OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 08 Letters by Louise Final Cards

Evaluation:

I am really pleased with the finish of these business cards. The layers of paper make the weight and tactility of the cards communicate value and make them items in themselves that someone would want to keep. I do wish that I could have made more cards. However, the imprecise nature of both screen printing and finishing by hand meant that I should have allowed a wider margin for error. For the most part the printing was fairly standard in terms of success rate but because I had not allowed extra paper (the client couldn't afford it) naturally the final total was a little bit lower than expected. Registration was the main issue, mostly because of shifts in the true grain on the bed, difficult to have foreseen or done anything about.

The colour matching of this project in particular is something That went well. It took a lot of careful mixing but I think this is a skill that I learnt well during the GF Smith brief and came in handy here. The colour on the screen print is almost exactly the same as the digital colour that Louise approved. Because I had less control over the stamp ink I was concerned about the colour differences. However, although the ink is a little darker it does harmonise with the cards, creating a sense of cohesive design even if it doesn't match exactly.

The client response was really positive and Louise has agreed to do a review on my website which is great and return to me when she needs anything else done!

OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 08 Letters by Louise Creating an Invoice for the first time

Scince this is a live beef I wanted to do things properly and I have been meaning to learn how to write out an invoice for ages. Its just a skill that I think will come in handy. So, using my branding from brief 01 in PPP I put together the invoice below. I created it as a framework for further invoices and included hours of work, although I am not charging for that this time.

OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 08 Letters by Louise Assembly andScreen Printing

When getting the prints to work properly the ink mixing was the key to making the cards look right. It took a long time to get the ink almost exactly the same as the digital prints and colour that Louise had approved. I made sure I did my tests on the 270 Fabriano Print stock that I bought specifically for this project. I have been stung by the different way stocks tack colour before.

For the duplexing I bought some New blue 270 GF Smith Stock. This was the closest colour to the logo colour whilst also being a little bit brighter, to add a little sunniness to the finished cards.

The printing was a little bit tricky in spots, but not the spots that I thought would cause problems. The lines around the logo proved no problem at all (made the ink slightly thinner than usual to help it print the smaller details).

The back of the crd as were the most difficult. The small text came out patchy in places even with the thinner ink. So I swapped to a double pull print which sorted this out.

In places the registration of the two colours on the back was tricky. This turned out to be because the true grain on the bed was wrinkled when I did my first pull. It took me a while to realise this but once I did I cleaned down the true-grain and re registered.

Assembly was daily straight forward. Just lost of spray mount and trimming (I ended up putting two layers of the coloured stock inside to bulk out the colour and I think the result is great.

OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 08 Letters by Louise Stamp Issues

To start with there were a few issues with the stamp. I sent off a black version of the emblem logo I made earlier. I used a company that I used of both the elections stamp and my self branding stamps. However, they let me down this time. The stamp was no where near clear enough as yu can see from the images I sent to the English Stamp Co customer service team.

The cut lines were far too shallow to show up yet the line weight I used was no lower than any other stamp I had had made.

I talked to customer service and the agreed to remake the stamp for free and suggested a positive image rather than a negative would work better. So, I agreed to this and you can see the difference in the image below.

Although this is in orange, I got a grey ink pad to match the blue grey of the branding which worked really well.

OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 10 Archer Animation Analysis of Selected Quotes

Taking the quotes we had decided on I created some rough notes about tone of voice and possible visual direction for the animation. This was all from the quote it's self and the clips of the scenes.

'If I stop drinking all at once I am afraid the cumulative hangover would literally kill me"

I got thinking about how links could be made to the 'Archer Aesthetic' of the intro sequence, it occurred to me that the theme of the i could deb brought across, possibly having it fall over or interact in some key way with the sentiment of the quote.

"Lana, I've never had a death wish, it's just that I don't believe that, I personally, even can die"

Considering the idea of unkillable, I looked at how the words of the quote could be fired at and bounce off one side of the frame in some way, connoting bullet proof.

"Remember when the office shut down and we spent an entire year as coke dealers?"

with the theme of coke it is easy to jump to the idea of the letters being snorted at the end of the animation in some way but perhaps something more inventive will come to me later.

"I'm getting my turtleneck. I'm not defusing a bomb in this!"

Unraveling the negative space of the letters could really work in an incongruous sort of way, but I realise that in fact not all turtlenecks are knitted.

The main theme I found in all these quotes was something said in a casual way that is not in fact casual at all in content. This juxtaposition is something that we need to strive to convey.

OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 10 Archer Animation Collection and Selection of Quotes

Because we are all big Archer Fans we collected the quote stat we thought were most representative of the show and put them in a google doc.

We then talked through what these quotes needed to do and how they needed to be understood from a non fan's perspective but also not isolate people familiar with Archer. We highlighted the ones we felt were the best in yellow, ones we illuminated in red and possibilities in green. We kept a number of options although we intend to create three or so animations because there are other limitation such as the quality of sound sample we can get that might mean we need to change our selected quotes.

1. “All I’ve had today is like, six gummy bears and some scotch”

2. “Holy shit snacks”
   
3. “I’m not slurring my words, I’m talking in cursive”
   
4. “If I stop drinking all at once I’m afraid the cumulative hangover would kill me”
   
5. "Are you kidding? Dude. Bros before apparent threats to national security."
   
6. “Lana, I've never had a death wish, it's just that I don't believe that I personally even can die.”
   
7. “You killed a black astronaut Cyril, that's like killing a unicorn!”
   
8. “If I wanted to hear you people scream, I'd have you flown to a CIA black site in Morocco and listen to your torture session on speakerphone!”
   
9. “Just the tip!”
   
10. “Why are your plans always so complicated? You're like Wyle E Coyote with access to predator drones.”
    
11. “Something, something, danger zone! I know. I’m not even trying anymore.”
    
12. “Cyril, I paid her, I get to carry her corpse.”
    
13. “Guys, come on. Can't we have one poker night without a hate crime?”
    
14. “You're gay! I mean, I am, too. We're both gay.”
    
15. “Remember when the office shut down and we spent an entire year as coke
16. dealers?”
    
17. “I'm getting my turtleneck. I'm not defusing a bomb in this!”
    
18. Lana: “Okay, that was a fluke.”
    Sterling: “Yeah, a fluke of nature. Because I happen to have perfect situational awareness, Lana. Which cannot be taught, by the way. Like a poet's ... mind for ... to make the perfect words.”
    
19. “I mean is Is it too much to ask during the goddamn work day for 80 minutes each of uninterrupted dump time?”
    
20. “No, no, turn it on. I can do both.”
    
21. “Well, I hope you're happy because I feel like a total dick, and kind of a racist. And I resent you making me feel like that...because I'm not a racist.”
    
22. “That wasn't a brain chip. That was a just a sticker of the backpack of a little Lego spaceman.”
23. “Malory: “It's okay! They're just blanks.”
    Lana: “Well, see, you say that …”
    Malory: “But they were blanks—weren't they?”
    Sterling: “Only if the back of his skull picked that exact moment to explode outwards”
    
24. “I couldn't hear you over the sound of this gigantic freakin' tank!”

OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 10 Archer Animation Aesthetic Research

Because we want our promotional animations to have some solid context we are designing them to promote the return of Archer to Netflix. as such we felt it would be useful to look at how Netflix creates a visual identity and how Archer does the same.

Netflix Ident:

The ident is such a formative part  of the Netflix experience. It's quick enough not to get in the way of watching what you are there to watch but it's adds an air of professionalism and also suspense, building up the experience of what you are about to watch. 

The letters stretch from the White apbackground, as if from behind a screen (cinematic connotations) in a little building wave. Again suggesting a build to something. 

Also there is a little bounce of each letter as it finds its place in the logo, this is a great example of the personality of movement, something we need to utilise in our own work,. This bounce creates a playful end to something that could have been quite serious, this is an entertainment platform after all.

There has also been a new brand application scheme designed by NY based Gretel.

To accompany the new shadowless logo a stack themed brand application works throughout advertising and UX Design.

The components of a promotional piece as shown above are stacked one on top of the other. This strategy not only creates the sense of depth but also a sense of infinity, in possibilities and content, as each layer scrolls past the possibilities increase.

The stacks also provide very flexible but consistent applications for each individual show, each frame contrasts with and shows to best advantage the subsequent and previous frames.

The have tended to stick to low saturation images to allow the key logo red of Netflix to be fully dominating. This means that although the content is the draw of Netflix, the focus of these designs is that Netflix and no one else is providing this content.

Where photographs are placed next to one another in the stack soft gradient filters are used to add the visual depth of stacked items, one in front of the other.

Archer Introductary sequence:
The bright colours and chunky shapes in conjunction make the whole sequence very striking. The colours themselves are either bright primaries or muted pastels that connote the 50s and 60s.  The cut away nature of the block colours make them look like they were paper cut. This crude yet assertive finish is the perfect mix to communicate something that operates within a pastiche yet also challenges it.
The constant movement of the hypothetical camera helps to communicate the action genre as does the rather dramatic music. However, the actual images, when examined, are quite playful and tongue in cheek. This juxtaposition of content and tone is something that defines Archer as a show.

OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 10 Archer Animation Brief and ResaerchIdentification

Archer Animated Quotes (collaboration with  Billie)

Brief- create a series of animated quotes that celebrate and promote the program archer. These animations would hypothetically be used to advertise the fact that archer will be coming to Netflix. 

Background considerations- 

Choose quotes that are accessible to audiences new to the program.

Consider the sound that will be atop the animations and how the animation and visual can match the syntax and tone of voice of the speaker.

What are the selling points of the program and how can you communicate them quickly and concisely.

Mandatory requirements- 

Use the brief to help learn Adobe after effects.

Deliverables- 

A selection of animations of the quotes chosen

Record of development on your design Practice Blog.

