End of Module Self Evaluation

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

As this module has been going on throughout the year, I have learnt a lot which has all been valuable. We have covered a wide range of topics, such as things that may seem very simple, but are actually very important and often ignored, such as revisiting English language and covering verbs, nouns, adjectives etc - something that I haven't really had to consider in many years.


The things that stand out to me the most are what I have learnt about colour theory and also what I have learnt about grids. Before this course, I didn't know anything about either of these areas, so since developing these new skills, I have applied them to all of my Graphic Design in general, and therefore have noticed an improvement in my work as a whole, so I think I have applied these skills effectively. Learning about colour theory has made me think more about the choices behind using a colour, what this colour means, and how the use of it effects how the piece looks/is read. Learning about grids has ensured that my pieces have a visual consistency, making them neater and more professional.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

For this module I haven't researched as much as I have done for other modules, as most of the time has been spent on the visual language sessions. I have completed secondary research for the briefs set on photography, books for the book fair and the what is a line brief. I have used books and the Internet to find examples of inspiring artwork - this including graphic design, illustration, photography, and paper folding - as well as to find out more about the subjects I have chosen to create work for.


All my forms of primary research have been either photography or drawing for this module. I have done a lot more observational drawing as research than before, as usually I only use photography as a method of primary research, and then draw from these photographs, where with this module, especially with the 'What is a line?' brief, I have captured my researched through drawings.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

As the visual language sessions were only half day sessions, I worked quickly and wasn't too precious about the work I produced. This is actually a good thing, as this way of working allowed me to think of many different responses to a problem, and to be experimental with my work, trying things I wouldn't usually as I would be too scared that it would not work. By trying things outside my 'comfort zone' style of working, I feel I have benefited greatly, and hopefully will capitalise this strength by working this way in my next module. In previous modules, I haven't achieved what I had wanted to as I hadn't experimented much; I had just stuck to my initial ideas.

Relating to the 'being experimental' strength, this module has encouraged me to try new things. After being introduced to photography through the induction, and having an idea for how I could use photography in the 'What is a line?' brief, I bought a fish eye camera and enjoyed taking film photographs with a totally different type of camera to what I am used to. Although I didn't end up using the results for my 'What is a line?' brief, I took some photographs that I quite pleased with, and will be capitalising on this new skill by taking more photographs with this camera.

Another strength is that I think I am improving on aspects I have noted that I wanted to improve on in previous evaluations. For example, at the beginning of the year, I don't feel as if I put enough effort in to my presentation of work, and I didn't experiment much with stocks. In this module, I have taken better care with my presentation of the work I have produced for the brief, printing in digital print where possible. For the books I created for the book fair, I tried out many different stocks before deciding which one to use. I hadn't done this to this extent before, so I hadn't realised how useful this experimentation is, as the use of different stocks can completely effect a piece, from making it stand out more, to making the text easier to read and other aspects.


Overall, I have found this module enjoyable and hope my passion for this subject can be identified in the work I have produced.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

I think a weakness for the work I have produced for visual language is the lack of quantity of work, compared to the amount of work I have created for other modules. The only way to address this weakness more fully would be to spend more time creating work outside of the sessions.


I found it harder to manage my time for the briefs set for this module than with the other modules, as we only had one half day session a week. Therefore, for the rest of the week, my time was spent concentrating on the other work I had for my other modules. Also, knowing that the module hand in date was quite far away from things were initially being set, I didn't feel the same pressure which motivates me, that I felt for other modules. To address this more fully, I could set myself mini deadlines to ensure I am completing the work as I go, rather than rushing to complete it at the end.



Another weakness is not asking for help and feedback with my briefs for this module. Again, this relates to how the visual language sessions are different to the other modules, so with less time there have been less crits, and less time for detailed feedback on my work. I could address this problem by asking for feedback from other students or emailing tutors about my questions, instead of just waiting for the next week's visual language session for the advice I need.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

I haven't done much research for this module, so next time, I would like to research the topic we have covered after a session, to expand my knowledge and to find relevant images which could inspire future work. I did this for only a few topics, such as the paper folding session, and was really fascinated about what I found out, so next time feel it would be useful to research a topic without having to be told to do so.

