Responsive - Papyrus

Papyrus Brief

We were briefed on a small live brief this morning set by Papyrus, a charity that helps with suicide in young people. Immediately, I was interested in undertaking this brief as I haven't yet taken part in one that is for a real world cause. A lot of the time, within briefs at university I often have my own design interests in mind when choosing the purpose or message behind my designs. This brief is a lot different to that way of thinking as it is for a real world cause and its main aim is to make a difference and help prevent young suicide.

The fact that the brief is for a suicide charity does make the project a lot more meaningful but at the same time it will inevitably put people off taking on such a brief as it is a very sensitive subject. 

As well as making things look nice, it is also important to take on briefs that have other people in mind, especially those in need. This is also my first work for a charity and is something I aim to do more of in the future along side other types of briefs.

I rarely take on illustrative briefs and so this is anther reason why I chose to take this one on. I feel it is important to exercise a whole range of different skills and techniques whilst I have the freedom and pick and choose briefs.

Research

Another difference between this brief and previous ones is that it is a much smaller brief and one that can be done in a short period of time. Despite the deadline being at the end of the month, I set myself the task of completing it on one day to see what I could achieve in such a short amount of time.

For research, I read through the charity website to get a good idea of their beliefs and aims and purpose. From this I wrote down some key points and quotes that would then influence my designs.

- Exist to give young people HOPE and to prevent suicide

- "we draw from the experience of many who have been touched personally by young suicide across the UK and speak on their behalf in our campaigns and in our endeavours to save young lives"

- Society which speaks openly about suicide and has the resources to help young people who may have suicidal thoughts

- shattering the stigma around suicide 

- 'SILENCE', the biggest killer in young people in the UK

Production

The first stage was to create a mood board of imagery and type that could feature within my illustration.

I looked at imagery and type associated with with the word hope as this was the word that stood out to me the most when reading the charity website. I then also looked at illustrated papyrus plant relating to the charity themselves.I did this so that my illustration would show a clear link between HOPE and the charity themselves as this is something they aim to provide young people that may be having suicidal thoughts.

As the image would have to include some details for colouring in, I had to design each element to suit this. I started by sketching out a few possible images including a papyrus plant and a dove.

The next task was to then draw them digitally into illustrator and then edit them further.

Between these two digital sketches of the plant, the one below was more suitable for the brief as it would be more rewarding to colour in due to the patterns and shapes.

I took this opportunity to use a technique I haven't used before. This involved a digital sketch pad. Using this device was difficult at first but once I had the hang of it, it allowed me to accurately translate my sketches from pen to screen.

Below, I have introduced type to make obvious the message behind the illustration. However, it would not be suitable for a colouring book.

Drawing out a simple dove shape then gave me the idea to put a papyrus plant in the doves mouth to convey my intended message.

Developing on from the simple dove shape above, as the illustration is intended for an adult colouring book, I looked into the styles used in existing colouring books. I realised that the illustration needs to have loads of different sections that the user can colour in to keep them engaged and give a sense of achievement when finished.

I chose a more exciting dove shape and then carefully edited and filled it in with various shapes and patterns. I then added the papyrus plant in the mouth of the dove.

I was happy with the shape and patterns of the dove but the brief specifies it has to be an A3 spread and so the design needed some other features.

To add to the illustration I decided to create sort of a narrative. The bird on the left has found itself a papyrus plant, similar to young people finding the charity when in need.

The papyrus plant is enlarged and is a focal point of the illustration to signify the importance of the charity, however the dove is larger as the young people who come to the charity are even more important.

The dove in the background is yet to utilise Papyrus, however after watching the other dove it will follow suit.

Geometry 

In the previous idea, I focused on words found on the charity website. However, the brief specifies that I illustrate something that I myself find calming. So for my second response I will be looking at geometry.

When brainstorming about what makes me feel calm, the first thing that came to my head was Cleanliness and Tidiness. From there, I got to geometric shapes as these tend to me very organised and clean looking.

The idea is to design a geometric colouring illustration informed by my idea of calm. Below are some examples of how colour can be implemented (in this case, by the user).

Informed by the use of doves as a sign of hope in my previous response, i decided to combine that with the geometric technique shown above...

I then made a repeated pattern with it so that it would make more of a colouring.

The pattern above was successful however I don't think its suitable for a colouring in book as it is not complicated enough for adults.

The thing that makes me feel calm in life is tidiness. Below is an illustration of a desk space that is neat and tidy. Looking at a tidy desk makes me feel calm as well as the clean lines of the drawing itself. The other aspect that is calming would be when colouring this in, it isn't too complex and so would be easy to complete.

