OUGD602: Personal and Professional Practice - Brief 4: Interactive Mail shot, Evaluation

Evaluation

The main thing I wanted to achieve by setting and undertaking this brief was the production of a well-crafted and designed mail shot. Not just so it would be a project I could include within the portfolio I would be leaving the course with but as this piece of design would theoretically be representing me and my design skills to the professionals in industry I have chosen to contact.

I believe the brief has been a success in terms of creating a personal branding for myself which unlike the branding I have produced previously on the course effectively represents me as an individual with references to my personal and professional interests with the design. The namestlye I have designed and branding decisions I have made during the course of this brief are somethingI have rolled out across a range of platforms - my portfolio, creative CV, Behance, Instagram and kin2kin in order to strengthen my image as a professional in industry and add a sense of continuity.

The photographs I took originally of the project were not of the professional quality which I believe is imperative for my portfolio however I am really pleased with the new photos and how well the mailshot works against the chipboard background which is a lot more interesting than a plain white background. I also think these photos are more effective in really evidencing how the mailshot would be interacted with which ties in with the aim of the brief.

Something I would reconsider should I redo the brief would be stock choices and printing processes etc. in order to create something which looks and feels really bespoke and hand-crafted, Screen-printing onto the stock who also be appropriate in referencing my personal design interests.

One thing Andy suggested at my portfolio review as something to consider was to make the mailshot more personal to me perhaps by including little facts about myself rather than fortunes.

Unfortunately my mailshot was unsuccessful in terms of the lack of responses I got from the studios I sent the mailshot to however I hope that in the future that by putting myself out there in a unique way rather than just sending an email will help me be remembered should any positions become available. I also think it is a really nice crafted piece unlike anything else in my portfolio so I definitely believe it was beneficial for me to undertake the brief.