PPD Evaluation

PPD Evaluation

Ken Wong

The second year has been an invaluable learning experience, the course covered many important and key fundamental skills required in the field of Graphic Design. We began by understanding and appreciating print processes through the first module, it seemed as though it was part of our jobs as designers to look after the interests of our printers and clients, when dealing with print based jobs. We then moved onto Digital media, where we explored animation and DVD authoring which was a completely different learning experience through technology than we had done before. Along the way we have had our design practice 2 module which included D&AD and Type Sessions that were also invaluable, as well as other smaller modules.

There has been a considerable difference in personal demand in the second year; mainly on self-organisation and realisation of ones place in the graphic design industry. There has been a lot of pressure however the organisation skills that were learnt within the first year prepared us for the second year which ultimately pushes one to become a professional as opposed to a student. I knew I had a strong interest in typography and layout before I had began the course, however, I am now aware that that field is very diverse and perhaps (for now) I fall into a more corporate designer category. This is something that I am happy about, as I also have a st¬¬rong interest in avant-garde use of typography, therefore my understanding of the basic principles is required in order to understand how to break principles.

It is odd how yellow Post-it notes have become the backbone in my design practice, as I am heavily reliant on jotting reminders and ideas onto them constantly as a way of organising myself. I also use a diary which is adorned by yellow paper notes, which helps me organise my time and schedule for the course.

This year I have learnt a lot, respecting the conventions of typography and layout, grid systems, how to set up a basic website using Dreamweaver, how to design and authorize a DVD menu using After Effects, specifying documents for printers and animation using Flash. All of which I wanted to learn and came on the course knowing that I would be given the opportunity to do so. One key learning curve that I am really glad to have already experienced has been working on live briefs for clients. Producing work as part of the course operates differently from designing for a paying customer, the way in which the body of work that develops is slightly different as you take into consideration your interactions with the client and work in a way that keeps them happy. This is something that I really enjoyed and hope to gain a lot more experience, in the final year of the course.

There have a few occasions where I have slipped up and made bad decisions, or lack of decisions. Firstly being my negotiation of the design identity brief which I felt I should have been more decisive earlier on, however I also think I chose something that has been really useful and practical for me in the future, as I learnt a lot about publication layouts and am now beginning to feel competent when identifying grid systems. Another occasion was designing my DVD menu, looking back in retrospect I feel I didn’t convey my voice as a designer very well and worried too much about the technical side of the project.

On the positive side of things, I think my strengths rely on my ideas and concepts and working along them. My understanding of Graphic Design has been that we are “problem solvers” and I feel that I am playing that role out fairly confidently in regards to the D&AD project, print processes and 203 Brief solutions. Over the summer I am set to gain valuable work experience, and hope to maintain my momentum by working on live briefs/ projects in preparation for the third year; this will be important, as no doubt it will be a very demanding stage ahead. Upon returning for the final year, I hope to learn more about digital production such as website design and other on-screen based production as this is something I really wish to build upon.