OUGD603 Final Evaluation

OUGD603 Final Evaluation

What Skills have I developed through this module and how effectively did I apply them?
The main skills I developed through this module are the merging of technological and traditional print process's as a reference to my context of practice. Something I have really pushed this year was the application of a methodology that derived from initial and post investigations within COP. Mainly relating to the distribution of information from the typographic too the visual through traditional and cyberspace technologies. 

I have continued to push my approach to typography application, bringing in the idea of repurposing typefaces to suit the brief be it to add further communicative values or to enhance a concept. I have also began too look at the distribution of type a little more, paying attention to origins to again strengthen an overall informed delivery. 

Problem solving skills have been the most key development this year, fully analysing the brief to understand the possible problems I need to solve before applying an in-depth ideas generation stage that goes through a number of stages that allowed me to successfully refine an idea before I even started to visually develop it. I feel this approach to my process has advanced a lot from the first year where I just went in with the visuals, now the idea has real meaning resulting in the visual outcome having a very specific direction.

Collaboration skills have developed, not only in a sense of working with another creative but working as part of something. The GF Smith archive was a collaboration in a sense we work with what limitations they give us to create an overall outcome that shows the best elements of both parties. This idea of limitations is something else I have fully developed this year, its important to have restrictions be them self set or from my own analysis of a problem so a design outcome doesn't lose its focus. 

The presentation of work has really developed, considering how the photographing of work and how its presented within print delivery or online delivery has really helped carry a concept further, theres room for improvement in some areas like adding context to photography shoots but with some examples I have really shown the details and defined a stronger outcome within how the finals are presented.

My use of language and how I write about work has allowed me to create a very professional tone of voice within my work, showing my approach to deep concepts in a way that shows I have knowledge and understanding. Rather than just presenting false knowledge, my overall outcomes support this too. 

What approaches & methods of design principles, production and concepts have I developed and how have they informed my development process?

In terms of production I have really pushed the idea of experimental print, arriving at a final resolution as part of one of my substantial projects that encompasses process's from the traditional too the contemporary fully making use of facilities like the laser cutter to create letterpress blocks that reference traditionally and modernity within principles, productions and concept delivery. 

When it come to conceptual thinking this year I have carried on to apply very strong concepts too an idea before beginning to consider the relevant process's to carry this concept in the best possible delivery. Its ok having a good idea but if the material and process choice doesn't carry the same considerations the whole look and feel would be off, this was evidenced perfect within the use of stock choice showing a contemporary and traditional aesthetic within the Stott & Atkinson branding. 

Production skills have developed, producing very professional outcomes through the use of mockups and development of different production techniques and ways of approaching a process that fully make use of the high quality facilities at hand allowing me to produce a portfolio of work I'm proud of. For example combining a laser cut stencil as a form of creating a traditional link too stencil screen printing but adding even more accuracy too the process.
Weaknesses and what would I do differently next time and what can I gain from doing this?Sticking too my COP methodology was good in terms of a very strong conceptual application of theory but there wasn't many briefs where this wasn't applied so I couldn't explore other creative outputs, there was a lot of opportunity when it came too applying different elements from my COP from typography too image application but it still limited me a little when doing client led briefs where they directed the outcome. 

Design board, I still find it difficult to refine all my ideas down into concise deliveries of a brief. I need too focus on picking out key points of a brief to show a more concise journey.

Time management as per usual, I seem to think I work better under pressure but doing this I miss out on key points that I want to portray within a design itself and the delivery of the idea. 

Attendance = 5
Punctuality = 5
Motivation = 4
Commitment = 5
Quantity of work produced = 4
Quality of work produced = 4
Contribution to the group = 4

Briefs Not Undertaken & Why

Briefs Not Undertaken & Why

I mentioned in my original intentions briefs would change over the year but I wasn't expecting the majority bar 1 or 2 of my intended briefs too be scrapped, the introduction of more suited competition brides that relate too my practice are one of the key reasons for change. That and its the last opportunity to do these kind of briefs.

Due too workload on both mine and Joes part and seeing how much effort Goat put in for there exhibition with a group of 8 we decided it wouldn't be a good use of our time too do this, especially as we planned the show near COP hand in. Its something we will do though through EQUIP.

The requirement wasn't needed for a website anymore as they has chosen to put more money into the pushing of there eBay store before considering a website, theres still good relationships with the client with this still on the horizon. Its a good job though really as my focus on print based outcomes meant I didn't really look at learning coding like I should have, something I will develop on over the summer though as its an important aspect for freelance work. 

Due to pushing other avenues within EQUIP the idea of the photography publication was set back, this and time limitations. We wanted to focus on screen printing this year so revolved a lot of time around this. 

After starting the brief on my side and contacting Erin a few times things where going smoothly and we had some good concepts to go on, but the time zone difference meant it was difficult to communicate and her doing art in her free time after work meant we just couldn't maintain the required dialogue to carry this brief on. 

