Project Briefing Lecture

Although I have already gone through the project briefing in my own time annotating it and making notes, this timetabled uni session gave me an opportunity to hear someone going through the brief in stages, breaking it apart and talking about in a different perspective to my view of it. I am pleasantly surprised, this is one of the longer projects, with 7timetabled weeks at uni, but unlike usual I don't feel to worried or stressed out. I think it is because I read through the brief the morning before the lecture, so I knew what to expect.

The session runs from today, 17th march to 16th may. 7 weeks of timetabled sessions with Easter slotted in the middle. This project is based on a idea of developing and refining our ideas, skills and work in preparation for next year, our last year!

The project centres around the theme of CONTEXT although we may choose what we focus on as a subject area and how we go about it. In the project we need to complete some work placement to go towards the hand in, so we are able to test our ideas in the workplace. 

As with all projects TIME MANAGEMENT is key, but more important in this project because there is a huge amount of work and a holiday slap bang right in the middle of it! We must maintain focus and keep up with our planned timetable for the project.  A good balance of studio work and research/work placement is needed.

Following this brief our first thought should be drawing!!! Lots and lots of it is key to continual development of our work, something in perhaps think that I sometimes tend to lack a little. 

STUDIO PRACTICE 

A learning agreement with careful context of work. Start with drawings, visual research, museums and galleries. Produce a portfolio of work appropriate to the chosen context.

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

We must record our involvement in a work placement through journal and a 2,000 word report. This must include an overview/market report and how placement has impacted on your work.

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES

There is a heavy focus on the context of studio practice.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING 

We choose our own work focus!!  -- how we talk through our work and discuss our ideas and reflection.... JOURNAL/BLOG = very important!!

For hand in we need...

At least 2 sketchbooks. With an element of development.

4 A2 boards. Context, development.

4 final designs.

L.O. 9 - context

L.O. 10 - placement = ESSAY. Evidence, reflection and how placement has effected your work

L.O. 11 - learning agreement and following it!

L.O. 12 - PDP reflective journal.

Must include a reference list somewhere in the project!!

BA6 - Project Brief

PROJECT BRIEF

Course: BA (Hons) Textiles

Year: Two

Unit: BA6: Context: Collaboration, Audience and Employability

Project Title: Self Directed

Project 1 of 1 within this unit

Start Date: 17.3.14

Study Hours: 240

Submission Date: 16.5.14

Description

This project provides you with the exciting opportunity to explore the contextual possibilities for your work, and is designed to ensure that you gain practical experience in a professional context as well as continuing to develop a portfolio of design work appropriate to your professional interests.

Throughout this unit you will be required to continue developing your research and design practice. Emphasis will be given to developing your professionalism and contextual awareness and the course team will have encouraged you at some time during the academic year to tailor a work based experience or placement to your specific interests and will ensure the experience is both relevant to your work and informs your development as a designer ready to work in the industry. Studio and trade fair visits and talks from visiting tutors through the course, coupled with your ongoing contextual research will help you in identifying suitable opportunities and partners for your placement experience. Your practice during this unit will be focused on your own research interests and as such involves a greater level of self-management and pro-activity. You will need to consider how you develop your skills in textiles and your knowledge of materials to successfully prepare you for year 3 of the course. Drawing from primary sources and design development will remain key to your practice.

You will need to complete for assessment a 2000 word report, which describes how your work related learning has informed your work for this project. You will be required to write a learning agreement at the beginning of the project identify in advance any time to be spent away from the University.

This project addresses the key areas of study as follows:

Studio Practice: You will need to write a learning agreement considering carefully the context of the work and evidencing how your placement has, or will inform your practice. You should start your project with drawing, visual research visits to museums, galleries and other venues which can give you access to primary research. In addition you will need to carefully consider the context for the work and the implications, in terms of materials, process and presentation this has for your practice. You will Page 2 of 3

produce a portfolio of work presented appropriate to context and supported by thorough primary and secondary research, including drawing, visual research, sampling and final outcome. You will use the learning agreement to specify the exact contents of your portfolio for assessment.

Business and Professional Skills: You will be expected to record your involvement with work related learning activities. These could have occurred at any point during this year,. You will be expected to compile for assessment a 2000 word report that details your work based experience, contains an overview or market report on the context of your placement provider and describes how your work related learning has impacted on your understanding of the context of your work and the development of your practice. This report should contain images as well as text.

Contextual Studies: You will be asked to research contexts through your engagement with work related learning and your studio practice. As you will, potentially not be on site as much for some parts of this unit there may be forums, online tutorials and research tasks that will be made available to you via the VLE.

