OUGD501 - Evaluation

To conclude on a module which at first I had doubts about but now it is complete I am personally satisfied with all deliverables of the module. After a rather poor Context of Practice 1 I had doubts about Context of Practice 2 and whether or not my final grade in this module would affect my overall grade like it did in first year. For a number of reasons I didn’t do as well as I should have in Context of Practice 1 but nonetheless this year was a dramatic change. I believe having the opportunity to choose a question of my own, created enthusiasm for the essay and practical. When thinking about a subject to relate to in graphic design it didn’t take too long for me to decide upon electronic music, as its one of my passions outside of graphic design I felt I could enjoy this module if I related it to my personal interests.

Prior to the research I had a rough idea of what I wanted to explore so I highlighted rave culture, branding and marketing of electronic music, rave influence and Fabric the club as the main talking points of the essay. I aimed to make the points relevant to the module but also current and by including Fabric I could analyse the clubs identity but also the recent court case the club was embroiled in. My research was an enjoyable process as I knew exactly what I was looking for at times, and I felt my knowledge of the scene would allow me to be precise with research. My knowledge of the scene and my practice of graphic design made me reflect upon my research and I felt the most suitable name for the essay was ’What is the role of graphic design in the underground electronic music scene?’

It is what one tutor called a niche subject, and in research I definitely encountered how niche this subject was at times, as academic sources were hard to come by. Nevertheless in the end I found some useful and insightful sources which helped guide my essay in a academic form. The likes of Dick Hebidge : The Meaning of Style and RAVE : Its Influences on Art and Culture provided a great backbone for this essay and allowed my knowledge and passion for the subject to push the points I made. On a personal level the essay was a success as I feel I’ve improved upon Context of Practice 1, the obvious factor is producing a written essay on something I like but I also feel my written language has improved in this module. Furthermore this improvement in written language has lent itself to other modules, as I feel I’ve approached and anaysled certain topics differently in other modules thanks to Context of Practice.

When I look back on the essay now, yes Im proud of it but maybe the addition of more academic sources may enhance it, and this is the reason I’m pushing this certain subject further in Context of Practice 3. The opportunity to write a dissertation on my personal interests aligned with graphic design is something I’m looking forward to, rather than daunting the thought of 9000 words.

Moving onto the practical side of the module which helps reflect a number of the points in the essay but in a physical piece of graphic design. The Visual Case Study of Fabric combines firstly the talking point of  Fabric obviously, and helps highlight the importance of the clubs visual identity and the story of the clubs court case which gripped the electronic music scene for a number of months. It then takes parts of the point on how graphic designers are recapturing rave culture,  with the use of certain aesthetics and how Fabric used the iconic acid smiley face for nostalgia to capture a scene in one and help push the save Fabric campaign. The end result combines these points to tell the story of Fabrics court case but only through the use of icons, as Fabric did use and alter one to represent the scene. The practical is informed in a number of ways and this is why I’m mainly happy with it, and maybe a few minor changes are needed to the physical piece but the overall idea works well with the essay.