We sat down as a group to discus our idea further and create a solid concept for why and how we were going to create this twitter campaign. The first obstacle we faced was that people might not want to tell a truth for no reason and why would someone just out right declare a truth on a social network for no reason. In response to this we discussed this as an issue but decided that the medium and target audience we are choosing are very open to declaring things on social networks and furthermore we are also creating a positive 'mob mentality' in that if everyone else is doing it then it makes it ok for you to do it as well. Additionally within the campaign we also wanted to promote the concept of indviduality and that we should all be proud of who we are not be shamed of the things we like and what makes us who we are. These ideas also lead us to the concept that as twitter allows people to easily connect that if people have the same or similar truth they can connect and begin to share there interests based on this common truth, so this idea of connecting people over mutual likes also become part of our concept. This ideas also reaffirms our initial message of 'get people to tell the truth more' as people will be encouraged to tell the truth more as they will find people who are similar to them.
We also discussed the types of tweets we wanted to get people to tweet and the tone of voice we needed to use within the visual communication of our message. We decided that we wanted to receive both serious and some more light hearted tweets, so a mix of subject matters within the tweets. This meant our visual communication would need to cater for both 'tones of voice' therefore allow people to feel comfortable being both light hearted and more serious if they feel.
Through this discussion as a group the Black Eyed Peas video for where is the love was also mentioned a few times as a way of virally spreading a message through an environment which is what we wanted to do - spread the message within the environment and get people to interact with it digitally. Within the video sticker are used as a form of guerrilla advertising to spread a common visual language which is exactly what we intend to do with out campaign.
Within this discussion we also decided on the core products that we wanted to develop as part of our campaign. We decided that the campaign would be formed of three key elements, stickers, a website and posters. The stickers would be used to spread the message through the environment and placed in common location to catch the attention of passers by. Placing them everything and getting people used and involved with the imagery would begin to create buzz around our concept. The website the forms the central location to which people access to get involved with the campaign and from here they are linked to out twitter and other parts of the campaign. The stickers will also encourage the audience to connect directly with the twitter account with use of the # on the sticker. Posters will then be used closer to the event to solidify the message being communicated by the stickers and also people to fully understand the idea if they haven't yet interacted with out webpage or twitter account digitally.
At this point we decided to split into two smaller groups, Eve and Luke form one group and they began to work on design some initial logo concepts while Myself and Hannah began curating the information and images for the mood boards. Although we split into smaller groups to work on tasks we still remained working in close proximity so the process felt collaborative and input from everyone could be added at any point.
Design Practice
Thomas Squire
Archives
Post Crit Development
Within my crit it was suggested that I added more lines to more strongly convey and communicate the message that the lines signify rain, I think it has improved the communication however further work is needed as the lines at the top and bottom corners are small and make the design look less clean. I have also moved the subtext to the bottom of the posters so the hierarchy of type is more clear and less confusing for the audience as to which order the type is to be read in.
As the posters message is also about music it was also suggested I should focus more on conveying this idea, I had this idea of making the type look like sheet music, I have moved the main top up and down to mimic the displacement of music notes and fragmented the subtext to mimic the style of lyrics written beneath music notes. I don't think the design is successful as others but could provide a starting point for further development.
I have also gone back to this idea of how the rain distorts the environment, I have explored this idea in a different visual way than before as the line acts physically as the rain and distorts the type where it cuts though the type. Although I like the effect produced and it strongly conveys how rain distorts our otherwise 'perfect' world, the design as a whole is much less clean and furthermore is distortion a positive affect of rain?
I have also experimented with some more varied colour palettes as suggested within the crit all of which are mediocre in how successful they are, however I think the gradient type works well in conveying the downfall of rain I am trying to suggest visually however the colours need altering to be more effective.
