OUGD603 - Penguin Student Design Award - Initial Idea Sketches

One of the things taken from the book which was of particular interest to me was the use of forest and woodland settings throughout the story, this of which has formed the main basis for some of my initial ideas. One idea was to place imagery of the pine forest outside Naoko's sanatorium within a circle, the circle representing Japan's rising sun flag and the political aspect with surrounds the story. This has been sketched out in a few different variations, another being to situate an image of the sanatorium within the mountain forests into this circle to also represent the underlying theme of mental health and potentially intrigue new readers into wondering what this odd building is found alone within the mountains. A third variation was to place the forest and/or meadow setting Watanabe describes at the start of the story within a smaller circle on the front cover and pair this with imagery of two red birds 'leaping into the meadow' that Watanabe also describes as seeing. This idea of flying birds can also be used to represent the freedom of Naoko from her illness as she passes away.

Another thing of interest was that each time Naoko requested her roommate Reiko to play 'Norwegian Wood' on guitar she had to place 100 yen into a glass jar. The idea was to place a forest setting within a sealed glass jar, literally putting the song into the jar itself, also signifying Naoko's bottled feelings and feelings of being alone or 'trapped' by her illness.

A different variation of this was sketched, focusing on the opposite of the first, visualising an open jar with a red bird (one that Watanabe describes in the book) flying out, symbolising Naoko's freedom from her illness after her death. This also links to the full name of Naoko's favourite song and title of the book being 'Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)'. In this variation, the open lid has been placed on the back cover to add an element which links both the back and front covers.

For the back cover designs, it was thought that text could be placed into rough squared blocks representing Naoko's and Watanabe's constant letters to each other whilst they are apart. Or, linking to the ideas based around the rising sun flag, the text could be placed in a circle, reflecting the circular design on the front cover.

Typographic Treatments:
One of the main aspects taken from research into what appeals to the judges the most is the use of typography, therefore it was decided to spend some time experimenting with and producing various typographic treatments I could potentially use in my final design.

My first initial ideas for these typographic treatments was to experiment with extending different letterforms in connecting and enclosing letters, using the most prominent vertical strokes to represent the trunks of pine trees and forest settings as described throughout the book. For these ideas, I have purposefully made the type quite thin in order to work more effectively with this idea of pine tree trunks which tend to be thinner and taller than other trees. This was also thought to have a definite link to the title of the book in the use of the word 'wood'.

Other ideas use this same extending of letterforms, however instead to represent the political aspect of the story, with the stroke of the 'I' acting as a flag pole with the actual flag enclosing the remaining letters of the title. This idea was based on a part of the story where the flag would be raised every morning at Watanabe's university dormitory and the student protests around this.

In addition, it was also thought to potentially focus on some of the characters of the story, particularly Naoko whom the story mainly centres around as described from Watanabe's point of view. These ideas focused on the more sensitive themes of death and loss in relation to Naoko, with one idea being to place the title of the book within a ripped piece of paper which Naoko left her note to Reiko on before leaving the sanatorium to end her life. It was thought this could then be paired with an image of her blue nightdress in which she left in. Another idea concerning this nightdress was to make it a part of the title itself, going back to extending letterforms, using the 'I' as a tree trunk in which an image of Naoko's nightdress is attached seemingly blowing in the wind to represent her hanging herself in the forest, as well as her links to the book's title itself.

Other ideas experiment with placing the title within a handmade placard typically found at protests to represent the student protests within the story, as well as placing this title within a label on a glass jar to represent the jar in which Reiko made Naoko place 100 yen into each time she requested to hear 'Norwegian Wood' on the guitar.

OUGD603 - Penguin Student Design Award - Book Cover Analysis

Another initial point of call for research was to look at and analyse existing cover designs for 'Norwegian Wood' to find out what has already been done in helping me to produce an original and imaginative design, which appeals to a new generation of readers as the brief specifies.

