Where did this year go, I know its something everyone says but it’s scarily true. I hope the next two years don’t go as quickly. I’ve learnt so much this year, but I know I’m nowhere near close to being a graphic designer. Although I’m enjoying the journey. I entitled this journal “Snooze” as everyday, without fail it is something I always do. The colours running through each section represent a colour taken from my favourite project. Enjoy.
Contents
1
2
3
4
BA1a
BA1b
Workshops
Other Briefs
One Word Poster
Visual Identity
Modular Type
Packaging
Two Sides Booklet
Medium is the Message
Advertising
Visual Narrative
I wish I had
Above and Below
Infographic
Collections
Typographic Collection Type and Image Booklet
Event Magazine
5
5
6
7 8
Lectures
Designer
Design Company
Design Books
Craig Oldham
David Pearson
Carter Wong
Turner Duckworth
100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design
Karen House
Logo Design Love
Taxi Studios
9
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist� Pablo Picasso
1
BA1a
O n e W o r d Poster The brief was to design a typographic poster that clearly communicates the meaning of a word. The intention of this project is to design a poster with the clearest meaning possible to communicate the word. I began looking at words like ‘Narrative’ and ‘Aggressive’. I looked at a wider selection of words before I narrowed down my decision to ‘Send’, ‘Narrative’ and ‘Aggressive’. The first of the tasks was to create a mood board of found images/ type to represent the words “light and dark”. I set out with the idea that every image on that page had meaning and I felt like I achieved that in my response. I also tried to give the images some space as it is easy to over saturate mood boards making it harder to distinguish between images.
The second workshop was called “Composition and Materials” in which we had to consider how to represent words through 3 shapes (Squares, Circles and Triangles) as well as colour. I chose to do six designs with block colour and six with magazine cuttings of textures. The textured squares I used where the most effective.
contexts. This wasn’t as effective as I wanted to be, but I’m glad I experimented and was sure that it wasn’t the outcome I wanted. Following that I researched Roy Lichtenstein, as I wanted to use his style and translate that into my work. The two strongest parts of his design where the poker dots and the bold use of colour.
I wanted to take this forward as when I had only a yellow background there was something missing. I made the yellow more vibrant and I added the poker dots as the style is was going for. In the first week critique I took three posters that where Comic books, use strong colour and bold shapes. In my not well received and that opinion I achieved my desired was the shock I needed to produce a stronger final piece design and I’m glad I chose for the second week. During the subject matter of comic books. the creation of this poster I tried to experiment on the computer by printing out just the speech bubble and photographing it in different For my final outcome I made a poster on the word “Narrative”, In my opinion the final outcome was very well received.
Typographic Collection The brief for this project was to collect primary sourced images on a theme that you could make a collection out of. I started this project by making moodboards from found objects such as free leaflets and shopping bags. For me this exercise was effective as it helped to get into the mind frame of thinking in collections and finding links between items that wouldn’t otherwise be categorised together. This is the point where I felt it was appropriate to go out and start photographing as many things with type as possible. For me this is where my main ideas came from as I find you have to get involved with a brief as that’s where the ideas come from. I firstly went out into Norwich collecting a wide range of typography before coming up with my two main
ideas. I wanted to look further On reflection if I did this into typography on bicycles project again I feel that I and sticker slapping on signs. need to learn when to look down different avenues I chose the bike type idea as instead of being complacent. I believed there was more I also feel like the form of diversity and range in the my book limited me in terms topic. I then went out and of binding methods, this is took over a hundred pictures something I want to explore of just bike type so that at a later date. Even though gave me a large archive to this project was my biggest work from. This is where the fuck up of BA1a I’ve taken project started to go wrong something from it. and I got obsessed with the idea of my book being shaped like a bike lock and covering the book in a bike lock cover. Even though I feel like I went through all the necessary stages of development, this taught me the lesson that sometimes you’ve just got to drop an idea. The book would have been as, if not more effective if it was just a normal size with some more subtle hints of bikes and the bike theme.
Type & Image B o o k l e t This brief was to create a magazine about Great Yarmouth; we went on a study trip to gather photos for the booklet. This was a brief focussing on the relationship between type and image. I enjoyed the trip to Great Yarmouth as I found it such an interesting place and not your average British town (but not necessarily in a good way). Again during this brief I gained most of my ideas while taking photos. I arrived in Yarmouth with the idea of creating a booklet about the hidden beauty of the place with a vintage style although I couldn’t get the photos I desired.
relating to the beauty of the place, I changed my idea to use the copy to juxtapose the images that where in the booklet. I enjoyed this idea as I found that the quotes I was reading were very different from the reality of the place.
