project repor t S I O B H A N S P E N C E R O U I L 5 0 3
contents pg pg pg pg
INDIVIDUAL BRIEFS 3 - 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B AT S F O R D P R I Z E 7 - 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I L L U S T R AT I O N 1 2 ” 1 0 - 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O H H D E E R 12-16.....................................UK GREETINGS
C O L L A B O R AT I V E B R I E F p g 1 7 - 2 0 . . . . . . . . . . G R O W N U P C H O C O L AT E C O M PA N Y p g 2 1 - 2 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S U M M AT I V E E VA L U AT I O N
batsford prize The Batsford Prize theme was Interpreting Nature in a way that is ‘innovative and well-crafted’. This brief was very open and welcomes a wide range of disciplines so there was pressure to try and be inventive. I wanted to use this opportunity to communicate the theme in an abstract way and put my visual communication skills to the test.
TOM ABBISS SMITH
Starting out, my intention was to produce 3 posters that were shape-based, graphic and striking, using nature as a springboard. I began by researching practitioners that create b o l d i m a g e r y, w i t h a n e m p h a s i s o n c o l o u r a n d shape. In trying to avoid just drawing natural forms, I started thinking about our relationship to nature. I considered animals (wild/domesticated), plants (indoor and outdoor), landmarks, the contexts in which you find nature, hobbies involving nature.
I N I T I A L
I D E A S
COMPOSITIONAL ROUGHS NICOLAS BURROWS
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S M A L L B R I E F
batsford prize I thought that the theme of ‘hobbies’ would be an interesting way of intepreting the brief, taking it away from nature itself and making it about our interaction with nature. I thought about recreational activities such a s g a r d e n i n g , c l i m b i n g , p h o t o g r a p h y, swimming, travelling, rock collecting, and considered the benefits of these activities such as relaxation, learning, and exercise. I decided upon gardening, swimming, and astronomy for my 3 posters, as I felt they o f f e r e d m e t h e m o s t i m a g e r y. I roughed quite extensively to test the compositions but then found that creating black paper cuts of my motifs, scanning them into Photoshop, and playing around with them this way allowed me to create a wide range of experiments.
D E V E L O P M E N T
I was pleased with these experiments but felt that producing purely shape-based imagery was losing the essence of my practice, and I was almost unintentionally mimicking other practitioners. I chose to go back and reconsider my motifs to create more line-oriented images, which I felt much more comfortable with.
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S M A L L B R I E F
batsford prize I almost immediately composed the Astronomy image, using line-based motifs all pieced t o g e t h e r, t o a l l u d e t o t h e i d e a o f k n o w l e d g e a n d learning. I used Photoshop to add in a block background and remove shapes from it - creating negative space. SCREENPRINTS
As I was pleased with this image, it set the tone for my other two images - swimming and gardening. My Swimming image shows the repetitive motion of t h e s p o r t , c o n v e y i n g i t a s a d y n a m i c , m o v e m e n t f i l l e d a c t i v i t y. After roughing the Gardening design, I didn’t manage to produce a composition that I was happy with, as I couldn’t make it fit in with the other images, so I decided to produce a set of just 2 illustrations. I produced screenprints of these designs, intending to submit these but after producing them, I realised that the texture of the print almost took away from the boldness of the images. Instead, I chose to submit the digital images I produced.
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S M A L L B R I E F
batsford prize Although my outcomes aren’t quite the shape-based images that I set out to create, I am pleased with my commitment to producing abstracted designs that still visually communicate a subject. I tried to put a lot of thought into the message behind my images to ensure that despite them being abstract, they still had substance. I stayed true to my work through line drawings and bold colours but explored a different side to my practice through motifs. I am disappointed that I didn’t manage to produce 3 screenprinted posters as I intended, as producing a coherent set was more difficult than I anticipated but I’m pleased to have produced 2 images that work alongside each o t h e r, a s w e l l i n t h e i r o w n r i g h t .
O U T C O M E S
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S M A L L B R I E F
illustration 12” The Illustration 12” brief involved producing visual responses to chosen songs, in the form of 12” singles covers. The designs had to be purely visual, without relying on text.
