As a result of Personal Professional Practice, it has been possible to deal with issues that occur when working in a creative environment. This has included the stress relief exercise and the ways to manage our time. By practicing this, it is easier to gather ideas for my work and make the most of each day. Another thing that has benefitted my practice so far on the course would be the presentations. This is because each one has given me more confidence in speaking in front of an audience and confidence in the work I am producing.
PPP has also allowed us to start working collaboratively with our peers during group activities and shared presentations. I think that next year, on the level 5 course I will start to network with people more so that I can start to build up a series of clients. One way that I plan to do this would be through showcasing my work on social media accounts such as Instagram and by visiting more gallery exhibitions or open nights. The presentations from PPP will also allow me to structure future interviews or pitches to clients which will be very useful.
Overall, I think that the skills I have learnt during the module will set me up for the future and I will be able to look back on these skills when managing my time or dealing with stress.
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Monday, 20 March 2017
Studio Brief 3 - Design Strategy Presentation
Design Strategy
As part of a 7 minute presentation, we will have to reflect on our time so far on the course. This will include reflecting on who you are as a designers, as a learner and how the aims and ambitions have ultimately been influenced by the course. By reflecting in this way we are able to see what will need improving when we go on to level 5.
To start off the presentation, I thought about what motivates and influences me most. This includes the city I come from (Liverpool), the music I listen to and the designers that I find most inspiring. By first looking at these influences I can begin to compare my work to them and decide whether they were successful or not.
The next thing that I found was helpful during this course was the trips that began at the start of the year, including the visit to the Hepworth gallery and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. By attending these trips, I had more research and inspiration to use in my first project, which involved the creation of our own typeface and the study of letters. The logotype project was also quite influential to my work as it allowed us to study type and where to appropriately apply different styles.
Sketchbooks have also been an important factor on this course as they have allowed me to work quickly and consistently. They're also good for collaging and experimenting with different print samples, which can be much more broad that experimenting with digital only. Using sketchbooks during each project allows you to gather initial ideas and create thumbnail sketches of what you intend to develop later on.
Book and page layout has been important also, as it was introduced early in the course as a way to structure the designs and text that we use. Since design principles introduced the Marber grid system, I have frequently used it for many of my designs, including the Penguin Book cover competition. Page layout has been helpful when provided during the Indesign tutorial workshop, as we have been tasked at various stages to create publications that require a structure and layout, consistent throughout.
Group critique sessions have been very important to my practice, as it has allowed me to gain second opinion on the work during different stages. Receiving feedback on the work means I can also receive suggestions for designers to look at as well as ways to improve the work. This also gives us the opportunity to see how other people have approached a brief and ways that we can provide them with constructive criticism. One example of how my work has been influenced by the group critiques would be during Studio brief 1 of design practice. My work involved a copyright image and suggestions from my peers allowed me to create an alternative design that avoided the copyright.
My aims and ambitions for level 5 would be:
As part of a 7 minute presentation, we will have to reflect on our time so far on the course. This will include reflecting on who you are as a designers, as a learner and how the aims and ambitions have ultimately been influenced by the course. By reflecting in this way we are able to see what will need improving when we go on to level 5.
To start off the presentation, I thought about what motivates and influences me most. This includes the city I come from (Liverpool), the music I listen to and the designers that I find most inspiring. By first looking at these influences I can begin to compare my work to them and decide whether they were successful or not.
The next thing that I found was helpful during this course was the trips that began at the start of the year, including the visit to the Hepworth gallery and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. By attending these trips, I had more research and inspiration to use in my first project, which involved the creation of our own typeface and the study of letters. The logotype project was also quite influential to my work as it allowed us to study type and where to appropriately apply different styles.
Sketchbooks have also been an important factor on this course as they have allowed me to work quickly and consistently. They're also good for collaging and experimenting with different print samples, which can be much more broad that experimenting with digital only. Using sketchbooks during each project allows you to gather initial ideas and create thumbnail sketches of what you intend to develop later on.