This is one of the briefs I'm most disappointed about I felt it had real direction in developing my thought process as a designer, due too huge work load throughout the year I just didn't have the time to fulfil full briefs in 48 hours even if they where small, this was mainly due too how I go way too in-depth within the process and the idea of a quick turn around resolution would be lost. 

Disposable Society - Finals, Rationale & Evaluation

Disposable Society - Finals, Rationale & Evaluation 

Submission content
A tongue in cheek visualisation of the publics reaction to the 5p carrier bag introduction in 2015, as a means to on a £10m a year environmental clean up scheme and potentially raise up to £730m for charitable causes. 

Society see it as a financial gain strategy as apposed to a sustainability strategy. 

eeeqquuiipp.com

acrylic, posca & bolts

£100 

1/1

Final & Rationale
This outcome is a tongue in cheek representation of observing peoples reactions to the 5p carrier bag tax, through creating a warped aesthetic too the key dates from when free bags where introduced to the introduction of 5p bags a connotation of screwed up and disposed bags was made. 

Clear acrylic and posca markers where used as they shared a similar polymer makeup to old disposable carrier bags, the bolts and spacers create a nice industrial feel which resonates well with the full hands on process involved as a reference to pre-cyberspace era's. 

Evaluation
For such a straight foreward one directional brief I am happy with the outcome, looking back on my blog posts im pretty disappointed within the process it doesn't look very deep but my intent was to avoid using the internet for source imagery and context for my idea resolution. I feel the internet dilutes ideas and when collating a huge body of research focus can often be lost, so although one directional the outcome has kept focus from the start to the finish. 

It was nice to step back from the computer or the print room completely when it came to resolving the final resolution, spending some time in the workshop helped strengthen the whole pre-internet ideals, and I was very happy with how well the posca applied onto the acrylic. I like how it weathers and resonates the degrading and deterioration of a reused carrier bags logo. 

If I was to re do this project it would have been nice to try a traditional method of paper stencilling and screen printing, I feel this would add an extra organic touch and strengthen the whole DIY hands on feel but overall the brief was a success and I got featured in the exhbition and it looked great within the rawness and robustness of the event making me consider how my work can be placed within certain environments, taking it away from just focusing on a target audience but also product placement. Very good curation and set up by Goat. 

Boards

Disposable Society - Scamps, Digital Preparation & Productiom

Disposable Society - Scamps, Digital Preparation & Production

Scamps

The first idea that was scrapped was breaking up a disposable camera into basic shapes ie the film, the lens the case etc and creating a series of words that resonate with throw away culture but this was far too literal.

Moving onto the bag idea my main idea was to warp the text to resemble a wasted and screwed up and littered carrier bag. The idea of the bags that used to be a disposable throw away thing and are now charged is the main transition point within this tongue in cheek design outcome. 

Use hand rendered typography to aid the warped asthetic.

Use acrylic and poscas the polymer make up's are similar to plastic bags and the paint can chip away and weather, something thats quite organic and relevant when considering bags will begin to be reused and the supermarket branding begins to fade. 

Reversed out type will have high impact.

Break the word up across 3 3 panels with a warped outline that references a bag.

Use the date from the first introduced carrier bag to the end date of free carrier bags to add impact in terms of how long this issue of littering and wastage has been going on for. Lock the date in between 2 parallel lines to fix it into place on the clear acrylic as this will be an issue making the type feel structured within this format. 

Still working with the date but breaking up the numbers and assigning a word from the quote to each letter, theres a nice structure to this layout but there isn't a justified reason. The concept and content is there, using the waved type and tongue in cheek quote. A layout just needs to be established so it feels structured within the 3 layers of acrylic, each panel needs to work separately as well as together. 

Justify each element, the rear panel been left aligned, the middle been full bleed and the front panel been right justified, as separate entities they feel structured but as a whole they all ready in an understandable hierarchy of information.

Break up the letters, going into the chemical make up of polymer products and showing how it doesn't break down a lot over time causing environmental damage. 

Using block colour, texture and outlines to add a varied asthetic, taking something quite simple and clean into something more contemporary to begin applying my methodolgoy of old to new but this time without the inclusion of any technology for influence. 

Now the concept and scamp plan has been established I can add the digital element too the process, this will only act as a guideline to trace the imagery onto the acrylic. Using the photoshop warp effects then re-vectorising the type. 

Established a balance between waved text, outlined text and large point sized type, a nice balance was achieved. The type was warped on the date to show impact of how long this idea of wastage has been going on, the warping is meant to simulate the screwing up and disposing of bags. 

The 5p is large as this is the issue at hand, a whole 5p that people are getting irate over.

The quote is outlined as this will be the top layer and is heavy in terms of volume of type so it shouldn't be too distracting away from the other content. I also feel it doesn't need to be in full block as it may seem a little serious and shouty, the quote is not something that needs to be drilled into people its just poking a bit of fun.

