PROJECT REPORT:
CONTENTS
Individual Penguin Random House Children’s Award...................3 Blogtacular............................4 Illustration Friday...................5 UK Greetings.........................6 Collaborative YCN - The Grown Up Chocolate Company..............8 Module Evaluation..............10
PRH CHILDREN’S AWARD: ADRIAN MOLE Design a book cover for The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and 3/4. After experience with character illustration in 504, I was eager to work with illustration for Children. I had no previous experience with book cover design, however would like to go into it in the future. This competition has impressive prizes, including professional feedback from Penguin’s design company if shortlisted. The story was engaging and I was drawn in by the diary visuals that came with the title. I started the project by reading the book, which I’m glad I did as it allowed me to pick out specific details from the story to make the cover more informed and engaging for readers. I noted points in the story that stuck out, including visuals like Adrian’s red sock rebellion, his hobby of writing letters and poems, his mother’s absence and his obsession with Pandora, as well as signature phrases, like “just my luck!”. I thumbnailed a variety of different approaches for the cover, only
settling on the chosen approach when I became aware that I had spent far too long on research for a small brief, which wouldn’t reflect the fast pace of the publishing industry. I wanted to reflect Adrian’s diary in the cover’s aesthetic, which undoubtedly was an obvious choice as after seeing other responses in the class, most people had the same idea. However, I focused on hand lettering instead of illustrating Adrian, as his appearance is never mentioned in detail. Adrian doesn’t care what he looked like, he cares about his life and thoughts. So, the cover aims to reflect his real diary. I needed to design a cover that would be picked up in shops, so made the lettering fun and bold. I did a lot of research into trends of children’s book cover design, however deviated from most of them. Adrian Mole was intended to be read by adults, so I didn’t want the cover to be too childish. Instead the colour palette is muted, more mature than the bright, neon covers of most children’s books. This also ties in with Adrian’s poor background, and the textures added to represent a worn journal. Intent on producing a well finished cover, I learned how to add paper
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Collaborative Practice
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PRH CHILDREN’S AWARD: ADRIAN MOLE textures via layer masks, and downloaded professional, digital brushes to illustrate with. The aesthetic of the diary style cover became worn and hand rendered. As well as more defined illustrations, I added marker pen style illustrations that could have been added by Adrian himself, and introduced it into the title through “diary” and “aged 13 ¾”. I do regret not digitising some of the other thumbnail concepts as I believe a few had promising concepts, specifically the repeat pattern of letters and postcards, which would have been visually striking and represented Adrian’s obsessive personality, as well as the snapshot of inside his home which could have included lots of little details relating to Adrian and his family life. The disappointment that I couldn’t submit more than one response held me back from developing these, as well as the fact I wanted to have UK Greetings as my substantial brief and and I couldn’t dedicate that time elsewhere, alongside other pressing modules.
However, if I had developed these past sketches, with feedback, the end submission could have been more developed, even a culmination of the most promising. In projects since, I have made a point to develop more than one idea, to guarantee the best submission. Deciding the colour palette took a long time, until, due to using digital brushes, I forced myself to narrow it down. I’m confident that the end result is suited “to the widest possible audience” as the main character is a boy, so the low key colours are appropriate, and it isn’t too childish a cover to deter teenagers and young adults. Overall I believe I produced a suitable outcome for the brief that meets the criteria stated, and feedback has been positive for the final design. I had to stop myself from further development as I had already spent too much time on the brief. This was a reflection of my failure to start and focus the module quickly, leading to this first project being drawn out. Again, I would have liked to develop other thumbnailed ideas, so the reading, research and rough sketching elements, although thorough, could have been completed within two weeks rather than several which would have given me more time for concept experimentation.