Print Workshop Visit

Belgium Print Workshop

Over the Christmas break I visited Belgium for the first time. Whilst I was there, I managed to find a small print shop in Bruges. I called the phone number I found on their website and arranged a visit. After finding the print shop online, I decided it would benefit my practice if I visited it as I am looking at poster design in a couple of briefs on at the moment. I am looking at poster design for my CoP essay and practical work as well as for my substantial responsive brief.

For the substantial brief, I am designing posters and to champion the use of the paper I'll be using, I have aimed to inform aspects of each poster with the texture of the paper its printed onto. So when looking around this print shop, I documented the ways in which the print maker has thought about the colour and imagery in relation to the type of paper its printed onto. 

Some of the prints are done onto smooth, ultra white stocks that allow for the colours to be bright and eye catching and the image is not compromised by the texture or grain of paper. Whereas some others were printed onto more textured stocks such as watercolour paper, this had a huge effect on the overall appearance and quality of image. These were a bit more grainy and the colours weren't as vibrant however the stock gave the image a more traditional, textured look which makes the viewer appreciate and notice the paper more than a normal print stock.

Despite the slight language barrier between myself and the print maker, I decided to ask him some questions about his work and career in print making. He explained to me a few things about his passion for print making such as who his clients are and how he got into it in the first place. He also talked my through the process of producing each print right from finding inspiration for imagery and colour through to choosing stock and size. 

To show my appreciation for him showing me around and answering my questions, I decided to purchase one of his prints.

The experience was very useful for the couple of briefs I have on at the moment that involve poster design. I will be using this research when choosing design/stock/scale etc for designing my own prints.

Poster Book - Research

Record Stores

From the feedback I received, the aim of the posters developed into bringing the experience and physicality of visiting record stores to the consumers home. Each poster will act as a digital portal into the artist/album features on the poster.

Because of this, I thought it was best to visit record stores and document details of them that I can recreate through the poster book.

As well as selling records and CDs, the store also offers tickets for concerts, gigs and nights out. These were displayed on blackboards by the tills.

Some of the posters featured in the poster book will also give consumers access to early bird concert and gig tickets for the artist or band on the poster, this being another incentive to subscribe and collect posters.

The advantages and offerings from the posters will be constantly updated meaning the consumers will get new material and offers from posters they've collected.

Something else that could be accessed through the posters are magazines and journals like the ones pictured here.

I also had a look at some of the music posters up on the walls to get a good sense of whats already be done and how they differ from one another.

Some posters acted purely as a schedule for upcoming concerts and so didn't include a lot of design. However some of them, like this Glass Animals one is aesthetically pleasing and would be suitable to put on a wall.

My posters will have to share the same quality as the consumers will have to want to stick them up on the wall to get the most from them.

A bin of free give aways gave me the idea to include special offers like freebees and sales.

Responsive - Arjowiggins Feedback

Notes:

- Needs to be doing/achieving something
- Build on QR code aspect
- Make the consumer feel part of the brand
- Arjowiggins can be considered as removed from consumer
  > solve this problem?
- Personal touch
- Use paper in a way that isn't design ? 
- Look at maybe getting artists to contribute to design
- Encourage consumer to touch the paper ?
- Bringing tangible aspect
- Look at scale - posterzine
- Download codes come with posters
  > find new music through design
  > QR code - access to playlist
                    - each poster like a modern day record player ( Double sided? A side/B side)
- Access to music videos, songs etc to get full experience of band
- consider judges - their tone of voice
                             - preferred style
- Eventually consumer could collect enough posters to fill a wall or room...
  > with each poster providing access to playlists/albums --> this would create an experience similar to visiting record store
- Friends and family can share/borrow each others posters - social aspect

Applying this to My Idea

Moving on from this critique session, the most useful feedback I received outlined that the nature of these live briefs means that the judges are looking for an idea that gives something back to the consumers as well as bringing the brand and consumer together.

The idea is to stick with a poster book, and these posters will act as paper record players in the sense that each one will act as a sort of portal with access to a number of different things relating to the artist/band featured on the poster.

The posters will offer access to prepaid music, early access to festival tickets, albums, playlists ect.

All these features giving back to the consumer in a way that they feel they are being treated by Sony Music, bringing the consumer and brand closer.

The posters will be printed in a variety of ways onto different stocks.

Some or all of the posters will feature one of a kind aspects. This could be a signature or other contribution by the artist within the design of the poster. This making the posters a collectors item unique to each consumer.

Revised Aim:

To bring the consumer and brand closer together by providing a unique service and experience. 

