evaluation

This module has been a bit of an odd one for me. From the very beginning of my Final Major Project I was very aware that we only had a very little amount of time left at college. Rather than taking the view point of 'I have X amount of time, I need to make the most of it' instead I was filled with a feeling of, 'I don't have time to do anything'. I feel like a large chunk of my FMP has been spent worrying and stressing about the amount of work I had done or hadn't done and that's had a really negative impact on my work.

Time management in general has been a big issue for me this module. As hard as I tried to plan my time well so that I would be able to get everything I needed done, there always seemed to be something interrupting. Dissertation put a hold on mine and Ian's collaborative brief initially, and then when working on the brief the amount of time it took to render images put me way behind schedule. Out of all the things that have affected my time during this module though, the yearbook has been the biggest cause.

As point of contact for photography the majority of several days was spent emailing backwards and forth trying to chase up work from students/collecting new information and passing it on to the rest of the team/chasing up tutors etc. Problems within the group itself didn't particularly help the situation. I feel like I already took on quite a lot and was still doing my fair share of the design. What became a problem was when we had agreed to do work for a certain deadline/or allocated jobs and those deadlines were not met by the entire team. This meant that the rest of the team would then have to try and alter their own plans and no doubt had an affect on their other briefs.

Although probably being the most problematic brief, the yearbook also taught me a lot more than any of the others. The attention to detail that we went into when it came to our designs was definitely a step further than I was used to doing, and I have taken away many lessons to do with layout, and consistency throughout a publication. I also now know the proper formatting for a phone number, so next time I won't have to frantically change all the contact details half an hour before the printer comes to collect the files. In terms of what each of the team members brought to the group, we all have different sets of skills and ways of thinking and even priorities within a brief. If I'm honest I don't think that I've been in a collaboration before where we have been that different and it's really given me more of an insight into how other designers work. I learnt a lot about the process of designing when there is a client involved and also about taking work to print. The most invaluable lesson I have learnt however, is that if there is a problem within a group or collaboration then it needs to be addressed ASAP. I have also learnt the value of communication within a group.

I won't go into too much details about each brief because I have evaluated each of those as the last post anyway, so they can afford to be more specific.

As a whole though, this module I have done a lot more pitches and made more of an effort to work with other people. Whether this is through collaboration or doing work for people. That's been really important for my development and it's important I did that before trying to go into the industry because it's highlighted a lot of issues to do with discussion/organisation and time management.

In terms of work, like I say I'm not overly happy with what I've produced. There's work with potential in there but nothing has been resolved to a standard that I'm 100% happy with, other than perhaps the yearbook which we haven't got back yet. The only thing keeping me from thinking I've not done any decent work this module is my design context brief. It's only really through this brief that I've been able to be a bit more geeky with the design and produce some data visualization. I left it way too late really to start doing this, and because of that there are some glaring mistakes that have been driving me crazy. Originally I was planning on producing a publication and I had a lot of the content for it, but then the quick change meant I had to recollect a lot of data and also fork out a lot of money which upset me.

Looking back at my rationale, I don't particularly think it has changed much since second year. I am still interested in information design, and still like to consider how it functions. I do think though, especially after doing my placement at Numiko in the UX team that I need to think more thoroughly when it comes to audiences, I need to not make presumptions and do some proper user research/testing.

All in all, this evaluation probably seems pretty negative but to be honest I see it as the opposite. The more nightmares and problems I've faced during this module have tested me more than any other module. They've helped me develop how I behave as a professional and within a team and thrown up a lot of questions. I find myself after 3 years to be in quite a good position to be approaching industry, because I have a lot of questions and am keen to learn even more about information design.

Thanks for the last 3 years of boot camp and kicking me into shape.