Today we've been thinking more about what "Britishness" is all about. Thinking about what objects/places/actions/foods etc are iconic. We've also been considering what kind of TV programmes and films make use of typical British humour, similar to that mentioned on my context blog.

Action Plan

This is our initial action plan, although it's slightly vague and I think we need to rethink this when we get back together tomorrow so we both know exactly what we need to be doing. It'll probably be easier to do once we start to think of how we want to focus the brief and once we begin the design process. At the moment I think it's important to spend some time together going through everything so we can both feel confident about what we're doing.

Our concept statement/re-written brief

The Brief:
Promote the new Ted Baker collection by utilising the window display and entice people to come in and spend money.


Concept/Proposition:
A window display that stands out from the rest and reflects the idea of an irreverently British sense of humour.


Background:
A successful, expensive brand that are expected to produce high quality products. Their collections are more about fashion rather than practicality.


Target Audience:
Young Professionals
People with an interest in fashion
Image conscious people
People with disposable income
Up market, expensive taste.
Regulars of the Starbucks cafe
Tourists who admire this British taste.


Tone of Voice:
Highlighting the British culture by using humour, which is usually irony and quite satirical. The display must be fun and welcoming, to make people come into the store.


Considerations
Movement
3D
Lighting
Mixed media
In-store giveaways


Mandatory Requirements
Scalable designs
British Humour
Simple and fun
Attention Grabbing




Deliverable's:
Presentation boards
Scalable window display design
In-store materials e.g.
Fun give-aways with purchases
P.O.S Display stands
Signs for new collection

Doing this we already had to begin to make some decisions about our approach, this should really help when starting to think of ideas because we have started to narrow it down.

Contract

The contract for our collaborative partnership. We tried to separate the work load so that we played to eachothers strengths and we will have the chance to explore things we are interested in. Also simple things like taking notes, and scanning work in has been divided between the two of us to ensure all grounds are covered and neither of us are left doing all the organising.

Analysing briefs

Here, myself and Charlotte tried to break down the briefs a bit more to try and really understand who the clients were, their current situation and what they wanted to gain from the deliverables. This proved really useful, because it made us put aside any preconceptions we had about what they wanted and we got more to the root of the problem.
With the mutual assurance brief, we initially didn't understand what they were trying to say or what they wanted. Rather than just going past the brief and just brushing past it, re-writing the brief and being more specific really helped clarify what was going on.



The Ted Baker brief was also very useful to re-write. Reading the brief to begin with, I think I just thought that they wanted a new window display which promoted their autumn collection. Reading it thoroughly it became more clear that they weren't happy with the misconceptions some of their target audience have of the brand and that they didn't want to be grouped in with the elite fashion clubs. They're pretty insistant throughout the brief that they have a typically British sense of humour and that's their USP. As a potential consumer, I had never really thought that myself, and so producing something that makes it clear that they aren't 'snooty' is really important. More so, I would argue, than references to the season.

Thoughts on collaboration

Here are my initial thoughts on collaboration, my opinions on what I have to offer as a partner and what I would benefit from having in the partner I work with. This became easier to think about after I actually completed my module evaluation. Although it probably doesn't state these factors on this sheet I think the most important things I need are:
Someone I can communicate with and understand well
Being enthusiastic
Being confident
A visualiser

Things like, being able to use software, are skills that can be learnt and aren't necessarily a priority. I am collaborating with Charlotte Hitchen for this brief and am confident that she is an appropriate partner.

Business card - session 6

We were assigned new professions and told to produce a business card. I wanted to be the kind of scaffolder who was reliable, professional and with sturdy scaffolds. The typeface I decided to use was Eurostile.

The only information I decided to use was my profession, name and contact details. I didn't really think about heirarchy much on this one, other than I assumed my profession was the most important detail.

After a class discussion the overall thought was that contact details were perhaps the most important detail since, if we are handing a business card out the person already knows what we do. So here I tried to make the telephone number stand out more, as this method of communication is preferable to email.

I tried to think of visual ways to explore scaffolding. I used the word scaffolding to suggest a vertical structure and had the personal details coming of it to hint at bars. I don't particularly like this though, it looks a bit confused and not thought out properly.

Having the word scaffolding the other side works better and makes everything more readable. Since scaffolding isn't the most important in order of heirarchy it doesn't matter that it's rotated.

Out of the four I'm unsure which business card I prefer. Maybe the second one, because it doesn't try to be too clever and just gets the message across easily enough.

