OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [ST3] - Disobedient Objects North

Disobedient Objects North is a V&A exhibition hosted at the People's History Museum in Manchester. We were briefed to create a simple flyer and five page concertina (and extend our concept to a range of different mediums) to demonstrate our knowledge of creating content informed by the context of the project, and to test our graphic design principles.

After reading the content of the exhibition, I decided to create a flyer that disobeyed the normal graphic design rules and attempted to make the audience feel uncomfortable in a way. Assuming the audience was reasonably-versed in design, this flyer would disrupt their attention with the placement of elements and with a layout that disobeys the grid we were set.

I feel the flyer does a good job of teasing the audience into finding more out about the exhibition, as it doesn't give too much information away but presents an urban setting (in the image) and the type connotes rule-breaking, which relates to disobedience. This is a subtle but powerful flyer that follows similar trends to other V&A exhibitions, with a simplistic use of image and type to convey a message, like an exhibition also held by the V&A below:

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB1] - Canadian Principles for Bank Note Design

I started my research for how I would design my notes by looking at a paper published by the Canadian government on a questionnaire they conducted about the key principles involved with bank note design. 

Here are the findings:

Security is paramount

The Bank is committed to supplying Canadians with quality bank notes that are readily accepted and secure against counterfeiting. Security is paramount, and visual content must support the chosen security elements. In practice, the need for robust security features imposes limits on the design elements.

Functional and recognizable

Bank notes must be functional and usable in automated banking machines (ABMs) and other cash-handling machines. They must also be recognizable as Canadian notes and readily accepted as a means of payment. Certain visual elements may be retained from one series to the next to support these goals.

Accessible

The design supports the Bank’s commitment to providing blind and partially-sighted Canadians with an effective suite of accessibility features so they can recognize bank note denominations.

Official languages

In accordance with the Bank of Canada Act, bank notes are printed in both English and French.

Reflect Canada

A series of bank notes is a unique opportunity to represent Canada. Each series depicts new visual content so that, over time, the diversity of Canadian society, culture and achievements are celebrated. Bank notes:

• promote Canada and Canadians - our values, culture, history, traditions, achievements and/or natural heritage;
• are clearly identifiable as Canadian through the use of symbols, words or images;
• are meaningful to Canadians today and for years to come; and
• evoke pride and confidence in Canada.

Broad appeal to Canadians

Bank notes combine art and technology. They integrate visual content with security features and functional requirements resulting in aesthetically pleasing bank notes that have a broad appeal among Canadians.

These were interesting findings as it shows that the most paramount part of a note is security, meaning functionality is key. For a note to work, it has to be able to withstand counterfeiting and be resistant to wear-and-tear. This is something I'll need to research in order to create a note that fits the criteria.

OUGD503 - Responsive - Project Report

OUGD503 - Responsive - End of Module Evaluation

Responsive has definitely been one of the most rewarding modules I have done thus far on this course. I really enjoyed how long the module went on which allowed me to really put as much time and effort into my projects as I needed. Responsive was definitely more of an insight into how the industry works professionally, with more self-directed projects instead of being told exactly what to do. I think this is a good sign because I am showing more and more independence with my work, which in turn boosts my confidence and allows me to do more with my projects. When we were first briefed on the project, I was definitely intimidated as the open-ended nature of this project was a big step to becoming a professional designer. However, when I first started working on the project I was immediately put in a groove that was easy to follow and surprisingly I was able to follow a strict design regime and meet all my timed deadlines. Moreover, I was putting passion into my designs because I was designing things I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Landbay brief was definitely my favourite brief out of them all, as it was the one I was able to put the most time into. The research for the project also taught me more about financial lending and definitely put me in the correct mindset to design for an audience that hadn't a clue about financial lending and how it could help them. I feel I was able to create a concept that created a new depth to the company, and I was very proud of this as in the beginning of the course I didn't even consider conceptual thinking as a part of a design, only designing for aesthetic.

The minor briefs were also very successful, with my Goat Collective submission being displayed at their exhibition and getting to talk to fellow creatives about their projects and their way of thinking. I really enjoyed being able to gain some exposure on my projects and to get some unbiased feedback on what people liked and didn't like about my work.

The collaborative brief at first was daunting, as I was very nervous that no-one would want to work with me if my work wasn't good enough! However, the amount of people that sent me emails and asked me to work with them gave me a massive confidence boost as it was nice to see people enjoying my work, as that is a big part of why I want to be a designer.

I worked with an illustrator on the FeverTree YCN brief which was really interesting as it was for a target audience that I had never designed for before. This really threw me out of the deep end, but I really grew as a designer from it and I learnt how to properly adapt to different audiences and to never box myself in to a single style.

Overall, this was a very rewarding brief and if the third year is structured in a similar fashion, I feel I will thrive under these conditions.

OUGD503 - Responsive [SB1] - Secret 7

For Secret 7 I produced a sleeve design for Tame Impala - The Less I Know The Better. Upon first hearing the songs this was the one I personally enjoyed the most and would be the most passionate about making a sleeve for. This was a quick turnaround for the brief as I created the sleeve within 8 hours from start to finish, and I purposefully didn't do much research into the artist as to create something personal and original to me.

This is the sleeve I created.

The sleeve is influenced by the lyrics talking about a girl who the singer loved but she was with someone else. He represents the girl as a tease which is shown in the photography I used, accompanied by the phrase "it's a secret", uttered like a phrase said to her lover.

I think the abstract nature of this sleeve makes it interesting and it is open to interpretation and could have many meanings (it has more than one even to me). I am proud of this piece as I was able to complete it in one very long sitting and it was far less stressful than last years' Secret 7 when I lingered on the project for too long and started to dislike my work. 