THE BOY IN THE BUBBLE PAUL SIMON
I chose to stray away from the list of chosen tracks as I wanted to represent artists that I was p a s s i o n a t e a b o u t . H o w e v e r, I d i d s t i l l c r e a t e i m a g e s for songs that I wasn’t overly familiar with in order to approach the brief with fresh eyes. I viewed this project as a way to explore my interest in music graphics, as a nice accompaniment to my music-orientated CoP project, as well as as a test of my visual communication skills. The square format also enabled me to create a series of images, which could be viewed as a set whilst being varied in style. AS LONG AS WEʼRE TOGETHER THE LEMON TWIGS
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S M A L L B R I E F
illustration 12� I aimed to view each track as a short, spontaneous brief so when roughing, I tried to quickly get down my ideas, noting down lyrics and using line and colour to almost make sound maps of what I was hearing. As I view colour as an integral part of my practice, it was important to explore palettes at the roughs stage to make my decision making process easier later on. While I wanted to convey the lyrics/meanings of the songs through visual symbols, I also intended to approach each design differently so I needed to translate my initial sketches into various mediums. My responses varied from paintings, drawings, collages with found material, and digital manipulation.
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S M A L L B R I E F
illustration 12” I really enjoyed this project as a whole, allowing me to produce experimental designs in a short time span, and exploring abstracted image making as a means of communication.
BIG BEAUTIFUL DAY PWR BTTM
I liked the instinctual aspect of this brief, enabling me to go with my gut feeling and intepret a song’s lyrics and atmosphere in a way that I saw fit. I really feel that this project loosened up my practice, encouraging me to experiment with varied methods of illustration. Mocking up my designs onto record covers makes my outcomes seem more professional and has helped me envisage my illustrations being applied to real world contexts. Making images in response to music is definitely something I’d l i k e t o e x p l o r e f u r t h e r.
ALLAH, ALLAH, ALLAH MEWITHOUTYOU
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S M A L L B R I E F
ohh deer This brief was the ‘Go Card or Go Home’ c o m p e t i t i o n f o r O h h D e e r. I t r e q u i r e d a d e s i g n f o r M o t h e r ’ s D a y, Va l e n t i n e ’ s D a y, o r a n y m o r e general occasions. Having looked at Ohh Deer ’s website, I noticed trends in humour based greetings c a r d s , a s w e l l a s a n i m a l i m a g e r y. I decided upon the idea of a bird in a leather jacket with the caption ‘you are one cool guy’ - the card would be intended as a humorous greeting to give to a friend and show appreciation. I wanted to illustration personable chinagraph experiment
produce a colourful, hand-drawn to make my design playful and so I drew out my image using pencil. I used Photoshop to with various colours and textures.
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S M A L L B R I E F
ohh deer This is my final outcome. I decided against using texture in my design so I just added flat digital colour to achieve a bold aesthetic. I also think that these colours make my design gender neutral, which is different for me as I normally use feminine colours. The slogan ‘pretty fly for a bird guy’ adds a sense of humour to my design and matches the image, while the use of handwritten text m a k e s i t f u n a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y. This was quite a short, spontaneous brief wiht most of my development taking place digitally but I’m pleased with how the image has come together and how it adheres to Ohh Deer ’s product aesthetics.
O U T C O M E
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S M A L L B R I E F
ycn uk greetings The UK Greetings brief entailed producing a collection of greetings cards, notecards, gift b a g , n o t e b o o k a n d w r a p p i n g p a p e r. T h e collection could be for an occasion and target audience of my choice, making the brief very open. I didn’t actually go into this project with a target audience or occasion in mind. I wanted to do complete this brief as it would give me the opportunity to produce pattern-based or aesthetically-led designs and see how my illustrations could be applied to products. My first priority was conducting research into various contemporary brands - such as Oliver Bonas, Printed Peanut, and Wrap Magazine who all make use of illustration in their products. Some of the key trends I noticed were geometric shapes, textural patterns, animals, and messages with a sense of h u m o u r.
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S U B S T A N T I A L B R I E F
ycn uk greetings I began by producing roughs that matched imagery with taglines, as a way of incorporating a sense of humour alongside my illustrations. My intention was to produce a range of designs for various purposes, all with a positive, upbeat message. I wanted to combine my hand drawn illustrations with textural and painterly mark making so I did some media experimentation, playing around with layering acrylic paint and producing different marks. This also allowed me to test out colour palettes at this stage.
