OUGD504 - End of Module Evaluation

Throughout this module I have learnt a great deal about designing both for print and for screen, in terms of both design elements as well as production processes. Due to the more commercial and practical nature of this module, this has taught me about the various requirements when designing for print and for screen which would need to be utilised. One of these requirements is the development of wireframes, personas and task flow charts, all essential elements when designing for screen. Working with these processes when designing for screen has shown me their importance in effectively communicating layouts in app and interface design, as well as showing the navigation processes through these. This has therefore helped me to better understand what a client would require in the real world, and such processes will help me to better communicate my ideas to a potential client in the future if designing for screen.

Designing for screen is something which I had not had any experience with before this module, and is something which I had not considered in it's entirety. This module has therefore allowed me to develop new skills in the use of specific software, such as Adobe xd which allowed me to produce a click-through navigation of how my interface would potentially work if it were a fully functioning interface through the wiring of specific elements and functions. Another element of this is the development of new skills in animation, particularly using Photoshop frame and video timelines, to also produce simple animations of my final interface would process. This was an enjoyable part of the module and will continue to be developed in further modules as well as other future design works. Despite enjoying this element, this module has also taught me that designing for screen is possibly not something I wish to pursue in a future career as a graphic designer.

Although having experience with layout and publication design last year, this module, in particular studio brief 01, has allowed me to further develop such skills and gain a wider understanding of specific principles and processes when designing for print in a more commercial way. For instance, workshops taught me the correct ways to print booklets from InDesign, each specific to certain types of binding methods. In addition, other workshops as well as independent learning has helped me to further develop my bookbinding skills showing new ways to bind material together which can have just as much of an effect on the design of a publication than the content itself. Since handmade and book design is something of particular interest to me, this was an enjoyable part of the module, skills of which I will continue to develop upon in future design work.

In addition, the unexpected switch in what we would be designing our publication for was a valuable experience to gain. Although not initially agreed upon, the experience replicated the client - designer relationship in the real world, whereby an author will provide the content and the designer will place this in some sort of coherent designed format for them. This affirmed the importance of collaboration within design and therefore I will be making an effort to work more collaboratively with people, not just from this course, in order to further inform my creative practice and create new connections which I could potentially use in the future.