Introduction Industry Today Feilds of Practice Values & Equities This project examines the subject of graphic design, it’s boundaries and genres in relation to personal, regional and global perspectives. What is design and where do we sit within it?
Brief 1: Perspectives
Contemporary Practice This module is an introduction to the course as well as who were are as designers. We have worked on smaller briefs throughout the modules; Perspectives, Process, Press. Looking at the way we work, what our style is, and asking ourselves, “why ?” Finding the reasoning behind what we do and how we do it?
SASHA MITCHELL
BRIEF 1: WEEK 1. Introduction - Quadriptych My first week was all about introducing myself as a designer, who am I and where do I stand in today’s design industry. This was my first look at myself at the beginning of this course. To summarise who I am for my fellow students and to evaluate how I see myself currently and how I develop throughout the course. By looking at current studios and designers; especially those I admire; allowed me to begin forming an idea of what kind of designer I am and where I see myself in the future. I have always thought my direction and style was clear, with the words, “colour, shape, play”, pasted on business cards and portfolios. Sitting down to design a piece that summarises my childlike style. I began illustrating shapes and patterns; things that brought me joy in design.
BRIEF 1: WEEK 1. Introduction - Quadriptych The task this week was to design a quadriptych, a 4 sectioned piece. I experimented how I could take this interesting tool; 4 sections of patterns, 4 colours illustrating the same shapes. I felt my style needed some explanation to clarify my design. I found the best way of reasoning my style was that we should let our creative child inside of us come out and play. We are creatives because we enjoy creating designs, and the effect it has on people. Designing for me is to bring joy and content to an audience, and using that power to bring attention to important situations & current events. I have a happy and grateful soul and that is a big part of my work because it means something to me. This week allowed me to see that I have questions to ask myself, such as ‘why is colour so important to me? and why I use the word colour to describe my work?’ These are questions I want to begin asking myself through the weeks.
BRIEF 1: WEEK 2. Industry Today Looking at design in our cities today; Week 2 allowed me to investigate the area I live/work in to see the different design practices and investigate the comparisons between them. I live in Camberley, Surrey, where London is the closest city. I have studied and worked in London for the last 3 years. I researched into my city and what I believe are key components to London’s design history. There are many fundamental turning points for design, as well as movements that meant a lot to British design history. Researching a number of movements I found many that inspire me still today. Such as the classic G. F. Smith swatch book, that even I have on my shelf.
MOROSS STUDIOS
ALDGATE PRESS
2LK
ATLANTIS ART
MOTHER LONDON
HOUSEWORK(PRESS)
BRIEF 1: WEEK 2. Industry Today This week I investigated 3 design practices and 3 design production businesses in my city. There were many to choose from in London, so I tried to select 3 that are all different. I chose one large and one small agency from London, and one from where I live. I found the location of these agencies says a lot about how successful or scaled they are. This was interesting for me personally, as I feel I may lack success based on location. This reassured me that with easy access to any large city I won’t lose clients.
BRIEF 1: WEEK 3. Fields of Pracetice The globalisation and categorisation of design practices are viewed in a multitude of ways. You can simply classify yourself as a designer but there is an uncountable amount of specific skill within that definition. The globalisation of design has recently developed for creatives, allowing this generation easier access to collaborate with the use of internet connectivity. With the use of sharing screens, video chatting and calling. This method of overseas collaboration is becoming more appealing to today’s technology. I went on to look at the other half this weeks research, categorisation. I listed 10 design practices that I am aware of. Although silly, it was actually quite difficult at first. I was thinking too broadly at categories rather than deeper into specific designers and studios. I was looking out for a design that stood out from the crowd, something unique that could have its own unique design category. I found, Alphaputt; a typography-based mini gold game for smartphones. I needed to come up with a new category of design, I called it Interactive Typographical Graphic Design, named after the game. This was an interesting and new approach to design I hadn’t seen before.
