PPD Evaluation

This module has been in the peripheral of my for so long, that when it came time to sit down and do it, I was surprised by how much I needed this. I have had a terrible year in terms of time and project management, By far the worst in the last module. It’s made me depressed and angry with myself. This is the last chance ill get to achieve a degree. I think I forgot that and what it will mean if I fail.
Doing the PPD presentation and portfolio cheered me up and gave me new confidence in my work, I’m proud of the majority of the projects if not all of the project, then aspects within it. It’s been really helpful to look back on works I’d forgotten. I really feel I now know what I have to do over summer to get myself up the high standard I feel I can attain.
The search for work placement had to take a back seat to finding a real job over summer, but with that now sorted and the course work out of the way, I’ve got a few places in mind, but I’m restricted to a couple of city’s due to the cost of living there, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle. In Leeds I’ve been in contact with Numiko in Leeds after I met Richard Hilson after his talk at collage, they only do six mouth placements but liked me and said I could come in and have a look around for a week or so. Also in Leeds there is the X-ray brewery job, which is going to take up a lot of time over summer. In Newcastle I’m trying to find a placement with VIZ comic, I found all the right e-mails but I wanted to wait until I had my “Dalek dad project” back so I can send that off now and start badgering them for a job. I haven’t found much in Sheffield but I intend to keep on looking because I can live there for free back with my mother (relatively free I’m sure it would cost me my sanity).

3 the hard way

Evaluation

I've been working for what feels like a solid month, and i still didn't get everything i wanted to do done, I am now extremely concerned that i am going to fail this year and i am not sure why it all went wrong and been having sleepless nights about it.
I was peeved about the booking system for the digital print resource i don't feel its fair that a course or a year can blanket book up an entire week at anytime in the course but especially at the end of the year. I am sure some of the third years on a multitude of courses are fuming about this.
Back to my work, I'll be honest i hated handing in these projects. the time i put aside to arrange and organize was eaten up by printing debacle. this is no excuse of course i should have planned for that to happen or at least something like it. I know its not right and its not what i should be doing. this year has confused me no end. Its like the second album a band might come out and have some success with their first album, but then bring out a really poor second album, thats how i feel about this year. its my dodgy second album. I've got a load of thinking to do over the summer. Because i love this course and i really want to get the most out of it, I need to get the most out of it. The three projects (criterion, X-ray, and Best Poke Tee's) were all briefs i gave myself and i think that was the fundamental flaw in the whole thing i never sat down and gave myself the structure i needed to get this done at the level i am capable of that goes for this whole year. in the first year there was a structure given to us in the second there was not and in the third i know there will be less so i know what i need to do now over the summer i need to define me working practice. my own rules of how to complete a project, a graphic design ten commandments if you will.
As for the good things about the last module, i really liked the X-ray Brief and its a full live brief and the client loves it. He saw it today and was really excited, which made me feel loads better. Their are some changes to be made but they are small and not to much trouble, the project its self was meant to be only a week long but i dragged it out to nearly three always doing a bit here and a bit there but never really sitting down and breaking it. A mistake that will no doubt cost me. The criterion dvd brief was great i love film which made the brief great to research, it started out life as a Godzilla box set but then i realized that criterion would never make it but they have produced i vast number of samurai films so Lone wolf and cub got the criterion makeover. As for the Best Poke Tees the main problem was with my screen printing skills, or total lack of them, but i did feel better working with type. which is good because i've realized that don't want to run away from type and layout i want to crack it, i know ill never be the best at it but i need to be able to use them confidently.
well thats my rant over i hope you didn't think it to self-deprecating.
i would also like to take the opportunity to say thank you i've learnt a load this year, even though i've still got a long way to go.

YCA Becks Fusions

YCA BECK FUSIONS

I always enjoy collaberation projects, i think some of my best concepts come from bounceing ideas around with other people this YCA brief was a little different in the fact it was a partnership rather than a group. Karl was great to work with, and showed me some new skills in photoshop, the only nagative was when we where working together he would look over your should and say stuff like "you could do it faster like this" which got a bit grating having a backseet , but aside from that it was a calm collaberation, which i think produced a strong resolution, we had a couple of problems during the start of the project, I was taken ill for a couple of days, and Karl's laptop died a week later. So it was not all smooth sailing. The idea came after flicking through some of my books and came across Banksy's oil painting pieces which got me working with some classic paintings to reprisent art and the stenciling of iconic musicians, both different aspects of Banksy's work, Banksy worked onto the canvas's so as to look like they where painted by the orginal artist, we decided to use a more vandlezed style like someone had left one of these masters in a mosh pit or in a underground club toilet, so the image was ripped and scuffed, grenrally held with low regaurd. This sentiment to the art was meant to be a further link to the ethos of rock music, rebelion agenst the old conservertive power and money of the establishment. But we also wanted it to be fun because no one listens if you take yourself too serously, Foe example the girls aloud/rubbens image has i homours tone i think more than the rest, it involes nudity so intantly gains something, but the real thinking behind it was to show the differance in socail fashions in regards to our own image, the girls in rubens painting are of the fuller figure, which at the time is what was consided the desirible form for a woman, nowadays girls like Girls Aloud are not the norm but the projected idea of the norm. but then again putting a slighty larger elvis head on Sir Henry Raeburn Skater was just because it looked funny. i like being deep then shallow in the same breath i find it amuseing

Don't panic online poster competition

As with the colour for print project the freedom to create an image without too much in the way of restraint was a real treat. i was happy with the final image but thought some of the photo shop work could have been tighter especially in regards of the little girl, also in hind sight the paragraph explaining the image was a bit "right on" hippy, but all in all i liked it and it was well received and finished third in the public vote, and it finished highest out of the rest of the course including the third years so i was pretty pleased with that. i picked up the new don't panic yesterday and the poster was designed by Si Scott which gave me great comfort to think i will be able to hold my own at that level by the time i finish

DESIGN FOR PRINT

For design for print i chose home cooked food as my subject, as i felt my experience as a chef would prove invaluable. as it happens i feel it was of little use and if any thing it was detrimental to my research, as i found it frustrating trying to document information that i now take for granted. It also meant i got bored of the project about half way through. As if that was not enough i had decided to make this a typography project because i have avoided type like the black death until now. and felt like i should have at least one type project under my belt. in hide sight with these grades counting to the final grade the first year was the time to satisfy this urge. that being said i did get a lot out of the project in terms of type and layout skills and will feel more comfortable in the future if i ever need to use type again which i am assuming will be the case.


In the end i am reasonably happy with the design for print project, there are gaping holes in the continuity which are going to cost me and also the evidence of evaluation through out is thin on the ground. Although i feel the final resolution is strong (although there are some stupid mistakes i hope no one notices) and the concept itself is sound and would work if you could attach some celebrity chef endorsement like "Jamie Oliver's cook it your self". the project is in frustrating contrast to the first year where my research and development where good and the final resolution was weak. i need to find the middle ground and the raise my game, not to sound to much like a American game show contestant

Colour modes

COLOUR 4 PRINT FINAL DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS
This project came just at the right time for me I'd just got my new mac book and like a kid with a new toy i wanted to play, being able to just create an image was great, it gave me a sense of freedom i haven't felt for along time (within the course). it inspired me to do other work like it and has led to me getting a small show at north bar later next year. the knowledge of colour is great to know, it also helps me when i feel like I've learnt something tangible, unlike the design skill we have learnt, which seem to sink in at a almost subconscious level.