OUGD402 : It's Up To You : Research and Inspiration

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My favourite kind of design is simple and minimalist which can be done very well for some briefs. I prefer to work in this way as I find it visually pleasing and for packaging it allows the audience to identify the product in a matter of seconds. I like this packaging for Yonder and Co. as it displays the product description clearly within a coloured box which assists the audience massively. I also like the colour selection which as been used and think that it works really well against the brown paper background. This kind of design does have a slight clinical feel to it which I would alter if I were to use this as my main inspiration. 

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Recently I have started to use more colour within my designs as I feel that I am becoming less and less versatile and my portfolio is all the same and therefore shows little creative range and my ability to approach a variety of different briefs. Sticking with the theme of brown paper as a stock I found this packaging for saucy Sam's. The style of this reminds me of sixties America and works really well for the overall feel of the brand. I favour this type of design and produced some things like this when doing my A-Level in Graphic Design. I have not yet had a brief which I have felt warrants this type of design but I do think it would be a great way to represent myself as a designer. 

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I have been told many times that my work takes on either a cute style or can be quite masculine. I would say that I have produced more masculine work than on the cute side but I do favour this type of design and think it links more to my personality than others. To represent myself I wonder if producing something along the lines of this branding for the restaurant would showcase this about me. 

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After learning the fundamentals of colour theory I have become accustomed to producing my work in monochrome. This design is produced with two colours and stock which is something we are used to as it is written into the briefs we received over the first year. I like the incorporation of a pattern into the design as it makes the design more interesting and visually pleasing. 

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I am a huge fan of sans serif fonts though in some cases I thin serif fonts are the best suited. I really like the font used for the branding of this restaurant. It suits the colour scheme of the whole place and is also quite fitting with the style and aesthetics. 

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My favourite design to produce has always been on brown paper, I love the effect it gives to a piece of design. I have produced many of my favourite projects on brown paper and regularly used this for backgrounds within my sketch books. I have been trying to experiment with different stocks during my time on the course to increase my versatility but I think brown paper needs to be used within my final project. This promotion and branding for Cornelia and Co is exactly the type of design which I hope to be producing when I graduate. The monochrome colour palette with the stock gives the outcomes a really unique edge and helps it to stand out.

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I have to think about interesting ways to display the information about myself and different processes which I hope to develop which I can possibly illustrate and experiment with throughout this module. I do wish that I had used a few more processes throughout the first year but unfortunately I did not. I know that I want to develop my letterpress skills which is something I can easily develop during the last few weeks of the course. I would also like to use the laser cutter which is something I have yet to experience. This branding and design for the space program is really nice. I really like the material they have used and also the different ways of including larger posters within a smaller box. 

This promotion for Daniel's bakery is really nice. I love black and white photography as I think it can make any image from the a low quality camera look professional.  I use most of my images in black and white as I personally prefer it. I really like how the stock they have used is a bight pure white as with the contrast of the black and white photos adds a really contemporary feel to the design and attracts a wide audience. 

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The introduction of colour to this design really helps to lift it and become more eye catching. I have recently started to add magenta to black and white design, this is something I think adds a youthful edge to a design as magenta is quite a bold colour to go along with black. I have not yet tried this with brown stock and think it could be very interesting though may need to be cyan instead. 

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I produced something very similar to this for my A-Level exam. I used Georgina Luck as my main inspiration and really enjoyed playing around with the inks and mixed media approaches to the design. I think this technique is best served within food promotion and therefore might not fit in with the overall aesthetic of my idea and concept. I think the font used within this promotion and think it looks really strong against the powerful colours. 

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I have recently become so much more aware of my surroundings and the graphic design which exists within every day life. One of my favourite shops, All Saints has an interesting theme of a rustic and over worn exterior, for the brand this works incredibly well and they have managed to create a unique style and identity which is easily recognisable. Perhaps one of the most recognisable aspects of All Saints identity is the old fashioned sewing machine in the windows. I think by including these within their window display entices people into the shop and also fits very well with the aesthetic of the shop. I found this branding for a handmade goods store and it reminded me of All Saints. I would love to include the machine of my trade, a MacBook into my designs in this kind of style as I feel it will be in keeping with rest of my planned outcome. 

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I like the idea of having a logo watermarked on packaging as I think it can be hard to include a logo within a packaging design. Th watermark effect allows the audience to know the logo of the brand and also keep it in their mind. 

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The information graphic of this branding and identity is the exact kind of design I hope to produce both within this brief and within my career. I think that infographics are a great way to include large chunks of information in visually creative ways, I also like the illustrations which come with infographics, they are much to my style.

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This design for a restaurant is very much to my taste. The letterpress effect on the labels and menu gives the restaurant a personal effect and also makes it seem more organic and thoughtful. 

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This design shows the difference brown stock can make to a design. The white design is very effective and clear but when added to the brown stock the effect is much more fitting with the overall theme. This is one of the main reasons why I like to use this stock within my work. I feel that the sentiment of the design is much clearer and the meaning behind the design is enforced. 

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I like the idea of creating an information pack which acts as a folder containing all of the information people might need/want to know about me. This pack looks, to me, very official and a lot like a police file. I like the idea of this but I think it could put some people off as it would seem a bad thing to use to represent me. 

