OUGD402 - What is Design Practice?

Graphic Design is an ongoing examination/conversation between the dynamics of personal exploration and professional practice

- Matt Owens, Volumeone

• Appropriateness of response
• Quality of resolution
• Meeting the deadline

Appropriateness of response :

• What is the problem?
• Who is the audience?
• What is the context?
• What is the method of delivery?

What is the problem?

Are you being to... or Do you want to?

Each brief is different which means that we can either complete one for someone else which comes with a set of rules and guidelines, or we can choose to complete one which opens up the creativity a little bit more.

What is your rationale?

WHAT

• Preferences
• Reasonings
• Plans
• Thoughts
• Opinions

WHY?

What are you doing and Why are you doing it?

Are you driven by?

• Concept
• Idea
• Research

This is down to personal preference as every designer works in different ways

• Audience
• Context
• Media

Someone could be driven by a specific media eg. Magazine

• Creative
• Ethical
• Commercial

Do we chose to work with someone who has the same ethical reasonings as us?

• Handmade
• Digital
• Lens Based

2 Dimensional - 2D

3 Dimensional - 3D Depth, Product, Spacial

4 Dimensional - Movement, time

How does 2D link to 3D ?

2D design around 3D object.

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

Type and/or image?

Another word for style - SIGNATURE or VISUAL IDENTITY

Is the media the message?

Tone of voice

What is my tone of voice as a designer?

• Authoritative
• Informative

Info-graphics and Editorial

What makes you you?

• Try it
• Test it
• Make it better

Collaborate -

• The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential

Meeting the deadline

Message, Communication, Clarity, Context

+

Creativity, concept , idea

x

Skills, Organisation, Discipline, Commitment

______________________________________

Boundaries, Limitations, Rules, Time

= An effective design practice.

As an extra task we were put into groups of three and asked to interview each other on the following questions...

• What is your professional name and contact details?
• What 5 words best describe your design practice?
• What 5 words best describe you as a person?
• What are your strongest design skills?
• What areas of Graphic Design interest you the most?
• Who are your favourite 5 designers/studios?
• What makes these your favourite?
• What are your favourite design blogs?
• What 5 things do you want to be?
• What 5 things do you need to be to achieve this?

My answers...

• What is your professional name and contact details?

SetDesigns or ESetDesigns

ellen@setdesigns.co.uk

• What 5 words best describe your design practice?

1. Simple
2. Minimalistic
3. Clear
4. Black and White
5. Easy to navigate

• What 5 words best describe you as a person?

1. Clean
2. Tidy
3. Neat
4. Friendly
5. Thoughtful

• What are your strongest design skills?

1. Generating ideas
2. Researching subject matter
3. Simplistic Design
4. Functional
5. Following the brief

• What areas of Graphic Design interest you the most?

1. Editorial
2. Product and Packaging
3. Information Graphics
4. Web Design
5. Retail

• Who are your favourite 5 designers/studios?

1. Anthony Peters (IMEUS)
2. Analogue
3. Boom Artwork
4. Oat Creative
5. Jiani Lui

• What makes these your favourite?

1. Simplicity
2. Creativity
3. Unique
4. Clear
5. Powerful

• What are your favourite design blogs?

1. Dieline
2. Illustrationweb
3. Creative Review
4. Oat Creative
5. Jiani Lui

• What 5 things do you want to be?

1. Editorial designer
2. Successful
3. Web Designer
4. Well Known
5. Highly thought of

• What 5 things do you need to be to achieve this?

1. Motivated
2. Organised
3. Aware of the design industry
4. Up to date on software
5. Reliable

Melissa's answers..

• What is your professional name and contact details?

1. New Design

melissa@newdesign.co.uk

• What 5 words best describe your design practice?

1. Simple
2. Minimalistic
3. Innovative
4. Relevant
5. Effective

• What 5 words best describe you as a person?

1. Creative
2. Conscienscious
3. Precise
4. Motivated
5. Organised

• What are your strongest design skills?

1. Drawing
2. Photography
3. Layout
4. Colour Awareness
5. Photoshop

• What areas of Graphic Design interest you the most?

1. Editorial
2. Print
3. Photography
4. Type

• Who are your favourite 5 designers/studios?

1. Manuelrobello
2. Kelly Smith
3. Sarah Hankinson
4. Rankin

• What makes these your favourite?

1. Fashion Related 
2. The use of media
3. Own Identity
4. Clean designs
5. Sophisticated

• What are your favourite design blogs?

1. Birdy and me
2. Manuelrobello
3. Trendland
4. Underwerket

• What 5 things do you want to be?

