Laura Ashley Evaluation

This brief has had a really positive influence on my design skills, this brief was written just for that I have always wanted to do a large scale brief based on pattern and the Laura Ashley brief has enabled me to do this across different medias. I This has been a very large brief and it could almost be developed even further, however I have had to put a stop to the brief as it has taken up so much of my time. There is definitely opportunity in my own time ot carry on with the other things I haven't had time to design and create, such as a swatch book and other bedcovers and throw cushions to fit in with the current range, expanding it into a collection.

The Laura Ashley brief has positively influenced my creative choices. Before this module I almost made do with the mock up of the finished product, but I have strived to achieve the best design I possibly can in the time I have had. I have had to work through problems that have arisen such as laser cutting and screen printing that has gone wrong, generally these have all be time consuming accidents or mistakes but I have not allowed this to affect my work. Because I have learnt so many new skills with this brief I do feel I want to carry on in this design field, however I have decided to use these new skills on other briefs to see how I can apply them elsewhere.

I initially found it difficult design for such a large scale, especially as everything I was designing on screen when printed looked completely different mainly due to the scale. This made me make design decisions in a completely different way, I had to print everything out and almost get the design near complete before I could pick which was working best. This is probably why it took me so long to establish a final design and transfer it across a range.

I did really enjoy experimenting with different patterns and illustrations, however I realise now I need to pin down an initial idea and not make it so broad as the initial stages of the wallpaper went on for a very long time, which set me back on completing the brief. Apart from this I am really pleased with this brief, I have really enjoyed it and found an area of design I am really interested in and feel comfortable designing for, this has had a really positive influence on my work, I finally feel I can design things I enjoy and have an interest in.