Critical Analysis

1. Does your work meet the professional standard?

I believe the work I have created has met a professional standard, in that I have used softwares such as Photoshop and Illustrator to create prints and CADS, and this is what would be used in industry. I have also presented my sketchbook in a professional manner to clearly show my design development.

2.                           Are your product developments effective, does it match company ethos?

I think that my product developments comply with Missoni as a brand, as I have still used elements of knit, and also vibrant colours/prints. My CADS are a mixture of oversized pieces and fitted pieces which is what I wanted and what I got from my peers from the questionnaire I created for market research.  I have also developed my primary images on Photoshop to make prints which I then used for my final lineup, and other CADS to help develop my ideas.

3.                            Does your work fill the skills required for your career aspirations?

The work I have produced fulfils the skills I need for a career in the industry, as I have covered all the softwares that I would use in industry; e.g. Photoshop and Illustrator. I have also used the design cycle thoroughly and carefully so that I have created a lineup to the best of my ability and to what I believe best reflects Missoni. My sketchbook is produced to what I think is of a professional standard by collecting and clearly presenting my primary research and secondary research. I have created fabric samples to show the types of techniques that I would consider using for my final pieces, and also to help me develop my ideas further.

4.                                  Do you think you have progressed personally and professionally?

I think that for this project I have realised how important it is to have good time management, and how to set myself aims and objectives that need to be completed for the amount of time that I have set myself. I have also realised that the writing side to projects is not my strong point, I prefer the more creative side, and it would help if I get more practice doing the writing sides to project as I think it would help me be more motivated to get on and do the tasks. For this project I was able to get more practice suing Photoshop which is good as I will become more and more efficient using the software, and this is essential for when I work in industry.

Market Research- 14th October 2016

To help me with my primary research for this project and to help me choose the correct colours, shapes and fabrics I should incorporate into my mini collection, I asked my peers to complete a short questionnaire for me. I included questions which I believe will help me decide on the two outfits for my collection, these revolved around pricing, colours, personal style and age. In total I got 6 people to complete the survey, and this is what I found;

1.  Age: 19, 19, 20, 12, 24, 27
2. What fabric would you like Missoni fabrics to be made out of if you are going to wear their garments: Knit, Printed fabric, Chunky knits, Printed fabric, Prints, Fine knit
3. What styles/shapes/silhouettes do you usually wear: Fitted, Casual, Oversized, Fitted, Smart, Oversized
4. What colours do you usually wear: Neutral tones, Vibrant and bright, Sometimes colourful sometimes more neutral, Mainly monochrome, Mostly colour, Colourful
5. Would you buy Missoni products if they were affordable: Yes, Yes, Yes, No, Yes, No

From the data I collected, I feel like I have more of a clear direction as to what I want to design/ create for this mini collection. The age ranges between 19-27, therefore from this information I will be creating a collection aimed to attract the younger generation, I also realised when talking to my peers about Missoni's brand identity that they target more of an older audience with outdated colours, styles and shapes, therefore I will take this into consideration and design pieces which are more suited towards younger people. Missoni currently use knit for their garments, and from this data I have noticed many of my peers would prefer to have garments made from printed fabrics, rather than knit. To develop this further I made some of my own prints on Photoshop using a mixture of primary and secondary images. I developed around 30 prints however I didn't like them all, so I only chose a few to get printed onto various fabrics from digital printing company; Bags of Love. I have chosen mostly knitted fabrics to print these onto so that i'm still incorporating elements of Missoni into my designs. These fabric samples have been added into my sketchbook to show the development of my prints and how I am going to fuse them into my designs. Fashion has changed over the years in terms of styles and shapes, the likes of more classic designers such as Missoni and Christian Dior tend to want to accentuate the feminine shape by creating clean cut lines and fitted garments in their designs, however new designers are veering towards the more oversized styles instead. From the data I have collected I can see that my peers wear a mixture of styles and shapes of garments, therefore when designing the outfits for my mini collection I will keep this in mind and make sure I incorporate a mixture of fitted and oversized pieces so that I am including a touch of Missoni's more classical designs, and more up to date oversized styles. Missoni's collections tend to be really quite bright and vibrant, and from the results of my questionnaire I have found that most of my peers wear colourful clothes, therefore I would like to stick to colours when it comes to designing my outfits and what colours/prints would look the best. From my data, I have found that if Missoni were a more purse friendly brand then people would be more willing to buy their products, however by changing the pricing of their products then the quality of the brand may lower, and this may mean that their original customers won't want to buy from Missoni anymore as they also may feel that the quality isn't as good as it may have been before. Another option for Missoni to make their products more affordable for younger people is to do a diffusion line, giving the brand a wider audience to offer their products to. 

Cads- 18th October 2016

Today, I began to create some working sketches using Photoshop. I have been experimenting with different shapes and styles of garments but have focused on the fact that this is an Autumn/Winter collection and have also used my prints to see which I liked best. To insert the prints into the CADS I selected the magic wand tool to highlight the area that I wanted to be filled, I then dragged the chosen print over the highlighted area, and click on 'select' and then 'inverse' this then allowed the highlighted area to have the print placed onto it. Here are a few examples of the CADS I have produced:

Mood boards and editing on Photoshop- 3rd October 2016

Last week i'd collected some primary images from St Georges Hall and Quiggins as elements of both these places had inspired me and reminded me of the work of Gaudi. I wanted to further develop these images so I did this by changing the hue/saturation and colour balance of each image, this is displayed below. I also started creating some mood boards and texture boards using a mixture of primary and secondary images on Photoshop. Here are some examples of what I have been working on:

Developed prints- 9th October 2016

Today I decided to start developing my prints on Photoshop, using both a mixture of my primary and secondary images. I will use these prints to send off to 'Bags of Love', where they can print them onto various fabrics, to give an idea of what the prints would look like on garments. Using these prints, I would then adapt them to fit into some of my designs. Here are a few of the prints I have created so far:

Photoshop Edits- 30th September 2016

I decided to add some colour to the pictures I took of the cobbles outside St George's Hall, as I thought that they didn't really reflect the work Gaudi. I developed these using Photoshop by changing the colour balance, hue/saturation and opacity of the images. I have used some of these images to develop into prints on Photoshop, mixing them with secondary images. Here are a few examples:

Primary Research- 30th September 2016

Today I collected some primary images for the Missoni FAD competition, I sourced these images from places around Liverpool city centre. I collected images from the surrounding area of St George's Hall, where there are cobbles in different patterns. I took many pictures and as they are grey in colour, I will upload them to photoshop and change the colours of them to make them brighter and more vibrant. I also took pictures of things that I thought inspired me. Next, I visited the shop Quiggins, which is designed in a Gaudi style, with large patterned windows it really reflects the work of Gaudi, here are a few examples of the photos I took: