Extended Practice / Module Evaluation

Extended Practice has been an exigent and dynamic module that has given me an insight into my specialism through a variety of briefs. This allowed me to determine which briefs worked well and which did not, through analysis and evaluation. The briefs varied in scale, meaning I gained experience with working with shorter, fast paced projects, alongside projects which took 6 months. 

Diligent time planning  ensured the projects ran smoothly especially when some of them overlapped, although there were many things out of my control that resulted in me having to think on my feet and adapt; such as professional services not printing samples in time, or content not being sent by the client for long periods of time. This allowed me to gain knowledge in planning ahead and being prepared. This is a skill that can be taken forward for industry, as there will be times where I will be working on multiple projects in the future. 

The module demanded skills within problem solving, such as when things did not go to plan, for example within the Ceramics brief. Many prototypes broke, which resulted in me having to discuss new ideas on how to approach the next set to try and produce something successful. This also included problem solving within other editorial briefs, for example producing the publications and considering stock, binding and other treatments to ensure all error was avoided. Experience with this is helpful for after graduation, when things may go wrong or not work, and I must approach the brief in new and more effective ways to generate a successful resolution in the end. 

Research and contact/communication was another crucial aspect within Extended Practice. A lot of briefs needed primary research and contact from other sources, for example contacting sources for the research brief, conducting surveys and research to establish aims/goals/things to avoid and contacting potential collaborators. This was especially apparent within Brief 05, when I needed external collaboration in terms of producing content for the magazine, and Brief 09 when conducting research and testing the successfulness of the branding resolution. These skills can be taken forward after university, as communication and contact is always a beneficial skill to have within the creative industry. 

Throughout extended practice I feel I have attempted to produce resolutions that are as professional as possible, whether that be through professional printing services or ensuring effort and time was put into producing high quality design resolutions. As a result I have predominantly been proud of the projects I have completed for the module, and feel they have allowed me to explore editorial design to a greater depth, along with other design practices such as branding and identity, another area which I am interested in. 

The module has also allowed me to discover an aspiration in producing my own magazine, something I have been wanting to do in the future, and allowed me to put this into practice in it’s first stages. Demon Magazine has become a passionate project of mine that I hope can be explored further and developed again after university to hopefully become successful in the future. 

Overall I am proud of the effort put into Extended Practice and feel I have evolved as a designer, communicator and creative thinker, and will hopefully be able to translate these skills I have gained into the industry next year.

Metal Magazine / In Context

Here the magazine is shown in context within an appropriate environment alongside other high end publications within independent book stores.

Metal Magazine / Testing

I asked a few questions to peers relating to the aim of the brief, and whether this has been successful. 

Limatations to this study include asking only graphic design students within the class. Some may not be metal fans, it would be more effective to ask a focus group of just metal fans, maybe even some who do not do graphic design to see whether the design and content work. 

The results were extremely positive with 85% engaging with the magazine, albeit an ambiguous question, and also 100% of participants claiming that a metal magazine of this nature doesn't seem to exist. This is good news as I felt there was a gap for a magazine like this. I still haven't personally come across one, so this research shows that no one else has either.

The final question asks what is most effective in terms of appealing to the user. Colour was the highest score, which is understandable as the colour is the main feature which I feel creates the atmosphere and style of the magazine, and looks engaging and interesting.

Overall these results show a success within the project, in terms of appealing to a wider audience than kerrang or rock sound, and creating a new project with a USP which may not exist within the current realm of editorial products in the genre. 

Metal Magazine / Final Product

After much anticipation and suspense, the magazine did finally arrive from Pressision on the 12th. It is printed on 90 GSM gloss stock, with a  150 GSM laminated gloss cover, perfect bound. These elements create a high quality finish which I would be expecting for the price, and which suits the aims of the brief.

The colour was extremely important to the project and the main reason why I needed to use professional printing services. The colour turned out extremely well and is probably the main success of the product. The fluro pink is part of the project's solid identity, and needed to be as bright as possible. 

A problem I have faced is that due to the magazine arriving late towards the deadline, there is no time to take professional photos of it, but this can be done properly after the hand in. 

Overall I am extremely pleased with the result of this project, however it was definitely costly, but necessary. This piece can be used within my portfolio in the future, and also hopefully taken forward and explored further after university. 

Metal Magazine / Packaging Considerations

I considered and explored different ideas around the packaging of the magazine for when it is delivered to users online. 



The first idea I explored was spray painted bags. The idea behind this was to communicate the same format as the front cover of the magazine. I spray painted two bags using regular black spray paint, and surprisingly this worked fine. Problems I encountered were that once the paint dries, in the areas where it is thickest, it chipped off when bending. This means this wouldn't be suitable for deliveries and shipping due to being handled. 

Another element to this idea was adding the vinyl logo to bring out some colour. Although striking, I don't think this communicates the right tone for what I was trying to achieve. The magazine is a high end, stripped bag metal magazine, and this vinyl paired with the spray paint looks too much and may put people off. 

The second idea was a much simpler one, plain plastic sealable bags, with stickers. This looks much more professional and the glossy bag correlates with the glossy cover, resulting in an overall high quality feel, with the sticker giving the magazine a more credible effect. The stickers come in white and black, and are used to further seal the bags for shipping. 

Ceramics / Evaluation

This brief was self initiated, and intended to be a break from strictly ‘graphic design’ projects. The brief included the exploration and experimentation with ceramics, and their various methods including hand sculpting, casting moulds and using the wheel to produce different ceramic responses. The other half of the brief was a branding project, creating an identity for the ceramic whales as consumer products with relevant deliverables.

There were plenty of problems throughout the brief, the main one being that the ceramics continued to break, due to thinness around the tails and fins, and exploding clay in the kiln. However, even though a lot of the forms were unsuccessful, I managed to pick up a lot of new skills and experiences along the way, that would benefit my practice if I was to ever work with ceramics again. Working with clay was really natural and enjoyable for me, and took me outside the studio for a while. 

The branding side allowed me to visit a different aesthetic style which was suitable for the brief, and let me work in a more hands on way. 

Overall I really enjoyed working with a different discipline and combining this with graphic design - it’s definitely something I would want to expand on in the future. 

Lucy Whitehead / Evaluation

This brief entailed working cross courses with level 6 Fashion student, Lucy Whitehead. For this brief I produced Lucy’s business cards, and a preparatory  zine style publication documenting photographs of her final collection in construction. I will be working on Lucy’s final look book for the End of Year Show. 

This brief allowed me to gain experience working with a client, and a very reasonable and clear client at that, which was rewarding for me as the designer. Things ran incredibly smoothly with consistent feedback, and in the end the brief was very fast paced. This meant the resolution was created in a shorter time frame than allocated for the brief leaving me with extra time to work on other projects. 

The designs were fitting to Lucy’s practice and collection and both client and designer were happy with the outcomes.