Categorising and researching to inform the outcome rather than the outcome informing the research/ mass of data collected and submitted at the end of a brief. I have realised that you cant start to really think about visuals/content until you have decided upon context,purpose and audience. To reach this point alone you need research, therefore researching the subject fully is where you begin. In the past i have definitely been one of those people who has left research(if you can actually call it that!) until the end of a project. Obviously i was always looking and sometimes collecting,but i can see a lot more has to be done in the initial stages of a brief. Due to this new approach to working, i think i found it hard to get out of my old approach bad habits!
Thinking both literally and laterally. This i have discovered opens up many more doors and pathways of thought and investigation to therefore solve a brief. This is again an area where i struggled. I was thinking quite literally(and boringly!!) about what i had collected when really i think what i had, did have a lot of potential. I guess it was kind mind boggling to move away from what i had originally collected. This is where categorising comes in. I had not done a huge amount of categorising over the Xmas break(due to lack of category ideas because i was thinking too literally!) so when i started back in January i felt a bit lost and confused
I clearly needed more research in the primary stages of this most recent brief,which is ultimately down to me. I did however experiment etc to keep my mind ticking over the project. I see now i should have kept researching and researching to expand my knowledge and allow myself to venture into new areas of investigation which then could result in an exciting final resolution(though i know the emphasis was not on the 'end product').
2. What approaches/methods of problem solving have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
I can now see that if i approach a project by initially researching it thoroughly,categorise info etc that this will then inform the rest of the brief and hopefully solve the brief effectively. This most recent brief has lead me to realise this, meaning i did not really put it into practice when carrying out this brief. I fel this is a shame because this brief could have been quite fun and personal, but because i over complicated things in the first instance i felt rather stuck in a rut throughout the last brief.
I found collecting and compiling primary and secondary research helpful...i guess this is due to it being organised and having it ready to hand in those categories when it needs to be referenced.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/ will you capitalise on these?
Quite a bit of the reseach i carried out was photographic so this is something i will continue. Photography,i feel, is a great way to collect primary research and photos can be easily dealt with when it comes to categorising.
As part of my research,obviously depending on the context and purpose, i tend to experiment. I guess this is a strength as i can make decisions early on when considering factors such as layout,materials, paper stock etc.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
Initially in the most recent brief, there is a lack of categorising.
Lack of worksheets/showwing thought processes and idea generation.
Lack of primary/secondary research.
Lack of exploration into 'what is a book?'
Lack of experimentation when considering the form of my book.
More 'type of book' experiments-escaping the conventional book form.
The content of my book could have been executed more effectively,trying different papaer stocks etc. But the initial research was vital.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
1. Research, a lot. To inform, idea generation and solve brief.
2. Think both literally and laterally.
3. Worksheets(large) to show thought process,methods of working and solving.Clear pathway to solving a brief.
4. Before deciding on form and format, decide on the content of the book.(reverse working order).
5. Initially, identify PURPOSE and AUDIENCE. Because whatever is being produced(product,book etc...) is being produced for someone or something specific.