Book and page layout has been important also, as it was introduced early in the course as a way to structure the designs and text that we use. Since design principles introduced the Marber grid system, I have frequently used it for many of my designs, including the Penguin Book cover competition. Page layout has been helpful when provided during the Indesign tutorial workshop, as we have been tasked at various stages to create publications that require a structure and layout, consistent throughout.
Group critique sessions have been very important to my practice, as it has allowed me to gain second opinion on the work during different stages. Receiving feedback on the work means I can also receive suggestions for designers to look at as well as ways to improve the work. This also gives us the opportunity to see how other people have approached a brief and ways that we can provide them with constructive criticism. One example of how my work has been influenced by the group critiques would be during Studio brief 1 of design practice. My work involved a copyright image and suggestions from my peers allowed me to create an alternative design that avoided the copyright.
My aims and ambitions for level 5 would be:
- To start looking for freelance work from clients. I could possibly do this through setting up an account on social media, as many of my influences and favourite designers are showcased on Instagram. I also think the course has now provided me with more confidence and skills to work with clients.
- To learn new skill sets, including photography, printing and animation. I would also like to return to some of the methods that I had previously used on the art foundation course, including painting and fine liner drawing.
- Collaborate with more people from either this course or another, so that there is more variation to my work.
- Make more use of the sign-up tutorials, as it will allow me to gather feedback from 1-to-1 with the tutor.
Friday, 10 March 2017
Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding Presentation
After presenting my self branding project to the class, I received feedback on what went well and what could have been improved. For the presentation itself, I need to improve on my organisation skills, as it was difficult to present the ideas when I had not prepared notes. It would also be beneficial to next time make bullet points for each slide, so that the audience can stay interested in the ideas and it makes it easier for me to present.
After showing the class my process and the design stages I went through, it seemed the logotype I had produced was well received by the peers. They also suggested that playing around with some of the other fonts with the oil effect may have also worked well. In particular the Futura thin font could have also worked well for the brand I was promoting. This is because like Helvetica, Futura is a well known font among designers and works well under many contexts. In this case it would have also worked well as a house music style font, as it has been used by professionals before.
The peers also particularly liked the idea of promoting the brand using a vinyl record sleeve, as it was reminiscent of house style and worked well with the context of my designs. Other suggestions included making other mixed colour patterns similar to the oil spill style, which may also work well on my designs. One way that this process could have been approached would be through the use of coloured lighting and photography elements, to create a laser beam image. This too would have been appropriate for the style of house music.
Conclusion
In conclusion to studio brief 2, I feel that having reflected on the course has helped me to understand some of the strengths I have gained this year, as well as some of the difficulties I have faced. One thing to consider during level 5, would be to prepare notes for presentations and use more primary resources such as photography. This would also work well in accordance with my aims for next year which include using more photography skills and hand based design. Overall, I think the presentation for the brief has helped me to consider future options and has given me confidence to present a pitch to my peers in future.
After showing the class my process and the design stages I went through, it seemed the logotype I had produced was well received by the peers. They also suggested that playing around with some of the other fonts with the oil effect may have also worked well. In particular the Futura thin font could have also worked well for the brand I was promoting. This is because like Helvetica, Futura is a well known font among designers and works well under many contexts. In this case it would have also worked well as a house music style font, as it has been used by professionals before.
The peers also particularly liked the idea of promoting the brand using a vinyl record sleeve, as it was reminiscent of house style and worked well with the context of my designs. Other suggestions included making other mixed colour patterns similar to the oil spill style, which may also work well on my designs. One way that this process could have been approached would be through the use of coloured lighting and photography elements, to create a laser beam image. This too would have been appropriate for the style of house music.
Conclusion
In conclusion to studio brief 2, I feel that having reflected on the course has helped me to understand some of the strengths I have gained this year, as well as some of the difficulties I have faced. One thing to consider during level 5, would be to prepare notes for presentations and use more primary resources such as photography. This would also work well in accordance with my aims for next year which include using more photography skills and hand based design. Overall, I think the presentation for the brief has helped me to consider future options and has given me confidence to present a pitch to my peers in future.