Personal Development and Planning: Your practice during this unit will be focused on your own research interests and as such involves a greater level of self-management and pro-activity. You will be expected to contribute to your reflective journal.

The table below lists the work you will need to submit and which areas of study each relates to:

Work required for this project:	Area of Study	Which Unit Assessment Requirement this work contributes to:
A portfolio of work containing at least :2 sketch books evidencing drawing and design development work. 4 A2 boards demonstrating concept development and context . 4resolved textile designs for a specific context that evidence developing technical skill.	Studio Practice	Body of studio work
Evidence of visual research including drawing, design development work and work produced in timetabled workshops	Studio Practice	Studio Work
Reflective Journal Your learning agreement.	Personal Development and Planning.	Research Files
2000 word Placement/ work related learning report	Business and Professional Skills	Research Files
Research files (visual and contextual) including a reflective journal	Contextual Studies	Research Files

Starting Ideas

From here I now need to get all of my ideas down into the learning agreement, so I have a clear focus, with a planned timetable of work, so I will stay to the planned deadline.

Following the project briefing, I have had a think about how I would like like to plan this project. Follow recent projects I feel that I am definitely ready for a change, I need to experiment more and have more fun so that I can re-gain my motivation and enthusiasm for textiles again. I have decided to take a step away from architecture and forwards, towards a new beginning. I want to explore nature, and the patterns inside the theme, in order to create a more organic and flowing project of work, which i hope will reflect the way I work better. This project is one of the longest of the year, and i want it to be the changing point in my work ethic.

To start this new beginning off, I have gathered a collection of images which i feel reflect the focus of the project, as an idea of an inspiration focus. Currently, I have not limited myself at all, so this may be something which occurs as I begin thinking and creating work, as focusing on nature as a whole is a large idea. I have also created a spider diagram to offset the visual inspiration as a sort of textual inspiration, something at the front of my sketchbook to inspire me whenever I find myself stuck for ideas. Alongside this I have a Pinterest account which I shall be sharing images which I find inspirational in a bid to maintain an enthusiastic experimental nature.

BA5 Assessment Feedback Session

Assessment Feedback Session

Today was an opportunity to speak to one of the uni tutors about our feedback in order to formulate a plan to further develop into the next project, BA6, which we begin on Monday.

I have to be honest, this is a day I was dreading because of my dreadful attempt last project. I am my own worst critic, I had let myself down and did not need someone to reiterate that.

My tutor went back over the feedback in a little more detail, explaining that my essay was one of the parts of the project which brought my mark up. She then went on to explain that my sketchbook lacked drawing and a focused sense of experimentation. Lots of good ideas were touched upon, but I then moved on without developing and refining the last. My tutor discussed the idea that the low grade reflects my lack of uni participation, something out of my hands which will continue to affect this project, to which she suggested I take a leave of absence and re-do the second year at uni.

I was shocked at this suggestion, to which I think I just did not connect with the project. I will say it now, I am DEFINITELY NOT re-doing this year!! I honestly do not think I could cope doing yet another year of textiles at uni! From uni I would like a 2.1 and currently my work is at a 2.2. As I have previously mentioned and tried to explain today, I am now going back to what I know with this new project, enhancing the next course of work with everything I have learnt over the last year and a half. That is what I have been missing, I have learnt so so so so much, but my work is just reflecting it! I shall manage my time more efficiently and try to enjoy my time at uni a little more. My overall work will be a lot more focused and my grade WILL improve. I shall use my blog as a PDP more efficiently!

This is the start of something new and exciting.

BA6 - A look forward!

BA6 - A Look Forward!

As suggested yesterday, I took the evening off yesterday to calm myself after my appalling grade for the last project BA5. This was good, because it gave me time to cool off and looking back at the feedback again today, I do not feel as bad about it.

Yes, the mark of 50% is the worst I have got whilst at uni, so was bound to shock me, but it is still a pass. And if I am honest I knew that the project was the worst I had done in a long while. This is because I was not clear of my focus right from the start. I looked into technique rather than a focused theme, which is not how I usually work and I have to admit did throw me right out the window. I knew I wanted to explore knitting, but I had a distinct lack of visual research. It was suggested to me to explore the technique threw architecture, a theme which I just do not have a passion for. Basically, the project was DOOMED from the beginning.