BRIEF 1: WEEK 3. Fields of Pracetice Our task was to look at the categories of design in the D&AD awards from last year. I found a number of categories that stood out to me one being PR, as it doesn’t seem that PR is a creative tool. But looking at the awarded subject it became clear that there was designed thought here. Creative thinking went into it, to react in a smart and creative way. I go into this topic further in my blog post for this week, where you can also find my designed editorial. Creative thinking stood out to me at this point. A large part of designing is thinking creatively for new and innovative ideas. I personally take this as a large portion of my process, producing design thoughts. This thought and this wholes weeks research and tasks made me reconsider my own title. I previously used the term, ‘graphic designer’. Realising that this is too broad of a term, I decided to rename ‘graphic artist - creative thinker and maker’. I enjoyed this weeks search into what we assume as obvious. The terms we use to describe ourselves not only narrow down the clients we get but restricts us to working on only those specific projects. This also encourages us to work on side projects to really get to terms with what our area of design is and clarifying with ourselves and our audience what that category and definition of design is.
EXPERIMENTATION MODERN
COLOURFUL HAPPY UNIQUE
BRIEF 1: WEEK 4. Values & Equities This week I looked inwardly on myself. I researched ‘the self’ and the process we take. Which part of our brain do we use in the conscious and unconscious? I found that our unconscious, primitive selves are out most creative, our natural instincts/ideas produce more natural outcomes. When we overthink and analyse, everything seems to lose its creative aspect. I designed 5 mood boards illustrating 5 aspects of me and my designer self. Designing mood boards was quite difficult because using imagery to give explanation can be difficult in itself, but when I am talking about myself, everything becomes more judgemental. Does this really show who I am? Is this definitely how I act? This was a task to visualise our assets, for the use of our tutors, peers, but mostly to see who we are ourselves as designers. The outcome of this was actually better than I expected. The compositions working together successfully depict the words I use to describe myself.
BRIEF 1: WEEK 4. Values & Equities After thinking quite academically about my characteristics, I had to design an artefact that described myself, through illustration and process. I thought back to week 1 and how we were asked to create a piece that related to our style. I found this task was quite similar. However, I have learnt more about myself in this short time so wanted to develop from this. I wanted to illustrate myself, something that shows who I am. I decided to lay the items of my personal bag out. Illustrating my personal items in an organised and minimalist way. I took a few images before thinking of other ways I could illustrate this composition. I digitally drew the shapes the items created. I thought that the composition of shapes could work but drawing the items felt too flat. I decided to think again about myself as a designer and what makes me different. I work with my hands quite often to make my work, and colour is very important to my practice. I began using the coloured card to create the shapes of the items. Using the colours to organise the items. I created the square illustration. It looked very finished but it didn’t say much about me. I liked the illustration but it was too conceptual. Pushing this idea further I wanted to explain what each colour illustrated, and what that says about me. After doing that I thought about the level of importance of each of these things and how they make me, me. Allowing me to produce this final piece. I enjoyed this week, not only did it allow me to do something hands-on, but really think about myself as a person and a designer.Â
BRIEF 1: SUMMARY
Thoughts on Design Noticing the Ignored Research & Theory Skills & Making This project allows us to gain knowledge of the methods and models of the structure of generating ideas. The methods that creatives currently use, the methods we personally generate ideas, and how we can improve our techniques.
Brief 2: Process
This initial project about perspective has allowed me to realise characteristics about my style that I previously knew was there, but have never analysed. My use of colour and physical composition of outcomes are two that I have noticed over the last four weeks. It has been interesting looking at what I am used from a different angle and asking why I do things a certain way. I will definitely continue to ask these questions through the weeks and the duration of the course.
BRIEF 2: WEEK 5. Thoughts on Ideas The process of thinking and how ideas are generated can differ from person to person. However there are a number of models and methods that help us to troubleshoot issues and produce new ideas; for a designer, scientists, psychologists, and mathematicians alike. Methods such as the Double Diamond Theory are well known to us as designers, but processes such as the Morphological Box, used to solve multi-dimensional, nonquantifiable problems, can be translated into solving our design issues. Our task this week was to find a method of problem-solving that could be translated into our design process. As well as questioning our own process at current. The Innovation Lifecycle used for corporate means stood out to me during my research for its fluid work-cycle. You can pinpoint where you are in a project and foresee your next steps. ‘Lifecycle’ of an idea can be examined and you can see its next steps, up until its point of launch. Processes like these are intriguing as I have never used them, but I could definitely see myself giving my process structure in one of these ways or something similar.
