At the beginning of this
module, I was initially worried that I wouldn’t keep up the pace with my peers
because I had been out the loop for 6 months (study abroad) so was a little
daunted and felt like I had missed a big chunk of my degree. That being said, I
felt like this module was hugely beneficial as it really helped me to
establish who I am as a designer and where I fit in in the creative industry.
I was initially
convinced that I was a printmaker who worked predominantly analogue, using
mono, lino and screen print. This module allowed me to explore the digital side
of my art as I was introduced to Illustrator and completely fell in love with
it. I was taking part in briefs which seemed most suited to the use of
Illustrator, so I felt almost obliged to experiment. Because of my graphic
aesthetic, this way of working was proving very successful.
This module also taught
me that working to a quick deadline allows my motivation levels to maintain at
a high level and I tend to create work a lot more efficiently. My efficiency on
creating work for briefs has dramatically increased throughout the 3 years,
something I feel is incredibly important to take away into the real world.
This module also
introduced me to Book Design which is an area I hadn’t really experimented with
before but was definitely something I wanted to try out. The process of reading
an extract from a book, getting a real feel for what the book is trying to
convey, exploring themes and motifs and then creating imagery, in an attempt to
reflect the true essence of the book is something I completely fell in love
with. I truly immersed myself into each book and became wrapped up in the world
of fiction, allowing me to really experiment with generating ideas. The book
briefs were true eye openers as I have never felt so motivated and inspired to
make work before - this revelation gave me a whole new direction and potential
post grad opportunity to work towards.
Talking to some alumni
who have had some experience working at Penguin, whether that be a placement or
work experience, was extremely useful to me and they gave me some really useful
advice on what to include in my portfolio, if I were to apply for an
internship.
Because of this
revelation and my sheer love and enjoyment for designing book covers, I thought
I’d set myself an ambitious goal of redesigning a collection of books for my
final major brief. This was an opportunity to really push myself and come into
my own. It was a chance for me to build a strong portfolio showcasing my skills
in book design, and the style of books I enjoy making. I knew that 12 books
would be a huge ask but I knew that If I really committed myself and focussed,
I could achieve it. I think for me it’s about being challenged, when I am
challenged my subconscious self pushes me to achieve my set goal under such a
small time constraint. This project really motivated me to create further
designs for merchandise as I was so inspired and excited - it allowed me to
really come into my zone; my love and enjoyment throughout seems to have been
reflected in the outcomes.
Overall, this module has
been very successful for me as a practitioner, as it has allowed me to find
some restraint and add some context to my work. I feel generally more confident
and established as I have found a new pathway and a area of illustration in
which I will attempt to pursue post uni.
I have tendencies to
keep designing, as continuing to explore ideas can in fact be a detriment to me
and hinder the development of my already existing ideas. I need to stop myself,
take a step back and be more analytical - ask myself is this actually working?
Turn to my peers and ask for advice. This would have definitely helped me with
my major book brief, if I had acknowledged this earlier on, thinking about the
project as a whole and not various individual projects.