The first edition of the book kept a two-volume division between the original Japanese version and its colour scheme. The first volume had a simple red cover with green type, whereas the second edition had a simple green cover, with red type, which was continued through to the English translated editions in order to honour the original versions of the book. These first cover designs were kept incredibly minimalistic, using a traditional serif typeface, perhaps to represent the time in which the story was set. The different colour schemes could also be seen as representing other small elements within the book, such as the colour red in the Japanese culture and green in symbolising the forest scenes present in the story.

The newest edition of the book also has a fairly minimalistic design, however with the addition of the use of simple imagery. The red cover could be seen as a homage to the original first edition of the novel, as well as working with the white circle in the centre of the cover as an inverted representation of the Japanese rising sun flag, highlighting the political aspect of the story. This cover design I feel is particularly clever in that the imagery within the circle could be interpreted in a number of different ways. In one way, the black lines could be seen as the legs of three of the main characters, with the most prominent ones being that of narrator Toru Watanabe, and the other ones as characters Naoko and Midori with whom Watanabe is torn between. However, in another way, these images could also be seen as trees representing the forest scenes presented in the story with their 'shadows lengthening at dusk' as also described in the beginning chapter.

Other cover designs take on a more photographic approach, presenting images of what could be character Naoko in the way in which she is presented. Such images tend to be paired with the colour white, perhaps symbolising the colour associated with hospitals and therefore touching on the themes of mental illness, death and loss within the story, whilst perhaps also representing her innocence as a character.

The brief states that the author's writing is 'vivid, dazzling, experimental and imaginative' and that the cover design should reflect this, whilst also appealing to a new generation of readers and avoiding obvious cliches. Controversially, I feel as if the words 'vivid' and 'dazzling' do not reflect the themes of the story well since the story touches on sensitive themes of mental health, death, loss, sex and relationships which I feel should not be glorified through a 'dazzling' design. However, this means the brief will prove to be a good challenge in attempting to reflect this is an appropriate way, focusing more on making the design experimental and imaginative.

OUGD603 - Penguin Student Design Award - Former Adult Fiction Prize Winners

Before designing, it was thought that research into former winning designs should be conducted and analysed as an initial point of call in beginning to understand what the design elements appeal to the judges more and what they typically look for in winning designs.

Last year's adult fiction prize was for the book 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell. This winning entry is very minimalistic in its design, in terms of both colour and image. The design uses flat, symbolic images as a reference to the story's main characters through the visualisation of a pigs snout. Because of this simplistic image, this means that the typographic elements stand out also as a main part of the design, through the use of a bold, sans-serif typeface, and the use of a dark, stone-like textured background was said by the designer to represent the brutalist style often associated with communist architecture. Judges comments on this design referred particularly to the minimalistic style of the design also, describing it as 'bold, confident and representatively strong', suggesting that judges are looking for 'confident' designs which simply and clearly represent what the book is about, whilst also showing a strong appeal to the use of typography.

2017's adult fiction prize was for the book 'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee. This winning entry is, in my opinion, very clever in its design. The front cover is dominated by an illustration of a hand, in which sits the author's name and title of the book, which is then transparently reflected on the back cover as if a print of the hand itself. Like the previous year's winning design, this entry has a strong use of typography which judges are particularly keen on through the use of a bespoke, handwritten-style typeface. The design can also be said to present an original interpretation of the brief, as stated in the brief's design consideration, which avoids representing the more obvious elements of the story and therefore gives the design a clear point of difference.

2016's adult fiction prize was for the book 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess. This winning entry focuses specifically on the language used within the book, again avoiding obvious cliches such as the use of a clockwork cogs or an orange within the main elements of design. Within this list of words and their meanings, the title of the book is uncovered. This use of type is paired with a simple, block coloured background as to not overpower the use of type and make the design too complicated, which would then reduce its effectiveness and impact.

From looking at these previous winning entries for the adult fiction prize category, all designs have a clear point of difference which makes them stand out from other designs, in avoiding visualising the obvious and other cliches. In addition, all these designs have a strong use of typography, which seems to appeal to the judges the most, whether this be simplistic, bold typography or more complicated, bespoke typefaces. Taking this into consideration then, it is important that my own entry is clever in its design, using an imaginative and experimental concept which should reflect the author's writing.