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BLOGTACULAR Design a tote bag graphic for Blogtacular 2017. Must be a spot graphic, two colours and wearable outside of the event. Two days before the submission date, I came across Blogtacular’s competition on Twitter. Instantly I wanted to enter as I’m eager to take an active part in the small business community. Blogtactular is an event held by, and for, social media savvy small business creatives, so getting my work noticed would be beneficial for my career, as an illustrator who owns a small business, in terms of brand exposure and future client work. The final tote would have the artist credited, and I hoped runners up would also receive recognition too. This would be a time restricted brief, directly related to where I want my practice to head, so beneficial for my practice in multiple ways. The brief asked for an eye catching spot illustration to centre on their goodie (tote) bags given away at the event, so I began generating ideas for motifs that would represent the online, creative community. I found my final idea on their website; the tagline “Meet, share, inspire” embodied what the event was about, and as an inspiring phrase, was generic enough to be wearable
afterwards, a key point in the brief. The media choice was informed by multiple factors. Feminine, inked lettering is on trend within the small business world as it instantly communicates handmade, expressive and arty connotations. Again, I wanted to produce a tote design that attendees would be happy to wear, so trend was a key consideration in the design. Due to the tight timeline, I needed to use a quick to digitise media. I find that ink vectorises well and needs little touching up, so colours can be experimented with easily. I also have experience with tote bag designing, and inked illustrations turn out brilliantly on canvas as they look as though they could be painted on. With my content and media decided, I spent the first day sketching out compositions. After sketching how the ideas would look on totes, it prompted experimentation with alternate merchandise which sparked a further marketing concept for my submission. I found that the three words within speech bubbles would work well as temporary tattoos, and that this would be an engaging campaign for social media as it would surely encourage people to photograph themselves at events sporting the tattoos with their friends, speading exposure for
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BLOGTACULAR Blogtacular. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the speech bubbles fit together comfortably so dropped the idea, but maintained the temporary tattoo application. The second day spent the morning inking from the sketch work, then digitised. As the composition evolved, I asked for feedback from classmates which pointed me to the more legible block capitals. Again, colour was an issue that held back my entry by hours. I was concerned with making the tote too feminine, which in hindsight really wasn’t a problem. The attendees of Blogtacular are almost all female, and previous winners have all had feminine colour palettes. However the concern lead me to choose a main colour close to burgundy, which doesn’t reflect the summer feeling of the June event. Deciding on a colour palette is nearly always a struggle for me, and is something I need to inform myself more on in order to meet tight deadlines confidently. Another slight regret is the concept. I went with the “meet, share & inspire” idea very quickly as I was conscious of the time restraint, however I do wish I had considered a wider range of ideas, especially
spot illustrations with less focus on lettering. The brief asked for our own design styles to shine through, and lettering is a predominant part of my practice, however I feel that a striking spot graphic would have tied in more with what they were looking for, and indeed is something I want to improve at designing. Overall I was pleased with the outcome. I was able to produce a relevant outcome, informed by the event and creative online community in an aesthetic that is on trend and wearable.
commercial, business approach I’m beginning to take to projects. I’ve since found out that I was shortlisted and will be featured on their blog, which I’m really pleased about! It shows I met the criteria and hopefully I’ll receive some helpful exposure from the competition.
I was shortlisted!