Research areas: 

-quotes

-Aesthetic (Netflix and archer)

- Syntax of quotes and tone of voice

- Kenetic Typography

OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 03 Botanical Collaboration Creating Layouts and Content Research

I atempted a number of the suggestions made during the crit. The major one being the alteration of the O and Q. However, reversing the direction of the negative space stopped them looking like letters and more like eyes.

 I also made changes to the P, increasing the negative space to correspond with the other letters.

I then took the three spring plants that Jess had done the research for and put together the layouts.

It would take far too long to source all the information because each page needed up to 5 sources each to make up the information. However, predominantly it was a mix of woodland trust, wildflower spotting websites and my own books which did the job in the end.

Because Jess had the illustrations of Spring to get on with I did the research for the subsequent three seasons. You can find the un illustrated result below. We also discussed adding in season pages and I have arranged these so that the illuminated letters provide the best possible frame work to illustrate around.

The next step is waiting for Jess's illustrations.

OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 09 DR ME Illustration style Research

I have been thinking about the details around the lettering  and how I would draw them and it brought me back to an illustrator I was introduced to through the 'Made You Look" film, Hattie Stewart.

http://hattiestewart.com

She has a really playful, bubbly and odd style which is slight;y unnerving.

Cartoonish block colours combined with strange subject matter make her designs comic in the extreme. This is something that I want to draw on for my illustrations. Although I don't want to copy the style I do want to look at my use of block colours and a playful style to help me communicate myself as a designer rather than simples a designer.

OUGD603 Extended Practice Last Look at Briefs And Last Extended Practice Crit

For the last crit we mostly talked through all the briefs that we did and got specific feed back where we felt it was needed. As Jess was ill I got some feedback on behalf of both of us on the Botanics project.

I got some great feedback concerning Jess's illustrations; that they should intertwine with the capitals more, using the negative space. Overall though people were really positive.

I also printed out the full alphabet to see if there were any letters that they del needed improvement or didn't quite fit. P i was already aware of but revision of M, O and Q were also suggested. I think I will re work M and P but I am uncertain about O and Q because  really like them, but I will try it out and see how I can make it look.

I also talked through my full list of briefs which is in its revised form below.

Thirdyeardesignbriefs 2 from Crystalbeth

OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 04 FAFF Final Images and Evaluation

Evaluation:

I really enjoyed the collaboration of this brief especially because I was working with someone outside the graphic design course, so the way Izzy worked was quite different to me. However, this worked very much to our advantage and we worked reality well as a team. There was no mess and no fuss, each decision was easy and completely uncontested. I would definitely like to work with Izzy again and I hope she feels the same way. The ethical centre of the brief really helped our collective drive. Both of us believe very strongly in what FAFF are doing, so creating something for them felt good and right in a way that other more dubious projects do not. In the end I think we produced a really effective logo that the client liked and comprehensive brand guidelines for the use of the logo and identity. This was the first time I have attempted to create full brand guidelines and it was an incredibly worthwhile process. Although at points it can seem dull and obvious what we are asking people to do (and not to do) I can see that it is so beneficial to the proper use of a design that we worked really hard to create. The only thing I would change with this project would be doing more work with FAFF. They did offer a number of poster jobs. However, because this was also unpaid and at a difficult time in the year both Izzy and myself agreed that it would be best to say no for the moment. Once we have finished our end of year show however, FAFF could be a lasting client.

OUGD603 Extended Practice Brief 03 Botanical Collaboration Developing Illuminated Capitals

Using my previous work as a guide and the sketches that Jess and myself discussed in the last meeting I developed a full set of capitals. In the end I aimed for the appearance of a plant growing over the letters, mimicking the unity of illustration and type that we are looking for in this project.

Once I got the letters together for the first time there were areas that required improvement. I have boxed these letters in. Mostly this was done by standing back from the piece and seeing what didn't quite fit.

I also did a number of word context experiments which revealed a few more errors.

For example the gap in the 'o' was too small to match with the other letters, this turned out to be something of a theme with large apertured letters such as C and G as well. 

As is standard with these things I made up a grid guide system to ensure every curved terminal is exactly the same from letter to letter.

Re working the E and the F was simply a matter of reducing the amount of the letter removed, to create more balance with the other letters.

C G and O took a little more time and I had to work out a slightly different grid for use on these curved letters so that they appear even, even if they mathematically are not.

To maintain even curves when heavily editing the vectors I used reduced opacity and a guide frame of the original glyph.

On its own the O can see a little too wide open, but when in the context of a word, it works.

This achieved a sense of continuity between the similarly shaped letters.

I tested out the capitals next to lower case  baskerville, where it was intended to work and it looks considerably better that the all caps version. I think this is because the letters are quite highly edited and a little goes a long way.

I created some layouts for one of the first plants we had the content for (as per the devision of research in our last meeting) and sen Jess an all caps and a combination design to work with so she could choose what she felt worked best.

Jess created a beautiful illustration which reacted to the space just as we had planned. We will ask for feedback at the extended practice crit at the end of this week.