Studio Brief 03 - Design Process - Booklet

Link

Studio Brief 04 - Design Process - Final Crit

The final critique for my project was very informative, people seemed to be impressed with my work but what I took from it was to blog some of my design decisions in very specific detail.

Why did I design my booklet the way I did?

I designed my booklet in order to appeal to an audience of trendy, modern individuals interested in art forms in general, not necessarily just people who collect sneakers. This was to appeal to a wider audience and hence I had to add information about the shoe as well as just showcasing it.

Does my product solve the problem in my brief? Why?

I think my product does solve the problem I set in my brief in that not many people are aware of sneaker-collecting and I aimed to create an inclusive booklet to introduce people to information that would take a while to collect themselves. I tried to make my booklet friendly to all with a neutral, simple design and I tried to showcase the best sneakers in the industry today (out of all the Air Max, that is.) I think I achieved this as after showing my booklet to people in the Graphic Design facebook group, people have mentioned that they learnt from this booklet and some of them even said they were interested in researching the subject further (see below).

Where would you see this kind of booklet? Why?

I would imagine my booklet being shown in a quirky bookshop such as Colours May Vary or a sneaker store such as size. The former being because it fits the audience of CMV, a niche subject with a well designed medium of which creatives would be interested to learn about, mostly due to the design aspect appealing to individuals with a design eye. The latter because of the content mostly, and because Size? themselves try to brand sneakers as art forms with some of their stores having sneakers held up by podiums as if the store were an exhibition themselves.

Studio Brief 04 - Design Process - Research

I began my research in Studio Brief 04 knowing that I wanted to create an exhibition book (this was informed by the research I did in Studio Brief 03 where I looked at the Nike Air Max Reinvented exhibition). I knew I wanted to create a stylish exhibition book for people to browse as they look around the exhibition. I decided to have a look at some current exhibition books to begin my research.

Refined is an exhibition of graduating senior designers at Oklahoma University that showcases their finest work throughout their stay. The theme of the exhibition was 'refined', which references a designer's constant process of improving and perfecting their work, making it refined. The exhibition itself makes use of 3D sculptures to accompany the designers' work.

The text is contained in a square which gives it a clean aesthetic in terms of layout and cleans up the white space around the text. 

The website also follows the same design scheme, strengtheting their concept. I need to make sure my exhibition book stays strong to the same scheme to make sure my target audience remains interested throughout the whole publication.

The advertisement for the exhibition also makes use of the white box, and the advert only contains the most important information about the advertisement.

Masters of Design is an exhibition booklet for an MA Graphic Design show and has the same clean minimal style to it as Refined. 

The lack of information conveys the emphasis to the actual work instead of simply what the work is about.

Sincerely yours is a Graphic Design exhibition by students at the London College of Communication showcasing their end of year work. The work highlights key political and social issues in todays' culture in a single concept. The work is shown in single A4 sheets as opposed to being bound as a whole boot.k. I think this is to highlight that these issues are all individual and deserve to be shown in an equal manner. I really enjoy the subtle meaning to this piece of work, and I hope I am able to add some underlying meaning to my work in the way this does.

One of the main things I need to consider when producing my exhibition book is how I will find my photography. As one of my main constraints of imagery is the fact that most of the sneakers I will be featuring cost upwards of £400, this makes it hard to get a hold of them in person as there aren't many in circulation even now, never mind buying every pair of them costing too much money. Due to this, I'll have to find a site where I can get high resolution good looking imagery.

After some research I found that flickr would be my best bet in order to find some good looking imagery for my magazine without there being copyright over it. The search feature makes it easy to find the correct sneakers and you are able to download images in 300ppi making it perfect for print.

Studio Brief 03 - Design Process - Research

To determine what my layout would look like for the booklet I am making for my magazine, I have compiled a list of primary and secondary research. First off, I began by looking at layout designs on Behance. Here is a list of the work I found the most interesting and I was the most likely to use.