From this project I’ve found that I’m able to work well under time pressure when I know that my personal style will be right for the project. Once this confidence in my work is solid, I’m able to generate roughs and work without breaking for periods of worry that it doesn’t look right and changing directions. Confidence holds me back in most projects, so it was helpful to take on one that was directly in line with what I’m comfortable designing. As mentioned, colour is where I’m less experienced, which is the one area that held me back. In the submission I included the tattoo mockups, suggesting with the Instagram icon why they would be beneficial. This reflects the
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ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY Produce an illustration based on the word “rock”. I chose to do an Illustration Friday brief as it’s a solely illustration based project, and I was still trying to find my feet as an illustration student. This was an opportunity to focus on communicating via image only. I gave myself half a day to complete the brief, so it was intended as an idea generating exercise. I tried not to be influenced by the existing submissions, but noted that most focused around a musical take, so to stand out more I opted for a concept around a physical rock. As a designer I do like to work literally, and have a sweetness or heart warming element to narratives. I tried to come up with a solution to giving rocks a cutesy, childlike voice and came up with the idea of an average rock believing it was a precious stone (crystal, diamond etc). From this point, I worked out storylines of what could happen if a rock believed it was precious, and expanded on two. The first idea
aimed to communicate the situation in one image. The rock is contrasted alongside a diamond ring, looking happy and shining, while the diamond shows that it evidently isn’t supposed to be there. Initially I was stuck between the two responses, however as the brief accepted multiple submissions, there was no need to scrap one. I’m pleased I finalised both. Style was decided quickly, I was getting to grips with illustrating on the iPad Pro, and the pencil texture is my go-to as it’s what I used for my personal branding. This makes sense to use for spot illustrations posted to social media, as it will support my visual signature, online. I’m pleased with the two outcomes, more so the first. It seems to communicate quickly, and it has been successful on social media and within the class. I like the narrative of the second image, however the illustration itself isn’t professional. I had only just started drawing characters, and the quick paced brief lead the lines to be wobbly. However, with an image that aims to communicate, the visuals are less important than the story they tell. I feel as though I came up with two heartwarming responses to the brief which each do well as stand alone pieces.
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Collaborative Practice
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UK GREETINGS Design a range of greetings cards and gift dressings. Deliverables: 4 greetings cards, a notecard set, a wrapping paper repeat, a notebook cover, and a gift bag. I chose this brief because it directly relates to my current practice, as an illustrator who designs and sells stationery. However, I had not yet branched into greetings card designing, so this was an ideal chance to develop those skills and understand how to create a marketable collection. I sifted through a range of ideas, from a “tough love” theme to positivity and encouragement. I decided on the latter, starting with a “self love” approach. I started by brainstorming phrases for the cards, as I knew I wanted each to be centred
around one. I enjoy copywriting and coming up with original words for my lettering so my work is personality driven. During this idea generating stage, I accompanied the text with little spot illustrations, which included the idea that sparked the final High Five collection. The pencil illustration of the pot with hands sprinkling in spices looked like the symbol of “okay” and caused me to create positive ideas focusing around hand signs. This varied a little, but feedback found that the hand sign ideas were the most popular, so I incorporated them into each design and brought in more variations where appropriate, from a simple open hand, “high five”, to a thumbs up and point. The hands themselves inspired new ideas, until I had a large range to develop from. Learning from the Adrian Mole project, I developed many ideas instead of the bare minimum I needed for the greetings cards - that being four. The sketches were voted upon with a tally chart as I went around the classroom, and so were the digitised versions. The colour palette was initially a simple decision. For a positive, feminine, kind collection, high key yet
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UK GREETINGS muted colours were the go to. I started with pink for the hands, layered on a pale yellow background with orange and darker pink details. Only after completing a pattern experiment did I notice a sea of pink hands, and realised the race implication. When including human characters, it’s important to be representative. Slightly embarrassed at my initial designs, I updated the colour palette to include a range of tones for the skin, tested until there was enough contrast for the design to look like a dimensional pattern of pink and purple tones, rather than an obvious point to racial diversity. I believe it strikes a balance between colour palette and diversity, enough to not be an issue for the public. During this period I wondered whether the hands should even represent skin colour, maybe it would be safer to change the hands to blues or keeping it as the original fineliner. However, pink is supposed to represent encouragement and femininity, girl power, so it made sense to stick with it. Design issues like this are important to take into account when designing for commercial, widespread use, as a company cannot be under fire for the artist’s poor judgement. It also has to be desirable by the widest
possible audience, so, without even considering the ethics, is a commercial necessity. The pattern quickly became more vibrant and dimensional. I ended up with 9 final designs for the greetings cards. These were the central elements to the collection that the gift dressings would be made from, creating a cohesive range. Getting ahead of myself was an issue with this collection. I developed many patterns that could not be used as elements belonged to cards that didn’t make it into the final four. After starting afresh, it was more difficult to create a pattern. With fewer elements, the repeat looked obvious. Finally I settled with a pattern of hand signs, which embodies what the collection focuses on. I could then move on to the other products in the collection. The proposed finishes for the cards were also a problem, with no access to industry standard embossing/flittering machines. I mocked up what glitter and shimmer would look like, resorting to shimmery makeup, which advanced the resolution of the project. I was unfortunately unable to get a peach card stock from GF Smith in time for the submission as they wouldn’t send it to a
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UK GREETINGS student, so prior planning and going through the university would have further improved my submission. Overall, I’ve found this project to be highly beneficial for my emerging practice. I was able to improve skills in digital brush work, repeat pattern design and the logistics of designing a collection. I took the project on methodically, designing the main elements, the greetings cards, first then revolving the other products around them. Developing multiple ideas undoubtedly benefited the final outcomes, as there was more choice and the opportunity to combine ideas, as seen with the two “high five� cards merging.