1. Successful
2. Unique
3. Editorial
4. Sophisticated work

• What 5 things do you need to be to achieve this?

1. Mtovated
2. Remain interested
3. Research
4. Self Reliant
5. Time Management

Laura...

What is your professional name and contact details?

• LJB Designs
• ljbdesigns@live.co.uk

What 5 words best describe your design practice?

• Clean
• Professional
• Simplistic
• Minimalistic
• Monochrome

What 5 words best describe you as a person?

• Neat
• Clean
• Polite
• Conscientious
• Dedicated

What are your 5 strongest design skills?

• Packaging
• Drawing simple illustrations
• Composing publications
• Crafts
• Photoshop

What areas of graphic design interest you the most?

• Packaging
• Branding
• Editorial
• Web design
• Retail

Who are your 5 favourite designers/design studios?

• Fabien Barral
• Graphic Exchange
• John Warwicker
• Vogue editorial designers

What makes these your favourite? Where can you see their work?

• Mr Cup website
• Unique style/signature
• Their own blog and graphic exchange

What are your 5 favourite design blogs?

• Designspiration
• Graphic exchange
• Creative review
• Dieline
• Lovely packaging

What 5 things do you want to be?

• Editorial designer
• Art director
• Freelance designer
• Packaging designer
• Identity/Logos

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

• Experience in studios
• Outgoing - ask questions
• Extra work/studies
• Collaborative briefs
• Live briefs to get recognised

OUGD406 - Design Is About Doing : Crit

For our final crit we were split into groups of 6, we had to present our ideas in the form of thumbnail designs as well as 5 final outcomes.

I presented my thumbnail ideas alongside my final outcomes as I had not specifically drawn out any of my final ideas. 

Feedback from the people on my group was generally positive. They liked the concept behind my design and also how I linked them to the artist. Some of the changes they suggested were:

• Experiment with pastel colours on the background as Jessie Ware wears a lot of pastel colours. 
• Try thinner stroke size and a border

After looking at all of my designs they chose one which they favoured the most.

This design was the one which people felt was the most effective as it acts as many different images within an image. One person said that it looked like a love heart, then when turned upside down it looked like spot lights. Also, it features one of Jessie Ware's earrings and is duplicated to link to the lyrics of the song. 

This is also one of my favourite designs as I love the simplicity of it. I am going to experiment with the stroke size and background colours before I submit.

I started out by trying a pastel pink colour which Jessie wore in her 100% video. I think it works really well but the white images are harder to see than I wished. 

I tried it in a darker version of the pink I used on the background by adjusting the amount of magenta within the line. I do not like this design as I think it makes the image look tacky and unprofessional.

Trying this design with black lines increases the impact of the shape which I wanted. Although, I do think the black is maybe too harsh on the pink background.

 I decreased the stroke weight which has given my design a softer edge which does link to Jessie Ware but I do prefer thicker lines as I think it gives more impact.

I added a border to my design which I am not pleased with as I think it detracts from the actual design in the centre of the page.

Experimenting with more colours

After Experimenting with different colours and weights I have decided to keep my design as it was as I think it is the strongest out of the few. 

OUGD402 - Where Am I Now?

10 things that you have learned about yourself as an individual and as learner. These should reflect your personal development and individual journey since the start of the programme.

• Confidence

Since I started my time at Leeds College of Art I have improved my confidence immensely. Before my time on this programme I felt that my work was very similar in style and layout. As I did not know a lot about the practice of Graphic Design I became stuck producing the same type of design with the same typefaces and same layout. My time on the Graphic Design programme has helped me to produce work which is different in every brief. I was particularly pleased with my hand drawn typeface based on Laura Tomlinson. I felt that was my best piece of work I had produced since the time I decided I wanted to be a designer. Following on from this I experimented with the idea of creating a book which then turned into a deck of cards. In doing this I improved my skills on Illustrator and InDesign, software packages I had never used before. In doing all of this I have improved my confidence in my work massively.

• Independence

As I am 18 and from a small town I was always quite dependent on others (parents) to buy my food, wash my clothes, drive me around etc. Since moving to Leeds I have had to learn how to do all of the above for and by myself. This task I thought would a major weakness in myself but I have found the transition very easy and feel that I have adapted to independent living almost seamlessly. 

• Money

I have always been very sensible with money but since moving to Leeds there have been many opportunities to be reckless and splurge on things that I don't need. I have found that I have become very cautious when food shopping as that is the area where I spend the most money.