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When thinking about the size of package I have thought about producing something which is quite large, when researching packaging I came across this design for a wedding. I want to link the package to myself which could constitute a smaller package due to my size. This would mean that I could use my favourite brown paper stock which comes in A4. 

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I found this package on another of my favourite designers blogs. I decided to add it to my blog not because it is to my personal style and taste but because it gave me the idea to cut into my box rather than to have an acetate window which can be seen through. Instead I would like to use an aspect of my logo, like the design above and cut into my box to showcase the content with something more relevant and personal. 

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From the same blog I found this other package which I really like. I think the overall design and logics of the box and its compartments are very well constructed and thought out. I love the idea of having a collapsed section where a booklet can be kept, this would be a brilliant place to store my information graphic. I also really like the way there are multiple boxes contained within a package. This could be difficult for me to produce given the timescale I have to produce it. 

OUGD402 : It's Up To You : Primary Research

For this brief we have to come up with an innovative way to showcase ourselves as a designer and learner. I had the I initial idea to package myself as I think it will be an interesting way to interact with and audience whilst also linking to my personality. 

Whilst out doing some shopping I came across a package in urban outfitters. It was a DIY ukulele which the purchaser could construct themselves. I pride myself on simple design which is functional to the people using it, I can think of no better way to showcase this trait than by providing my audience with a kit which will help them to make something creative even if they are not. I would like to experiment with this idea and possible create a model of myself which they can construct and make. 

Along with this idea I thought about simple creating a box which could contain a range of printed material which I think best link to me. When asking friends and family to describe me I received some feedback that I was a half open box. I did not really understand this but as I have been at home and cleaning out I found a box which had a clear window in the corner. Looking at this made me think if this comment and I thought it might be an interesting way of presenting this feedback. I like the idea of doing this as it would allow a client or boss to see what is inside the box without actually opening it. I also think it would link to the advice we are constantly given about placements and our presence as a designer. Si Scott told us that we should try and send a physically copy of our work to studios as people regularly ignore or don't check their emails. Doing this would hopefully stir a curiosity within a studio or designer and entice them to look at my work more closely.

I also found this Franklin and Marshall label which I think is very interesting. It is clear that they had a lot of information to display and did not want to squash everything onto one label, to over come this they have punched a hole at the top and created a flip book-esk label which allows more creative flare and more information to be displayed. I especially like the use of the black and white image to cover the label as it gives the label the 'vintage effect' which it talks about within. I am very fond of black and white photography as I think it adds a certain amount of class to an image which might not be. I would love to experiment with this kind of idea as a welcoming introduction to my pack about myself. 

OUGD402 : It's Up To You : Initial Research and Brainstorming

As this brief is about pulling the whole module together I think it would benefit me to come up with a list of things which make me me. I want to ask my peers to also come up with a few words which they think best describe me, this should be very helpful as I find it quite hard to describe myself. 

OUGD406 : Speaking from Experience : End of Module Evaluation

OUGD406 - Speaking from Experience : Final Crit

For the final crit we presented our work to a small group of 5 people. We laid out all of our work in front of us on the table and had to briefly summarise what we were producing whilst also stating some questions we wanted answering and resolving.

I wanted to know whether my stock choice was appropriate, and if the effect it had on the colour was good or bad. I also wanted some guidance on font choice. The font I had chosen was quite circular and rounded which made it look quite childish and basic, this was not necessarily a bad thing but I did worry that it would put people off looking at the product if they felt it did not relate to them.

We conducted our crit in a different way as we felt that verbal feedback was perhaps more useful than written. When presenting my work people seemed to receive it quite well and felt that it was a strong concept.

The feedback I received was very helpful and gave me a lot to think about and experiment with. I feel that some of the points which were made would make my work more professional and relatable to students.

• Change the font? Caviar Dreams?
• The font reminds me of primary school
• The colour blue could maybe be made darker to increase the maturity
• The Orator Std font works more but is maybe too harsh
• Add another colour? magenta?
• Experiment with coloured stock and sticking the white on top of it?
• Keep the book size small as the design could be lost within a larger design
• With the shortcuts maybe include some for pc as well as mac
• Different programs have different shortcuts
• Change the overall base to a cutting mat?
• Include the folder concept within the cutting mat idea
• Use mount board to make it more sturdy

This feedback I found very helpful and it has enabled me to progress with the overall production of my project. I hope to experiment with different design techniques and processes. 

OUGD406 - Speaking from Experience : Crit

Today we had a crit where we presented our progress so far. I have decided on my final concept and wanted some input on what format it should be in. I presented my design sheets along with a rough mock up of what it might look like.

The idea I had was to produce a print based survival kit for the first years which describes the modules, blogs, expectations, essentials and other important information. I wanted to produce each aspect onto one big sheet of either mount board or paper and make the individual printed material removable.

The feedback from the crit was very positive, people thought my concept was very strong and thought it would be very useful for the first years to have. When I asked about the format of my piece there was a mixed review with some people saying each aspect should be individual and maybe kept inside a folder and others thinking the mount board would be more of a keepsake. Some of the limitations of the mount board concept would be that people might not like to remove things and it could also be a nuisance to carry around. One of the resolutions to this problem was to make a digital version which people could access alongside the printed version. I like this idea and think it could work out really well and be very strong. I also feel that it would mean more effort and work will be put into such a important aspect of the module.