OUGD303 End of module evaluation

Throughout this module I have learnt a great deal and feel like I have progressed a lot from the end of the last module. I think that my skills, management, critical awareness have all improved drastically. 


By far the most enjoyable brief for me was producing Bryony's identity, working with a real client, arranging meetings, getting live feedback on the work. It was an interesting process, what I found with this brief was that Bryony initially started out with little to know idea of what she wanted for her branding which gave me the scope to do what I wanted, within reason. 


Initially Bryony sent through her statement of intent and research file which helped hugely in jumpstarting the brief. I found that throughout the different stages of  the project the communication and feedback was key emailing through new ideas and solutions. Reviewing all my briefs I think that this is one of the briefs that I have spent the most time on and got out of it what I had wanted, a strong piece for my portfolio and scope to carry on developing the type that I created for Bryony's branding. This is one of the briefs that I have focused quite heavily on print and process, due to the nature of Bryony's collection (being handcrafted) the idea was to go along a similar route.


SixteenHT was a project that focussed heavily on process and the production of the prints, starting out as some fun. I have come to really enjoy screen printing and have used this process throughout various different points, coming to appreciate the finer quality and time it takes to produce something that can be screen printed. Personally I really enjoy having a hands on approach to design, trying testing and being in the print room gives a better sense of achievement. It has also helped broaden my knowledge for print, becoming more aware of how print works in a digital fashion.


Another live brief that I worked on was the Printed textiles and surface pattern year book, a collaborative effort, in a team of 5. Initially I thought that this was a good size team but from the experience I feel that the project could have been undertaken by a group as small as 3. I thought that it was hard  My main role within the group was to organise, define the content structure and layout the publication. I found this project to be the opposite of what I experienced in Bryony's project with the content for the book being given to us quite late on which gave us less time to use it and develop a suitable solution. 


Generally I think the module has been a bit hit and miss, the projects that I feel I have learnt the most from and have benefitted doing the live briefs. Working to tighter deadlines, is more restricting but it got me turning out ideas and solutions quickly and more effectively than the last module.  I still feel like I came up short on projects such as typographic circle, as the brief started off really well but was put on hold due to the book fair for sixteenHT and picked up later on, where the idea wasn't as fresh and it was harder to get back into the swing of things.


I have come to realise that from my original statement of intent I have focussed quite heavily on the identity aspect of my practice, it has been swaying in that direction. What I found was the most enjoyable is working on creating bespoke lettering, trying to create a unique typographic approach to each brief that I tackled. I have had the opportunity over the module to collaborate in projects such as Bryony's identity and sixteenHT.

b1- yearbook submission boards

Brief 01 Year_book Brief 1

b1- getting the proof back

Got the proof back today, looked through it at first and realised that it was massively wrong. We managed to identify the problem with the file that was sent in that it was sent as a single page pdf document. A misunderstanding which was rectified easily by exporting the pdf again as spreads. Looking forward to receiving the actual print.

b1- final art work pdf

The final pdf after the amendments from the proof that is going to print for real. The problems of have been smoothed out, saving the document as spreads without the cover art work.

Open publication - Free publishing - More book

b1- folios

As the book is very image heavy the folios need to balance out what is on the page without getting in the way and be easily navigable for the reader.

Open publication - Free publishing - More experiment

03.05 Tutorial

Raised the issue of not having 5 students work for the printed textiles year book and the best thing to do is have a back up, which is what we have planned in for. The format that Lorenzo wants is pdf the whole document; if there images missing make it clear. The aim is for me and Paul to make the amendments and resize the images, changing the files ready for print.

There is evidence of the project progressing it needs to be made clear what the outcomes are. For each project note down how and what will be shown on the boards and why? This will clarify what needs to be done for each brief. 


Another issue that was brought up was how is the sixteen HT brief going to be your own individual project.


Lorenzo suggested having a hard copy of the design context publication that can be added to so that there is something physical/ tangible to see how the information sits.

b1- looking at the structure

Both me and Paul decided to print off thumbnails of each double page spread to give us an idea of the pacing of the book. This allowed us to pin point what worked and didn't work within the book.

Printing off the spreads in this way is a good way of testing what works well together and what doesn't throughout the whole publication.

b1- adapting the concept and meeting

Reviewing all the images that we have chosen for the year book it is clear that the initial 3 sections that we set out to group the images in don't work. Suggesting a slight change in the categories to:


Process- Drawing, cutting and tactility 
Material- Fabrics, stitching and craftsmanship
Print- Rolls of print, wallpaper


With these categories and the images that we have it allows for a less strict set of sections that can include various different types of images, rather than trying to rely on a couple of images.
Yearbook Small

The meeting we had was to get up to speed on how everyone was getting on.


