Crit Feedback

Today's crit we laid our design sheets and the other half of the group left written feedback. We were asked to leave three questions to help people give formative directed feedback. My three questions were: 

1. What concept works well/not so well? 
2. What methods would you use to illustrate the concepts? 
3. Finally, any suggestions? 

Here  is some feedback I found most helpful.

• "I think the paperclip one is the stronger of the two. But is there a link between stationary and photo frames? Maybe if you make the branding like staples or WHSmith
• "I think arranging objects as paperclips within the frame is strongest. Although would be a stronger concept if the quantity related to the frame size EG. 7x5 = 35 paperclips" 
• "Concept of back to uni doesn't work. Why would you want to buy a photo frame when going back to uni" 
• "Try Hand-rendered type"
• "I think with the back to uni ideas it would work well if you had a supporting caption as 'take your memories with you" 
• "I'm not sure about the last concept 'back to uni' doesn't connect with new photos for me..." 
• "I think that the little illustrations work well and represent holidays successfully. As people usually frame special occasions this is appropriate"

I found today's crit really useful, with this style of crit I find I get a lot more formative feedback. From the feedback I received,  I need to re-think my branding if I am going to be looking at doing stationary, it will be better to look at WHSmith or staples. One comment that kept coming up was the link between stationary and frames, but I think this will be more obvious if the brand was WHSmith. Then there could also be a link between school photographs and school equipment? On my design sheets I didn't make it clear that I meant for students to take frames to their uni rooms to store memories... eg. 'taking memories with you'. 

Photoshop Workshop

In this workshop we will mainly be working with photo manipulation. It is the main editing program that manipulates photographs. Photoshop works with pixels, which is a square of colour. With pixels things can blur and distort (pixelation) things begin to appear 'blocky'. 

One thing different to vector graphics is that working with pixels we need to think a lot more about size and the quality of an image. Pixelation is a common problem unique to bitmap. Early graphical applications such as video games ran at very low resolutions with a small number of colours, and so had easily visible pixels. This then resulted in sharp edges that gave curved objects and diagonal lines an unnatural appearance.

Resolution is a word to describe the amount of pixels given and information about the image. The most standard resolution given is 72, which is the standard all digital display, as well as a resolution of 300 which is the standard used for print. This is because, it is of high quality that the eye can interpret easily (especially for magazines) however, for a massive bill board alongside the motorway you could probably get away with using a lower resolution and it will still look of high quality. 

Optical Colour Mixing is created through our perception of colour. When we look at two small amounts of different colours laid down side by side the two appear to create a different colour. This colour usually is something similar to the result when the two are mixed in pigment. The only difference is that when two colours are mixed in pigment, they lose some of their intensity. When two colours are mixed optically, they retain their intensity and sometimes appear a lot brighter.

 

When working in Photoshop the colour mode is pre-set to RGB (red green blue), deals with light and works digitally for the web. CMYK works for print and pigments of inks, when working in this colour mode in Photoshop, you would find not all the filters and options would not be available to use. CMYK refers to the four inks used in some colour printing: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black) To look for different colour modes and change them, you can find them on image-mode-colour mode. 

The RGB colour mode is an additive colour model in which red, green, and blue light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colours. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additive primary colours, red, green, and blue.The main purpose of the RGB colour model is for the sensing, representation, and display of images in electronic systems, such as televisions and computers, though it has also been used in conventional photography. Before the electronic age, the RGB colour model already had a solid theory behind it, based in human perception of colours.

Gamut

With a colour gamut you can see the complete range and scope of colour. One thing, that is really noticeable is that you get a lot more of a wide range of colour when using RGB colour mode, especially a lot more greens. CMYK is a lot more restricted. For example...

CMYK

RGB

From the image examples above, one thing you can really notice, is that the green is a lot brighter when in RGB mode. 

Finally, Photoshop useful shortcuts: 

Type Journal- FS Emeric

Today I received this in the post from Fontsmith. The font is FS Emeric designed by Phil Garnham which he spent two years making. It represents his personal journey, that started as a response to an emerging need in brand and graphic design. It is a classic, working sans serif with a distinct individual character, very neutral. Personally, I love it, its clean and friendly, it's geometric yet really expressive. The paper stock which the type is printed on is beautiful, it has a lovely feel to it. It also has vinyl strips which really emphasis the type. 

Studio Brief 1

Primary Research

This afternoon, I went into town and took photographs of existing frames for my primary research as it did seem the most logical step. I went to TK Maxx, M&S, Wilkinson's and Urban Outfitters as I wanted to go to a range of different shops with different prices. 

TK Maxx I found a complete mess, the frames were all over the place, and most of them had random pictures of children or women or something else random. 
Which made me think, something I really need to consider, is how my frame is going to be displayed in the shop (or on the web) and how I can display the frame at its best potential. 

For example, this frame on the left with the new born baby, the frame colour is a delicate blue. The colour compliments the new born, and portrays the idea that this is the best frame suited for your families photos.

