Graded Unit 2 - AHA: Evaluation

_­Evaluation

Abercrombie Housing Association

My project consisted of the rebrand of Abercrombie Housing Association (AHA). It included designing the corporate identity, stationery set (letterhead, compliment slip and business card), sitemap and website visuals and a branded item for a promotional or fundraising activity. The corporate identity I produced reflects the ethos of the company, using a simple and visible style with two colours: brown – which suggests security, stability and support; and grey-blue – which has a similar meaning - security, reliability, integrity, responsibility and care. I think the graphic style and level is appropriate for my target audience – as well for the service-users, their families and the professionals who work with them as for the decision-makers and funders. For the stationery set I used an ivory colour paper that brings the colours out form the logo. I chose to make key rings as the branded item because it has a symbolic meaning.

The planning stage of the project went really well. The time schedule worked well too, and I posted every finished stage to my blog. After the research and sketching, the hardest part for me this time was to decide which logo I would take on. That part took me more time than I thought initially. I sketched my ideas first, then scanned them in and took them to Illustrator. I chose my final logo even before I scanned the sketches in, but then I tried different varieties and colours and it made it difficult to choose the ‘one’. Working in Illustrator was the easiest part; I really enjoyed it because I have experience. I finished the stationery set quite quickly, but I had to do more research afterwards for the website visuals. I think that although I did not have a lot of experience in web design, I produced fairly acceptable visuals.

Looking back to my work, I think my strengths are in choosing the style, attention to details and creativity of how to realize the initial idea. The style works well with the objectives of the company as it is clear that it represents a serious organisation. On the other hand, my weakness consists of my time management, because it really affected my performance. As I started a few days later, I had to work 6 days a week to finish everything in time. However, this time I counted on difficulties that may occur at the end and did not allow keeping me from finishing everything in time.

I have learned really much while doing this project, in terms of using softwares, working out a good style and organizing myself. One of the most important aspects I would like to develop in is time management. I have learned that every little thing takes time and I have to expect to spend more time and effort with the project than I first count on. On the other hand, I would like to develop my research skills as it determines which lead I would take. I think it is very important to know my limits too because sometimes I plan too much but can do less.