OUGD402 Adds

A design Practise is 'an ongoing examination/conversation between the dynamices of personal exploration and proffesional practice'- Matt Owens, Volumeone

You have to think about your own practice and the industry. Think about options and decisions.

What is it that makes you YOU. Think what seperates you from everyone else

Think about-

Appropriatenesses of responce - problem, audience, context, method of delivery

Quality of resolution

Meeting the deadline

 

Are you being ASKED to do something?

Is it something you WANT to do?

 

What is the purpose?

Educate or Persuade?

Instruct or ask a question?

What is your rationale? - What are you doing and why?

Is it...

Concept, idea, research driven?

Audience, context, media?

Creative, ethical, commercial?

Handmade, Digital, Lens based?

2D, 3D or 4D work? (for example....4= sequence, 3=Packaging, 2=print, screen)

 

Quality of resolution:

Depth of appropriate research

breadth of initial ideas

Selection of potential solutions

Thorough visual development

Attention to detail/crafting

Clarity of Presentation

 

Is your work...

Type and or Image based?

Is the media the message?

Focused on the tone of voice?

This year the most important thing to do is PLAY and COLLABORATE

Try it, Test it, Make it better





AN EFFECTIVE DESIGN PRACTICE


message                                    creativity                          skills
communicate           +                           concept            x               organisation
clarity                                                 ideas                                  discipline
context                                                                                      commitment

-


boundaries
limitations
rules
time

In a group of three design a add that will communicate yourself and two others design practice. Content and visual that reflects yourself and the other two people.

I started off looking at the designers Roxie was interested. I used Teagan Whites designs as inspiration for my piece. The designers she said were her favourite i noticed they were quite heavily detailed and intricate. Which is why i used a floral pattern in the background, Which is actually one of Teagan Whites designs just many of them rotated to make a pattern. I wanted to use a font which went with the design so a script font seemed most relevant. Although i used one of Roxie's favourite designers i'm not sure if i have fulfilled this to represent her as i should have done.

 I knew from the questions that grace liked simple clean designs, i also knew her favourite colour was purple so i took a purple backgound added an off white circle in the middle and put in the text. The important part of this was choosing the font because it is so minimalist it still needed to look interesting. I hope she likes this design however again i am not 100% sure if it suits her as much as i would like.

You would think that designing for yourself would be easy, however it isnt at all. I like minimalist designs however I do like designs which are intricate and detailed so this was a decision i had to make as to which direction i was going to go in. I thought id best keep it clean and simple. I havent yet decided on which direction as a Graphic designe ri would like to go in therefore i kept it simple with Graphic designer which leaves it open to everything. I wanted to use grey as the stock colour then for text have a darker grey for the bottom but to use green as a themed colour. As a child I really enjoyed reading roal dahl books and iv always found interest into the illustrations used a illustration similar to Quintan Blakes style, as i find it quite quirky. This contrasts with the modern looking typeface that i have used.

 

Before designing we answered a series of questions and also asked each other them to find the answers. Then it was up to yourself to go off and research about the info you had been given.

1) What is your proffesional name and contact details?

Sophie Abell, s-abell1212@blogspot.com, sophie-j-abell@hotmail.co.ukr

2)What 5 words best describe your design practise?

Precision, quality, creative, attention to detail and minimalist.

3) What 5 words describe you as a person?

Organized, Hard working, Committed,Proffesional, Laidback

4) What are your 5 strongest design skills?

Drawing, Developing ideas, Using Illustrator, Research, Working in a team or on my own.

5) What areas of Graphic Design interest you the most?

Product and Packaging, Information and Way Finding, Branding

6) Who are your 5 favourite design/design studios?

Si Scott- http://www.siscottstudio.com/

http://studiojubilee.com/index and http://blog.studiojubilee.com/

http://www.madebyanalogue.co.uk/showcase/#all

www.lovelypackage.com

7) What makes these your favourite?

These are my favourites for different reasons, the majority have designed things in a minimalist style but also they specialise in the areas in which i have an interest in.

8) What are your 5 favourite design blogs?

DesignTaxi

Inspiredesign

Lovelypackage

Debiwarkennedy Design

9) What 5 things do you want to be?

Creative, Proffesional, Fullfill my potential, Have the ability to break out of my comfort zone and to think out of the box

10) What 5 things do you think you need to do to be this?

