Context Module Evaluation

I haven’t wrote too many blogs for this project. I have seemed to prefer writing my analysis and various talking points within the RVJ itself.

It has been a long project, but an enjoyable one. I think it has felt extra long due to how short the previous module was. But nevertheless, I have gained lots of experience, skills and knowledge, even if I have spent the majority of it sitting at home on my laptop. I will break this evaluation into three sections for the different parts of the brief and talk about them, without trying to repeat myself as I have already wrote evaluations for the main parts of the module — the editorial and D&AD project.

Editorial/Essay

This was probably my favourite part of the brief. I love editorial and the chance to improve my skills really excited me. Plus, I could write the stuff that went inside. They were my original positive thoughts, but it seemed to change towards the submission for print. My editorial turned out better than intended. I went for a modern, minimal style and executed it better than I could’ve imagined. Using my own illustrations really allowed me to communicate my thoughts and feelings to the topic of Consumerism and was one of my favourite parts of the editorial. I am excited to see how it turns out when printed and see if my printing skills and choice of paper have turned out correctly. All part of the process. I learnt about type justification, refreshed my knowledge on grids and layout as well topping my knowledge on the print process — all key techniques and skills needed for my career. I can see the improvements from my last editorial which was only a few months apart from this one so i’m clearly doing something right. The mockups and little animation has made it look that bit more eye-catching and has had great response on social media: I gotta give thanks to Andres, one of my case studies from the project who I was inspired by for the type of mock up I had created.

However, it wasn't all happy and leery for the essay. I started off great, creating the main base for my essay within the first week. However, even after feedback, I couldn't get motivated to finish it and make the amendments. I typically love writing, but for this, I just couldn't seem to motivate myself to do it, and I loved the theme of Consumerism so it was weird? However, I managed to get it finished and it turned out quite well. I got some nice references and ensured to keep out my subjective tone and stupid opinions. I feel it is quite a nice read and a nice look into the world of consumerism. Overall, it turned out well, even if the process was a bit harder than usual.

Being totally honest, I feel the climate we live in currently, with the problems of Corona virus, me being in and out of work, then a heavy amount of shifts during Christmas plus my uni work and the fact I want to create personal projects as well as some personal/family issues didn't help the motivation problems. It affected the end of the editorial and essay project as well as the start of my D&AD brief as well, but luckily, I have managed to turn it around the start of this year.

D&AD brief

As mentioned previously, the start of this project didn’t go swimmingly due to lack of motivation and personal issues. However, once we got going, I feel we have created a fantastic idea and I’m looking forward to developing it. We worked great as a team, mainly due to us being mates and with the challenging ideas from Emma, we have created a great idea. I found a golden nugget with the Coors Suicide campaign and combining it with Ryan’s research and Jonny and Shaun’s input and ideas, we have created an idea which I feel will be very memorable. Having the main idea and context for the idea was going to be the challenging part of this brief, as we all knew, we had the technical skills to create a good looking project. We have the idea and now we have to do the easier part of making it look good. I’m really excited for this and hopefully we can create a really good campaign. I am proud of my in-depth research and this project just shows that this is one of my strongest areas. My ideas were also good and built a large part of the main idea. I’m excited to work with these boys in the future.

Personal Development

I had already created my new branding back in september so it was pretty fresh. However, I never actually created my brand. This project has allowed me to build this — adding a colour palette, brand application as well as a look into the world of freelance. I have now created a professional brand, which makes me ready for the professional world, rather than just a logo or wordmark. Looking at the freelance side of things was also an interesting avenue to explore, coming out the other side with a contract for my future clients to save me from any hassle that comes with the world of freelance.

I have continued to develop my online presence, gaining more followers, uploading my work to more platforms as well as making some great connections of Linkedin. I will continue this through the new year, with my aim to gain 700 followers on Instagram and build my Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin and Behance even more by consistantly uploading projects and designs.

Overall, a great project. I have learnt some very vital information and skills which will be necessary in my future career. I have enjoyed working as a group, as well as developing my technical skills and love for editorial. Even though it has been a tough time personally and for everybody, I am extremely pleased with my final outcomes and look forward to developing them in the near future.

LMC — 8 January 2021