OUGD403 PERSONAL MODULE EVALUATION

During this first module on my BA Graphic Design course, I feel that I have discovered many strengths and weaknesses in myself, both personally and skilfully. Some of the strengths I feel I have discovered are adapting new a new teaching method, as this degree has a very different teaching style to that of my A Levels. I have had to adapt to complete my work and to get the most out of my lectures and studio time. I also think that I have developed my independence since moving to Leeds, having to organise myself to get into University on time every day, and planning when to do certain pieces of work, and when to come in to do extra work on weekends or after my taught day has finished. I feel that I have managed to relearn all my knowledge on Illustrator, after a good couple of months without using it, I found that when I came to using it again at the start of the module I had forgotten a lot of things I knew before the summer.

One of my weaknesses however is motivating myself to get back into the routine of doing work, not only at University but also back at my flat as well, as I find it really hard to get work done when I’m not at University. I think this has improved at the module has progressed, but next module I aim to do a lot more work at home from the start of the module, instead of going home after University and watching catch up TV when I should be doing work. Another weakness during this module for me is giving constructive feedback during critiques. I don’t feel that confident giving verbal feedback during critiques, as I am usually unsure of my criticism in the first place. For Studio Brief 4 final critiques however we had to write our feedback down on a piece of paper if we didn’t want to speak it. Which was a lot better for me and I gave feedback to a number of people where I would have done if I spoke it.

I am very pleased with my attendance on this course, as I have attended all but two sessions, and those two sessions were due to illnesses rather than me just being lazy. I feel I have committed myself to coming in every day on time, and staying later closer to deadlines as well to get work done.

My time management skills before starting this course were impeccable, however once starting this course, I found it really hard to get back into the routine of blogging and doing work once I came back from University and on the weekends as well, so I have had to catch up a bit towards the end of this module on blogging. I also left some of my work to the very end to complete it, which if I had done it earlier I could of produced it to a higher standard and done more research and development towards it as well. This is something that I will take with me into the next module, to ensure my work progresses and improves.

To produce a higher standard of work for the next modules I will make sure that I will do one blog post a day at least, to ensure I keep up to date with all of my blogging. I will also blog as soon as I have finished a piece of work or been to a lecture or seminar, so that I don’t forget what I have just learnt about. I will also do a lot more research at the beginning of each brief, both secondary and primary, so that I have enough information to help me produce a strong outcome.

When printing my final posters for Studio Brief 4, I tried to save myself a bit of money by buying paper from the library instead of using the digital print studio’s paper, however when I printed my image only poster the colours weren’t the same at all. I then had to print it again using gloss paper, which turned out a lot better. Next time I will know that when printing final pieces, I should never scrimp on paper as the quality isn’t worth the money I’ve saved.

I also feel that I have developed my Illustrator skills during this module, and have learnt a lot more about the pen tool. This will help me with further briefs and modules.

Overall I am pleased with my performance in this module, however I do feel I could improve a lot for the next modules, and I must motivate myself to do work as it is set and to work at home as well.