Complete Uni, Listen, Research, Learn and Gain experience

 

Grace

1) What is your proffesional name and contact details?

Grace Buckley- Grace@8elm.co.uk

2)What 5 words best describe your design practise?

Handmade, Idea Driven, Clean Layout

3) What 5 words describe you as a person?

Consciensous, Organized, Introverted, Smiley

4) What are your 5 strongest design skills?

Researching, Drawing and mixed media

5) What areas of Graphic Design interest you the most?

Print based, packaging, editorial

6) Who are your 5 favourite design/design studios?

Red Antler

Marlon Bastes

James Dawe

Aesthtic Apparatus

Alien Corset

7) What makes these your favourite?

?

8) What are your 5 favourite design blogs?

Alien Corset Blog

9) What 5 things do you want to be?

Successful, Happy with what i do, Confidence in my own work.

10) What 5 things do you think you need to do to be this?

Work hard, Get Placements, Research more blogs/more places.

 

As a starting point i looked at the designers and design studios that Grace had mentioned she liked.

Red Antler:
http://redantler.com/

Aesthtic Apparatus
http://aestheticapparatus.com/portfolio/
 

 

Roxie

1) What is your proffesional name and contact details?

-Roxxie Blackham, Roxie-101@msn.com r-blackham1215.blogspot.com

2)What 5 words best describe your design practise?

Hands on, Imaginative, Experimental

3) What 5 words describe you as a person?

Friendly, Committed, Reliable, Clever

4) What are your 5 strongest design skills?

Hand Rendering, Typography, Coming up with ideas visually, Keen attention to detail and allignment. Knowledge of design software. Leading and working in a team.

5) What areas of Graphic Design interest you the most?

Typography- both digital and hand rendered, Interested in type design, Experimentations with GD, different use of processes and materials, Printing, Screen Printing older native and different packaging ideas and outcomes. Creative/strong concepts behing the designs

6) Who are your 5 favourite design/design studios?
Jessica Hische (typographer)
Craig Ward( designer, experimental)
Taegan White (Illustrator, Typographer)
7) What makes these your favourite?
?
8) What are your 5 favourite design blogs?
Behance
9) What 5 things do you want to be?
Typographer, Successful designer, Confident with myself when presenting work, original
10) What 5 things do you think you need to do to be this?
Practise, Experience, organized, Research into more designers

Jessica Hische
http://jessicahische.is/

Teagan White
http://www.teaganwhite.com/clara.html

 

OUGD402 Study Task 5- Where am i now ?

As a designer what has been influencing me? What sort of designer do I want to be ? Make decisions tentatively aesthetically, funtions, practitioners etc. What they want to know are our ambitions and skills do we want?

 

 

What have i learnt about my self as an individual and a learner?

 

Stay Calm- At the begining of the year, when given a brief I had a tendancy to worry about it, and then as i became more confident with my abilities with software and the college, i realised that there was nothing to worry about.

InDesign Workshop

 

Believe in myself- I have come to realise that im quite critical of the things i do. Purely because when i have an idea in my head and i aim to do that, it doesnt always come out the way i had imagined, therefore i always feel disapointed in what i have done. For example for OUGD405 i had an idea and the end product wasnt at all what i had aimed for it to look like, and going into the final crit i wasnt happy with it and was worried about the feedback however, the reaction i got was mainly positives. I was surprised.

Time Keeping and Priorise- Coming onto this course i believed i was quite good at time keeping and prioritising my time effectively, because before i used to be in college 5 days a week then work a part time job on fridays to sundays so i didnt get a day off, and i always managed to get my work done on time without stress. Therefore i believed it would be the same for here. However i have struggles with time keeping and priorising my work with part time work, and also not allowing the distractions of flat mates to get the better of me. As this is now come to the realization i know that i need to use my diary, get work done as soon as i get it, and too not allow distractions around me get the better off me. I also use sticky notes quite frequently to not loos work i have done in my notebooks.

 

Research- I have noticed that i dont spend enough time researching, as i get too fixated on one idea that i dont do enough broad research. Which in essence doesnt leave my end result very creative as what it could be. My main source os research is the internet, however i have started to use the library for books and visits to explore and get a better indepth research approach.

