information from one unofficial website which worked against us because no one was familiar with the information and it just confused people. The other problem with internet research is that the majority is outdated and when you are using different sites then the information is different. I found this a problem in the 'Stamp It' brief when I was trying to find out how much money was wasted by leaving switches on, but I could only find different figures from 2007 that didn't specify what area they covered. So, I've learnt to stick to websites with a good reputation and not base work on weak facts.
Evaluate the examples of practical research that informed your resolution
Practical research has involved, partner questionnaires, online questionnaires, photography and one on one interviews. One on one interviews are helpful as you can get a feel for the personality of your audience that you couldn't get from answers on a page, we did this for the partner typeface and double page spread for a partner, with which the interviews I conducted directly effected the aesthetics of my work. I found in the '100 things' brief that I was taking photos of things that weren't really relevant and I was just doing it to generate some primary research when I should have decided what I needed to know to inform my design process and done practical research based on that. Online surveys have been helpful in getting the majority vote from your target audience.
Evaluate the breadth of initial ideas that you generated in response to the brief
As I said in the first question my design sheets and initial ideas have become much more informed, detailed and in-depth as this helps me to identify the most feasible and successful idea and also stops me wasting time trying to design on screen and producing poor work.
Initial ideas/ development for 'Mail Shot' brief in october.
Some of the Ideas, experimentation development for 'Stamp It'
Evaluate the breadth of visual investigation that you explored before deciding on your design direction
I have developed a library of good websites that have work I like the look of that are constantly updated which is very helpful to use as reference, at the start of the year I struggled to find work I like. Now I try to find more existing work before settling on an aesthetic direction. I have also started a blog which I use for reblogging work I like so I have a developing archive of work that inspires my and styes that I need to improve myself.
Last 2 weeks
I started the 'stamp it' brief with a 'Stimulated Approach' researching energy facts & figures that I could base my work on, also looking at existing stamps to inform my visual approach, I did mind maps to push the possibilities of the content, when I'd decided what would be the best message to communicate I moved onto an Intuitive approach doing design sheets and deciding what I think would work best and thinking how I could make my work stand out. I used a systematic approach to develop my initial ideas further which helped me identify the idea that would be most successful, when I'd decided this I returned to an intuitive approach to further develop the idea to make it clear to myself what it is I was designing before really getting the idea down on screen.
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