End of Project Reflection
Now that my final major project has come to the end (deadline tomorrow), I’m feeling very proud of what I have a achieved in the space of time and with the quality of my finals. At the start of the project I was worried that I might not produce designs that I would be proud to show at New Designers, but all that worry and stress has faded away! I’m immensely proud of myself and my designs and cannot wait to show them!
The way I envisaged my designs at the start of the project is actually quite similar to how they have turned out, which has really surprised me. Usually the way I expect my designs to look at the start of a project, tends to be very different to what I finally produce. I think this hasn’t happened in this project because of the amount of research and development I did in the previous project which lead up to this. That then meant that I could continue to develop the finer details of my processes, materials, imagery and techniques, resulting in a more refined and higher quality finish but the main ideas staying consistent. This has really helped my products fit together well as a collection, which I had struggled with in the previous project. This is something I’m very proud of, because I’ve achieved a well rounded collection but have still been able to showcase lots of different ideas and concepts within this. I believe that this is down to lots of testing, developing and frequently going back to my range plan to visualise all my planned products together throughout the project. This way of working is something that will stick with me, and I will use in my projects after graduation.
One challenge for me in this project has been creating my look-book, professional photos and press-pack. All of which I am extremely happy with the results, but found difficult to begin with because I had not produced any of these things before. I started these a few weeks before the deadline as I had worries about them and didn’t want them to look rushed. Surprisingly they didn’t take me as long as expected. I planned and designed my look-book, and completed the press pack in a few days, all to a quality I’m very happy with. My photos did take a few shoots and a lot of time spent editing, but has all been worth it. I’m so pleased with my studio images, they reflect my calming theme so well, I could not be happier with these. I’ve been able to use these photos on my business cards & postcards, in my look-book and on all of my social media accounts and in my online portfolio. They represent my project as a whole, and have encapsulated my theme and application better than I could have planned.
To my shock I now feel very ready to start my career! I had expected to finish this project and be stressing and worrying about not being ready for the world of work or know how to function without uni! I do think its going to take a few weeks to get used to not sitting at my desk writing to do lists for my project, but I am very excited to start new things. After the shows, I am planning to develop my final designs further, into fully commercially viable products to make and sell B2C through my website. As well as this I am starting my new job very soon, 5 days a week but only until 12:30 which means I have plenty of time to work on my own projects from home. Over the last year I have felt very inspired by tropical themes, which have been trending in fashion and interiors for a while now. This is a theme I’d like to have a go at, and am thinking about designing a small collection for over summer.
In all, I am so pleased and proud my final major project which I cannot wait to show at New Designers. I know that this project will be the start of my career which I am very excited for, and feel very ready to get going with! Although it is sad to be living uni, I couldn’t be happier with my project and so I’m very pleased to be leaving on a high note!
