UNIT CONCLUSION.

I feel this unit of reflecting upon my working practice has forced me to really dissect my thinking, and pushed me down routes of working that I wouldn't necessarily have taken. The whole process has also coincided with an instinctive urge to create something different; which gained momentum over the summer break between finishing my Fda and starting the Top-Up course, where I was working consistently on commercial projects. 

When I consider my initial response to the unit it was very flat and 2D, and I was aware of this, and even somewhat frustrated. It wasn't until the obvious suggestion of 'have you thought of trying something 3D' at the question time after my previous presentation, that it was very obvious. Although I'd thought about creating something 3D it was probably more the nature in which it took shape that was influenced by the surrounding disciplines. To me previously, 3D would have been something made out of paper, as it's just the natural tool that I seem to use and work with as a designer. But to those around me, ceramics and plaster made from moulds were their 'tools of the trade'. These were things I'd not really experimented with before. As soon as I started making something out of plaster I got excited, it was new and it was hands on, and it was inspiring me to produce more work. Although it was simply experimentation, it had a purpose, and it was my plaster sculpture that lead me down the path to three dimensional type and gave me the confidence to go and and try creating something new with concrete. 

The whole process has left me feeling rather 'free' about my work, whereas at the start of the unit I felt very confined and frustrated by graphic design. Now instead of trying to figure out a two dimensional solution to something as I may have done before, It seems as though a whole other dimension has been opened up for consideration. Through the different materials I've employed, it's also given me a certain amount of confidence to experiment further in the future, and not be bound by just flat graphics on a page, because even though I may be using a different media I can still employ it in my style, a way that I enjoy and feel comfortable with. Even after just this one brief I already feel more rounded and free as a designer, and it's something I want to now take and continue building upon. Through simply making things I've realised ideas can appear or improve, rather than wondering around thinking about what I need to think about, I hit a point where I simply just started 'doing', and everything seemed to flow well from there.

I'm generally pleased with the output from this unit, as an academic exploration and reflection upon my working methods, and as an exploration of typography/architecture it's served my working practices well' providing insights I'm able to transfer on to my studio practice.