BRIEF 2: WEEK 5. Thoughts on Ideas I researched a number of designers and studios that clearly have a method for producing an outcome. It has shown me that we tend to create our own as designers, even if we don’t realise we do it. Investigating my process, I found it is equally important to take breaks to consider the information and research than sitting at a desk and focusing on it wholly for too long. Another trait of mine is the excitement throughout the project, the build-up before a high, then followed by a lull, until the project is launched or made live and the excitement returns. I began illustrating these processes through line drawings. I thought a final drawing of my process should understandably be my fully process through a project; from start to finish and further. I used lines to illustrate my direction through the project, squares illustrating ideas, and circles illustrating thoughts and my excitement. With this key, I started drawing a timeline and creating my final outcome. This week not only allowed me to investigate a process I follow so often, allowing me to work and develop it, but let me produce some creative and conceptual drawings.
BRIEF 2: WEEK 6. Noticing The Ignored This week I delved deeper into my own process; asking myself, how do I document? A large part of our process as designers is researching, and the way we document that information can help or hinder our development in a project. Maps, videos and images, the written word, paintings and sculpture. There are many ways of documenting information. This week was about documenting something you see often but don’t take much notice over. I began to think about what I see often and don’t know much about. The first thing I thought of was, a large sculpture of an elephant I drive past this maybe once or twice a week. On a busy roundabout and dual carriageway backing onto an industrial estate. This sculpture has always been there, even when I was very young I can remember it being there. So I began researching, looking through archives, newspaper articles, and the story began to unfold.
BRIEF 2: WEEK 6. Noticing The Ignored “The concrete elephant” was a testament to the strength of the concrete it was made from. It was commissioned in 1963 by A.B Howard Colls, a concrete company, making pipes to last a lifetime. Barbara Jones was the artist that was asked to design something to show the strength of the product. The large heavy elephant stands upon one of their pipes to show just how strong and long-lasting the product is. I documented the location through maps and images, I drew a number of line drawings. But to portray its strength a sculpture was needed. I initially tried rolling sheets of brown paper together to illuminate the elephants withering strength, however, it needed improving. I gathered a box of paper offcuts while videoing my process I began rolling them into one. Creating a roll of paper, I then finalised this with a ring of text around the small sculpture reading the story of the elephant. This week allowed me to see that the way we document can have very different effects on how we respond to the information. Although I could have just written the story, the sculpture within the story illustrates just how strong the elephant is. I am beginning to notice my frequent us of creating with my hands through the weeks. The outcomes I am producing are of good quality, but I don’t think I’m pushing myself enough.
BRIEF 2: WEEK 7. Research and Theory I found in the previous week that there are many ways to document information, but similarly, there are many ways to collect that information you document. Initially looking at primary and secondary research, but then going deeper into qualitative and quantitative research, and the many methods within this for collecting data. After looking into the many ways of researching, I had to pick an object to research myself. I decided on a memory box, an item many people have in one way or another. Rather than looking into the history of my box specifically, I began researching as much as I could about collecting memorable items. I found there are a number of reasons for retaining items besides from memorabilia, whether that’s professionally collecting profitable items such as china plates, to hoarding. This secondary research gave me a better idea of the topic. I then went on to conduct my own primary quantitative research method, by asking 5 people a series of questions. Â
BRIEF 2: WEEK 7. Research and Theory The results of this questionnaire, based around the collection of memorable items, allowed me to see that the majority of people hold a collection of items to remind them of a point in time or something/someone from the past. I enjoyed the process of searching into a topic more than I regularly would. This allows me to fully understand the topic of the project I am working on. Finalising this week’s brief I designed an editorial piece with a 300-word text acknowledging the information I found from the perspective of the items. This was a very theory-driven week that allowed me to move out of my comfort zone. After last week I wanted to try to push myself more and this project came at the right time. I want to continue trying to push my limits.