While I was there I took the opportunity to collect as many leaflets as possible. With the idea of taking extracts from the tourist guides I found and using them as my copy. These quotes where positive about Great Yarmouth but as I couldn’t find the photo opportunities
I also wanted to represent the confusion in Great Yarmouth’s image/ reputation by my composition of the type. David Carson was my inspiration in the way he always used very playful compositions with his type. I decided that I wanted my type falling down with the
When I got back I complied the images and the type I wanted to use. In this project I took the opportunity to be playful with the form of the booklet. I decided on the idea of the booklet diagonally falling down to represent the fall of Great Yarmouth. The buzzing seaside town to a very desolate place with a lot of slot machines.
booklet which spelled out ‘Life’s a beach’ as this was the name of my booklet. I felt this title just perfectly summed up Great Yarmouth as a place. On reflection I really enjoyed this brief, as it was so open. Being able to bring in your own type and images made it very enjoyable. I was happy with the final outcome as I felt I used the composition and type to reflect the exact meaning I intended. It required hours in print trying to get right, which is, always fun. I can definitely say this project helped me to learn the ins and outs of the print room.
Kane Layland Photography
2
BA1b
Kane Layland Photography
Visual Identity Visual Identity was a stationary design project with a difference; we had to design it without a logo. We had to chose from a long list of strange societies, some exist and some don’t anymore. We were then required to design a full set of stationary.
My idea for the Ergonomics society was to make stationary that fitted to the body and was easy to read. I wanted it to be comfortable to hold, so I put finger holes in the stationary and researched legibility of type. The idea I had for The Dangerous Sports Club was To me this project was heavily to print my stationary design based on symbols and icons onto medical equipment to without coming across help people who received the as a logo. I started off by stationary if they got injured highlighting the societies that doing something dangerous. interested me. I carried out some preliminary research I chose to go with The to ensure that I hadn’t Dangerous Sports Club as misinterpreted what they I felt the idea and the visual were. I then began to make identity I had created to go several pages of drawing of with it was stronger than the my first initial ideas. The two ergonomics society. I created ideas I decided to develop an aesthetic that related where, The Dangerous Sports to danger tape but not the Club and The Ergonomics usual black and yellow, I just Society as I felt they where used the yellow to not over my strongest ideas. I do the idea. It also relates experimented with materials to mountains because a big in this project as I felt that part of the society was skiing the material were the basis to so I thought I would relate my ideas. some of their history into my aesthetic/ design.
I then had to print my design onto medical equipment, printing onto plaster packaging was relatively simple by sticking it to sheets on paper and running it through my printer. The real challenge came when I was trying to run a piece of bandage through my printer, but following several paper jams and many swear words it somehow worked out I managed to print everything on some form of medical equipment: plaster packaging, a bandage and dressing packaging. I enjoyed this brief because it was heavily based on ideas and it really pushed my thinking not using a logo. I feel like it will help me approach briefs in the future more effectively.
Collaboration After doing extensive drawings on a range of words I felt I had a strong basis to start focussing my project. I made the decision that my strongest ideas were coming from the word collaboration, as the idea was going to be conceptual it had to be obvious what the form is representing. Initially my idea was to base the shape on sport and the collaboration that it in-tails. I looked at Rugby, Yoga and Cycling as examples as they are all collaborative sports. I then focused my research on couples yoga as the way they used each other’s bodies to support each other was a perfect way to describe collaboration. The interaction between the two people made for the creation of very interesting shapes. I then traced around pictures of couples yoga see what the basic form would look like. Doing this helped me come up with a range of shapes.
Kane Layland Photography
Another big decision in the project was the material I used. I didn’t want to use card or paper because I wanted it to be more of a substantial object so I experimented with foam board. From that I decided that the material was too hard to work with. Balsa wood felt like the best decision as it was east to work with and created an interesting texture. So in the end I was happy with my final outcome as I went through all the correct stages to represent the word collaboration in a conceptual way. This is one of my favourite outcomes. In the final crit it was suggested that I look into surface graphics but this extended project didn’t go that way because again I made more conceptual packaging that didn’t need surface graphics.
Kane Layland Photography
Kane Layland Photography
Salt P e p p e r The idea for the Salt and Pepper shakers came from my final crit. We discussed surface graphics and how I could bring them into this project. As well as things that collaborate in a more literal sense than the interaction that takes place in sport. Also considering food, and the flavours in food. Spices are something that can drastically
change how something tastes other, representing how they and the two most common collaborate when used in the spices are Salt and Pepper. cooking process. I then decided to try and produce surface graphics but the outcome changed again into something completely based on form. I made the two letters (S and P) and it worked, they wouldn’t stand up if they didn’t have each
I considered surface graphics but that is only in my back up work. I feel the shape of the salt and pepper shakers is enough for the audience to get the meaning.