Communication Is A Virus: Initial Ideas
After choosing to work with fellow peers Eve Warren, Hannah Watt and Luke Rossiter we had to choose from a selection of predefines statements for which we would virally communicate and spread. After some discussion we decided that 'Get people to tell the truth more' would provide us with a predefined subject matter but us allow for a range of idea development and scope in innovative ideas. After choosing this topic/theme to communicate we sat down as a group and mind mapped some initial ideas as to more specific message we wanted to communicate and how we would go about doing this. Throughout the discussion it was clear that two of the ideas we has came up with we lift we could move forward with, a twitter campaign called 'tweetthetruth' in which people tweet a truth on using twitter and share this declaration to there followers our second strong I idea was to use and research unto Aesop's Fables and use these stories to communicate a message of truth. After further discussion we decided as a group that will the time scale given the twitter campaign would be more feasible and allow us to measure the success whereas the Aesop's fables idea would be harder to measure and perhaps hard to define a target audience that was not children. After this first initial discussion we decided to each go away and further develop ideas and thoughts around this ideas before meeting again on Wednesday to solidify the idea fully and begin drafting a full concept and rationale.
Design Is About Doing Crit
Pre Crit analysis of work using DIET (Describe, Interrupt, Evaluate and Theorise)
Describe: The focus for the aesthetics of my posters was to explore the effects rain can have on typography visually, within two of the posters I have also explored how the line can used a visual metaphor for rain, this was based on the principle that lines are made by rain when rain falls from the sky. I have also tried to consider uncommon colour scheme that move away from the clique of blue. The concepts behind the posters was to explore the effects rain can have on emotions such as beauty and anticipation's as well as attempting to adjust the traditional opinion that rain is bad into a rain that is good and should be welcomed. I have also experimented within the visualisation of the movement of rain.
Interrupt: The posters function by communicating a simple message yet deeper upon analyses through primarily typography and the visual adjustment of typography to further convey the message. The posters also make a statement about how we should react to rain, rather than despising it welcome rain upon us as a thing of beauty that is part of country.
Evaluate: Consideration of typography is appropriate within all three of the posters, the sans serif typefaces work well with the more graphically adjusted designs whereas the Didone typeface compliments the meaning and heritage behind the word orchestra. However the secondary typeface. The consideration of colour may need work, in an attempt to move away from the clique of blue, it hasn't been completely successful, further experimentation with colour is needed. The messages being communicated are delicate, new and clear.
Theorise: To an extent each of the posters meet the criteria of the brief in that they each explore a positive aspect of rain and convey that message clearly. However also elements of the brief are absent from the final resolutions such as the inclusion of ideas surrounding Great Britain and the north of Great Britain which is where the lecture is to be held. To further adhere to the brief more effectively consideration for other elements of the brief could be included. Further experimentation which colour is needed perhaps introducing a secondary colour or adding a tone/shade of blue to the existing colour choice.
Group Crit Feedback
Issues Raised: The primary issued raised with the main poster I focused on within the crit was that the text is placed in an order which is illegible. I intended the larger text to be read first as piece and then the smaller subtext to be read after however it was clear that my audience were reading the text in order which is a major problem. Colour was also raised as an issue although conceptually different it needs more work and development. The type hierarchy also formed a central discussion in that the main message should take precedence from a distance and then subtext be a secondary message that is read when the audience interact with the poster in a closer proximity. The positioning of the line were also a major concern, in particular the final of the three lines which appearing to be rising rather than falling, in general it was suggested the line could have more visual value, experimentation is needed.
Action to be taken:
Describe: The focus for the aesthetics of my posters was to explore the effects rain can have on typography visually, within two of the posters I have also explored how the line can used a visual metaphor for rain, this was based on the principle that lines are made by rain when rain falls from the sky. I have also tried to consider uncommon colour scheme that move away from the clique of blue. The concepts behind the posters was to explore the effects rain can have on emotions such as beauty and anticipation's as well as attempting to adjust the traditional opinion that rain is bad into a rain that is good and should be welcomed. I have also experimented within the visualisation of the movement of rain.
Interrupt: The posters function by communicating a simple message yet deeper upon analyses through primarily typography and the visual adjustment of typography to further convey the message. The posters also make a statement about how we should react to rain, rather than despising it welcome rain upon us as a thing of beauty that is part of country.
