OUGD 201 - Print Evaluation

1. your ability to select develop and evaluate a range of appropriate source
material gathered through a breadth of appropriate research methods

At the beginning of this module, I wasn’t sure what I thought was good. There where things I could list of the top of my head but there was no real way to prove it. This is why I chose Dyslexia,, because I was able to research more into it than I already have done and find specific reasons as to why it is good, and not a hindered like most people believe.

My research methods included browsing the internet, looking through books I already have on the subject and general knowledge. (As well as speaking to dyslexia support that we have in the college.)

I focused on proving that just because a person has dyslexia, does not mean they can not do everything else a person without can do. I also tried to show that having Dyslexia is a positive thing as we learn very differently from a person without it. This type of learning can help with later career moves like becoming an artist or something that involves hand’s on learning and general creativity.

I believe I could have done more surveys in the class and to the general public. After one survey, the answers I received on Dyslexia where as follows: It isn't good to have because you can't spell and it's frustrating, also you get a free mac. I wanted to prove that having a learning disability isn't frustrating all the time because people develop coping techniques to deal with it.

I also want to make this brief fun and that was where my concept idea came into it.

2. The level of investigation and experimentation into appropriate production,
media,processes and technologies.

Overall I think I am now that little more knowledgeable on the print process than I was before hand. There were many things about different types of printing that I didn't realise before hand. This had been covered in my print booklet and is a main part of it. I decided to concentrate on different types of printing rather than different paper types ect, (even thought that is also relevant)

I know that writing white text on yellow paper will not be readable once printed, but it is on screen. If I was to make the full print process booklet then this problem would be looked at and rectified as not to blind my reader.

3. the breadth and quality of practical skills, ideas and design development.

I think this was probably the strongest part of my work, and I believe I have improved from last year. The idea for the concept came straight away, as well as my audience. The problem I found was that i was struggling with products to make. My first initial idea was a little bottle of positive dyslexia traits, but it had not context. (it was essentially a design floating with no where to live.) So I came up with the Dyslexia Depot idea after researching into the 826NY writing program.

I believe I could have looked into producing different products as well as different themes for the store instead of sticking with the fifty's. I chose that era because it was the age of discovery and development and that was something I wanted to bring to the store.

Overall, I am very pleased with the how the logo for the store turned out as well as the mock up product I made for the presentation boards. Even though it's simple, it works with the era I was looking at (as well as using printing techniques from that era.)

4. the documentation, organisation and presentation of your work for this module.
As it was started on the brief, I think I should have done more blog work than I have. Over the last two weeks, it felt as if I never left college which meant I was able to do even more work on my briefs. (which was a good thing)I'm finding it harder to work at home and easier to work in a studio environment. At home, I'm more tempted to leave the work and work on things I don't really have time for (like my illustrating and writing.)

The presentation work at the beginning of the year, (though not judged on graphic design quality) could have been better produced. I'm a designer, which means I should just be putting information into a power point, but really thinking about how it covey's with the audience.

I'm starting to see what kind of style I have and how it is improving and not this needs to follow through into my work.

5. the success of your final products in relation to the briefs.
I finalised the 5 A2 boards about four times until I was really happy with them. I like their overall outcome and feel as they convey exactly what I wanted to say. There could have been a few more slides in the PDF to cover a few bit's here and there that I'm only just starting to remember. (Like WHY I went for the fifty's theme), which isn't covered in either the boards of the PDF.

For the presentation boards, I should have booked my self into the print rooms but I kept changing them on a daily basis. However, I think they turned out just as good and it doesn't bother me too much that they don't quite have the professional feel to theme.

Overall, I'm pleased with how my boards and the print booklet turned out, even though I could have planned for the booklet a bit more. Layout and typography are not my strong points but I think it was delivered quite well in that respect.

I am pleased with what I have produced in this module, and I hope to improve with the next module.

Industry Experience Research

What Is Industrial Experience?

Industrial experience is about learning from those who are all ready in the business, all ready achieving what we as young graphic designers want to do. (Young as in the sense that most of us haven’t been at this very long.) I think in a way it is also about looking up at your hero’s, those designers and studios who stick in your mind because it’s what you hope to achieve one day.

This is professional “Hero” of mine , Skottie Young, who currently works exclusively for Marvel Comics. In a way it’s a sort of Free Lance job in the respect that he doesn’t need to fly up to the Marvel Studios from where he lives to work with a team. Allot of the time he works exclusively on the comic (Example: Divided We Stand.) A small comic about one of my all time favourite characters, and his too. It’s not just illustration but knowing how to layout a story and align the type just write. It’s a small saga that will stay in my mind for a long time.



Finding out about how Young got to become such a renowned illustrator is all apart of the Industrial Experience. Making that first move is always hard (and nerve racking, he IS a hero and I don’t want to come off as Fanish or desperate.) So I have decided he will be one of the fifteen (ten?) “Hero’s” that I contact later on in the year. I haven’t sent one yet as I’m still not quite sure how to approach him in professional manner other than; Hello, I’m a student studying Graphic Design ect ect.

But that’s what the experience is about and I’m looking forward to sending out emails/ringing company’s and making that initial first contact.

It’s a chance to work with design firms and be a part of a team of designers. It’s about potential roles that may, in the future, make me part of a team and how I communicate and work with other designers.

Why is it an important part of PPD?

Without have that experience under out belts, how could we possible progress and survive in the "real world" of Graphic Design. It can be a tough market to break into and with out the experience how can we have a real chance of success without knowing what we are doing? This may lead to real world employment, which is important in terms of professional development. Work experience can help us with who we are as people and how we can apply that to design.

Being in the studio at college can only teach us so much, the real experience is out there in the world of design. They can teach you how to build up a great client list, how to communicate with them. It's about getting to know a good printer and building up a relationship so that your work is too the best standard that it can be.

In industry, you'll get a real feel for what a professional is looking for in a portfolio and to maximise the best design that suits their company or studio.

How do you gain professional/industrial experience and what form does it take?

Live briefs and competitions are a good way to break into Freelance work, gaining you that industrial experience. It’s outside the college studio and away from it counting towards your grade. There’s more of a sense of getting something out of it. (Not that a degree’s a bad thing but let me explain.)

Companies like Don’t Panic offer a live brief every month, with a one month deadline. It allows you to submit designs for their outer packaging as well as their posters. It’s more in line with the real world of deadlines in terms of deadlines as well as giving exposure and experience that we wouldn’t normally gain in the college studio. Threadless is also another design company (That specialises in T-shirts) that allows users to submit their own designs for vote and it pays well if you win. However, there's no structured deadline but it also gives the same kind of exposure and experience as Don't Panic.

Other experience may include our own freelance work, doing commissions for clients that your know personally or through friends. Though this doesn't always give us Industrial experience, we are working to specifications that the client has outlined. (Though family tend to think because you're related you'll do it for free...yeah and their unconditional love will fill my fridge and keep my pet rat entertained and well.)

If you ask designers who are well established in the industry questions then their information and experience can be insightful into the world of professional design. If you work it well and tastefully drop hints there could be a work placement in it for you. On the other hand, you could always ask about visiting the studio, talking to them directly and seeing what they themselves have to offer.

What should you aim to gain from professional/industrial experience?

We should be able to gain a feel for the real world of design, too see how differently paced it is from the inside of the college studio. I want to know what practices suit me best and what kind of work environment is going to work for me and those around me.

This experience may even provide me with contacts within the industry, and give me useful insight in what my portfolio should look like. I hope to get enough placements, at least 2 - 3, just too see how each one works and how this might help me in the future.