Portfolio
2016
MA Graphic Branding and Identity London College of Communication
Szuyun Chang
Personal Statement
The reason I applied for this course is because I want to pursue a more in-depth and research based education of graphic design and explore more strategic thinking about branding and identity. I have established my design skills and gained knowledge about how to apply typography, colour, and visual grammar into my design during the postgraduate diploma course. Through my previous designs, I realised that graphic design serves as an imperative communication tool to solve problems and express ideas. Branding and identity is an important element in visual communication. It is important for a product, a company, or an individual to have a suitable identity so that they can communicate with their audience through visual languages. I have learnt that design is not just about mastering the software, but also about content, research, experimentation, and having your own judgments and perspective. I hope through your course, I will be able to explore more possibilities on the future branding approaches and understand and communicate brand stories graphically. Furthermore, I am familiar with the facilities and resources in LCC during the Post Graduate Diploma course, LCC would be a perfect place for me to pursue more profound research and design experience.
Contents
Project
01
Aphorisms Cards
02
Shape Up Your Songs 10 / 13
03
Information Design
14 / 17
04
Facing Death
18 / 25
05
Learning Chinese
26 / 28
06
Commercial Works
32/33
04 / 09
Project 01
Aphorism Cards Outcome The final outcome of the typography research is a set of screen printed aphorism cards in the aim to express emotion through typography. I used different typefaces and punctuation marks on each cards, and explored which typeface best express a certain word. Punctuation marks are an interesting typographic devices that can be both loud and silent. Most of the time, people don’t pay attention to them, but they have the ability to change the entire meaning of a sentence. I tried to play with the geometric features of punctuation marks and used them to highlight the sentences and add a sense of playfulness into the design. The cards are screen printed on a textured paper, using three different colours, orange, blue, and white. A bright orange is used for reader to identify the important word and message in the sentences.
6
Paper Fabriano 300gsm Print Screen printed Size 210Ă—148mm
7
Research & Development Starting from type anatomy, I looked into the details of letterforms and how each typeface differs, then to the understanding of grid system and type heirachy. Visual experiment such as reconstructing parts of letterforms helped me explore the distinguish personalities and characteristics of different typefaces.
8
Visual Experiment Inspired by great typographers and graphic designers like Paul Renner, and Josef Müller-Brockmann. From analysing their works, I was able to understand the importance of typography, grid, and layouts and apply these knowledge into my design. This is an example of my visual experiment on type heirachy.
Paper Zen 150gsm Print Digital printed Size 420× 297mm
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9
Visual Experiment Analysing punctuation marks in different typefaces to find out suitable typeface for the sentences. Futura
.,:;‘’“”<>…–—!?()[]{}/ Frutiger
.,:;‘’“”<>…–—!?()[]{}/ Superclarendon
.,:;‘’“”<>…–—!?()[]{}/ Didot
.,:;‘’“”<>…–—!?()[]{}/ Trojan Pro
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10
Experiment with different layouts and explore printing methods like letterpress and screenprinting.
11
Project 02
Shape Up Your Songs Outcome Inspired by the experimentation on visual languages. I created a set of publication with songs by UK singers through line, circle, and squares. Using minimum colours and shapes to express the meanings of the songs and explore the possibilities of graphic elements. Each book is formed only with lines, circles, or squares to allow the reader to expand their imagination visually.
12
Paper Zen 150gsm Print Digital printed and perfect bound Size 150Ă&#x2014;150mm
13
Research & Development
Research on Christian Leborgâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Visual Grammar, Paul Rand and other designersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; works to develop understanding on how visual elements can be used in designs.
14
Visual Experiment Through previous research and experimentation, I tried to create album covers for different music genre by using simple visual elements. With these visual elements, it is possible to create movement, rhythm, emotions, and so much more. The process led me into the final production of the Shape Up Your Songs publication.
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The Song of Freedom
Classical The Song of Freedom
15
Project 03
Information Design
Paper Colorplan 250gsm Print Digital Printed Size 420Ă&#x2014;297mm
16
Outcome This piece of Information design shows the champions of the tennis Grand Slams from 1970 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2015. By using circle symbols and yellow colour resembling a tennis ball, the infographic set out to help the audience know which player has won how many championships in four different major tennis contests.
