Final Evaluation for Project 2

I feel I have improved my skills in general since Project 1. Project 2 has included researching an issue that I feel strongly about, making sandwich boards, editing green screen, making motion posters in After Effects, designing our own logos, creating posters for the CoppaFeel! charity, making badges and making leaflets. I have improved my skills in Photoshop through editing the green screen pictures, however, I do wish I had been able to get along with the software when it comes to drawing. I am going to practice this in my free time in an attempt to drill in the basics.

Due to time offsite because of my condition, there was a bit of confusion with the sandwich boards. While I loved designing them and making them, I do wish I had known they were meant to be related to the topic we researched during study week. Sadly, errors in communication led to me making boards about encouraging people to wear masks in these tough times, instead of raising awareness for hidden disabilities. I researched hidden disability awareness because I feel so passionately about it, being affected by some hidden disabilities myself. I found that it was hard to research this because of the sheer lack of information- even more reason to raise awareness.

While practicing in After Effects, I remade my sandwich boards as motion posters. I found this quite relaxing actually, since typography is like a comfort zone for me. I did a lot of research and practice with typography a few years ago at secondary before I had to drop Graphics, so falling back on the work I did then to help me here was easy. It was really fun.

I am proud of my final motion poster. I used a transparent, ‘cut out’ disabled logo in the foreground and a scrolling sky to sunflower field image in the background to show through the cut out. The logo was made using Illustrator and Photoshop. I used After Effects to string it all together, then used Premiere Pro to add audio for extra impact.

Designing my logo was really enjoyable- it was my favourite part of this project. Doodling has never been something I do often, but when I do occasionally indulge, I find it very relaxing. So, when tasked with designing a logo by finding inspiration from mindless doodles, I was very excited. It did not take me very long to pinpoint which of my little doodles I wanted to develop- digitising my design was a great opportunity to practice using photoshop for illustration.

I found the CoppaFeel! work very challenging. Cancer is a very sensitive topic for me, so getting started properly was a struggle. When I did eventually get past that hurdle, I found it slightly easier to get on with the work. By the end, I had just about managed to desensitise myself to the topic temporarily. I still get upset when I think about it, but overall, I feel the task was actually good for me in the sense that I am learning to desensitise while working on topics that I am not comfortable with. In regard to the actual posters I created, I am proud of what I produced. I love to draw, so bringing something I like to do into the mix made things a little more enjoyable.

Designing my leaflet was a fun task. I was able to use my experience from making the sandwich boards to create some more, protest style boards for my doll to hold. I took pictures of her with them and used the same technique from the green screen task to edit those pictures into the leaflet in a more aesthetically pleasing way. I used a screenshot from my motion poster for the front cover and based the whole leaflet’s design and colour palette to fit with it.

Overall, I enjoyed this project. I have been able to reuse a lot of the skills I learned at the beginning to better my work at the end- I find that very satisfying. I am definitely looking forward to the next project. Bring on Project 3!