Evaluation

After a very successful COP1, I had big hopes for COP 2 this year. I did find myself starting slow and I struggled to find a concept I felt really strongly about to get the ball rolling. After the parody/pastiche study task I did find this very relevant to my own practise, as I do find myself finding inspirations for projects from far and wide, so I did feel immediately interested in how this can be argued and seen as both a considered development or as a shallow duplicate. 
I saw the broad opportunity that pastiche gave me to try and maybe develop this into something a bit different to any of the other modules I've done, and now I do truly value the development of my skills - being able to rethink and re-approach an old concept and work into it and develop it into something fresh and unique.

I found the essay quite challenging as always, I find that as I am in such a visual, creative mindset year round I do have to set aside a week or two period to just focus on the theoretical side to essay researching, planning and writing. But once I got into my flow I was extremely pleased with how I managed to structure my academic sources, whilst still making it adaptable to popular culture and topics which I am genuinely interested in, aswell as reflecting opinions and mindsets from professional practising designers too. I also feel my written language and terminology has improved from this module, this improvement has lent itself to other modules. As I feel I’ve been able to approach and analyse certain topics differently and in more detail in other modules thanks to Context of Practice, as I am naturally starting to think more like a considered designer.

When I look back on the essay now, I can see how the addition of more academic sources may enhance my writing, and support points even further. However this is the reason I want to keep my topic of question open for next year, so I can push my studies as far as I can. The opportunity to write a dissertation focused on my personal interests aligned with graphic design is something I’m looking forward to, but I must ensure I narrow down wisely. The thought of 9000 words is rather daunting however!

I am very pleased with how all my practical outcomes have turned out, although time management is something I always reflect on needing improvement - but I can argue that I work better under pressure! And it was an obvious step-up from last years COP in terms of how much detail and consideration is needed to be put in.
This was my first proper rebrand project (for a uni module) and I do feel like it is strongly informed in a number of ways by my essay and the various research and feedback I carried out to get to the final response. A few minor changes and more detailed exploration would improve the overall piece but the overall idea works well with the essay.

I look forward to getting started with next year, and as the dissertation is due in straight after Christmas I will have no excuses but to get my teeth stuck in from the off-set!