Following on from the previous point, after researching relevant work for a topic, I would like to revisit what I have learnt in my own time, and spend a bit longer on the quality and presentation of my work. Everything I have learnt in this module I have enjoyed, and it has been a nice change from the other modules as it is so different, but I don't think I have fully capitalised on what I have learnt as I haven't managed to use the skills in other projects.

Next time, if I was set a brief where the majority of work was to be completed over a holiday away from college, I would be sure to plan ahead better. When I went home for Easter, I needed to work, which meant that I had a lot less time to concentrate on this brief, as well as facing difficulties due to not having very good equipment. At home there were many distractions so I found it quite hard to do any work. Next time, I would set aside some time to return to college during the break as it is a much better environment to work in, and at college I would have access to facilities such as the Mac suite and digital print.
I changed my idea for the book for the book fair over half way through the brief which left me with very little time to actually produce my book. While I am still pleased with the book I eventually produced for the fair, I think next time I could gain more time to spend improving the quality of my work by thinking through my idea more thoroughly before starting to design. I don't think I considered aspects such as the purpose of my book or my target audience until much later on, and when I did, thinking about these considerations made me change my idea.
As relating to the weakness I have stated in the question above, next time, when I feel I am at a dead end with my ideas and stuck what to do next, I will ask others for their advice. This will allow me to get on with my work, rather than waiting around or putting off this work. From doing this, the quality and quantity of my work should improve.

6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas
(5= excellent 4=very good 3=good 2=average 1=poor)
Attendance = 5
Punctuality = 4
Motivation = 3
Commitment = 3
Quantity of work produced = 3
Quality of work produced = 3
Contribution to the group = 4

Fisheye Photography

I recently bought a fisheye photography which I was going to use for my 'what is a line?' visual language brief. However, the photographs of hands that I took for this brief did not turn out how I wanted them to. This was my first film with the fisheye camera, so I have experimented with all the different settings, meaning that some images haven't worked too well. It was a lot of fun to use and very exciting to collect the prints and see how things had turned out. Here are a few examples of my photographs:

Visual Language: What is a line? (More Drawing)

Previous blog posts for 'What is a line?':

Plan and initial drawing

Photography

Palm reading

Design Context research

PPD post

These are a collection of experimental drawings inspired by my artist research as well as being based on the photographs I took. I found these drawings really fun as I did so many of them, I didn't feel precious about any of them so allowed myself to be free. Materials I have used include: pencils, biro, fine writer, marker pen, watercolours, paints and coloured pencils. This is the first time all year I have drawn with such a mix of materials which has been a good change.

 

Final Piece

Now I have completed lots of experimentation with photography and drawing, it is time for me to think about the final piece. My initial idea was a poster or a book relating to what the lines on the hand mean, and I think I will continue with this idea. The style of drawing I liked the best was the accurate fine writer drawing which I then coloured with watercolour paint. I liked the smaller hands rather than the actual size hand drawings. I aim to draw every single hand I have photographed, and then include some sort of explanation to what the lines on the hand mean. I am using the photographs taken with my digital camera instead of the fish eye photographs, as I got far more of these photos and this camera allowed for a quicker turnaround with results rather than waiting for film to develop. I think creating a book would be quite difficult, as I have to consider that with it being the Easter holidays, I am unable to use all of the college facilities I normally could as I am at home.

Poster Mock-ups

These are some mock-ups of my final poster, which advertises the booklet I will make to go with the poster. However, as this is a drawing brief, the image aspect of this poster is more important than other aspects, so I have kept everything else simple so the images stand out. I wanted everything to be neat and orderly which is why I have aligned the drawings into a square.

Final Poster

This is my final poster. I printed it in the digital print room on A2 Matt. I am really pleased with the quality of the print.

Book Mock-ups

These are quick mock-ups, where I have played around with different possible layouts for my short booklet. This process has also helped me to decide where to place the information I will include in the book.