OUGD603 - Penguin Student Design Award - Book Research (Norwegian Wood)

NORWEGIAN WOOD:

The book, Norwegian Wood, is set in late 1960's Tokyo when Japanese students were protesting against the established order, which serves as a backdrop to the story and focuses on the main character, Toru Watanabe, looking back on his days as a university student. The story touches on elements of mental health, death and loss, as well as sex and relationships. Whilst reading the book, key and interesting elements were noted down, alongside brief initial design ideas which came from this reading.

Interesting and key elements of the book:

'The meadow, washed clean of summer's dust by days of gentle rain, the mountains wore a deep, brilliant green, fronds of head-high grasses swaying, one long streak of cloud hung pasted across a dome of frozen blue'...'We saw only two bright red birds leap startled from the centre of the meadow and dart into the woods'.

Naoko's camel hair coat.

- attached to trees in the woods, blowing in the wind in the meadow.

Naoko's description of the well (pg.5)

Pine Forest.

'It takes time, though, for Naoko's face to appear. And as the years have passed, the time has grown longer. Like shadows lengthening at dusk'... 'Shadows swallowed up in darkness'.

Flag of the rising sun.

- look at the political aspect of the book, the raising of the flag at the dormitory each morning, protest, propaganda materials.

- back cover idea - have the text typeset into a circle to represent the rising sun flag and the political background aspect of the story.

- front cover idea - use a circle to represent the rising sun flag, within the circle place a scene of the meadow or forest that Naoko and Watanabe walk through, outside the circle have imagery of two red birds as if 'leaping into the meadow' described by Watanabe at the start of the book.

Ami Hostel (Naoko's sanatorium) situated in the woodlands of the mountains.

100 yen in a jar every time Naoko requests Reiko to play 'Norwegian Wood' on guitar.

- place a scene of the meadow, woodlands or sanatorium in a glass jar to symbolise the bottled feelings of both Naoko and Watanabe, to symbolise the mental health aspects of the book.

Naoko and Reiko's yellow raincapes.

Naoko's blue nightdress - 'Death exists, not as the opposite but as a part of life'.

- blue nightdress hanging by rope in the trees of the forest outside the sanatorium, represent Naoko's death and her lingering memories (from Watanabe).

OUGD603 - Initial Statement of Intent and Time Plan

An initial statement of intent / position statement which clearly identifies and articulates:

- themes, subject matter and lines of enquiry.
- research methodologies.
- practical development (media, methods, production skills).
- contextual and theoretical references.
- approaches to documentation and recording.
- reflection and evaluation.
- project management (including a clear time plan).

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Initial Statement of Intent:

In terms of my creative practice, I am interested particularly in more traditional, handmade methods of design production, such as the screen-printing process, as well as other analogue processes like contemporary collage. However, on the other hand, I am also interested in other more digital processes, such as digital illustration and editorial or publication design. One of the themes therefore I intend to explore is handmade vs. digital techniques within design, particularly within my context of practice essay, discussing themes such as the resurgence of analogue methods of production, and exploring whether this is having any effect on the world of graphic design. Through this essay though, I will focus more specifically on phenomenology and aesthetics, regarding experience and interaction between a piece and design and the viewer, aiming to answer the question “how does the experience of a handmade or digitally produced poster design affect our aesthetic appreciation of the design?”

Other, more general, themes I also have an interest in and intend to explore are philosophy and ethics (in terms of the Ancient Greek philosophers and their theories), travel and music. Based on a shortlisted banner design, produced during last year for a school’s competition brief, I would also be interested to perhaps explore design for education, building on my knowledge from this previous experience.

In terms of going about exploring these topics discussed above, I intend to use a variety of research methodologies, such as reading design and theory books to continue to widen my knowledge of the world of design and different theories which could be linked to such practice. This would in turn help enhance my creative practice more theoretically. Other forms of research would consist of internet and video research, and the critical analysis of examples of contemporary graphic design, looking at what is already out there, how this is done, and how I can make my own designs original and different from such existing design work.

