Reflective Statement
This unit consisted of a marketing report project, an industry investigation project, and a magazine project.
The marketing report went well. Being able to choose the brand I researched made it easier, as I find work more enjoyable when I have the freedom to investigate something I know I like, so I chose to do my report on Vivienne Westwood. Like last project, I struggled with the writing as it’s far from being a strong point of mine, and frankly I just really don’t enjoy it. Despite this, I put my head down and kept on track of work, which is something I struggled with on my last project and completed the report before the start of the next project.
The blog... More writing. I struggled with trying to make each blog unique and interesting to read, as I think I lack a lot of industry awareness with brands and people (which I need to work on), so I tried reaching out for interviews, showing my own work and bullet pointing to split up the writing a bit. To improve on the blog and my work as a whole, I know I need to branch my research and inspiration out to more industry brands and names. I also managed my time with the blog well, although I do still struggle with distractions and loss of focus but I'm proud of the fact I didn’t face a last-minute rush of work and got everything done with time to spare and review before hand in.
The magazine was something, to say the least. The project itself was fun as I was able to be a stylist for the magazine, which is still the career I would like to go into. Once again, I managed my time well and am happy with the work I produced for my supporting document. What I struggled the most with was the teamwork, or lack of. There were certain people in my group who seemed to have louder voices than others and would make sure they got their way, so I had a lack of interest throughout as I didn’t feel like most of my input was heard. Certain people would guilt trip and manipulate to get what they wanted and would remake work to credit themselves. Communication was hard and I felt a split in the group where some people had given up on teamwork and decided to focus on themselves, me being one. I also feel somewhat ashamed with (some of) the pages of the final magazine and am slightly embarrassed to be tied to them, as one group member insisted on being a role they aren’t particularly good at. Working in such a large group where everyone had such different opinions, some stronger than others, was hard, especially after someone took on a leader role without giving anyone the chance to say it was okay (which this person then complained about). It was a good opportunity to make new friends, which I did, but it also taught me about who I didn't work well with. I think most people struggled with lack of control in every area of the magazine, so if I was to work in a group project again, I would try harder to emphasise the importance of sticking to the roles as I think that's what created most of the disagreements.