The extended project has allowed me to investigate a range of concepts and practical processes that are fundamental to my practice. I feel very satisfied with the overall quality of the final publication as well as the developmental work leading up to it. It is professional and has been created to a standard that I am keen to showcase. Throughout the course I have spent a lot of time working with the adobe software, gaining a deepened understanding of Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign & After Effects. This project gave me the opportunity to excel my understanding of these software’s. At times I think I may have relied too heavily on these programmes, and so reengaging with analogue forms of making and letting the two lead into one another I’ve realised is very important. With the pandemic rendering certain facilities, such as printing, unavailable to us, I had to adapt and in turn explore digital means of publication more. I’m proud of the animation created to promote the final publication, it is representative of the project as a whole and works well to bind all of the work and concepts together. The general confidence I have in my abilities has grown so much, particularly in the final year. I believe this is a result of time, being more diligent and simply realising how fortunate I am to be able to create a career for myself out of something I enjoy so much.
The research undertaken in this brief was another enjoyable part of the work. Delving deep into a subject and forming a well-informed understanding from which to respond to has been a rewarding process. One that I’m keen to involve in future projects. Basing my research on music was a valuable decision to have made as I enjoy working in an interdisciplinary approach, letting the two practices feed into one another. This is an area of work that I’d love to keep involved with post uni - hence why I wanted to explore it deeply in this brief.
I’m happy to say that overall I don’t have many frustrations with this project, I applied myself as best I could and really put my all into it. That being said, there were a few bumps in the road that were beyond my control. Obviously, the pandemic had an effect on my project. I’d initially planned on making a printed publication and a set of posters to sit alongside it in the exhibition. So, I had to adapt my outcomes to be suited for a digital submission, leading me to create a mocked-up version of the publication and use animation to present it and tie everything together. I also plan to get the publication printed through Newspaperclub soon. I decided not to create posters to ensure that the overall quality of my outcomes was not hindered. Given that we have a few weeks until the degree show submission, I’ll create the posters in this time instead. Also, due to technical issues with After Effects I did not have enough time to create more animations. It would have been really exciting to have pushed the images in the publication further, potentially compiling them all in an interactive website format – another thing that can be done at a later date.
Keeping a constant eye on the illustration/design industry has been fundamental to my development as a practitioner. This has helped me to develop and evolve my own taste as well as inspiring me to create and challenge the ways that I work comfortably. As a result of this I’ve noticed myself act a lot more professionally in my approach to work throughout this brief. Working from home and being solely responsible for the amount of effort put into this project could have gone two ways. By effectively managing my time and ensuring I stuck to a routine I was able to get the most out of myself and not let the quality of my work be hindered.
A constant goal of mine throughout the degree has been to explore projects from both an illustrative and graphic design standpoint. Before starting, I was unsure about which course to take. However, I think that training from an illustrative perspective and simultaneously engaging in graphic design work has enabled me to form a unique practice, one that allows me to merge and explore areas of both disciplines. In this next stage I plan to maintain a wide-ranging practice which explores a variety of processes; such as more publication design, animation, 3D animation, print, editorial, advertising… the list goes on. Progressing from this project into the professional world is exciting and I hope that it might bring me some new opportunities. I am going to maintain my practice through collaborative projects and freelance work whilst also looking for jobs in design agencies, an experience I would like to have.
