End of Module Evaluation

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

The idea of researching the context of a subject for a brief has been highlighted in this module, and I think that I did reasonably well with the practical part of this. I have tried to consider concept more than just the appearance of my work. Initially I struggled with visual exploration of an idea or concept but drew through it to come up with some ideas. I think a skill I have potentially developed is related to the Pecha Kucha as I'd never prepared or presented one of these before and feel that I did quite well with this. 

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your practical outcomes?

As I have with all of the other modules, I've developed on my sketchbook work and use of a sketchbook as a tool for research. This helped with the generation of ideas for my final practical piece. I don't think I've developed any approaches to research in terms of the essay writing as I really struggled with this. 

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

I honestly don't feel that this is a strong submission. I think that my sketchbook work is relatively in depth and my exploration of ideas is playful and creative, being less precious about my drawings helped this. I'm happy enough with my final poster but feel it could have been more refined, though it's tone is appropriate and fitting with its message.

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

I've definitely lacked motivation in this module. I think this is to do with the issue of trying to pick a topic that remained interesting for the whole length of the first year. The deadlines and tutorials were so widely spaced apart that I never gained any momentum, let alone maintained it.  

My time management and organisation was another downfall. I prioritised other modules that I felt I could sink my teeth into more and ended up leaving a lot of CoP work to the last minute. I know that this shows as the standard of this work has definitely dropped in comparison to the rest of my work this year. 

Honestly, I'm really disappointed with myself, especially with my essay; I know that I could have done better with this but didn't allow myself the time to dedicate to researching and referencing etc. I could have applied for mitigating circumstances following Easter break, but was concerned that the visual communication, CoP and PPP deadlines would end up too close together and would stress me out even more so I didn't bother. Looking back, maybe I should have to allow myself more time to get back into the right frame of mind for working. This isn't however an excuse; shit happens and I didn't deal with it well enough this time around. I struggled with the idea of writing at 'university level', considering I have no idea what this means with no frame of reference. Overall, my list of weaknesses clearly outweighs my sentence or two of strengths and I need to make sure that I get myself into gear and really stay focussed in future.

5. Identify five things that you feel will benefit you during next years Context of Practice module?

1) Research - Lots of research early on. It will help to get information from lots of sources, making notes about images I see or quotes that I read/hear etc. I did a lot more research toward the deadline and had more material to rewrite an essay with, but didn't leave myself enough time to do so. Therefore.... 

2) Organisation and getting things done early! - Time management is clearly an issue of mine so I need to get myself organised. I think getting a calendar or diary and sticking to using it will really help.

3) Picking something I'm actually interested in - I struggled to know where to start and ended up picking a topic that I didn't feel particularly passionate about. This made it more of a struggle to remain interested, so for next years module, I'll consider my topic as thoroughly as possible before starting the work.

4) Asking for more feedback - Taking the time to ask for opinions or reflection on my work to help my development throughout the module. I think all of my peers agree that we lacked a great deal of feedback and tutorials were very rushed and informal, especially group tutorials. I was hesitant to ask for help and really feel like this hindered my confidence as well as my final outcomes.

5) Picking a subject that isn't based on illustration or visuals - This is one of the reasons why I struggled when it came to my map of understanding. My essay was mainly an analysis of illustrations or video and I didn't realise at the beginning that this wasn't the point. Next year I will think about subjects, issues and topics that are far more removed from illustration, making it more interesting to illustrate.

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					x
Punctuality					x
Motivation	x
Commitment		x
Quantity of work produced		x
Quality of work produced		x
Contribution to the group		x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self-evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.

Poster - Sketchbook Development & Final Piece

Following my Pecha Kucha, I made a short list of potential titles for my visual diagram and began brainstorming some ideas:

Originally I wanted to set it out like a mind map, but eventually I felt it would be more appropriate for it to be a less structured composition, reflecting the feelings of both confusion and apathy which are clear themes in the subject.

I roughed out some ideas, drawing out images which summed up some of the points highlighted in my presentation as reasons for voter apathy. I also littered the page with drawings of poo and farts and exclamation marks etc which help to convey the opinions I feel, as well as the opinions of the young voters in general.

Sketches to be put into Photoshop, coloured and arranged for my poster:

The feeling of voter apathy summed up:

Feeling like our votes don't count:

Our votes and opinions being ignored:

Internet distractions:

I experimented with fine liner as well as brush pen and coloured each of these digitally to figure out which would be most appropriate. I offset the colour slightly to add to the rough and inaccurate tone:

I quite like the varying line quality of the brush pen but think the fineliner looks better and more suited to the digital colour.

Experimenting with the title:

Below is too straight and structured:

Below is more scruffy and suitable:

Tried to make it more of a shit-brown:

Caricatures of the politicians featuring on my poster: 

(tiny eyes. need to resize these on Ps)

The final poster design:

I am quite happy with this final poster. I think that it clearly conveys the message and my opinion, along with the shared opinion of other 18 to 24 year olds. The tone is appropriate to the message and I think that my research shows through in my practical work.