This module had been for me had been quite challenging, but also enjoyable.
The individual briefs I worked on were the RSA Moving Pictures, the penguin 'A Brief History of Time' book cover and the Leeds nightline logo.
The RSA Moving Pictures brief was the most challenging for me, as I needed to learn a new software, After Effects. I wanted to do this brief because I felt very strongly about the content of the audio clip, and what Tiffany Dufu was trying to communicate. The animation I did was based on the manipulation of typography. Even though I found the use of a new software challenging, it was also very enjoyable. I liked how I was able to apply the Adobe software skills and knowledge I already have, to create an interesting outcome. As this was the first time using this software, some lack in knowledge is I believe noticeable in the outcome, and the technical skills is something I can improve and work on for the future. Overall, I do feel that even with the basic skills that I learnt and used, I was able to portray my concept successfully, and created an outcome of a quality and standard that I wanted it to be.
The Penguin book cover design for ' A Brief History of Time' by Stephen Hawing was very interesting for me, as I enjoy looking into space and astronomy as a hobby. This brief allowed me to apply the knowledge I already had about the subject, and to give the design of the book cover my own approach. I mostly enjoyed working with the idea of making the cover unexpected, and unlike something that had been done before. I think this is what made the book cover successful.
The Leeds Nightline logo brief was a quick brief, on which I spent only a limited number of days. I found doing this quite challenging, as it didn't leave room for my ideas to sit with me and be considered more in depth. However, this process also taught me that the initial quick ideas can sometimes be the strongest, after they have had the right amount of development applied to them. Although the logo outcome has been effective for the brief, I do think that if I were to do the brief again, I would have a different final outcome.
The collaborative briefs I worked on were the D&AD Adidas and the collaboration with students from Nanyang University.
The Adidas brief I found to be challenging as it was lightly out of my comfort zone. I am not used to creating commercial designs, and was at first unconfident in my ideas. However, I approached the design for this brief with my own perspective, and found that I can use my skills that I feel are the strongest, and apply them to the brief, this way leaving a sort of signature on the designs. After getting into it, I found designing for this brief quite enjoyable, and learnt that brief outcomes do not have to follow strict rules, and cane be adapted to your style of design and your perspective. Working in collaboration, I found for this brief to also be slightly challenging. This was due to some instances of mis-communication, and not agreeing on a consistent and cohesive visual language to follow. Although this made creating designs for the brief harder, in the end I believe the brief came together, and even with issues with communication, the outcomes were successful.
The Ocean Heroes brief I found to be very enjoyable, as we were given the opportunity to work with students from Nanyang University in Singapore, as well as given free reign on how to respond to the brief. Working with the other students opened up our groups skill set, and allowed us to be more ambitious in our concepts and designs. The outcome we produced for this brief I believe were very successful because we paid a lot of attention to the target audience, and had fun whilst designing.
Overall, I believe this module for me has been a learning curve. I worked in collaboration with different students, learnt new software, and was able to create designs that I myself liked and enjoyed. The biggest problem I faced during this module was time management, I found myself rushing to complete work and blog posts and because of this I feel like some of the quality of my work may have suffered. However, in the end I am still very happy with the work I have produced, and am confident in continuing to develop and utilise all the things I learnt.
