COP3 End of Module Evaluation

Stephanie Buck, 0UGD601, CoP3 Evaluation

Evaluation:

Through undertaking this module of extensive theory and practical, I feel that I have developed on specific skills in order to improve my practice and knowledge as a designer. However, I must admit that I have found C0P3 very hard, for example of my writing potential is limited and I struggle with the basic structure and essence of an essay. I feel that I have attempted to work a lot harder on this module then over past years, but in many ways I know that my work can be improved vastly.

Throughout this module I have developed skills in writing, beyond what I thought I could achieve. I believe I have attempted to effectively apply these skills throughout my essay. To improve this, I have been attending dyslexia support, which has enabled me to gain insight and perspective as well as skills and support within the written aspect of this module. I feel that I have taken on board skills within reading. The subject I chose to base my theory on was intense and broad, but with knowledge on selection and research I was able to select the passages that were essential to my topic and correlate theory (in a simple way) with some ideas and concepts. I believe this skill of research has really helped me to understand literature and the meaning of writing an informative structure. I feel that I have also gained skills within general research and time management. Throughout this experience, I have never been set on one solid idea. Through summer my ideas changed drastically, portraying my research in a scares and unplanned manor. However, since the presentation, I feel that I have developed my skills in condensing and setting on an idea in a positive way. The selection of research has allowed me to gain focus and therefore enjoy the subject more. I have attempted to use the Harvard Referencing system to clearly highlight quotes and references, which have been selected. This has allowed me to gain (slightly) more confidence when using and utilizing sources. Learning critical knowledge on my given subject has also helped me to develop historical and analytical processes, which have hopefully come across in my module submission. These skills allowed me to gain insight into an influential subject that relates to me as a designer specifically. My time-management skills within this area have vastly improved. Through dyslexia support I was able to draw up strict and clear weekly plans that allowed me to highlight ideas, and then proceed with them. The use of this has given me more confidence in my design and written aspect, as I felt organised and in control where in the past I have felt the complete opposite. Although this was clear in my head, I feel that the written element of this module does not portray the hours I have worked. I have also utilized skills in documentation and primary research, which have been applied, within my work. The idea of communicating and documentation needs to be clear, and I feel that the primary research I have undertaken is reliable and relative to content so I feel that this has been applied in a positive way.

During the Cop3 module I undertook classes in spelling, structure, typo’s as well as design styles, geographical way finding and documentation in addition to contempory and traditional styles. Through doing this, I have become more aware of aesthetic qualities which allows you to evaluate and examine your work more intensively. The design method I have created has been informed by written element. I chose to create geographical and psycogeographical maps and graphs in order to portray my primary research in a relatable and clear format. The use of primary research as an approach to design methods really helped me to develop a key plan and strategy. The idea of documenting information in a well-designed format started to really appeal to me and I used my creative skills to create a modern and simple layout format for the results. Within my design approach I decided that digital print would be most relatable to my concept and theory as it was about mass production and digital print is quick and efficient to produce mass goods.  I have also added in aspects of psychogeorgraphy, which I had never used. The theory came from my research and I decided to compare the consumer route in a more creative and informal way so I could get the most out of the experience. I decided to also digital print this but in the format of a map. The findings are perceived as being designed but are informal and personal to me. I liked this method of design production as I was a key necessity to each stage, which allowed me to examine crucial elements and allowed me to develop with my work, theoretically and as a designer. This idea of creating infogrpahics has really broadened my perspective on design and led me into a new interest that allowed me to introduce research and design to work cohesively.

Throughout this module I feel that I have gained insight into writing. To some this may not be apparent within my work, but I really struggle with written elements and because I haven’t written so extensively for son long I really felt out of touch with writing. However, by doing this essay I believe that my skills have vastly improved. I started to write with confidence and through research I was able to enjoy what I was writing. Because of this, it allowed me to develop my reading skills and I have now developed a new interest and actually learnt a significant amount of new information, which I am proud of. However, I do feel that I could push this a lot further, if I had more time, but for the time being I a, pleased with the insight into my subject matter. Through my development I noticed my ideas and vision changed a lot, I feel that the idea of brainstorming to narrow down and condense ideas worked well for me. I could easily select relevant ideas and work from there. To improve this further I feel that I could embrace these skills and peruse my other modules with more extensive research, which I will allow to influence my designs. I feel that this will be effective and push my work as I know understand that research is essential to design.

I have many weakness throughout this brief that I have struggled with, I feel that time management at the beginning of the module was a real weakness. I had to many ideas; broad subject matters and my organizational skills were everywhere. The use of linking my ideas cost me important time in research and I could have resolved this my intensively thinking and researching for a shorter period of time to work out what I actually wanted to do. This allowed for a shorter research time, which pushed back my writing and design. I also feel that although I have improved my writing skills, I still feel that they are a weak part of my module. The structure of my written element I still feel needs a lot of work in order to create clear reading. This would help to focus the essay. For this module there is some aspect of design I am happy with whiclt others I am not, such as the psychogeorgraphy map I feel could be greatly improved. The stock was not in, but I should have been more organized and checked before I printed, therefore I had to use a stock I was not happy about. I feel I could of created a deeper insight into this section, and could of created journals and design. This would of also been influential on my design overall. I feel that with more time and better organisation I would have been able to create a more cohesive and creative approach to my design, but I did predominantly focus on the essay structure which is a major weakness within this module, as I didn’t balance the two equally I feel. This was because I really wanted to work on my writing skills. I feel that with more time I could push this theory, written and design work.

I will have to learn how to control my writing and essay structure to develop my work and give it a definitive edge. The idea of clear thinking and visual development would also be of use to work on.

Overall I believe that his module has been helpful to my practice as a designer. I feel that I have learned something new in terms of my module content and I do believe I have improved my writing skills, even if only slightly. I do wish that we had more time to complete the module, as my designs could defiantly introduce some complex work, but I feel that my final work does synthesis with the content within my essay. I feel that this COP3 module has allowed me to understand just how much research is crucial to actually understanding design and I will defiantly be taking this forward in my design practice. I feel that this module has allowed me to concentrate my skills on theory and direct them toward a well thought out design practical. Although my skills have improved since last year I still feel that there is a long way to go and I will aim to develop these skills over time to better my practice.