First Steps Project Evaluation

This project was a huge one for me – it was based around such a sensitive subject that I needed to approach it as professionally and considerately as possible. In order to make sure that I did so I arranged a meeting with professionals who deal with eating disorders as their job at a local eating disorder charity “First Steps”. Initially my project was just going to be about eating disorders but I wasn’t sure which way I would take it however after visiting First Steps I managed to gain the projects from them and they gave me a few ideas of what I could do and inspired me to undergo some projects they would be happy to support me with. We discussed what sorts of materials are already out there and how I could produce something completely different and fresh. We spoke about creating an app for the charity – this is something completely new to the market as there’s nothing like this currently available. So this was a definite yes as a project I would take on. Then there was some smaller projects such as a leaflet re-design and an infographic.

So now that I had my projects lined up I needed to make a start on some research – I could use the information gained from the client meeting but I also needed to undergo more extensive and thorough research. I decided to use the internet for this mainly as it is a quick way to access information however I needed to be careful to make sure that the information I was going to look at and use was correct and legitimate. Therefore I decided to stick to well-known and trusted website where I knew the information would be correct and true to word. I used websites such as the First Steps Derbyshire website, BEAT and NHS choices. I knew that by using these I would not need to worry about biased or false information. I found the research process quite quick and easy however I looked on lots of websites which all had roughly the same amount of information on them so I’ve ended up with a huge stack of printed research most of which is the same but from different sources. One thing I found hard when researching was to gather printed material on eating disorders such as leaflets and flyers, booklets etc. These would have been good to have as a resource as I could have looked at the use of colour, layout and how thorough the information was that they used, did they use basic plain text or huge chunks of information? If I was to do research of this extent again I would look wider and use a broader use of sources for gathering information.

Once I had done the research it was pretty straight forward – I mostly stuck to using information which I knew was relevant and the most informative such as types of eating disorders, treatment, support etc. First I made a start on the app designs – due to time constraints I decided that I would only do the designs for the app and if First Steps wanted to pursue the idea at a later date then I would continue but for the time being I focussed on the design. I started off doing some sketches and deciding how I would set it out the app, I had to think about layout, theme, composition and colour. I decided to make 2 sections to the app, one for patients and one for carers. I came to this decision as I wanted it to be supportive to both the patient and the carer – from what I learnt from research I learnt that the carers need lots of support too and sometimes get forgot about over the priority of caring for the patient. So I wanted this app to help and support them just as much as it would for a patient. Once I decided upon layout I just needed to make sketches and digital designs ready to show to the client. I then moved onto the infographic and leaflet re-design – both of these were quick and straight forward tasks which didn’t require lots of preparation planning so I was able to get straight on with these without much planning and initial ideas stages.

I decided to do a project based on eating disorders as it is a huge problem and I was able to take it in many ways. I first got the idea to do a project based on an issue like this from a visit to a university as part of choosing my 3rd year course. The tutor showed me some work from a student which was a huge project and had fantastic results. The student had extensive research which then allowed them to create a really big and successful project which I think was based on fears and phobias. This motivated me and inspired me to do a project of this type as I have often taken part in much smaller projects so I felt it was time to branch out and complete a major project which would push me and be a huge part of my development. One of the main reasons I chose most things for this project such as colours etc. was because of fitting them with current and new material for first steps. For example the colours I chose are identical to the new promotion and branding for First Steps, they used blues and whites so I carried this on to have consistency through all of their material. This was the same with the font – I used current font in order to again maintain consistency. In terms of which information I used, I used information which I felt was relevant and information which people want to find out about eating disorders such as what they are, the types and how they are treated etc., when I researched eating disorders there was lots of information so I had to pick out which information I felt was most relevant for the project and the material I was designing.

I was really pleased with the way everything turned out at the end of the project. I am especially pleased with the app and its layout – I would love to see it as a real app on smartphones, tablets etc., that would be great! One thing that didn't go to plan was client contact – if I am honest I could have contacted them more but at the same time they did not contact me at all so I think this is a fault on both our parts which could easily have been resolved. However throughout the course I have learnt that working with clients can be a difficult and irritating process in terms of communication. I was impressed with the infographic poster which I produced – so much that I decided to have this professionally printed however I had it printed in A3, it would have been best in A1 size but I was happy with the print in A3 just it was a little small.

If I was to improve this project I would have had more contact with the client – I would have set up regular meetings or even just email conversations about my work. I would keep them involved in all of the stages of the design through to final ideas and production. I think that this was not done as officially it was not a project which I was set it come from and initial conversation which then didn’t as such take off in terms of arranging it to be a “real” project. This may be down to myself not keeping in touch or them for this matter also. So I would definitely make sure that I kept in regular contact with my client in the future to ensure that they are aware of all what’s going on. I think this is not only an improvement for this project but a major improvement to myself and the way I work it is something I will need to work on. Another major improvement I need to make in the way I work is my timekeeping methods – I always say I need to create a timetable and manage my time but it never seems to take affect so this is something that definitely needs to take effect in order for me to be able to work more efficiently without the need to rush due to not managing my time properly between projects. An improvement I would make to this project would be that I would like to have taken it further and complete the rebrand of the charity – I have redesigned one flyer but there is other material that could have been updated to fit with their new branding and promo material.