Experimentation is another research technique which shall be used throughout my practice, creating and testing different prototypes taking on a more primary approach. This could be paired with additional primary research methods, such as surveys of both students and creative professionals if deemed appropriate for a specific brief.

My practical development will touch on the themes, subject matter and lines of enquiry discussed at the start of this statement; handmade and traditional production techniques like screen-print and contemporary collage, as well as continuing to develop my digital design skills through the use of Adobe suite (in particular, InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop) in producing digital illustrations, layout for publication design and bookbinding skills.

Both contextual and theoretical discussions will be referenced within my creative practice, engaging with ideas of phenomenology and aesthetics, and experience and interaction through my context of practice work. Other contextual and theoretical approaches referenced in my work would be through my interest in philosophy and ethics, and perhaps connecting the ethical discussions into producing a body of ethical design.

Documentation of these intents will be recorded mostly through continually updating my blogs to produce an accurate and clear development of my creative practice in the briefs I decide to undertake. A bibliography of sources and references could also be produced to accompany each brief to evidence the use of a wide range of research methodologies.

Reflection and evaluation of my work will also be continually recorded through self-critical analysis of my work, as well as through peer feedback, group critique sessions and personal tutorials. An overall evaluation will be written at the end of each brief undertaken, discussing the brief as a whole, including ethical considerations. A project management and time plan would also be evidenced to show organisational and time management skills, which could be transferred into a piece of design work itself, such as a calendar design showcasing how I have spent my time.

Until the Christmas break, most of my time will be spent working towards the December deadline for context of practice. However, amongst this I aim to complete at least two or three smaller extended practice briefs, like a logo design client brief and the Penguin Random House Student Design Award.

Time plan / project management (until December):

OUGD603 - Penguin Student Design Award - Brief Research

- Adult fiction cover: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.
- Adult non-fiction cover: The Establishment by Owen James.
- Children's cover: Wonder by R J Palacio.

The winning design will need to:

- have an imaginative concept.
- be an original interpretation of the brief.
- be competently executed with strong use of typography.
- appeal to the broadest possible audience for the book.
- show a good understanding of the marketplace.
- have a point of difference from other books that it will be competing against in the market.
- be able to sit on the shelves of a supermarket or ebook store as easily as it sits on those of more traditional bookshops.

DEADLINE: 5th March @ 2pm
Application form open: 3rd December.

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Norwegian Wood:
- a nostalgic story of loss and burgeoning sexuality.
- character Toru Watanabe looks back on his days as a college student living in Tokyo. The story sees him develop relationships between two different women - beautiful, yet emotionally troubled Naoko, and outgoing, lively Midori.
- set in late 1960's Tokyo, when Japanese students were protesting against the established order (this serves as a backdrop to the story).
- the original title Noruwei no Mori is the standard translation of The Beatles' song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" which is the favourite song of character Naoko. Mori in the title translates to "forest". Forest settings and imagery are significant in the novel.
- the original Japanese edition colour schemes were: first edition, red and second edition, green.

The Brief:
- the author's writing is 'vivid, dazzling, experimental and imaginative' and your cover design should reflect this.
- design a cover for a new generation of readers, avoid obvious cliches.

Wonder:
- the author wrote 'Wonder' after an incident wherein her son noticed a girl with a severe facial deformity and started to cry. The author attempted to remove her son from the situation as to not upset the girl and her family, but ended up worsening the situation.
- Natalie Merchant's song "Wonder" made her realise that the incident could illustrate a valuable lesson. The author used the song's chorus as the prologue of the first chapter.
- August "Auggie" Pullman is a 10 year old living in North River Heights in Upper Manhatten who has a medical condition often equated with Treacher Collins Syndrome, which has left his face disfigured.
- homeschooled, but enrolled into Middle School for the experience by his parents, where he is then bullied for his appearance.
- the book explores the nature of friendship, tenacity, fear and kindness, explores fundamental truths about how people behave and how they should behave.

"Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten year old. He does ordinary things - eating ice-cream, playing on his xbox. He feels ordinary - inside. But ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren't stared at wherever they go".

The Brief:
- the design should ensure that the book remains important and a must-read for every child.
- should also engage adults to want to buy it.