Final Book

The booklet is just a brief booklet explaining palm reading. The information about palm reading that I have used in this booklet is from Dennis Farichild's Guide to Palm Reading. The design relates to the simple style of the poster, where the images are the most important thing. The fold of this booklet is similar to a hot dog fold book, with the same amount of pages and a poster inside, however, it opens up differently, meaning that there does not need to be a slit in the poster. When deciding on the folds of the book, I chose this fold as I hadn't used it before, and also because it was easy and didn't involve book binding. It is not meant to be a thick book, just a small accompaniment for with the poster.

Layout

Inside

Photographs of booklet

Visual Language: Palm Reading

Here is what I have learnt from Dennis Farichild's Guide to Palm Reading

The left hand reveals your personal, private side, where the right hand tells how you present yourself to the world. Modern palm reading isn't actually believed to predict the future. I decided to read my own palm, and have included drawings of my hands to illustrate what I mean. I was a bit sceptical about what I thought about palm reading before this book, but was surprised how many things are accurate about me. However, these could be quite general things that anyone could find true, like with horoscopes. At the side of each statement, I've put how much I believe each to be true, with A meaning not true at all, B meaning slightly true/some parts are true and C meaning very accurate.

My Hands

• small hands think big - pursue each goal with reason and intellect rather than intuition (B)
• easily flexible - do anything to avoid an argument (C)
• short palm with short fingers - down-to-earth, logical soul, comfortable in the material world, prefer stable and predictable lifestyles, dislike change and are aggressive about getting what they need (C)
• smooth fingers with unobtrusive knuckles - use intuition more than reason, play hunches rather than fret over status quo (A)
• blunt, squarish fingers - gain emotional satisfaction from being careful, orderly, useful and productive. crave stability, viewing change as undesirable (C)
• small and squarish nails - want to be recognized, can be extremely self-centred, hard to see another point of view because your opinion alone counts (B)
• wide nails - make discriminating, practical choices, have difficulty seeing another's point of view, dislike criticism and prefer to do things your own way. routine and stability are very important. a lover of schedules, once you find the perfect job or partner you tend to stay (C)
• arch fingerprint - efficient, hardworking, reliable. cautious and conservative in your ideas and opinions, you are a follower rather than a pioneer, comfortable with the tried-and-true (C)
• three distinct rasclettes - great physical strength and endurance, money and possessions give you a sense of security and you enjoy great pleasure seeing a job well done. plan carefully and work hard (B)
• long, straight middle finger - love for schedule, serious about your commitments, don't mind being alone, work is very important to you, happiest when situations are orderly and structured. you possess natural managerial abilities and are known for shrewdness, diligence and reliability. although ambitious, status and recognition is not as important to you as honor and personal happiness (C)
• square tipped little finger - you speak and argue well, and state your case with exactness because you act from equality and fairness (A)
• three or more Venus lines - have the rare ability to see both sides of a situation and have more than one career interest. always tactful and diplomatic, you're open for new avenues to prosper.you'll always have money when you need it, thanks to the goodwill of others (B)
• thumb arches backwards - your heart rules your head and you may have trouble making rational decisions. very sentimental and a bit unrealistic (A)
• angle of thumb naturally falls away from other fingers - generous, open-minded, willing to compromise and consider the options for all concerned. ideas and concepts are important to you. you respect intelligence and individuality but are more concerned with theory rather than application.difficult for you to finish anything on time or on budget. Your quick with and humour makes you lovable (B)
• flat thumb area - you keep a distance from others. your mind is focused on on personal or internal issues rather than the outside world. no matter how good your ideas, you have difficulty explaining them in a logical or practical way. "old ways" make you feel good (B)
• chained hand lines - weak willpower, sadness, paranoia, and a tendency to retreat from the physical world. you don't like being alone and are fragile in a china-doll kind of way (B)
• a life line that begins high under the index finger - a need for acknowledgement, ultimate individualist, you can't bear to have someone tell you what to do or how to do it. you are energetic but may have trouble focusing your abundant energy. although you enjoy praise, its almost impossible for you to accept advice or acknowledge errors (B)
• deeply etched head line - optimistic and idealistic, you always see the silver lining inside every cloud and believe things will turn out for the better (B)
• sloping head line - sign of escapism, depression. sympathetic and trusting, you are very susceptible to hard-luck stories and easily fooled. overly idealistic, dealing with harsh realities is difficult for you. (A)
• head and life lines joined near the thumb - cautious and focused. practical and predictable, your greatest gift is the stability you provide to others. (C)
• forked head line - curious, inventive (B)
• deeply etched heart line - peacemaker. you place great emphasis on home and family and your ties to them are strong (C)
• chained heart line - fickle or inclined to change affections often. many of your relationships are punctuated with emotional upheavals or more like casual friendships rather than deep emotional unions (A)
• broken fate line - dissatisfaction with status and a desire for more money and recognition. (B)
• fate line starts within life line - your physical home spells security and stability to you. "old ways" make you feel secure (C)
• downward sloping affection lines - there will be upset, dependency concerns or emotional difficulties with unions
• affection lines close to the heart line - you will find emotional satisfaction when young