End of Module Evaluation - Design for Screen

Evaluating the Process 

Having never designed for screen before, I knew that this process would be a huge learning curve. Before designing anything, I first wanted to come up with a problem that could be successfully solved through creating a user experience. I made sure to ask and find out what the process is behind designing for screen and I was happy to hear that it is very similar to designing for print which is something more familiar to me. I carried out primary and secondary research as I would do for any brief, trying not to change my usual approach. I made sure to gather enough research to inform every design decision I made further down the line. 

When it came to designing, there were a number of aspects of the process that were new to me and so I had a lot to learn. This first involved learning how to sitemap and wireframe, two integral stages in designing for screen. We had a brief lecture on the two which helped understand the purpose of these stages, which at first wasn't obvious to me. Other skills learnt on this project include learning how to use new softwares such as After Effects and Experience Design. Unfortunately, after the number of inductions we had introducing us to After Effects, the software didn't appeal to me and I struggled to get to grips with it in terms of advancing my basic skills. However, I dealt with this by teaching myself how to use Experience Design which turned out to be much more suitable for the task in hand. This software allowed me to bring my designs to life and would be very useful if I were to carry out a similar brief in the professional world in terms of my relationship with digital developers.

In summary, tackling a new process seemed daunting at first, but through using my existing skills and knowledge in graphic design, along with inductions, lectures and visiting professionals, I managed to produce a unique smartphone app with a clear purpose and target audience. Working digitally has been a huge learning curve for me and I am glad that I made the most of the process, I now have a much better understanding of the process and, in future, I will know how to approach similar briefs. It is fair to say that I still prefer designing for print as of yet but I am now much more equipped to further my understanding of design for screen and, as there is such a huge market for it in the current day and age, I think it is worth doing so.

End of Module Evaluation - Type in Context

Evaluating the Process 

I am still unsure as to what specifically I am most interested in within the field of Graphic Design, however recently I have been swaying more towards publication design; this interest was further helped along by this project in particular. Throughout this process I have implemented what I have learned over my time on this course, as well as learning new and more efficient ways of approaching briefs. During this project in particular, my approach to primary and secondary research has been more thorough than in previous tasks. This taught me the importance of thorough research and helped me through the process significantly. 

The aim of the publication from the start was to produce a language book that stands out from existing books that serve a similar purpose. This has been achieved through the use of bright, bold and exciting colours such as pink and red together with playful type. The aim was to also design it authentically Japanese and this is evidenced through the type and vertical typesetting as well as the use of a bright red circle to catch the readers eye as well as being a clear representation of the Japanese flag. During my time in Japan I managed to document and collect a wide range of material alongside the chosen alphabet. This documentation helped me to influence and inform a number of design decisions based on observations made in Japan, in turn making the book as authentic as possible.

During the binding process, I learnt how to perform a multi-section cross stitch as it was the most suitable binding method for my publication. Attending a binding workshop as apposed to teaching myself was extremely useful as I could ask questions as we went. These questions were specific to my project including if it would work with certain paper stocks and weights. 

As I set myself a time schedule, I managed to finish the design and layout of the content early on which left me plenty of time to experiment with binding methods. This allowed for a number of practice runs which informed future design decisions. The time management aspect is something I have learnt throughout this module and have been able to implement to good effect and is a skill I can take forward into future projects. Managing my time is a skill that has enhanced the quality and professionalism of my work hugely and shows within my final resolutions.

The combination of thorough research, time management and a genuine interest in publication design has resulted in a successful and well considered publication with a clear purpose. This project has strengthened my interest and knowledge of publication design and remains a possible career path.

Final Resolution (video)

Hypebeast Clothing Retail App

After wireframing, I started to bring the app to life using Experience Design. This allowed me to implement imagery, type and functions as well as seeing how it looks on a smartphone screen.

This software would be especially useful when considering my relationship with the developer if I were to take this app further and get it made. The Adobe software would allow me to give the developer a good sense of what I want to achieve through the app including things like user experience and ease of use.

Below is a video of a user navigating through the app showing off all of the various features the app has to offer. The video guides you from the opening screen that features a greeting. It then takes you to the start up pages that are there to learn the fashion interests of the user. They also show them some features of the app that they may find useful. 

After that it presents you the the landing/home page that serves as the main function of the app. This page is where the user can explore and buy clothes.

Then it takes you to the News Feed where people the user follows can share fashion related articles etc.

Then it takes you to the profile page where you can view your previously liked items, wishlists and following. Also on this page is the mannequin feature where the user inputs measurements so that the app can inform them on the perfect size for each item they're interested in.

Other features shown in the video include the music shortcut, short cut and size menu on each item that quickly shows the user what sizes are available and what size fits them best.



   Visual Mockup FINAL from Barney Beckman on Vimeo.