Me and Paul presented the layouts with the group agreeing that the direction we were going in was good.


Both Sai and Will presented their cover ideas which of them all, Will's idea of tessellating shapes to using each students work to create a pattern was chosen. The design works well creating a unique pattern connoting what the course is about.


Robyn had received all the type from Duncan and sent it through to the master document.


From the meeting it was down to me and Paul to develop the layout and structure of the book while Will would work on the cover and Sai the type on that. We had the idea of foiling the name of the course, keeping it simple so that it would stand out from the tessellating shaped.





 

Just as an example of how the section heading page acts as a page break, the intricate detail of the page will slow the pace and draw the readers attention to the section change. Suggestion to Will for each section heading to create similar imagery for these spreads using the images from the whats to come in that section.

Section Header Development

b1- file management

Speaking to the group, me and Paul thought it best if we kept tabs on who had submitted work to us via drop box. This would enable us to showcase at least an image per student throughout the year book.

This was sent out to clarify the yearbook guidelines. A slight change to the body copy is no problem, using an additional typeface that will compliment Helvetica for the title such as Avenir would be a good addition.

The list of names with who has submitted the work for the year book including the initial section their work will be included in.

Avenir:

b1- drop box files

Due to the deadline fast approaching for this brief we agreed that we needed to use what we had in order to create the yearbook. Due to the limited amount of files it has been difficult to create a structure for the yearbook. Robyn sent out an email to the Printed textiles team which was passed onto the students that asked for the students to add their files and photos to the shared drop box folder. 

b1- flat images experiments

Due to the amount of images from drop box that are flat images, I used a similar aesthetic to create some variations for what the pages could look like. Due to not having all the students work it is hard to create a structure that will change in order to fit in the students that send their work in late.


Creating a structure that looks more random, allowing for variety of visuals and pacing.
Flat Shots 1

b1- layering layout experiments

Using images from the textiles team, drop box and our own photos I decided to look at creating a more abstract look to how the images could be structured in order to challenge the reader of the publication.


Layering the various images on top of each other works quite well depending on the colours. With the flatter images an element such as the drop shadow has been added to create more depth to the composition.Layer Experiment
Layer Experiment 3

b1- Indesign master document

Setting up the in design master document, this is so that everyone can see how the book will function.

Yearbook Structure

The initial structure of the pages; 15mm margins, 12mm columns with 3mm gutters.

b1- 30.03 yearbook meeting

In this meeting we decided job roles for everyone within the group as it was a good idea to split the work load up in order for it to be manageable. Robyn was to receive the information and work on the type, with Sai and Will focussing on the covers then me and Paul to work on the structure and layout of the book.

We went through and selected the images that we thought would best suit the yearbook.

In the meeting so that everyone had a clear idea of how the book would look and navigate we decided on a structure, splitting the book up. We decided that we wanted to include the 7 aspects of the Printed textiles course at the front of the book then the rest of the book be showcasing the work of the students.

 Initial structure using thumbnails.

b1- images from printed textiles and our excursion

The printed textiles team suggested that as well as the photos that we had that they could send photos from events that their students had taken part in. The images are primarily of the first and second years as for the third years the majority of them are getting ready for their final major projects.

Our initial trip into the Printed Textiles studio to get an idea of the art direction and some potential photos for the year book. 

Me and Robyn went through the images and selected a variety of images that worked best with our concept of splitting the year book up into three sections (concept, process and product shots).

b1- 07/03 meeting with the printed textiles team

Quotes to be sent through
7 sections of text to be sent through


They would like 500-750 books printed


We have been granted access to take photos of the students working in the studio this will contribute to the first section of the book.

b1- initial spread ideas

Using the images that Sai found while researching the art direction I have come up with some various layouts that could work for the book. It is hard to visualise a structure for the layout without the specific content that is going to go in. The Printed Textiles and Surface Pattern team want something more abstract, with something that is a bit different. 


Without the content it is hard to create something the looks abstract or interesting.
yb Initial Spreads1


Using some of the images that I took from within our studio.
yb Initial Spreads2

b1- art direction and photography

Something that I am exploring is the top down shots of the printed textiles studio, the students working and various work from above. This can be incorporated with close ups from different angles to get a variety for the book.

Various examples of photos that would be appropriate:
Art Direction Example

Taking a couple of my photos for an example of the direction.
Art Direction 1

b1- devising a structure

To clarify how the book will look it is important to look at the structure and navigation throughout the book. So I though that it would be a good idea to select a number of pages to work to and then devise how our concept could be applied to it.

Structure breakdown

84 pages split into 3 sections

24 pages a section

4 page for the cover

2 contents - acknowledgments

2-4 student details