Evaluation

Evaluation:
As a summary to the end of this module, I feel as though I now have a greater understanding of design principles and how important it is to apply this knowledge. As I have previously studied Graphic Communication I had a base of information on grid and colour however I feel that from completing all the study tasks that I have expanded my knowledge and have pushed myself to absorb this information as I know how important it is to apply this knowledge. Learning about grids and colour has highlighted to me the importance of applying this knowledge to my work which is something that I am continuously doing now after completing all the study tasks for this module. 

When it came to putting together the information for Studio brief 01 I now feel that I limited myself to the information that had been given to us rather than looking further afield. Since then I have learnt more through my own experiences and would have liked to apply this to the content of the small publication. However, due to limited print slot availability and having already printed the final design for the book, I have not added this information. Although the information is not in the publication, I have still required this knowledge therefore will be able to apply it to my work in the future. If I were to be given this brief again in the future I would ensure that I completed a substantial amount of research that could be applied to the content of the book. I would also like to have applied the techniques that were learnt in the book binding induction however this came too late for the production of the first publication. This is a skill that I will be able to apply and practise in the future. 

After the blood sweat and tears that has gone into the production of the book for Studio brief 02, I am really happy with the outcome. I have previously never had my illustrations printed therefore have never seen their true quality. Although the book is not what you'd typically expect of a children's book, it has fulfilled my aims for what I had envisioned at the beginning of the brief. The design of the book has not been compromised due to time restrictions of wanting to complete all the illustrations. This is something that I highlighted early on as being something that may happen however sticking to a strict routine of work has meant that I have been able to complete what I aimed to within the design. 

Although I am pleased with the outcome of the book there are areas that have room for improvement. One of these is the style of binding. As perfect binding is a process that I have only experimented with for the production of this book, I feel as though the quality of the tests that I was completing was not of a high enough standard therefore chose last minute to staple the book instead. I am disappointed that I have not been able to complete the book to its full potential however don't feel that it has compromised the design. Due to time limitations I was also unable to use any of the bookbinding stitching techniques that I have learnt. This has highlighted to me that in the future I need to practise and consider the binding from the beginning of the project, rather than decided later on. However, practising this technique will promt me in the future to use it again as I have now learnt the strengths and limitations. The strengths are that it is a simple process that can be easily applied to a range of book styles. However the limitations have been that the quality is not always guaranteed and is not always 100% accurate. Another improvement that I feel could be made to the book is using a coloured stock. I was unable to do this when it came to printing the pages as they were not available in digital print. In the future I will plan ahead for printing so that if there is a stock that I require that is not available then I will be able to order it in for the final print. There is also a folding error in the centre of the book which is due to the folding machine not being set to the correct dimensions. In the future I know to check the measurements rather than trusting that it is set up correctly.