Through completing the tasks in this module of Research and Communication I have been able to develop a wide range of new skills which will help me with my design work in the future. Writing is something I have always found challenging but this module has helped to increase my confidence in my written work, with the weekly tasks allowing me time to reflect and form a personal response to a variety of different articles and media.
Task 1 and 2 taught me about finding Primary and Secondary sources and the difference between the two. For this task I analysed an image of Matisse’s work from a book in Winchester library and then went on to deepen my understanding of his work by finding an article online which explained more about Matisse’s paper cuts and the development of his later work.
Task 3 and 4 gave me an insight into the issues of Plagiarism and Academic integrity- an extremely important subject to know about as future designers in the fashion and textile industry. Although the task was similar to the previous one, I found this lecture to be one of the most interesting out of all of the lectures of the module so far as I was unaware of the scale of this issue in the industry.
Task 5 and 6 taught me about design references and the deeper meaning and messages behind artists work. For this task I identified 10 references of Alexander McQueen’s work and I especially enjoyed creating a mood board of design references as it was so interesting to see the variety and diversity of all the references when they are all placed together and how they have informed
Task 7 and 8 I found by far the most challenging as we had to read and interpret academic article. Whilst I understood what the author was saying, I did struggle to translate this into my own words and produce a response and this is defiantly something I wish to improve on throughout this module.
Task 9 and 10 addressed ethical issues in fashion and textiles advertising and I found this task and lecture by far the most interesting yet. The lecture for this task really made me realise how much of an impact one controversial advert can have on a fashion brand. For the task I chose to discuss the ethical issues surrounding a controversial campaign image by the menswear brand Duncan Quinn and I really enjoyed analysing the photography in the advertisement and finding the potential ethical issues surrounding it.
This final task (Task 11 and 12) was a great finish to the module as it has now allowed me to reflect upon all of the tasks I have completed. This reflection has made me realise how much I have learnt and how many beneficial new skills I have developed. I think most importantly for me this module has significantly increased my confidence in my writing and I have developed a firm understanding of how to analyse and produce a considered response to both images and academic writing.