ANAND YR 02: November 2008

Design for Print Evaluation

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN – END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION
Module Code – OUGD201 Module Title Design To Print
Level 02 Semester 01

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
I have learnt how to foil block print which is a process which I didn’t previousely no how to do. I have developed my screen- printing skills also. I did this by taking advantage of the amount of time which I had in the screen print drop-ins. The skills which I have developed in this area of printing will be useful in my future work as I think the print method suits my style of illustrations. I have also learned how to screen print more effectively for example: rather than using the bays to print some of the more detailed colour screens I will in future register them more manually and print them on tables. As the bays slightly adjust the lineing of the colours as you will see on my screen prints.

2. What approaches to generating work and solutions to problems have you developed and how have they helped?
I have developed the way I generate my ideas. As I created multiple copies of templates for example I multiplied the trainer templates so that they were on one page. So preparing my design sheets helped me to generate my ideas in a more organized and creative way. This has helped my overall work to feel more organized so that it will look more appealing when people come to look at it. Originally I was going to print my box as one big net and double sided. However because it would have to be A0 and having it double sided would make it very expensive. I decided to print the net of box in separate sections. This gave me a chance to use my craft skills to make the box feel more realistic, this was very time consuming however I will be able generate and make up mock ups more quicker in the future, as I now no short cuts.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I found that the main strengths in my work were the final presentation box which I made created. However if I had spent less time on the box I would have had time to make up more mock ups of different box ideas. Because the boxes only needed to be at photographic standard, i could have left out element which would have helped gave me more time to develop my project more. however i will do this in my spear time, so that i have some extra work which can go into my porfolio.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how could you exploit these more fully?
i found that overall the biggest disapointment within my work was the research stages, as didn't really spent as much time as i needed on the print costs part of my project, i could have done more pilimanary research into getting quotes and prices lists, however i will in future time table more time for this area of work rather than over spending time on the more practical area of my work.

5. Identify five things that you will do different next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

i will spend more time on my blog, rather than posting randomely and in bulk i will even out my posting by posting twice a week. this will help me to see my progression in a more organised and structured way. this will also help me inform my design in a better way.

i will practice photographing my work better, for example different ways i can photograph such as useing a tripod, this will help my images to be more focused. this will help the presentation of my work to look better.

i will do more primarry research in my topic areas and do more research into target audiences, this will help my work to be more informed therfore will make designing a lot easier.

i will work on my presentation skills when it comes to crits etc. this is one of my major weaknesses which i have to spent alot of time perfecting. i need to work on being more formal and speaking of my ideas to other in a way so that they see what iam trying to get across.

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas:
(please indicate using an ‘x’)
5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor

Attendance 5
Punctuality 4
Motivation 5
Commitment 4
Quantity of work produced 4
Quality of work produced 4
Contribution to the group 4

SCREEN PRINTING
The equivalent of the printing plate for the screen printer is the SCREEN - a wooden or aluminium frame with a fine nylon MESH stretched over it. The MESH is coated with a light sensitive emulsion or film, which - when dry - will block the holes in the mesh. The image that needs to be printed is output to film either by camera or image-setter. This film positive and the mesh on the screen are sandwiched together and exposed to ultra-violet light in a device called a print-down frame. The screen is then washed with a jet of water which washes away all the light sensitive emulsion that has not been hardened by the ultra-violet light. This leaves you with an open stencil which corresponds exactly to the image that was supplied on the film. Now the screen is fitted on the press and is hinged so it can be raised and lowered. The substrate to be printed is placed in position under the screen and ink is placed on the top side of the screen, (the frame acts also as wall to contain the ink ). A rubber blade gripped in a wooden or metal handle called a SQUEEGEE (not unlike a giant wind-screen wiper) is pulled across the top of the screen; it pushes the ink through the mesh onto the surface of the substrate you are printing. To repeat the process the squeegee floods the screen again with a return stroke before printing the next impression.