Sunday, 22 April 2018

OUGD505 - End of Module Evaluation

One of the main things this module has taught me was how important it can be to make graphic design appropriate to the 21st Century in order to communicate issues of politics, ethics, etc and how these could fit into the market for ethically driven design. Such approaches to design were highlighted in Studio Brief 02 and was something which was quite enjoyable to work towards. This allowed me to put my own issues, concerns and ideas into my design work and helped show me the importance of creating work which means something to you. Despite getting off to a bad start in the initial ideas production process, as a result of focusing on my own concerns, this helped to better motivate and push the boundaries of my work to produce a series of outcomes which would have a clear purpose in the world of design.

Studio Brief 01 presented similar ideas to some degree, however made more specific, in aiming to present issues of 21st Century society that some micro-genres of music are concerned with. The micro-genre which I decided to focus on for this brief was Vaporwave, a form of electronic music which emerged in the early 2010's. It was found that this genre had become something of an art movement and internet meme, with its typical visuals being something which did not match my usual style of work. It was decided to pursue this idea however in challenging myself further in terms of my work, and this actually became to be quite enjoyable as a brief whilst also being a steep learning curve in regards to my practice.

In developing a series of stickers to be used for bubblegum packaging and floppy disk labels through Studio Brief 01, representative of the sense of nostalgia which Vaporwave is concerned with, allowed me to work closely with design for packaging, something which I have not done previously. Although the full objects were not made, careful consideration had to be taken in designing in the correct formats and making sure that all relevant information is present on the designs, some which can be challenging to work with such as barcodes and nutritional information. However, due to the nature of this brief, this allowed me to work more playfully with the designs.

The making of recycled paper was a process which was worked with in response to Studio Brief 02. Handmade approaches to design have always been of particular interest to me, however, this was a method new in my experience. Although the process worked in itself, the idea was to use this paper to print on, however the thickness made for difficulties in the process. This could have been considered more carefully initially and meant that the final production of my outcomes had to be reconsidered. If more time had been allowed, I would have experimented with making this thinner and softer in texture so that it could be printed on. Despite this, the method allowed me to show how there should be a clear link between what sort of message you are communicating in your designs and the production method which should be used to show such ideas in practice.

Both briefs, although more specifically Studio Brief 02, allowed me to critically engage with research and showed the importance of this in providing clearly informed design decisions that work effectively to communicate a chosen message. Research I feel is something of a strong point already, however this module allowed me to think on a much broader scale - work which could potentially have a huge impact in the world and is something which I shall attempt to use more to inform my design work and creative practice, particularly a sustainable one.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Evaluation

Based on peer feedback of developments and, more importantly, final outcomes, it was considered that overall the response to the brief has been well thought-out and does good to present ideas based on research into the issue. More specifically, the idea of using a crossword puzzle to present information in a playful way which still links to the initial concept of paper waste was considered to be unique and creative.

It was also thought that overall, the final designs show how ideas of sustainability and sustainable practice have been carefully considered in their production. Such methods were shown to work effectively to communicate ideas appropriate to the brief and the issue being campaigned in the final outcomes. It was thought that the colour scheme worked interestingly to convey sustainability in itself with the use of monochromatic tones being representative of newspapers and would use less inks to produce. However, it would have been nice if in some way the posters could have been printed physically onto the handmade recycled paper in order to better visualise the sustainable production methods that would be used and to highlight those already present in the final outcomes themselves. Potentially these could instead be developed into material for a digital campaign rather than a printed one since this would cut out the need for paper altogether.

Another piece of feedback given was that the passage of type presented at the bottom of the posters could potentially be made slightly bigger since, if these were to be reproduced at a smaller scale, the type would possibly become illegible that would affect the accurate communication of information and therefore inhibit the purpose of the outcomes.

