With contradictory themes running through a few of my projects, it seems only too fitting to introduce my evaluation in such a way, in the brightness of sun rise during the darkest times of an approaching deadline I wanted to entitle my last ever ever BAGD post with something completely undesign related—settling upon 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.'

The Good
Starting positively I feel the strongest part of my work this module has, for the first time being the conceptual development of briefs, particularly the bringing together of opposite or contradictory elements to create content seldom seen before. Most notably the Analogue Website where I brought together the advantageous nature of web and the truly analogue qualities of bespoke print. Also the Lofi gloss magazines, which opposed the tacky, glossy content with considered typography in a Risograph printed publication. Also another seldom seen combination is that of a typeface with a conceptual reason for its creation—not something that was evident in its aesthetic, but certainly in its application and delivery. I have also got even greater respect for typefaces than before, having taken a few months to get to the minimal stage in which I am someway from having a typeface that stands up to those I use on a daily basis. The design context brief was also another highlight of this module, as it gave me the opportunity to work with a lot of content which was selected an edited by me. The last positive is that of something which is something that will continue to happen, and that is collaboration. Particularly with Arthur, having lived together (in and out of the studio) for two years, I haven't really been able to escape him, so it's a good job we work well together. The Interdisciplinary Yearbook has almost definitely been the most successful brief, and we now have the LCA prospectus work to carry out over summer, which is really exciting. I think the reason for all of this is because we seem to have brought the best out in each other the two years. Arthur has forced me into not settling for easy options, thinking more before I start designing, and to simply just work ridiculously hard. Working together in moor recent times, we both value each other ideas and concepts as well as skill sets and production.

The Bad
Ironically a bad point is also collaboration, not so much in design terms, but more in client terms. The fashion brief(s) I was initially really excited about, but I had so little time to do anything I didn't real produce anything of a standard I was happy with. A big problem I had was this module was having too much time. As in I was never worried about work, I always thought 5 months was ages, it wasn't until about 2 weeks before when I realised what was going on. I was chipping away at everything, I just didn't want to sign anything off or print it and then look back on it a few weeks later and hate it, so instead of completing one or a few briefs at a time I was working on and getting ready to print on everything up until about ten days before deadline. I have no idea how this will always translate industry, but when I've been in professional environments,even with long briefs, there seems to have been more interim deadline set by the client. I don't have enough integrity to set these myself. I am a little concerned about the level of self-indulgence that appears in the work I have created in this module. Last module I took on way too much freelance and live work and wasn't happy with the outcomes the client drove me toward, and a lot of stuff hasn't gone into my portfolio. I made a massive effort to combat this, but perhaps may have gone too far, and created a body of work primarily about me and my interests/opinions. If there is a right time to do that, then I think this probably was it.

The Ugly
Again I have taken on too much and spread myself too thin. I said after last module I wouldn't do that, but 5 months is a long time, I got bored with briefs and started new ones. Where I have previously struggled with a range for the sake of it, where I forced out generic deliverables for the sake of boards, and then they didn't come anywhere close to making it in my portfolio. I wanted to make more of a point of expanding the quality of deliverables across a range, but instead I've just left each brief at a few strong deliverables, that I saw necessary. I am concerned that I don't know whether I'm loosing grades or in the bigger picture I'm not seeing the potential of briefs. I have struggled with blogging this module, massively, I just couldn't get into it. I think having been on quite a few placements now, where eI fell I have been adequately prepared by the course, I have been working on some really great briefs and just running with them and not having to stop to blog. I am obviously fully aware this is how our degree is graded, but I have struggled incredibly to blog anything this module, and in all honesty as I write this evaluation, I still have a ridiculous amount still to blog. Perhaps the strongest negative, which could be seen as negative is I'm ready for something new. I've been really lucky with placements, and getting a taste for it, just makes me want that all the time, I am fully aware the course has got me to a level where I can earn these placements, but simply 16 years of successive education with no break, has finally caught up with me and I needs something new. I'm glad I've come all the way through education with no break, because I've never lost the amount of drive I have and I'm about to enter the design world as a pretty young graduate.

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So in grand summary I am for the first time happy with the work I have produced, I just couldn't have planned my 5 months any worse. I'm excited to include these projects in my portfolio.

I'm far from in position to start making philosophical design statements, but from my 5 years in design education, (with the addition of a recent amount of exhaustion and delirium) I would like to try and summarise my current position.

Being a designer who works predominantly with given content, I could almost go as far as saying I no longer like the word design, as it I can't seem to remove it from self-driven, aesthetically driven products and outcomes, instead I see my skill set and increasingly growing conceptual approach as being something which can respect, communicate and celebrate the strength of the content provided.

Despite this slightly abstract sign off and proud be a graduating graphic designer.