Evaluation and Reflection

My teacher has asked me to write an evaluation and reflection of my major project, questions and answers as follows:

1. Did you achieve the main goals of the project? How?
Yeah I did definitely. I set out on this major project with the goal to design and produce something that I would be proud to put into my portfolio. With that goal in mind I've put more effort and time into this assignment than any other I've done, and the results are pretty awesome :)

2. What have you not achieved? Why?
The only thing that I haven't achieved in finishing a full documentation set, and full fly-through of the space. We didn't have enough time to do a documentation set of this project, which no one is to blame, and the fly-through was my fault for not finishing it in time. Obviously there are always technical problems with these things, and I should have allowed enough time for errors.

3. Does your design reflect and respond to your original concept? How? If not, how could this improve?
I think that in some ways my design does reflect my original concept, and in others it doesn't (please refer to an earlier blog to see my concepts). I wanted a space that was very spacious, had natural light filtering through, and was welcoming. Definitely with my void, use of glass/frosted glass the space is very open and has a lot of natural light going through, and the timber in the space feels very homely. However, the colours that I have used in my concepts haven't entirely translated across to the design, but I like it how it is.

4. What are the 3 most successful aspects of your design and why do you consider them to be successful?
- I'm very happy with the splashes of colour that I have used, I think it brings life and depth to the design.
- The void, water feature, and grass brings in natural light to parts of the ground floor and makes it feel very outdoorsy.
- The library is my favourite space. The tree with hanging light bulbs is a great feature and makes the space feel very warm and welcoming.

5. What are 3 things that you could improve (both for this project and for future projects)?
- Time management - I should be finished with everything long before the due date, to allow time to fix errors.
- Better choice of materials - I never feel like I have put enough thought into textures and materials as I could.
- Learning how to use programs before actually needing to use them - self explanatory!

6. How have you maintained the original design integrity whilst negotiating design revisions as well as issues such as budget, time, teacher feedback?
One of the most difficult things was negotiating on the design with our 'clients' (teachers) whilst trying to maintain the design integrity. It was just a matter of give-and-take, remembering that the client needs to be kept happy, but reminding them of the original concept and what the design should achieve.

7. Have you found this difficult? If so, how will you deal with this next time?
Strangely, for a large and stressful project, I haven't found it too difficult this time. I must have gotten lucky with the teachers being happy with my ideas almost all the way through!

8. What have you learned personally over the last 3 years as you have studied to become a designer?
Because I also did 3 years at UWS, this year is my 6th year studying to become a designer! But in the last 3 years at TAFE, I've learned that I need to focus more on my assignment and not to assist with others asking me for help all the time because in the end I'm the one who suffers with stress and time constraints. My love for design has grown exponentially in this course, and every time I complete a big assignment I'm reminded of the reason why I pursue this industry, and I'm motivated to achieve more. Also, NEVER RELY ON COMPUTERS FOR LAST MINUTE WORK!

9. What are your main strengths as a designer?
I'm neat, and a little bit of a perfectionist. I'm not sure if that's a strength or a weakness! Other than that, I think my presentation skills are generally quite good...

10. What are some areas you need to work on?
I'm not very good with sketching ideas out, and maintaining paperwork/visual diaries. I've improved this semester, especially with the job file assignment (thanks Xanthe!) and passion for the major project.

11. Any other comments?
Only to thank my 4 wonderful teachers for everything they've taught me in the past 2 and a half years :) I hope to keep in contact with them in future, because they'll always be my first contacts in the industry and their knowledge and advice will always be appreciated.

Photoshop

Wow, I can't believe I'm almost finished! Tomorrow I'll only have one more perspective to Photoshop, and finalise my floor plans for printing, set my fly-through for render, finish my documentation, and I'll only have to organise my materials board before Thursday. What a relief that I'm on schedule. I'm also very, very happy with how my final renders have turned out. I'll share a few of them with you:

 Classroom

Dining 

Library

I may not have time to blog tomorrow with the things I still have to do, but I should be back on Tuesday.