 

That i can use other softwares with confidence- As we have had inductions into the three main softwares such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign I now have the ability to use them confidently and correctly. Before i used to do a lot of my work within Illustrator because that was the one i was mainly confident in. However i have been able to use photoshop to create postcards in OUGD405 and hopefully be able to put my new skills into practise in the next module.

 

 

Confidence with working with peers- As an individual who i believe to be quite shy, making friends on this course and working with others iv found to be quite difficult mainly because i believe myself to be a bit of a worrier. I now know that working with others isnt as daunting as i think it is. From working on the first how to brief to the most recent how to brief has improved massively. Looking back i believe that i had more input in the most recent one, because i felt as if confidence wise i wasnt worried as much at what others in my group would think of my ideas.

 

 Above and below are the most recent How to briefs in groups

 

First How to group brief (above)

 

-To not look at others work and progress within the class and think that i'm not good enough- I look back at work that i had done previously with graphic design and art aspects and always getting the best grades has made me think that i am good at what im doing. However being on a course full of talented individuals has made me doubt my abilities incredibly. Iv gone from thinking im good at it to feeling as if i shouldnt be on the course. However over christmas with time away i re evaluated that thought and i now believe that this course is a learning experience one in which i will gain from and i need not worry so much. I went through the same interview process as everyone else and worked hard to be here therefore the tutors obviously believe that i can do this and i can thrive. I just need to remember this and not get trapped into feelin intimidated.

 

 

-To look at others work and be inspired. I have started to use not only first year blogs but second and third years blogs for inspiration. Not to copy what they have done but use them as an aspiration to thrive off of. That one day i will become just as good as they are.

 

I learn more effectively from doing rather then copying. We currently had a vast amount of sessions on colour theory where we had to do experiments in to colour theory. I found this way of learning much more successful to being sat in a lecture or seminar being talked too and watching seminars. I find that writing notes is beneficial at the time but if i dont put learning into practise then i do not fully understand. This as a learner i need to remember and take on to other practises. I can use this as a way of gaining more fluent skills in softwares to be more competant.

Green colour theory experiment

 

Not to leave things to the last minute- Within the first semester I had injured my hand which then allowed me to have an exdtension. Although i was behind i had made sure i kept as up to date as best i could so whilst everyone was rushing around the studio trying to get things done in time for the module hand in i was able to do my work at a slower pace. Watchin everyone panic made me promise myself that for the next module deadline i wouldnt allow myself to be stressing out because i ahdnt anything done. Therefore for the module hand in of OUGD405 where i had a normal deadline as everyone else i was calm and collected because i was confident that i had been organized enough not to worry so much. Therefore as a learner i realised that stressing and leaving things to the las minute never gets you anywhere.

 

 

 

What have i learnt about myself as a designer

 

-As a designer, Typography is not my strong point. Even though before this course i had touched on Typography but going into so much detail here, even though i enjoyed it, i just found it hard to get my head around it. I found it quite tedious having to creating your own typeface. I would never rule it out to learning it but i dont think i would ever specialise in it.

 

 

-Coming onto this course i really enjoyed corporate branding, however after recently having a democratic lecture from a practising Graphic designer has made me re evaluate this, after him saying there is so much with in it, and all graphic designers believe that is what they are but its not easy.

 

'Brand Spanking-People dont understand what branding actually is. People dont understand the context. Branding consistancy, not just a logo. 'The deeper you dig the higher you rise' Craig Oldham. Democratic Lecture 1st Feb 2013

 

-As a designer i had come from a background of studyin Art and Design for 3 years, I know i have the skills in other specialisms and coming onto this course i really wanted to use traditonal methods of design, wether its using other specialisms or using traditional methods of Graphic design. I havnt yet had the chance to do this even though i have taken part in print workshops in the blenheim college but also on Vernon street. I need to remember that im a designer that can do other things and not jsut do everything on the computer. It has been hard on this course because everything is on computer going from reasearchin, to blogging and your final piece. So i need to remember that its ok to still  use a sketch book and a pencil for ideas. I have started to do this more recently.

From this course I  have become aware that there are so many different fields that are within Graphic Design, however i am still yet to find the one thing that i would like to specialise in. I have thoroughly enjoyed researching into product and packaging the most, and creating creative ways in which certain things can be made. For OUGD405 i was blown away with the amount of ways something can be packaged. I would love to learn more into this field as so far that has been the one thing that has stood out to me the most.