OUGD503 - Responsive [SB2] - Presentation Boards

My aims with the presentation boards for this brief were to

1. Highlight the bottle designs and the process behind them

2. Concisely explain what our thinking was behind the project we created

3. Present the project in a professional manner

I think I achieved these aims as the presentation was set out to be quickly and easily read by the judges who would be going through hundreds, if not thousands of applicants so the information given had to be clear and articulate. The layout of the presentation was also very simple as to highlight the parts that matter, our project itself.

OUGD503 - Responsive [SB2] - FeverTree Campaign Website

As part of our campaign, I was tasked to product a website to accompany the launch of our special edition bottles. The aims of this website were really simple: promote the product and inform consumers of where to purchase said product.

The four icons in the middle of the screen effectively convey our whole product, all of the main elements of our bottle wrap are combined into the squares and the rest of the website is there to simply inform the consumer. As this is a campaign website rather than the main FeverTree website, far less information is needed and usually the consumer will already have an interest in the bottle (enough to research it) and will be easier to convert to a sale with simple navigation and information.

The idea with hovering over the country would be that the pattern fills the screen so the consumer can see the whole wrap. This interactivity works well as it demonstrates our product without any hassle or navigation necessary.

OUGD503 - Responsive [SB2] - Bottle Product Photos

Unfortunately due to time constraints, me and Charlotte weren't able to book out photography equipment as it had already been booked out for the easter break. Charlotte did have a DSLR at home, but without the professional backdrop and a tripod, the photos didn't come out as we had hoped. I feel like this really hurt our chances of winning the brief, as presentation of the product in some cases can be more important than the product itself. In hindsight we should've aimed to finish the bottle designs sooner so we would have time to book a camera and lighting out for a day.

Below are the photos Charlotte took:

The bottles aren't shown at the same angle and the backdrop isn't bright enough to be correctly photoshopped, so that was disappointing. This isn't Charlotte's fault however, as we both had a part to play in not meeting our proper time constraints.

OUGD503 - Responsive [SB2] - Bottle Labels

Here are the bottle labels I designed for our FeverTree bottle:

Front

Back

My labels in my opinion were bold enough to capture the consumers' attention but not too overpowering as to take away from the monoprints, which was my main aim creating these. We changed the typeface from the suggested typeface by FeverTree because we felt that the bottle worked well with a modern yet authentic contrast, instead of having a strong serif to go with an already stylised bottle. The labels are clearly a part of a set with bold numbers that share a similar colour scheme to the bottle they are placed on, solidifying the link between label and wrap.

OUGD503 - Responsive [SB2] - Monoprinting

Here are our monoprints Charlotte was able to print for the bottles, of which I love!

All of the prints are extremely vivid and eye-catching, which is exactly what we set out to do with the brief. I wanted to use colour in my portion of the bottle to really solidify the concept of the bottle itself. I had to make sure the work I made went well with these prints and complemented the designs instead of overpowering them, as the designs were the focal point of our project.

OUGD503 - Responsive [SB2] - The Extra Mile

We had decided from the beginning that we would like to go the extra mile on this project, and create something we would be genuinely proud of by the end of it. For this to happen, we would need to separate ourselves from the other applicants. I proposed the idea that we should purchase some FeverTree bottles and wrap the bottles ourselves so we could take some real product photography as I noticed most of the applicants thus far had simply mocked their idea up on the template provided which seemed to limit how original their idea could be.

This proved to be quite difficult as the facilities at the College weren't sufficient for us to shrink wrap the bottle to a professional standard (the machines that do this cost a minimum of £5000 without materials!) With this in mind, we had to find a different way to wrap the bottle without distorting the graphics. After speaking to James (the print room staff member) we decided to print the graphics onto acetate and stick the acetate directly onto the bottle, with gaps for the front and back labels.

This came out really well, but took trial and error to get the dimensions correct on the bottle. Below are the final results of the prints without the labels attached.

OUGD503 - Responsive [SB2] - Selecting a Theme

Selecting a theme for our project was difficult as we had to avoid the obvious themes of South America and really create a memorable set of bottles that hadn't been done before. Charlotte mentioned she was currently really interested in mono print and showed me some of her prints she had done for her brief prior. The mix of authenticity with the handmade print feel and the bold, bright colours went really well together and I suggested infusing these authentic patterns with a neutral, professional typeface and layout to attract a new audience to the brand without alienating their current loyal customers. Charlotte really liked this idea and we started drafting up some colour palettes of each of the countries, we looked at flags, flowers, symbolic colours and everything we could find to try and represent the country. Since the ingredient being advertised by FeverTree was quinine, the anti-malaria medication, we decided to use flowers as the base for our mono print patterns to attract younger and older customers alike. The natural feel of the bottles would push the concept of FeverTree being an all-natural product that supported communities worldwide.

OUGD503 - Responsive [SB2] - FeverTree Initial Ideas

My partner for the FeverTree project was Charlotte Curnick from Illustration. I felt that we got along from the beginning and we had the same outlook on the project; to create something that we could be proud of and put in our portfolios, and to of course win the YCN award! We started by looking at the list of countries to choose from, which are below:

With these countries, we tried to pick a theme as to set a concept from the beginning. We decided to go with a south american theme as the countries in South America have some elements in common with each other, and the colour palettes of the design coming out of these countries is very bright and eye-catching, something me and Charlotte usually don't work with which would make it a fun challenge to work on.

Our idea from the beginning was to combine our talents, with me being lacking in illustration skills and Charlotte lacking in type and layout, we could each be the gaps in each others' skills and hopefully create an innovative, exploratory project that went the extra mile.