I’d say that this is one of my favourite projects so far as I answered the brief in terms of making two shapes that represent the word collaboration, clearly.
you’re basing your design on they should just get it straight away. I achieved that in this project which I am happy about. I am also glad that I took the self-initiative to complete the second part of the project after the final crit as it gave me an outcome that I am very happy with. If I had more time to work on this I would definitely look more
into surface graphics and how I would apply them to the salt and pepper shakers. Although I would of liked to develop the ideas I had in my back up work into tangible objects. In the future I will also get the shapes laser cut so I could experiment with form further. Considering the time frame of the brief I am happy with the outcome.
My opinion is that clarity of message is the most important part of this brief. For example as soon as you tell the audience what word
Advertising final outcome
Advertising “This assignment introduces you to advertising design and the experience of working in groups. You will explore the roles of art director and copywriter. You will gain first hand experience of the need for both roles to work collaboratively in the development of ideas and concepts. You will apply this experience within group work that will lead to a creative and inventive application of visual and textual language to solve advertising and brand communication problems.”
donation in the first stages, we just sat there drawing out everything that came to mind in these two subject areas before even looking for inspiration. Following this we decided on the charity shop idea. At the start of the project we came up with an aesthetic but as proved in the first crit we struggled to come up with a strong message that backed it up.
During this project we went through many iterations of our idea. We started off with the idea that we could put This project was our first unwanted household items official brief where we in the way of people in the worked in groups of two. street to make the point of It was designed to test how much stuff do you really our collaborative and need in your house. In the organisational skills. In this first crit we were instructed project I worked with Andy to move away from this Coy and at the start we didn’t idea as it wasn’t feasible. assign roles as we didn’t think We started to look at how it was necessary due to not we could use that idea but knowing each others skill in a more traditional sense sets. We sat down and talked as in posters and online through ideas while creating interfaces. We came up with mind maps of drawings the idea of basing it on the and images. We focused statement ‘Do you need… ’ on charity shops and organ Followed by things in your
house that people commonly have but don’t use. We then created a stack of three rectangles and I really like this element of the posters as it transferable into other mediums. When creating the general aesthetic of the posters Andy suggested using flat illustration, this is where the collaboration was so good as I hadn’t even heard of this style prior to this project and it was perfect for our idea so we both made various items in this style like Bikes, Televisions and cameras. This is why I thought the project was so successful in the end as we collaborated to make a stronger final piece. The last thing I suggested and we created in this project was an app interface which to me took our final outcome that step further. It shows how you can take the idea and transfer it into a range of mediums.
U O Y O
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#DOYOUNEED
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sitting n o i s i v e d tel That ol rage? ga in your
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om the r f a r e m That ca 80’s?
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#DOYOUNEED
We wanted to push the project further. The idea behind this is it’s like charity shopping eBay; people would list their items and add a description. They would request the boxes from Oxfam and then send it too the buyer. The money would go straight to Oxfam. Its almost like modernising the
way you shop for clothes/ charity shop as there are many apps like this including Depop which have become very popular over the past couple of years. The look of the interface was influenced by the interface of Instagram and Depop as they’re two interfaces
that people are familiar with making it easier to navigate from the get go. We used the three rectangles in the background, we have carried this shape even onto tote bags through the campaign to almost create an extra mark that Oxfam can use. It’s an effective shape as it has ambiguous meaning.
App I n t e r f a c e
I Wish I had final outcome
I wish
I had...
“This project encourages you to review and reflect upon your practice so far this year, looking at different ways in which you can convey and communicate what you have learnt, to those who follow you next year. This project is designed to enable you to develop an appreciation of communication design in its broadest sense. Responding to the research and analysis of personal data, ”
the posters I took started with ‘I wish I had’ but in my opinion it was necessary to change the wording of some of the posters at the start because ‘I wish I had’ made the sentences feel uncomfortable, therefore I kept the ideas worded that way. Also some of the posters needed more development meaning I went back and changed some small elements of them.
This project was a really interesting way to look back at the year and reflect on what I have learnt throughout. I started the project by writing down everything I could think of and it turned out that I had quiet a few ‘I wish I had’ ideas. I decided to try and visualise as many as possible just so I knew which ones would be most effective. I then transferred my favourite ideas to the computer and took a series of posters to my first crit. The main criticisms I got where firstly not all of
An idea I had for this brief was to create a book of posters that I made. I wanted it to represent the extent of the list I wrote, it would have been entitled ‘I wish I hadn’t written this list’. In the end I didn’t take the idea to this extent as I felt that the majority of the posters I created weren’t up to scratch. They felt and looked rushed due to the length of the brief. So at this point I took a step back and changed my approach. I wanted to take more time over 1 or 2 posters and create an outcome that I
was truly happy with. I wanted to create a final outcome that wasn’t done on the computer as I felt that the work I had done on previous work represented my digital skills, so I focused on the idea ‘I wish I hadn’t taken all those caffeine tablets’. I spent a lot of time experimenting with printing on pills with stamps and Letraset; I felt the Letraset was the most effective at conveying the message in the clearest possible way hence why I used it as my medium. I then wanted to create a response that wasn’t so serious so I used the idea that I have too many hats but I always want more. I got a hat embroidered saying that. I got it photographed in New York on a trip as it created an interesting aesthetic to the poster. On reflection I am happy with the final outcomes as I got away from the computer and did something different.