BRIEF 2: WEEK 8. Skills and Making This week I analysed at myself as a designer to notice my skills. Knowing my skills and listing them down, I was able to see the gaps I have yet to fill. I have looked at knowledge and methods of process, but together, our method of learning can be designed. How can I continue to push my personal boundaries, continuing to learn and gain new skills? I need to continue to questions myself and my abilities. What skills do I have? From this, I was able to see what gaps I have, what I am missing. Do I (and why do I) need these skills? What good can come from learning new software, a new craft? How can I learn? How can I implement? These are some of the many key questions we need to ask ourselves. I asked myself many questions, and I found a lot of information I already knew as well as new and important information that will be key for me to develop as a designer. Now I had listed the questions I know we need our ask ourselves, I then had to find a way of moulding this into an understandable and well-designed tool.
BRIEF 2: WEEK 8. Skills and Making I began researching this week’s topics by looking back at my personal methods of the process. I could then begin thinking about a tool I could use for myself when I get stuck. A go-to guide. Writing down this information in a condensed booklet that I can keep by my side and follow. I thought about tools I could design, but this seemed to work perfectly. I wrote up my plan; organised, simple, and short. Making a fun and light-hearted booklet, making the information inside more enjoyable to read & understand. After playing around with the layout and binding methods I had designed my outcome. The design of the physical appearance and construction of the zine could do with more time to improve. However, it works to successfully guide me and ask questions. I have searched and defined a lot of areas I want to develop as a designer this week. Although all of the facts, references and resources are not in this zine, it is still a tool for me to keep track. Allowing me to see where I am as a designer and creative. Both in the present and in the future. This week has been a large turning point for my development through the module. I have highlighted the tools I want to experiment with, this module or through the rest of the course. I have also highlighted my use of colour and begun investigating ways of researching colour theory. I am very excited to begin this research.
BRIEF 2: SUMMARY
Message Delivered Type and Page Trends & Environments New Steps Exploring the media in which our overall design is displayed. From 3D to print, to installation. This brief focused on looking at the way we read and engineer communications; for the familiar and the new.Â
Brief 3: Press
I have begun noticing my strengths and weaknesses. Noticing these has allowed me to work on what I can improve on and how I can develop myself as a designer. I have to keep pushing my boundaries to notice my full potential. I have begun researching colour theory which will be an enjoyable and rewarding side project.Â
BRIEF 3: WEEK 9. Message Delivered Starting this brief with an important week focusing on form and function. I investigated a number of projects that have worked with and without the connection between the two. Through this, I could clearly see the importance of form and function, and how I can use media to aid my story or subject of a project. This weeks task was to look at my town/area which I live and question what makes it unique. I looked into the Aldershot Garrison, a large army town next to where I live. As well as Broadmoor Hospital, the famous mental asylum that is under 10 miles from me. Both of these unique features of my town had a correlating word for me to describe them by; eerie. I took this word am began to think of how I can use media to help an audience feel this emotion. I decided to focus on the sound of the test escape alarms from the asylum that sounds every Monday morning. The wailing noise is soul shattering. I initially began illustrating this by drawing straight lines (showing quiet) and scanned this in while moving the paper up and down to create a jagged sound wave (loud siren noise).
BRIEF 3: WEEK 9. Message Delivered This was a good start to the project, and help me to focus on moving image and noise to illustrate the eerie emotions in my town. At this point, I experimented with layering scans to make imagery, then began using other media to scan in to create motion. I used ink, imagery, and finally chalk. I wanted something other than lines, as it seemed too clean. I wanted to find something darker and more gritty. The chalk worked well to achieve the results I wanted. After drawing a number of pages with chalk, I scanned in over 50 pages, moving each in a different way, not one image was the same. Then compiling these with the sound of the siren to produce a very conceptual and vivid final piece. The use of sound and moving image animation has helped get across a feeling without using language in any way. This has allowed me to realise the potential of form and function to help guide the ethos of a project. After last weeks work on pushing boundaries, this week has shown how I am committed to experimenting with new mediums. Video and sound as creative outputs is something I am definitely not used to. However, the outcome of this week has been successful in many ways. Showing me that coming out of my comfort zone really can help produce my best work.