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S U B S T A N T I A L B R I E F
ycn uk greetings I drew the motifs using a chinagraph pencil to give extra texture and boldness, and used acrylic paint and coloured pencils to create textures for the backgrounds. My method was to use Photoshop to refine and c o m p i l e m y i m a g e r y, a l t e r i n g t h e c o l o u r s o f m y designs, and using blending modes to create colour overlays. This method enabled me to experiment with colour palettes and compositions quite exhaustively and consequently create several versions of each of my designs, which I could then choose the strongest from. This was perhaps not the most effective way of doing this. Given the endless possibilities of Photoshop, I probably should have finalised my designs on paper to save time but I find it easiest to compose an image d i g i t a l l y, w h e r e I c a n m o v e t h e c o m p o n e n t s about.
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S U B S T A N T I A L B R I E F
ycn uk greetings Once I had completed each design, I produced mock ups of the products using digital templates. This was really useful in seeing how my illustrations worked in context and the fact that I had considered this made the design boards I submitted to YCN appear more professional. It was interesting to see how my designs worked as a collection. I’m pleased with the consistency of the illustrations, which I was able to achieve through my overaching colour palette, using the same typeface and by reusing some of the textures but in different ways. Incorporating text into my work is new to me so I stuck to a simple typeface, which isn’t particularly exciting but it does allow the imagery to stand out. I named my collection ‘Let’s Be Friends’ and geared it towards a target audience of females aged 18-24. I think I was hindered by not choosing a clear theme at first but I am happy with how the set has been tied together with aesthetically-led designs and positive
M O C K
U P S
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S U B S T A N T I A L B R I E F
ycn uk greetings
WRAPPING PAPER PATTERN
GREETING CARDS GIFT BAG
NOTECARDS NOTEBOOK COVER
I N D I V I D U A L
O U I L 5 0 3 S U B S T A N T I A L B R I E F
grown up c hocolate company This brief was to produce an ‘original and inventive packaging design for a new personalised chocolate product’. The packaging consists of a box and an outer sleeve and we were encouraged to use the space in an o r i g i n a l w a y, i n c o r p o r a t i n g b o t h t e x t a n d i m a g e r y. I worked with two graphic designers on this project, meaning that we had a whole range of skills to draw from in order to fulfil the brief. This project was enticing to me because it would let me see my illustrations applied to a real world context, I’d have to consider how to be commercial as well as innovative. I began by conducting research into existing confectionery packaging, which revealed that colour blocking, geometric shapes and patterns were all key trends. This research ensured that the team members were on the same page and we agreed to produce a pattern-based design, with emphasis on bright colours.
O U I L 5 0 3 C O L L A B O R A T I V E B R I E F
After discussing with the group, we decided that as chocolate was the common ingredient throughout the products, I should draw influence from the cocoa bean. I produced a range of sketches and media tests, some realistic, others more abstracted. The brief said that we could perhaps allude to the mystery of the product so I started to think about representing the cocoa beans as jewels with ‘hidden g e m s ’ i n s i d e , s i g n i f y i n g l u x u r y. By producing a whole range of experiments with colour and style, this gave me enough material for my group to feedback on during our next meeting.
O U I L 5 0 3 C O L L A B O R A T I V E B R I E F
Feedback from my group led to me producing a combination of representational drawings and abstracted shapes and colours, taking cues from the brand’s colour palette. I used acrylic paint and chinagraph pencil to give my illustrations texture and character - I think that the handmade aesthetic ties in nicely with the personalised concept of the product. I used Photoshop to compose the repeat pattern, which allowed me to move around the elements to a c h i e v e c o n t i n u i t y, a s w e l l a d j u s t t h e c o l o u r s o f my designs. i feel that I pushed the concept of the ‘hidden gems’ as this gave us something more exciting than simply drawings of cocoa beans, which I thought was too obvious.
O U I L 5 0 3 C O L L A B O R A T I V E B R I E F
This is the final pattern design I produced and the mock ups of it in context of the product and website, which my partners produced. I feel that my design fits in well with the brand aesthetic but brings a new contemporary edge, taking influence from current trends. The blue colour that I have introduced complements the pink and brown of the brand’s colour palette and makes the design gender neutral, which was required by the brief. I feel that I perhaps had to prompt team members on what their jobs were at certain points and push the concept I believed in but once we made specific plans for our r o l e s , t h e p r o j e c t r e a l l y c a m e t o g e t h e r. The work that my partners produced is inkeeping with the brand identity and brings a playful touch with the use of text. We have been able to utilise each of our skillsets to produce a cohesive body of work.