Another suggestion in the potential development of this crossword design was to use less words within the puzzle. Potentially this could make it more impactful as there would be less happening within the image. However, all words link nicely together to present the concept of the piece and the interesting use of negative space also means that the crossword is not surrounded by anything which would limit the communication of the information presented.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Rationale

Based on initial research into the issues of deforestation, it was decided to focus on paper wastage in relation to this and the effects it is having on the environment. Specifically, the main focus was the statement that 'to print and produce one copy of the Sunday edition of the New York Times requires 75,000 trees'. This took on the form of a poster campaign for the WWF, a global environmental organisation concerned with issues such as deforestation.

The posters play on what you would typically find within newspapers, both in terms of its content and aesthetics. The designs use the idea of a crossword in a playful way to get the audience to think about what it means in the context, as they would typically with this sort of puzzle. Both posters give the clue '1 down - the cause of 15 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions', one variation where the word 'deforestation' is filled in and circled in red, another where all words are filled in with the toxic gases that are released into the Earth's atmosphere when this occurs, showing the links between the two.

The designs have been produced in a way which gives the texture of newsprint running on low ink, with a limited colour palette in order to promote sustainability in their production by using less inks and printed onto handmade recycled paper.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Final Designs in Context

Since the chosen physical production methods of my final outcomes did not work as planned, it was decided to mock-up these final poster designs in context to show how they would potentially be used in real life settings. The limited use of colour on the designs would mean they would be cost-effective to reproduce and the use of recycled paper as a medium would continue to promote sustainability by helping to cut down on paper waste.



OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Final Production

Originally, it was decided that these posters should be printed on handmade recycled paper which I made myself in order to promote sustainability in the production of the final outcomes. These were produced digitally and would have also been trimmed once printed at an obscure size of 170 x 262.5 mm. This decision was based on the typical size of a football pitch, scaled down, in order to symbolise the fact that 27 football pitches worth of forest is cut every minute.

Unfortunately, however, this paper is slightly thicker than ordinary printer paper, therefore during the production process the paper struggled to reel through the printer effectively and ended up getting jammed. If more time were to be had I would have attempted to find a heavier duty printer that would feed this paper more effectively to physically print the posters.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Final Chosen Designs


OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Final Developments

In this final set of developments, it was decided to continue the use of imagery with digitally implemented type since these still presented characteristics similar to that of handwritten text, but does so in a clearer way which allows for better communication of information.

Two variations of each have been produced taking inspiration from initial layout sketches. The first places the imagery as if it were one sheet of newsprint lying on the floor like a piece of waste. A drop shadow has been used in these instances in order to make the piece look slightly more 3-dimensional for realism. The next variation places the image over the whole page, including the WWF logo and the shorter passage of text so that all information seems nicely tied together.



The next set of final developments use similar layouts as the previous for the same reasons, however these make use of the typeface GoodDog Plain since it was thought this typeface had more of a handwritten feel than the first which uses Rudiment. It was also thought that in the imagery used for these final developments has a better sense of texture in the slight discolouring of the black box and elements where it seems as though the page has ruffled up slightly.



Originally, it was thought that the poster could be used as a one-off, making use of imagery whereby all words are filled in on the crossword. However, in the use of GoodDog Plain, it was thought that the use of the word 'deforestation' on its own created a fair amount of impact and almost a sense of eeriness where the other words haven't yet been filled in. The low ink texture produced in this imagery was also thought to work well in the context of the idea. This poster could potentially be used in conjunction with the one above.


OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Further Crossword Developments

Based on peer feedback, it was decided to focus and continue further with developing the crossword idea since it was considered as a more creative way to present information. In response to this feedback, I began to experiment more with the crossword imagery which would be used amongst the main type developments. Although it was suggested that perhaps the amount of words could be shortened, it was decided to keep the same word layout as previous since this included the greenhouse gases which are produced from deforestation and was thought that this could link nicely to the chosen clue for the word 'deforestation' which I set as "1 down - the cause of 15 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions".