Evaluate: Consideration of typography is appropriate within all three of the posters, the sans serif typefaces work well with the more graphically adjusted designs whereas the Didone typeface compliments the meaning and heritage behind the word orchestra. However the secondary typeface. The consideration of colour may need work, in an attempt to move away from the clique of blue, it hasn't been completely successful, further experimentation with colour is needed. The messages being communicated are delicate, new and clear.
Theorise: To an extent each of the posters meet the criteria of the brief in that they each explore a positive aspect of rain and convey that message clearly. However also elements of the brief are absent from the final resolutions such as the inclusion of ideas surrounding Great Britain and the north of Great Britain which is where the lecture is to be held. To further adhere to the brief more effectively consideration for other elements of the brief could be included. Further experimentation which colour is needed perhaps introducing a secondary colour or adding a tone/shade of blue to the existing colour choice.
Group Crit Feedback
Issues Raised: The primary issued raised with the main poster I focused on within the crit was that the text is placed in an order which is illegible. I intended the larger text to be read first as piece and then the smaller subtext to be read after however it was clear that my audience were reading the text in order which is a major problem. Colour was also raised as an issue although conceptually different it needs more work and development. The type hierarchy also formed a central discussion in that the main message should take precedence from a distance and then subtext be a secondary message that is read when the audience interact with the poster in a closer proximity. The positioning of the line were also a major concern, in particular the final of the three lines which appearing to be rising rather than falling, in general it was suggested the line could have more visual value, experimentation is needed.
Action to be taken:
- Experiment with the addition of more lines to more strongly convey the message of sounds and also rain and how the two interact to form the message being delivered
- Re work the type hierarchy, perhaps making the main text slightly larger and moving the subtext into one line and placing it at the bottom of the poster and also making this text smaller
- Also consider more how sound could be symbolised within the poster
- Consider and experiment with a variety of different colours for both typography and background and consider printing directly onto stock of the chosen colour rather than printing the background colour
- Also experiment with the thinner and thicker line used with the typography
The Beautiful Orchestra
Having decided to use this phrase, beautiful orchestra, I have been experimenting with 'A' of 'The' visually the 'The' works better within the composition of the poster and with the portrait format using 'The' makes the poster less bottom heavy and more evenly weighted. Furthermore 'A' refers to s single event whereas 'The' could imply multiple instances, as rain happens everywhere and at different times.
The word rain is positioned at the top of the poster to create the context for the poster, as without it the poster does not convey the message is about rain. I have also experimented with a larger A however I think it looks out of place.
I felt the further definition was needed to further convey and inform the message I am making, therefore I have added this subtext which can be read at a closer distance to the poster which explains the message read on the poster from a distance, this may make the need for the word rain redundant?
My ideas have been based around using line and shape to convey rain rather using traditional imagery such as the rain drop to visual convey rain. Furthermore as I am using primarily typography to create the design, I want these visual elements to interact with the type. Here I have used the line a symbol for falling rain, the rain is falling to create the typographical forms.
Within these experiments I have taken theory from modernism and going back to basic of visual communication, people perceive rain in a rain drop shape however I have simplified this into a circle and experimented with how this circle can affect the typography by overlaying the circle and adjusting layer styles. The contrasting colours work well however the sub text is less legible and rain doesn't tend to affect colours, it often masks the world like the droplets placed over the typography with the opacity lowered acts more like rain.
I wanted to explore the format and how this can be used as rain is something that is everywhere and not confined to one place or area, I have left the type bleed off the format of the page to suggest the scale of rain and how even when captured using photography rain is also cropped into the format of the image.
I have further developed the line a metaphor for rain, I have explored how the line can cut through the type like rain cuts through the air and the environment. Both variants works well however when the line is broken up the subtext is more legible and readable.
Within other designs I have been experimenting with the distortion of Typography, I have experimented with this idea here as well. The line of rain distorts the type where is cuts through the type, similarity to how rain distorts our view of the world. The type has still remained legible the design is less clean.