Although technically this was my worst project in terms of the work created, I have learnt a lot about how I work best. I think all throughout uni I have been trying to please everyone, doing something different every time. I want to take everything back to basics in this next project, making the stages of my project clear, making small changes to make everything clear and well thought, not only to me, but to anyone who may read or look at my project. These look to the presentation, making clear connections to visual research and my drawings and the stages of sketches, drawing, experimentation and design development heading into a final idea/pattern. This will hopefully create a more flowing project which will allow me to fully experiment and develop ideas in the project, moving towards creating more informed responses to the project brief and my own plan.

BA5 assessment feedback form

BA5 Assessment Feedback Form.

Displayed below is my feedback from the previous BA5 project, which I aim to use as a starting point for the next project. I have to admit that I am absolutely devastated at the mark I have achieved in the project, it is my lowest so far and it has left me feeling a little disheartened. It makes me really question my motif into being at uni, am I actually achieving anything here. I knew that the project was not going to be the best one I have done, I could feel it, but I was not prepared for the mark!

From here I need to read through the assessment feedback and create a plan for the next project. I think it may be better if i accumulate this over the next couple of days because I feel just overwhelmed with =, i suppose just annoyance with myself. I seem to work all the time, trying to put in as much effort as I can, but it wasn't good enough. If i formulate a plan for BA6, then I will hopefully be able to construct a more informed and focused project which will be the turning point in my understanding of the the way I need to work and progress whilst at uni.

UNIT ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK FORM - 1st ATTEMPT
Student Name:	Nathan Mison (1200090/1)
Course:	BA (Hons) Textiles
Unit:	BA5: Focus 2

Learning Outcomes & Grading Matrix	80-100%	70-79%	60-69%	50-59%	40-49%	35-39%(MF)	0-34%(F)
LO 5: Demonstrate an enquiring and critical approach to practice-based problem solving and its applications within your work and your wider field of study. Good - Your work demonstrates a measured approach to enquiry and practice-based problem solving, You are able to recognise and represent issues relevant to the wider subject.				✔
LO 6: Show the breadth and depth of knowledge of your subject area using independently located visual and textual material. Very Good - Your work demonstrates a broad and in-depth of knowledge in the subject. Your work shows an engagement with independently located, relevant, visual and textual material.			✔
LO 7: Use a range of methods or models associated with your subject to critically evaluate information, materials and processes. Satisfactory - Your work demonstrates a limited approach to evaluating and analysing practice-based problem solving. Your work shows partial evidence of engagement with methods, materials and contexts.					✔
LO 8: Articulate the findings of your research and practice using appropriate means of communication. Satisfactory - Your work demonstrates limited evidence of ability to articulate and present the findings of your research and results of your practice.					✔

Strengths:

Essay. Your essay question is good and your have explored all the issues it raises in a considered and reflective manner. There is a focus to the writing throughout and you are careful not to stray too far from your subject as you could have when you began to discuss problems in broader textile production and garment manufacture. Your writing is good and there is evidence that this is underpinned with some good relevant research. There is evidence on your blog of some interesting research that relates to your practice and there is some reflection on the workshops you have attended. PDP across your practice is good and will help you move your work forward. You have been proactive in seeking out research opportunities such as the Surface Design show in London. Within your sketchbooks there are some interesting ideas emerging. Your sublimation printing on knitting and your ideas with melted plastics, and weaving into the bonded carpet mesh both offer potential for further work. There is evidence that you are developing your digital skills and your skills in knitting although this does need more work.

Areas for development:

Essay. You need to make sure you are using Harvard Referencing. Look this up on the NUA library intranet pages.There may be further research potential here and you could consider this in preparation for your Research Report next academic year, perhaps looking in more depth at designers using organic fibres. The lack of drawing and repetitive use of the skyline image has limited the development of your ideas. You need much more visual research and your need to continue to develop this throughout your project. You have had some interesting ideas in terms of use of materials and combinations of materials but these are not developed and lack resolution. Although your skills have improved to some extent you need to invest much more time in this and in improving your materials research. You need to consider how you can make more use of the things you are learning in the workshops and how you can build on these strategies to help you develop your own work to much more refined outcomes. You need to develop your research more rigorously looking at the work of artists and designers that can inspire your work. Continue to extend your blog ensuring that it contains rigorous reflection and not just commentary on the workshops you have attended. Visually the blog looks good but make sure it supports your learning. You need to manage your time more effectively, you have barely addressed your second competition. You need to seek tutorial support to help you address issues of presentation within your work.

Provisional Mark: 50%

If you have any queries about the above feedback please contact a member of your course team.