I really enjoyed this publication. The look and feel of it is modernist and beautiful, with inspiration being drawn from Noir with the black & white colour scheme, the magazine claerly conveys the message it is supposed to, with most of the spreads having messages behind them such as the "Balancing Act" page being tilted as if it was balancing. I draw massive amounts of inspiration from modernist design and I aim to lay my work out with large amounts of white space in order to space information out efficiently. I need to present my work in an attractive way as my booklet is trying to communicate why the Air Max is so influential aesthetically.

This is a sample catalog from an online graphics marketplace. I again think the greyscale works very well to look professional, something I want my booklet to look like. However, I would like my booklet to have handcrafted elements to it such as a sleeve that you can take it out of.

This publication has great neutral tones and really captures the essence of what a festival is. The imagery of nature and earth sends a message of a down to earth festival and the clean, simple design conveys that it is trendy and modern. My target audience for this project is people who are modern-thinkers and so using simple layouts that are effective would be the best choice for me.

The use of a bright teal for the whole spread in this imagery is very interesting. The use of the text spreading over the page informs the content as it is about a retrospective, looking at a whole life of art and the use of this phrase being spread across an "open book" is very intelligently designed.

The use of font size and imagery in this infographic makes sure the right information is viewed first for the audience. It would make no sense to have the body text as big as the imagery and headers as the reader would not know what information to take in first. Using large headers and large imagery maintains the flow of information and the direction you read information in. I think using size is a key factor in my booklet as I would need my reader to realise information at different stages of scanning the page.

The use of a clip to hold open a book (even if it is just for presentation) is informed heavily by the content of the book. The homely, low-contrast style of this publication gives a sense of friendliness and neutrality, with a natural colour scheme such as this. The use of off white stock is smart as it lowers the contrast range between your text and stock, making it easier on the eyes.

I really like the use of shape in this magazine, and the thick borders around text really contrast with the small body font and the large amount of white space surrounding it. It is a clear way of highlighting key information without sacrificing aesthetics.

This publication I think could be improved on. I don't think this colour scheme matches the content of this publication, as surfing is about the beach and the sea which is more of a golden and blue instead of cream as pictured. I do however like the bordered imagery instead of making the images fill the whole page as it adds more of a contrast and symmetry to the publication.

I also looked at an exhibition called "Nike Air Max Reinvented" which showcased the Air Max as an artform and was a huge hit. Here is some of the photography in the event taken on the night of the showing. The exhibition was celebrating the collaboration between Protein and Nike. Five artists were tasked with reinventing what the Air Max stands for and to put a spin on the shoe.

This is the first instance where I have seen pairs of trainers viewed as pure art, as you would see in something like the Tate. I think my booklet will be laid out in this way 

As you can see from the way this exhibition was laid out, there is a clear market for 'sneaker art'. This exhibition was a sold out ticketed event which shows a clear gap in the market for such a niche topic. I think my booklet with information about the topic will help to shed some light about it for the general public, and to do this my work will need to include a large target audience of all ages and demographics.

I then decided to look more broadly at 'bad layouts' to see where they went wrong.

This is an example of a publication that simply overwhelms the reader with the amount of information it contains. It's important to utilize white space to avoid cluttering the page with unnecessary elements. The title is also made of many different typefaces, something rather taboo in type design unless for a particular cause, not evident in this cover.

Similar to the design above, this website is too cluttered and takes away from what it's about. The flow of information isn't balanced and there is no clear direction the designer wants you to look in first. I feel with a simpler sitemap this website would be vastly improved. The colour scheme also does not represent a culinary institute as learning to cook is often associated with health, and shades of brown don't connote this very well.

The layout of this spread is well done but there is simply too much text and the images are all weighted on the left side. The designer of this spread would do better to space the images out across the two spreads and to cut the word count down pretty vastly unless the publication is solely for the information and less imagery.

Studio Brief 02 - Design Process - Presentation

Link to my Presentation

Studio Brief 03 - Design Process - Interim Crit

Today we had a crit of our current work for Studio brief 3. I presented my layout inspiration and some ideas that I have had so far. Here are some of my slides I presented to my crit group to explain what sort of layout I am looking to go for in this brief.

I was talking about how the layout of this personal CV was very simplistic and emphazised imagery over information, something I was interested in doing for my content in my magazine.

