ppd portfolio evauation

The main focus of my portfolio is mainly print based projects as this is my key area of focus, it consists of a variety of vectorised artwork, type and illustrations as I want to show that I am a well rounded individual. I wanted to start of with the most recent piece of work I have produced so that potential work placements can see what I am currently producing. From this I start to show a steady development of work from the end of first year to my current point to help show designers how I have developed as an individual and designer. Beginning with a lot of work focusing on the creation of images through illustrator.
I don’t feel my work currently fits in with specific company’s design work but individually I feel I have produced pieces that have obvious connections and relations to other practitioners. Such as my pack illustrations are take a similar approach to the design work if Si Scott and SHCH, but I feel I have created something that has a different aspect to there designs more individual to myself. Also some of my poster design work, I can see a lot of Mike Place’s design style within in them. I still feel I need to 100% focus on a definitive style to develop so my design work doesn’t get confused but maintain good knowledge of other areas so I can also keep producing good work in those fields. However for this portfolio I feel it gives potential clients and work placements a good variety of what I am about.
I feel that I can engage with live briefs more and I have good concept ideas but I feel I could improve finished products by a lot and design pieces that really stand out and are both creative and unique. I also feel I am improving my standard of developmental and research work so I can get a clear understanding of where I am going with a brief instead of losing track with them. I feel my technical skills are very good especially in creating vector-based imagery but I would like to improve this so that I can touch up illustrations so that they are suitable for print.
As I progress I want to combine more illustration and type together and hopefully adapt a skill set that allows me to create designs that incorporate them both as one design such as the work of Alex Trochut. Who I think will be a big influence on my design work on the future. I will be looking to produce work that is finished to a similar quality in the third year. Along with this I hope to engage with more screen print as I feel it is and ideal tool for the work I am planning and wanting to produce in the future.
As for my dissertation I decided to develop my understanding of creative type and how it has developed over the last century looking at key moments which where affected by the improvements in technology and the creative design of the designers in that period. This will hopefully give me a chance to understand how pieces of work are created these days and in past years so I have a firm idea of how I can produce my own personal work. Also I hope within the research find out more about the design agencies I would like to work for and may even find one I didn’t know about that is perfect for my design practice.

type evaluation

DESIGN FOR PRINT-SELF-EVALUATION

What have you learned about your abilities as a designer?    

I found over the course of this project I wasn’t working anywhere near the standards that I was working at towards the end of last year, however I have still developed my skills especially creating vector art work which I tried at the end of last year with no prevail. I still feel I have a lot of potential to learn more and hopefully through out the process of the next set of briefs I can show that through my work.

What specific areas of interest have you identified and why do they interest you?

Last year I had a very strong interest in typography however this year I have done a lot more work based on creating imagery, I have began to find I have a growing interest in creating imagery using both hand drawn and computer based work, with both still needing to be of higher quality.  I feel from working with creating images I have learnt a lot more in my own time and I can see the developments in my skills a lot quicker than when I work with type.

What practical skills have you developed and how have you used them? 

I have developed my skills on illustrator creating the imagery for the project, and refreshed my skills on Photoshop which I neglected a bit last year thus meaning I’m not as comfortable on it as I was a year or so ago. I don’t feel I have developed much through this brief as I feel I’ve cruised through it and not really engaged with it as much as I wish I would have which would have meant I’d get a lot more enjoyment out of doing it.   

 What personal skills have you developed and how have you used them?

I have found it easier to talk and discuss ideas with people outside of crits, however I haven’t been very officiate or helpful in many of the crits I’ve been a part off. I still feel the essence of time delegation would seriously improve and develop my personal skills.

What have you learned about yourself as a learner? 

I learn a lot faster when I work independently  as I can figure out the (either  or an alternative however I still need the initial tuition to build my  basic skills and knowledge, for example I will need to maintain my attendance to keep the information flow constant.

What do you feel your overall strengths are? 

Punctuality, getting on time to places will let me get the most out off sessions and private study. Design and development I am always designing and developing my ideas at every point within a project but I think the addition of more hand drawn sheets and designs that are backed up by quantifiable information will be a good thing to make more suitable and effective designs. 

What areas do you feel you need to improve on? 

Keeping time better and knowing when to work and when to break so there is a right balance between the two. I feel I need to keep learning and creating on both illustrator and Photoshop to develop my skills further thus meaning I can improve the quality and level of work I produce in the future. I want to improve skills in the screen print room, as I don’t feel I have made use of the facility enough. Communicating ideas clearer to tutors and other students would benefit there understanding and the feedback I get from them. Reaserach In a much more critical manor and include costing and print methods 

Briefly state what you intend to achieve over the next three months. 

I want to start producing higher quality products whilst still creating a good high level of back up work to support it.  A realisation of where and what I want to do on my work experience and on future projects. I need to create a better structure week by week so I keep a constant flow of work going and I can give myself time to work on the final thing a lot earlier than the last week.

Briefly state your aims for next year. 

Within the next year I hope to be producing better standards of work that have a very effective design that will deliver message much more clearly and effectively. Also next summer I would like to gain a decent work experience to learn more about the industries of design.

Within the next year I want to utilise the graphic studio space but that of the print rooms and digital dungeon as well so I gain better knowledge of the areas which I hope will be an advantage in the later stages of the cause. 

General Comments 

I feel I need to pick up the quality if work especially in the end product witch I hope to be backed up with a healthy quantity and quality. This is cue to poor time management on my part and I need to get into a routine which allows me to develop as s deign.

How would you grade yourself on the following areas:

(Please indicate using an ‘x’) 

 

5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor

cover design

Face. DesignerIsTheNewRockstar.

i picked these designs out as they where so simple and the image on the front grabed my attention straight away. anouther reason to like this piece would be that it has a feel of class to it, the design has been simplified and does't emulate other magazines such as ok, hello etc which work graphically but don't carry of a sense of style and fashionable image. i also think this piece works because of the quality of the photographs themselves which i will defernatly take into consideration in future and hope to use my photography skills to produce them.

product design

i found this product in a computer arts magazine, i noticed it because i really like product design and i felt this was such a good idea dn was so so simple, the design has not been overcomplicated and the appropriate format of a paper clip is well used and can been seen in the final outcome. i hope that in briefs to come i can target and come up with unique and inivative i deas that can be so simple but clever and very useful.

Charles & Marie: Alphabetical Paperclips - PRESALE 04/2008

characters

http://www.thisisrealart.com/

mtv characters

i particularily like these characters as they are so unique and have a very good sense of hummer surounding them, each one has been produced with a very appropriate take on the particular mtv channel, and with the combination of the simplicity, hummour and appropriateness the pieces work very well. in the future i would like to have a go at tring to create and develope characters when appropriate in future briefs.

video and animation

i saw this when i first watched the movie in the cinema it looked so good and what made it better than alot of starting sequences for films was that it was different and didn't try to look all fantasitic and computer generated. the illestrations continue through the film and give a great sense of personality to the film. in the seacond year there will be possibilities to explore animation so i could incorporate this style in to my piece if i find it is appropriate.


after looking at this video it has given me the desire to produce a type and a imaged based sketchbook that i can develope my handcrafting abilities and i have a strong interest in type so therefore would like to see what i can produce i will have to consider whether it will be produced with a context in mind or just playful in the sencse that what ever comes to my mind.