PPP - OUGD402 - Module Evaluation

Module Evaluation 

During this module, it has been really useful to listen to guest speakers to see how they present and what type of work they produce. This has given me a better insight into the range of ways you can go into the industry, whether this be part of an established studio or setting up myself. When listening to the professionals it was also reassuring to see that they found it just as difficult as us to present, but people are usually very understanding when listening to you.   

  

Throughout the year, it has been made clear that you don’t necessarily have to become a graphic designer, instead as creatives we can apply our skills to anything if we want. This has been quite a fresh outlook which has been reassuring, especially when I am still working out what I want to do.

In terms of presenting I found it particularly useful to have tasks that built us up to the final presentation, as this made the process easier and I had a better understanding of what worked. Also, these tasks allowed me to better understand aspects of my process which ultimately helped me to present how I had developed over the year. When putting together a presentation I have found that having a structure by combining themes and using title pages allows the presentation to flow better and makes it easier to talk alongside. I have found that having full spread images and minimal text engages the viewer and the use of self-branding within the presentation helps to emphasis you as a creative. Having notes particularly for the last presentation, which was much longer helped me to keep track of where I was, however, because I had these it also meant that it was easier to look down at them, which affected my projection and eye contact with the listeners.

The self-branding project was initially very difficult as it was hard to pinpoint what I wanted to be known for especially when I am still unsure what I do or want to do. It was also difficult to create something that made you stand out without feeling awkward and to be objective about something so close to you. Once I found that I had an idea it was best to just go with I, rather than overthink whether it was the best way to represent me. By picking one point it allowed me to better focus how I was going to portray the idea.  Through the project, I discovered how for me process, technique and materials are particularly important to my practice and that learning new approaches to work excites me.

Next year I want to free up time to visit more things outside college and do my own projects, as well as working more three dimensionally. The summer will allow me more freedom to explore things that I am interested in whilst also maintaining my design skills.  

Art from Non - Art Workshop

Daniel Gee from the Goat Collective

Collage artists that were shown:

Beth Hoeckel 
Hort - uses simple geometric shapes with a heavy focus on distorting faces 
Robert Rauschenberg - more famous for his paintings however he also worked in mixed media
Dr Me - most well known for there 365 day collage project which has brought the medium back into mainstream design
Ill Studio - work across mediums not just collage  
Louis Reith - combines black and white imagery with geometric forms 
Ellery James Roberts - is predominantly known as a musician but creates his own album covers 
Leif Podhajsky - uses brightly coloured textures and landscapes and digitially manipulates them 
Mat Maitland - creates images for fashion and product photography
Richard Prince - well known for getting into trouble over copyright issues
Ventral is Golden - branded Belgrave music hall and are a Leeds based studio 
John Stezaker - seen as a forrunner in his style of collage that many have copied since 

Tips for collage :

- Use tape to stick images down so that pieces can be rearranged if you work out a different arrangement.
- Suggests not to use anything that has artistic value in order to prevent copyright issues and to change images.

Appropriation - Collage uses found imagery to create something new 

Art from Non - Art Exhibition Submission by 3rd April
Works will go into an exhibition and some chosen to go into a book

Studio Brief 3 - Design Strategy Presentation

Final Presentation Slides including notes used for the Presentation

- Learnt new approaches to tackling design 

Research

Importance of research – without not meaningful

Dictionary definitions - meaning of words – simplifies idea or theme – more abstract visualisations – multiple meanings – different viewpoints 

Theories 
Frutiger's theory of shapes – useful in wayfinding project  – psychology behind shapes is interesting – how we perceive them -  simple but meaningful - all done subconsciously

Production Methods – different materials – not always able to access digital print -  DIY – make best of the situation – resourceful – create interesting things - problem solving important 

Sketchbooks – structure work – computer lose and forget what you've done – better able to visualise what I am doing – easier to talk about work 

Restrictions – way of generating ideas -  provides structure gives something to work with - techniques used as restrictions - grids – minimal shapes – collage – photography  - consistent aesthetic –not over-complicating – stronger concept – working with same material

Logotype and typeface design

-         learnt about the anatomy of type and meaning / perceptions of typefaces

-         and how useful this can be in graphic design

-         like the structure that comes with typography provides a format that everyone knows – put own spin on it 

Object

-         expanded idea of ‘research’

-         primary information collected through studying the object

-         new perspectives on the subject

-         created more obscure work

Penguin Book Design

-         like book design

-         can be quite abstract in interpretation of book  - work was metaphorical

-         working to a live brief exciting – see what it’s like in real life 

Self Branding

-         used materials that reflected the physical properties of parts of my process – e.g. restrict shapes, list post it notes