OUGD603 - Penguin Student Design Award - Norwegian Wood Brief

OUGD603 - Personal Tutorial - 11/10/18

* Think about what you're interested in outside of graphic design, something you enjoy, will motivate the project more (e.g. Lord Whitney on Folk Lore) - mural design ideas?
* Timeline of briefs.
* Smaller briefs good to start with, get back into designing (e.g. pogsee logo brief).
* CoP - phenomenology and aesthetics, allows me to look at processes as well as design.
* Practical brief - could simply be producing something digital and something handmade but using the same information to show how it would be portrayed in these different forms.
* Practical brief - or could experiment with lots of different processes - have a large body of experimental work.
* "Tell a lie" - likes our project because its not just about the university or situated within the university - targeted other universities too who do not know what our project is.
* Speak to visiting professional on 25/10 about CoP work - interested in hands-on approach, but makes it look contemporary rather than old-fashioned - workshop could be good to inspire extended practice. (post-it notes/ type).

OUGD603 - Extended Practice Updated Brief Ideas

1. Student graphic design competition: Display Wizard:
Design two display stands for your university that focus on the career benefits of your course.
* 1x 3x3 EventPro curved pop up display stand.
* 1x 800mm swift banner stand.
In your designs, please try and create stands which showcase the job prospects, skills you've acquired and other career benefits of the studying of your course at university. You need to ensure the branding is consistent across the display stands and the design fits with the dimensions of the stand, whilst trying to appeal to prospective students who may want to study at your institution.
To be eligible you will also need to provide a 250-300 word description which explains the inspiration for your designs.
Use templates provided for your design.
DEADLINE: 1st May 2019.

https://www.displaywizard.co.uk/graphic-design-student-competition

2. Collaborative brief with a person(s) external from the course:
- work with a photographer/ a photography student to design and produce a book which showcases their work.
- work with just one specific theme, so that specific ideas can be generated towards this and consistency can be produced in the book and its design.

3. Penguin Random House student design award:
- launches: 16th October.

4. Traditional print:
- a brief which I can produce work using traditional print. (poster design?).

5. Logo design:
- logo design for pogsee photography and music.

6. Mural design:
- perhaps collaborative (big undertaking). Research into how I would go about this, if anywhere is looking for a mural design, etc.
- OR could perhaps be a research led brief. Mural may not actually have to be painted physically on a wall, but mocked-up and visualised well as to how it would potentially look.

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Final Evaluation

One of the things this short brief taught me was what could be achieved in such a short space of time and will help me in particular with extended practice in figuring out how to manage my time between projects. In terms of this project itself, being to tell a lie convincingly, false messages got spread extremely quickly, showing the powerful communicative effects that graphic design can have on society and this is something to consider when working within the design industry. Although ours specifically only received one response, perhaps we would have been more successful if the timescale were longer, since what we were asking of people perhaps needed more time to mull over before applying to anything like our fake opportunity.

However, in terms of producing material for this fake opportunity, I felt as if this was quite successful in terms of how convincing and professional they looked. For instance, the flyers were printed double-sided on thin, glossy paper which mimicked real flyers in terms of their feel. The use of existing logos on these too, helped to make the material seem real and official. Despite this, the posters could have been printed on a thinner stock choice, perhaps the same as the flyers, since these almost looked a bit 'too professional' to be pinning up on university notice boards, etc.

The distribution could have perhaps also been a bit more considered, deciding more carefully where posters were placed. Most of these were pinned up on university notice boards where a lot of university and opportunity information is placed, however perhaps the mass of information puts students off from looking at such things for a particularly long time to take in anything important.

Most importantly, this short brief has taught me how important it is to consider ethical implications of something when designing. Most projects which got out of hand were to do with the use of existing branding, such as the LAU logo, used to falsely advertise within the university, whereas ours targeting an opportunity outside any institution specifically meant that our project could not be shut down quickly. This has therefore shown that problems associated with copyright of information need to be carefully considered when designing, along with ethical considerations such as the use of personal data when getting people to sign up for something.

Conclusion: The power of graphic design can be great, however this should not be abused.