The Line as a Metaphor for Rain
One of my initial designs focused on this ideas of the beautiful orchestra, which is reference to the sounds that are made by rain. Taking this at the type for the design I have explored how the line can represent rain and become a symbol of the rain. Rain does not fall in droplet it falls in lines, this is how it appears when you look at rain, therefore I have chosen the line to represent rain. I have here explored a range of visual variations of the line moving across the typography, I think the less lines are more effective as that appear to have more movement whereas the designs with many lines appear heavy and cluttered and not don't convey the fast movement of rain.
Initial Digital Experiments
Within these experimentation I have used typography as a vehicle for the visualisation of the rain falling. looking at how rain falls vertically and diagonally across the sky. The way the type also moves down the posters conveys the idea of anticipation and the waiting for the rain the fall, here the visuals are enhancing the message.
Initial Mind Map
"It always rains in your country. Make a poster for visitors to the UK explaining why so much rain is attractive. Don't be sarcastic, after all, rain can be romantic, useful or beautiful."
My initial thoughts and ideas I working with are looking at the positive aspects of rain and looking at how I can change the traditional perception of rain, which is that it is bad, into a more positive attitude towards rain. I will be focusing on playing with emotions that I can bring out within my posters. From a range of research that I have gathered about rain I will be exploring visual representations of rain. I have also looked at a selection of pre existing work to inspire and influence my design ideas, looking at visuals such as distortion and alternative visualisations of the rain drop.
Primarily I want to work with just typography to produce my posters and experiment and investigate how rains can affect typography visually.
D&AD Live Competition Brief
Problem: Design a set of posters that explore the attractiveness of rain in the UK
Audience: Designers and creative practitioners who attend the lecture, people who haven't visited the UK before and Erik Kessels
Context: Displayed at the lecture, to accompany the lecture and celebrate the great Erik Kessels
Method: Ideas should be conceptual and ideas based, look at the work of Erik Kessels
Delivery: A2 Portrait poster
OUGD405 Module Evaluation
What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
I have developed and improved upon many skills within this module, mostly notable my software skills and how I work across a range of software. Previously to this module I had always worked with Photoshop to create design work, I knew the software well and adapted the tools available to suit my needs, however I had introduced myself to using two new pieces of software within this module, Illustrator and InDesign. I had first been introduced to Illustrator in the previous module however I never felt I had enough time to get to grips with the software to use for creating and experimenting with possible outcomes. The longer brief within this module allowed me to begin to use illustrator and take advantage of tool on offer that aren't available to me in Photoshop. Although it has been a large learning curve moving from Photoshop to illustrator, the results have been successful, my overall workflow began to improve as I began to learn the software and become more adept to it, creating vector imagery in illustrator has now become a quick and simple task, rather than a tedious time consuming task in Photoshop. Growing my skills within Illustrator has also made it easier for me to experiment with new ideas quickly, and create many visual variations in a short amount time. Within this module I was also introduced to InDesign, this was a perfect time as I knew I wanted to create a newspaper and through learning the basic skills within the InDesign tutorial I was able to use InDesign to put together my newspaper. I learnt the basic set of skills needed to work within InDesign within the workshop and then used my own time as well time I spent working on the module to develop my skills and further understand the software. The most I used the software the more I became able to exploit the capabilities of the software to my advantage, although I have only touched the surface within the software this module has laid the ground for further learning with this software. I used combine my software skills in Illustrator and InDesign to create my newspaper and i'm more than happy with the result, the newspaper adhere's to a grid system, the software allowed me to create conventions such as headers and footers as well as page numbers which added to the professional end result of the newspaper. Furthermore with using illustrator I was able to create graphic which could then be scaled within the newspaper without loss of quality. The skills I perhaps developed the most is how to use the adobe creative suite applications as a collaborative collection of software and using each piece of software for particular aesthetic qualities and work flow and then bringing these elements created in different software all together to create a final resolution.