Type sizes and leading - Session 6

Today we looked at how type size and leading effected readability of a large quantity of type in more detail. We were given a document of text which we needed to fit into 2 columns and then 3 columns.

the page order reads:

2 Columns

Times 8.5/13.8

Times 7.5/14.6

Times 8/14.3

Times 9/13.1

Times Bold 7.5/14.3

Times Bold 8/13.8

Times Bold 8.5/13.4

Times Bold 9/12.3

Arial 7.5/13.8

Arial 8/13.6

Arial 8.5/12.7

Arial 9/12.1

Arial Bold 7.5/13.3

Arial Bold 8/12.3

Arial Bold 8.5/11.9

Arial Bold 9/11.3

3 Columns

Times 7.5/15.8

Times 8/15.2

Times 8.5/14.3

Times 9/13.8

Times Bold 7.5/15.2

Times Bold 8/14.4

Times Bold 8.5/13.8

Times Bold 9/12.7

Arial 7.5/14.6

Arial 8/13.8

Arial 8.5/13.4

Arial 9/12.5

Arial Bold 7.5/13.7

Arial Bold 8/12.9

Arial Bold 8.5/12.3

Arial Bold 9/12.2

After producing the 32 page document we analysed it in groups to see which was more readable and what effect leading had. Our group found that for 3 columns the body text that made use of Times New Roman size 8.5 was the most readable once we began reading. There were some debates about how it looked aesthetically, but practically it was the easiest to read. The examples of type where there was more leading seemed to appeal to people more and made the body text look like the content may be more interesting and that there was less text. The most readable example made some people think that it was boring and they wouldn't want to read it. I think this raises something that needs to be considered when producing a body text, can you compromise readability to ensure that someone will want to read it, or should you make a text as readable as possible with the risk of it not looking as good.

The context/amount of type will probably be the deciding factor for this. For example readability plays less of a concern when adding some text to a poster whereas a book/article would need to be as readable as possible.

Across the class we all found that a seriffed typeface was the easiest to read and that 8-9 was the ideal size.

End of Module, Self Evaluation

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

Most of the skills I have learnt this module are technical, due to needing to use software I hadn't used before. Learning how to use After Effects is something that I have really enjoyed, and although I didn't delve deeply into all the different tools it offered I managed to communicate what I wanted effectively.
Storyboarding and planning in general has been the most useful skill to have developed. Actually visualising everything that is going to happen ensured that I knew what I needed to produce/collect ahead of prodution.
The same goes for producing schematics and using DVD pro. Having planned all the structure and content of the DVD meant that actually building it didn't take as long as it would otherwise.
Thinking about design that changes over time has helped me understand more about myself as a designer. I have always enjoyed creating design that can be adapted, or interacted with. Personally, I much prefer to design knowing that it's not going to stay like that and that something will happen to it. This is probably why the production of the animation was something I was happy to spend a lot of time on.
I am pleased with the motion graphics I have produced for this module, in particular the silent movie brief. I am unhappy with my actual DVD. The menu's are very static and after flicking through a couple of time become boring. I should have experimented more with how I could alter the same design on different menu's to keep it interesting, rather than it appearing to be the same screen with different buttons. I would have liked to consider using motion within my DVD menu's but with the time I allowed for my DVD this seemed too big of a task.

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

Research played a dominant part of my work during this module. I researched a lot into the label and their identity. I based the majority of my design directions on the identity of the label. I also learnt a lot about society in Britain during the era of 2-Tone which I believe gave my design more substance and more of a context.
When it comes to contextual research the majority of it was looking at material from the label, which was useful to learn about my subject, but I think I should have looked more at actual TV titles. I looked at a few to begin with but didn't continue throughout the brief which was a mistake. I should have researched into these more to learn the conventions of TV titles, and study how a narrative evolves over time. If I had done this I would probably have had more confidence in my design and worried less about it becoming boring and stale over time.
Although initially I got in touch with fans of 2-Tone, I almost forgot about their real opinion and instead probably made some assumtions about what would work and what wouldn't.

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

Using appropriate research to help develop the design process. I need to continue to do this but more than I do currently and to ensure I'm actually looking at existing examples. Paying attention to small details which I want to continue to do.
Motion graphics is something I have enjoyed and been committed to, so I want to try and produce more work like this.

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

I need to come up with more initial ideas rather than different ways I can do one thing. For example on this brief I focussed on the idea of a timeline to communicate the label because I wanted to show the history of the label alongside the developments in society. I then considered different ways that a timeline could be represented. What I should have done was think of alternatives to timelines before deciding that was the best way to do it. I also need to explore more with composition and layout. My work definitely lacks impact and isn't attention grabbing. I need to learn how to make something stand out. I also haven't used colour much in my work recently and perhaps this is something I need to address.
Possibly my biggest weakness as a designer is a lack of confidence in myself. Because of this I think I opt for safer idea's and don't test myself as much as I should. This is probably also the reason for why my work doesn't have impact and stand out. My main priority over the next module and year is to try and regain some confidence in my work, particualarly visually and stop worrying so much. If I can do this I am likely to enjoy the work more and learn a lot more too.