BRIEF 3: WEEK 10. Type and Page Similarly to last week, I was looking at form and function. However, I am now illustrating text. I looked at the ways I can use different media, layouts, paper to relay the story begin told in the text and how it has been done in the past. Whether it’s print or moving image, the projects I have looked at have shown me the message mirrored into the print. Without reading the text we can use design to explain what the text will be about. This week I had to select a quote from a book or poem to illustrate. I took the initial sentence from Peter Pan, the written play by James Matthew Barri; “all children, except one, grew up”. I began by handwriting the text, evaluating the shapes and the layout, then typing it up and viewing it digitally. This allowed me to see the use of style can tell the text as a different story.
BRIEF 3: WEEK 10. Type and Page I experimented with a childlike medium, a crayon. I drew using two colours and using upper and lower case. The difference between the two hand-drawn sentences is clear. One is angry, one is innocent. The same medium, the same content, different meaning. I went on to experiment with a range of media to see their effect on the text. Mixing immature mediums with mature typefaces, each had a different effect on how the text was read. I decided on a piece I created with stickers you find in a child’s toy or craft store. The message of a piece and the way text is read is mostly dependent on its surroundings. Before reading any text, you will understand its context. Whether it’s on a magazine, in a sketchbook or on a billboard, you already know that it is going to be an article, a note, or an advertisement. With this subconscious association of context, you can easily match text with an understandable layout. Or I could switch it up and be ironic with the context. I enjoy working with type, although I did struggle at the beginning of this week. Possibly as I haven’t worked on a type based project in quite some time. This tells me I should try to involve type in my projects more often, to allow me to develop this skill.
BRIEF 3: WEEK 11. Trends & Environmnets Media, text, and now shape. I looked this week at how shape can be translated to mean something and translate an idea. Through icons, indexes, symbols and signs, we are able to create a whole new language. Looking at Olympics logos was a good way for me to get my head around this idea. I can understand how designing a logo with certain colours, shapes, and layouts can help to illustrate a single country quite easily. I had to think of a news story or company logo, that through countries and cultures are changed and look at how they are changed. I thought this was a very difficult thing to do at first, as my initial thought was that this isn’t often done. I began by looking at news stories to find some ideas. I looked at New Year’s celebration and how certain cultures have different traditions. I couldn’t find many news stories on this though. I also feel I was looking in the wrong direction.
BRIEF 3: WEEK 11. Trends & Environmnets I began looking at logos, as the Olympics logos really made sense to me. I searched products that you can get around the world, to see if they change them in any way. Products such as MacDonald’s have stayed the same as the ‘golden arches’ are understood in all languages. Products like Lay’s are changed through cultures to better suit their audience. I found this very interesting, as I know of Walker’s in the UK, but I also recognise Lay’s. They change their Logo’s, names, even their flavours. This project allowed me to deeply investigate the changes companies make to appeal to a certain target market. Going to the lengths of changing their name multiple times to suit the preferences of an audience. This project did give me insight into the lengths you can go to meet the needs of the end user. However, I do question if it is necessary. There are possibly reasoning behind the multiple names, such as Lay’s purchasing existing companies and rebranding them. An interesting week for research, but I don’t feel this week has allowed me to develop my skills in any way.
BRIEF 3: WEEK 12. Trends & Environments Looking at the fundamentals of design today, what got us to where we are. There was nowhere else to look than the biggest tool for most designers today, Adobe Photoshop. Today this is our go-to for image editing. For me personally, I have needed to learn how to use Photoshop being a designer. Today you need to use it. However, there once was a time we didn’t have this tool and we had other methods to manipulate imagery. Similarly, there was one a time we imagined a world in the future with talking watches; today that is a reality. A Ted Talk by A. Jane opened my eyes to future possibilities that seem impossible that really aren’t. If you use imagination to design something creative, you then have a clear idea to work towards. I took from this, that whether I think I am designing something completely impossible, I may not actually be that crazy.
