Evaluation

This module has enabled me to learn about myself as a designer and my ability to work with other people. Working collaboratively was really enjoyable, particularly because Angus and I were equally willing to put in 100%, which in turn made the project really rewarding. It was great to work with someone who I hadn’t worked with before (nor had I spent much time with) and it taught me that sometimes it is better to work with someone completely new to bring all ideas ‘to the table’ and utilise our combined skills.
I realised that I put more pressure on myself within collaborative briefs because I don’t want to let the other person down, which can be a bit more stressful but is good as this makes me work harder.
I also discovered that I am more motivated and interested in idea development or concepts within projects and do not enjoy the intricate technicalities as much within the final details. It was fun getting involved and active (for example when taking the bubble photographs and making the vector) and even though vacc forming was perhaps too time consuming it was really great to learn about a new process.

I am really pleased with the resolutions to this brief and that we were able to answer the brief with a slightly different approach. The links across the different areas including packaging, booklet &leaflet, carrier bag, animation and promotion ideas really makes the concept of connectivity tie together which I think we established successfully.

Packaging design has been one of my interests so working towards this brief has been yet another learning curve which I can benefit from. We depended predominantly on producing our resolutions with software which has been fantastic as I’ve become more confident within certain areas. It was also good learning more about digital printing and little details that we hadn't initially considered, for example when constructing the package we had to score the lines of the folds before folding, as none of the papers from the print room could prevent the ‘cracked’ appearance on the folds which spoil the print.

The freedom of being able to take the brief in any direction and to use any media or methods we wished was very exciting. We managed our time very effectively and I think had we been given this freedom last year it would have been a bit more daunting. Working in collaboration perhaps made the project move along faster as we could discuss and make considered but quick decisions between us.

This module has been really beneficial as it has made me realise that I enjoy working both collaboratively and independently. It really helps to combine skills and to have someone to discuss all the details with. I learnt new things in every aspect of this project, which will definitely be useful in future!