OUGD203: Design Practice 2 - Evaluation...

I expected the Design Practice 2 (Individual practice) module to be the most challenging of any module so far. Now that I have completed it I can safely say I was right, but for many reasons, and most of them are positive.

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
This module has helped me to develop skills in several areas, due to my choice of 3 quite different briefs. I have improved my skills with hand drawn type. This provided the base of my designs for the Postcards brief, and I really put a lot of effort into creating interesting, and quirky type that I think suited the brief. This has also improved my drawing skills, and given me the confidence to try similar design in the future.

The running of three different briefs at the same time, meant I have had to be really conscious of my time management. I have tried to stick to the timetable I drew up for myself at the beginning of the project, but obviously things changes, sessions moved and I had to deal with this by planning ahead. For example I booked a print session early, conscious that the facility would fill up, and it helped to know that I had to be ready for this session as it was my only opportunity. My time management has improved, and I think that I will try to timetable my briefs in the future.

My skills with information have also improved; the Lonely Planet and Homebase briefs both required written information incorporated as part of the design, and this made me very aware that I would need to plan my designs well from the beginning. I really enjoyed this informational side of the design work, and would like to do more with information graphics in the future.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
The Homebase brief was asking for a re-design of a product range. I was able to look at the existing range they had, and identify what needed improving and how this could be done. Researching in this way helped me to create a design that was functional as well as aesthetically pleasing, and well designed.

For the Postcard briefs I wanted to work with an existing theme. Alice in Wonderland seemed to fit rather well, and I was able to research the characters and story in good depth. I even decided to read the stories whilst I was working on the brief; Researching a brief in this way enabled me to fully understand the words and themes within the book. I think that if a subject has a literary or theoretical background, then some reading can really help you to understand what angle you should use, and how you can design a response.

My development work, and the way I work has remained fairly similar to previous briefs. But I do think that I have become more accustomed to working on lots of projects at one time and learning to divide my time well. I have found that being able to switch off from one brief and onto another very quickly is something that I will need to get more adapted to in the future.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I know that I am a very organised person, and that this probably helped me a lot with this module. I know that planning my work has been integral to getting everything done, and I need to continue this with future briefs.

I have found a new love of hand drawn type, and several of my peers commented on how much they liked the resolutions I produced. I think that exploring this area more, and experimenting with this skill could create some good opportunities for me in the future.

I am a very thorough individual, and I do not like to leave any stone unturned. I have tried to explore all of the possible options for each brief (within the timescale I allotted them) so that I could feel that I was producing appropriate and strong design solutions to the briefs.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
I feel that I am very controlled in my work. I would like to be able to create more interesting, colourful, vibrant and exciting work. I am not sure how exactly I am going to do this; I think that maybe picking briefs that are slightly more out of my comfort zone and giving them ago would probably help.

I would like to have possibly done a fourth brief, as a one day project. I used to dislike one-dayers a lot, but a opportunities earlier this year told me different. I was not brave enough to choose a one-dayer for this set of briefs, but in the future I would like to give a few a go, and be a bit more daring.

5. Identify four things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

I will try to keep a log of my work. Creating the timetable really helped me to get an idea of how efficiently I had to work. I think that recording my work will help me see how efficient I am, and where I can improve.

My motivation for the briefs needs to improve. There are of course outside elements that dictate mood and willingness to work; I never want these to become a distraction from my work, and I will try harder to not let them be. I think that if I can focus better on my work, then the quality will improve and I will also be preparing myself for a job in the design industry.

I has to reprint my labels for my work several times due to a very silly spelling error. This may not seem like a massive issue, but reprinting took time because the computer suites and printers were very busy, and it took much longer than I intended. In future I will make sure that my work is spell checked and that I prepare myself for the busy periods in the computer suites.

I found the idea I was working on for the Postcard briefs was not working, and I wasn’t enjoying it. I made the decision to change the direction of the brief, but was very worried that I would not be able to make it work. In future I would like to be able to make the decision with a bit more conviction, and have more faith that my ideas will pan out, and that I am good enough at what I do to at least make a go of it.

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas:

5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor

Myself
Attendance 5
Punctuality 5
Motivation 4
Commitment 3
Quantity of work produced 4
Quality of work produced 3.5
Contribution to the group 4

OUGD203: Lonely Planet - Final Designs and Applications...

This brief was relatively short, and I came to my final design quite quickly. It was the amount of information and the balance between graphics and text that took a little time to get right. I have designed the poster, which can also be used as a magazine advert, and a promotional postcard. I am quite pleased with the outcome, though this is the brief that I struggled with the most, but I feel that I did my best with it.

OUGD203: Postcards - Final Designs...

These are my final design for the five postcard, with a different reverse for each. The packaging is also shown below, a simple brown paper envelope with a Queen of Hearts stamp and Wonderland postmark. I am really pleased with the overall outcome of the designs, and I have really enjoyed experimenting with typography.

OUGD203: Homebase - Final Products

These are my finished product photographs. I am really please with the overall outcome; I think that the design works well, the products create a strong set, and the design can be applied to a wide range of products.

OUGD203: Postcards - Begin at the beginning...

These are 3 variations of the "Begin at the beginning and go on until you come to the end. Then stop" postcard. This phrase is spoken by the king of hearts, which is why I have used to the red white and black/grey colour palette. The transparency on the words allows all of them to be read, and the repetitiveness creates a loop of the phrase - preventing you from beginning at the beginning, going on to the end and then stopping.

