OUGD503 - Responsive: Design Process 2 (End of Module Evaluation)

OUGD503 - Responsive: Design Process 2 (Project Report)

OUGD503 - Responsive: Design Process 2 (Final Boards - All Briefs)

OUGD503 - Responsive: Design Process 2 (Fedrigoni Response)

Today I received an email from a publisher in China regarding my Fedrigoni calendar being published in a book they are currently producing. I am going to ask Fred for some advice before I reply as I think I will need to get YCN's and Fedrigoni's permission before I say yes to them. 

OUGD503 Responsive: Design Process 2: Voodou Hairdresser (Development)

Over the Summer period I did some freelance work for Voodou hairdressers in Liverpool. I gained a lot of experience working for them. Initially I had a meeting with Emma, who I used to work with before starting college. I had this meeting at one of the hair salons so that I could get a feel for the brand and their colour scheme. It was quite eye opening for me, as I had never been to a salon which uses such bold, bright colours. They also had a large skull at the back of the salon placed on the wall. So this showed me that it is often used as a separate entity to the 'Voodou' text. I have documented some imagery of the salons to help me to have a selection of images to relate back to.

I managed to keep in touch with Voodou in hope that they would approach me again and ask me to do some more design work for them, and luckily they did. I was asked to design an A4 flyer which can be distributed to students in Liverpool. 

Below is the logo I was given over Summer to use on any design work for Voodou. I have this file saved so that I have it stored for future use. 

I decided to experiment with the idea of incorporating scissors into the design. I was given all of the information which I needed to include via email. 

Development of flyer

Once I had been given all of the information to include on the front of the flyer, I decided to try and come up with an idea to start a conversation and allow me to receive some feedback and an understanding for what my client expected to receive. I took quite a minimalist approach to this brief to start with, and tried to create a playful flyer by incorporating eyes and a moustache. I thought this was quite a clever and yet subtle way of hinting at the fact that they are hairdressers. Although it could imply that their target audience is men. 

Below is the email I received in response to this initial design. At this stage I realised that it is going to be quite hard to design something straight away that the client will like and I have to make sure that I am patient with them. 

I then decided to take a different approach and rather than working with the initial idea and trying to improve it, I decided to go back to square one and start again. The good thing about doing this meant that I was able to take parts of the previous design and apply it to new and improved flyers which can only be a positive move in my developmental process.

I was already aware that she liked how their last graphic designer had used illustrations for any of the work they had produced and so I decided to try and think of some new illustrations which could be applied to any of the work that I produce. 

The feedback I received for this updated version was mainly positive. I was just asked to consider the top section as she thought it looked a bit too plain, as well as a couple of other minor alterations. I felt a lot more positive at this stage because I had a better understanding for what she was expecting the end result to look like. It just goes to show that it isn't always worth trying to put your own personal touch on a piece of work (like I had tried to do in the first instance) because it isn't necessarily going to be to the client's taste.

Rather than only sending one option in response to this email I decided that I would send several, as they didn't take me long to do at all. I experimented with the size of the type as well as the image in the background of the skull. I felt quite confident at this stage that the work was positively progressing and was looking forward to receiving feedback as I could then work on the back of the flyer.

In the meantime, I received another email from Emma with details for the back of the flyer. Although I felt like it had taken a while for the front to be finalised, I was still pleased with the outcome and felt happy to be able to take it a step further to being complete. 

I designed a couple of variations for the back of the flyer, as shown below. I wanted to try and use the illustrations I had on the front of the leaflet or at least develop some more which were relevant to the information provided. 

This is the first possible layout that I proposed. I wasn't completely satisfied with the outcome however and when I sent it to Emma I was hoping for some constructive feedback that we would both agree on. 

Final A4 Flyer 

I was then given the following feedback on an email and the final alterations didn't take me very long at all! It definitely isn't how I initially imagined it to look but it is finally finished.