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Ethical Considerations

In terms of ethics, clearly the immediate consideration taken from this project is that lying isn't ethical, but can be extremely effective within advertising and other graphic design in order to effectively convince an audience or consumer to believe something, which is worrying in some regards since this could potentially cause all sorts of problems (as shown in some other groups presentations, particularly in terms of using an existing brand's logo).

The main ethical consideration in terms of our project would be the collection of other people's personal data. In the one response we received, we concluded this by emailing back explaining that the video shoot had to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. We thought this would be a more appropriate way to contact her since she had taken her time to send us personal data, such as email, social media accounts and images of herself, and so she did not feel betrayed by this or worried that she had sent such information over so willingly.

Posters and any remaining flyers will now be collected, particularly around Leeds Beckett University, since this is where Nao (the artist) will be playing in March, in case of reasons that any of these happen to remain up for such a long space of time and Nao or her management herself find out about the false advertisement of our fake opportunity.

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Responses and Conclusion

Unfortunately, our open call for auditions wasn't a success, with us receiving a whopping total of zero responses, despite the fact we targeted more than one university and felt like our designs looked pretty professional.

So why wasn't our project a success?

- Timescale - due to the short time frame of this brief, flyers and posters were distributed on Tuesday and a deadline day was set for responses on Thursday evening. For what we were asking of people to send in and the opportunity itself, was perhaps too big of a decision for people to respond within a few days. Something like this we felt as if people would probably want to mull it over, or spend time perfecting a dance routine or makeup example before sending in their applications in order to help them gain as much of a chance as possible of being accepted.

- Cost - since we were targeting three separate universities, perhaps we needed more flyers and posters to go round each for such large spaces, however tons of flyers would have had to have been printed and this could get quite costly.

- Distribution - in a similar sense to the above point, perhaps there were not enough flyers and posters to go around. Perhaps people picked up the flyers and were intrigued for a brief moment, however may not have actually been interested in the opportunity itself therefore may have just discarded of the flyer. This then raises the issue of the information not reaching the right people. Posters were also pinned onto various notice boards around the universities, a place we thought students would regularly check for opportunity information. However, perhaps students don't check these as regularly as we thought, or perhaps the bombardment of information on these boards meant that the poster drowned in a sea of other information and so was missed.

However...

After the deadline had closed and we had delivered our presentation, we did eventually receive one application from a girl who seemed very serious about the opportunity, showing us that perhaps indeed if the timescale was larger we would have had more applications like this one.

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Final Video Presentation

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Distribution

In distributing the flyers and posters we thought carefully about our audience. Since we were targeting students specifically we wanted to distribute our material in places where these would hopefully be seen by large proportions of students. For this reason, one of the main places we pinned up posters were notice boards, which we thought students would typically look at regularly for updated opportunities and information. We also put some on more bare walls where they could be seen more instantly by passers by who would then hopefully stop and investigate what it concerns. Flyers were distributed in a similar way. These were placed on window sills amongst other flyers, on tables where people would sit perhaps in their free time and hopefully pick up out of curiosity or maybe even boredom, and on other surfaces such as entrance gates. These posters and flyers were not just distributed around our university, but also the University Of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University so to reach a larger proportion and a wider range of students, particularly targeting Leeds Beckett students since this is where Nao will be performing in March on her world tour, making it seem more realistic that these would be placed there.

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Printed Material

In printing final designs, we wanted these to look as convincing and professional as possible. For the poster designs, we decided to print these at a size of A4 in thinking that potentially universities might have regulations on how big notice posters can be and we did not want these to potentially be taken down if they did not meet these, therefore we felt A4 was a reasonable and the most common size for such posters. These posters were printed onto a matte paper stock, since we thought that this would bring out the grainy effect of the posters more.

The flyers were printed double-sided at a size of A5, which we established was the most common size for these type of flyers. Our choice of paper stock for these was a thin, glossy paper, with a similar texture to that of magazine pages. In thinking about existing flyers, it seemed this was the most common paper stock choice to use and as a result this gave the flyers a more professional feel, which we thought would be good to produce a more convincing piece of work.