Crit feedback told me that the design needed a bit more texture, and depth to the design. I have applied an eroded texture to the centre image, and added outline, and hand drawn letters to the bottom. I have asked for feedback on these, and the bottom image was preferred as it has a more hand crafted look, which fits in with the other cards.

OUGD203: Postcards - Packaging...

In today's crit a couple of people mentioned packaging the postcards together somehow, so that they feel like a set. I have chosen to use brown paper and string as the packaging; this is a very simple approach, but won't take away from the design of the postcards inside. I also think that the simplicity will create intrigue; I am going to include a small stamp and postmark in the corner to indicate the nature of the design, and the theme.

OUGD203: Homebase - Illustration experimentation...

This is the experimentation I have been doing for my illustrations for the packaging. I am trying to find a balance between simplicity and a fully designed image. The outline illustration is slightly 'unfinished', and the solid colour is slightly too dense and dull. I have settled on using the 6th illustration, I like the full colour, but the use of white outline to define the shape and form of the vegetable or fruit.

OUGD203: Postcards - Reverses...

I want to create a design for the reverse of the postcard that ties in the phrase on the front, and brings the cards together as a set. These are examples of vintage postcards, and these will influence my ideas for the reverse of the postcards.

OUGD203: Postcards - Research...

I have looked at these pieces for inspiration for my type design. I've been influence by several illustrative typographers, whose work is displayed below, and the way they give the words expression and personality. I want the postcard designs to be very distinctive from one another, but keep them together as a set, and related to each other through the design on the reverse.

OUGD203: Homebase - General design ideas...

I have been using the plant marker/label thing as the starting point for my packaging design. I have been trying to find a layout that will suit the entire range of products that Homebase sell for their Grow Your Own range. These are the basic ideas that I have come up with, and hopefully one will become the basis for my final design:

OUGD203: Postcards - A typographic wonderland...

I have decided to base my Postcards from the Edge brief on Alice in Wonderland, and the characters in the stories. I started by investigating the characters, trying to get a feel for how to represent each one. Initially I wanted to create collage effect, using illustrations, photographs and embellishments. I investigated this, and hit a dead end with the ideas for each calendar.

So, I have moved on to using typography instead of illustration. I think that the words and quotes from the stories are really expressive, and present interesting areas for typographic exploration. I think that hand drawn type, and illustrative elements will help to give the words expression and meaning. The images below are my initial ideas for some of the quotes that I have found in the stories:

OUGD203: Homebase - Logo Design...

I have been experimenting with my logo design for 'Grow Your Own'. I decided that I wanted something more delicate, less imposing and more interesting that the current logo, shown below. I have decided to use this slab serif, embellished logo as my final design. I think that the addition of the leaf shapes and vine like ends to the letters make the logo more interesting, and the way the existing tear drop terminals and rounded ends to the slab serifs simply add to the overall organic feel.

Original Logo...


My design...

OUGD203: Lonely Planet - Initial ideas...

This is my shortest brief, I only want to spend a week and a half focusing on this project, so I need to make fast decisions. I have been considering exactly what Lonely Planet stand for, and what they want to convey to their customers:

Independent
Personal
First time travelers
Informative
Simple
A feeling of company
Expert advice
Responsible
Encouraging
Tell it like it is
Inspirational
No holds barred

I need to endevour to incorporate all of these aspects of the brand into the advertising, and show that Lonely Planet are a reliable and informative travel company.

OUGD203: Homebase - Product Research...

I've had a look at the other grow your own sorts of products that are currently available. This range by Burgon and Ball seem to be the only ones with a design created since the early nineties (everything else is about 5 different colours and has horrific type). However, this range uses just one image, repeated throughout the range, and overall it is very expensive. It focuses more on the tools and equipment, rather than the plants or seeds for growing.

OUGD203: The Briefs...

OK, so I realise it has been a month since I posted anything - woops!
So here is the first post of my new term, and new projects.
My 3 competition briefs that I've picked are:

1. Homebase 'Grow Your Own' Packaging - Re-designing the packaging for the grow your own fruit and vegetables range that Homebase sell under their own brand. I have chosen this brief because I really like packaging design, and it was the only packaging brief in all the ones we had to choose from! I am also interested in changing the packaging, making it more eco-friendly, recyclable and maybe even compostable, instead of polystyrene and plastic containers.
Intended length of five weeks

2. Lonely Planet, copy based campaign for 3 new book titles - I have chosen this because I really like Lonely Planet as a brand - how they seem totally anti-corporate, even though they are, and that they speak to their readers on a very friendly and one to one level. I want to create something that is very friendly, and full of information, because Lonely Planet stop at nothing to give you all the advice they possibly can!
Intended length of 1 and a half weeks

3. Postcards from Wonderland - I am creating a series of postcards based on a rang of characters from the Alice stories. I wanted to pick a theme that was interesting and had lot of imagery and language that I can play with for the designs. I also chose Alice because it is a Victorian novel, and postcards were 'invented' during the Victorian era, so I though going back to the very roots of postcards would be a good idea. My plan for this brief is to create textural, type and illustration based images for the postcards, each representing a different main character.
Intended length of two weeks