The first idea was to use my own handwriting to fill in the letters since this gave it a more realistic touch to the design. This was written in red pen to allow the word to stand out amongst the other bold use of block colour and make this one of the main focus points of the design. In this idea, it was decided to keep the word 'deforestation' on its own and leave the other boxes blank so that the audience would have to use the other clues given to them in this design to figure out what the other words may be like they would with a real crossword puzzle.



The next variation continues the use of my own handwriting along with the red pen for similar reasons as the first. In these, it was decided to try filling in all the words since it was thought that perhaps these would not be as obvious as first thought if left blank. In this variation, the black box surrounding the crossword was also manipulated slightly into a more squared shape so that there was not as much black space filling up the page, which brings everything in together a bit more.



Whilst it was thought that using my own handwriting would give the crossword designs a more realistic touch, it was also decided to experiment with the use of digital type which could potentially still look as though it were handwritten. This was done since my own handwriting almost looked a bit bulky in the boxes, whereas a thinner, digital type would allow for more negative space to be present around the letterforms along with more definitive characteristics that would make it easier for the potential audience to read. Variations were again created with using the word 'deforestation' on its own and with the other words, but this time the word 'deforestation' has been circled as if in red pen for this to continue to stand out amongst the rest of the information. For these variations, the typeface Rudiment has been used.




Going back to experimenting with my own handwriting, one variation was produced whereby the word 'deforestation' was written in red whilst the others were in black in order for it to stand out on its own without the need for it to be circled.


In experimenting with digital type, it was considered that perhaps the use of Rudiment was almost too reformed as a typeface and did not represent characteristics of handwritten type as much as other typefaces. Further developments were therefore done using the typeface GoodDog Plain, which has more of a quirky feel to it that could better represent handwritten type.



In the development of these images, each was copied and scanned back into the computer, limiting the use of inks which you can see has created some interesting effects that give the imagery some element of texture that can be associated with that of newsprint - something else which gives the use of imagery a link to the message it is trying to communicate and the original concept it was based on. The limited use of colour also continues ideas based on sustainability, meaning that less ink would be used in the printing process.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Feedback Points

  • It was considered that perhaps these images don't produce much of an impact in themselves as they should to show the effects of paper waste, instead these rely on the use of type to highlight what is trying to be communicated.
  • Show imagery of paper rotting or paper waste on the streets to help with this.
  • Work more on the crossword idea - more creative and original as a campaign idea.
  • Variation of the crossword idea that works best is where it looks like a sheet of paper or newsprint with the crossword on - slightly more realistic and the audience may be able to relate to it more.
  • Try keeping this idea purely to black and white, and monochromatic tones like the other in order to promote similar ideas on sustainable production.
  • Perhaps make the crossword simpler - use no more than 3 words - won't be such an odd shape and would keep the idea more impactful if there isn't too much information or things happening in the main image.
  • Try having the crossword at one side of the page then a column of clues next to it on the other side to keep similarities with most real crosswords.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Further Type and Image Developments

In sourcing further imagery, it was decided to experiment with the use of secondary photography which may convey my idea better. This image visualises specifically my initial idea whereby people are sat on the subway reading the New York Times, the brand of newspaper which is referenced directly in the statement I am communicating. The use of this would help create a better link between type and image therefore. It was also thought that the monochrome image works well to convey the typical standard of printing associated with newspapers, and giving the approach a level of sustainability since printing in black and white would save on the amount of inks being used in the printing process and would make the posters more cost-effective to print.

Due to the monochrome nature of the photograph, the original type was found to not stand out as well from certain elements of the image. The was played around with therefore, changing to black and to a 70% opacity. In this format, the black type worked better to provide clarity of information.




























Despite the black type working the best, the use of a lower opacity I thought was an interesting idea that I could continue to work with since it is more representative of the colour of newsprint and does not seem as striking against the background, which could have potentially be seen as too distracting. The lower opacity also uses less inks in the printing process and could be used to symbolise the fading of our rainforests to nothing if deforestation occurs at its current rate.

