Graphics design level 4 intro book

Display Workbook Josh Davies Introductory Studies Level 4

Introduction

This display book is a walkthrough of my current work over the last three months for the first unit, introductory studies. It shows all my design ideas and thinking processes from the past three projects. Showing initial sketches to final outcomes and the thought process throughout. It also includes all the new skills I have learned such as perfect book binding and computer software demonstrations.

The unit was designed to introduce the user to basic concepts and principles of graphics design. It was designed to help with problem solving allowing you to interpret, explore and effectively communicate visual messages, this is supported by study notes, critiques, lectures, seminars, tutorials and demonstrations.

Also during this term we managed to go to a display in London and visit the disobedient objects display.

Contents Assignment 1 My Journey Home Assignment 2 Life and Death Assignment 3 Through the Letterbox Perfect Bookbinding Computer Workshops Lecture notes / Workshops London trip

Assignment 1 My Journey Home

Brief For my first assignment I had to create a map from my journey home to university, considering means of exploration that I wouldn’t normally use such as sound, street signs, bus routes. The main problem with this is making the connection between two points of the personal journey and how to document this in a visual way.

There was no size restrictions however we only had two weeks to complete the project and use of google as a research tool was banned.

Initial Sketches

As a keen cyclist I wanted to incorporate this into my idea, with the first sketch I decided to draw memorable objects I see on my journey. I had the idea of doing it around a bike chain to show a sense of start and finish, this could also be read both ways. Personally I liked this idea but it didn’t work as good as I originally hoped, looks too messy with no order, other people reading it may get confused.

After trying this idea I decided to narrow it down to only signs that I passed while riding to university, making it less obvious that I cycled in.

Idea creation

The first thing I noticed when I decided to do sign-age was there were many more blue signs than any other colour, On the journey I would stop at every blue sign and take a photo in the order they appeared.

When I decided to place them all on one page I used image trace on illustrator to make them similar in style, however this idea didn’t work so I reverted back to the original photos.

Another issue I had as seen below is my use of white space, when the images are together there is too much white on the page and doesn’t work as a good design.

After a group critique I was told to try other colour signs to break up the image, this brings me on to my next idea where I decided to collect all red signs along the same journey. I also tried to group the photos together in shape and form, this helped me fill the page more but had no order, didn’t show my journey.

Development After trying to work with the previous designs I wanted to go back to my original sketch of doing the signs around a bike part, I decided to use the wheel from my bike as a centre point, it is naturally rounded. I start my journey at the Madeira road sign, however again due to the white space this made it difficult to work with, also I feel that the signs are wrong in proportion and don’t work with the image.

Final Design For my final design I created this idea, I decided to arrange the signs in similar shape and place them in order, using the original signs looks far better than the previously edited ones. I feel that this was one of the best ways I could display my final outcome but I still think it doesn’t show my journey from home to uni. Overall I am happy with my first assignment but I think there is plenty of room for improvement. I need to look up good use of negative space, this seems my biggest downfall for this assignment and will be something to look at in the future, also look at proportions and layouts of work.

Assignment 2 Life and Death

Brief Choosing the right moment to overtake a lorry on a busy road can mean the difference between life and death. Create two images that represent life and death on the back of the lorry, the left side representing life and the right side representing death.

For this project I wanted to come up with a variety of ideas and concepts, to help me with this I created this mind map, some ideas would be two separate photos or opposites and others would use the whole lorry with one image, I wanted to create a design where there would be no confusion between life and death.

Initial Sketches and Ideas

This page shows a few of my initial ideas in rough before creating them properly on the computer.

1. Using the divide of the truck between an angel and grim reaper.

2. While researching flowers in different cultures, I found lily of the valley represented life and a black rose represented death, this idea might not be straight forward to the reader, some lilies mean death.

3. A simple tick and cross, not very creative and didn’t use that idea.

4. As previously said I wanted to try an image with two meanings in one photo, by using a tunnel you don’t know what is coming the other way.

5. A simple and effective design but is too common.

One of the first problems when designing this lorry was the original document was created on word, a very low quality design.

To fix this and to make it easier to work with I placed it in Illustrator and traced over the image, simplifying it but giving it a more defined outline, this made the images stand out better once placed on the lorry.

