Design Practice - Evaluation

As a result of Design Practice, it was possible to further understand and experiment with new approaches to graphic design. This included creating a publication design for a competition, exploring traditional printing methods and collaborative practice. Having experienced this throughout the module has allowed new ways to produce visual and contextually successful designs that can be applied to future briefs of a similar nature.

Exploration into the use of type and layout in previous modules, helped in understanding the approaches to studio brief 1, in which a book cover design would be made. As a result, the book cover was explored contextually, to gather initial ideas on ways that the previous designs communicated to their audiences. Therefore, the version that would be created during studio brief 1 could take inspiration from previous designs and utilise the key elements of the book. For example, when researching In Cold Blood, the characters in the book were shown to be ruthless murderers, which were then reflected on during the design stages of the project. This allowed the cover to communicate to the audience that the book would involve the representation of the killers in this way. Other elements of the cover that were taken into consideration during the process, were the colour schemes and the typefaces. By doing so, the book could reflect the themes and settings of the book. As it was set and released during the 1950s, it was appropriate that the style would be reflective of the times.

For studio brief 2, beginning an individual investigation into the events held in Leeds, allowed for several design ideas to come about. As a result, the Leeds CAMRA Beer & Cider festival could be explored using traditional print techniques. Having looked into the background information of the founders, it was possible to communicate the history of the event in a way that might appeal to a younger audience. After receiving feedback from peers, it was clear that the design stage would need to look at ways in which a new audience could be attracted to the event. Therefore, creating a list of the essential objects for a beer festival would add a humorous twist to the design. During the production of the designs, new approaches were used in order to create the outcome. This includes the use of photography for the essential objects and screen-printing the final design. In terms of the stock for the final print, the use of paperboard was also necessary in relation to the context, as it represented the material found in beer mats. After creating the final print, feedback from peers gave a critical reflection of the things that had been done well and the things that could be improved. Therefore, the feedback could be responded to in a way that would allow for future projects to consider different approaches.

Studio Briefs 3 and 4, both gave the opportunity to work with other people in a collaborative environment. This allowed for insight into the ways in which the other members of the group would approach the brief, as well as feedback on the contributions made to the tasks. This worked well as new possibilities could then be experimented with both as a group and individually, once the roles had been assigned to each member. As a result, the studio briefs gave people further insight into ways in which design teams would work together in a professional environment. 

Overall, the skills learnt during Design Practice can be revisited and reflected on during the course of level 5. They also provided an understanding into the ways in which future projects can be completed, both individually and collaboratively.