This has been a fascinating module that has really pushed me to work in a different way and go beyond my comfort zone. Normally the amount of illustration I produce in a project is directly proportional to how happy I was during and after the outcome of a module. However, this module seems to be the exception to the rule. All of my design work has been much cleaner and much more simple. I think this is because what I was designing for happened to require this approach , and I remembered my feedback from tutors in previous modules, that told me to work smart and not just hard, to find what is really required by a brief and not just charge in and work ferociously hard. I still really enjoyed this module despite the lack of hands on processes. The deeper theoretical research that was facilitated was something I particularly enjoyed. The preparation research for the second brief was really enjoyable because it was so challenging and evasive as a subject matter (much like my COP). One thing that I wish I had a chance to do more of was research with this module, I would have like the time to really read the whole of the society of the Spectacle and really understand it in greater depth. This is something I might go on and do anyway, but I would have been nice to do it for the brief. I also got very involved in the research for the first brief of this module. Because we were encouraged to choose something that we wanted to learn more about, my research took on a very personal exploratory nature which was very useful for me and wonderfully enlightening. However, one of my concerns is that because of this the research lacks a sense of chronology and depth, because it was simply me defining my own feminism. All of the research fed directly into my design work for the brief, so it came in handy but I think I should have spent more time in the deeper theoretical texts. However, this is something I intend to do in my own time.
Both briefs in this module made me actively think in a different way when it comes to semiotics and the refined, communicated message. Be it refining a confusing and complicated theory to balancing representations of the controversial issue of feminism. I did encounter technical problems in both briefs. From the half tone dot printing in brief 2 to the printing double sided on tracing paper. However, these may be silly and small mistakes but I think they are things to learn from in the future. I should always talk to the technicians before designing for any particular process. That is the major thing to take away.
Overall however, I feel that this has been both a challenging and rewarding module. I can't say I have loved every minuet (there are low points in every brief) but I enjoyed a lot of it and feel that I have learnt as much as I could from it, which is quite a lot.
Friday, 22 May 2015
Thursday, 21 May 2015
OUGD505 Studio Brief 01 Product, Range and Distribution All Final Designs and Evaluation
Despite the problems with the printing on tracing paper that I should have asked about, these posters turned out surprisingly well. I should have gone down to talk to james about the printing that I wanted to do to see if it was possible, it would have saved me a lot of stress. This in turn would have saved me trouble with the perforation of the tracing paper which I had planned for, but by the time I had printed I had planned for the wrong stock. It worked out fine but it was a close run thing. These issues would be more than surmountable in commercial printing with the help of die cutting.
I am very content with the tone of voice that these posters create around the idea of feminism It has lots of different points of view and representations, and the fact that each person that interacts with the poster helps to define the image of feminism in that poster, exemplifies what I am trying to say with this campaign. I went a long way out of my comfort zone for this project and I am surprised by how much it has paid off.
I like the fact that I decided not to have a set logo, but rather a set of logos for this campaign because one brand for it couldn't and wouldn't have represented it right. The whole point is variety. I also think that this fulfills a need on the website to create a sturdy link between the print campaign and the web prescience. Again with this design I have gone outside of my comfort zone and used fonts rather than hand drawn type. However, I think this work alright, although I, given the time, feel like I could have created some more suitable letter forms.
This web design was very trying for me. Composition has never been my strong point and these designs are pretty much all composition. However, I listened to the feedback given last module and gave the designs space and trusted my instincts and no second guessing. this more decisive approach seems to have paid off and I am glad I have something to add to my portfolio which is completely different to everything else. I am also glad that I created the print work before the web design because I found if very easy to take inspiration from print and I would have found it much harder to take inspiration from something digital.
One thing I would have changed, had I had more time, would be to create scrolling mock ups to show the way I intended the abstract patterns to continue down the page as the amount of content increased. I would also have liked to developed the mobile web design much further, because it is logical to think that people might want to visit the site then and there when they see the poster. I think the designs I did for this worked but would have benefited from being more in depth.
The website I designed was a very simple and basic in function affair. I considered added extras such as discussion forums that could facilitate the kind of feminism that I am trying to foster. However, I feel this could have edged on mixing messages slightly and the website has a clear and well fulfilled role this way.
