DESIGN PROCESS. SELF-EVALUATION

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? I have learned screen-printing which to me is quite exiting, because I’ve never done it. I found out new ways to look at the whole design process. I improved my Photoshop skills, learned some things on Photoshop that I never knew before and I cannot wait to use some of the features later on. I realised that research doesn’t stop throughout the whole creative process. That there are no boundaries to develop any project further. I learned how to set up a clock movement :> I also improved a lot on my illustrator skills and finally it became a habit and I feel more confident now using the software than I felt at the start of the course. I also did some drawings with a pen tablet which is a really useful tool for imagery.
2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? I learned that research is a really important thing, that it’s a cycle. I learned that if You want to improve on things - You have to come back to the steps you already taken and revisit them, change them. I learned that doing surveys or questioners helps to get to know your specific audience more. We had a lot of workshops that helped us brainstorm and organise our research. We also did a lot of feedback crits. Knowing other peoples opinions really helps to develop your work. I learned what is the difference between quantitative and qualitative  research.  We learned a lot of  about where to start the research and hot to make a theme a specific subject. I tried different materials and approaches to design. Used a lot of design sheets to develop ideas.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? I think the fact that all of the pieces are interactive and their actually are helping You to solve the time management problem is the strength of this module.  I really enjoyed doing something that is more innovative – in the future I will try to make more designs that are interactive and innovative. I started to develop the ideas more in depth, rather than just making ‘pretty’ design. This is the one thing I always lacked concentrating on – it seems as if my mind has opened up. I already feel the advantages of this course. Also I learned a lot about research; it has to be a 25/7 thing. It’s an on-going process. You can find interesting pieces of research in the most unexpected places or time. It’s a also good to start building up a recourse source which I finally started doing. I think after this module I realised how important the context and the content is. I also developed on organising and categorising information. As well, I experimented a lot and tried different techniques which is always a good thing to do.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future? I think my work works like separate series rather than like a one solid outcome. I would probably find the same colour theme and keep it throughout the whole 10 pieces. Though that is quite a hard task if You’re printing something digitally and screen-printing something because you have to mix up your own colours but I guess that comes with practise. If I had more time I would have created an identity. Only when I was finishing my pieces I realised that I could have created a brand of “Nation of Procrastination” and that would tie all the products together.  In the future if I’ll screen-print, I’ll know more about it and won’t make the same mistakes. In the future I will also know that if You buy clock movement you should check do the arrows really fit on.  I also think that this brief my time-management wasn’t too good – it’s quite bizarre  because I am doing a project about time management, at least I now know what was I doing wrong.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these? I would leave more time for screen-printing and possibly book the sessions rather than go into he drop-in.  Because the drop-ins are late in the evening, if it’s busy you do less.  I will already have an induction and will know how to screen-print so I’ll save time by doing prints and knowing what I’m doing. I would choose one colour to go throughout the entire series and create an identity. Because I think visually it works better to have the same theme throughout products. I would leave more time for the designing of the final outcomes. Than I could actually develop the design further and make it more consistent and clear. I would blog more often because it helps You develop ideas and get your head around what you’re doing. I probably wouldn’t go back to Lithuania while having such a big project because I get distracted. For the next big project I would not go back home because I just cannot work there; too many discretions.  I think that would have helped my research more.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					X
Punctuality					X
Motivation				X
Commitment					X
Quantity of work produced			X
Quality of work produced			X
Contribution to the group				X
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.

DESIGN PROCESS. CALENDAR. DESIGN.

CALENDAR was the other product. While I was doing research about time-management I came across this game that helps You to track your productivity. It's a chain game. Every day You are productive - You draw a piece of the chain  the goal is not to separate the chain. This calendar is based on this game. It's a term-time calendar for a student. It should help You to rack your productivity. The calendar is for 2013-14 because I actually want to try it out. It works in the same way. You have the yellow bubbles as the calendar days  at the bottom You have the blue sticers. After You come back home You have to peel one sticker off if it was a productive day and if You did something useful. After the year You will see how productive You are if there will be more yellow than blue bubbles on the calendar You have to start thinking about life and what are you doing with it. 