First Design For my first deign I wanted to try the flowers idea, originally this seemed like a good idea to start with, but I soon realised that working to the restraints of the door would be harder than I thought, the images used were not good quality and you can barely tell what the flowers are, they have been over edited and stretched out of proportion, this was a mistake on my half and I know not to stretch the image, I should have used a proper scale and proportion.

Second Design My second Design was based on my idea to use one image covering the whole truck. The proportion of this image worked better than the previous design but due to its low resolution has become very pixilated and not nice to look at. I think next time I should take my own photo for a more pleasing outcome. I think this idea could have work with more time spent on it, adjusting the angle of the image.

Third Design This was my third design and I feel proportionally worked the best overall. The main problem I had with this design was recreating the heart rate monitor. This idea is easily recognisable but I feel that this design is too common, therefore started to look at other possible hospital related items like the vehicles used, other equipment and the logos related to a hospital.

This led me on to my final outcome on this project.

Final Design After researching other hospital items I came up with these two final outcomes, for the first image it was difficult to find a ambulance and hearse of similar build, this caused a big problem when editing the photos. At this point I decided just to use the logos associated with both vehicles, it was a simpler design but I feel still portraits a strong image, connecting visually with the target audience.

Assignment 3

Through the Letterbox Brief This assignment encouraged us to start thinking like a graphic designer, constantly observing, questioning and forming opinions about the environment we live in. It also means your opinion may differ from others.

Select one of the three newspaper articles provided, summarise the key points. Research the background and form an opinion about it. Produce a visual message that expresses the opinion to a chosen audience.

The newspaper article I decided to do was the second one, the Ripa law. The above image shows how I looked at the article and broke it down into key points of interest. I then started to create small sketches and case studies to help further my research.

Using Box of Broadcast Box of broadcast is a library tool that has previous records of most television and radio broadcasts, you are able to store the clips that are found for later date, this is a very handy tool for research that I used on this project, it was good to hear peoples opinion on the Ripa law. This helped me to choose a direction in which to take my project.

Initial Ideas When I first started thinking of the Ripa law I instantly thought of police and how they are misusing it. I wanted to recreate the police tape but instead of police I would write Ripa, this would be placed over a newspaper or a phone. I wanted to create a three folding leaflet that could be easily posted and full of information about Ripa. I could also add a website link for a petition against the law.

The second idea I had was to side track slightly and take it down another route, looking at freedom of speech and how the Ripa law could be used against any civilian and not just journalism. Originally the law was put in place to stop terrorism by intercepting phone calls. I started to create an image where the person was surrounded by cameras questioning freedom of speech, so not just phone hacking but also how private are our lives, while researching I collected some information on CCTV in Britain.

Development Idea After my research and ideas I decided to continue with the Ripa tape idea, instead of printing it on a page I wanted to create the actual tape by printing a long strip much like police tape, this would then be wrapped around a tube and placed in small package, small enough to fit through a letter box (250mm x 50mm).

On the back of the tape will be a link for a website all about Ripa and CCTV, where people may be able to sign a petition.

Creating the Net Design

Final Design For my final design I created this box that could be posted into any standard size letter box, inside the box has the previous idea of Ripa tape, I printed it on two separate strips of paper, in the future I would like it printed on proper tape or as one long strip, the card used as seen is too thick, maybe use proper packaging paper. On the back of the tape there would be a link to the website on the right, the website is a basic design and I think with more time could be a really good website, overall I am happy with all three projects, I feel I have met all three briefs, if I were to change anything in the future I think I would do more in depth research and also manage my time better, do work as I go along.

Perfect Bookbinding

Process 1. Check paper grain ( usually by bending the paper, this is important when binding with glue later on, allows for paper to expand and will be easier to open.

2. Trim paper to rough size of book, making sure edge is flush with a flat surface.

3. Add at least two extra pages to each side of book block.

4. Once placed in the lumbeck press spine down, dab glue in both directions for a more secure bond of paper.

5. Leave glue to dry whilst in press.

6. Remove from press, discard extra pages and cut notches for thread.

7. Apply threads in loops down the spine.

8. Glue Mull against spine, same width as spine making sure to press on with bone tool.

9. Choose a cover bigger than book, measure the hight of the spine, fold the cover to the spine dimensions, glue along folded lines but not the spine, apply cover to book.

