MAPPING - DESIGN FINAL REVIEW

Throughout this project i have done constant research which have then gone on to inform my ideas. I have done my reasearch based on where i am in the project which allowed me to develop my ideas and progression clearly and practically which meant that the function aspect of my design was pushed and i was able to expand on the end user concept of design. For example halfway through my project i wanted to push my designs in a more functional direction in order to make them more of a statement and consequently did research into how other companies have designed clothing in order to help women breastfeed with ease, i was then able to add aspects of these designs to my own designs to add another dimension to the piece. I also did other primary research into how mothers may feel about these garments being presented at a political piece and was able to adapt and improve the designs based on the feedback i was given. I feel like this, ontop of artists research, really did inform much of my project and definitely helped me keep a flow to my work and not get stuck for ideas whilst practically informing my work, something especially important within design. However i do believe that within the research section, i could have presented my feelings of my discoveries in a clearer way which may have made the decisions that i made more logical and help with the fluidity within my work. I would have done this differently by putting my findings on my blog, which i believe would have been more practical, however due to the requirements of working just on paper i was unable to do this. Another way that i could have improved my secondary research would have been by using other resources than just the internet, i did have intent on doing this but found myself resorting to my usual method of research, this is something that i would definitely like to make sure i do in the future as i feel it would broaden the scope for my work.

Idea development within my work i feel is very effective and is shown clearly as it has a logical order and is presented and refined in a way that shows progression from my initial ideas to the final piece. I believe that i have documented this well to an extent, as a result of the initial mind maps i made from the very beginning when given my words i had to work from and the next thumb nail sketches and ideas which then went on to transform into more refined pieces. For example i have gone from being given the work ‘child’ and information communication’ to designing a runway piece which is a pro-breastfeeding statement. I believe a lot of my ideas have come from the research that i have done and are therefore documented this way and then translated into actual drawings and planning which is why my ideas are clear and precise. I definitely helped me develop my ideas having had a strong and open subject matter which meant i was able to explore different routes and refine my work. . I believe the idea development was probably the strongest aspect of this project as i the while fo the two weeks were dedicated towards independent study, thus forcing rapid idea development.

I believe that methods and materials was probably the weakest part of my design project as most of the work that i did was not creating but planning, meaning that it was difficult to explore a wide range of materials and other aspects. This was made harder by the fact that i decided to design a piece of clothing and therefore did not have any ability to explore materials and techniques in real life as i did not have the materials or like to do so, this meant that the experimentation section of my work was limited. However i did try to make the best of the time i had and therefore did some colour sampling and material trials which was important as it allowed me to refine the materials and effect i wanted to give to an extent and then allowed me to loosely base my designs around the intent of using denim. However if i did have more time i would have liked to have been able to explore more material experimentation, and also other aspects of clothing design, such as how i would have to actually lay it would and create dimensions and planning of the piece.

I felt that in this project i did a lot of continual evaluation of my ideas and then as a result allowed me to carry on working on my designs and building a better garment, for example by interviewing women about how they feel about my design i was able to adapt it so it would fit more women flatteringly, enabling the model showing the piece to be a range of shapes and sizes, making the message i was trying to portray more clear. In this project i also found my peer assessment interesting and would definitely help me if i had further time to expand and develope on my work. One part of the feedback i had received was that i perhaps should have designed my final piece so that it was clearer what the message i was trying to portray was by having the model carry a baby or other child related items, however another student argued against this saying that they liked the fact that my piece could have a range of messages about women's bodies and it could be interpreted in a number of different ways depending on the stance of the end user, giving it more charm and effectiveness. I likes this as i agree with the second comment and felt that this idea of a garment could be something that i would be able to expand upon given more time and create a range of other items which would be able to face a range of different social issues. I therefore believe that my evaluation and reflection was effective and enabled me to see many different points of view and allowed me to refine my work massively.