Research skills have been a key part of this module and I feel my skills within the research process have grown immensely throughout this module. I have learnt more in-depth knowledge about the process of research and different types of research, which I was unaware of before. Throughout the various studio workshops on research I have grown to understand the value and importance of research, such as the process of researching, the different types of research such as quantitative and qualitative research. I think I have also developed skills in analysing research and understanding where the value is in research, which information is worthwhile and what information has no value.
What approaches to methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed you design development process?
Within the module we were asked to produce a series of direction boards, something I have never really valued before, however creating these design direction actually proved integral to the development of my work. Traditionally on previous modules and brief I have looked at others works inspiration throughout a brief and at times when I became stuck for ideas. However researching a wide selection of pre existing work prior to designing anything proved beneficial to my practice. The design direction boards made me look for work that had an aesthetic style that I wanted to achieve to also to look into the context of the work something I hadn't always considered in the past. Initially the design direction boards needed to convey a story of what I was intending to create and this made me select certain image and work. However as I moved forward with the brief I found myself using my design direction boards more and more they became an essential tool for developing ideas and aesthetics. The design direction boards also ensured that I what I was designing and experimenting with fulfilled the problem I initially created. I will continue to use design direction boards in my future my practice as a designer as they provide a staple element to my design process.
What strengths can you identify in your work and how will you capitalise on these?
A strength I have shown through this module is my ability to take a concept and idea, develop and aesthetic style in the form guidelines which is include typefaces and colour scheme as well as a particular image style and carrying this style cohesively across the range of products. I have been able to do this through the use of limited colour palette, small selection of fonts and producing imagery which is bold, obvious and to the point.
Furthermore I think I have considered my choice of products that I have created well as the subjects when isolated don't particularly have a set audience or context in which they could be communicated, however using the research I collected I was able to make an informed decision about where my information should be communicated and the format of the newspaper lent itself well the type of information I had collected.
What weakness can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
I think that major downfall in the design of my work is my reliance on visual cliques and visual references that already exist. For example through the 10 graphic products I have created for the 100 Things brief, imagery, icons and pictorials I have designed have relied upon existing convention to communicate my message, however to move forward as a designer I need to begin to think outside of the box and consider new visual references to communicate my ideas, for example looking at opposites to communicate a message.
A weakness within the work I have produced also is that point size of type is not always correct, for example the body copy and footers and header's I feel need to be smaller to be more visually fitting to the rest of the design, however this is mainly due to the type looking correct on screen and different when printed, this can be improved by printing mock copies to scale to check how type will be printed and therefore I can adjust point size before final print.
Although the two colour scheme worked well in conveying the two contrasting themes the absence of other colours within the palette made the work look dull and bland in areas, I will need to focus more on my choice of colour in the future and how colours can harmonise together to strengthen the message being communicated as I felt some of the spreads within the newspaper could benefit from a third colour being introduced into the palette.
Colour matching and consideration of stock is also an area that needs improvements I have used high quality stock across my range of products expect for the newspapers, however the ethos behind the product is that they have a short shelf life and will be disposed of shortly after they read, therefore a cheaper quality stock should be used. Having greater consideration for the stock I use will inform my design practice and how designers work in the industry. To improve upon this I think significant research should be carried out into the types of stock avaliable this will help me to make informed choices about the stock I am using.
Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
Attendance - 5
Punctuality - 5
Motivation - 4
Commitment - 4
Quantity of work produced - 3
Quality of work produced - 3
I have developed and improved upon many skills within this module, mostly notable my software skills and how I work across a range of software. Previously to this module I had always worked with Photoshop to create design work, I knew the software well and adapted the tools available to suit my needs, however I had introduced myself to using two new pieces of software within this module, Illustrator and InDesign. I had first been introduced to Illustrator in the previous module however I never felt I had enough time to get to grips with the software to use for creating and experimenting with possible outcomes. The longer brief within this module allowed me to begin to use illustrator and take advantage of tool on offer that aren't available to me in Photoshop. Although it has been a large learning curve moving from Photoshop to illustrator, the results have been successful, my overall workflow began to improve as I began to learn the software and become more adept to it, creating vector imagery in illustrator has now become a quick and simple task, rather than a tedious time consuming task in Photoshop. Growing my skills within Illustrator has also made it easier for me to experiment with new ideas quickly, and create many visual variations in a short amount time. Within this module I was also introduced to InDesign, this was a perfect time as I knew I wanted to create a newspaper and through learning the basic skills within the InDesign tutorial I was able to use InDesign to put together my newspaper. I learnt the basic set of skills needed to work within InDesign within the workshop and then used my own time as well time I spent working on the module to develop my skills and further understand the software. The most I used the software the more I became able to exploit the capabilities of the software to my advantage, although I have only touched the surface within the software this module has laid the ground for further learning with this software. I used combine my software skills in Illustrator and InDesign to create my newspaper and i'm more than happy with the result, the newspaper adhere's to a grid system, the software allowed me to create conventions such as headers and footers as well as page numbers which added to the professional end result of the newspaper. Furthermore with using illustrator I was able to create graphic which could then be scaled within the newspaper without loss of quality. The skills I perhaps developed the most is how to use the adobe creative suite applications as a collaborative collection of software and using each piece of software for particular aesthetic qualities and work flow and then bringing these elements created in different software all together to create a final resolution.
Research skills have been a key part of this module and I feel my skills within the research process have grown immensely throughout this module. I have learnt more in-depth knowledge about the process of research and different types of research, which I was unaware of before. Throughout the various studio workshops on research I have grown to understand the value and importance of research, such as the process of researching, the different types of research such as quantitative and qualitative research. I think I have also developed skills in analysing research and understanding where the value is in research, which information is worthwhile and what information has no value.
What approaches to methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed you design development process?
Within the module we were asked to produce a series of direction boards, something I have never really valued before, however creating these design direction actually proved integral to the development of my work. Traditionally on previous modules and brief I have looked at others works inspiration throughout a brief and at times when I became stuck for ideas. However researching a wide selection of pre existing work prior to designing anything proved beneficial to my practice. The design direction boards made me look for work that had an aesthetic style that I wanted to achieve to also to look into the context of the work something I hadn't always considered in the past. Initially the design direction boards needed to convey a story of what I was intending to create and this made me select certain image and work. However as I moved forward with the brief I found myself using my design direction boards more and more they became an essential tool for developing ideas and aesthetics. The design direction boards also ensured that I what I was designing and experimenting with fulfilled the problem I initially created. I will continue to use design direction boards in my future my practice as a designer as they provide a staple element to my design process.
What strengths can you identify in your work and how will you capitalise on these?
A strength I have shown through this module is my ability to take a concept and idea, develop and aesthetic style in the form guidelines which is include typefaces and colour scheme as well as a particular image style and carrying this style cohesively across the range of products. I have been able to do this through the use of limited colour palette, small selection of fonts and producing imagery which is bold, obvious and to the point.
Furthermore I think I have considered my choice of products that I have created well as the subjects when isolated don't particularly have a set audience or context in which they could be communicated, however using the research I collected I was able to make an informed decision about where my information should be communicated and the format of the newspaper lent itself well the type of information I had collected.
What weakness can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
I think that major downfall in the design of my work is my reliance on visual cliques and visual references that already exist. For example through the 10 graphic products I have created for the 100 Things brief, imagery, icons and pictorials I have designed have relied upon existing convention to communicate my message, however to move forward as a designer I need to begin to think outside of the box and consider new visual references to communicate my ideas, for example looking at opposites to communicate a message.
A weakness within the work I have produced also is that point size of type is not always correct, for example the body copy and footers and header's I feel need to be smaller to be more visually fitting to the rest of the design, however this is mainly due to the type looking correct on screen and different when printed, this can be improved by printing mock copies to scale to check how type will be printed and therefore I can adjust point size before final print.