10. Trim book to acquired size.

Notes Overall I was very pleased with the final book that I had created, it was a great skill to learn and simple to recreate, after the first attempt it does not take long to create a book from scratch, this is a great way to display work in current projects.

Pros - Can be made quickly if you know the process.

- Cheap to make, good if you are on a budget.

- Can be made to the users dimensions, good for small pocket size sketchbooks or display books.

Cons - Doesn’t lie perfectly flat, spine may snap.

- Better with cheaper paper.

- Doesn’t stand up to very heavy use.

Computer Workshops

Bleed The bleed is a printing term that refers to printing that goes beyond the papers edge, the area that will be trimmed off.

It is added as a precaution so there is no white line surrounding the image.

Most common bleeds are 3mm and 5mm.

Pen Tool Pen Tool (P)

Click on artboard to create paths with segments, click and drag to create curved paths.

Add Anchor Point (+)

Click on the path to add anchor points. Hold down for curved shape.

Delete Anchor Point (-)

Click on selected points to remove them from path.

After we got used to the pen tool we then had to recreate three of the four logos provided, trying to match them as best as possible.

During this exercise it helped me develop my illustrator skills by combining the pen tool and the shape tool, admittedly the head logo I found the hardest to recreate.

Extrude, Bevel and Revolve

Long Shadow Blends

InDesign Lessons

When creating an InDesign folder it is always a good idea to create a separate folder for all the imagery used, this way none of the imagery will have missing links later on. If the image is removed or edited InDesign will flag up, as long as the imagery is located in this folder it should be easy to fix.

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Text box This block of text shows a standard text box that has been filled with placeholder text for display purposes.

Image Box The most effective way to get an image in InDesign is to place it in, this is where the organisation of the folder comes in handy as all the imagery can be placed straight from this folder into the image boxes. By using image boxes it restricts the image making it easier to move around within the limited area.

Creating a Grid

Lecture Notes and Workshops What is Graphics Design?

Books What is Graphics Design ? - Quentin Newark What is Graphics Design for? Alice Twemlew Website Fallon.com Artist reference Milton Glazer Philippe Starck Paul Rand Richard Hollis Stefan Segmister

Introduction to Visual Culture

Introduction to Research

- Understanding - Shared experiences - Popularity of culture - High culture / low culture - Dynamic history

Literate - to be able to read and write.

Visual literacy - to be able to read and understand imagery.

Construction and communication of meaning understanding, interpretation and explination.

Key aspects of culture - Production - Distribution - Consumption

To read images we need: - Contextual knowledge - Prior experience - To understand our relationship with the image.

- Appreciation of culture Totemism Relationship between objects are made to represent the relationship between people or groups.

Research Task For my research task I was given an old Guinness advert where they used surfers and waves as white horses, I had to find out as much information as I could about this advert and its relevance to the company. Here is what I found.

- The link between the surfer and the company is a surfer is always waiting for the perfect wave, a perfect pint of Guinness should take 119.5 seconds to pour, saying it is worth the wait. The link with the horses is they are meant to represent the visual side of the drink, as a crashing wave.

- Directed by Jonathen Glazer.

- Music by Phat Planet - Leftfield.

- Surfers name was Rocky.

- Waves filmed in Hawaii - Weimea Bay - Released 17 March 1999.

- Awarded top advert - run by Sunday Times and channel 4 - number 1 in 100 greatest television adverts of all time.

Decoding culture semiotics

Advertisement

David Crow - visible signs.

Roland Barthes the rhetoric of the image.

Commercial propaganda False needs Creativity Commercial perceptions Infomercials.

Semeion - Ancient Greek - sign.

Patterns and structures of signs in media texts condition the meaning.

Sign - Represents Syntagm - relations of signs.

Charles S. Pierce 3 different signs Icon - Looks like original object Index Direct link between sign and what it represents.

Symbol - Stand for something.

Vance Packard.

Greg Myers Guy Deboard.

Frankfurt school.