Marks & Spencers

M&S had really minimalist and plain backing paper, it was clean and looked elegant on the shelves. However, they seem to have no real effect, your eyes were drawn to the frame not the backing paper. This is something I actually need to consider whether or not I want the customer to be drawn to the frame by having really minimalist backing paper or, something really different and of high impact that draws your eye into the frame. All the frames had the same M&S house style which does work as they look smart on the shelves.

















Wilkinsons had a wide range of photo frames at affordable prices. A repeating pattern that keeps coming is that with wooden frames, the backing paper is usually of trees and leaves. The backing paper was really plain and not very interesting.

I found the best frames were in Urban Outfitters, they are spot on. They are highly illustrative and of high impact. They've got there target audience spot on, which I think is around teens to 30's? The backing paper is really eye-catching, sometimes clashing with the frame which only draws your attention in, it makes you really look at the frame (I think it almost compliments the frame). The only thing is I need to use some photographic elements in my backing paper designs. However, something that I really want to explore and consider is the use of hand-rendered typography, which is something I am quite passionate about.  

From my primary research the main thing I learnt was that people, the customer, pay for the frame, we aren't really bothered about the backing paper, as long as we like the look of the frame. However, my initial thoughts about this brief is that I want to make a backing paper of high impact, something you wouldn't expect to see in a frame. 

My Initial Thoughts and Ideas:

• Photographs you wouldn't expect to see in a frame
• Pattern 
• Hand-Rendered Typography 
• Scanning Techniques ( scanning in textures (sequins/beads)) 

Summary Evaluation

OUGD403 Evaluation

Over the module, I have learnt a lot and have enjoyed my time at LCA so far. I've learnt a lot about typography, such as, the difference between a font and typeface! as well as learning the terminology behind it. I think this was incredibly useful as it will benefit my knowledge and hopefully my career in the future. 

I found the most challenging brief was to design a typeface for my chosen partner and portraying their personality through a set alphabet with 5 glyphs. However, I am happy with what I produced and I think it does reflect my partner taste in music. 

If I were to have more time on the module I would like re-visit my three posters, because I think I can make them of more high impact and I would really like to get them digitally printed instead of normal paper mounted onto card. 

Overall, I am really pleased with how the module has gone and I look forward to our next. For next time, I would like to experiment more, perhaps with mono or screen print and more hands on techniques. 

Type Analysis

Gotham Font- Masculine, New and Fresh

The font Gotham was created in 2000 by type designer Tobias Frere- Jones who drew inspiration and influences from post-war signage and hand-painted letters seen around New York City. Gotham was commissioned by men's fashion magazine GQ yo create a new typeface for this publication. The typeface Gotham connotes masculine, new and fresh. This description was taken from the Hoefler & Frere-Jones website and fits it so perfectly: "Gotham is that rarest of designs, the new typeface that somehow feels familiar. From the lettering that inspired it, Gotham inherited an honest tone that’s assertive but never imposing, friendly but never folksy, confident but never aloof." Gotham has only been around 12 years yet has made a lasting impact, it is also said it rivals Helvetica-  yet I disagree with this.

The font Gotham is perhaps most well-known from the successful Obama 2008 presidential campaign, as it does have a bold American feel to it. As well as it connotes confidence, boldness and a sort of determinedness  (as well as it has been used as the cornerstone of the One World Trade Centre- the tower to be built on the site of the former World Trade Centre), Hoefler and Fre-Johns. Gotham has been referred to as the typeface of the decade.

Gotham is a family of widely used geometric sans-serif typefaces, especially popular through out New York City. The lettering that inspired this typeface originated from the 1920s era sans-serif like Futura. It is a very new typeface that somehow feels very familiar. Gotham is a humanist font and very geometric. Recently, I have been noticing this typeface everywhere, I love how versatile it is. The typeface connotes confidence, not an arrogant confidence a really attractive confidence. 

Obama 2008 presidential campaign poster

Interim Crit

This afternoon, we had an interim crit for our message delivery brief, the three posters. We were divided into two groups, I was in the first group, we lay out our work (thumbnails sketches/mock ups) onto tables and the second group gave us anonymous feedback on post-it notes attached to our work. It was an interesting way of presenting our work as we were not there, our work had to speak for itself we could not justify our design choices. 

Here is the feedback I received: 

• Really strong designs. I love the half brain one. I think it communicates autism well, maybe think about neon pink? The trapped idea works well as the image poster. Upside down autism shows being confused. 
• Good, consider type layout as curved 'Autism Affects' may not be necessary 
• Work on text only posters- keep body copy out of poster. Big up caged brain idea! 
• I like the keyed mouth idea. And the idea for info graphics is strong
• Look into 'Brain Art' online. There is an infamous advert of (creative vs logical) part of the brain, that will help with this concept
• Works well, simple and effective. When producing could use different type for "ONE". Like the composition.
• Think your ideas are really simple but effective. Really like the 1 in 50 as it explains well. Not sure whether this is final, but not sure on the pink? 
• Could you combine ideas of 1 in 50 and Boys are 4x more likely to have autism than girls?
• Simple and effective. The idea of an info graphic is good, also really like the 'trapped' poster.
• Brain inside a cage is a great visualisation of autism, whereas the other two are confusing without context. Lots of other connotations
• I like this, perhaps add a strap line
• Upside down 'Autism' does communicate seeing things differently, but when shown with another, right way up 'Autism' it also connotes reflection mirror image etc. 
• Maybe think of ways of writing that are different without being wrong
• 'One person with' would work better with more explanation. Like the brain in a cage. 'Autism' sideways is clever but needs more explanation 
• I like this idea of 'one in fifty' this is clear, like the more simple ideas because autism is complex
• Look at adjusting the 'one in fifty' poster so that they all face one way and the autistic person faces the other way? 