To work better with the image, the second line of text was then moved to the right-hand side of the image where the colour is lighter in tone and the text shows up more clearly. Both left-alignment and right-alignment were experimented with in this instance. The brand guidelines for WWF state that left-alignment should be used in most cases, however, in this case it was felt that the type on the right side worked best right-aligned since the edge of the image gave it a sort of barrier to be placed against, whereas left-aligning this made it seem slightly out-of-place. It was thought that the right-alignment did not affect the way in which the text was read in any drastic way like it might in a longer passage.



























These developments started to show that the use of black and white was something which should be pursued in further developments towards a final outcome, and so the original primary image I had used was also turned to black and white. It was found through these that the larger statement of text works well in white at a lower opacity, however, due to the varying shades present in the bottom of the image, the smaller passage of text has been made harder to read.



























In thinking about the use of imagery, careful consideration needs to be taken into issues of copyright, particularly when using secondary sources. Either a credit line needs to be placed somewhere on the poster or the image should be changed enough that copyright won't be breached in its use.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Crossword Layout Developments

For the crossword idea, the first stage in this process was to begin thinking about what words could be used to make up the crossword, making sure they are relevant to the topic. Initial words brainstormed were:
  • Oxygen, gas, methane, carbon dioxide, chlorine, pollution, air, water, soil, paper, waste, landfill and deforestation.
Based on this set of words it was decided that 'deforestation' should be the main focus since this is the overall topic of the brief and campaign posters. It was thought this should be placed vertical down the page since this is the longest word and would flow with the portrait layout of the posters. Trying to keep this as central to the page as possible so that this would hopefully be the most prominent word which the audience would see first, the other words were worked around this in various ways to see if any interesting patterns could be created.




























A small amount of research was done into the typical layouts of crosswords in newspapers and magazines. It was found that many have square formats, with black squares inbetween to separate words from each other and fill in the negative space around these. It was also found that typically the clues were placed along either side of the crossword puzzle in two columns.






















In starting to produce layout variations for this idea, the first was to use the white boxes on their own, unlike typical crosswords which also have black boxes around and between them. It was thought that once the information had been filled in that this could potentially create more of an impact with the negative space meaning that the crossword has nothing to distract from it and so makes it the main focus point of the design.

Other variations were also produced with a black box around the white squares, which could potentially further highlight the information within it. For this, it was decided to use a large box rather than smaller squares due to the simple nature of this crossword.



Further developments visualise this crossword situated inside another frame which has been produced to represent a piece of paper or newsprint that the crossword would typically be printed on inside a newspaper. This shape has been manipulated to produce a wavy effect which has been done to represent the thin and flimsy nature of newsprint, paired with a drop shadow to make it stand out more from the page and give it a shadow as if it were seen lying on the floor (3-dimensional). Other variations of this idea gave the image a texture similar to that of paper to make it seem more realistic and less 2-dimensional.

In these developments, type has started to be implemented to see how this would work with the image. The main word 'deforestation' has been filled in in this instance using the typeface Rudiment, which has been used due to its characteristics similar to that of handwriting, since these puzzles are usually ones you would complete by hand. Circling this word in red has also been experimented with to further highlight the word and make it the main focus point. This has been given a messy, uneven style whereby the lines do not join at the end to give it a hand drawn effect, similar to that of the type.




Based on the previous developments, it was also thought that perhaps, instead of digitally producing type which looks handwritten, the type could actually be handwritten to make it seem more realistic. In doing so and scanning this image back into the computer, this also gave the piece a slight texture which adds to its elements of realism. Unfortunately, however the colour was not replicated well in the process, therefore this shall need to be changed to make the blue box black again. Another element which will need to be added is the clues which related to each word. This should be thought about carefully in order to make more of an impact and relate specifically to what the poster is aiming to communicate.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Image Developments

For this idea, it was decided that newspapers should be the main focus, whether that be on the streets or in public spaces, in order to match the aim of the posters and type developments which state how many trees it takes to make one edition of a newspaper. This primary image was taken on the London underground, where it has been seen previously from experience that many people read newspapers whilst commuting on trains and then leave these on the seats when they leave, typically so that other people can read them but how many of these end up going to waste at the end of the day?


