Dave Saunders.

Appealing to audience.

Emotional appeals.

Use of fear.

Steryotypes / myths ASA Advertising Associations.

Edward Bernage.

Look up adbusters.

Guerilla advertising.

Research Task 2 For this research task we were given different magazines from all ages and backgrounds to research, mine was the Domus magazine.

Publisher - Editoriale Domus.

Cost - ÂŁ16. 50. Value for money - yes.

Target audience - Architecture and Design.

Advertisments - Travel or home furniture.

Personality - Aesthetically appealing - attracting to the consumer Information Value - Plenty of information in both English and Italian.

First published in 1928

London Trip and Exhibition During these projects we managed to go on a trip to London to visit a few galleries for inspiration, the main gallery we went to was called disobedient objects, this was a rather strange gallery all about protest art, some objects really stood out for me such as the mosaic pick up truck and the bike block. After visiting this gallery I then decided to look around both science and history museums.

References ABOUTFLOWERS.COM Flower Meanings and Meanings of Flowers In-text: (Aboutflowers.com, 2014) Bibliography: Aboutflowers.com, (2014). Flower Meanings and Meanings of Flowers. [online] Available at: http://www. aboutflowers.com/flower-a-plant-information-and-photos/meanings-of-flowers.html [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].

Websitetunnel - Google Search GOOGLE.CO.UK tunnel - Google Search In-text: (Google.co.uk, 2014) Bibliography: Google.co.uk, (2014). tunnel - Google Search. [online] Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/ search?q=tunnel&biw=1280&bih=672&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=gih3VP6vJ_KV7AaQuoDgBA&ved=0CAcQ_ AUoAg [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].

WebsitePolice use of Ripa law threatens our civil liberties and press freedom GREENSLADE, R. Police use of Ripa law threatens our civil liberties and press freedom In-text: (Greenslade, 2014) Bibliography: Greenslade, R. (2014). Police use of Ripa law threatens our civil liberties and press freedom. [online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/oct/01/police-press-freedom [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].

WebsiteThe 80 Best Guerilla Marketing Ideas I’ve Ever Seen LUM, R. The 80 Best Guerilla Marketing Ideas I’ve Ever Seen In-text: (Lum, 2010) Bibliography: Lum, R. (2010). The 80 Best Guerilla Marketing Ideas I’ve Ever Seen. [online] Creative Guerrilla Marketing. Available at: http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/guerrilla-marketing/the-80-best-guerillamarketing-ideas-ive-ever-seen/ [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].

WebsiteWhat is Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)? - Definition from WhatIs.com SEARCHSECURITY.TECHTARGET.CO.UK What is Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)? - Definition from WhatIs.com In-text: (Searchsecurity.techtarget.co.uk, 2014) Bibliography: Searchsecurity.techtarget.co.uk, (2014). What is Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)? Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] Available at: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.co.uk/definition/Regulation-ofInvestigatory-Powers-Act [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].

WebsiteJon Slattery: Media Quotes of the Week: From press rounds on ‘grim Ripa’ to PR laments demise of sub-editors SLATTERY, J. Jon Slattery: Media Quotes of the Week: From press rounds on ‘grim Ripa’ to PR laments demise of sub-editors In-text: (Slattery, 2014) Bibliography: Slattery, J. (2014). Jon Slattery: Media Quotes of the Week: From press rounds on ‘grim Ripa’ to PR laments demise of sub-editors. [online] Jonslattery.blogspot.co.uk. Available at: http://jonslattery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/mediaquotes-of-week-from-press-rounds.html [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].

Website TELEGRAPH.CO.UK Milton Glaser: his heart was in the right place - Telegraph In-text: (Telegraph.co.uk, 2011) Bibliography: Telegraph.co.uk, (2011). Milton Glaser: his heart was in the right place - Telegraph. [online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/8303867/Milton-Glaser-his-heart-was-in-the-right-place.html [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].

WebsitePhotoshop tutorial - Glowing heartbeat YOUTUBE Photoshop tutorial - Glowing heartbeat In-text: (YouTube, 2014) Bibliography: YouTube, (2014). Photoshop tutorial - Glowing heartbeat. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Y4tjx5P4V-Y [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014].