SB3 - PRESENTATION BOARDS - Studio Brief 2 Individual Practice

SB3 PRESENTATION BOARDS - Studio Brief 1 Live Brief

SUMMATIVE PROJECT REPORT

JOURNEY

Having reached the end of the module, I feel that my practice has been challenged but my development has been nurtured through investment in processes and contexts that are relevant and important to me. The start of the module felt quite daunting as I was uncertain about making work for a brief that was not personal to my practice, however, this encouraged me to be far more experimental that I would operating within my comfort zone, and as such, my work and approach to visual investigation has benefitted from it. Studio brief 1 encouraged me to work experimentally and exhaustively with composition and type, developing 2 areas that are not always the focus of my practice. Studio brief 2 offered a more personal exploration in where my practice can sit and how it can translate beyond my own needs or intentions. The research led nature of this brief drove my conceptual awareness and resolved to me generating work that was well supported but also had a very personal investment.

LEARNING

The most transformative learning took place in studio brief 1 as I had to really deconstruct the tone and function of the brief and identify how this sat with my visual language. Working to such a different context to my commonly placed work, I feel I have developed a much more wholesome observation of my work. I think the context of producing work for a clients needs rather than my own taught me to see past my own visual requirements and start to really understand how others view and absorb my work. 

SUCCESSES

Bookbinding has proven to be a highly effective medium to extend my practice. My work often sits within quite a tangible and tactile context, mainly through my use of collage, but translating flat images into a a very structural form enabled me to realise the potential of my drawings and more appropriately, the commercial or educational function that my work can assume. I did however, find that I became quite engrossed in the production and process of it all and may have sacrificed some visual development as a result.

DIFFICULTIES

Difficulties impacting this module were mainly connected my engagement with my own practice. There were times in this module where I felt that my work was empty, or the process of me making work felt empty. A loss of engagement meant that time management got the better of me and I had to work very hard towards the final stages of the module. In some ways this actually benefitted my final outcomes as I was working with a new found engagement that drove the generation of outcomes in a way that maintained fluidity and perhaps even supported the development of my work.

APPLYING MY LEARNING

The very personalised nature of the module has been exhausting as I have been constantly questioning my own practice, but this only encourages me to engage more in self-directed briefs, as well as live briefs, as I feel I have learnt so much about how I want my practice to operate and have solidified the ethos and concerns that are important to me. Technically I have gained a better understanding of the production and construction of my own work, something that will support the initial stages of future projects.

STUDIO BRIEF 2 - INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE - REFLECTIVE REPORT

TURNING POINTS/ REALISATIONS

Proposing an independent brief seemed a challenge as I was unsure whether I had proposed something viable, something that was going to challenge me enough, or even something that was relevant to the module. The context of the brief, to drive my individual practice and application of my work, encouraged me to really personalise the brief to my wider intent for practice. The brief actually helped to solidify my professional ambitions as I considered multiple contexts and applications before commencing my explorations. I was much more experimental and free in my initial drawings as I really just wanted to capture the absolute joy I felt for the subject on the page. 

WHAT WENT WELL?

I feel my outcomes achieve a conclusion that is developed and appropriate to the brief. Considering my work within the context of a museum exhibition or workshop has driven me to take a much more educational approach to the generation of narrative, something which is discernible in my final book. I feel the narrative is informative and teaches my audience of the heritage and tradition of the brass band, but in a way that is both honest and joyously playful. 

Typography has led the narrative aspect of this brief, whilst also developing my skills with integration of text and image. The application of hand lettering has made me more aware of the composition and flow of my images, and as such, I feel a greater sense of coherence and understanding when I look back at my work. 

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED?

Although the tone of voice and context of my proposed brief seems to lend itself to a narrative focus, I am concerned that my final publication may be too text focused and possibly lacks the imagery that would make it most engaging. I do however, feel that I have achieved a balance between image and text which works coherently across the narrative.

My exploration of roughs and testing was exhaustive, but I would be interested to give greater consideration to the visual elements encompassed in these compositions as I think my planning and thinking processes were centred around layout and narrative.

REFLECTION

This brief has proved incredibly transformative in my awareness of my own practice and how I can identify my place within the wider illustration industry. As my practice focuses heavily on narrative and educational undertones, this project has served to really consolidate my relationship with research and the translation of knowledge to storytelling, an aspect that will remain pivotal to my emerging professional practice. Technically, I challenged myself with the construction of a very confusing book format. Interchanging paper types and working with cut outs established quite a complex process from what started as a simple pamphlet stitch, but bookbinding is central to my practice through my regard for tangibility. I feel my final outcomes have achieved a sensitivity to my research, and have balanced a very playful visual language with a poignant and valuable narrative.

SB2 - INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE - REFINED PROJECT PROPOSAL

SB2 - CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH - Art Invite Art Object

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