Brief 2 - Communication is a Virus: Social Media

Social media really helped to put the project out there and get everyone knowing about it. We used facebook and twitter and our main two for connecting to everybody but also had a tumblr for inspiration and a pinterest. 

Together we had over 200 followers.

People shared and liked what we had done.

WE made it clear on all social media that packs were available and kept people up to date.

The course retweeted our exhibition.

One example of someone having a go at creating origami and then tweeting us.

LCA SU wished us luck.

Links to all the pages:

https://www.facebook.com/foldedleeds

https://twitter.com/foldedleeds

Brief 4 - Speaking From Experience: Final Pages

After the Interim Crit I have made some minor adjustments to my pages as well as bulking out some of the type to fill the pages a bit more as well as make definitions clear.

Brief 4 - Speaking From Experience: Interim Crit

The interim crit went well for this project. I showed the work I had created along with 2 design boards (shown below) as well as my hotdog fold.

In a small group we discussed the concept behind the idea and the overall feedback was positive. A few issues came up with the type setting; these have now been altered. One of the issues I struggled with was what to call the types of crit. They have now been changed to shorted names. The second thing I asked about was the poster. I was unsure on the type layout and whether it needed that extra paragraph to explain and where to put it. However a good point was raised that the poster will be folded a lot so it needs to be as simple as possible as the folds will ruin the writing. After the crit I experimented with the type at the bottom but in the end I decided to get rid of the paragraph and have the exclamation mark more in the centre.

Final Poster Design

The final poster is simplistic but gets across the key aspects as well as tying in the theme used throughout the book. 

Another point which was raised in the crit was looking at printing onto cartridge paper this would stop the ink from cracking around the folds, I will explore this as an option when I look into digital printing. For now I will print one but nearer to the time I will print 10. I feel this is a good number to show around to the first years, printing one each would be too much cost as well as the amount of stuff that freshers receive I feel like it would most likely be chucked.

Brief 4 - Speaking from Experience: Rejigged Layout

Below shows the new layout on the left compared to the old layout on the right. As you can see the page has become a lot neater and clearer as well as nicer to look out. The bluey green background paired with the cream makes a nicer contrast and isn't as strong as the white on green. Having the pages white means that the information stands in its own; the page doesn't look smaller and the type doesn't look squished.

Here shows the first draft of the hotdog fold. All the pages work within the same theme and although it is information heavy it doesn't look overpowering. The poster will go on the back (below). I still need to find another type of crit to fill the bottom gap and I may need to put a fuller paragraph onto the poster. However it is definitely getting there.

Brief 4 - Speaking from Experience: Revisiting Layout

I quite liked how the poster turned out so began to look at changing the hotdog books layout. Since the majority of the content was there it meant I could really focus on just the layout although I have had to expand on some parts and also need to change other areas.

I stuck with the circle theme and the same typefaces and created this. As a front cover I think it does everything it needs to; it gets the point across whilst the colours are friendly but pull you in making the content more interesting to read.

I looked at continuing the circles but found that no matter where I placed them they looked odd. The pages are too small and the circles make them look overly cramped.

I then decided to play around with the title in the style of the front page and found this works quite well as it leaves a good amount of space for a general sum up.

However the lack of information really made the page look bare. When the information was spread out the gaps looked too big. 

I decided to go into a bit more detail and fill the page. This was the outcome.

I then began to apply the same principles to the other pages.

With the types of crit page I found there was a lot of information with little space, I did it over two pages but still need to think of another type of crit to fill a gap.

The pages have come out well and look a lot better than previously. The text is in a more interesting layout and the colours and fonts are more age appropriate for the first years. The use of lines helps to break up heavy text and also divide it into different sections.

OUGD404 - Module Evaluation

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN

LEVEL

04


Module Code
OUGD404

Module Title
Design Principles


END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION
NAME   Helen Street


1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? 

I have developed my understanding of grids and how they allow a book/ page layout to be flexible. I have effectively applied this because I have been able to create a 6x6 modular grid which works for every page. I have developed my ability to look at a layout and put it into a type hierarchy. This has meant that when I create my final ten double page spreads I can see how easily they read and what reads first. Initially I started off with my title down the side but noticed that it then didn’t become the first thing you read so I adjusted it accordingly.


2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

I have learnt the basic principles to Graphic Design, this has really helped me with all of my projects as they act as a basic structure. They have helped to explain why things have gone wrong and don't necessarily look correct as well as showing how design can work best by following a structure and rules. I have developed my understanding of type hierarchy, colours and also type anatomy; these all help to inform my designs as I can apply their rules to my work.


3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

I have become quite strong in noticing typography through the Type Journal Task, this means that I am forever looking at typography and analysing why certain typefaces were chosen and how they relate to what they are showing. I will capitalise on this by relating it to my own work, when I step back and figure out why I have chosen that typeface and why it is appropriate.


4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?

I start digitalising my work to early. I found that in “WHAT IS A BOOK?” I had an idea and began making it, I soon realised it wasn’t working so went back to research and lots of thumbnail sketches. However if I had done more sketches in the first place it would have narrowed down the good ideas and I could have made an informed decision. In the future I will sketch and thumbnail ideas and work them out on paper straight away rather than later on. This will make the project flow better as well as give me a clearer idea what I am doing.


5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

1 – Blog straight away. This will help to keep everything in the correct order as well as allowing me to have a fresh mind and analyse what I’ve done without confusion.

2 – Do a little bit each day on smaller projects. This way I won’t have to do bulk work towards the end (Type Journal).

3 – Keep up to date with blogs and other graphic design sites. This way I am familiar with what is in fashion and can always be inspired by new work.

4 – Keep an on-going reference list. This means that I won’t have to trace back through my history and websites to find out where I have got the information from.

5 – Look up things I don’t understand straight away. This will help to keep me understanding everything, it also means that I’m not learning something else when I didn’t understand the first thing.

Design Principles - Type Journal 183: Pub Sign

A strong contrast between the bold Cask Ale and the joined up festival. It gives it an overall affect of being serious about the drink but friendly and fun.