-         logo – squiggle that used in notebook to define something of interest, inspiration / designer, important

-         noted references similar concepts, look at , interesting , acknowledgement

-         fits well with the logo and where it came from

Inspiration

-         Collections of typography , offcuts , found imagery etc – find lots of things day to day around you – range of different styles otherwise might not look at

-         Crits – feedback given me areas to look at – would not have thought of – sometimes get caught up in work – don’t see good or bad

  

To improve

-         Blogging - starting to be more to the point– writing post it notes has allowed more focused writing – still need to keep ontop of it better

-         Research –bogged down in information can get a little overwhelming –  refine things to useful stuff –beginning of a project

-         Difficult starting a project – not knowing what to do - don’t force it too much – feel like wasting time when not knowing what to do – do something else can help spark something – not great if under pressure though

Year 2

-         Animated work – Dr Me 

-         3d work – workshops -  Use the workshops more for crafting things

-         Personal projects – more live briefs  

-         Confidence in colour and combining elements 

Comments on the layout of the presentation:

- My self branding squiggle logo was used as a way of identifying and drawing attention to key points

- When images were used these were full spread to make it visually engaging 

- Text was kept to a minimum so that people were listening rather than reading   

- By breaking my presentation into sections / themes this helped it flow and made it easier for me to know what I was talking about

Feedback on presentation:

Overall the presentation went well and kept to time, it was said that the use of my logo throughout the presentation would be effective in promoting myself and that a lot of professionals use this technique on slides that do not have full images. When looking at other peoples presentations I found that the most engaging were ones with lots of images. Although I had images for most of my slides I could have used more to show a greater variety of what I have produced.

Lo Siento - Self Branding Ideas

Lo Siento Business Cards by Mucho

Lo Siento are based in Barcelona and specialise in identity projects. Their  practice focuses on a physical approach to briefs and an interest in artisan techniques.  

There self branding was designed by Mucho. The use of a stencil means the design can be repeated easily but uniquely each time through the positioning and the use of different coloured pens. The stencil also reflects the logo on the website which allows you to see images through it as if it was cut out like a stencil. The stencil provides an easy way of applying the brand to their business cards and any other surface. The use of plain card and structured layout allows the logo to stand out in contrast to the other elements. The unique application and use of pens gives the business cards a handmade and personal feel, whilst reflecting their multidisciplinary approach through different materials.

In my own branding it could be interesting to use a stencil as a way of showing my process through different materials, which could then be applied to different surfaces.

Penguin Student Design Awards 2017

To Kill a Mockingbird Submission

As part of Studio Practice one of the briefs was to design a book cover for one of the three categories, adult fiction, adult non - fiction or children's award for the Penguin Book Awards. My submission was for the adult fiction cover as this I thought this could allow the work to be more conceptual and abstract.

Submission and Rationale

The book design is based around the themes of oppression and protection which were defined as key themes within the story. The oppression of the black community by the white is shown through the use of differing sized circles, with the white being larger. Atticus’s protection of Tom is visualised through the integration of the grey circle within the white, reflecting how Atticus took much of the pressure from the rest of the community. Taking reference from the films opening sequence, Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk was used to create a feeling of dominance over the rest of the title. From research it was found that Harper Lee identified with Scout and was a tomboy herself, however became reclusive after the publication of her book. To reflect this the authors name uses Franklin Gothic Book, a sans serif typeface which is strong in structure to reflect her boisterous nature, but thinner and less dominant than the other typeface used. 

Submitting to a live brief

Entering the competition has allowed me to better understand the process of submitting work, especially in terms of following submission guidelines which can be complicated sometimes. It will also be interesting to see what work is chosen and how what I have done compares to others and to see how I can improve. It has also allowed me to better understand the book design industry. Book Covers are exciting to work on because you can be quite abstract in the interpretation of the story, whether this takes inspiration from themes or a particular scene in the book. 

Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding Presentation

Self Branding and Presentation

Initial thoughts on things I am interested in

Experimental processes are particularly important to me as a designer. Learning new techniques is interesting and has helped me to develop new ways of working which leads to more varied and intriguing work. Having a catalogue of ways of approaching something means the creative process can be made easier. Handmade techniques such as collaging, photocopying etc I find are more engaging than working straight onto the computer which I find quite restrictive in the generation of ideas. I find it easier to better visualise things when I'm able to interact with them. I have an interest in three dimensional work, product design and interactive design such as learning aides and board games, which people can use in a functional way. Recycling and using found materials is engaging because its bringing life back to something that's been used before, making me quite resourceful when it comes to making things. Also re-purposing something means that it can be used in new and interesting ways. Collecting found materials e.g. papers, type etc gives me a body of work to take inspiration from and use. When defining myself as a creative I like to think I am committed and quite thorough in my approach to work.  As a creative I am interested in making, bookbinding and three dimensional design, as well as having an interest in graphic design and photography which sit side by side quite well.

