End of module Self - Evalaution

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

·      My Photoshop skills have improved significantly since the start of this module due to the inductions and Photoshop brief but mainly because I was working with pantone and color matching was a large part of my project so I relied heavily on the pantone libraries in Photoshop.

·      Producing info graphs, I learnt how to research on a subject of my choice, collect, research and categorize information and then structure the masses of information in a interactive and interesting way.

·      Book binding, the introduction session helped me to get to know the resources and to bind my swatch book, without this session I would not of had any idea how to bind my book.

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

After browsing for secondary research I would be able to establish what research is relevant and from there I would be able to focus my research and get as much primary research as possible.

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

My layout has gotten much better and for me it was strength in this project, being able to layout a lot of information in type and image in a simple format. In future I will look forward to playing round with layouts much more confidently. The ability to translate a lot of data into info graphics, initially I had problems producing info graphics but as the project went along I became much more confident and I would like to do more info graphics in future projects. My photography has improved especially after having to document a lot of graffiti.

4) What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

Some of the posters I produced were a bit too complicated for the general public and I needed to do simpler more engaging forms of them. Some of the work doesn’t fully promote the hair salon, instead it informs the public about its products and benefits, this made a lot of my work not very clear, in future I would try to promote more straight to the point. After I printed I found some type errors and slight layout problems in future I would do a full spell check and compare the grids on the software I am using before I spend money to print my work.

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

·      Take step-by-step images of my work as I’m working on illustrator/Photoshop, the work I start off with is usually much different by the time I save the document.

·      Refer back to the brief more often, sometimes I found myself a bit lost and confused and referring back makes sure you aren’t trailing off the project.

·      Experiment with different types of stock more, plain white stock isn’t always the right answer.

·      Draw more in sketchbook, I find that I write descriptively in my sketchbook for my ideas more then to visually communicate them.

·      Decide on which idea’s to produce and then focus on them instead of doing loads of resolutions.

6)

Attendance – 5

Punctuality – 4

Motivation – 4

Commitment – 4

Quantity of work  - 4

Quality of work – 3

Contribution to the group – 4

Photoshop Brief

Final resolutions for collection 100

Swatch booklet:

Flyers:

Booklet:

Statistical Posters:

(Hair colour Graphs)

Pantone poster

Business Cards 

Front

 Back

Rational:

Product & Promotion

My theme is hair, i started off looking at hairstyles and trends then started to focus on hair colour and what shades of colour are within each category of hair colour, for example finding out how many shades of brown could i find within brown hair. 

This body of research led me to start a branding campaign for a specialist hair salon which focuses on hair colour (a colourist). I started off producing statistical posters to show the general public that their are many more shades of hair colour to choose from then just the standard brown, black, blonde and auburn. I started to my branding campaign with the idea to attract people who really care about their hair colour and dont just want the cheapest dyeing option you could pick up in boots. I wanted to produce my promotional work but i also wanted to inform people at the same time about the differences in hair colour to show them that the Colour Company wasn't just a standard hair salon, i intended to do this by producing informative booklets which can be given out on the high street or pick up in the salon, business cards, informative posters and swatch booklets to see the variety of colours available.

What if Final resolutions

Flyers Front

Back of flyers 

Poster

Website and blogs 

Collection 100 Final Crit

Issues raised:

• "Whats the relationship between pantone and a hair salon? Design concept is strong just lacking research and development sheets."
• "composition?"
• "Relevance of "Colour company"
• "has hair got its own colour system?"
• "Sort out the negative leading on charts. Legibility issues change font for copy - habara? choose another font sans serif - helvetica - univers - gothem

Action to be taken:

• tidy up pie charts
• more variations
• use some tracing paper as stock for graphs.
• change the font on the charts
• make the colour company being a salon more clear 
• do more design sheets to put down instead of doing them in sketchbook so its easier for people to follow my work. 

100 Collection 2nd Crit

Issues Raised:

• Spell Check
• Audience
• Promote some products
• Pantone too complicated for the public

Action to be taken:

• Run spell check
• promote the hair salon by more then just facts and figures, do some products aswell
• simplify the colour system down and make it more simple for the general public

100 Collection First Crit

In this Crit i showed all my research and how i organised it in statistics and graphs. In this crit we discussed that i should start producing an identity for a hair salon, basically Product and Promotion. We discussed the different things i could do for the Salon: business Cards, Logo, posters, flyers, products. I could basically start getting on and change my research into work i could apply practically. The crit highlighted that i should use my graphs and info graphics approach to my research into my branding.