• Healthy Lifestyle

As a student it is very easy to slip into the typical stereotype of eating pot noodles and cold beans for tea but I have found that I have become very good at keeping my lifestyle as healthy as possible. This is mainly down to me being roomed with 2 other girls who have the same kind of mentality as me within all things. We are all incredibly driven and motivated which has helped me to keep on top of most aspects of my lifestyle without falling into a backwards step.

• Time management

I feel that I have greatly improved my time management skills and that this is helping me to mature. Moving to Leeds was a big step to take and in doing this there were certain risks that I could begin to manage my time badly. In saying this I am very proud to say that I have managed my time very well I think.

• Have Fun

Over the past few months I have learnt that getting stressed out about my work does not help my health. I have also learnt that I should not take everything so seriously. University is meant to be an experience which is remembered as a fun and enjoyable. I have realised this and feel that I have become a lot more chilled out and do allow myself time to relax and have fun.

• Routine and Rewards

I have come up with a routine which allows me to have an assigned time to relax and spend time with my boyfriend. As Wednesday is quieter than any other day I prefer to use this time to complete my work which enables me to have the night off. I also like to work all week which enables me to have my weekends free to go out with my friends, go home etc. 

• City Life

Being from a small countryside town I have enjoyed a change of pace by living in a city. Leeds is an interesting place to live and I feel that my moving here I have gained a certain sense of culture and society that I did not see when living at home.

• Socialising

I love to make new friends and have enjoyed meeting new people on the course and in Leeds. I feel that this has helped me to make friends for life and also to meet people who I might not have approached at first glance. 

• Graphic Design

Being accepted to this college was  a huge achievement of mine and has helped me to confirm that Graphic Design is the sector I wish to enter. 

10 things that you have learned about yourself as a designer. These should reflect your growing awareness of your own interests within graphic design as a subject, discipline and profession.

• Software

Before my time on this course I used Photoshop to produce every one of my designs. Since September I have learnt how to use Illustrator and Indesign which has helped me to expand my range further. Though I have only learnt the fundamentals of these packages I do feel that I am now confident enough to practice these and have done in previous projects.

• Type of designer

When I started the Graphic Design course I had little idea of what Graphic Design is therefore I did not now what kind of designer I want to be. Over the past few months I have experimented with different types of design as well as collecting a breadth of existing design over my PPP blog. Doing this has helped me to identify what type of designer I wish to be which also means that I can now focus my full attention on developing my skills within this.

• What is Graphic Design

During one of our first sessions with Fred we were asked to write down 5 questions which we wanted to have answered after our time on the course. One of my first questions was 'what is Graphic Design?' I feel that over the past few months I now understand what it is though I do feel that it still needs investigating.

• Less is more

During the course I was on previously I felt the need to over crowd my work with lots of different typefaces, colours and images. Since being on this course I have learnt that many of these traits were a sign of bad Graphic Design. I feel that I have developed into a better designer simply because I now understand the fundamentals of Graphic Design.

• Crits

Having never participated in a Crit before I found this experience very educational as well as helpful. I was very nervous when it came time for our first crit but on reflection I feel they are very helpful and enable me to gain feedback on my work from people who I would not usually ask.

• Self Evaluation

I have always been very critical about my work and can always find a weakness within it. After my time on this course I feel that I can evaluate my work effectively and identify the weaknesses and strengths.

• Critical 

After being on this course I have begun to notice the graphic design which is all around us. I have become critical of existing design as well as admiring it also. Stemmed from this I have also recognised the importance of following studios and designers to keep up with what is going on at the moment which I feel will help me massively when I come to enter the industry. 

• Drawing and Visual skills

I have always thought of myself as a weak drawer but after being introduced to some of the techniques designers use to communicate something visually I feel I have improved massively. 

• Group Work

I have learnt that Group work is both a blessing and a curse. I have encountered 2 briefs where group work was necessary and have been surprised and disappointed. Doing this has helped me to understand that not always will I get to work with people I choose.

• Research

I have learnt that research is a major part of Graphic Design practice. Before this course I would have used the internet as my main port of call for research. After a few sessions teaching us how to research correctly I feel that I now understand different ways of researching and can put them into practice. 

