Ideas and Concepts Workshop: What is a Line Brief.

Sitting in groups, we started to brainstorm concepts and methods in how we could go about experimenting and designing for this brief.

Working with Lisa, Beth, Baljeet, and Sarah, we firstly gathered a range of method and technique approaches...

1. Photography

2. Moving Image

3. Illustration- hand trace/doodling

4. Digital Illustration

5. Embroidery

6. Book Crafts

7. Screen Print

8. 3D Crafts

9. Papercraft

10. Silkscreen

11. Vinyl Cutting

12. Collage/ De Coupage

13. Measured/Technical Drawing

14. Life Drawing

15. Typography

16. Painting

17. Monoprint/Collagraph

18. Stencils- wood, paper, vinyl

19. Mark making- engraving, embossing, etching, chemical

20. Laser cut stickers

21. Letterpress

And then gathered a range of themes we could possibly work on...

1. Constellations

2. Mazes and Labyrinths

3. Palmistry

4. Maps and Contour Lines

5. Hidden Shapes in Stacked Objects

6. Teams

7. Family Trees

8. Buildings/Silhouettes

9. Faces

10. Choose an event 

11. Choose an every day object- eg tables

12. Hair

13. Journey

14. Bird on a Wire

15. Evolution

16. String

17. Rings in a tree trunk- nature

18. Horizon- sunsets

19. Action (sports)- footballer kicking a football, etc.

20. Timeline of a life

21. Memorable events

22. Document a day

23. Formation of people- band, crowd.

****

After we discussed these points, and shared them with the group by sticking posters to the walls, we went on to fashion our own combinations- approaches to the brief. The few I wrote were...

1. Constellations in illustration- a booklet/guide to stargazing

2. Screenprinting palmistry posters

3. Papercutting strings- Making balls of papercut materials and photographing for a continous line booklet.

4. Representing music through typography- represent musical notes on sheet music by the words in the musical piece.

5. Create a moving image, animate piece about hair growth- almost a "time lapse" style- weird and wonderful hair styles.

6. Create stencil booklet of patterns involving lines- DIY book for printers and designers.

7. Create an instructional booklet on how to embroid your own constellation patterns.

8. Make an over-layed papercut booklet on how to distinguish trees- textured lines and rings distinguishing age, species, etc.

9. Make an animation (moving image) about the quintessential Britishness of ques- an info guide for foreign travellers- the dialect of Britishness.

10. Screenprinted posters based upon "the evolution of man"- could break down to parody in smaller groups:

"the evolution of the businessman"

"the evolution of the lazy man"

"the evolution of the handsome man"...etc...

11. Design a fanzine about hair types- illustrative or photographic? Quotes and typography encorporated into the designs?

12. Screenprint posters about hair- different textures.

Discussing my three favourite ideas with my group- numbers: 1, 11, and 12- they warmed to the idea of constellations, though i was unsure about the this and was favouring the hair idea, and the constellations work would take me a great deal of time to research, and this may compromise the final design quality. 

We went on to present our three favourite approaches ideas to another member of the class (not sitting in our friend groups on our table) and the hair fanzine was chosen as "the best idea"...with...

"achievable and it would be interesting to view. I think it would work really nice illustratively"

However, I was still unsure.

When I asked tutor Amber which she felt would work best, she suggested I work on the constellations idea- having looked at moustaches for my previous Collection 100 project, she felt it would push my limits and allow me to experiment more- and not run the risk of just extending a previous project.

Constellations it is!

At the moment, I am considering combining the two responses to make a fanzine based on constellations, but have to ensure that I don't stray from the brief- I will now go to on research constellations, in both primary and secondary sources to post on my design context blog.

Book Works: Final Outcome.

With my visual language live brief design for 'Book Works' complete after around two weeks crafting, I am really pleased with the results I have achieved- perhaps for one of the first times, my design exactly how I had originally imagined, and intended.

The images below show my progression through the print stages...

A quick CMYK inkjet print test in A4 on my home computer. Because of the subsitution of the text (Gill Sans to Gill Sans > Gill Sans MT) everything was un-aligned due to the wider kerning. 

A quick tester (largely to see how the colours in print as oppossed to screen)- no real use, but a worthwhile experiment- good to see that what I originally thought about A4 scale (that it would be too small) was correct. 

Concerned that I mightn't have time to print onto the stock of my choice (cartridge paper) due to restricted digital print room opening hours in time for the final crit in tomorrow's session, I decided to print onto A3 printer paper in the mac suites. However, when I went to double-side print my A3 sheets from the Illustrator programme, unusually, it was cropping 1/3 off from the sheets on one side. 

With help from a technincian (who assured me that this was an ongoing problem they were facing when double-sided printing), I saved my file as a PostScript, and then opened it in Preview, whereupon I would be able to double-sided print without this flaw..

...However, once I had printed, I discovered that saving the file and opening in Preview did not group my ammendments to the image on that day (for example, above, the Mandarin script symbol was still in 0.75pt, as I originally drew, as oppossed to 0.35, as it should have been.).

 

Fortunately, there was an oppurtunity available to print my designs in the digital print room- after a test run of one of the booklets, I noticed a flaw with the positioning of one of my Bengali script symbols- after staring at the monitor for hours on end, this was easily missed, definately a lesson in checking, checking, and checking again(!) when it comes to typo's- I'm very glad I printed a test before my final batch of ten!

...A double-sided print booklet, sliced and folded into the hot dog format. 

And the final product, complete with belly binds, as designed by tutor, Amber.

I have really enjoyed this live brief visual language project, and feel like my software skills have developed considerably as a result of it. The excitement and anticipation for the "live" factor of this brief has certainly spurned me on, and driven me to meet the deadline, and, hopefully, exceed it.

I've recieved really great feedback, and I really hope that it is well met at both the final crit tomorrow, and the internation book crafter's fayre next week at Leeds University!

Papergirl: Leeds.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/home.php?sk=group_126559534077365&ap=1

http://papergirlleeds.blogspot.com/

After discovering a quirky and charming looking fanzine in the Visual Communications department at University, I followed up the information inside to discovering a rather wonderful and alturistically splendid oppurtunity to share my design and crafts.  

Inside, the description read:

"Originally created by Aisha Ronniger in 2006, in Berlin, Leeds will be the fourth UK city for Papergirl.

2011 is Papergirl Leeds' UK debut and hopefully the first of many.

We need artists of all shapes and sizes. Printers and illustrators. Mixed media artists and photographers.

Whatever it is that you love to do!

The art of giving art!

Every single piece of work submitted will be shown in the Papergirl Leeds Exhibition. We will be confirming the venue details very soon!

After the Papergirl Leeds Exhibition, all submitted work will be rolled up and distributed to the unsuspecting puplic by Papergirls (and boys!) on bicycles at the Papergirl Leeds Ride Event.

All submitted work needs to be between A4 and A1 in size and must be able to be rolled up. Please write Papergirl Leeds and any contact details you would like for the lucky person to recieve your work. (perhaps a lovely message too?)

There is no limit to how many pieces of art you want to submit. The more the merrier!

By submitting your work you are consenting for it to be shown in the Papergirl Leeds Exhibition and to be given away to the general public for free in the Papergirl Leeds Ride Event. Submissions may be shown on the Papergirl Leeds and Papergirl World Blog (credited where URL details are included, of course)."

I really am so excited to now, having sent off my recently printed A2 "know before you grow" poster, to be a part of this great event. Not only will it help to gain some exposure to my work in this new city (as I had established myself in my home county of Shropshire amongst peers)- it will also allow me to share my work with someone in the most heartfelt and joyful way- a sense of wellbeing for all parties- and the thought that my work could make someone unexpectedly smile, or to brighten their day is one of my greatest ambitions.

Module Submission Form.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:

 wednesday 16th february 2011

THEME/SUBJECT RATIONALE:

For my chosen subject, I decided to create a product based around moustaches- and how they can be promoted to encourage experimentation in style, growth and grooming methods.

From extensive research, I found that the vast majority of people I asked were "anti-moustache", and I wanted to ammend this in a light-hearted, playful manner, a style and method of which I believe people will have an automatically positive response to- which, of course, were my exact intentions.

My main focus for my design, was, of course, men- and particually in the teen-twenty-five year old age bracket- an age of fashion conciousness and the self-confidence and assurance of experimentation which comes naturally with this period of growth and maturity. I hope to have created a design which was simple, bold, interactie and humourous- but most of all, a product which is sincerely fun and memorable.

ALL WORK MUST BE CLEARLY PRESENTED AND LABELLED WITH YOUR NAME, MODULE CODE, BRIEF TITLE AND ANY OTHER APPROPRIATE INFORMATION. PLEASE PRESENT ALL WORK IN AN A2 PLASTIC PORTFOLIO/SLEEVE- ANY WORK SUBMITTED IN OTHER FORMATS SHOULD BE DISCUSSED WITH THE MODULE TUTOR IN ADVANCE OF THE SUBMISSION. ALL BLOG POSTS RELEVANT TO THIS MODULE SHOULD BE "TAGGED" WITH THE MODULE CODE 'OUGD102'.

Blogs up to date..........complete.

Work labelled as briefed..........complete.

Work submitted in apropraite format..........complete.

Self-Evaluation Completed and posted to blog(s) as briefed..........complete.

I CONFIRM THAT ALL WORK SUBMITTED IS MY OWN, AND AM AWARE OF THE COLLEGE PLAGIARISM POLICY AND THAT ALL WORK SUBMITTED HAS BEEN APPROPRIATELY LABELLED, FORMATTED AND TESTED.

signed and dated..........complete.

End of Module Self-Evaluation: ougd102

1. WHAT SKILLS HAVE YOU DEVELOPED THROUGH THIS MODULE AND HOW EFFECTIVELY DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE APPLIED THEM?

I sincerely feel that I have learnt so much throughout this project- not only software and practical skills, but important, enriching skills to use in every day life- time management, comitment, motivation.

Though it was undoubtedly frustrating and a little dis-heartening at the late stage in the Collection 100 project, in hindsight, I am really glad that I was in a situation where I had to re-design my work- this way, I could take the step back that I know I so vitally needed to assess my effectiveness of my product and develop my visual language skills. This has really encouraged me to work very hard, especially in the past two weeks, to produce a portfolio of work that I can be proud to have assessed.

2. WHAT APPROACHES TO/METHODS OF RESEARCH HAVE YOU DEVELOPED AND HOW HAVE THEY INFORMED YOUR DESIGN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS?

I have developed many areas of research- in marketing, reading, and practical work. I particularly feel that I have been far more practical and hands-on in this module that through previous ones- really experimenting to see if a design works, constructing and printing for a true visual and tactile representation- as oppossed to a conceptual one.

3. WHAT STRENGTHS CAN YOU IDENTIFY IN YOUR WORK AND HAVE/WILL YOU CAPITALISE ON THESE?

As time has passed throughout this project, I have felt increasingly more confident in applying software skills to my work (Illustrator, in particular), and have really enjoyed the various workshops that have been included in this module (moving image and book making, for example).

Whereas I have always found a home in crafting, digital arts as a practice is reasonably new to me, so I would really love to develop this further and to use all the knowledge I am gaining in future projects, and personal ones.

4. WHAT WEAKNESSES CAN YOU IDNENTIFY IN YOUR WORK AND HOW WILL YOU ADDRESS THESE MORE FULLY?

I think one of my main weaknesses is not identifying a design solution as quickly as I could-often having to start afresh to find a source of inspiration after a design idea has failed- with experimenting and developing design ideas more frequently, I know that I will be able to overcome (or, at very least, minimise) this issue- which could also be helped by brainstorming and researching more fluidly.

