Intentions Unit Evaluation

Throughout my first few weeks within the 'Urban Influences' brief I found it quite difficult to find any inspiration, however I found that the key to this was to research, research and more research! I went out with my camera and photographed everything I found interesting to gather primary research for myself. This was the best thing I could have done as I then developed my colour palette from these images as well as my final concept. I began to look at more industrialised Manchester, the nitty gritty rather than just architecture. Throughout the project I have even taken some of these photographs into Photoshop, enhanced and manipulated them to use as backgrounds for my designs. Drawing was another major aspect of the process for this project, the more drawings the better is what I have learnt, as in the beginning I just was not producing enough work. Once I started to take the drawings into Photoshop and create brushes with them I started to find my inspiration. Also developing my customer profile allowed me to design for an audience and I referred to this often to make sure I was on the right track.

Something that I have learnt throughout this project is that you should never stop developing your work, there is always room for improvement. Researching other designers and practitioners constantly throughout the project has also helped me as it has allowed me to maintain my motivation and inspiration and pushed me to progress my skills. I work best this way. Also I have began to make it a habit to get up and go into the studio to work rather than in my room, as the communication with other students and seeing there work allows me to push myself even further and I get a good quantity of work produced this way. Also as soon as I get home from uni I complete my checklist I have set myself while I am still in the right frame of mind.

After being told we most take risks and experiment I decided it was time to tackle the print room again although it is not my favourite place. However after a few stressful hours it just confirmed that the print room is not for me and that I much prefer digital printing. This project has allowed me to discover myself more as an artist, I know what audience I want to design for and I have a stronger aesthetic than in first year. The quality of my work has stepped up and has more depth. Something I would like to change about the project is possibly my over all collection, I feel that they could have been a lot more cohesive however I have experienced with colour and the levels of colour within each design, rather than sticking to the same formula in each design.

This project has concreted my decision that I am a Textiles Design for Fashion student and this is definitely what I want to pursue further in my career. I am thoroughly looking forward to the next project and possibly getting a placement over the next few weeks to develop the numerous skills that I have learnt in this project further. During the net few weeks I am going to make the most of our time off to concentrate on my CV and applying for placements as I would like to gather as much experience as I possibly can. I am also pleased that I have managed to attend some of the digital and print workshops on offer this term as it has allowed me to learn and develop my craft, this is something I will bare in mind next term and try to attend even more as knowledge is a strong skill to have.