Infographic Final Outcome
Infographic “A successful infographic makes complex data more readily understood, or more powerfully communicated, through the use of graphic content. Information gathering will be achieved through a range appropriate research techniques, and the visual outcome will be developed through the use of a variety of graphic languages and exploring compositional possibilities. You need to fully examine the relevancy and potential of the information that you are gathering, and consider inventive ways of exploring and displaying your proposed solution. Understanding the power of graphics to communicate the message data.”
boards. I had two main ideas, a project based on affordable housing in London or lack of I should say. My second idea for this was to record everywhere I cycle at work and show how far I cycle and where are the main places I deliver. I was planning on looking into the house prices of the areas I was looking into to give me an idea of the type of person/ household I was delivering to.
Following my first crit I was given the advice to stream line my idea of the cycling infographic. So I came up with the idea to record everywhere I cycled for a week rather than walking to show how much time you save, as I absolutely This brief was one of the most hate walking anywhere because it’s so slow. This challenging briefs in BA1b in caused a problem as it threw my opinion as I feel my idea went through many different my project off by week while I was trying to gain stages to get to the final result. To get my head around the information, because the aesthetic of infographics I couldn’t be sure of the aesthetic, as I couldn’t make I had to make a lot of mood
the assets for the final piece. When I finally got the research and collated it I was shocked by the fact that if you cycled everywhere you save 22 days a year. From that initial fact I managed to create 5 assets, a map of where I cycled, the amount of calories I burn, how many hours I spent on my bike a week and how much further I cycle compared to the Tour de France. After extensive experimentation into composition I was finally happy with the look of my poster. In the final crit I was told to change the background colour and it really helped the overal appearance. On reflection I struggled with the brief but I feel like I went through all the stages to create a final piece that I can be proud of. The end of the project showed the importance of crits and how they can just push your work further.
Event Magazine Final Outcome
00:41
Event “You are to record an event (or series of events) in a comprehensive and exhaustive way. You are then required to edit the material you have produced. The edited material will form the basis of a magazine designed under the title of ‘Event’. You should be recording images (photography and illustration) and producing a written narrative, as both will be required as content for the magazine.” I started this project as ever with mind maps, of just my general thoughts about events that I could record in Norwich. Conveniently a university trip was planned just before this brief started, so I had to start this brief a little early to come up with an idea of what I wanted to do in New York. I didn’t want to do what I did on the Yarmouth trip and just take pictures of everything hoping for the best. My favourite idea was to record over heard conversations at tourist attractions. I found going to New York with an idea of what I wanted to do
Magazine gave me an advantage as I could focus on my project and could record the best quotes and take the best photos from the get go. I naturally tune into conversations and people watch so this concept gave me the perfect excuse to indulge that. I only considered what I wanted my body copy to contain while I was out there and I decided I wanted it to feel very personal, almost like a diary entry of my thoughts and feelings of the place while I was there and of course relate it back to the over heard quote. When I got back to Norwich the hard part started, finding an aesthetic that suited my idea was a challenge so I spent a lot of time researching and gathering imagery to assist me with this design. My first attempt I was told was very ‘Vogue’ and at the time I took that as a compliment because it was a style I hadn’t tried before. I slept on it and then looked back on it in the morning and I absolutely hated it, which is always stressful as you can imagine.
So as Gill says I got off the ladder, did more research asked for advice from tutors, which started the cogs turning again. The reason why I was so unhappy with my first iteration was firstly there wasn’t enough emphasis on the quotes and the blocks in the photos actually took away from the quality of them. So I wanted to make my quotes relate to the images. I sourced more images and the idea snowballed from there. I then drew out the quotes and how I could relate them to pictures. So in the end it took me to carry out more research and change the aesthetic to create a final outcome I was happy with. Another thing I did on this project that I am definitely going to take further is getting all my assets, as in quotes, pictures, body copy and colour scheme ready before I started designing, it made the process much more painless.
3
Workshops
Modular Type Out of these workshops this was one of my favourites, I had never tried to make my own typeface. I enjoyed setting myself rules and trying to stick to them
throughout. I used the idea of half circles and triangles to create it as in the briefing they stated that you could only use circles, triangles and squares. Before transferring it my idea to the computer I drew out of many forms I could think of using the shapes we had been set. I drew out the first 4 letters of the alphabet to test whether it would work.
