Design Project - Review and Evaluation

Research of my intended consumer and their current standing location

The Brief

Did you read and make use of the guidance in the brief?

I printed and regularly referred to the design brief, using as a text to aid my work and fuel my creative processes. I also used it as a checklist of things I needed to either research or produce throughout the process. As I was absent from some of the sessions during the beginning of the process, this was an amazing resource for me to ensure I was regularly caught up and prepared to come to each session with the necessary work.

Did you deviate and if so what were the reasons?

I did deviate, especially at the start of the brief as I was struggling to select one solidified idea for my project, so had various brainstorms and notes made in rough over several sheets of paper, making my ideas all over the place. I think it would have been better to either compile all these ideas into a week organised and structured brainstorm, or to only have one mapping device from the offset. I also deviated in the experimentation part of my design, looking into minute details of the product such as specific patterns. Really, what would have been more beneficial would have been to do maybe 2 or 3 rough designs to give an outline of the style and kind of direction I wanted to take my product into. It is therefore important to realise for next time, that even when in the final presentation stage, it does not have to all be perfect, in terms of having each design completely solidified. What is important however, is to ensure I have all the knowledge about the final outcome to be able to discuss it with peers and tutors, which I did feel I did effectively.

First initial mind map

Idea mapping using using others as an influence for ideas

Is the work any good and how might you improve it?

I am pleased with my final outcome, and the product I have designed itself as I feel that I have explored and explained each aspect about my idea and the practicality of how I would make the production of the furnishings work. I think what I would change and improve would be the presentation of my final proposal, as although I did research into how designers present their work, I limited myself subconsiously to looking at physical presentation not paper, and not maybe looking at other forms such as a visual presentation using technology, or perhaps a short video explain gin my proposal. I think this was primarily down to lack of knowledge of presentation styles, so next time as I embark on my next project it would be beneficial to remeber to think about a different presentation method. I was hoping to possibly be inspired by the others in my class, however we have all learned today that pretty much everyone did a physical proposal on an A2 sheet of white paper, meaning there was not much room for variation in presentation style.

Final Outcome Presentation Board - Furnishing and Fabric range

Presentation research - very limited to mood boards and physical paper presentations

Did you encounter any problems or make mistakes?

I definitely made mistakes in terms of time management, as I already had less time than most due to missing a few sessions because of illness, so I knew I had limited time anyway, however I tend to get so involved with a small aspect of my research of experimentation that I loose sight of the end goal or bigger picture in an aim to ensure I am well informed of every single aspect of my work. I also discovered through the process of making mistakes, that I work better on smaller A3 sheets, as A2 paper tends to be too big to work on and too intimidating a space to fill. The exception to this was my final presentation when I actually felt that I could have used a bigger sheet of paper/resource to compile all of my work together.

Mapping how to communicate the information for the brief (emotion)

Primary Research - colour preference (calming & tranquil, visually stimulating/exciting)

How effectively does your proposal/presentation communicate your design ideas?

My final proposal presented on the A2 paper successfully communicates my design ideas, as I have used a variety of drawing and imagery to portray the ideas I created. One thing that was flagged up to me during the peer and tutor session today was the possible overload of too much writing on the A2 page of products, as if it were in a reals situation the ideal would be to create a presentation with as little written words as possible, to be able to use verbal communication of the ideas more effectively. This would mean the attention is solely on the speaker when presenting, and also that the focus is solidified on the imagery as a focal point.

Mapping two chosen ideas

Reflecting on the chosen location

The Design Process

To what extent did you follow the creative process?

I used the template of the creative process well, however areas I did fail to adhere to the suggested process were research point, both primary and secondary, and in both cases, the research was either pre-existing or more of an after though or used a random place to insert the research where it could be necessary. I think this let me down in certain areas, as with more research, I could have allowed for a freer flow of thoughts and wider research, without having to spend ages and ages working on one aspect of the project (would be more general help to my work). I also think that although I am still possibly not 100% confident with what the mapping process actually is, my basic understanding of it allowed me to plan and map my initial ideas well. However, I did struggle initially coming up with and creating ideas to put on my first mind map, and hit a bit of a brick wall after being given my brief of "A Location, that communicated information". I came up with one really good idea with my tutor in a 1-1 tutorial, which coincidentally ended up being the one I took forward to produce my final design. Upon reflection I know now the importance of being non-judgemental towards my first ideas, and that they don't have to be fully formed and clearly though about/structured ideas, they can be random and unsolved or just small thoughts or ideas.

What were you strengths and weaknesses?

In the primary stages of the project, I struggled generating ideas to my given brief of "Location" and "communicates information". I think this was primarily down to my closed minded though processes, in terms of the fact I was trying to mind map fully ideas with clearly thought about elements. In the upcoming projects, I am going to learn from this in order to progress faster and create a faster work production, and broaden my ideas. However, I definitely had a strength in experimentation, particularly when it came to generating the patterns and ink based prints, as I am not afraid of taking risks or ransom creation of work to see what outcomes I produce.

Water based marker experiments

Watercolour experiments

The Bigger Picture

What have you learnt about yourself?

The process benefitted me hugely in terms of discovering not only my strengths and weaknesses, but also learning my best and most beneficial way of mapping ideas. I have definitely solidified my suspicions in thinking I work better in a creative environment designed specifically for creating. For example, I tried working in my bedroom however was constantly finding distractions or other influences that made me stray away from what I was trying to work and focus on. I also think that the reason I work best in a creative environment at AUB is because I am a very talkative outgoing character, and therefore find it real helpful to constantly be surrounded by people for second opinions, research, and ideas to bounce off of. I discovered that my work production time can be a lot slower when I have this so called 'artists block' if I work at home. Not only that, but I struggle to get out of the vicious cycle of not being bale to generate any ideas and get worked up when I can't think of anything.

Experiments done with the chosen blue colour

Researching how inks react on fabric (top left) and on wet paper + gold top layer, bottom right

How has the experience informed your thinking regarding future studies and progression?

I naturally gravitated towards a combination of interior design and art when doing my final project, which tells me that I am interested in design, but have also discovered that I am definitely not interested in other areas. For example, I really did not enjoy the model making, and therefore think that architecture is not for because it involved a lot scaled modelling and physical creation of ideas using basic materials. I would much prefer to do this graphically, which perhaps tells me I should also research into graphics. (course depth - https://aub.ac.uk/courses/preparation-for-he/foundation-diploma-in-art-design/indepth/ )

Choosing between water based markers and watercolours - I actually ended up using uinks as they had a more powerful nd bold colour when mixed together to form the desired teal blue

How does the work contribute to your portfolio?

I think I am currently planning to produce a portfolio of all of my best work, perhaps under subheadings that evidence I am confident and able in each area of a project (e.g research, experimentation, exploration... etc), so it is currently unclear to me how I will use this work in my portfolio, however at the moment I am trying to upload all of my work onto my blog digitally in the form of photographs taken in the studio set up.

Next time, I want to...

• branch out and have more ideas

• take many ideas forward and develop one idea constantly to see what it can turn into

• branch out into unchartered territory and research something I haven't looked at before

• better my understanding of technological resources such as photoshops and adobe programs to enable me to branch out in terms of the methods and processes I use to produce and present work