There are now just over 6 weeks left until the deadline and to mark this we all had presentations to discuss our progress to this point.
The questions we were given to prepare were as follows:
1) What has been successful so far, what have you been pleased with?
So far I have been very pleased with my final design collections and the pieces I have made, in particular the rose designs. I am happy that I have found ratios of the silicone mix which work well for the final products, and feel happy that I have planned some shoots which will show the products well.
2) Are you on track with your original production schedule, if not why and what do you need to adjust?
In the production schedule I created for my proposal I would have been finishing shooting this week, but after beginning the project I soon decided that I would like to spend more time developing design ideas and creating the best product designs I possibly could to ensure that I wasn't just creating lots of images of not-so-good pieces. In my earlier revised timed plan I was due to do my first photo shoot on the week beginning the 14th, but due to Work based learning commitments and photographers availability that had to be pushed back so that my first shoot was Monday 21st. I am not too worried about this as I have adjusted the arrangements of my photo shoots accordingly, as can be seen in my answer to question three. I have however found myself very behind with blog posts, and currently have a lot of unfinished posts waiting to be completed and uploaded. This is a result of me not appropriately planning my time as well as not being strict with myself and sticking to my schedule. I have now set myself weekly deadlines and will continue to ensure I go to regular drop in sessions with tutors so that I can have dates to work to and opportunities for feedback. Previously in my university studies I have found myself wishing I had attended more of the available tutorial and drop in sessions and I am determined to not feel that way about this project when I submit in 6 weeks.
3) How have you resolved major issues?
In terms of photo shoots I have decided
that I will direct three of my own photo shoots as reflected in my mood
boards, and then I will collaborate and use the pieces when helping
other people creating their images. I feel that this is a great way to
organise my time as it means I can focus on creating the products,
editing my images and creating my website instead of stressing
over arranging photo shoots with photographers, models and stylists. It
also gives me more of a chance to show the pieces in a variety of styles
of shoots which will help show their versatility. My website will then feature my three shoots as the main promotional
editorials for the pieces, accompanied by an "as seen in" style page
showing where I have used these pieces.
4) What requires further improvement?
As I have discussed, I really need to get on top of my time management and be a lot more strict with myself. I really struggle to motivate myself to do work without immediate deadlines and so have set myself deadlines to ensure that I do not end up with a backlog of work.
I also feel that I need to improve on the style of my blog posts and make them more reflective rather than just descriptive. I think to help me do this I will ensure that I have a copy of the brief and proposal with me at all times when blogging so I can link what I am saying back to its original purpose as well as discussing how I feel I am sticking to the brief. This will also (hopefully) ensure that I do not miss out anything important which I would end up kicking myself about later!
5) You may also want to suggest ideas for further development of your project.
So far my pieces and tests have only been on Caucasian models with fair skin, and I feel that I need to address this and experiment with different skin tones in this project. I have so far planned to produce a light, medium and dark version of each piece, and so far as the pieces are not 100% opaque they blend easily into the skin, with any colour differences being easily concealed with a thin layer of foundation. I do need to see how versatile the colours of silicone pigment I have currently are, as it is very important to me that the Abbellita brand is able to be used by all.
In my design collections so far there is room for the collections to be expanded, or new collections entirely to be added. This is an important factor to consider when starting a brand as a brand with no room for growth can only be successful until the next best thing comes along. It is important for there to be room to expand and innovate, in order to keep the consumers interested in the products and coming back for more.
Feedback
An idea which has been discussed in my proposal and occasionally since is the possibility of painting the pieces and having them coloured. This is something I should discuss in more detail as there is the opportunity to create kits which may include a piece or selection of pieces and a paint or palette to colour it. this could include glitters, fluorescent UV paints or metallic colours. I will experiment with long-lasting colouring techniques and products which will work and stay on the silicone pieces.
A comment that I received was that I was not experimenting enough with placement. It has been suggested that I experiment with pieces on the face/neck as well as on the body, and this is something I will play around with as soon as I have created pieces which will suit the face.
I have also been reminded to not forget about creating the website. I have been putting the creation of the website to the back of my mind as I am confident with Adobe Muse and Photoshop, so am not too worried about the technical side of putting the website together. I do however need to remember that the design and layout of the website is extremely important, and I need to give myself enough time to receive as much feedback as possible in order to create the best website I possibly could in the time frame. I will have a basic template of my website completed in the next week to ensure that I at least have a starting point.
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