Monday, 6 March 2017
Studio Brief 2 - Final logo mock ups
After deciding the final logos that would be used for my mock ups, I began applying them to different templates, in order to get an understanding of how the branding could potentially look when made professionally. For the application process, I chose to use my designs on a business card, a promotional poster and on a vinyl record sleeve. I chose a record sleeve because it was appropriate to reflect on my personal interest in house music and particularly the album or vinyl covers that inspired my designs.
Business Card
Promotional Poster
Vinyl Record Sleeve
Wednesday, 1 March 2017
Studio brief 2 - Logo design development
After using the colour oil spill image, I began to apply this to the logotype in different ways so that I could receive feedback from peers on which design they like the most.
Here are my final design shapes, after receiving feedback from peers on which initial sketch they thought would work best when developed. These designs were then transferred to colour and developed so that a conclusion could be made about what logotype would serve as the brand image.
Here you can see that by playing around with the oil spill effect, I have been able to develop my designs to look more professional and more personal to me. I particularly like the ones that show my name in black with a square background and my favourite logo would be the bottom right image.
Thursday, 23 February 2017
A2 Poster presentation
After presenting the poster to the group, I received critical feedback on my design decisions and on my choice of type. One suggestion would be to look at other types that have been important to me on this course, including the typeface that I had created during the first module of the year. This would have been more personal in terms of reflection and furthermore, may have worked better on my poster.
For the design choice, I used a blue backdrop, which was reflective of the styles and skills I had learnt during the course. I had also included photographs that had been taken at different modules on the course as a way of stating how I plan to use more of my photography skills during level 5, as well as other processes that I had used on the foundation course before this year.
I also think that my presentation skills can be improved during the next 2 presentations ( self branding and final presentation). Practicing speaking is also important for preparing yourself as well as a script of bullet points that may help to cover certain points quickly and effectively.
For the design choice, I used a blue backdrop, which was reflective of the styles and skills I had learnt during the course. I had also included photographs that had been taken at different modules on the course as a way of stating how I plan to use more of my photography skills during level 5, as well as other processes that I had used on the foundation course before this year.
I also think that my presentation skills can be improved during the next 2 presentations ( self branding and final presentation). Practicing speaking is also important for preparing yourself as well as a script of bullet points that may help to cover certain points quickly and effectively.
Saturday, 18 February 2017
Studio build lecture
- Used rotaring pens before computers came about
- Letroset - quick way to rub down type onto a surface.
- Letrographica
- The Face, magazine covers by Neville Brady
- Cabaret Voltaire
- Rod Clarke - Underground magazine - mixed punk style with swiss graphics
Vaugh Oliver - designed catalogue for 4AD Seminal Marrs pump up the volume.
Trevor Jackson - 1990
Ian Anderson - 1991/1992
- the designers republic versus
- Model 500, Juan Atkins, Deep Space
- Sun Electric
- The Orb
- Aphex Twin cover art
- Warp sleeves (warp purple)
- Gatecrasher - disco tech
- Supercharger widemouth
Worked on Urbanised - Pictograms
@studio_build - insta
@studiobuild - twitter
Thursday, 9 February 2017
Studio Brief 1 - Reflective Practice A2 Poster
As part of our reflective practice we created posters that would be displayed to the class in a later session and presented so that we could begin to develop our presenting skills and gain further feedback on areas that need improvement.
For the poster itself, I started by looking back at some of the memorable parts of the course. This included the Design Skills module, in which we were tasked with creating a way finding system for an venue in Leeds. I felt that at this stage on the course this was probably my most successful work and therefore decided to include an element of it on the poster. I was also reflective of the Helvetica documentary, which was shown to us earlier on the course. I felt this was a necessary element as it was the start of our understanding about the application of type in design.