OUGD405 - End of Module Evaluation

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

I have developed my skills on software such as Illustrator and InDesign. When we were first introduced the illustrator I felt that it was much harder to use than Photoshop but having created all of my illustrations for the last brief I now feel confident that I can use the pen tool specifically to a satisfactory standard. Other skills I feel I have developed are my research skills. As part of this module has been research based I feel that I now have a better understanding of what research is and how it assists designers in every day life. Team work has also been a major part of this module, I worked in two groups (How To.. and Typogateux) I still feel that group work is very difficult and will try to avoid it if I have the chance but if there was a situation where I needed to work in a group I feel that I can approach the problem and produce a substantial amount of work within the group

2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

For this module I have used similar approaches to design production as I have since I started on the course though I feel that I have improved in this area substantially. I feel that I have improved on my skills to ask for feedback from my peers and not just ask my friends. I also feel that my self evaluation skills have improved a lot and that I now am confident enough to approach different medias and forms of design during a brief.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

My strengths in this module have been my software skills. I have improved my understanding of Illustrator and InDesign which I feel very positively about. In order to capitalise on my strengths I will continue to use these programs and hopefully improve.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?

Weaknesses in my work are time management and planning. Though I feel that I have improved on these over module I do think they need more work. 

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

• Using different media as my final product (an app)
• Attend workshops in order to widen the range of work I can produce (Screen Printing)
• Planning the final product in advance
• Market research in order to learn whether my product would work if published
• Experiment with different colours as opposed to black and white.

From doing this I hope to gain a level of professionalism to my work.

OUGD405 - Routine Research : The Impossible

For my research in this brief I looked into clean up routines after natural disasters. During the xmas holidays I went to see the new film, the Impossible, which focuses on the tsunami on boxing day in Thailand. I have never experienced a natural disaster and only knew about it from the news and reading other peoples stories. Though this film was a recreation of the event it showed me in a lot of detail the turmoil that stems from a natural disaster.

As my research theme was routines I paid particular attention to what the local people did to recover from the disaster. In this movie it showed how the people from Thailand and also visitors came together  in order to stay alive. Watching this film gave me a particular insight into how busy the hospitals were and what kind of system they had in place to keep track of patients. I also saw how easily families were split up and children lost their parents. All in all this film helped me to gain some understanding of how horrific natural disasters are and how they can tear people apart.

Source

OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate : Product

For our final crit for this brief we were assessed solely by Simon and Amber. The feedback I got doe my work was mainly positive.

• Think about different ways to bind my book or maybe change it to a set of cards?
• The facts are very interesting
• The stock suits the concept very well
• Work the typeface into my designs
• Info-graphic is strong, engaging and memorable

From this feedback I feel quite positive with my work but also that I have some starting points to improve my design.

Next Steps...

For my next steps I plan to create more coffee fact pages and experiment with the possibility of creating a deck of cards instead of a book. As I have never learnt how to bind a book I think this could possibly lower the quality of my work as it would look unprofessional. I would think I could link my booklet more to my craft by including some facts about art and design and how coffee in consumed and used in these industries. 

OUGD405 : Research, Collect , Communicate : Product

As this project is a 3 week brief it is important that we constantly have crits to make sure that we are testing out our ideas on other people. I personally find crits very helpful as I like to get another persons perspective on my idea.

During the crit we were given a chance to present the work we have done so far. As I changed my idea the night before I did not have as much development work as a perhaps should have done. The response to my idea was positive and I was given some good pointers to what I could do to improve my ideas.

• Think about discounts

One person gave me the idea that I should maybe include discounts within my booklet for popular coffee shops. As I am based in Leeds I could maybe link my booklet specifically to Leeds and make connections with local businesses rather than global chains like Starbucks.

• The name

Some people asked me about the name of my product, so far I do not have an option for a name but I would like to make it a fun play on words which will identify the aim straight away. Some ideas were to link it to the word 'beans' or 'shops' I will think about this throughout my design process and brainstorm lots of different options.

• Presentation

There were a few suggestions as to what I could do with the presentation, one idea was to use coffee stained paper or coffee rings. This would add authenticity to my product and make it look more carefree. As my book would be aimed at coffee lovers I would expect they would take it with them when they drink coffee meaning they may get coffee spills on the paper. I want my book to be really interactive and interesting.

• Inside the book

When I described what I would include in my book I was given the feedback that maybe I had focussed too much on serious factors such as the history behind coffee. A suggestion from the crit was to include a few pages about which type of coffee goes with biscuits. 

• Interactive option

When describing my ideas I got the idea that it sounded quite boring and not interactive. An idea I was given was to make my booklet as interactive as a children's book. I do not know how to produce something like this but would like to try.

• Info-graphics

One of the main factors in the brief was to focus on information graphics, the group gave me the suggestion to use shapes of coffee beans, coffee cups etc to form my info-graphics. I like the idea of using a coffee cup for a graph, like a pie chart. I have seen this done before and it worked really well.

• Language

As I had described quite serious subjects there were some concerns about the type of language I would use. I could have gone down the scientific route or informal conversational language which would appeal to my audience.