As I went through creating the letters it became harder and harder to follow the rules I set myself. In the end I am happy with the final outcome it I feel like I followed the brief and created a strong typeface even though it is hard to understand its still effective for using it image for example. I called it circlus as it is Latin for circle.
Circlus By Michael Preston
Two Sides Booklet
Two sides booklet was a workshop that took place as part of the type and image brief to help the ideas process in the main project, the brief was to create a booklet that wasn’t the traditional A size and to experiment with photocopying and different media that we haven’t used before. I based my booklet on light and dark. I made a booklet that was 3D so it created a shadow. I also made all the images black and white one one side and left it blank the other. I was really happy with the form on the booklet. I wanted to stay away from the traditional flat booklet. I started cutting out different shapes and my shape laid out looked like a helter skelter so it related to the theme park element of Great Yarmouth.
Two sides booklet final outcome
I am happy with this outcome, as it was such a short brief, I thought the composition and form of it was playful.
Above
and Below
Above and below was a fast paced morning brief that required us to go out and photograph the relationship between above and below. I started by taking pictures of everything I could think of, the floor, the different textures, reflections, windows and above and below fences.
relates to above and below, because I only noticed how ornate doors and the frames were when I started taking pictures of them . This was the purpose of the brief as it was designed to make us look at things from different angles/ perspectives.
I enjoyed this brief so much I finally came up with the idea on the day but I only had of photographing doors as I my phone, I then went out
with my camera when a got a chance and re photographed the doors and got a book printed of my favourite photos. I was really happy with the final outcome, especially the book as I wasn’t expecting to make something like that but as I took so many photos it was appropriate as a my final outcome.
Collections This ‘Collections’ brief was another short morning brief running throughout the infographic project. We where told to bring in thirty things that had 1 or multiple themes running throughout. I decided on basing my two themes on colour and circles. I spent the three hours experimenting with form, composition and how to photograph it. This brief helped me think in terms of categorising items according to the themes you set yourself, it also encouraged collaboration as I was asking to use other people items to strengthen the composition of my images. I discovered that a lot of the quality of the final piece depended on the editing of the photograph, pushing the levels and making the colours more intense. I enjoyed this brief as after experimenting for a while I came out with some aesthetically pleasing images.
Collections final outcome
4
Other Briefs
Recycling is easy final outcome
Medium is the Message This brief entitled “the Medium is the Message” was a voluntary brief that we were told to complete between the end of BA1a and the start of BA1b. The brief was a very general one, we where told to think of an idea which was the ‘Message’ and respond in a medium that was appropriate to that particular idea. Our group was made up of Charlie Mason, Andy Coy and Callum Pinney also a photography student with experience in moving image, Kane Layland. We agreed on the idea of making a viral style video based on the idea of how easy recycling should be. The idea was that we would film people throwing the same plastic bottle in different scenes at the stupidest angles possible then cutting to the same clip everything time of it going into the bin. The video was
intended to be humorous as we found that every recycling video we looked at was very serious. We just wanted a fresh take on an subject matter that, lets be honest, has been extensively researched/ covered. The advantage of our group is that we all get on very well and have a similar perception on what we wanted it to be. From the creation of the idea to filming was a quick process as we had a talk through the scenes we wanted to create. I really liked this short brief as it gave us a chance to work quickly and collaboratively. I always find the best results come from discussion and the sharing of ideas.
5
Trips
Jarrolds Print M u s e u m Jarrolds Print Museum is a local project run by mainly volunteers from the local area with experience in printing and old printing methods. We had presentations for different people in different parts of the museum, in book binding, old style newspaper printing, focusing on the change from black and white to colour; we also had a talk on letterpress and finally a tour around all the old printers.
old printers. I love the texture that letterpress creates with the slight inconsistencies in colour and also the slight embossing it created.
I was amazed how intricate the printers where with about 10 things going at once to print the final product. We got an in-depth talk by a man (his name escapes me) about how he re built the printers to get them back into working order, which took ridiculous amounts of work. This trip I knew I’d enjoy this trip as taught me that persistence soon as I walked in and the and passion are two of the place smelt of ink and grease/ most important traits to have oil from the machines. Seeing when it comes to design as the lengths that typesetters you’ve got to love what you’re and people who worked with doing to get the best results. printers had to get through I am planning on going back to get a final product was after final hand in to get truly eye opening. It made me some tuition on typesetting appreciate Apple products and printing as it gives me an a lot more I can assure you. excuse to get away from the My favourite parts of the computer next year. tour where the letterpress section and the tour of the
N Y C
James T u r r e l l This exhibition started off by watching a video, which made me sceptical of the quality of the whole thing from the get go, but I soon changed my mind when I walked into the first room and there was a big light installation and I was truly amazed. There where many different elements to the exhibition with the experimentations in lighting, photography, some outdoor installations that experimented with natural light and the final part of the day was a light show, which lit up the whole building. It made it such an interesting exhibition as he had taken the idea of light and represented his experimentation in every possible way in many different mediums. I really enjoyed this exhibition as firstly it was just one big photo opportunity also I think it is important to step away from graphic design sometimes to get inspiration from other places.