The poster also includes some of the areas of the course which I haven't enjoyed, such as the lecture programmes and the blogging. By stating these concerns, I may be able to look back during level 5 and reflect on areas that I may have come to like more.
For the design layout itself, I chose Helvetica as the title font and used transparent blue backdrops which would be reflective of the styles I have become familiar with during the time on the course.
For the poster itself, I started by looking back at some of the memorable parts of the course. This included the Design Skills module, in which we were tasked with creating a way finding system for an venue in Leeds. I felt that at this stage on the course this was probably my most successful work and therefore decided to include an element of it on the poster. I was also reflective of the Helvetica documentary, which was shown to us earlier on the course. I felt this was a necessary element as it was the start of our understanding about the application of type in design.
The poster also includes some of the areas of the course which I haven't enjoyed, such as the lecture programmes and the blogging. By stating these concerns, I may be able to look back during level 5 and reflect on areas that I may have come to like more.
For the design layout itself, I chose Helvetica as the title font and used transparent blue backdrops which would be reflective of the styles I have become familiar with during the time on the course.
Wednesday, 8 February 2017
Studio Brief 2 - Development 2 - logo designs
As I had previously decided that Helvetica Bold would be the font that would serve as the basis for my logo, I began altering the designs from the sketching stage. For this, I started to think about ways in which colour could be applied to the designs, in a way that reflects my personality and personal interests, as well as my work. To do this, I first started by making a colour swatch of designs that Ii had completed during my time on the course. These were some of my most successful and favourite designs.
After finding that many of the designs I had produced used a wide variety of colours, it became apparent that using a rainbow of different colours for the logo designs may be suitable for my branding. Therefore I began looking for a way to incorporate many colours into one design. By using the image of oil spills, I felt that this was reflective of my use of colour throughout the course, but also reflective of my passion for painting.
Sunday, 5 February 2017
Studio Brief 2 - Development
As there is a wide variety of house music styles, it also means there are several different styles of typeface that come with it. Therefore, my designs may have to compromise an area of the style that can be recognised universally. For this I have chosen Helvetica bold as it is a neutral font that can be seen throughout many house music covers. It is also an easier font to manipulate, due to the bulkiness of the letters. Although I have chosen this typeface, I may decide during the process to include elements of other styles that may ultimately help me to finalise a design.
Typefaces that I looked at
Friday, 13 January 2017
Studio Brief 2 - Course summary so far + self branding development
During my time on the graphic design course so far, I believe that PPP has been particularly influential as it has given me a more broad understanding of the professional world of design. This has included the reflection from tutors of their own experiences as creatives and visiting professionals who have shared with us their stories of ways in which a graphic designer can gather attention and gain clientele.
PPP has also given us the opportunity to deal with issue that exist outside of the classroom. This includes ways to deal with stress and ways to properly manage your time. Since learning these things my progress as a designer has improved, giving me more opportunities and time to reflect on work. I think that so far the use of presentations and group work has allowed us to gain confidence in our abilities and collaborate with one another in a way that gives us the opportunity to see how others approach a brief.
Self Branding
At this stage in the self branding project, sketches and idea generation have helped to narrow down my options for how my presentation will look. This includes the logotype, the logo for my brand and the business cards that promote it. By using these, the brand is able to look more professional and personal to me. This also gives me the chance to receive feedback from my peers on whether the ideas I have work well or not.
PPP has also given us the opportunity to deal with issue that exist outside of the classroom. This includes ways to deal with stress and ways to properly manage your time. Since learning these things my progress as a designer has improved, giving me more opportunities and time to reflect on work. I think that so far the use of presentations and group work has allowed us to gain confidence in our abilities and collaborate with one another in a way that gives us the opportunity to see how others approach a brief.
Self Branding
At this stage in the self branding project, sketches and idea generation have helped to narrow down my options for how my presentation will look. This includes the logotype, the logo for my brand and the business cards that promote it. By using these, the brand is able to look more professional and personal to me. This also gives me the chance to receive feedback from my peers on whether the ideas I have work well or not.
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