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

- Think of more initial idea's before developing them, in the hope that I get out all the obvious idea's first and I can begin to think more laterally.
- Look more at contextual research which is appropriate, so I have more of an understanding of what works
- Explore visually different solutions, not only coming up with idea's but how different media can aid communication
- Produce something with more impact, instead of relying on someone actively looking at it I need to produce something that takes their attention
- Have more confidence in myself, so that I will try different things and not worry too much about how succesfful they'll be. Do it, and then evaluate.

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas:
(please indicate using an ʻxʼ)

5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
1 2 3 4 5
Attendance - 4
Punctuality - 4
Motivation - at some points 1 and at others 4
Commitment - 3
Quantity of work produced - 3
Quality of work produced - 3
Contribution to the group - 2

Packaging

It makes sense to produce packaging resembling a record cover. To do this I have produced the outer packaging and a sleeve for the disc to fit into. I tried different stocks to try and recreate an aged quality but something that was strong enough to keep it's structure. In the end I've chosen to print onto bulky newsprint, as it gives a hint of off-white but not too obvious and maintains the structure well. Inside I've used newsprint to hold the disc. On the back of the packaging I've displayed the content of the disc replicating a track listing and also my rationale from when I began the brief.

The back of the packaging is much more successful than the front. I had considered using thumbnails of some of the record covers from 2-Tone and positioned them/edited them, so that they suggested a chequered pattern. I wish that I had done this instead but don't think I have time to do that as well as build the DVD. So this is something I may change at a later date.

DVD design

This is what I am planning to have printed on my DVD to fit with the packaging. I'm hoping once it's all produced it will look like a scaled down record.

DVD Menus

Possible DVD menus

My Schematic for my DVD. This was a really useful tool to try and think what menus I needed to produce, what images I needed to gather etc. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to try and produce a DVD with all its content without mapping it all out first.



Some thumbnails for menu design, trying to make use of the same typefaces/colours/imagery as the Top 10 animation.



This design, replicates the back of a record cover. It's quite a simple design, however it reflects the subject and makes the menu clear enough to understand.





This design is inspired by the standard 2-Tone cover for many of the records, similar to one which I animated in my title sequence.





I have made use of elements within my animation to produce this menu, I'm not sure whether after going through so many of these menu's that when the audience finally gets to the animation they'll be bored of the assets and want something else for the 50 seconds. For that reason I've decided to develop the 'record cover' themed menu for my DVD.

DVD Schematics

By looking at other DVD's and seeing how their menus work it'll be easier for me to try and work out how mine will be structured. I've tried to choose DVD's which are suitable to the content of my own DVD. Firstly I looked at 'Garth Marenghis Darkplace' which is a channel 4 programme. As my proposed programme was to be aired on Channel 4 this is an appropriate source of information. One thing that I'm going to include since seeing this, is having the Channel 4 logo playing at the beginning of my DVD before the menu appears.



The second DVD I looked at was a short animation from David Shrigley. Since it's only a short animation there isn't as much content on this one as you might find on DVDs for films. It's interesting here that the interviews and discussions were kept in an extras menu, which is what I plan to do with a sample of my development work.



The Stone Roses was my next choice of DVD, due to the fact it is based on music. Here there is a choice of whether to play all the videos one after the other or to select one. Although I only have one video for my Top 10, I have 8 videos I want to include for "click" so this is an option I want to include on my DVD.



'The Young Ones", I thought would be appropriate as it was a programme popular at the same time as 2-Tone and included bands such as madness within the content of the programme. This menu is quite complicated breaking each video down into chapters and selecting from there. I don't think this is necessary for my DVD, and I'll save myself some time and stress by keeping it a bit more simple.

Creating space - session 5

For this task we were given a block of text which we needed to fit onto an a4 page, using one column. To achieve this, without going over 12 words per line, I tried to find a typeface which had wide proportions. I also altered the left and right margins creating more white space around the type. Some people had to use sans serif and some had to use serif so that we could compare and see which was more readable.



We then had to do the same again using 2 columns, this time more of the challenge was to ensure there were at least 6 words per line. By using 2 columns you get more space to increase leading. Breaking the paragraphs proved more successful that using indentations as it created the illusion of less type to read. One thing that could maybe be improved on is to decrease the size of the gutter, as a group we decided to actually increase it to spread it out more, but because left justification has been used a gutter doesn't need to be as big, meaning either the column width could be increased or the surrounding margins.



We also discussed margin size and what connotations arose from this. By having small margins it appears that there is a lot of text, and also that their is a low budget. Large margins convey being worth more in monetary values.

Gatefold Leaflet - Session 5

We had to produce a leaflet advertising allotments, and were given the type and images. We needed to decide on heirarchy, typefaces, margins, leading. This was a really difficult task. We analysed eachothers leaflets in pairs and from that I decided to change my reading order so that the contact details switched places with the 'about ari' section. Since, most people will look to the back for the contact details. I also tried to break the type up a bit more by using some quotations which hopefully makes it more readable. I need to start looking more at leaflets to see how they break up their type into sections and use heirarchy.