O U I L 5 0 3 C O L L A B O R A T I V E B R I E F
summative evaluation Upon starting out on this module, I’d never properly considered the commerciality or professionalism of m y w o r k b e f o r e . H o w e v e r, t h e c o m p e t i t i o n b r i e f s have required me to focus on this, considering the brand identities of the various clients and how my work could fit in with their aesthetics and values. It has been interesting trying to find this balance between my own practice and the client’s requirements; it has brought up lots of questions for me about if I want my work to be commercial, and the sorts of clients I would want to represent. During the UK Greetings and Grown Up Chocolate Company briefs, I have conducted research into existing products, picking up on trends and utilising this knowledge to produce contemporary designs of my own that are in-keeping with the market. I have also been influenced by practitioners and used them as inspiration in producing my own illustrations. I have found self-direction difficult throughout this module. I find that my practice is quite reliant on getting feedback so I have had to seek this out in
order for my work to progress. The openness of some of the briefs stumped me a little and I didn’t finalise my concepts or designs early enough, relying on Photoshop to bring it together in some cases – particularly for the Batsford Prize and UK Greetings briefs. This doesn’t mean that my outcomes weren’t successful, just that I maybe wasted time using Photoshop when I could have had a clearer picture in mind beforehand. Despite this reliance on digital media, I have noticed that I have generally stayed true to a handmade aesthetic, choosing to produce the majority of my work with analogue media and using Photoshop to refine and compose the images. I have also found it difficult to maintain my own deadlines for certain briefs; I realised that I kept e x t e n d i n g w h e n t a s k s h a d t o b e c o m p l e t e d b y, s t r u g g l i n g t o b e s t r i c t o n m y s e l f . H o w e v e r, w h e n t h i n g s h a v e g o n e b a d l y, I h a v e m a n a g e d t o a l t e r m y original plans to complete the work on time, while still fulfilling the brief. This perhaps meant that I didn’t produce the work that I had set out to, but I think it demonstrates an adaptability that I feel w o u l d b e n e c e s s a r y i n t h e c o n t e x t o f i n d u s t r y. I d o need to think about how realistic my goals are in r e l a t i o n t o t i m e c o n s t r a i n t s h o w e v e r, a n d p l a n o u t t h e s t a g e s o f t h e p r o j e c t m o r e p r e c i s e l y.
O U I L 5 0 3
OUIL503 has required me to consider the professionalism of my work, especially when submitting to YCN. I have learnt on my own how to produce digital mock ups of my designs (using templates found online), applying them to products, allowing me to see how my illustrations work in real world contexts. This has been a particularly rewarding part of the module – seeing the projects through from start to finish and being able to envisage my designs in the contexts in which they were intended. Working within a group for the collaborative brief was a rewarding experience as we utilised each of our skillsets to produce a cohesive body of work and I was able to see my design come to life in the form of packaging and a website, alongside my partners’ work. I think that I could have been more assertive at the start of the collaboration as I felt that I was being relied upon to get the project up and running but once we decided on specific roles, it started c o m i n g t o g e t h e r. I ’ m a l s o p l e a s e d t h a t I c a m e u p with the concept of ‘hidden gems’, to allude to the mystery of the product as I think that this is what made the design unique, as opposed to representational cocoa bean illustrations.
these projects, the openness of the briefs allowing me to do this. Creating visual responses to music was my favourite brief as I could be quite instinctual and spontaneous in my image making as it simply relied upon my interpretation of the tracks. Although I was considering how the designs would work in the context of the 12” format, it felt like a personal project, which loosened up my practice and allowed me to produce abstract visual motifs. I do wish that I had extended this into a larger brief as I feel that it could become an integral part of my practice and I really enjoyed testing out my visual communication skills.
I have used this module, particularly the Batsford Prize and Illustration 12” briefs, to explore creating abstracted images. I feel I have been quite experimental in producing outcomes for each of
O U I L 5 0 3