The research earlier in this project very clearly informed the design, this was not overtly intentional however and came about simply because I wanted other people to experience the feminist awakening that I did through my research. This is possibly the reason I am so happy with the out comes of this brief. I was so personally invested in the message and therefore communicating it was not a chore and something I enjoyed trying hard with.
OUGD505 Studio Brief 01 Product, Range and Distribution Website Mock ups
Once I had followed through on all of the design outlines I had decided on for the website design, I went ahead and mocked them up in context.
The scale I decided on seems to function fairly well, allowing a sense of space but to fit a lot of content as well. The idea being that these content pages would act like patterned versions of a pinterest page, where new shapes appear above the old moving the pattern down to create a cascade of content. this would work with each of the patterns and pages that I have created.
I feel like I have gone far outside of my comfort zone with this set of designs but have managed to achieve something that I really like.
OUGD505 Studio brief 01 Product Range and Distribution Final Posters
After a long period of perforation and some free hand cutting which was a bit touch and go for a while there, the posters were all finished.
I am particularly happy this the the way the tester tore and the way that the way people choose to tear it will dictate the way the poster looks, metaphorically defining the image of their own feminism.
The border of non perforated paper around the posters worked wonders (thank God I tested it out).
Some of the more fluid perforation paths proved difficult and are a little less than perfect. I probably should have printed a tester but the cost was hight as is.
Aligning the cut letters on the tracing paper don't always align perfectly with the text underneath. However the slight displacement highlights the upper layer from a distance which is definitely a positive to come from it.
The tag line of the campaign doesn't always line up either but they don't interrupt one another so I don't think it is a problem.
Because these are intended as at least slightly contextual posters I mocked up a basic context example. I really like the way the brick poster sits in context, the slightly foggy tracing paper inviting people to reveal the truth. I also put in the moss poster slightly out of context just to show that they can also work that way.
OUGD505 Studio brief 01 Product Range and Distribution Finished Working Poster
When putting together the poster I found that the cut out letters meant that some parts of the apertures folded outwards, hindering legibility.
I got an iron and ironed the back of the design through a tea towel so that it bent towards the poster which would support it.
I then set to tearing it apart as if it were in used. It created some great patterns very reminiscent of the web design. The perforations worked surprisingly well and all the website details were readable.
OUGD505 Studio Brief 01 Product, Range and Distribution Mobile Site Mock up
After designing the rest of the website for computer access, I soon realized that the backbone of its functionality was rollover buttons which don't really work on mobile devices.
I did a basic mock up of how the website could work on mobile devises. I separated out the collage and just used the shapes with always visible content labels, so the rollover function is completely removed. I maintained the movable paragraph (move with the screen while scrolling) because this is something that I know moulds well with mobile web functionality.
I did only one of the content pages (books) to communicate how it would work. The paragraph for this page and all the sub-page would appear once the user started scrolling (so that the content is as visible as possible from the word go.
OUGD505 Studio Brief 01 Product, Range and Distribution Sub Page Development for Web
From the lists that I compiled from my own research earlier in the brief I went on to create the pages of the websites that would provide these resources.
Because the websites button was taken from the cobbled poster design pattern, I took the rest of the frames from there too, to maintain continuity.
Because the content of the images was so varying in density I tried the layout with a frame. However, I feel that this broke the visual rules set out by the earlier parts of the website, so I simply resized the images so that more definite edges could be achieved.
To create a solid link between the buttons on the home page and the resource pages I Used the button shapes on the homepage as background shapes behind the explanatory paragraph.
A few of them had higher visual texture than others that challenged the type slightly and interrupted legibility. So as if the buttons on the first screen had been clicked I reduced the opacity to 70% which seemed to solve the problem.
OUGD505 Studio Brief 01 Product Range and Distribution Collecting Articles for Website
For the articles resource of the website all I need do was to go back through my research and find some of my favorites. Again the idea is that this would be a website that grows with its readership, so this is just a starting list. (links are in images)
OUGD505 Studio Brief 01 Product, Range and Distribution Research (feminist books)
For the books section of the website I mocked up a starting list of feminist texts from my own research and a list that I found during it. I needed image of the covers to try out the website design I drew out in my thumbnails.
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