Playing around with alignments and layering, at this point I think its going to be important to draw the top layer in contrasting white so it stands out from the background. 

The final type layout looks well enough in this digital mockup but should work better with bolts and washers spacing the acrylic sheets apart. 

Disposable Society - Idea, Statement of Intent & Research

Disposable Society - Idea, Statement of Intent & Research

Idea, Statement of Intent & Delivery
I wanted to create something that touched on environmental and economic issues and something that has kicked up quite a fuss in the media. Working in a supermarket I have seen first hand the effects on the profits with the old carrier bag policies with my store losing around £10'000 a year in customers taking too many carrier bags with there shopping so I fully understand and appreciate the 5p carrier bag.

My idea is to create a tongue in cheek visualisation of the carrier bag tax, using a quote often heard from customers "what do you mean 5p for a bag"

I plan on using a process driven soley by the subject research and my own idea generation from this subject, not using the internet for any visual reference as a rejection of the internet as a research source keeping all the process's hands on to create an outcome that is very industrial & DIY something that resonates with a pre-digital era. Something investigated in my COP essay.

Subject Research
An article outlining the reasoning for the 5p bags showing how the money will be fed into the clean up of old carrier bags scattered around the country and where else the money will be places. A very good agenda in my opinion both for the environment and the economy, the main benefit will hopefully promote the re-use of carrier bags.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34346309

Disposable Society - Brief & Problem analysis

Disposable Society - Brief & Problem analysis 

Brief & Problem analysis
The brief is pretty open, just create a piece of work that resonates with an idea of disposable societies, it could be something relating to social, political, environmental or economic. Within this age theres a lot of opportunity to explore this subject with the short attention spans and huge waste issues.

Figure out a way to apply my COP methodology and process too this brief, rather than going through my usual design practice this is an opportunity to create something with a specific direction. 

What subject area to investigate and resolve with a design resolution.

Do I want to inform or try solve a problem with what I create? 

This is a perfect opportunity to get my work out there and gain some exposure so thinking about how I can attach a visual cue too the work is important, something that can create a link with my style and approach to work but still aim at answering the brief? 

My brief

Triptych - Finals, Rationale & Evaluation

Triptych - Finals, Rationale & Evaluation

Concept, Final & Rationale
The A1 poster is an answer too the weekly call for a trio of posters posted within Leeds College of Art, the main concept idea is to create a modern interpretation of the apocalypse tapestry and past doomsday predictions, digital repurposing visual elements from the tapestry into vector iconography to work with my methodology of transitioning print & digital, these icons are supported by modern interpretation of chaos through the visualization of War. 

Three process's where used to work along the trio idea and also showing the transition between hand rendered to digital poster process's with the use of screen print metallic UV print finish to show the influence of technology on traditional print process's. 

The digital print acts as the base layer, digitally repurposing the traditional apocalypse tapestry while the Posca references hand rendered posters and erases the past doomsday predictions. 

The vector iconography repurposes the 7 headed dragon from the apocalypse tapestry while the bullet and Syrian map represent a modern interpretation of chaos. 

The centre justified type layout and right aligned dates reference the limitations of Gutenberg printing, the original distribution of the bible which adds context too the whole religious theme. 

Creating a digital capturing of the final print, the idea been that .gif is an internet file format, and the internet is a main cause of the spreading of farfetched doomsday theories. A hint towards my COP investigations on how the internet is the current optimum mass communication distribution, a transition from the main type layout used here that references the original mass distribution method the Gutenberg's limitation. 

Evaluation
This was a very successful project in terms of delivering another concept with meaning, something I thought I would struggle with is representing a design resolution for something religious but due to the links with the Gutenberg bible I was able to apply my COP methodology allowing me to strengthen the idea of a digital and modern interpretation of the apocalypse tapestry. 

I enjoyed using 3 process's, the trio of process's had a relevant reason working from the idea of triptych and the set of 3 posters been displayed, the process's also referenced the transition of poster production and also touched on subjects within my COP investigations from hand rendered type too digital type. 

The simple alterations of alignments and positioning of type and image strengthened concepts, like the angling of the photographs creating a simple contrast so they worked alongside the icons that repurposed them rather than worked with them. While the deconstructed layout of the calendars, image, icons and UV deconstructed apocalypse layer feel locked in together with the structured layout of the base layer with the repeated APOCALYPTIC which again resonates with the amount of doomsday theories that have been predicted. 

If I was too do this project again I would try make a stronger series of icons and digital repurposing of chaos, theres lots more issues out there that can resonate with the idea of a modern interpretation of apocalypse. The colors worked well but I feel the metallic UV finish could have been combined with another print finish maybe a slight touch of neon to add a visual cue point that further references the digital transition and shows the potential of traditional screen printing. 

Boards