Jane

Rendering

I totally forgot to blog yesterday. I meant to do it while it was quiet at work, but I didn't have my renders with me and I wanted to share them here with you...

Just a sample of what I've been working towards:

This is a render of my library. At the current time I'm using Photoshop to edit it and make it more alive. It's taken me 2 hours just to put in books! Hopefully the other perspective renders won't take nearly as long because they'll just be people~~

I'll update again soon.

Jane

Overdue Update

Hi everyone,

Apologies that I haven't blogged in so long! It's all just so overwhelming now...

I only have 7 days left till it's all over for me. 7 days until my student life finally ends. Which means I have 7 days to complete my major project! Not only that, but documentation for the HAFH project is due in 6 days which I'm starting to have nightmares about.

I'm happy that I'm on track with my major project. I've completed 3 renders and there's one running on my laptop as I type. This makes 4 perspectives down, with only the flythrough, 3D cutaway and hero shot renders left! Hopefully I'll have some time left to build up and render my computer area upstairs, just as an extra perspective (maybe I'll get extra brownie points!).

I'd better get back to documentation and soft/hard materials re-submission for one of my teachers. I'll try to update every day in this last week.

Jane

Integrity and Update

I was asked "How do you keep the integrity of your design with so many influences and conflicting feedback from teachers, getting too many ideas?" I find that it helps me to continuously refer back to my research report, feasibility study, and inspiration images. Every time I get new feedback or idea I either write it down or draw it up, and justify whether or not it belongs in the design by referring it back to the mission purpose and vision that I have for the space.

To be honest, I think this project would be easier if we had a real client who could give us feedback on whether certain design decisions were appreciated by them, rather than the panel of teachers who give conflicting feedback. However, as a student I am still being pushed to learn more and think more than just one path, and the contradicting ideas given by the teachers show me that not all clients can be easy, and to think outside the box! Somehow I have to work out a design that is agreeable for everyone, whilst still staying true to the integrity of the design.

During the two-week break from TAFE I just had, I didn't have a break from anything else and my part-time job at Telstra was more demanding than usual... I really couldn't call it a 'break' because I ended up being extremely busy with things that couldn't be done during term - TAFE work ended up taking a back seat.

The three most important things that I still need to do are:

1. Decide on what furniture/furnishings/finishes I will use
2. Consider construction features for the preliminary presentation next Monday
3. Make points 1+2 in ArchiCAD

I think the best element of my design is the use of frosted glass in all areas, to bring light into spaces that are away from windows and to keep the design open, yet private. I'm still making these glass walls in ArchiCAD, which is a main element in all areas, but two areas that are in need of my attention are:

1. Library - the design of the glass bookshelves, how will they be hung and fixed.

2. Computer area - ceiling and floor heights and finishes, decide on a feature for this space possibly on the ceiling

I'm considering putting my Marcel Wanders Zeppelin Pendant in the computer area. The size and design makes it fit well over the round computer table. I've also been inspired by other ceiling designs:

That's probably all from me for today. I'm feeling motivated by these inspiration images to go do some designing! Thanks for reading :)

Jane

IKEA Safety Training

Today I had my safety training at IKEA for the work placement that I'll be doing there in June. It was very interesting - they went through some facts about IKEA (some of which I already knew from the assignment I did on the company when I was at uni), told us some of their safety standards, and walked us through the store and their concept and layouts. 

Being there and listening to the managers of the Communications&Interiors team talking about the company and the vision/mission, as well as what they want to achieve for the company through their work really inspired me and reignited my love for IKEA, as well as reminding me of the reason why working at IKEA is my dream job.

This opportunity is just the best. I can't wait till June to learn as much as I can from working with their designers. I hope that I'll be able to gain enough experience to land me a job at IKEA in the future!

Jane

Feasibility Study

I started on my Feasibility Study last week, and it's going slow. To keep my motivation up, I browsed a few spaces similar to how I envision my design will be:

Spaces opened up by glass, lots of light flowing through, indoor water feature.

Jane