I really liked the black glossy stock used in the photographic awards book, as it gave variance to the usual off-white page used in exhibition books. I intend to try and use black stock for my booklet myself.

The feedback that I recieved was interesting as I was told I should maybe experiment with more column-based placement in my layout, and to think about making my layout relate to the content itself.

Design Principles - Studio Brief 02 - What is a book?

Today we looked at what a book is in less of an analytical sense and more of a deeper sense. We looked at what the limits of a book can be, such as a MacBook, a restaurant menu, Facebook and more. We also looked at how a book is constructed from the physical creation to the writing of an author. We then proceeded to look at the purpose of a book, and the loosest definition of a book we could find. The end result was: Something. I learnt that a book can be anything that communicates. We can define a website as a book or even a travelcard as these are all things that hold information and communicate ideas to another. I found this really interesting as it helped me to understand not to always look at the smaller picture but expand my thoughts and think more outside the box when trying to solve problems in briefs. Below are some interpretations of what a book could be perceieved as.

My definition of a book - A book is something with the intent to share knowledge in some form.

Facebook

Facebook is a social media website launched in February, 2004. The premise of the website was to connect friends and family through the internet, introducing another level of connection never implemented before. I believe this fits the definition of a book, being 'something with the intent to share knowledge in some form' as Facebook shares people's lives with eachother, and people can also share news articles, music, and even their daily lives. Facebook was built to learn from eachother.

Menus in my opinion are also books. The purpose of a menu is to inform the audience of a product being sold. Even a restaurant menu is a book, as it is still a source of knowledge. Menus will commonly be used in establishments to do with food and drink, as the customer will often like a choice of what they would like to purchase. This exchange of knowledge is very important as to persuade an audience to purchase a product. These are just examples of some perceptions of a book.

By looking analytically into the definition of a book you are able to percieve a book in a different light, and expands your own knowledge of what a book is.

The most successful books vary in production:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar was a children's book produced for education and entertainment of young readers. The book was extremely simple and completely fictitious, which makes you pose the question of "does this book actually contain knowledge?" Yes. This book is a collection of events from an author with the intent to entertain. The concept of the book is simple which is a story aimed at children using simple vocabulary and a clear meaning. Because of this, the book was very successful as it was aimed at a very wide audience.

Wikipedia is a website dedicated to the definitions of words and concepts. The website is crowd-funded (funded by donations) and describes itself as "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit". This website has no target audience, its' only premise being to educate. There are definitions ranging from a Cat to Nuclear Fission and it is completely open to the public. This website has become a staple of the internet, providing free information to all that was only provided in physical books that had to be bought individually before it, and the books had numerous editions to keep up with new definitions, whereas Wikipedia is being updated daily in numerous languages.

The London Underground ticket system works very well, it gives ticket inspectors enough information to read quickly and highlights the key information such as validity and the route booked. This is a good example of a book that you wouldn't think was a book without deeper thinking.

Here are some pictures I took of the books we brought in for the task:

Studio Brief 02 - Design Process - Research

Facts

The Air Max was first launched in 1987 by Tinker Hatfield.

The Air Max 1 design was inspired by the 'Le Centres George Pompidou' in Paris. The design of the building was based around the concept of being inside out which linked to the air cushion in the Air Max 1 being part of the main aesthetic of the shoe.

The Air Max 1 has a whole book of art dedicated to it. Produced by Matt Stevens, a kickstarter project called 'MAX100' ended up going viral among sneaker fanatics and since has become the biggest art project to do with sneakers in history.

What is viewed as Nike Air technology could've easily been introduced to another company beforehand. Luckily, Nike had the insight to adopt this technology first and Nike Air technology has since dominated the market from its' birth.

The 'air' used in Nike Air technology isn't actually air, but nitrogen.

The air pressure in an Air Max bubble is equal to the pressure in a car tyre (25psi).

George H. W. Bush (the father of George W. Bush) had a pair of Air Max specifically designed for him by Nike.

The Air Max is the shoe with the most replicas ever made to resemble it.

The most expensive pair of Air Max made is the Air Max 1 'Amsterdam' selling at an average price point of £2300.

