Image Module - Evaluation so far

Before beginning the final brief in the Image module we have been asked to look back over what we have produced so far in order to help us direct the next project as it runs from now until the end of the Easter break.

Personally I feel that the image module had been an overwhelmingly beneficial module to undertake, as more than anything, it has allowed me to just 'get on' with work that I've wanted to look into for sometime. The format of the sessions prompts quick responses to each brief which has forced me to work quickly and efficiently without labouring over decisions for long periods of time and I have ended up with a really satisfying body of work that will really boost my portfolio.

Going back to the beginning of the module, the 'Editorial Image' brief was a little bit of a shock to the system. It was the first time in quite a while that we had been set a one week brief and at that time we had a number of other things happening which led to me leaving little time to complete the project. However, I did eventually manage to produce a good range of imagery which I was pleased with and received positive feedback from my crit group and this set me up for the rest of the module. This was immediately visible through the following 'Type as Image' brief for which I produced a set of A1 posters - one in particular (using the quote "just incase you're keeping score") that was screen printed I was very pleased with and it drew excellent feedback from fellow group members. The 'Scale/Frame/Format' brief was another hi-light which allowed me to get back to basics with a simple hand-rendered poster in the mandatory form of an eye chart. For this brief we were given an object to draw and work with (mine being a skateboard) and initially I was disappointed with this as I had no interest in them or any experience of drawing them but eventually it turned out to be a very enjoyable exercise and one with a successful resolution. The '2d > 3d > 2d' brief was perhaps the only one I was a little dubious of as the initial exercise that gave us the image we had to recreate seemed a little random and immature. However, the result of it proved quite positive, but increasingly over time since that brief, I have seen it's value more and more as I have recognised the exact way of working in many designers' practices. Finally the 'Book Works' project allowed me to get stuck into some layout, editorial and production based work. I was really pleased with what I designed in response to this brief and even more so once I found that it sold well at the following book fair where we exhibited as a course. I'm sure that this project will also be a key part of my portfolio as it really shows the kind of work I want to produce more of in the near future.

The nature of the briefs has enabled me to look into a variety of ways of working and methods of production, but unusually, through doing the image module, I seem to have moved slightly more towards type. Not because I found I dislike image - far from it - but through briefs such as the 'type as image' A1 posters and the 'book works' Futura newspaper being particularly successful briefs.
When moving towards the final self-initiated brief, I am initially planning to combine the type work from these briefs together with some of the image making I did in the 'scale/frame/format' project so that the resolution of the final brief reflects the wider body of work produced across the module. Another idea I had was to draw more singularly on the type work and perhaps set about producing my own typeface.