Unit 8 Primerkh

8/22/2019 Unit 8 Primerkh

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During Unit 5 you were given an overview of six areas of

the contemporary creative industries; 6 Platforms designed

specifically to allow you the opportunity to acknowledge the

major components of your chosen discipline and to discuss

how these experiences relate to personal practice.

This process was designed to help you to develop a proposal

for your Personal Research Project (500 words). This

proposal should identify a platform specific focus and include

a rationale, objectives, methodology, possible outcomes and

a preliminary timetable.

In order to effectively complete this proposal an overview of

Unit 8 can be found below. *N.B. Please note this is a primer

and not the actual brief!

Unit 8The Competition Brief and particularly Personal Research

Project is your opportunity to build upon any debates, topics,

interests and observations which you made during Unit 5,including specific areas of interest, individual skill sets, areas

for improvement and possible routes for future employment.

This project is primarily a research project and should be the

pinnacle of what you have learnt on the FdA culminating in

an impressive body of work relevant to future professional

practice or academic study.

You must identify and complete a comprehensive

Personal Research Project (PRP) which should

demonstrate a depth of investigation which is

exploratory and extensive. Any project should fit inwith the FdA ethos of relating to and existing within

the real world experience.

These investigations should inform 2 practical outcomes

that must each be completed with separate amounts of

research, planning, development methodologies and

outcomes.

** FdA Graphic Design

Unit 5.Unit 8 Primer

Unit 5 PRP Proposal

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** FdA Graphic Design

A testedworking method

Design Practice 10 steps

to a resolved outcome

1. Receive brief from client/ tutorIt might sound obvious, but always have a pen/ notebook on you. Make notes, draw sketches and make

sure you write everything down as you will not be able to remember everything! If you dont understand

any aspect of the brief dont be afraid to ask questions. You may not get the opportunity to ask them

again.

2. Record initial response to briefIt is very important to write down any immediate thoughts you may have. This is not the time to solve

the brief but these early recordings will help to provide a launch pad for your research.

3. Initial research

What is initial research? This is the most important part of the creative process and one that is oftenmisunderstood. Looking at and reading books is very important, as is using the web in the right way,

however this is secondary research. Primary research is far more important; this includes speaking to

people, conducting interviews, drawing on location, taking your own photographs, visiting locations and

finding appropriate reference. Your response to these experiences first hand informs and manifests

original ideas/ language.

4. Production of at least 10 initial ideas/ responsesReview your research and through an understanding of the issues involved let your knowledge

define what you want to say. You will need to produce at least 10 ideas as many of your initial thoughts

will be the most obvious solutions, (ideas themselves dont just have to be independent solutions, they

could alternatively be based on a working method, medium or a technique.) Work your ideas up to such

a level that allows you to make an informed decision on which ones to take forward.

5. Selection of 3 ideas for further developmentFrom the 10 initial ideas it should be easy to come up with 3 concrete ideas. These should offer a range

of solutions providing alternative choices to the client. This will help you to give direction to your choices

and help to clarify what it is that you are trying to achieve. If you only present a single idea or ideas that

are too similar, what happens if the client doesnt like your approach?

6. Further research

It is important that your research is ongoing. At this point of the project research should be more specificto your outcomes, if you need to get into printmaking, when are time slots available? What


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** FdA Design Practice

papers are good for embossing? Where can you get your artwork printed locally? Does your work need

to be bound? How long will it take me to design what I am proposing? What is the production time? Do

I need to learn software to achieve my outcomes? These questions should include looking at materials,

printing and production techniques, placement, promotion and costing. In a commercial context these

questions will need to be addressed at an earlier stage of the project as they will have a direct influence

on your quote/ costing. This only serves to reinforce the need for ongoing research/ investigation.

7. Presentation of ideas to client/ tutor and selection of final ideaYour ideas need to be simply communicated, use two visuals/ boards to demonstrate each solution.

This should include concrete roughs of what you intend your designs to look like. Try and explain the

concept behind each idea and give an indication of how your designs will look in context. Visualisations

help the client to understand what you are trying to achieve, many of your clients may not from be from

a creative background and visuals/ mock-ups allow you to explain your ideas in a way that words alone

cannot.

8. Development and resolution of chosen solutionYou should now have your chosen idea/ solution which may be one of the previous 3 or a combination

of several. At this point your work is still not finished, your solution will need further development which

will often stem from your discussions with the client/ tutor. It is important that at this stage you have still

time tabled enough time for these changes, just because you have a finished piece of work it doesnt

mean it has been resolved to a refined conclusion. Take a step back and consider how your designs

can be improved.

9. ProductionBased on roughs and proposals begin the production of your final piece. The hard work has beendone and you should now have a precise image of what the final outcome will look like. Following the

completion of your work, it is helpful to take a step away and return with a critical eye, how can your

work be improved? You do not have to rely on your own judgement, a fresh pair of eyes can give you

an unbiased viewpoint (this may be your intended target audience). Spelling should be looked at and

there will always be typographic errors. Documents MUST ALWAYS be proof read before going to print.

This will save you time and money in the long run.

10. Implementation of solutionSolutions should then be implemented or tested. This process should be documented and you should

allocate enough time to do this properly. This will help you to demonstrate the overall effectiveness of

your ideas and serve as a valuable record of your work which will be very important when putting a

portfolio together. This is the conclusion of a great deal of time and effort and the opportunity to look at

back at what you have created.