17
Research & Development Research and hands-on experiment on how to gather, analyse, and simplify information is the major work of this project. Design examples from Information is Beautiful and studies by Edwar R. Tufte is an important reference for my design development. My investigation focused on sport infographic. I looked at examples and analyse what is good and bad then apply what I have learned into my own design.
18
1970 Roger Federer Pete Samprass
15 20
19
Rafael Nadal
75
Bjรถrn Borg Novak Djokovic Jimmy Connors
Ivan Lendl Andre Agassi John McEnroe Mats Wilander
201 0
19 8 0
Stefan Edberg Boris Becker John Newcombe
1985
5 200 20 00
19
90
1995
Australian Open
French Wimbeldon Open
US Open
Career duration
Trying out different shapes of inforgraphic in order to find out the most suitable way to show the information that appears the most readable and easy to understand for the readers.
The first version of the design is a circle shape to relate to the shape of a tennis ball. This was my original design idea, but the time-line can not show how many tournaments each player won clearly.
19
Project 04
Facing Death Outcome Based on the brief of the ISTD (International Society of Typographic Designers) Assessment 2015, I created a set of A2 posters about global incidents related to death which were reported on the news. I hope to bring death closer to people through print based project. By making connections between these stories, I hope the reader will start to re-consider the meaning of death and what we can learn from it and that this might influence attitudes and behaviour. The form of the posters is to allow them to be hanged on gallery walls and at the same time folded small enough to carry.
Paper Munken White 150gsm Wild White 300gsm Print Inkjet Digital Printed Letter Press Size 420Ă&#x2014;594mm
20
21
Research & Development
I started with mind-mapping and researching on topics that interested me the most, building up my sketchbook and clarify my thoughts. Visual experimentation focused on type setting and the content layout. The posters followed the grid system based on what I have learned from Grid Systems in Graphic Design: by Josef M端ller-Brockmann.
22
Minion
A QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG a quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog Frutiger
A QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG a quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog Courier
A QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG a quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
23
Visual Experiment Experiment with graphic elements. By identifying the symbolic elements in each incident, I was able to put some of the elements into my publication in a subtle way.
Visual experiment on different resolution of halftoned pictures.
24
Typographic experimentation based on Futuraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s geometric characteristics. I take apart its strokes to create Korean letterforms.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
25
Visual Experiment Experimentation on the form of the publication. I tried out several forms from small leaflets to large scale posters to see how they visually effect the audience.
26
I tried laser cut, embossing and letterpress and experiment on different papers. The final decision is to use letterpress on wild white paper for the cover of the publication because of its special texture and transparent ink effect which shows ‘emotions’ and ‘engagement’ .
27
Project 05
Learning Chinese Outcome This is an on-going project. The aim of this project is to raise the interest of primary school children (mainly age 9 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) in learning Chinese and make Chinese appears more manageable in an aesthetic approach. Through the project research, analysis and experimentation I explored several design areas and cases by other designers. The publication outlines the research, experimentation, and development that leads to the final outcome of the self-initiated project for the Design for Visual Communication Postgraduate Diploma course.
28
Paper Munken 150gsm Print Digital Printed and Coptic Bound Size 210Ă&#x2014;210mm
29
Research & Development The project focuses on the form of the Chinese strokes and characters as it the most difficult part of Chinese learning. After researching on the current situation of Chinese learning, I interviewed with Chinese teachers in the UK, analysed Latin and Chinese typography, and studied several design cases. I set out to explored design areas such as book design, product design, and more to find a best outcome to show that Chinese characters are not that difficult and could be fun. I conducted several visual experimentation focusing on typography and will continue the research.
30
Visual Experiment I tried to create Latin letters with a Chinese typeface by identifying the similarities between Latin letters and Chinese components.
A Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog
31
Project 06
Commercial Works AIESEC International Congress Brand and identity design showcasing Taiwan with elements such as calligraphy strokes and splash-ink to symbolize Asian culture and colourful colour setting to present youthfulness.
32
Temple Identity Design Visual re-branding for one of the most prestigious temple in Taiwan. Including logo, brochure, postcards, and illustration of the Gods and Goddesses of the temple.
33