Although the two colour scheme worked well in conveying the two contrasting themes the absence of other colours within the palette made the work look dull and bland in areas, I will need to focus more on my choice of colour in the future and how colours can harmonise together to strengthen the message being communicated as I felt some of the spreads within the newspaper could benefit from a third colour being introduced into the palette.
Colour matching and consideration of stock is also an area that needs improvements I have used high quality stock across my range of products expect for the newspapers, however the ethos behind the product is that they have a short shelf life and will be disposed of shortly after they read, therefore a cheaper quality stock should be used. Having greater consideration for the stock I use will inform my design practice and how designers work in the industry. To improve upon this I think significant research should be carried out into the types of stock avaliable this will help me to make informed choices about the stock I am using.
Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
- The module has identified a key failure in my practice, despite being aware of this early on I have still not used the blog as a source for creative progression. I refer to myself as a retrospective blogger, in that I blog everything after I have done it however by doing this I gain nothing from it, whereas if I blog as I go along and after every significant step towards in a brief I will be able to reflect upon, revisit and identify how my work is developing which is a value asset to my practice. Within future module I will begin to use the blog a tool that aids my practice and I will blog continuously throughout a module rather than in bulk at then end of modules.
- I will continue to develop my software skills across a range of adobe software and continue to develop skills in uses each piece of software collaboratively and synthesise the software together to exploit each piece of softwares qualities.
- From the group brief within this module it was apparent that we all worked individually and then came together at set points however this didn't always create the best practice, I will therefore aim to create a group dynamic in which member's of the group work collaboratively rather than separately this will enable the group to exploit the skills of particular members in the group and use them to the advantage of the brief.
- Focus even more on using digital tools as a process from design development and experiment, with the new skills I heave learnt within illustrator it has made it easier to create, modify and experiment on a much smaller time scale, therefore I can use this software to develop, experiment and test new ideas to see how they might function, rather than purely developing ideas through design sheets
- SPELL CHECK! throughout the brief within this module I have printed without spell checking my work which has meant added time has been needed to re print work as well as added costs in reprint, for design to effectively communicate it needs to be spelt correctly, I believe the problem is that it's hard to spot errors on the computer yet when printed they jump, therefore I should consider printing mock copies of everything I need to print prior to printing the final outcome to ensure the print is correct and no errors are present.
Attendance - 5
Punctuality - 5
Motivation - 4
Commitment - 4
Quantity of work produced - 3
Quality of work produced - 3
Design Principles Interim Evaluation
Anatomy of Type
The first three sessions of Design Principles were perhaps the most enjoyable for me, I found it particularly interesting learning about the history of type and how it has changed through the ages as it something I haven't previously been exposed to before. Additionally it was beneficial to my practice to learn about the anatomy of letterforms and how they are constructed as this helped in other modules of the course it's also good knowledge to have as a graphic designer. The tasks set along the anatomy of type principles were also very fun and experimental, creating new letterforms from existing letterforms provided an insight into how letterforms are formed and the different anatomy unique to some letters, the task also produced to possible typefaces as well some other weird creation. Furthermore the type hierarchies task also proved very informative as it gave me an insight into how layouts are constructed and why certain typefaces are used at different weights and scales to guide the reader around the page and aid in legibility and readability.
Colour Theory
Colour Theory has also been something I have wanted to learn about I find it fascinating how colours are constructed, mixed and appear, it is al element of design theory that I have previously been taught in previous design education. The various studio tasks and presentations were interactive and aided in understanding the subject and the subject in very dense in complexity and is hard to grasp at first, however I feel I have gained some knowledge from the sessions However I know there is still a lot more I need to learn. The pantone task, for me, solidified the theory I had been taught within the sessions, It allowed me to put the theory into practice and explore the differences that can be created within colour.
Frame and Format
The frame and format sessions which primarily focused on photography was something I has previously explored however not to the depth I explored it within these sessions. The photography workshop in which I was taught how to effectively use a camera was extremely beneficial to my practice as I traditionally use a camera on auto however after being taught how to each of the settings on a camera within this workshop I feel more confident in using a camera correctly to create the best and desired results I want. I also found the tasks in which I used the camera to document the world around extremely interesting as it encouraged me to really look and shapes and forms within the world and also how they can be manipulated using angles to create new forms.
