End of module Self Evaluation

Adele Pierce
OUIL501 Context of Practice
End of module evaluation

Context of Practice has to be one of my favourite modules because it gives my work great clarity and purpose when I am creating something that I am passionate about and feel I have researched into well.

I chose to look at gender equality for this module, as this is something I feel strongly about on a daily basis and wanted to learn more of.

Research I feel is always a strong factor for me and something I do well; however I do tend to get carried away. I read up on a lot within this module, not just in books but also in articles and videos. It was then that it became apparent to me that I could cover equality in a range of formats as it is viewed by the public in various media such as posters, advertisements online and on television, in magazines, newspapers, social media, through culture, through the arts, through music. My scope of research was huge and I somehow had to narrow this down into a 3000-word essay.

My main influence initially to research into equality was when I watched the ‘HeforShe’ campaign speech by Emma Watson. Her words echoed in my mind for weeks later and I found myself wanting to campaign alongside her; but more importantly wanting to know more.

To me it seemed great that she was a campaigner that you would not expect, someone within the public eye that we would be shocked to come forward and speak such powerful words. Not your average stereotypical feminist, but a normal female speaking out about the unspoken attitudes and beliefs our culture has embedded. I started to think to myself, how as an illustrator could I raise these points within my work? How could I persuade people to listen and take note? How could I highlight these issues? How could I promote equality without being in your face and seeming like I was attacking? I usually make work that has a humorous concept and is light hearted and funny. I could use this to my advantage and show equality in a more positive light as opposed to feminism being an attack on men and raising issues that don't exist.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing my essay and being able to put all of my knowledge, everything that I had read and learnt into context. However, I was a little overwhelmed at how I could then interpret this through drawing, and more importantly make people understand. I still had to stay true to who I am and the way that I enjoy drawing, my own illustrative 'style.' I began looking at perhaps creating a new subculture mocking the recent 'Lad' culture perhaps with females. I looked at how a woman could become this new trend of gender through what she wears and how she acts. I had the idea of exploring pin up girls, lesbians, and different groups of women that could be this whole new culture.

However, I felt it wasn't quite saying enough and that perhaps people would not interpret this in the right way. I began looking at how gender roles are subconsciously driven into us from a young age through toys and advertisement. This expanded further onto advertisement and how sexism is an old fashioned attitude that is still occurring today. My essay drove my practical work and I continued to learn more as I went along. The research part of this module has never stopped for me and keeps expanding, I am still reading and watching videos.

In terms of my practical skills I feel I have definitely pushed myself this module when it comes to my style. I have began looking at older techniques and ways of advertising with typography and colour palettes. The old war posters have influenced me a lot and drove me to use tools I would not usually use, certain brushes and colours. I looked at a different format with postcards playing around with scale, which was all driven by research. I perhaps could have changed my media of drawing and explored watercolour for my final designs. I definitely need to learn to be freer with my drawing and not use fine liners every time. This can often be restricting; and in some cases with my postcards the drawing does not suit the aesthetic of the postcard or the original design. I often had to change the typography, as it did not match the fine liner drawing. I will take this on board in the future and try to come up with new ways of drawing.

Most importantly I stayed passionate about the work I was creating which I put down to being interested in the subject I was exploring. Compared to other modules such as responsive where briefs are given to us and we have a certain number of weeks to complete them you can often lose interest or make work for the sake of it. I much prefer making work that has a sense of purpose and could potentially change someone's way of thinking. I felt in this module I had a deeper understanding of the subject I was drawing and so could really invest my time into it compared to creating a patterned wrapping paper design. However, my work still has to be commercially viable; people have to buy into it and buy into the idea and I hope that if we encourage equality more through illustration it will become a new trend and a new way of thinking.

Something I am still struggling to push within my work is context and where the work can be seen and placed. I need to push my final designs more as products with a more professional finish. Being part of the crit seeing my peers create books, packs and zines has pushed me to think that next year I need to step up my game in terms of my final products and create something that could actually sell.