While I found the first semester enjoyable, I really found myself enjoying this module more. I found I was challenged more and the content which was included was something new to me and I loved it. When we first started the commercial brand project I did panic slightly as I have no background or a lot of knowledge on banking, so it took me a while to get more informed but after this I loved it. I learned new methods of research, not just good old Google, and found these were often more effective. I feel really happy with my commercial brand because as I worked my way through I found myself enjoy creating the brand guidelines and all the different aspects to it. The brand guidelines would have to be I think my favourite project of the year. This is because of how broad it was and I got to touch on a range of different features like logos, app designs, icons etc. 

This module has really helped me grow as a designer and see where I could possibly want to end up in the future. I know I still have so much more to learn, but I feel like my knowledge in the software, designing and Interaction Design itself has improved so much this past year. 

While I have enjoyed it, it has also challenged me. Like I said with the beginning of the commercial brand I struggled to get over the fact it was banking and got a bit stuck on that, but once I moved past that I grew to love it. Time management was also something that was difficult this module as there is a lot of work in a brand guideline so to build a commercial brand from scratch along with weekly research was difficult and I know this research is very beneficial when it comes to certain aspects but I did struggle to fit it in when I was so focused on the guidelines. Also, after creating my first guidelines, I did struggle with time again when we had to create another set for our personal brand as I was still only learning the ropes so I found myself still having to reference other examples, including my own commercial brand. This is something that will hopefully improve the more I do the guidelines, but I did find it hard having to build the two guidelines from scratch.

This module introduced some new software like Webflow. After the crash course from Kyle, I was still quite confused as anyone is with new software. So when it came to creating my own landing page I did set lower expectations for myself as I knew it would take time to learn. Similar to how I’ve become more confident with Figma over this module compared to the last, I hope I can grow in confidence with Webflow as I know it will be a vital tool moving forward. 

I really enjoyed myself this module as I feel I was allowed to express myself through my designs and create brands that I would use myself. I have learned a lot from my tutors but also my peers. I feel a sense of reward now that I have come out the other side of my first year of IxD and overcome all the challenges and new things that were thrown my way, but I do feel this will only help me grow and become a better designer.