Reflection on Term One

 This post concludes the first term of digital arts for this academic year. I started the term by practicing my research skills and developing these further to be able to support the necessary research for my final product design project. At first I focused mostly on artists that I knew and continuing into discovering new artists related to my progression route such as Philippe Starck and Jeremy Cole, which are artists on very different levels in terms of experience and style. I discovered the styles of product design that I like personally, modern minimalism. This really helped with developing the ideas of my own project, Fruity Mood.

I was already familiar with software such as Photoshop, however, it was incredibly helpful to learn where to find copyright free images and free software to make logo's with. I ended up combining the free software with Photoshop and Procreate to finalise my product design project. I think the logo that I generated with Free Logo Design works really well for the minimalist style that I like to work with, I will likely be continuing to use it for my future projects and boards as well. I wanted my project to reflect my style, but also to include brighter colours. In the end I chose the designs that used warm colours, with an exception of muted purples used in the grapevine string light. I was able to visualise my ideas in combination with text to explain the more technical details quite well in my opinion. It did make me realise how little I knew about the technical aspects of product design and I am excited to learn more about it. 

It took me some weeks in the beginning of the term to figure out how to balance out my self study time to give each class the attention and time it deserved, I ended up using my weekends for writing and my evenings on the weekdays for practical work. Making a plan in February helped a lot with time management and organising the tasks that needed doing with the tasks that were finished, I think making plans will help me a lot in the next term, especially when the tutors will be reminding us less of what needs doing. I was worried that I would not be able to finish my project in time, so I am impressed with the hard work that I put into the project and persevering. It took some getting used to, having not as much free time to spend on my hobbies, but it paid off for me. 

Using Wix to create my website was a pleasant experience for me, the software was easy to use and not as time consuming as creating a website from scratch using HTML and CSS. The software was easy to navigate and I am happy with the final results. The colours and fonts I used on the website suit my personality and style, I am glad that we were allowed the creative freedom to make our website into what we wanted. 

The feedback on the work was difficult to process sometimes, however, I learned not to take it personally and apply it in a way that worked for me and still aligned with the project requirements. I am looking forward to the next term after the break and I am pleased with the work that I have produced for this term.