RESPONSIVE - OUIL503 Summative Evaluation

This module has involved a number of different methods that i have developed upon; Working as part of a team, responding to specific/unspecific briefs, working on multiple briefs simultaneously and time management of those particular briefs.

Having a client brief with specific guidelines to stick to is fairly familiar territory for me to be in, so i already had a fair bit of past experience in dissecting briefs and working out what the client is looking asking  for. The design challenges (from d&ad & ycn) were a fair bit more in depth than i'm used to though and these were a good learning experience - making sure i thoroughly read all the small print and lists of deliverables.

Working with a group of other practitioners from other fields is a new experience for me, collaborating full-stop isn't something I've had the chance to do up until now. I'm not too sure i'll be rushing to do it again in a hurry whilst at uni, certainly not in a group with 2 other illustrators, but as far as working together with an animator goes it was an interesting experience. Having more than one brain on the job in hand let to the development of more ideas than i could've come up with if i was working on my own. There was also a certain amount of animation knowledge i was able to pick up from him as well. Obviously if i hadn't of been as fortunate with my selected team members then my evaluation of it may have been lot different. As well as having the collaborative brief to work on, there was the matter taking on the individual briefs. I found i wasn't great at splitting my time equally between both individual & group work, and the rest of my other module work, and left myself a bit short on time when it came to submitting work. Not to say i missed any deadlines, rather that the final results may not have been all i'd hoped they'd be, due to having to rush towards the end. Also, seeing that the deadline is a month or so away, there was tendency to think i had way more time than i had, so on that front i could've designated my time more evenly and more immediately.

If I'm honest with myself, I've not made this module the most exciting or have taken many opportunities to excite myself with the images i have been making (viewers of my work for this module may disagree?). Of course that factor is ultimately down to me and the choices of briefs i decided to take on. Not a whole lot of the work i produced involved much of an analogue element, apart from the initial rough sketches or storyboarding - beyond that it was all digital rendering or vector work based on the original hand-drawn concepts. However,If i'm bored with website icon design then i shouldn't really take on a web icon design commission,duuh. But at the same time, you have to pay the bills, and i was paid for a number of these projects. On the whole, it was back into the reliable,unimaginative, 'get-it-done' mode as usual for me. I probably need to accept that I'm not one of these great, 'hands-on', messy, mark-making, analogue craftsman and i should just focus on my strengths - which appear to lie within the digital, on-screen realms.That said, the collaborative animation task did suit my way of working and given further opportunities i would like to improve on my animation skills in the future.


I've tried a number of different creative mediums, and made the most of the uni facilities as much as possible. Wether it be animation, screen print, illustration or digital design,I hope i wouldn't be accused of just sticking to what i know too much. I'm still all about about learning as many varied creative processes as i can, even if the results aren't always to my satisfaction. Quality of the finished, submitted work however has remained at a high standard for individual projects - with the collaborative project there's only so much input i can have without getting to the point where I'm taking over, and becoming a 'quality-control freak'. Admittedly the quality of the group brief work was lower than i would've liked - but you have to take into consideration that everyone has different ways of working, and varying levels of experience with different mediums, it's not always possible to produce work that to the levels that i'd expect to achieve. Not wanting to 'take over' within a group dynamic is something you can either see as a being a good, considerate team member characteristic  or as someone who isn't driven enough ,or willing to break some balls to get results.That's all very well, but I'm firmly in the 'treat people nice, to retain a pleasant working environment' camp. Massive fence-sitter. The general presentation of final submission/presentation boards etc is always very important to me aswell and the introduction of ISSU presentation boards has made this process, albeit rather repetitive, a lot more effective.

As far as future development goes, i think my decision making in regards to brief choices and the way i want to execute them still needs a hell of a lot of work. By the time I've made a decision on which tasks i want to take on, the decision on how to execute it has usually already been made for me,by father time-  and i have to do it in the least time consuming method. Also, in hindsight i wish i hadn't  bothered with such an open brief as Secret 7, and instead attempted one of the YCN projects. Being open i thought it would give me a chance to experiment with different mediums in order to help develop my own specific 'voice' but instead it left me with too many options to think about , that i couldn't get down on paper and i automatically went back into my digital comfort zone. Also i've become very disillusioned and frustrated with the  'call for artists'  type events. I'd much rather of tacked a 'real' brief that would've been judged by industry experts and not by a bunch of exhibition organisers who make a decision on your work based purely if that individual likes it or not - rather than on concept, craftsmanship or execution. Looking through the YCN 2015/16 Annual at all the past design work has really driven me to want to feature in a future edition of it - I know I have the technical ability, I just need to get some decent ideas to build it on.

I will also look to manage my time more evenly in the future - even if it's on module work that i really don't want to do. I need to get going sooner also, as I'm finding i didn't really get much momentum on some of these projects until i could see the deadline looming overhead. Not that i produce better work under pressure, i don't think i do, far from it - it's just that it doesn't seem real until i can sense the very real possibility of missing a deadline. 

As much as i want make myself as versatile as possible for future employers and commissions, i seriously feel I may be thinking too hard to be proficient in too many fields, and I'm beating myself up when i can't achieve the desired results i'd set out to make. This again may go back to me needing to focus on what I'm already good at rather than trying to master new techniques. I need to find this mythical, 'ideal production process' - that is both time effective and that produces results that i can i look back on with satisfaction. Nothing I've produced in this whole module really falls into that category.