I looked at a lot of innovative and inventive calendar designs online. Some of them were amazing. I knew I wanted to make my calendar interactive. One of my goals of this brief was to make all the final pieces interactive so You're time management would be more fun than a 'must do'. I think I succeeded in this point. Though I think because I had to spend a lot of time on thinking about the product and researching - I spend less time thinking how to make it work as a series. So it seems that my final 10 pieces work more as three different series, than one solid. If I could revisit this brief I would spend more time thinking about the design and how to make it work as a series. 

I chose the yellow and blue combination on purppose. I think yellow makes it feel a bit more positive than something You 'must do' and yellow brings warmth to the room. The blue is the same as the blue from the clock series. 

I took some pictures of the mock-up I did for the final crit:

I will take pictures of the final piece as well because I managed to print it out. I cannot wait to use it. Even if I fail this module at least I'll have something to put on my wall and actually help me to manage my time here in LCA. 

The final piec with the stickers. While printing some mistake happened or maybe it's me setting up the file incorrectly , tho I double/triple checked, but the stickers came out smaller than the calendar circles ;oo I don't really have time to redo anything, so I'll just keep it like that. In real life the stickers and the calendar circles have to be the same. 

DESIGN PROCESS. STICKER BOOKLET. Clock

The other piece that I came up with is a a self-manage clock. I did the packaging, sticker booklet and the clock. So three pieces in total. I used the same symbols as for the poster-clock. The idea is that a graphic-design student can manage his/her own time-table and organise their time in their own rhythm. Because the clock-poster is from my own experience in the course. While other might have a different understanding of their day in LCA. 

The sticker booklet design. I think after doing this module I actually start using illustrator more than photoshop. When I started using it I found it useful but now I actually replaced it with my photoshop habit. 

The inside of the booklet.

The outside of the booklet. 

I did the design for the clock as well and prepared it for screen printing (one day) and the other day I got it printed. And here I did a mistake that I would change if I could revisit the brief. I would print it in one colour. The blue that I mixed up while screen-printing doesn't mach the blue that is on the packaging. And in my mind they have to mach. 

The packaging:

Did some final piece pictures. I think they work well as a series (except the colour difference) I WOULD CHANGE that. I spend quite a lot of time thinking about the packaging and I think as a carry bag it works well. It also looks like a weight and on the packaging it says "Can You Handle Yours?" and also it has holes design for the fingers. As a result if You buy this you already answered 'Yes I CAN' handle my time. 

DESIGN PROCESS. T-SHIRT DESIGN. PROCRASTINATION MONSTER. prep.screen

I researched a lot of ways to get rid of procrastination but I thought to do an info-graphic or a postcard/flyer would't be too effective, the only way to make this theme worth something is to approach it with a bit of humour.  After thinking of different solutions I thought that screen-printing on a t-shirt might be quite fun. When You wear a t-shirt with a procrastination monster it reminds you how bad it can be. I had to come up (fast) with a character that would suite the terribleness of procrastination. It had to look lazy, fat and mean. 

I did a sketch and used a tablet to trace it. 

At the end I decided that the best look would be this. I had to use blue because it's a consistent colour throughout all the designs. Except the clock-poster because it was my first screen-printed product and I wasn't sure will I be able to do two-coloured piece. 

The hand-writen type is my hand-writing. 

While I was trying out the hand-writen type, I tried to do a logo, that would be a theme throughout all the pieces. I couldn't spend too much time and few of the pieces were already done, so I decided to show it as a proposal. I f I could revisit the brief I would create an identity for all the pieces and make it consistent throughout all the designs. I'm still thinking to put label cards with this sign. If I'll have time to finish the design and print it off. 

SCREEN PRINTING- was the best fun. I loved screen-printing in the future I might do more things with it. I'm really glad I learned something new while doing this brief. If I manage to learn a new technique for every brief or module - it would be amazing. Next stop - lazier cut. 

I prepared the screens one day before I actually printed everything. 

Lizzi did my induction. So thanks to her for a lot of help. They wouldn't have let me screen-print if she wasn't there. 

I brought the t-shirts in the same day. I was so happy with them.

I did some pictures with models as well. So I could image how they would look on a person. 

Nigel got involved as well. Thanks for the help to Nigel.  I was thinking to use these pictures for the packaging but I only did the mock-up, that I will put in my design sheet folder. I don't think it really works because it has a different style so I might do the labels with nation of procrastination.