Great Ya r m o u t h
Great Yarmouth, oh Great Yarmouth you beautifully ugly place you. I didn’t realise places like this still existed, it almost felt like a time warp to a by gone era of gaudy colours and things slapped everywhere with little consideration. I hated that I loved this place, it was just a photo opportunity with a massive beach. Its crumbling nature was almost endearing. We visited it as part of a project as I have already mentioned in my ‘type and image’ page in BA1a. I feel like the place we went for lunch just summed up the place perfectly, as soon as we walked in we knew
it would be a bit shit but we stayed as we where intrigued as to what we would get. Every corner we turned there wasn’t a different photo opportunity from the vintage style of the fairground posters to the sleek looking tourist office that was trying its best to promote the place. I enjoyed my day out in Great Yarmouth, as I was an eye opening experience into what still exists in the UK, it makes you wonder what other gems are lying around the rest of the country.
6
Lectures
Craig O l d h a m ‘If you’ve got an idea just fucking do it’. He was incredibly passionate about his subject matter and that showed through in the meticulous nature of the creation of his book, up to the coal that he used for the front cover to be sourced from up North. He created his own typeface for the book with was based on a sign he had seen in a photograph. His research before creating this book meant that he had an amazing understanding of his subject that also shone through in the composition of the book, images and stories contained in this book. When he was creating the book his thoughts were that he didn’t ‘give a shit’ about what graphic designers and art critics thought, as long as the people who had told him the stories were happy he would be happy. Ideas and ways of thinking that I want to take forward
in my work. Find a subject or an aspect of that subject and go down that route because that is when you will create
“Research is key, from a range of sources, meaning that you can cherry pick the valuable parts” our best work. Research is key, from a range of sources, which means you can cherry pick the valuable parts. Finally as he was so passionate about pleasing his family who were coal miners and old family friends that’s what he tailored the book towards, and I will use this idea in my work, as the client/ person I am designing for is key. On reflection I found this talk informative and helpful, as it was interesting to get
some history of coal mining and the struggles of that part of the country and also how he made that his passion and created something beautiful at the end. This talk has encouraged me to think about doing a self initiated projects at some point in the next year. I want to look at ideas relating to my life at University because I feel it could be an interesting project because it is a very fasting moving place, full of ideas and people from different walks of life.
Tu r n e r D u c k w o r t h Turner Duckworth area design agency based in London and San Francisco Matt one of the speakers said “brands have a tendency to get lost over the years by over complicated themselves”. They gave us 5 pieces of advice over this talk they were; 1. Live the brief – you’ve got to immerse yourself in a brief to get the best possible outcome. Something they felt strongly about was to get off Google images and stressed the importance of primary research as if it’s on Google images then that idea has already been done. You need to understand the brand values and where they have come from to get an idea of how they have changed, meaning it is easier to find a new path when creating a new identity, for example. 2. Make it rewarding – Anyone can make something look nice but that’s why
we’re designers, we have the ideas behind that ‘thing’ that looks nice. There is issue that sometimes simplicity isn’t enough, only use it when appropriate, after
alliance and the brand and you want to be somewhere in between. So it’s all about finding a balance, you need to be able to put your own spin on things.
“ Understanding a brands values and ethos is where your ideas will stem from”
4. Work hard – and be nice to people. The industry of graphic design is one of the most collaborative and it’s a lot about making connections and friendships along the way from university into industry. Be a sponge; soak up everyone’s advice. Put in the hours and work as a team and you’ll reap the benefits.
research. To them its 90% in the idea and 10% is left to the audience to work out. Most decisions audiences make are based on emotion, it’s your job to make that first connection. You should always have a reason why you do everything; every choice should be a conscious one. 3. Like no other / stand out – Sometimes you just need to go out and be inspired, you need to get away from the clique to have clearer thought. There is the idea of
5. Go Further – Always push the idea further than the original idea, show a thought running through your work, an idea has to be able to spread and grow into different things, if it doesn’t have that then the idea wont go any further, stay away from the trap of over complicating an idea.
Karen H o u s e The first step of design is what is your story? How to get your head around the brief. There has to be a story running through the brief. The partners stated that identity is papering over the cracks but branding is deeper, got to look at longevity and look at it deeper. The future beyond brands, love marks, book need to read. | Discussed that brands over the years can form emotional connections. Apple is a great example of that. Loyalty beyond reason. Big fish redesigned Dorset cereal “building a brand without advertising” they said the act of advertising is wrong, they used ‘packvatising’ Now worth 45 million from 4 million from when they started. Advertising rob packaging of something more powerful. They create something you want to have in your home.
