406 Self- Evaluation

What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

There have been a lot of new challenges in this module that forced me to try new approaches and techniques. I have worked more on my idea generation techniques throughout this module, completing more design sheets and developing multiple ideas before settling on one which has worked well in helping me to identify the best solution. My software skills have been improving through this module as well which allows me to spend more time on the idea and hand drawn development of the brief and not struggling to translate from paper to digital.

What approaches to/ methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

The most valuable approach to design, I find, is thorough design sheets. Pushing on and forcing myself to think of more ideas even if there is one that is standing out allows me to fully explore what the best and most feasible solution will be. Doing surveys and gathering primary research has contributed a lot to the final outcome of my work, especially in the 'Tins of Things' brief, getting results from a survey let us know what the audience would respond to and engage with. From the start of this module I have also been looking at more existing work than I have done before and putting the work I like on a separate blog, this has been very helpful for inspiration and seeing what options are available before going down a similar route to a previous brief. Group pitches and crits have also been very useful, getting a second opinion and some fresh input has informed a lot of the final products that I have been designing in this module.

What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

Throughout this module I have been pleased with how much more professional my work is looking in comparison to the start of the year. I think this is mainly due to becoming more familiar with software so this is something that I need to keep playing with until I know it very well. 

I was happy with the final outcomes for 'Tins of things' and 'Stamp it' because they looked well executed which is something that usually drags my work down- the final outcome not being produced to a high enough standard. I would have liked to have done this with the 'Your Choice' brief but couldn't access print or afford a one-off copy of a book, however I found that displaying it on my blog in an e-book form looked how I wanted it to, this will be something I will use more in the future.

What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?

After having designed the rain posters and having crits I realised that I hadn't properly considered the audience and had designed something I liked but not necessarily what the audience would. In the future I will conduct more research into the audience I am designing for so I can better understand what visual style and tone of voice would appeal to them.

I have also noticed that my work sticks to a relatively similar style which is something I need to try and move away from. In future briefs I will try and leave my comfort zone entirely and work in a style that is relevant to the purpose of the design.

Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

• Spend more time researching audience, this will allow me to design a more informed and appropriate solution to the problem.
• Explore new formats that are more engaging and attention grabbing, which will force me to design within new restrictions and think differently.
• Spend more money and time on final outcomes- testing stock and format before printing final products will make a more successful design.
• Do neater design sheets- I'm finding design sheets very helpful but at the moment they are a bit of a mess to anyone else looking at them, it will be more useful for progress crits if they were laid out neatly and annotated. This will give me better feedback in crits.
• I also want to try designing in a different style than what I am used to, which will broaden my skill and understanding of a wider range of design.

5= excellent

4=very good

3=good

2=average

1=poor

Attendance:    5

Punctuality:    5

Motivation:      5

Commitment:   5

Quantity of work produced:    4

Quality of work produced:     4

Contribution to the group:     4

Your Choice- Presentation Boards

Your Choice- Issuu

Open publication - Free publishing - More fun book


This is the first time I have used Issuu to display my work. It's very useful as an evaluation tool so you can see how the outcome will look before printing. After reviewing my publication this way I think that there are some more details that could be added to the page to make it look like a more professional publication. I will see what feedback I get from the crit on Tuesday and act on it then.

I will definitely use this tool in the future when designing any sort of publication before sending it to print.


A5 books:

Box Illustration- your choice

I have rendered my product using illustrator for the final crit as there is no space for printing and I don't have the money or resources to make the product as well as it would be if it were a legitimate product.
The aim of these mock ups is to make it clear to the viewer what the product is I have designed and how each part works as a set.

Spread display pages - your choice

I have decided to show the spreads from my book like this for the final crit, as digital print is way too busy to try and be printing double sided pages, I will print these as full colour A3's along with the mock up book so people can see how the final product will look.

Product Range- Your Choice

Your Choice- Forfeit Goblets box

this is a much more suitable and sturdy net design

This the net for the shot glass box which is part of the 'fun box' set, I will print this for the final module hand in.
Doing design sheets gave me the idea of including potential (non-alcoholic) recipes on the sides of the box that result in a rather sickly but memorable forfeit. I have kept the colours the same as the rest of the range but had to stray away for some of the ingredients but the colours still compliment each other.

Your Choice- Mock `Ups

I made a mock up of the book so I could easily see which order the pages need to go in if I were to print double sided.

I printed the Card Games book to show how the books would look,

After printing the mock up I think that it will work better with A6 pages rather than A5, and printed on a satin/ gloss finish.

After printing these mock ups I think that the white background makes it look slightly unfinished, however this might be because it is on bleach white, cheap paper.

I will experiment with adding background colour to see if it is an improvement or not.

Control: All white

This cream colour works well for all editions of the book.

I think this colour scheme is probably most successful but looks a bit muted and lethargic for a book of party games.

This gradient strip down the left edge of the book works well and would be practical if the books were to be stored on a shelf

Smaller information

This looks okay but is bordering on an economic report rather than a book of fun games, the orginal, larger and bolder text works well as type for a fun book.

Your Choice- Luck Games

I have separated the three sections of the book by using different, bold colours, the pages could then be identified by tabs that poke out the top of the book.

Your Choice- Forfeit Games

Your Choice- Card Games

Your Choice- Further Development

Playing Cards Net

A selection of example laying cards

Magnifying Glass Box

Big Container box:

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