So with this Module completed I now feel relieved and ready for summer, It was definitely a hard one, with it being a group project which is very hard in most educational situations no matter the stage, But another thing which made it challenging for me was the fact that it was a real project with a real client. Now that would be fine if it was like a local shop wanting a rebrand, but considering it was for the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust and it was focused on helping prisoners transition into society was both mentally and emotionally draining.

I had to interview these people and that was so heartbreaking, to me it felt like their lives are split in half with access to services like banking or healthcare being taken away or hard of reach. I distinctly remember after the interview, going home, ordering pizza and taking a long shower, I just felt a gut punch that whole day, probably because I had morning sickness… But aside from it being emotionally draining, I did open my heart to their struggles and came out with a new output on the system and I wanted to make a positive impact.

Our groups idea was a resource pack which would contain items like brochures, toiletries, clothing etc. To help someone being release on their first few days navigate life a bit easier while staying healthy and warm. It was quite a simple idea, one I was fine with, I feel that made it more appealing to the panel when giving the presentations. I felt I took initiative by actually making the pack real and It helped showcase the Idea.

I also felt like I did a lot of work for a group project, and to be fair that is not my groups fault, that is mine, I should’ve delegated jobs to people and allowed them to work on the blueprint with me, I just felt it would’ve taken too much time for me to get everything done because I was waiting for someone to upload something, So I mainly got them to do research and I’d ask them to create their own drafts so I could take inspiration/improve what was there, No harm but I feel only one person in a group should be a designer while the rest research, come up with ideas, etc. Having everyone design something can cause friction, delay and sometimes they just suck at designing, What else can I say? Not to say my group sucked I actually enjoyed working with them, probably the first time I didn’t sigh when I saw who was in my group

I took peoples suggestions a lot better this time with working in a group, I felt I could easily listen to ideas or see where they’re coming from, and how I could use that to make the project better. A lot of the things that were made were not my ideas! So I think that shows how I listened and strived for a better idea constantly.

I think the presentation went well, I’m happy enough with my presenting but It could be better, I want to get better at presenting by memorising and knowing my stuff, I felt I offended one of the panelists with the needle pack, I did defend it by saying it was for those who need insulin and blood thinners but I felt I should’ve done something else, like a brochure again or something, aside from that feedback was positive and we spoke well about our idea.

For the actual classes however, I felt like I was just being told stuff I already knew, Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading, studying and doing design for a while, But I swear I’ve had a lecture on Storyboard, Accessibility and Prototyping like 5 times now. It just makes it hard to engage with the lecture, I try and take notes well but If I feel like I know it already or I’m tired, I will quickly lose interest, and focus on work instead. Besides the classes were short anyway to focus on our group work, which I greatly appreciated, I was not for coming in once a week to work with my group. We managed to do what we needed to in class and then the rest at home no problem, But we communicated through our group chat when we had to.

I think my issue with class comes from burnout however, As I’ve been working on this course, placement and work since September non stop. So I haven’t had a break. Even when I went to Florida on my holiday in January, I had to do work for an interview at the end of the month, creating a stupid website for them for a job I didn’t get! So I’m officially taking a break from Design after I submit this for the summer, I hope to come back refreshed and ready for my placement year abroad at Colorado Mesa University.

But did I enjoy this module? maybe, It had it’s ups and downs for sure, I actually found working in a group to be much better than last time, We were kind of screwed from the start when we were down two members, but we pushed on and just laughed about it. I did learn some stuff, like state blueprints and journey maps, service design which I had never done before and It has improved my user experience knowledge as well. I’m proud of what I’ve done, what my group has done and the work I put into this course. It’ll be crazy to think I will be doing a dissertation when I return to Ulster in my final year but I’m ready to take that on!