Wearing Your Heart On Your Sleeve: Self Evaluation

How well have you responded to the given brief?

I feel that I've responded well to this brief. I completed all of the tasks in depth and participated in all the group critiques. I made sure to consider all the points listed on the brief when designing my product and I also reflected upon and evaluated each stage of the design, experimentation and making process.

How broad has your research been? Have you undertaken sufficient research?

I feel that I have undertaken sufficient research for the given brief. The project was more about making than research but completed research into existing charity products, my chosen charity and sportswear once I'd decided on my design.

Have you used your reflective journal and sketchbook as an integrated part of your project?

My reflective journal and sketchbook have been very important to this project in terms of idea generation and decision making. My reflective journal has allowed me to consider my ideas carefully before making a decision and my sketchbook is where I have recorded all my ideas through drawing, images and annotations.

Have you been motivated and well organised? Have you worked as hard as you could/ should?

I have been very motivated for this project as it's something very personal to me. I think I have worked as hard as I could, however I wish the project was longer so I could spend more time perfecting my outcome.

Can you prove your commitment and organisation through entries in your reflective journal, timetables of planning documents?

I created a timetable for this project, which I stuck to. I have made many entries into my journal through the entire process, showing that I've been on time and committed.

Have you finished the work that you set out to achieve or progressed beyond what you set out to achieve?

I did complete the work I set out to achieve and I'm proud of what I completed in the two week time scale. However, I wish the project was longer so I could have made the top to a standard I'm extremely proud of.

Are you confident that you are able to make informed choices and decisions when solving problems?

This project has shown me how to be inivative when solving problems. Fabric Land didn't sell any mesh fabric, which I needed for my design, so I solved this problem by going to Primark, buying a garment that had mesh in it already and dismantling it.

Do you have evidence of a sustained and committed approach to your work?

I feel that my outcome, sketchbook and reflective journal prove together that I have been committed and made a sustained effort to this project.

Wearing Your Heart On Your Sleeve: Making Process

The making process was a lot simpler than I'd anticipated in terms of the amount of steps. However I had not anticipated just how difficult working with lycra would be. Creating the front pattern out of lycra, attaching it to the mesh back panel and binding the neckline and arms was simple enough - it was the applique of the logo shapes I struggled with. Even though I pinned and tacked the pieces into place, they kept sliding and stretching which caused the pieces to be wrinkly once attached rather than laying nice and flat against the main black panel. I unpicked these applique pieces many a time before eventually accepting that I was making a prototype piece that I would never get perfect in the time scale.

Wearing Your Heart On Your Sleeve: Idea Development

I began by drawing out my design much bigger and clearer, trying to incorporate all aspects. I then did other sketches that showed the shape I wanted more clearly - a racer back tank top. I decided on this shape as I myself own a racer back sports top and I think it's a popular shape which would give the product sales appeal. I decided to buy a size 10 racer back top from Primark which I would then cut up to use as a pattern, as this was easier and cheaper than finding an actual pattern.

I thought about fabrics and which would go where. I chose to use lycra, as this again is a popular sportswear choice, for the front of the garment and to have the back solely made from mesh. In terms of suitability of materials, I think these work well as they are common sportswear fabrics - stretchy and breathable. My design also includes binding around the arms, neck, and hem to neaten the edges.

In terms of wearability I began thinking about the fact that I'm making a women's product and that this would obviously not appeal to men. However I could put the same design onto a male t-shirt but for the purpose of this two week project, I will only construct a prototype of the female tank top.

Wearing Your Heart On Your Sleeve: Initial Design Ideas

When beginning my design ideas I thought about how I would make it have an obvious visual link with the MS Society. I decided that I wanted to use the house colours (orange, black and white) and the logo - especially the jagged M. I began by drawing, as this is how I initiate ideas, and I just put the colours and shapes together on the body without considering the shape of the garment itself at this point.

As I began doing more and more sketches I tried out different shapes, as well as trying the design onto other items such as a tote bag and a phone case, to see if these products did interest me. However I came back to garment again, as I thought I would, and I noticed that my designs seemed very sportswear-like. I thought this would be a good theme to pursue product-wise as there are lots of sports events, such as marathons, cycling and hiking, that people can get involved with to fundraise for the MS Society. The existing sportswear is also rather garish so I thought it would be interesting to try and reinvent it.

I then decided to do some research into current sportswear to see what fabrics and colours are used. I discovered a lot of mesh fabric, and a lot of monochrome.

This research linked well with my designs as black and white are colours the MS Society uses, so I could just add orange to make the garment more vibrant. Looking at all the garments that use mesh also gave me inspiration for fabrics. So far I'd only worked on shapes and colours in my designs and not thought about fabrics, therefore I decided to incorporate mesh into my sketches.

As I continued to play around I began to notice that I was drifting further and further away from the charity. I ended up just having a black mesh sports top with the jagged part of the M down the middle, which didn't really provide a visual association to the MS Society. I therefore went back to trying to include the M and the S from the logo, and began working from a zoomed in section of the end of the M and the beginning of the S. I also then tried incorporating all the colours (black, white and orange) with the mesh and I played around with the shaping of the top.

I ended up with a sketch I was rather pleased with, that I felt could work and had a visual association with the charity. I decided to then develop this design.

Wearing Your Heart On Your Sleeve: Product Research

After my charity research I began looking further into charity products/ merchandise. I initially looked at the products you see the most such as the ribbon badges for Aids and Breast Cancer Research, the Marie Curie Daffodil, the Royal British Legion poppy and the Comic Relief red nose. All of these products are extremely recognisable which is what makes them so popular but not all charities have items like this. I also looked at art works created for charities/ have been sold to raise money for charities. For example the ceramic poppies or 'Blood Swept Land and Seas of Red' created by Paul Cummins and Tom Piper, displayed at the tower of London. I also looked at the tops Stella McCartney designed and sold at Glastonbury for Oxfam.

The MS Society has a vast range of products but they do not produce anything that I, someone closely involved with the charity, would personally buy and wear. They sell badges, wrist bands, trolley keyrings, t-shirts, running vests, flags, balloons, sashes, rosettes, bunting and a frisbee (to name a few). In terms of me producing a product I want to create a garment as that's where my interest lies. I feel that this works well as the existing garments produced and sold by the charity are not very visually pleasing so I think it's a way for me to experiment and create something a lot more exciting.

Wearing Your Heart On Your Sleeve: Initial Thoughts

As soon as I received this brief I knew exactly which charity I wanted to focus on: the MS Society. I chose this charity as it holds very strong meaning to me because as a family we are very involved with the society. I knew looking at this charity would mean the project would become a very personal I began by researching this charity further in depth, looking closer at fundraising events, products, colours and the logo.

I then put all this information, along with images, onto a research sheet which I then presented to everyone in a critique. I was very nervous for this presentation as I knew I'd have to be quite open about my personal reasons for choosing the MS Society, however they made me feel really comfortable and were very supportive. It was interesting to see which charities everyone had chosen and their initial ideas gave me more inspiration on what I could do.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty