OUGD603 - The Batsford Prize - Banner Design Development

As part of the branding material for this event, it was decided that this needed elements of promotional branding as well as material for the actual event. It was decided that banners which could be hung outside on lampposts should be created in order to reach a wide audience of people who may be interested in the event. In starting to think about how these would be designed, some initial idea sketches were created, thinking about how the consistent use of pattern within this branding would work in the layout of these banners. One initial idea was to present both patterns on one promotional banner, with one pattern featuring at the top, and the other at the bottom in order to show both sides of the debate almost standing off to each other. However, due to establishing different colours for each pattern, this would have been challenging to produce and perhaps not as consistent with the rest of the branding material.

Due to the challenges of creating just one promotional banner featuring both patterns, it was therefore decided to produce two separate banners showcasing each side of the debate which could then be used side-by-side to contrast each other. It was thought that this would also create some variation amongst the banners so that they do not all appear the same, and so potentially causing more engagement with the public due to this playfulness. However, both would be consistent in their layout and format, making it clear that they are both a part of the same thing.

One initial idea based on this was to have an element of each pattern featuring in the bottom right-hand corner of the banner. It was thought that this minimalistic use of pattern would allow for sufficient negative space to place typographic information in helping to present this clearly.

However, it was thought that perhaps the design developments above were a bit too minimalistic in their design, therefore it was decided to experiment with placing the patterned elements in both the bottom right-hand corner and the top left-hand corner of the banner which was thought created more of a balance within the design in terms of imagery and information.

In starting to think about text arrangement within these banner designs, it was decided to place the logotype at the top of this design, overlaying this slightly with the imagery in order to create an element of consistency in the way this has been used and placed in other elements of the branding, such as the original poster design concept, as well as to start a clear hierarchy.

In placing other typographic elements around this, initially the date and location were placed just under the logotype, however it was considered that actually the name of the conference should go first in order to work more effectively with the hierarchy. This additional type also uses a clearer typeface which has been utilised in other elements of the event branding in order to allow for better legibility and accurate communication of this information. Based on the design of typical promotional banners, it was also thought that this should include a short sentence on what the event is about to give the audience a brief idea of whether they would be interested or not. The placement of this additional text has been aligned at alternate sides of the banner in order to match the layout of the logotype as well as communicating the more sporadic nature of our DNA, the same approach which was taken in the design of the ID cards.

In order to match the aesthetics of the ID card designs, further design developments experimented with variations which explored placing information within boxes to help better contain and highlight the most important pieces of information on the banner design. It was thought this also meant that this information would not then potentially merge into one with the logotype which could have caused miscommunication of information and would not allow the logotype to stand out as much amongst this additional information.

In addition, it was also decided to place the British Psychological Society's (BPS) website on the design so that if members of the audience are interested, they can find out more about the event online. This has been used in conjunction with the BPS logo in order to make it clear who this event is run by. Two variations of this were produced, again thinking about appropriate placement, whether this should be placed at the bottom with the logo or at the end of the short sentence about the event.