Some releases of Air Max have never actually made it to shelves, they are instead given as 'friends and family' packs where only people linked to the company Nike itself can obtain a pair of the model. Hence, these releases usually sell for massive amounts of money compared to normal due to the exclusivity.

Nike have collaborated with a number of companies while producing their signature shoe, for example:
Liberty, Parra, Jessie J, atmos, the list goes on!

Nike have produced 10 different model iterations of the Air Max since its' inception in 1987.

The Air Max One was originally designed to be a running shoe, but aesthetics has since taken this over and the shoe is worn for mainly fashion in todays world.

March 26 is international Air Max day, declared by Nike.

Nike released a shoe to mark this day, named the 'Air Max Day' with the date 3.26 imprinted on the tongue.

Imagery

Air Max 1987 OG

Air Max 1 Amsterdam

Air Max 1 Tape Red/White

Air Max 90 Atmos Duck Camo

Air Max 90 Atmos Tiger Camo

Air Max 90 Infared

Air Max 1 Clot 'Kiss of Death'

Air Max 1 x Liberty

Air Max 2014

Air Max 95 OG

Air Max 90 Glossy Black

Air Max 1 Green/Navy Essential

Air Max 1 x Liberty

Air Max 1 x Liberty

Air Max 90 Roundel London Underground

Air Max 1 Patriot

Air Max 90 Clover

Air Max 1 Atmos Camo

Air Max 1 Parra

Air Max 90 Independence Day White

Words

'Revolutionary'

'Classic'

'Timeless'

'Artform'

'Sleek'

'Clean'

'Proportional'

'All-purpose'

'Undying'

'Fashionable'

'Innovative'

'Rule-breaker'

'Stylish'

'Trendy'

'Essential'

'Universal'

'Vintage'

'Quality'

'Unique'

'Exclusive'

Statistics

Opinions

'I see trainers as more of an accessory than an art form. This is because trainers as a whole are meant to be worn with an outfit so they can and should be used to bring colour and flavour to an ensemble as a whole rather than be their own thing. Secondly, my favourite pair of trainers are the ones from the movie Like Mike. Albeit they were old and knackered but they proved to be more than a pair of trainers. They had a soul. '

'Sneakers are an art in their own right; so much hype behind them. People put their whole life into these things that are worn on feet. Sneakers are being collected like Monet and Picasso paintings for crying out loud! So they are art; as someone like Kanye would say, you ain't got the answers! Favourite sneaker would be air mags, they have lights on them or the Jordan 1s or 4s the 4s have them wings that you just gotta let fly. Or the Nike vandals cos they have high tops with the ankle strap. All black air maxs for the win cos of how subtle they are.'

i think they are an art because there are many different types of colourways that depict the persons style and personality and sometimes the fashion they wear revolves around the type of sneakers they wear. My favourite sneakers have to be the jordan XI Space Jams because i really wanted a pair as a child and space jam was my favourite movie. I do like the air max range and if i have to pick a pair then i would have to pick the air max 90 hyperfuse infrareds i like the different colours of the shoe and i prefer the way the shoe feels compared to the normal pair

I don't think they are accessories, they're shoes, kinda necessary things to wear. Some are art in their own right definitely, as a lot of thought and effort has gone into the design and manufacuturing. I do think some trainers are completely overpriced and people only really buy they for the brand identity etc. I couldn't really name a favourite to be honest.

I definitely think they're art in a way. they show personality and everyone wears something individual - the amount of style now means they are a piece themselves instead of just a necessity. I'm a weirdo, but I always look at people shoes, like they're the first thing I notice. Sneaker-wise, Converse are my favourites.

i think they are an art yeah, cus the type of sneaker or trainer you buy, especially if it's an unusual one suggests something about your personality. my favourite trainer are a pair of grey suede vans with blue detail, but they're more like skater shoes. I put pink ribbons in for the laces from a pair of docs I have too, had them for about 5 years and i love them 

I think they are art well some of them anyway haha! I think that a pair of trainers like your clothing is a way of expressing who you are as a person! I've got a few favorites air max 1 or the 87 white/red because they were like the original release, air force 1 mid white because they remind me of the hip hop culture and stefan janoski black white!


Final Presentation: