OUGD505 | Module Evaluation

I feel like OUGD505 has been a successful module for me in terms of development and progress on this course. When this module was first briefed I was fairly apprehensive about how much I would enjoy the briefs and therefore worried about whether I would be able to fully engage with the work I was producing. This has been a problem for me in the past as I often find it difficult to make the briefs work for me personally but this time I wanted to make sure I was able to find a topic and issue that related to my personal interests.

For Studio Brief 1 I started by being very specific to my own interests by looking at different music artists and from there celebrities in general. The idea behind this was to reflect on how much importance we put on celebrities as a society, so much so that one day a celebrity could end up on our legal tender. The feedback I got for this concept was mainly positive and people thought that producing work that had a voice would be a strong submission and a good response to the brief. Once I had designed a couple of banknotes that stemmed from this idea it was then clear to me that maybe I shouldn’t take this idea any further. The designs did not turn out like those I had pictured in my head and I struggled to figure out exactly why that was. After some more idea generation and discussions with classmates I came to my next concept which was designing banknotes with current influential figures, who in the future could be seen as changing the way we live. I personally really liked this idea because it fit the brief while also doing something slightly different, I liked that I was keeping a sense of tradition with my designs rather than designing some science fiction-esque money. Once my designs were finished I received very positive feedback on my response which I was pleased with. I wasn’t 100% happy with the final outcomes but again, I can’t quite place my finger on why that is.

I really enjoyed brief 2 of OUGD505 as I was able to find a topic that I found interesting and compelling enough to base a project around. This is something I stated at the start of the brief - I wanted to find a way to make the brief more suited to me and my interests. I did this by first looking at the distribution of free music and how artists and music fans interact with it. All of the research I carried out for this brief was vital in getting me to my final pieces. The initial research I did on free music led me to start researching music piracy. As I had a very limited knowledge on music piracy I was able to research and learn about the issue, rather than just researching for the sake of the brief and submission like I have done in the past. This research was very important and I am happy with the amount I did as I felt I gathered enough to make decent, informed design decisions for my work.

I received a lot of different suggestions and feedback throughout brief 2, all of which helped me greatly. Even the suggestions that I didn’t use helped me as it confirmed that I had made the right choice with whatever aspect of the design was being questioned. Feedback from both my peers and my tutors helped inform my designs to the point of completion as they are now, which are hopefully the best possible outcome I can produce for my chosen issue and this brief.

With OUGD505 I feel like this is the first module where I have been able to manage my time slightly better than in the past. This may be down to the fact that there are only two briefs, but we did have less time to complete them compared to previous modules. I will use this as motivation for future projects to show myself that it can be done if I just organise my time better and follow a set design process that includes development and feedback. One thing I wish I had done differently is try more ideas out. Although I had many ideas that I came up with after my research, I only discussed them with others rather than actually designing any of them. I feel that in the future rather than coming to a conclusion on my final idea (even if it is from a range of ideas) just by talking, I should look further into a few of them by designing and seeing how they turn out.

OUGD505 Study Task 3 | Disobedient Objects North - Brief

OUGD505 Studio Brief 1 | Design Boards

OUGD505 Studio Brief 2 | Design Boards

OUGD505 Studio Brief 2 | Brief Evaluation

Studio Brief 2 has been a really enjoyable project for me on the whole. I said from the start that I wanted to find a subject and issue that interested me enough for me to really engage with this brief and I think I was successful in doing so with looking at music piracy.

I started this brief by doing a fair bit of research on a couple of different issues in the music industry; free music and recognition and music piracy. It was helpful as some of the research from looking at how free music is distributed and how it changes the industry fed into the research I started doing for music piracy. I believe this research did influence my design decisions and who I was aiming to design for. It also helped me find out who would be most suitable to appear on my posters; if I were to have someone who wasn't heavily pirated it would be slightly pointless.

I was able to receive a lot of feedback this brief and use it to really guide me through my design decisions for each aspect of my poster. Feedback from both my peers and tutors helped me get to the final outcome for Studio Brief 2 and I believe it is now a much stronger body of work because of it. I am happy I was able to use all of this feedback this brief because this is something I have struggled with in past briefs.

Something I would do differently with this brief is try more ideas. At the start I had a lot of vague ideas as to what I could do for this brief which I then discussed with others to see which was the best. Rather than agreeing and making up my mind then, I wish I explored even just a few of those ideas in order for me to confirm I had made the right choice or not. This is something I often have trouble with on some briefs - I come to a final decision too quickly.

I am happy with my progress on this brief as I think I was able to manage my time well for once which allowed me to experiment and tweak a lot of my designs for the better. I believe my final outcomes do what I wanted them to do from the start; communicate a message raising awareness of music piracy while also being a aesthetically pleasing piece of design. I have learnt a lot this brief that I will definitely be taking with me into level 6.

OUGD505 Studio Brief 2 | Production Range and Distribution

Production Range and Distribution

Design Process:

The process of my posters has been pretty diverse throughout the brief. There has been a lot of design changes along the way which resulted in my final pieces hopefully being the best possible outcome as the response for this brief. 

Audience:

The target audience for my posters are people who regularly illegally download music and those who don't quite know the extent of the issue. My aim was to create a poster that had an interesting enough design that makes people want to display it due to the aesthetic, they would then inadvertently be advertising and promoting the issues of music piracy. I would hope that if someone had any of these posters up in their home or office they would then think twice about digitally stealing music. 

Distribution - How would one get a poster?:

These posters could be bought from a website as I hope that people who like good design also like my posters.

A limited number could also be handed out as they are trying to fight a cause, so anyone who sees these posters is another person aware of the issue - therefore achieving the job of raising awareness.

Another possibility is that record labels could send them out with artist merchandise. For example if someone was to buy a Future poster or t-shirt, they could send out one of my poster designs also.

Location:

As I said previously I hope that people who like good design would like my poster enough to display it in their own space. 

Other than that these posters could be put up in cities and urban areas to promote the growing issue of music piracy. 

 

OUGD505 Studio Brief 2 | Poster Outcome Evaluation

I am pleased with the outcome of my posters on the whole and I believe that I was able to produce a good response to the issue I chose at the start.

The design of my posters has changed throughout the brief down to different suggestions and bits of feedback that I have received from both my peers and tutors. This has developed my work for the better and my final outcome is now a more sophisticated and refined piece of work because of it. Almost all the suggestions I received about my work was implemented into my designs as this allowed me to see what worked and what didn't; the ideas that did improve the design were kept and the ones that didn't were documented and discarded. 

 I another reason my final pieces work is down to the fact that I tried to make every decision an informed and purposeful one. All the different aspects of my designs are that way for a reason; the images were distorted in a fashion that reflects the artists getting copied over and over again, the pixelation was added to add the effect of a screen, linking it to the digital element of torrenting, the file names over the images represent how the artists have lost their identity and names resulting in them just becoming files to many people.

As for the target audience for my posters I was possibly aiming at people who are aged 15-35. For my poster to work the audience would need to have a likening for design in some way; the point of my poster is to have a design interesting enough that people want to display it, and therefore promoting the wrong-doing in illegally downloading music. If people had this in their house or office, this amy remind people and make them think twice about digitally stealing music.