Evaluation

Having worked for Voodou over Summer I was aware that this project may take quite a while to complete, as the previous pieces of work I have done for them always took longer than I had expected. I feel as though I have learnt an awful lot working with Voodou though. They were the first company I worked for and created an invoice for, which was exciting for me! They were punctual when responding to me and taught me a lot about myself. I learnt not to take it to heart if I ever received quite blunt feedback, and instead see it as an opportunity for me to improve my communication skills and the ability to remain patient even whilst sometimes feeling frustrated.

Interestingly, as mentioned on my research post, I have noticed that since completing this work for them as well as the Summer work which included a Facebook banner, poster to use outside the shop as well as a website banner, they have actually used my illustrations on some of their other design work. Emma, who I dealt with at Voodou, has now left and been replaced. My details were passed on and I have since been contacted about more work, however they didn't give me enough notice and weren't willing to pay what I was charging, so this meant that the job was given to another designer (or they have done it themselves since and used the illustrations). 

This brief has therefore also taught me that a lot of the time students are treated unfairly and are treated as being 'inexperienced'. I think this is a real shame because it means that a student designer will either be under paid or simply not paid at all. 

When I was approached recently by the lady who has replaced Emma's position, the way I looked at the situation was, if I don't get chosen to do this work for Voodou because of how much I have proposed to charge, then the job isn't worth doing as I know that the money was fairly calculated against the amount of hours which would have been spent on completing it in the short amount of time allocated. 

OUGD503 Responsive: Design Process 2: Sophie Price Branding

Today I met up with one of my friend's who is on the Fashion course at Leeds College of Art. She asked me if I would be able to collaborate with the rest of her group that she is working with on a project they have just been assigned. 

They have taken influence from a book which is all about secrets. They have distributed pieces of paper asking students around college to fill them in with one of their deepest secrets. Using their responses as the themes they are then going to create a clothes range. 

I really like this concept and think it is going to be really successful. The only problem at the moment is the fact that it might not be achievable in the time period over the Easter break because they are wanting it all sorted for the first week back and all have internships mainly in London.

I have decided that I am still going to work on some initial ideas and then speak to Sophie in a couple of days to see where I stand with the work. I don't want to spend a lot of time on this brief for them to turn around and decide that they don't need my work after all.

I have had a think about some initial ideas below:

As a group, they asked me to think of some words relating to secrets. I wrote down all of my initial thoughts and ideas but came to the conclusion that the more straight forward, the better. I didn't want to come up with a word which sounds over the top or too cryptic. 

I did however have a play around with some of the ideas I thought of. They said that they wanted quite a decorative font as they wanted it to have a playful feel to it and quite crafty and imperfect. I experimented with a variety of different typefaces but I think I need more feedback before I progress further with these designs. 

I had the idea of using an envelope for their branding. I mentioned to them in the initial meetings that they should perhaps create garments with pieces of material which can be folded back to reveal a 'secret' about the clothing. They really liked this idea. 

Below I have had a go at playing around with the opening of an envelop to reveal the text inside. I like the idea of using 'Hide and Seek' for their brand, however I think it might be a bit too long winded. At the moment I have designed everything in black and white and then I can include colour at a later date if necessary. They mentioned that they like the aesthetic of using brown swing tags on their garments, so I thought it might be quite effective to simply use black as it would stand out and be clear. It would also be cheaper for them to print and reproduce. 

Although the previous ideas have all been produced digitally, I have had a go at working with some hand rendered illustrations. I thought it might create quite a personal feel to the work. However, I couldn't quite reach an illustration which I was happy with. 

Over the Easter break, I spoke to Sophie about how her group work is progressing. She had spoken to her tutor who had said that she liked the idea of using the slogan 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours'. She also said that because of her group being dispersed at the moment at different locations for their internships, it has meant that they haven't been able to work on their garments as much as they would have liked to, and so I am now going to have to wait and meet up with them when they have more of a solid plan.

Evaluation

This hasn't had a huge impact on my work, as I have been able to focus more attention on the other briefs I am working on. I am looking forward to working on this brief when everything is a bit more organised and it has taught me to not put 100% of my attention on one brief at a time, and try and juggle between a few. I haven't been able to include this brief in my project report, as it isn't complete, however I am pleased that I have been able to document the progress so far and include it as development for my responsive module.