Transferred the packaging to the website, used very non-corporate language so it made people want to interact.
“Attention to detail was carried through in every aspect” Pearl fisher developed a sub brand for Waitrose, got to understand the brand before the sub brand, pioneering, caring and inclusive. There is a tier entry point, Mid Tier and Top Tier. They wanted to market mid range healthy food. Their is an inherent healthiness within the brand already. It’s about what lies around the things you are developing, it’s all about codes. Decoding the things that consumers already recognise. They came up with marketing a holistic view of health not preach, pulling
apart the brief then putting it back together again. It helped to bring the Waitrose story to life. Waitrose love life, motivating, follows through to the photography, vibrancy of colours and selection, use the photography on soup for example and a wrapper for food that already looks good. Taken across the calorie counting range, bags and website also billboards. This to me is one of the most practical talks we’ve had in terms of Karen pulling apart briefs in industry and telling the story of how they were put back together, I found this talk very helpful as it helped me get into the mind set of Graphic Designers in the industry.
Ta x i S t u d i o s Spencer Buck
Mistakes are fine they’re expected. 6 short stories/ insights, practical knowledge. The dilemma about not moving to London. They were determined to create a shift/ movement away from London to the rest of the U.K. (to Bristol) they made a vow. Two stayed in Bristol and he moved to London.
Insight 3 - Clients don’t know what they want (except those who think they do) Design museum can to them about a brochure, for business’ to
Insight 1- Graphic Design is a volatile place to work with highs and lows, you need to have a thick skin.
hold events there. They tore up the brief and made there own they made 9 different brochures, 22 award wins 47% sales increase, you’ll have a couple of pieces of work that establish you. “We want a limited edition pack with a massive UEFA trophy on it” Carlsberg, so they ignored the brief and they loved it. Don’t give them what they want. Give them something they thought they could never have.
Insight 2 - The client will try and kill you, subjectivity “I worked for Cadbury once, and the creative manager hates purple” Two occasions that it’s tested his confidence super drug and Tesco. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger buy first it will make you question your creative ability”. Listen to your gut, after you brain it’s the most creative tool that you have.
“Know
thyself, brand thyself (and be nice!)”
Insight 4 - There’s a fine line between brave and being
stupid. ‘Fuck your fucking fearless creativity’ they were told by bulldog (male grooming products). Be fearless not reckless. Insight 5 - If you strive for greatness in everything you do everything will be greater. Attention to detail is key. Start doing that soon. Cross the T’s and dot the i’s. Check your work. Think big! Great people do great work for great clients. They all work together to make the best work if on of them is lacking then you won’t produce the best work. Sweat the small stuff because the devils in the detail. Final Insight - Those who stand out, tend to stand for something, have a unique take on yourself. Know who you are “Know thyself, brand thyself (and be nice!).”
7
Designer
David Pearson David Pearson is primarily a designer from Penguin Books. He is honest about where he intends to see his work, as he puts it ‘in supermarkets’ but in a wider sense he wants to get his work published to a wide audience with the biggest reach possible. But a philosophy that he does follow that maybe goes against his commercial aspirations is that he wants to give the viewer 90% of the information and leave 10%
for them to figure out on their own. He follows certain rules when designing (within reason) such as limiting your colour palette. You should spend more time deciding what not to do before working out what’s right. This statement really resonates with me because experimentation is a fundamental of design to produce the best work, but I still need to develop and experiment further.
We where lucky enough to have a talk by David through the guest lecture program and in that talk I was astounded about firstly the range and breadth in his research and the range and breadth in his final outcomes. He can produce a whole series of books without any of them looking similar. For this to be possible his research into every single book indepth and very detailed.
8
Design Company
Carter W o n g Carter Wong is a small design studio based in North London. The two founding partners are Phil Carter and Phil Wong. The met while working at ‘The Partners’. They have an 11 strong team that they intentionally keep small, as they want the company to have a very personalised feel with the individual designers still able to shine through. This design agency hasn’t changed its design practice in the 30 years it has been around. Carter stated that although the way they finish projects has changed, the process of idea generation hasn’t because the idea is still and always be at the core of any idea. It is hard to define what kind of company it is. Their physical size is small but the briefs they tackle and the clients they have would make it seem to be a bigger company, this shows that they’re adaptable to the
briefs in hand. As they state on their website whether it be a big corporation or a small start up they will still go through the same process to get to the end product. Carter Wong seems to take experimentation of materials that step further. The company ‘Howies’ asked them to create a typeface to represent the brand identity, an organic clothing company. So they cut letter forms into wood and charred it to emphasise the grain. They then used that as a typeface. As a company Carter Wong aren’t scared of getting away from the computer and trying something new. In terms of how this relates to my design practice, the way they work makes me want to increase the amount of experimentation I undertake before deciding on a final outcome. They’re also obsessed with bikes so I guess that means it would be my dream company to work for!