In placing these two lots of printed material together, it is clear that there is a consistency between the two design variations which will hopefully work in our favour to make a more believable and professional looking body of work.

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Final Designs

Following feedback from the rest of the group, final designs took on two forms, one in that of a poster and the other in that of a double-sided flyer. It was decided amongst the group to develop the design with the blue background and 'off-road' imagery to match the scene for Nao's fake music video we are advertising. Initially it was thought that this should be a flyer, however it was decided to rework this design to fit the format of an A4 poster to pin around various universities' notice boards. In developing this myself, information was condensed in order to all fit onto one A4 poster design, ensuring all appropriate information was present for all opportunities. Small use logos were used in replacement of the original and vectorised to allow for both black and white versions, which fit better and more consistently with each other in a small row at the bottom of the poster. Deadline date and time was also changed to black whilst the rest of the type remains white in order to give this some importance and make the audience aware of this. This condensed poster allows us to print and distribute more posters to a wider audience.

For the final flyer design, it was decided amongst the group to develop the black and white version since it was thought this was more 'to-the-point' and instantly shows what the flyer is regarding. Digital type was changed to be consistent with that used in the poster and the white, small use logos were also added at the bottom of the design.

However, one problem with the above design was that it did not include all appropriate information on how to apply for the opportunity and what actually needs to be sent in. For this reason, I developed a back to this flyer to produce a double-sided flyer. The back is simple, includes the same white logos as the front to produce consistency between the two sides, and includes all relevant information. This was also decided on the basis that, again, it would mean we would be more cost-effective in printing these, and as a result would also be easier to distribute to a wider range of students who may be interested in the different opportunities.

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Group Feedback

- the condensed poster with all three titles on is immediately clear as to what it's after.
- it's good to see the artist herself on the flyers too, to help cement at a glance who and what the poster is about.
- black and white designs, however, do not include all relevant information on what needs to be sent in to apply and how to go about this.
- the design against the blue sky looks quite swish, however perhaps it is too text heavy for the average person skimming a poster, flyer or email.
- perhaps the logos should be a bit smaller on the designs and tinted the same colour, so either black or white depending on background colour.
- putting up a selection of poster designs on notice boards around various universities could be something nice and visual.

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Further Flyer Design Developments (2)

Another initial flyer design drafted by a third member of the group continues with the use of Nao's branding at the top of the flyer. However, this design takes on more of a simple, handmade approach using handwritten type to put all role opportunities onto one flyer. Imagery of Nao herself have been used in these designs to show first-hand the face of the artist, which could potentially create more of a 'buzz' about the opportunity if her face is instantly recognised. The use of white type on a black background has been used to create an impactful contrast of colours and a slight hierarchy of information.

Another version was also created in the same format, but reversed colours.

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Further Flyer Design Developments

Another initial flyer design drafted by another member of the group uses a similar format to the other designs, with the use of Nao's album branding at the very top of the flyer in order to create an impact and instantly catch someone's eye. The rest of the type has also been kept in a similar style to match the use of type in Nao's Saturn World Tour poster, with the use of physically handwritten type for the headings and a typeface called 'Impact Label Reversed' for the main body of information, which has been right-aligned in order to fit around the image used so as to not let any information fall hidden amongst the image.

Imagery has been used to match the 'theme' of the fake music video in a scene entitled 'off road' for Nao's new single 'Drive and Disconnect'. This image, along with the block-coloured background has been given a grainy effect similar to that of the imagery used on Nao's official tour poster. This block colour helps the information, especially the artist's name stand out.

These posters were then further developed by myself in order to make them seem more convincing, believable and professional, by adding three logos at the bottom of the flyer. These include Little Tokyo Recordings (Nao's own music label), RCA Records, which she is affiliated with, and Sony Music which are a part of RCA Records. A deadline date and time was also added to make the opportunity seem more official, as well as helping to ensure we receive application emails in time for the end of the week.