Reading others palms

Lee

Small hands, inflexible, long palm short fingers, large nails, vertical ridges, mix of fingerprints, 3 deep rascelletes, three or more venus lines, wide life line, life line starts high, chained head line, sloping head line, forked head line, short heart line, chained heart line, girdle of Venus, clear fate line, fat line stops at heart line, deeply etched venus line, broken mercury line

What this means

Small hands think big, difficult for you to give in and see other persons side of the story, argumentative and make up your mind before the facts are on the table, big thinkers, worrywart, need for love, dreamer, contradictory fingerprints, great physical strength and endurance, ability to see both sides of a situation and more than one career interest, sunny, generous and reliable, need for acknowledgement, can't bear to have someone tell you what to do or how to do it, energetic, difficulty concentrating, curious and inventive, passionate and playful, sensual yet sensible, fickle, keenly aware of what others think, sense of contentment with belongings, forewarning of business hassles, you have personal happiness

Jane

Easily flexible fingers, blunt squarish fingers, small squarish nails, square nails, loop fingerprint, 3 deep rascelletes, long straight middle finer, ring finger larger than index finger, flat thumb area, deep lines, wide life line, life line starts high, deep head line, head and life line join at the thumb, deep heart line, chained heart line, broken mercury line, affection line close to head line

What this means

Do anything to avoid an argument, you gain emotional satisfaction from being careful and orderly, crave stability, you want to be recognized and can be extremely self centred, hard to see anothers point of view, you like logic and schedules, love order and common sense, adaptable and agreeable, you don't like to rock the social boat, money and possessions give you a sense of security, enjoy seeing a job well done, love for schedule, serious about commitments, happiest when situations are orderly, enjoy the niceties money buys, keep a distance from others, you have specific likes and dislikes, sunny and reliable, need for acknowledgement, can't bear to have someone tell you what to do or how to do it, optimistic and idealistic, cautious and focused, peacemaker, great emphasis on family, fickle, impatient and have several things going on at one time, find love early in life

Mum

Small hands, inflexible, long palm short fingers, rounded fingerprints, wide nails, square nails, vertical ridges, arch fingerprint, rasclletes point upwards, long index finger, short thumb, arches backwards, inflexible thumb, thumb falls 45 degree away from hand, well etched lines, breaks in life line, short life line, long head line, deep head line, plummeting down head line, deep heart line, long heart line

What this means

Small hands think big, difficult for you to give in and see other persons side of the story, argumentative and make up your mind before the facts are on the table, do not like living alone, have difficulty seeing anothers point of view, dislike criticism and prefer to do things your way, you like logic and schedules, love order and common sense, worrywart, dreamer, efficient, hardworking and reliable, vanity and a need for approval, healthy ego, belief in yourself, short on willpower and patience, don't know when to draw the line, your heart rules your head, argumentative, few friendships but they last forever, generous and open minded, specific likes and dislikes, worrier who allows others to interfere, lacks physical energy, never tire of learning new things, optimistic and idealistic, dealing with harsh realities is difficult for you, peacemaker, romantic and protective

