I enjoyed this module much more than I expected to when I started it, by taking each element of branding and giving it its own dedicated week to focus on it allowed me time to experiment with a lot of different ideas and see what was the most effective and what elements were the most important or impactful for the overall creation of a brand.
I think I enjoyed the more illustrative elements of the brand the most i.e. the logo, wordmark and choosing the typeface, creating the icons, it was interesting trying to personify and give different design elements meanings and connotations while keeping them simple enough to be easily understood and nice to look at. I found process of making the icons for the app really interesting as once a general style was created it was fun but also somewhat challenging to create a set of icons that were all consistent and worked effectively together but I think I did this successfully.
I found the landing page to be the most difficult element of the entire module as i struggled to know exactly what information I wanted to prioritise and include in it, I also struggled with making each section feel unique and distinct but I think I eventually got a design which I was happy with. Making the illustrations for the landing page was fun as I experimented with different ways that they could interact with the content of the landing page, it allowed me to really bring the mascot that I designed to life by having it be more expressive and interactive on this page, after I did this for the landing page I wish I had found a way that I could have included something similar within my app design itself.
I only had a small amount of experience in branding and creating a brand before starting this module, so being able to learn about all the different aspects that go into creating an effective brand and being given time to experiment and see what design choices were the most effective was interesting. There was a lot more focus on smaller and not as noticeable aspects that I didn't expect, like the typeface and hierarchy/layout, it was fun experimenting with these as you are trying to design something in such a way that the audience doesn't really even notice it but it is still incredibly important to consider when designing as it is typically designed in a way that benefits the user without them even knowing.
It was slightly harder when I began to consider aspects for my own personal brand, as I had to consider how I would want other people to view me and the work that I create, choosing the values was especially difficult as I found it difficult to find words to market myself and my work that didnt sound too narcissistic or egotistical.