OUGD503: Final reflection

The live briefs in responsive was something that I enjoyed and invested a lot of my time and enthusiasm into because it gave the work for a deadline context. Designing for a client was challenging as there were a lot of mandatory requirements guidelines to consider when generating ideas. I found the meetings and chances to share what I had been working on a rewarding part of working with a client and particularly useful if they had suggestions for changes that would improve the design personally for them. Working towards a competition brief was something that allowed me to explore more and concentrate on directions that maybe would have been more restricted when working or a client. 

Studio brief 2 collaboration tested organisation, time management and communication skills. I found this studio brief much more challenging because I had to start it later than expected due to the reliance on the collaborative partner being in Bali taking the images that we needed. It was very rewarding and interesting to work with someone in Photography as a lot of the design decisions I would choose to make for aesthetic reasons, they would challenge with a conceptual reason and how it could be further developed. This is a skill that I feel I have developed during this studio brief.

In terms of production, it was more challenging in Studio brief 2 rather than 1 because the outcome for Studio brief 2 was a 60-page photo book and a 16-page zine. The production stage really tested what I had learnt in 1^st year in terms of book binding and also having the common sense to speak to as many people as possible to see if there were any approaches that would be better than others. The advice I was given was supported by a lot of research conducted by myself both online and also finding physical examples of the binding method to see how it would work. The major issue encountered in this production process was being informed that there were not the right facilities for the type of binding that I had planned to do, meaning I had to react to this and instantly figure out an alternative binding method. It was overcome and the photo book is completed to a standard I am happy with, just different to how it was first planned to be. 

During this module I was able to develop my skills on software’s such as Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro, both software’s that I will use in the future to ensure that all outcomes are as professional as possible. It was also the first big collaboration that I have been part of so it has taught me a lot about how the process changes, the communication that is needed and that the reliance on each other is very high.

Overall it has been a very rewarding module in terms of learning lots of new skills, but also very challenging in terms of time management. The running of OUGD505 alongside this module has left a lot of people finding it hard to focus on the one brief at a time. This is a problem as it prevents full absorption into a concept and development, leaving everything a bit confusing and overwhelming. I overcame this problem as much as I could by making lots of timetables, personal deadlines and to do list as regularly as I could.