Upon reflection of these designs, it was thought that it would make more sense for the flyers to be double-sided otherwise three times as many would need to be printed, and since all three would be separate flyers, these may not reach all the appropriate people. If all roles are placed onto one flyer then this will hopefully allow information to reach a wider range of people, as well as helping to make distribution of these flyers a lot easier. This idea also makes the flyers more cost-effective to print. For this design then, information on makeup artist role and model roles was condensed to fit onto one side, with dancer role information on the other.

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Flyer Design Developments

In drafting initial flyer designs, ideas were taken from Nao's existing Saturn tour branding to help produce consistency between the two. For the background, her existing Saturn album image has been cut to fit the flyer in a more abstract way to as to not reveal the full image and hopefully produce more of an interest in doing so. For the main heading, I have chosen a handwritten typeface in order to try and mimic the handwritten type used in Nao's branding for her world tour poster. For the main body of information, a more digital typeface has been used, again to match the type used to present tour dates information on her original poster. Logos from Little Tokyo Recordings (Nao's own music label), RCA Records and Sony Music, all music labels associated with Nao, have been added to the bottom and top of these initial flyer designs, exploring different layout variations to find which works better. These have been added to help make the designs more convincing and believable.

Further developments from this use the same area of the Saturn Tour poster cut diagonally across the background, paired with a textured background I produced myself using ink and water on paper in order to break up the image slightly and match a small part of the original poster design in my own way. The appropriate information has been added in these developments to see how well the text fits with the design.

Final developments combine the use of these ideas along with elements of Nao's official branding, placed at the very top of the flyer in a similar format to most of her album covers in order to present clearly what the flyer is regarding. If people see the big name at the top of the flyer and recognise it then potentially this could cause a big interest in people. Type styles have also been updated to better match the type used in Nao's tour posters, with the headings, such as 'open call for dancers' being physically handwritten rather than using a digital font which mimics handwriting. This text has been coloured white as to not take away attention from Nao's name which would create more impact on its own. The body of information now uses the typeface 'Impact Label Reversed' since it is clearer to read than the previous, but still mimics the digital font from the original tour poster. In addition, the image of Nao's hand has been photoshopped to appear in front of part of her name in order to add some dimension to the poster.

Information has been condensed into two designs in order to produce a double-sided flyer which would mean we don't have to print three times as many and means these will also be easier to distribute to hopefully reach more of a wider range of students.

OUGD603 - "Tell A Lie Convincingly" - Existing Tour Promotion Material

SATURN WORLD TOUR:
Upon research, it has been found that there isn't a wide range of promotion material for Nao's 'Saturn' World Tour. All material for this tour use the same image in a variety of formats, with and without text and information. The image includes a picture of the artist herself holding a bunch of white balloons in a seemingly deserted location. Potentially her position in the image of holding the balloons to the air conveys the idea of space in relation to the title of her tour. The image is quite grainy as if it has been taken on an old grainy film camera and the colours are fairly muted. Text varies between a more digital, typewriter-esque font and handwritten type.

Ideas for flyers:
- the flyers could potentially incorporate this similar grainy aesthetic present in the existing tour promotion material, alongside a similar colour palette of muted down blacks, greys, blues and purples to produce consistency between the flyers and this existing promotion in order to help make our "lie" more believable and convincing.
- use similar type styles - handwritten type for the "open call for auditions" title to match the "Saturn World Tour 2019" type style and for the rest of the block information use a more digital, typewriter font to match the tour date information on the existing tour material - again, use this for believable consistency and to produce a clear hierarchy of information.
- potentially add image of the balloons she is holding or an image of herself, however make it simple. If these flyers have just been made from Nao's management company then these may not look massively professional. Too much detail might distract from the information we provide on the flyers.
- add record label logos in small at the bottom of the flyers to again help with believeability.

Little Tokyo Recordings Logo (1).

Little Tokyo Recordings Logo (2). 

RCA Records Logo (1).

RCA Records Logo (2).

- create transparent vector images of these logos to put at the bottom of the flyers and emails.

- Little Tokyo Recordings is a record label produced by Nao herself.
- RCA Records are a part of Sony Music, so potentially this logo could also be incorporated into the designs since this is a big label which most people will know that could make the opportunity seem even more real and convince more people to audition.