5. IDENTIFY FIVE THINGS THAT YOU WILL DO DEFFERENTLY NEXT TIME AND WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO GAIN FROM DOING THESE?

-generate more ideas at the start of the project- stop becoming infatuted with one idea! shop around and broaden my design horizons.

-be more organised- create a "to-do list" every other day (at least)

-never put a pen down- constanltly doodle, generate ideas.

-be more experimental when designing-mix mediums and stocks.

-research design more- reading, online sources, etc.

6. HOW WOULD YOU GRADE YOURSELF ON THE FOLLOWING AREAS:

5=EXCELLENT, 4=VERY GOOD, 3=GOOD, 2=AVERAGE, 1= POOR.

ATTEDANCE= 4

PUNCTUALITY= 4

MOTIVATION= 4

COMMITMENT= 4

QUANTITY OF WORK PRODUCED= 3

QUALITY OF WORK PRODUCED= 3

CONTRIBUTION TO THE GROUP= 3

Collection 100: Student Feedback.

Collection 100: Student Feedback.

 From this afternoon's open feedback session- in regards to the development of our work, background research and final product, feedback delivered by fellow students...

ISSUES RAISED

-why use purple, what is it for? with the moustaches, could you have your drawings of the famous people with them?

-confused

-nicely crafted

-try categorising the taches into relevant groups?

-who is it for? restricted audience

-promotion? possibly packaging?

-what is the point in it? other than being visually LOVELY

(^^ i liked that person!^^)

ACTION TO BE TAKEN

-try some categories

-maybe think about typeface- not too sure about coloured counters

**** 

I think that part of the confusion caused with my work was the way I had organised it to be viewed without labelling effectively. I had placed my original design outcome to the left, with my new (slightly lacking in work thus far!) design outcome to the right, both designs showing the progression of how I have reached the conclusion I am now at, therefore, people weren't to know which design outcome I was decided upon.

Despite this, I was very pleased with my feedback- nothing too negative, and completely constructive- all points ones I have considered and still, am considering now.

CATEGORISATION...

*much like my original final outcome idea, I am probably going to categorise my swatch books in alphabetical order, however, I may explore the possibility of categorising them by exsiting moustache types (though I believe this may cause more confusion?)

WHO IS THIS FOR...

*make that clear in my promotion- poster design.

*the product, itself will be somewhat restricted due to the moustache aspect- a limited, niche group of fans- but avid ones at that.

PROMOTION...

*again, unclear at this stage. in my original final outcome I intended to design for product and packaging, but now I aim to make a poster (though this, of course, was unclear at this stage with both products on view...)

WHAT  IS THE POINT...

*as stated on box and throughout designs.

Collection 100: Module Feedback.

Issues Raised: 

*Consider my visual language more carefully- evaluate my audience in closer detail.

*Consider styling and design, colours, etc.

Action to be taken:

*Go back to the brief and evaluate every nook and cranny!

*Potentially re-design.

*Consider mapping the information and message I am trying to portray more clearly.

****

WHAT I WILL DO NEXT...

From my feedback, I gained a lot of insight into my work and the problems with it- not really taking the time out to asess my work more carefully throughout the design process (a problem I have had with my work more than once, and know that I should really start to amend- it will not only save time, but also money in printing!).

Although my tutors said it was not entirely necessary, I feel that I need to completely re-evaluate my product, and design something almost completely new.

Therefore, in the two weeks before my project hand-in, from brainstorming several ideas, I hope to go back to my original product design ideas and create the following pieces...

*a swatch book with cut-out-and-keep moustache styles- a "know before you grow" guide.

*moustache "business cards" to take to the barbershop for styling.

*an A1 poster displaying 100 moustache styles for the barbershop.

*sticker set with "moustache club" esque stickers on (for the elite moustache-wearer's club!)

I hope through this re-design I will reflect a lot more upon my work, and notice any flaws from an early stage, to produce the best product possible within this short time.