Although below was for a distribution of a message, i did however aim to create a visually interestin packaging around it rather then your normal envelope.

 

 

I have been made aware that as a designer you are constantly going to be put under scrutiny and its important to learn how to not be affended by it. Therefore haveing regular group crits where people look and give you feedback on your work but also you give feedback to others about there work aswell. I have learnt how to look at others peoples work and been inspired by many but also have to be mindful that you have respect for there work, because what some things are your tastes may not be the same as others. It is important to remember that this is a learning experience for both you as a designer but for others so giving them critism needs to be benefical and back uped with reasoning.

 

As a designer i have also learnt to take critism on the chin aslong as its constructive, that in no ways it is personal. At the start of this course I hated crits and i would always come out of them feeling dis heartened because people have been honest. Now however i use it as a positive that i can work towards and achieve to be better. As a designer i have learnt that not everyone will like what you have done, but you are striving to please, to remember that as a designer you are designing for others not your self.

 

From attending the lectures and the seminars i have learnt that as a designer it is crucial to your learning that you learn the history of not only graphic design but art and other specialisms as well. If you didnt then i dont believe you have a pedistal to stand on. How can you design to the best of your ability if you dont know how what you are doing has come from. I thoroughly enjoy the lectures and the seminars learning about the different art movements, it also allows you to be inspired by those certain movements that makes you different from the others.

 

 

 

OUGD402 Study Task 4- What is Graphic Design Part 1

Information & way-finding

Blog 1

http://wayfindinguk.wordpress.com/

8th Feb 2013

 

 

Blog 2

http://www.sixteen-nine.net/

8th Feb 2013

 

 

Blog 3

http://www.wayfinding-consultants.co.uk/

8th Feb 2013

 

 

Blog 4

http://www.visualcomm.com/wayfinding-Signage.html

8th Feb 2013

 

 

Blog 5

http://ccd-design.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/wayfinding-is-more-than-signage-using.html

8th Feb 2013

 

 

 

Product & Packaging design

Blog 1

http://www.thedieline.com/

8th Feb 2013

 

Blog 2

http://lovelypackage.com/

8th Feb 2013

 

Blog 3

http://www.dexigner.com/tag/Packaging+Design

8th Feb 2013

 

 

Blog 4

http://designtaxi.com/news/355501/A-Collection-Of-Inspiring-Clever-Fun-Packaging-Designs/

8th Feb 2013

 

Blog 5

http://www.packagingoftheworld.com/

8th Feb 2013

 

 branding & identity design.

Blog 1

http://justcreative.com/2010/04/06/branding-identity-logo-design-explained/

8th Feb 2013

 

Blog 2

http://logodesignerblog.com/

8th Feb 2013

 

Blog 3

http://www.logodesignlove.com/

8th Feb 2013



Blog 4

http://mattsoncreative.com/work/rogers_reel

8th Feb 2013

 

Blog 5

http://www.processedidentity.com/

8th Feb 2013

 

Editorial and Publishing design.

Blog 1

 

http://www.deeson.co.uk/publish/what-we-do

 

Blog 2

 

http://www.spd.org/

 

 

 

Blog 3

 

http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/showcase-of-31-fine-editorial-design-examples/

 

 

 

Blog 4

http://www.formfiftyfive.com/category/editorial/

8th Feb 2013

 

Blog 5

http://www.magazinedesignblog.com/

8th Feb 2013

 

 Retail and Promotion.

 

Blog 1

http://inspiredesignblog.co.uk/

9th Feb 2013

Blog 2

http://debiwardkennedydesign.blogspot.co.uk/

9th Feb 2013

 

 

 

Blog 3

http://www.displayone.co.uk/blog

9th Feb 2013

 

 

 

 

Blog 4

http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2009/10/40-creative-examples-of-self-promotion/

9th Feb 2013

 

 

 

 

Blog 5

http://www.briggshillier.com/index.htm

9th Feb 2013

 

• Write a brief statement defining your understanding of each of the design areas
• Identify 10 examples of each discipline and 'categories' them by genre, audience, content, sector, budget and/or any appropriate method as discussed in your groups.
• Comment on the effectiveness of the examples with regards to content, format, function and media.