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COLLABORATIVE: THE GROWN UP CHOCOLATE CO. Design a landing web page, mini bar, sleeve and box packaging for the new, customisable, gift box selections. The company branding must be upheld.
DYNAMIC:
Myself: Illustrator Hattie: Graphic Designer After the initial panic and a disorganised start to the module, I hadn’t yet decided on a single brief so missed some of the meetings where people had already formed groups. Instead I took to the LCA Collaborations page on Facebook, with information on the briefs I was interested in, my skillset and the type of collaboration I was looking for. I was contacted by a Graphic Designer in the year above, which seemed a safe bet. I have a Graphic Design background, so have a competent idea of how to work alongside one, and was eager to be the Illustrator for once. We had a brief discussion over Facebook, confirming we had similar interests in food packaging design and sharing portfolios to assure our styles suited.
We generated ideas for 3 or 4 briefs, deciding on The Grown Up Chocolate Company for YCN as there was more potential than we first thought. Our general concept of “sending mail to a friend” was decided the same day. My initial concern was that Graphic Designers are known for taking over a project, and after studying the subject for years, I am the same, enjoying a creative director role. The concern that we would have competing ideas, however, was quelled within this first face to face meeting. Hattie has a corporate design approach, and was happy to leave the concept and aesthetic decisions to a partner. This isn’t to say she lacked input on those areas, we generated and shared ideas in meetings and over facebook chat up to three times a week, where she fed back on my thumbnail work. Initially we met up once a week, setting tasks for each of us to get through for next time. We were making very good time with the project, considering our decision to be ambitious with the brief and provide many additional outcomes. This, however, went to my head especially and feeling secure with this brief, focused on others for three weeks. This was an example of my issue within the module to balance so
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COLLABORATIVE: THE GROWN UP CHOCOLATE CO. many briefs at once. Eventually I overcame this by dedicating full days to one project at a time, reducing the feeling of flicking between projects and having time to focus. Hattie and I kept up to date with each other’s progress via Google Drive, where we uploaded everything we were working on. For example, I would upload my initial fine liner work, and then we would both work on vectorising it to speed up the process, as well as sharing packaging layout ideas. This kept the project moving in the right direction between meetings. Surprisingly, the main issue with the collaboration was not a lack of communication or competing ideas, it was managing the workload. Ambitious, we set ourselves the task of many additional elements to the submission, which involved a great deal of illustration work. I was new to working with digital brushes, and the long process held us back. Another issue arose right at the end of the project. Our print slot was two days before the deadline, so already stressed, I saw the final PDFs
Hattie had provided and became even more so. She had made some colour choices that didn’t fit with the decided, strict colour scheme (the orange and red banners on the mini bars) as well as combining 4 different paper textures which clashed greatly. I ended up changing what I could within the print slot, while she had other commitments. At the point of submission my partner definitely just wanted to get it out of the way as she had a lot on her plate, however this caused a lack of communication and a submission that could have been a lot more professional. We had been successful at designating roles throughout the project, so it was disappointing that the last few tasks (printing & photography) were hindered because of stress.
