Analyzing and critically analyzing - Vivienne Westwood

Analyzing and critically analyzing.

Context

1a. What is your professional prospect? 

After creating a print for Vivienne Westwood and collecting my research, my professional prospect is to become a print designer for Zandra Rhodes. 

1b. What are your personal and professional developments and your future career aspirations? 

My personal developments have been towards an interest in Photoshop, I feel that in the past year, my skills have radically improved. This year my professional developments, have been mixing textiles detailed drawings into Photoshop to create prints, I have developed this technique, and this has grown into a career opportunity, I understand that there will be more to learn, and I feel like I want to carry on my talent with Zandra Rhodes, London fashion designer, who specializes in textile print design.  

1c. Does your professional and personal development and aspirations meet the current context of the fashion industry? 

In my opinion, the fashion industry lacks personal detailed print, just recently in the past 10 years it has been all about animal pattern, and the Scottish pattern, it is not very creative. I believe this is where the fashion industry is heading; the trends are going towards solid and futuristic outfits. I realized that when I stated this project, this was my opportunity to design a print and show it in a more up to date light.  

1d. Do you fulfill the industry expectations from graduate to young professional? 

I have always had the eye for fashion, knowing what people around me are wearing, how it fits with the recent trends, and knowing what people want and like, from there I can choose what I want to create. Throughout the past year, I have learnt my strongest talent is print design and CAD I look to develop my Photoshop and new software skills. I feel I will get to the stage of high professional standard, I think I will fulfill the industry expectations. 

1e. Designer/companies influences- to which market sector do your companies’ choices belong to? Why the companies you have chosen match your professional aspirations and needs? 

My market sector company choice is Vivienne Westwood.  It is a high-end market sector. It attracts people who are financially stable. I chose her because, I was doing my research for my two chosen companies, I was reading about what her collection for 2014 would be and her main collection was about prints, which were checkered with stars and the Vivienne Westwood logo. I found it quite dull, I decided to follow her collection and see what boundaries she has pushed. Half the collection was print, and the rest was colour block designs. Vivienne Westwood’s collection gave me the inspiration to take elements from her print designs and improve them. I observed that if someone is going to buy a product of a high-end fashion designer, it needs to be of a higher standard.   

2. Content/form

2a. What is your e-portfolio about?

I want my e-portfolio to be a series of visuals, to build up the dialogue of what my products are, and to experiment with a lot of Photoshop effects, e.g. adding on filters, blurring things. I think to give a more avant-garde effect, and create white space and collage. It is basically building up information and trying to get the audience to understand what I am doing visually. 

2b. What skills did you want to showcase and why?

I think looking back to last year and analyzing the work I did on Photoshop, I was coming into my element of understanding of how print designs were created, I knew my drawing skills were not at a high standard, but scanning the drawing in, and detailed patterns, I have more knowledge and skill to develop on print design. My knowledge for print design is growing radically with the push of watching You Tube videos of adobe workers, such as Terry White and subscribing myself onto his You Tube channel, it allows me to watch over 15o videos of Photoshop techniques, which helps me understand print design. I also got books out the library even though I am not a big reader; I find it easier to research in a book than watching an online video.  The reason why I chose this technique to showcase is because I think print design is my strongest skill. It is very interesting that it could be the job role that I could consider in the fashion industry, it will show to the public my progression from education to a profession.

2c. How has the work been arranged? (Composition)

Describing print already done in folder. 

2d. Is it harmonious? Is it coherent? Is it pleasing? Does it work well as a whole? 

The three products work well together because it’s the repeated print all over the fabric. For the tote bag I mixed another printed fabric that connected with it that was from a previous work, but I think it worked really well and the colours blended. At the end of the project, looking back on the photo-shoot and the products, I do find the work pleasing and eye catching. Overall, the print has been very successful and people will enjoy the mix of colours. 

3. Process

3a. How was the work made? What materials, tools and processes did you use? 

The materials I used to create the products was printing the print onto heat transfer paper, I used about 40 pieces. I used the heat press to transfer the print onto calico fabric. My intentions were always to use calico, as heat transfer paper is quite stiff so if I used the heat transfer paper on a more light fabric, it would have been ruined. 

3b. Have you used a diversity of sources, materials and visuals? How long did it take to make it, did it go as it was planned? Was it executed rapidly or did it evolve over time?

Previously I designed printed t-shirts for a local shop, this gave me the inspiration to show my design on heat transfer paper and to repeat that print over and over again on calico, and start to create the products that I have done. It took me two weeks to afford the ink, to print onto heat transfer paper, and then for me to book the room, to transfer the print onto calico. I started to create the products from then. The only problem was when I heat transferred the print onto the tote bags, as the fabric was pink, the colour didn’t show up correctly, it was more black and white, but it still looked quite effective.  My time keeping and preparation to complete the products within two weeks was successful. 

4. Final outcome

4a. Does your e-portfolio reflect your strengths, your professional and personal aspirations?

My e-portfolio reflects on my strengths in terms of showing my research and visuals, which I have collected. They have been put together by Photoshop, which has enhanced it. The e-portfolio is for me a way to explore all the work I have created. It is an opportunity to expose my work online, in a professional, creative way. 

4b. Does your e-portfolio meet industry’s expectations? 

My e-portfolio does meet expectations as it shows my development and progress in my visuals and research of my chosen products. It also shows other job roles, like hair and makeup, photography, and editing the final images with CAD. It shows there is not just one aim to broadcast your work; there are many other skills in the e-portfolio that will interest the fashion industry. 

4c. Does your e-portfolio meet the professional standard? How well have you fulfilled the brief? How would you develop your portfolio? 

My e-portfolio is at a professional standard, in the way in which my work is laid out from start to finish, there are lots of visuals that leads up to a dialogue of what my products are, and the CAD skills I have used. I have fulfilled as much as my understanding is of the brief. I feel the brief was clearly defined, and my understanding of what I needed to do. My main success was the photo-shoot, my CAD skills enhanced the print to an eye-catching print, and this was my favourite part. My timekeeping was very important; to make sure the research, the products, and photo-shoot were created at a certain time. 

4d. How well have you fulfilled your brief? 

The only way I could develop my e-portfolio further, would be to improve my knowledge in CAD, which would allow me to create better layouts and the editing processes.