OUGD502 - Module Evaluation

Once the aims and ambitions were identified at the beginning of level 5, it was possible to understand the direction to pursue which would best represent my character through my work. Throughout the duration of the responsive modules, it was possible to build up a body of work that could be used in my portfolio and would demonstrate my interests, strengths and reflective practice. Having learnt how to present the work to audiences, it became easier to demonstrate an understanding of the context and appropriation of design choices. This would prove to be useful knowledge, as it would be beneficial to the interviews with industry professionals in the future.

There were times during level 5, when working collaboratively would be considered necessary as well as beneficial. One instance of this would be the group presentation that proposed a way finding system for LAU. By assigning roles among the group, we were able to establish the same goal using different ideas and consulting one another on ways that the presentation should look. Working in this way was beneficial to my practice, as it gave an idea of how it may be like to work as a team for a client and how presenting the work would require meticulous planning and appropriate design choices.

One of the aims of level 5 was to find out how to contact industry professionals and network to different agencies or studios. In doing so, LinkedIn proved to be a useful platform to not only find people within the same industry but to also use the profile as a way to promote yourself to contacts. This proved to be successful once contact was made with CreativeRace studio and an interview was arranged. In preparation for the interview, several questions were devised as a way to gather feedback that could help me understand the professional world of graphic design. It also proved to be useful information to use when writing a report on an industry professional and how they may influence future choices.

Overall, personal professional practice has given the opportunity to explore new ways to make contacts, how to tailor work for specific clients and how to present yourself successfully. As a result, it has been possible to secure work experience with the studio CreativeRace during the summer period. This will in turn be beneficial to my practice as it will allow me to see how a studio might work, how creatives communicate with one another and how I may be able to network with professionals.