Type and Grid
The type and grid sessions were the most beneficial towards aided my studio practice, magazines and newspaper are form of graphic design I appreciate and this type of graphic design is something I have always wanted to become better at and learn how to use the correct tools and rules to create layouts, grid and use typography effectively and this exactly what I was taught within these sessions. Deconstructing and reconstructing the newspaper and magazines articles really opened my eyes to the complexity of editorial design and furthermore solidity the importance of establishing a type hierarchy within a layout design. Additionally to then use the paper based skills I had learnt such as measuring type and creating grids and to then apply this to my digital practice within InDesign developed valuable skills I need as graphic designer.
The first three sessions of Design Principles were perhaps the most enjoyable for me, I found it particularly interesting learning about the history of type and how it has changed through the ages as it something I haven't previously been exposed to before. Additionally it was beneficial to my practice to learn about the anatomy of letterforms and how they are constructed as this helped in other modules of the course it's also good knowledge to have as a graphic designer. The tasks set along the anatomy of type principles were also very fun and experimental, creating new letterforms from existing letterforms provided an insight into how letterforms are formed and the different anatomy unique to some letters, the task also produced to possible typefaces as well some other weird creation. Furthermore the type hierarchies task also proved very informative as it gave me an insight into how layouts are constructed and why certain typefaces are used at different weights and scales to guide the reader around the page and aid in legibility and readability.
Colour Theory
Colour Theory has also been something I have wanted to learn about I find it fascinating how colours are constructed, mixed and appear, it is al element of design theory that I have previously been taught in previous design education. The various studio tasks and presentations were interactive and aided in understanding the subject and the subject in very dense in complexity and is hard to grasp at first, however I feel I have gained some knowledge from the sessions However I know there is still a lot more I need to learn. The pantone task, for me, solidified the theory I had been taught within the sessions, It allowed me to put the theory into practice and explore the differences that can be created within colour.
Frame and Format
The frame and format sessions which primarily focused on photography was something I has previously explored however not to the depth I explored it within these sessions. The photography workshop in which I was taught how to effectively use a camera was extremely beneficial to my practice as I traditionally use a camera on auto however after being taught how to each of the settings on a camera within this workshop I feel more confident in using a camera correctly to create the best and desired results I want. I also found the tasks in which I used the camera to document the world around extremely interesting as it encouraged me to really look and shapes and forms within the world and also how they can be manipulated using angles to create new forms.
Type and Grid
The type and grid sessions were the most beneficial towards aided my studio practice, magazines and newspaper are form of graphic design I appreciate and this type of graphic design is something I have always wanted to become better at and learn how to use the correct tools and rules to create layouts, grid and use typography effectively and this exactly what I was taught within these sessions. Deconstructing and reconstructing the newspaper and magazines articles really opened my eyes to the complexity of editorial design and furthermore solidity the importance of establishing a type hierarchy within a layout design. Additionally to then use the paper based skills I had learnt such as measuring type and creating grids and to then apply this to my digital practice within InDesign developed valuable skills I need as graphic designer.
100 Things/ Final Crit
I mostly agree with the comments made within the final crit of my work, the crit worked by pairs of peers looked over the work and suggested the strengths and weaknesses across a range of criteria. I agree that the products work as a set and series because the colour scheme and typefaces are consistent throughout, the layout style and vector based imagery is also mirrored throughout all of the products. I do also agree that the maps don't fit in within the 10 products, all of the products associate with delivery through a newspaper and the poster advertise this however the maps seem out place as they wouldn't a supplement in a newspaper, however these maps could have maybe been included within the newspapers and then other products could have perhaps been created. The issues with the variation i have known is an issue however as I was unable to test the colour of the yellow on the paper stock as the print was done by a third party I was unable to match this to the other yellows to makes the products all have a similar tone across all of the different stocks.
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