9
Design Books
This book is aimed to demonstrate how ideas influenced and defined Graphic Design. It also helps to historically contextualise where this discipline has come from. They have tried to arrange the chronologically but the origins of some of these movements/ ideas are ‘fuzzy’. Some that has
influence can be defined as an idea that has ‘legs’. If an idea can be shown to have influenced that practice and theory of Graphic Design over time, than an argument can be made for its importance.”
graphic design, it focussed on a range of disciplines meaning that it was a perfect book for reference and helping the process of generating idea. I have used it several times in my back up work as it helps broaden the scope of research that I undertake.
I enjoyed this book as it didn’t just focus on one influence of Some sections that I found
Book R e v i e w most interesting where Guerrilla Advertising, it can be defined as a semisubversive planting of messages in venues and on objects ordinarily free of advertising. Such as banana skins, body tattoos. I found this interesting as it takes the idea of advertising or spreading a message to a whole new level. It also gives advertising a chance to be more conceptual in the form it takes so it gives people a chance to be more playful. Also the section on less is more is an idea that I kept coming back to, as throughout the idea I was always trying to refine my ideas down from the initial thought. This section in the book is based mostly on typography and Max `Bill’s approach regarding typography. I’ve found over this year that in theory less is more should be easy, but I’ve found that not to be the case as the less you have on the page the more attention is focussed on the composition,
as it takes a lot more than first thought to create an effective piece. On reflection this book has helped me several times over this year as a general reference of what makes graphic design. It also helps to show you where the idea has come from, historically, so it means that it helps you look down different avenues an idea. This book is a create kick-starter to the start of the design process Carter Wong is a small design studio based in North London. The two founding partners are Phil Carter and Phil Wong. The met while working at ‘The Partners’. They have an 11 strong team that they intentionally keep small, as they want the company to have a very personalised feel with the individual designers still able to shine through. This design agency hasn’t changed its design practice in the 30 years it has been around. Carter stated that
although the way they finish projects has changed, the process of idea generation hasn’t because the idea is still and always be at the core of any idea. It is hard to define what kind of company it is. Their physical size is small but the briefs they tackle and the clients they have would make it seem to be a bigger company, this shows that they’re adaptable to the
Logo Design L o v e
Brand Identity design is something every company needs whether it is a small start up or a big corporation. This book is based on everything the Author has learnt as his time as a Graphic Designer, David Airey, who has been self employed since 2005. He has honed his skills as he has worked in the UK and in the US. He specialises in brand identity. He has worked with companies like Blinkbox, the Asian development bank and the BBC. He has published books in the past, Work for Money, Design for Love and the first edition of Logo Design Love. I loved learning from this book because it really effectively broke down process that designers go through to get to a final
piece, which is refreshing as I only commonly see the fully realised outcome. The two chapters that I found most helpful and relevant were Chapter seven, from pencil to PDF and chapter nine Staying motivated. Chapter seven is based on the design process from start to finish. It is split up into sections of ways of working and case studies. A section that resonated with me was the section about too many ideas, at the start of projects I tend to write down every idea I have and in certain contexts that is appropriate but I can also make the design process harder, as Airey says, when presenting to a client take 5 or so ideas rather than 50 as it makes the task of choosing easier and less likely
for the client to choose a bad idea. Chapter nine is based on staying motivated. The first section, Never stop learning is an important point in my design journey at the moment as it is coming to the end of the year and I want to spend my summer still learning, because as Airey says ‘you’ll never know all is to know about design’ so I am going to start now applying this theory to my perception of learning in my free time. This book has helped me to see how a talented designer tackles a brief. I also like how personal it is to him and his believes on what makes effective design, it makes the points he is trying to make more effective.
CONCLUSIO N
After twenty-eight weeks of ups and downs first year is over, that is crazy. I have learnt so much, I feel I have progressed massively from my first crit bringing in a terrible line drawing of the word aggressive. I like the fact that I find crits scary as it keeps me on my toes but I know they will always help me to push my ideas further. A few things I have learnt this year; don’t ever take caffeine tablets, don’t leave contextual studies till the last minute, don’t forget to leave your desk and do other things, never be scared to ask for help, always collaborate when possible and finally you can never stop learning. I’m on the way to learning how to refine my ideas and improving my digital skills. This journal has given me an opportunity to really reflect on my year. I enjoyed looking back at what I had written at the start of the year and writing further about what I had learnt after having some more time to reflect. This has been the most intense thing I have ever done but I have loved every second. Thank you NUA. I need a break but I can’t wait to see what second year throws at me.
I can’t wait to read this in a year...