Initial thoughts on how to approach the brief revolved around the idea of creating a functional object that people would be able to use and would want to keep, linking to my interest in three dimensional and interactive design. Some designs aim to encourage experimentation whereas others are practical objects. Other ideas reference my practice specifically.

Initial Ideas include:

- creating stencils with different shapes on them for people to draw around to create designs or patterns etc 

- creating a set of playing cards that have processes on them that reflect my practice and techniques learnt. These could be used by designers as a way of choosing a process or restriction 

- creating a set of rulers that measure different sized shapes, which examples of techniques could be applied too

- make post it notes that have different textures and processes on them 

- create a notebook that is made from different stocks and materials relevant to my process, acts as a swatch book.

After the creation of my Reflective Practice poster this cemented the concept the I wanted to use for the whole of my self branding. Using different materials to reflect my practice was the way I would visualise my creative identity e.g.grids represent restriction and post it notes represent listing things. 

Initial Logo sketches explored:

- the idea of torn scraps of paper to reflect the materials used in my self branding and the concept of using papers to reflect my process

- creating a 'note' to play around with the branding name Noted

- using a squiggle I use in my notebook to reflect things that interest me, that are important and  things I want to look at e.g. designers etc. Combining this with the brand name has also been explored.

The squiggle design was chosen for my logo as I thought this was the most personal out of all the designs and reflected my 'mark' making it unique to me.

For the brand name I wanted to use a singular adjective which would reflect the list making that I had initially used to formulate ideas about my process. 

- Found and Collect reflect the interesting things I pick up for inspiration or to use for projects e.g. offcuts

- Scrap and Scrapped make reference to the physical properties of torn paper as well as my interest in reusing materials 

- Notable and Noted link to my squiggle logo design which signifies inspiration or something that is interesting. These words suggest that something is worth looking at, has been acknowledged, or will be used for future reference 

  

Noted linked the most to the squiggle logo and best represented the idea of something being interesting an worth a closer look.

In my pay off I wanted to make it clear that I had an interest in crafting physical things as well as graphic design.

The logo design was refined further by experimenting with its creation in different materials. 

To reflect the original hand drawn quality of the mark in my notebook the design was created using different types of pens which were then photocopied onto different papers and tracing paper to see their effectiveness. When photocopied it was found that many of them faded quite considerably however this could be enhanced using the computer. Cutting out the design from a textured black print created an interesting effect that had an organic quality which also retained its tone when photocopied so this was chosen as the final design. 

The typeface Berthold Akzidenz - Grotesk was used as this would stand out on a range of materials and work effectively at a range of scales without losing impact.

The branding uses textures rather than a colour scheme specifically, each of which reflects an aspect of my process or a material that I use frequently e.g. newsprint is particularly useful for posters , tracing paper is used for rough designs. The use of textures in this way means the identity can change to reflect developments in my process. The typography would be black as this would contrast with any material aside from black card. 

Application ideas :

Business Cards 

- could use shapes as a framework for the textures whilst also suggesting restrictions as part of my process

- use strips of paper to wrap around the card, which could either be clipped or stapled. The logo would be placed on the thick card rather than the paper wrapped around the business card.

Posters

- create long posters made from strips of papers

- use shapes of textures on the posters to reflect restrictions , like seen in the reflective practice poster 

- make the poster from a range of overlapping papers in a collage style

- the poster could be perforated so sections could be torn off for people to take away with them

Pencils 

- re-purpose strips of paper to create pencils

Book 

- use torn papers for the cover and different papers inside with words to describe the processes the papers represent 

The final applications included business cards, a book of process and a poster. The designs were created from found materials that were frequently used in my day to day process. The use of acetate over the top of the textures meant that the logo and name could be applied easily over any surface. The book was created by photocopying words onto all the pages keeping to the handmade approach. If multiples of  the posters and book were to be created I would have to adapt the production method by setting all the text in illustrator so they were staggered across the sheets in an A4 frame, then these would be torn, rather than placing the text on a photocopier and trying to line them up in this way.

Photocopying designs on to acetate

Photocopied designs on acetate

Layering acetate over other materials for business cards

Binding the book with fishing line  

Finished bound book 

Feedback on my work suggested that it was a strong concept and that the use of the squiggle for the logo was the right choice in creating something that was personal to me.