PPD; end of module self-evaluation.

1. What skills have you developed throughout this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? 
I have developed skills in branding, creating a presentation and talking to professionals. Branding has been applied really effectively because I have produced self branding that reflects me as a designer and also some of my personality in terms of colour. Another reason it has been applied effectively is when i've come to attach it to various outcomes, it still works on different scales and will also work in black and white so this means i've considered the overall branding well. My presentation creating skills have also been applied effectively because the final presentation I have created is more visual where as before it used to contain a lot of text too. The general layout is also conisidered and can easily be followed. Talking to professionals is the final thing that has been applied effectively and this is evident with the emails I have sent out. Before doing this module I hadn't really taken the time to contact anyone so this has been a new skill for myself, I feel it has also been effective as I have gained a few responses already. 

2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? 
The main method of design production I have developed is creating all the elements for this module in a particular order. For example, I created my branding first so it then could be applied to all the other products I would need as a designer. Then by creating things such as my letter head I had a layout that could be used consistently throughout the rest of my products. This has meant there has been as much design development but because everything can be linked together, there doesn't really need to be. Although everything has been created digitally I still took the time to hand drawn things and by doing this it meant I could experiment with personal styles a lot easier than I could digitally. This has informed my design development because without using this hand drawn method I wouldn't have the branding that I have ended the module with. 

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

Time management has been a big strength throughout this module because I feel I have organised my time really effectively. The reason for doing so is because I had a lot of motivation with this module being aimed around my own future. If I didn't put the effort in, I wasn't going to get the things out of it that I really wanted. Sometimes I feel I may have prioritised this over other projects too. In future I will make sure I manage my time effectively for all projects, and when there is more than one going on at a time I will make sure I share the time I have between them. Consistency has also been another strength within my work because all my branding elements such as my logo, letterhead and website link together through the use of style and colour. Even my presentation links to all of this. In future I will make sure that I apply the same techniques I used to create this consistency in any projects that involve a range or a whole re-brand. 

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in future? 
Although I was motivated with this module once I got into it, it did take me a while to get into the tasks etc so there may be quite a large gap. In future I will take the time to have a go with something as soon as I know it's exsisting because then I may come out with better results than I already have. Another weakness is my confidence in getting in touch with studios and illustrators because it did take me quite a while to do this. If faced with the same challenge in future I will make sure I do it asap because then I could realistically have got in touch with more studios than I need to therefor getting me feedback or studio visits. 

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

Spend more time researching. This could result in a list greater than just ten professionals giving me more contacts to add to my list. It may also mean I find hidden gems that i've not already come across. 


Start the workload sooner. Although i'm really happy with everything i've done for this module I feel that everything i've done could have been capitalised if i'd have started sooner because I would have had more time. 


Talk to tutors more about what im doing. On the one ocassion I did this, this time I found that one of the studios I was looking at was also familiar to a tutor on a personal level. If I have more discussion it means they could really help me get those contacts i'm striving for. 


Get more feedback from others. We didn't really have crits for this work so although I like it, I'm not really sure what others think of it. (Apart from my business card) If I speak to other people more too they may have some really good suggestions for my work that could make it look even better. 


Share contacts with other people more. Initially I was a bit reluctant to do this because you feel as though you're competiting but in future if I do they may have found someone who really suits my interests that I haven't come across and share this with me too. 

6. How would you grade yourself in the following areas: 

Attendence 5

Punctuality 5 

Motivation 4

Commitment 4

Quantity of work produced 4

Quality of work produced 4

Contribution to the group 4

PPD; Presentation.

PPD; Printed branding.

Kept my business cards quite simple so that things can be written on them if need be and then they are also straight to point and do the job they are designed for. After designing these everything else came together quite easily and has a similar design asthetic so that it all works as a range. Blue has been used throughout everything as this is my favourite colour so is reflective of my personality but isn't an 'in your face' statement. 

PPD; Emails from design studios and illustrators.

The Touch Agency

Rubberband

Room For Design

Chris Jevons

Vicki Gausden

After sending emails out to various studios and illustrators I got a few responses soon after which was great, a real confidence boost when it comes to contacting people. The studios that responded advised me to get back to them nearer the time about studio visits which is completely understandable as they are very busy people so I will follow this up in due course. The illustrators seemed more than happy to answer any questions I have which is also brilliant because it means I can get feedback on any concerns or just general thoughts I had about being freelance. All in all a really good response so far and i'm looking forward to arranging studio visits and getting feedback on my questions!

PPD; My PDF portfolio.

I used the projects and things I'd written on behance to create myself a PDF portfolio than could also be sent out to clients if preferred over sending a behance link. This can easily be updated with new work and contains all my 'best bits' so far.