POLLY HATTIE Concept Idea generation for “stickers” Advanced digitising of “stickers” Packaging layout design (sleeves) Packaging layout design (box) Photo styling Photo editing Text for submission boards
Website design Digitising of “stickers” Some design of “stickers” Packaging layout design (mini bars) Packaging layout design (box) Photography Submission board layout
I believe we worked very well together for the majority of the project and our systematic approach would have worked had I not taken so much time off the project in the middle, combined with my time consuming illustration method. We had an ambitious submission to work towards, hindered by a last minute rush, which I do consider my fault. This was a consequence of balancing so many projects at once in the final few weeks.
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EVALUATION Responsive has been an enlightening, encouraging and enjoyable module that has given me an opportunity to discover the field of design I feel most comfortable working in. At the beginning of the module, still adjusting to moving over from a Graphic Design degree, I mainly looked at large projects like Hasbro on D&AD. However, after taking time to really absorb the projects available, realised there were many more where I could focus on building up my portfolio as an Illustrator. I have a questionable instinct to take on projects that will overwork me and test my comfort zone, which seems productive, until I neglect dedicating time to the projects I naturally enjoy. Moving to Illustration was a decision to figure out and focus on the work that I want to create. Through a total of 5 completed competition briefs, I developed a collection of skills I had sought after for years. I had been stuck, not knowing how to make my work look more professional, and doing so has been a key motive in the course. The nature of the briefs being live pushed me to develop my work to industry standard. I consider myself a commercial designer and aspire to
create marketable work. I looked at trends in book covers and greetings cards, seeing that textured backgrounds and digital brush illustration was prominent. I researched into the digital brush packs my favourite artists (such as Tarryn Knight and Steph Baxter) used, and found Kyle Brush kits, which I learned how to use during the Adrian Mole, UK Greetings and Collaborative projects. I took to online tutorials to discover how to add texture on photoshop, and found out how to use layer masks and overlay textures, which can be seen in the cover development for Adrian Mole. I’m specifically pleased about the quality of that cover, and how these new skills lead me to create something totally different from my usual vector work. Here, researching and responding to work on the market directly improved my practice. UK Greetings, my substantial brief, was a clear choice as it’s directly relevant to my current experience as a stationery designer, yet I had never worked on greetings cards so it provided room for learning. I found this brief in particular very enjoyable, and once started, produced a range of card designs at the fastest pace out of all my projects. I also found this with the Blogtacular brief, which shows that when I’m taking on commercial, product based
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work, I can produce ideas quickly and confidently. Confidence is detrimental to so many of my projects, so going back to where I mentioned often taking on stressful, demanding projects where I end up having to make design decisions I’m not interested in making, taking on roles I’m not confident in having, impacts my confidence and work for the entire project. Responsive has taught me that there is nothing wrong with sticking to an illustrator’s role and relying on another person to do the rest. The collaborative project was thankfully a success, with me and my partner working efficiently together and communicating well by sharing progressions regularly via Google Drive. Due to my background, I knew what Hattie, the Graphic Designer, needed in an illustrator. Although, I couldn’t let myself completely drop the Graphics role, taking on the layout design for the chocolate box’s sleeves and making branding decisions along the way, such as bringing the colour palette back to the branding’s pink and brown, and use of their signature typeface. This, however, shows that I can be an illustrator who knows how to apply their work, and hopefully indicates that I’ll work well with Graphic Designers in the future.
Even though I consider the Collaborative project a success, in hindsight I would have liked to work with more than one person. The project ended up taking a huge amount of time off my other modules as there was so much illustration work to do in order for Hattie to move forward. I also would have liked to work with an animator and learn more about After Effects from them, so I will approach next year’s projects with this in mind. This module has undoubtedly progressed my practice in both skillset and knowing where I stand within the creative industry. I have learned to be the illustrator, and understand why we should take on projects that we would want to be employed to do. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with digital brushes and repeat pattern,so will continue to develop these skills through future modules and my own personal projects. Repeat pattern will help me quickly design product ranges for my online shop, and digital brush work will add variety to my current stock. I believe I’m producing work to a more professional standard because of the module, and have enjoyed choosing briefs for myself, and learning what that indicates about the kind of designer I want to be.
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