Print Collection Evaluation ...

When working on this project I feel that my strengths lay in my prints and my weaknesses lay in my finishing’s as I could have put more work into them. As for time management I would say that I managed my time ok but could have managed it better. I made a timetable which I made on a weekly basis and planned my time week by week. I allocated my time to different areas of the project I had to concentrate on although I did feel that I got a but lost with time and spent far too long on some areas of the project. Throughout the project I felt very motivated and as the beginning I felt very motivated and had lots of strong ideas. I think that I felt as motivated as I did because I found what I was doing interesting and I was learning new things.  As for responding to advice I would say that I responded to it positively. New things were suggested which I responded to and I took new ideas onboard.  This didn’t always work but I did try. As for criticism I’d say I took it positively. If I hadn’t my work would have suffered. I would say that one of the stronger points of the project was my print designs. I spent a lot of time concentrating on this area of the project. I would also say my research was quite strong because I spent a lot of time concentrating on this as well. However I did make sure that I didn’t get lost with the research as this is a very easy thing to happen in the first process of the project. As for my weaknesses, I would say it was my development work. I could have done a lot more to develop the project and I could have taken a more experimental approach. I would say that my ideas development part of the project was quite strong and I had a good range of ideas to work from. As for resolving the final designs I found it quite challenging because I lacked in drawing work and found it quite difficult to create print designs from just photographic imagery. On future  projects I would like to try and manage my time better, I did make a time-table but I feel I need to come up with other ways to help manage my time. I have decided to present my work paper based on the form of a design portfolio and print out some of my designs at a larger scale to see how they would work life size. I feel that presenting my work like this will have a stronger outcome that if I present my work any other way and is more professional. I did want to digitally print my designs onto jersey, however I couldn’t access any jersey in the digital print room so rather than print on a different fabric I decided to print onto paper.

As for the testing part of the project, I contacted a number of designers and companies and asked them if they would be willing to look at my work and offer any feed back.  I also e-mailed a fashion editor and a fashion intern I have contact with. I had some very positive responses. and one company in particular said if my work fitted in with anything they were doing they would develop it for me. I also attended a meeting with the owner of a shop called ‘COW’. This gave me valuable insight and gave me valuable feedback on my work from this project. They liked my designs and I was told I could send my designs to the company and they would send me feedback, or if they designs fit in with anything they were doing then they would use them. I also entered my work into the ‘Threadless’ competition.

Overall I am very pleased with my collection of print designs. I feel that I managed my time very well and I feel that this has benefited my work.

 

 

Illustrations are just a few of many. Hope you enjoy.

All images belong to me. If you would like yo use them elsewhere please ask my permission first.

Brief...

Learning Agreement

My initial inspiration comes from imagery of destruction, deserts, decay and the photography of Richard Misrach. I feel that this will be a strong starting point as my inspiration is from something which is present. I was also inspired by Christopher Kane’s Atomic Ware collection and Prada’s Spring 2010 Beach collection. I am going to look further into the basis of my inspiration and come up with a range of ideas which I can work from and start to put these ideas into visual work such as drawings and photographs. My concept is to come up with a range of imagery I can then take and generate into print designs. My theme relates to the world of fashion as I will be designing prints for Womenswear. At the end of the unit my work will take the form of a collection of print designs and a series of fashion illustrations with ideas and initial research all clearly and professionally presented. I am designing Womenswear for Spring/Summer 2011. 

From this project I would like to develop my design skills further and learn new CAD skills as this is my preferred way to work and bring more drawing and photography into my work. I want to see more fabric in my work so I am going to make the most of the facilities on offer get the most out of the project as I can. I also want to improve my presentation skills and present my work more creatively and to a higher standard. 

I want to use this project to help me develop my own voice as a designer. I am going to test my work in the real world. I am going to do this through design competitions. I can also test my work through my Blog and through contacts I have on my Blog. I am going to contact people in the fashion industry who may be of help to me with this project. I am going to take risks with my work and try new things. 

I am really interested in illustration and print so I am going to use this project to try and experiment with the two.  My design outcome will demonstrate that I have developed as a designer because I will have tested my work in the real world. I will have a sketchbook which will display the process of my visual research, my generation of ideas, my development and my presentation progress. My design outcome will also demonstrate how I have developed as a designer through my understanding of how to author, manage, and present self initiated projects, and my work will meet prescribed learning outcomes. 

I am going to achieve all of my goals by going to tutorials each week and evaluating what I do each week, and looking at what has gone well and what needs improving etc. I will also use my journal to achieve my targets and use it to measure my progress as the project goes on. My journal can also by a great resource for testing my work. I will deal with change by reviewing my work on a weekly basis and if necessary I will tweak the learning agreement, I will also have a back up plan to help deal with change if anything goes wrong. I will also deal with my time management so if anything does go wrong I have time to work things out. On this project I am going to play on my strengths which I feel are my illustration skills and my print skills. I can use my skills to my advantage as I am creating a collection of print designs with illustrations. There are however things I am not so good at such as presentation and working on fabric which will be an important part of this project for me. I can improve these skills by having a set amount of time per week for them. 

Throughout this project I will need to use various university resources. I will need to use the library for research and access to the books and magazines. I will also need to use computing equipment for software such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. I will also need access to the printing facilities as well. I am going to make the most of the resources on offer to me and do the majority of the work in university. I will allocate time for my work at home and in university and I will deal with resource issues by having backup plans. If my hard drive dies I will have my work backed up else where and if I can’t spend as much time as I would like in a workshop I will do something else I was planning to do at a later date. I am going to make a budget and plan how much money I am going to spend. I will also keep a basic account of my expenditure and compare the difference at the end of the project. And finally I am going to plan my time. I will do this by creating a timetable and identify what I need to do and when. I will assess how well I work with this in my journal. 

The photos features in this post are just a few of many I have sourced for my inspiration for this project! Please contact me if you feel you could help me with this project in any way possible as I need to test my work in the world! 

Source: 

Photographs by Richard Misrach

Dress: Christopher Kane Atomic Ware