OUGD405 - Studio Brief 02 - Final Crit Evaluation

During our final crit, a number of strengths and weaknesses were discussed. It was suggested that overall the designs were very strong, however one improvement I could make was to print the designs onto coloured paper to gain an interesting texture, rather than selecting the image on screen. This would also mean that I wouldn't have the problem with the printer interpreting the colour differently from on screen. Although this would overcome the problem, it would also mean that both sides of the postcards would be printed the same colour. This could become a potential problem, as the reverse colour needs to be able to work with ink-pens or pencils for the messenger to write out their greetings, and the texture should not obstruct their writing in any way. If I were to do this, each side would therefore need to be printed and bound together to recreate it's originally intended contrast, with the reverse side slightly flatter than the first.

Another potential improvement was to change the typeface in which I used for the main facts used as part of the main postcard designs. In order to make it more standardised with the ASCII image and further text on the reverse side, I should change the text to Courier New. However, I had initially experimented with this in the process of choosing my typeface and the kerning of this font proved to be difficult to manipulate to be in relation to the measurements of a slide rule. If I were to try and do this, the text would be too narrow to read and so compromising the clarity of the information. Nevertheless the use of kerning was regarded as clever, as it has clear and direct reference to initial research and the context in which it has been used.

Overall, it was suggested that each of the designs had a good use of context which made them coherent. The audience was also very clear, with many referring to their potential use in Science and Maths Museums. Initially the chosen colour palette was questioned, however after brief explanation, it was said that the colours work well to convey their chosen meaning and did not obstruct the design in any way. Again these had direct links to contextual research and inspirations. The overall design is not too complicated and the size is appropriate for it's intended purpose, although I could have potentially experimented with A5 as well as A6.