Evaluation
Jack Munsch Project
The Project
Initially I had two prospective clients for this project. The first was Jane Lowe, who wanted a website alongside a magazine to showcase her work and recipes. The second was the client that I decided to choose, Jack Munsch, who wanted to design and develop a new logo, a brand new website showcasing his videos and show reel, and business cards for promotion. I chose Jack Munsch as my client because I have a passion for videography and photography so my skills and knowledge can be used to produce a more professional artefact for the client. I have also briefly worked with Jack before so I knew I could rely on him not dropping out of the project and keeping good communication with me. At the start of project I created a contract of agreement, which we both signed, stating that I would create a set of artefacts for the client; a website with a personalised domain, a new logo design and fifty business cards.
Processes of the Project
At the start of the project it was decided that the theme for the project would be simplistic, but sophisticated, this had to be consistent throughout all of the artefacts. This was to ensure that all the artefacts are consistent with each other and provides a professional image that the client was looking for.
Consistency of the project was very important for me, as I believe that it will tie all the artefacts together and make them look very professional. Also, when potential clients look at the logo, use the website and see the business cards they will be able to see the consistency throughout the project and realise that it means a lot to my client. As a result of this the first artefact I started working on was the logo; I started with this because this would be the main focal point of the business cards and the header of the website.
Before I started work on any of the artefacts I wanted to make sure I was comfortable with the software I was using, such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. I felt like I needed to improve my skills with these resources as I had been away from University for two years due to personal reasons. I dedicated a few days to learning tutorials and watching YouTube videos, this quickly allowed me to familiarise myself with the tools of Illustrator and Photoshop. I believe this was an important part of the project for me because I was able to design and develop a truly unique logo for my client from the tutorials I had learnt from the Internet.
Once I was happy with the logo, I started creating the business cards and website. For these two artefacts I used Moo.com to create the business cards and WiX.com to develop the website. I decided to use WiX to develop the website as I was very unfamiliar on how to create and develop websites, I wanted to seek advice from my peers to help me decide what platform I should use to make the website, and they suggested to use WiX. I also asked for advice on business card companies, as I was aware that it could be time consuming because of the delivery of the cards, so I wanted to guarantee I chose a reliable company for this artefact.
There were many professional designs to choose from on Moo.com and I considered some designs for the business cards. However I decided to create a blank business card and design it myself. This enabled me to keep the consistent feel of the project. I downloaded templates of business cards and then used Illustrator to design over the templates. With the tools provided by these two platforms I was able to meet my client’s needs to create a successful and professional website. The client was very thrilled with the finished look of the business cards as they looked very professional and met his needs, he was also very happy with the website.
The communication between the client and I has been great, this has also contributed to the success of the project. As I had worked briefly with the client before, I was confident that he would be a reliable client and not drop out. Furthermore because of the relationship I had with the client he was able to talk to me openly about the project through the emails I sent to him about the progress of the project. We tried to call each other on the phone as often as possible to discuss things about the project, this worked very well for the project as my client could call me when he had a query, or he wanted to change something. This was crucial for the success of the project, as my client was able to tell me truthfully if he did, or did not, like any aspects of the artefacts. This in turn enabled me to make quick alterations to the artefacts to meet the new needs of the client so he was happy for me to continue with the project.
Merits and Problems of the Project
Throughout this project I did not encounter any major problems that affected the overall project, and if I were to encounter any major problems I had already taken into account contingency time for me to find a solution to the problem and for the project to stay on track for the completion date. However I did encounter a few minor problems in the course of this project.
One of the first problems the client and I encountered was the type of font we wanted to use for all of the artefacts; the client stated he wanted a simple typeface that looked professional. I researched several different types from dafont.com, however when it came to applying these fonts to Adobe Illustrator they were distorted. As a result of this we had to quickly decide on a solution, we both discussed about choosing another font from dafont.com conversely the client did not want to risk the problem again so he said to look for a similar font within Adobe Illustrator. Choosing the font from Adobe Illustrator was the best course of action for the project as I was then able to successfully use the font for the website to keep the consistent theming.
Another problem I encountered was at the start of the project one of the clients’ needs was to incorporate a social feed box on the website. After researching on how to do this on the WiX website I found that you are unable to easily incorporate this feature onto the website, unless you are highly skilled in HTML coding, which unfortunately I am not. However when discussing this with the client he was happy not to have the feature on the website.
What Changes Would You Make & Future Improvements
At the start of the project it was discussed in my initial proposal that I would use a web developer to help me with the production of the website, I had encountered many issues trying to find someone to collaborate with. Many web designers were too busy to take the project on, and some were not interested, so I decided to develop the website by myself as I was wasting time trying to find someone to collaborate with. If I were to do this project again, with more time involved, I would try to collaborate with a web developer as I believe I would be able to learn a lot from them and enhance my HTML coding skills.
The one part of the website that frustrates me the most is the white blank space on some of the pages, if I had more time with this project I would try and rectify this by changing the display settings or adding images to fill up the blank spaces.
In the final meeting my client and I discussed the future of the project, I asked the client if I could still maintain and look after the site as I found this project very enjoyable, he said he was more than happy for me to maintain the website after the completion of the project. The client also wants to start showcasing filming tutorials and tips for students at University to help with their projects.
I am very happy with the final outcome of all three of the artefacts created which meet the needs of my client. The website with a personalised domain name, a brand new logo and fifty business cards have been developed very successfully and managed well. The client also added that he is more than happy with the outcome of the artefacts and that he would recommend me to other people. He also added that he will credit me on the website and the business cards when people ask about it, as it will be a big part of his career from now on.
On reflection of this project, I believe that it has been a success. I did not have too many problems throughout the process of the project, however I have gained a lot of experience and tips, which will help me with future projects. The project has highlighted to me the importance of project management, and workflow management. I have learnt that when a project is managed correctly with the correct tools like Gantt charts, to help track the progress, it is possible to successfully execute a project.