BRIEF 3: WEEK 12. Trends & Environments I researched and experimented with a few ideas around image manipulation today and what it could be in the future. I was very intrigued with distorting images to then reverse the destruction, this seemed as if you were fixing images. This initial route allowed me to see how the use of moving image can really change perspective. Change the whole story altogether. Moving image is something I want to look into later in the course, however, I moved on to a more interesting idea. Glasses as filters; in today’s society we take many images, usually adding filters before sharing with friends. These filters gave me an idea for a future where we wear glasses/lenses to change the real world in real time. I even went on to investigate the way we perceive our surrounds can affect your cognitive function, such as blue light reducing blood pressure. Could we live in a world where anxiety can be controlled through a filter that enhances your mood. If I went on to develop this I could design prototypes and run experiments to see its true effect. This way of designing and inventing hand in hand really allowed my creative and child-like side to come out. Playing make believe and explaining it through design. This was a really fun project to work on and I was very happy with the outcome.
BRIEF 3: SUMMARY This project allowed for lots of experimentation with different mediums and how it can affect the translation of a story. There was lots of theory behind it which was interesting but overall I felt I mostly got the benefit of trying new methods of working. Developing new skills and new ways of working.
COLOUR THEORY RESEARCH From the first week of this course, I was asked to analyse myself as a designer. I began asking questions that I may have thought about before but haven’t deeply looked into. More specifically my love for colour in my work as well as my life. Why do I use the word ‘colour’ to describe my style? This course began opening my eyes from week 1. Looking back on past projects and seeing how I use colour through the weeks, it began more apparent. It felt necessary to understand my reasoning. That I didn’t understand myself.
COLOUR THEORY RESEARCH In week 8 I really honed in on developing a plan. Not only for this module but for personal projects and research. My use of colour had been ticking away in the back of my head at this point and this week allowed me to organise these thoughts. I noted down some of the key colour theory topics I wanted to look into in the future. I knew I had to begin this research project as soon as I could because every week could help me develop this side project. I contacted the Royal Acadamy of Art’s, as they have one of the largest collections of colour related books at their Colour Reference Library. Tom introduced me to the Archives & Collections Manager, as he knew him from a project he worked on a couple of years ago. I booked an appointment to visit the collection and four weeks later I visited. I prepared by trying to understand what I wanted to get out of the opportunity. I want to understand colour theory, so in turn, I will be able to understand why I use it as a key component in my design style. I spent the day looking at books that explained basic colour theory, colour in design, and design in emotions. I took in a lot in one day, and I got a lot out of it; mainly that colour theory is a very large realm and this is only the start. The visit was exciting and only enticed me more to look deeper and explore this topic as a side project. I would have never started this search without this course, as these weekly project continually remind me to ask questions. These questions have highlighted something that is very important to me. For that alone, I have made the most of this module.
MODULE SUMMARY I had the most fun in week 4, producing the coloured paper collage of the inside of my bag. It allowed me to express my design style clearly though an understandable outcome. My most successful week, however, was week 8, when I began analysing the way I had been working and the work I had been producing. I was able to review my consistency in media and style. From that point, I began experimenting with other mediums such as video I produced in the week after. Doing something I wasn’t comfortable with allowed me to produce some of the best outcomes. Week 8 also let me make a plan; not only for the rest of the module but a direction for the rest of the course. Listing areas of design I haven’t had the chance to work with before. Whether that is because of the lack of projects in that area or the fear of change. Toward the end of this module, you can see that I am really beginning to accept these changes. Most importantly, I accepted the opportunity to delve into colour theory, asking questions I had never asked myself before about colour. Although it is just a starting point, my research so far, starting with the RCA’s Colour Reference Library, has been vital for getting the ball rolling. This is just the beginning of a long research project, but I’m glad that I have begun this journey. I definitely wouldn’t have got to where I am without this course. I have learnt a lot about myself as a designer in this short period of time. There might be a lot more to learn but this first step into looking at what I’m doing and beginning to question it has allowed me to ask the key questions that will allow me to get the most out of this course.