In starting to combine image with type, the original image was reflected so that the type would have a better place to sit within the image and not overlap any of the more detailed and prominent elements. This has also been done so that the type stands out better amongst the background and is clearer for the audience to read, important in accurately communicating such an important message like this one. The smaller passage of text has been kept in a consistent place in the left-hand corner of the image, as to produce a clear hierarchy of information and again so that this is not obstructed by more detailed elements of the photograph. Type has been made white, along with the background of the logo (stated in WWF's brand guidelines when using coloured backgrounds), also for better clarity of the information.

Another variation of this layout was to give the main statement a lower opacity of 70% since it was thought that perhaps the first was almost too bold. The percentage of opacity given to the text in this variation has been done to match the colour of the newspaper the women is reading, providing a subtle element of consistency between type and image, as well as presenting closer links to the context of the statement and the poster overall.


























Initial type developments were produced in portrait layouts. Although the original image is landscape, for this reason, it was also decided to experiment with a portrait layout, something which had forgotten to be considered in taking this photograph. In this variation, I felt as though the smaller passage of text at the bottom of the page works better in this layout since it fills the whole width, however, the photograph was difficult to position in a way which worked effectively with the larger elements of type. To try and overcome this problem, the type was again changed to a 70% opacity and moved upwards slightly to try and fill more of the negative space.


Saturday, 21 April 2018

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Type Developments

Starting to digitally develop ideas, the use of type within the posters was the first point of call. As shown in ideas sketches, it was decided to place the WWF logo in the bottom left-hand corner of the page so that it would not be distracting of the photographic image which would be used as one of the main visuals of the poster. This has been accompanied with a short passage of text composed of some of the most shocking facts on paper wastage found during the initial research stage. Three variations of this text have been composed, one with a short, sharp statement separate to the main passage, one with a bolder heading to clearly state what the poster aims to communicate, and another with the heading but the smaller statement has been added to the end of the passage. Type used for this is Helvetica Bold and Regular, the typeface which WWF specify in their brand guidelines to be used for all material, chosen for its clear characteristics that help in accurate communication of information.













For the larger statements of text, many variations were also produced. Initially, it was thought that the statement could be 'One edition = 75,000 trees', a bold statement which would work with the use of photography and get the audience thinking. The decision was to keep this in lowercase characters, something else inspired by the WWF brand guidelines which states that the use of all-caps should be avoided. Instead, the statement uses the typeface Helvetica Bold to make it stand out against the image. The spacing between each piece of text and the equals sign was also experimented with, making the space larger since it was thought the initial, default spacing felt too cramped together.






























This design was also experimented with in substituting the equals sign for the physical word, however it was felt that this made the statement too square and bulky in shape.






























The next set of developments looked at taking the equals sign out of the equation altogether since it was starting to feel out of place on the page due to the size difference compared to the text and created too big of a gap of white space between the words. The use of full stops in these developments was thought to make the statements more punchy and impactful. Again, spacing between the two has been manipulated to see what could potentially work better.






























In the final set of developments, it was decided to try a new statement - '75,000 trees. Is it worth it?' It was thought that this would work better than the previous to get the audience to think about the poster as a whole, linking the text to the image, and making them think for themselves "is it really worth it" and how they can make a change.






























Text in all these developments have been left-aligned in order for better reading and understanding since this is the natural direction in which text is read. It also means that the text, although overlapping the image, would not distract the image took much, particularly the centre point which is usually the main focus of an image.