Evaluation

Chris Lawson 0UGD203 Final Evaluation

1.     What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

I have become a lot more conscious of information graphics and what affect it has on a person taking the information in.  I searched through masses of Premier League information and it was pretty dull in the end searching through.  With infographics, there is often a lot of information to take in, but broken down into easily understandable chunks.

            My communication skills have developed through this module, and I believe this is through my completion of the type module earlier in the year.  I am more confident with layout and feel it is becoming a strength in my work.

            Collaboration skills have been tested, working with 2 other people, but I feel we combined well in the end to create a strong body of work.

2.     What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

I wanted to focus on layout and introduce myself to infographics from the start, and I have stuck by that to the final piece.  I looked at print quite heavily throughout, and made decisions such as whether to use a spot colour or the process colours in my publications.  I feel like I let myself down in the print module earlier in the year, and thought it would be a good opportunity to explore this a little further through techniques such as mono and duotone.

3.     What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

I enjoy the layout in my work, and the use of colour to differentiate teams and positions.  The simplicity of the design allows for the photographs to stand out – the way it should be.

            The use of circular forms was a theme throughout my work, and I think it benefitted by creating a certain style within the publication.  It was challenging working with these forms, working out how to separate 45 teams through simple 2-colour circles.  However, once I managed to do this, the icons could stand on their own to communicate a whole football club – something that I think is a huge strength in my work.

4.     What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?

The lack of distribution plans is something that I need to identify in the future.  The book will be sold in established book stores – for example Waterstones or HMV, but I didn’t specify a price.  The idea to distribute free team editions to season ticket holders is a good idea, but would it be mailed or picked up on a matchday?  This is something that I would definitely need to address next time.

            I also think the subject matter is way too broad to create a focused publication on.  If I focused on a certain position, team, or a handful of players then I would have got richer information from my research and would be able to accurately identify my target audience – which would inform the distribution much more effectively.

5.     Identify 5 things you would do differently next time and what do expect to gain from doing so?

·      Focus on the distribution by choosing a narrower target audience and subject matter – it would lead to a more informed publication.

·      Narrow down facts & figures that I would use earlier on – nailing them down would mean that I would know exactly what I was designing for.

·      Explore the specialised publications more.  The richer information and a chance to focus on one factor rather than a broad subject could influence the way I design the publication.

·      Hand draw more ideas first – I am guilty of jumping straight on a mac and maybe that hinders my design process.

·      Narrow down when thinking big – the whole project was a little overwhelming trying to fit all the statistics I found into infographic form.

Attendance – 5

Punctuality – 4

Motivation  - 4

Commitment – 4

Quantity of Work – 3

Quality of Work – 4

Contribution to the group - 3