Dad

Prominent large knuckles, oval nails, long index finger, index and middle finger same length, bent/curved middle finger, middle finger with pronounced knuckles, square tipped little finger, thumb falls 45 degrees away from hand, thumb with waist, fine thin lines, life line hugs thumb, short head line, sloped head line, weak heart line, long heart line, double fate line, fate line ends at head line, well etched affection lines

What this means

Reasoning abilities, patience, rarely act in haste or anger, aware what other people think, healthy ego, belief in yourself, you enjoy being the boss and in charge, collector and one who hoards things, you have plenty of common sense about finances but trouble with mundane things like remembering where you left your keys, you act from equality and fairness, generous, open minded, respect intelligence, important desire to learn, mental and creative, bounce back easily from disappointments, not inclined to speak up, more mental than physical, very conservative, dealing with harsh realities is difficult for you, don't like being alone and function best in partnerships, romantic and protective, works best in partnerships, capable of strong, sincere relationships

Sophie

Small hands, short palm and short fingers, prominent knuckles, pointed fingers, small nails, oval nails, long straight middle finger, long straight ring finger, long little finger, pointy tipped little finger, thumb with waist, flabby mount of Apollo, wide sweeping life line, short head line, deeply etched head line, head line slopes down, deeply etched heart line, short heart line, faint fate line

What this means

Small hands think big, down-to-earth, doesn't mind the daily grind, problem solver, curiosity and good imagination, your mind is fast and have difficulty with sticking to anything for long, rarely act in haste or anger, aware what other people think, love for schedule, serious about commitments, you don't fear showing your feelings, you think big and talk well, your enthusiasm is contagious, open minded and overly accommodating, boundless curiosity and desire to learn, you find mundane day-to-day tasks unattractive, sunny and generous, one track mind and short sightedness, optimistic and idealistic, dealing with harsh realities is difficult for you, peacemaker, passionate and playful, desire for more money and recognition

Beth

Long palm and long fingers, smooth fingers, pointed fingers, rounded fingertips, small nails, oval nails, three clear rasclettes, long straight middle finger, pointy tipped little finger, thumb arches backwards, thumb area flat, many fine lines, chained lines, life line begins high, long head line, sloping head line, head and life line join at thumb, deeply etched heart line, wide space between heart and head line, chained heart line

What this means

Intuitive and sensitive, use intuition more than reason, curiosity and good imagination, don't like living alone, impulsive and curious, rarely act in haste or anger, great physical strength and endurance, love for schedule, serious about work commitments, warmth and charisma, your heart rules your head, keep a distance from others, nervousness and scattered energy, weak willpower, need for acknowledgement, can't bear to have someone tell you what to do or how to do it, you respect knowledge, dealing with harsh realities is difficult for you, cautious and focused, peacemaker, you do things your way, you approach life eagerly, fickle

What everyone thought

After I read everyones palm's, I asked people what they thought about what they had been told. Everyone's opinion was almost the same. While agreeing that palm reading is fun, and interesting to learn about what the lines in your palm supposedly reveal about yourself, it seems to be made up, as some traits were true, but others completely false. Also, many traits could be applied to anyone, especially positive traits, which you may believe you have. For example, when I was reading my own palm, some traits were scarily accurate, however others couldn't be more far off my personality! 

Visual Language: What is a line? (Photography)

Following on from previous blog post: plan and initial drawings

Initial Hand Photographs

I began to take photographs of peoples hands in different poses as I thought these would be interesting to draw from, however, I later decided that the photographs would be just of peoples left hand and palm, as this is what I would need to see to be able to read a palm. I think it is better now that all of the photos are of the same pose. As this brief is all about drawing, I was eager to get photographs and start experimenting with my drawing, so I don't think I have taken anywhere near as many photographs as I could have done.

Fish Eye Hand Photographs

The photographs of hands that I took for this brief did not turn out how I wanted them to. This was my first film with the fisheye camera, so I have experimented with all the different settings, meaning that some images haven't worked too well. Examples of the fish eye photographs that I liked can be seen here:

Fisheye photography