From the feedback I received was of use and will be taken into consideration it was very helpful. I now have time to make some final tweaks on my posters before our final crit this Friday. 

Illustration

This morning we had a lecture on Illustration. Illustration can be described as strategic image-making, used within the context of visual communication to convey meaning or a concept. A point made was that concept with context has no meaning and vice versa. 

The visual aesthetic of an image, the look, tone and medium of the drawing style, is possibly as important in communication image itself. Illustration needs a voice to convey depth and meaning thus the quality of an illustration can be told from the emotions evoked by it. The difference between fine art and illustration is that fine art is a personal exploration (whatever they desire or compel to do) whereas illustration has more of an audience and work with clients to fit the brief.

Illustration comes in a wide variety of forms/mediums such as, painting, drawing, collage etc. However, it has to fit its message and make an impact on the viewer.Thus, coming back to the point of a concept without any context has no meaning and vice versa. 

Maurice Sendak

For an example, the illustrations of Maurice Sendak (where the wild things are) Although drawn in 1963 they still fit and have relevance and the illustrations fit the brief for a children's book and have an impact on child and adult viewers of today. 

Brain Advert: Mercedez Benz

Great art, great concept, great execution.

Brain Ad: Mercedes Benz

Brain Ad: Mercedes Benz

Brain Ad: Mercedes Benz

A fantastic series of illustrations from an advertising campaign by Mercedes Benz. Not strictly accurate going by modern science, but a great depiction of the concept, this is more or less pop-psychology. I think they have represented and tackled logic vs. visual very well. However, this to me could be an advert for anything, I don't really get the link with Mercedes. I think they wanted to convey that the left and right side of the brain would be thrilled with a new Mercedes but that message isn't clear. 

This is inspiring to me as in my thumbnail sketches I have been drawing the two hemispheres of the brain, as a visual image for autism.  However, unfortunately I don't have enough time to create 'brain art' as illustrative as this! Although I think using simple graphics to raise awareness of such a complex disorder as autism could be an interesting concept to go down. 

Artists Against Autism- AAA

Whilst researching I discovered a group called, Artists Against Autism (AAA). AAA is a non-profit organisation that provides a platform for big business to connect with artists e.g. graphic designers, art directors and copywriters. Revenues from creative services will be allocated to beneficiaries of Artists Against Autism (AAA).

Below are a set of posters designed by some of these artists, I really like the simplicity of these posters and the little colour used and how simple icons can be used to portray autism. I especially like the one on the right how autism has been reflected to show how it can be challenging. Its connotes how Autistic people view their world (using the metaphor of glasses) and how other people view them. I also like the caged brain idea and the heart padlock to open it, you get a sense of trapped emotion and not being able to portray your true potential (or at least have difficultly in doing so)

It is also only uses two colours as well as paper stock which I need to remember to consider when designing mine.

Social Design Posters

After looking at this I began researching artists with Autism, my best example being Stephen Wiltshire. Stephen Wiltshire is an artist who draws and paints detailed cityscapes, by remembering! He has a particular talent for drawing lifelike, accurate representations of cities, sometimes after only observed them briefly. As a child he was a mute, and did not relate to other people. Aged three, he was diagnosed as autistic. He had no language and lived entirely in his own world. Below is one of my favourite works of his, it is a panoramic view of New york/Manhattan skyline, incredible drawing from memory.

Albert Exergian: Poster Research

In the brief it specifies one of the three posters be type and image working together. Below are examples of Albert Exergian TV posters they're not necessarily portraying a message (which I need to do) but I thought they were good simple examples of how little and simplistic you can go with poster design yet still recognise what it is representing. An example here being The Simpsons poster a simple black zig zag and title you can easily recognise it by the colour yellow and Homer Simpsons hair! The posters are all of high impact. 

Also, Albert Exergian's poster use only little colour, two at most plus the paper stock. Something I need to take into careful consideration when designing mine because I still want them to be eye-catching and of high impact. 

Illustrator

This morning, I purely had a play around creating depth to the letterform A. What I've actually created looks totally ugly but it was useful to me as I'm getting to grips with how things on Illustrator work. I used effects on the rotate options like extrude & bevel and expanding appearances. For my final depth alphabet I think I will use a lot of layered opacity to create actual depth to my letterforms.