Level
4 Context of Practice was a module that I struggled with; I wasn’t comfortable
with my essay question and this lead to a practical project in which I did not
put in maximum effort. I made a conscious decision this year to make sure I was
organised and happy with what I set out to do, coming up with a question is an
aspect I usually don’t spend enough time on.
At
the beginning of this module I began by looking into each category from New
Media to Branding and considering all of the routes that would interest me. My
research skills have greatly improved from doing small asks like this, it has
enabled me to really get a grasp of what each question would allow me to
research and the path it would take me down.
Narrowing
this down over a period of time set aside for this stage I came to the
conclusion that I wanted to research into the principles of Gestalt and how
this was applied to contemporary design. I looked into a range of options and
held several crits with peers to give me feedback into what possible ideas had
the most potential. The six key Gestalt principles within logo design was the
outcome I settled on in the end, this allowed me to be specific enough that my
research wouldn’t be too wide, but condensed enough to form a good well rounded
essay. The improvement within my organisational skills and thinking more
rationally has allowed me to feel far more confident within CoP, I felt as
though my essay question was not only interesting but also original.
In
terms of methods and approaches I have come to realise that a bottom up
approach suits my style much better, this means that I start with a large range
of ideas and possible starting points and through research and development
these are carefully but quickly narrowed down. Research, development, testing,
outcome and analysis are the five processes I encountered. Each one influenced
by the previous meant that I worked methodically and the eventual outcome was
supported by a body of research, a formal essay and several tests carried out
and analysed by myself.
Using
a range of quotes and sources for my secondary research was important in
gaining an in depth knowledge of Gestalt and logo design, I had to look into
several areas to gain the information I needed as this wasn’t two topics that
had been linked before. This made it exciting for me to start putting links
together and connecting a piece of research with another, my strengths lay in
making the bridge between articles and other results of experiments to show
similar results, or opposing conclusions. Although my essay was more of an
exploration I decided it would be important to still include some contrasting
arguments, bringing in other theorists not only enhanced my essay but also
showed how I can be unbiased and consider all angles of the question.
Although
my use of triangulation has improved there were a couple of areas where I
didn’t back up a quote enough, my weakness could be in the area of making sure
that each argument or statement was fully explored and explained. Another weakness
of mine would be regarding the practical experiment, I need to consider from
the beginning where problems could lay and expect to have to resolve some
issues as I go along.
Overall
I have really enjoyed this module, I was skeptical of it to begin with after
last year but I have really focused on CoP2 knowing that the theory of my
practical is equally important. I am looking forward to CoP 3 now and I hope to
build upon this essay to create a starting point.
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