DESIGN RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: FINAL COMPILATION & E-PORTFOLIO

MODULE GCD61004: ADVANCED TYPOGRAPHY

23 April 2024 - 28 July 2024 : Week 1 - Week 14

Bachelor of Design (Hon) in Creative Media

Task 4 / Exercises: EPortfolio & Final Compilation

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MODULE INSTRUCTIONS:

“APR - JUL 2024: GCD 60904 / ADVANCED TYPOGRAPHY MODULE INFORMATION BOOKLET”

Task I / Exercises: Assignment Research Proposal (Weeks 1 - 7)

Typographic Systems: Students within this cohort are expected to select a topic of interest which relates to their BDCM specialisations (UI/UX, Entertainment Design, Graphic Design, Digital Animation and Immersive Design). Following their selection, students should focus on a specific research area (research problem) within that topic. Remember, the selection should be based not only on interest but also on adequate and substantial research from reading relevant research articles.

Task II / Exercises: Assignment Critical Review (Weeks 8 - 12)

Typographic Systems: Students within this cohort are expected to analyse and reference at least three research articles (related to the research problem that were published within the last 5 years. What are the major parts in a research article? What is an example of a research article? Referring to the guide and notes provided in Microsoft Teams, write a review for each article. The article's reference, written in APA style (p.5), 7th edition. To learn more about APA style referencing. Summary of article (research problem, methodology, discussion & conclusion by the author[s].) Strengths & weaknesses of the article, written in paragraph form. Your conclusion of the review.

Task III / Exercises: Assignment Primary Data Collection (Weeks 13 - 14)

Typographic Systems: Students within this cohort are expected to Select and justify suitable primary research methods relevant to your study. A minimum of one method is expected for this assignment. However, where interviews are concerned, it is better to have a back-up method, e. g. focus group/questionnaire/observation. Students are expected to Carry out the research to collect data & Analyse the collected data.

Assignment final Compilation: 

“PDF Version of the Completed Write-up of Task 1, 2, 3”

Assignment Presentation and council: 

“PDF version of the Presentation Slideshow for showcasing results”

LINK HERE

“Recording for live presentation of the showcase.”

Personal Student Reflection: [Final Word count: 632]

Personal Experience: Over the past few weeks, I’ve been dealing with the requirements and expectations of this module alongside the requirements of my other, lengthy modules which proved rather difficult to manage. There were points throughout this semester where I could dedicate a vast amount of time to this module but, on the counter; some weeks would prevent me from making any decent progress due to other, more time-sensitive assignments. In regards to the content itself, I believe that I went into this module aiming a little too high above my ability which had caused me to metaphorically ‘run myself thin’ which only worsened the end product. For starters, the first original topics I’d picked were either rejected or talked-down by the lecturer which was a difficult time as I’d wasted a large portion of time just to begin working. With the idea I ultimately ran with, I believe that I over-complicated it as I introduced too many ‘moving parts’ into sections such as the Primary Data Collection Section which greatly worried my lecturer and should’ve worried me sooner. If I was to do this module again (which I greatly hope that I don’t, I would begin by making the project more simple and easier to achieve instead of attempting to write a full-on dissertation which was the mentality I originally had; that way, it becomes more manageable and is easier to work through in the long run.

Personal Observations: Looking back through this module I noticed how important it became to remain focused on this module as taking extended breaks (potentially to focus on other modules) would cause you to slow down and become unfamiliar with sections you were trying to develop. While it is important to take breaks, I’d recommend doing smaller parts just to keep your original lines of thinking intact for your next writing, reading, and analysing section. In addition to this; I also noticed that I would work on this module with too large of time-ranges which would leave me drained by the end which proved to be one of my downfalls as it felt like you wanted to stay away from the project.

Personal Findings: From this module, I found the importance of doing in-depth pre-study planning in order to find useful sources for your topic. While it can seem easy to search using similar terms and specify a time-range; it is also important to consider the sources that you are willing to use such as academic papers, research theories or headline/news articles. In addition, I've also noted that a majority of all the sources students use do come with inherent downsides as well and it is up to said students to determine if these downsides are worth the sources inclusion in their research. Another important finding I’d made through this semester as a whole is the value of having an alternate plan in case one of your ideas strays too far from what is expected or responsible. While this can be seen as somewhat time consuming; it does open up your exploration of a topic and keeps you from hitting a wall in your development which unfortunately happened to me on occasion. A majority of the time, work can feel like a snow-balling effect; once you get going, very few things can stop you and you feel more confident in continuing but, should you hit a wall; it's hard to build-up that momentum again. To strengthen this point, my final major findings was the importance of communication between the student and the lecturer; sometimes it can be difficult to talk with the lecturer and I believe that there is value in taking some more time to speak with them if required. It's better that you understand what's going on than sitting in the dark about parts of your own assignment.