Within this module I have gained many skills and further challenged my existing knowledge of Graphic Design. In the first brief I truly began to understand typography as a highly important part of design, not only the use of fonts but how they are created and can be manipulated. Before this brief and starting the course I had rarely been exposed to the anatomy of type and the reasons why certain typefaces are used. This progressed through to manipulating Futura in my first brief based on the word "occupation" by attending and taking part in my first few critique sessions my understanding of type developed incredibly in a short space of time. I now understand that typography is a never-ending learning process where you can develop a wide variety of innovative ideas. Through this basic understanding the first few briefs (1, 2, 3) allowed me to experiment with my knowledge of typography and design in a very basic manner. Adobe Illustrator workshops helped me progress my manipulations of type because I never used this software before this helped my development within design as it gave me a new medium I hadn't used before. By being introduced to illustrator within the second and third brief I will now be able to confidently improve my existing basic skills and apply it to new briefs.
Brief 4 I thoroughly enjoyed because of the amount of research on a interesting topic of choice. From existing understanding and passion for animal rights, conservation and welfare I found this project personally enjoyable and also frustrating. I found that the research and analysis of the negative portrayal of sharks was present in most people due to the media, and when presenting my work I found it incredibly difficult because this issue doesn't currently affect Europe- therefore I felt quite underwhelmed by the response to my ideas as a whole. As a continuation of this I found brief 5 challenging due to the short space of time, before starting this degree course I was given longer to complete briefs than a few days, therefore naturally I found this quite challenging but I am adapting to the ways in which briefs are set.
I also really enjoyed creating a typeface for Joe (brief 3) as learning about a person and then trying to present an element of them into a typeface was challenging but enjoyable, this is because what he likes is very different from what I am used to, along with the rest of this module as my work is normally heavily based on hand rendered design and less clean cut, however learning skills and looking at design that Joe has introduced me to has helped my general understanding of Graphic Design and that there are many different ways to produce to a design and that listening to others broadens my understanding as my initial idea is not always best.
To conclude I feel as though I have learnt and gained knowledge about Graphic Design as a whole and a better understanding of typography. However the work I produced I feel slightly underwhelmed by the execution of it due to my initial lack of skills on illustrator but also my general understanding of Graphic Design. As the course progresses I think I will naturally also progress with my skills and understanding when learning new processes and mediums such as screen printing and making use of the photography studios as this module has been quite basic in terms of processes and more about content. From this module I have also learned better ways to present within critiques as I initially found these incredibly difficult especially for brief 5 (presenting in front of the class) and by using design boards I have found that my confidence has slowly begun to increase as I feel more able to give feedback to others.
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