FINAL EVALUATION

CONTEXT AIM AND INTENT

My final major project started with the theme of music , I then added a subtheme of mental health. I connected the two of these together to create the creative question ‘how does music promote mental health, and how can I act on this?’. These themes are very personal to me , I control my own mental health by going to concerts, festivals or just listening to spotify. So as an aspiring product designer I took it upon myself to design a product that can play music.

When choosing what materials I use for my end product I looked into the ethics and sustainability of each type of plastic. As well as this I am obviously not aloud to violate any copyright infringements- this was a constant thought in my mind throughout the project.

Now that my project is coming to an end I can clearly see how It links to the theme and the creative question. It is clear on first glance my item is a cassette player. With a bright vibrant colour theme , I used this as another way to increase my users mental health.

I learned a lot about product design in this project and it really helped me develop my final product further. I learned how to prototype and evaluate professionally. Finding the ‘ACCESSFM’ anagram has helped me in this project and will help me considerably in the future.

DID I DO ENOUGH RESEARCH AND PREPERATION?

As my specialist practice is product design I found it increasingly hard at the start of this project to find specific artists I could analyze.  this lead me to researching companies and their products. I mainly used fujifilms instax camera. I have taken a great deal of inspiration from their design as it is fun, colorful and a vintage item turned into something more 21st century- this was and still is the aim for my cassette player.

My original primary sketches helped a lot and you can say they have made my product what it is today. I originally started by creating 3 tiny sketches of musical devices. Then taking the cassette player sketch , turning it into many different takes on the old school tape players. I then used one of these sketches to influence my entire project. Primary sketches were a huge help.

As I only created a prototype of my product there was no need to experiment with actual plastics to decide which to use , however there was a need to test which prototype method would be best. Firstly I created 2 cardboard models , these did not give me the professional finish I wanted – but did help to see which shape I preferred. Next we used polystyrene and a hot wire cutter. I needed to paper mache this but did not want to ruin any parts that I had cut out perfectly. So I used 3 scrap polystyrene blocks and tested 3 different ways of paper mache. This enabled me to choose one method on my final prototype.

I feel I used my time effectively when it came to research, most of the information I gathered I found useful. I wish I could have done more research into how the original sony Walkman was created, taken in the music industry and find out more about their marketing method. However this would have just been out of curiosity – I believe I coped well with the information I had gathered and was never searching for a piece of knowledge for too long.

To round up this part of the evaluation I would like to discuss the method I used to generate general ideas. To find my theme , I used mind maps. I find mind maps easy to use as I like to keep things organized and not messy. When using a mind map I am able to get all my ideas out on one page whilst keeping it aesthetically pleasing.  But when I genertated initial ideas for my cassette player I simply sketched multiple ideas on one page and chose a few I would like to develop further than just a sketch and went from there. This worked really well for me.

AM I PLEASED WITH THE QUALITY OF MY FINAL SOLUTION?

Personally I believe that my final practical work as a whole is very successful. Last week I did not like the buttons I had fixed to the top of my prototype , this week I changed them. I now love how they look. I feel the colour pallet of orange, white and black really works and brings the simplicity of my design out.

If I was to start my project over again there is not much I would change, for me this has worked really well. I believe it is because I love my theme and product design as a whole. However I would have complete a tiny bit more research, not that It would have changed my project as a whole but it may have been helpful to understand closer to the prime of my project a bit more on instax cameras and Fujifilm as a company (as they were my biggest influence for my project)

As previously discussed I did not like the buttons I originally added to my prototype – this was not planned. I handled this simply by removing them and replacing them with ones better fitted to the aesthetic.

I mainly used sketches to communicate my ideas. This is a simple way of showing the multiple ideas that were in my mind. I also created 3 design boards – these are large a1 collages/ moodboards of all my research , planning and practical work. These will be used in my final exhibition to show participants how much work went behind such a small piece of polystyrene.

This project has really helped me develop in product design. I used a material I had never used before during this project and that excites me to continue through life like this. As well as using a material I had never used I also used the hot wire cutter. I had previously only used this device once or twice many years ago- but now knowing I have gained the skills of how to use a hot wire cutter confidently I am now assured I can use it in my future life at university.

I reflected greatly in my final project, every time I added something to my wix website I wrote how it had influence my project, why I was doing it and how it will help me improve. I would not have done this any differently as I had been doing it since this project began and I find it a very effective way to understand what I was doing and why I was doing it. It can also help others understand what I was thinking at that moment In time. This must be very helpful.

When I was looking into materials I looked at the sustainability of plastics. Although polystyrene is 100% sustainable ( polystyrene being the only plastic used to create my prototype)  I also wanted to look at the plastics I could use if I aim to take this project further. I analyzed which plastics would be the best sustainability wise. This is in the research section of my website.

DID I PLAN AND ORGANISE MYSELF WELL?

I reached all my deadlines with completed work. I feel I used my time effectively , I did not cause myself to be stressed by leaving lots of work last minute. I also did not complete my work as soon as it was set. I sat comfortably in the middle completing work on just on time. This is a good method for me to use. I will spread my time out like this in future projects.

WHAT WILL THE VIEWER THINK OR FEEL WHEN LOOKING AT MY WORK?

By keeping the same colour theme and font throughout my website and sketchbook it really ties all my work together. A viewer will look at my research and planning and can tell it is all linked. I take great pride in my presentation and love to look at a tidy sketchbook.

My audience is mainly teenagers to young adults that like music. As my work is literally a item that plays music I believe I have identified my audience very well. As well as this the bright colours target the younger audience.

Most product designers present their work at exhibitions with their item clear – research behind and a large I saw that attracts people to come look at their item. When we have our final exhibition at college this is exactly how I aim to present my work.  I will only know if this attracts customers after my show , but for now I am hoping that it will tempt a large audience.

If I had enough time I would have created another prototype that was very similar in another colour to show the variation I can produce.

HAVE I DEVELOPED AS A CREATIVE PRACTITIONER?

I want to be a product designer – this project is just the start of my journey. I have picked up skills such as learning how to prototype effectively and how to use a hot wire cutter , both abilities that I will need to practice all the way through my career.

But most importantly this project has prepared me for my product design course in university.

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Finally i am really proud of the product i have been able to create and the way i developed it using research , planning and prototypes. This project has really helped me understand the process of product design. I am so glad i did this as it will help me in my product design course in university.