OUGD503 Responsive - Design Process 2 (YCN Boards)

Below are my final boards for Fedrigoni and Champneys. I am really pleased with the outcome of both sets of boards and I am pleased to be able to say that I produced both of them on behalf on myself and Issy. 

OUGD503 Responsive: Design Process 2: Rippleffect

Over the Summer I worked for a studio in Liverpool called Rippleffect. When I finished my placement with them they asked me whether I would like to come back and work for them the following year. I have therefore kept in touch with them as this is something I would be very interested in this Summer as well as my other placement. 

As I am often in Liverpool as well as Leeds and split my time considerably, I spent some time since being given the responsive brief, working for Rippleffect once again. They asked me to produce a design which explains the work they do and how they work with their clients. I completed the work below at the studio and therefore the illustrator files are stored on their computers. As this is just another piece of work I have been asked to do by them for the use of their brochure, I haven't been able to keep the document for myself. However the final designs are demonstrated below.

At first, I produced an outcome which is quite corporate and business like. When I showed this design to them, they decided that they wanted me to create something which was a little bit more light hearted and fun. I therefore took some inspiration from the British Gas advert, as this is what they had told me to look at, and designed the world of Rippleffect. They absolutely loved the outcome and they are going to use it for their brochure as well as anything else it is suitable for. 

Evaluation

I found that as soon as I had decided on the illustrations I was going to do for each of the separate subject matters, it was just a case of how I was going to put it all together. The first response was probably very 'me' and I wasn't considering the client enough. However, I learnt from this and was able to respond in a completely different way, demonstrating versatility to the client. I am really happy with the outcome and look forward to working with Rippleffect again in the Summer. 

OUGD503 Responsive: Design Process 2: Overall Final Crit

Today we had our final crit with everyone. We presented all of our final pieces of work including all of our small briefs as well as our individual and collaborative competition briefs. We went around the studio and gave people feedback on sticky notes. We then went back to our own spaces at the end and read all of the feedback we had received. I was given positive feedback on my presentation boards which I was really happy about, however both Issy and I were extremely disappointed when we were told that our Champneys work was 'old fashioned' and 'dated' and not unique enough when comparing to existing Champneys products. We both felt extremely disheartened about all of these comments but thankfully received some other which said how beautifully presented our work was and that we didn't need to change it at all. 

As it is too late for us to change anything anyway and we are happy with our finished work, we have decided to just take on board what people have said and stay positive about the project. There are always going to be people who give negative feedback which isn't constructive.

My fedrigoni work was was also appreciated and I was given the feedback I needed about whether or not I should use the shape of the crest as opposed to cutting each of the individual letters out. This makes my final stretch of work a lot easier and I am looking forward to getting it all finished. 

OUGD503 Responsive: Design Process 2: Champneys (Box Development)

Issy and I have decided to create a crate to put all of our products in. We went down to woodwork yesterday and asked one of the technicians whether it would be possible for him to assemble a box for us. He had no problem doing this for us and said he would have it done the following day. Issy and I were so happy about this as we had already booked a photography slot in which we need all of our products for. We decided that we were going to put their existing logo on the box as this also demonstrates the versatility of it and may actually persude YCN/Champneys to use this box for more of their products. 

We spent quite a considerable amount of time laser cutting the panel with the logo on it as we had only been provided with an image of the logo as opposed to outlines of each letterform. This meant that we had to experiment a lot before we reached the final piece which was successful to use. 

Below are all of the samples we did for us to double check that it was suitable before cutting into the final panel of wood. 

Once we had had the final piece all sorted we then sanded the top layer of it down to remove all of the brown marks. 

Having made the box we are now ready to put everything together. Issy was in charge of designing the labels and so we got together tonight to confirm that everything was suitable and we printed out all of the labels, packaging, mail shot and any other promotional material. 

I bought the wood shavings from Paperchase for us to put in the bottom of the box to give an added aesthetic feel. We put some Champneys products inside some of the containers so that our products are as realistic as possible to photograph. 

Both of us are extremely happy with the outcome of all of this work and we are looking forward to presenting it in the final crit tomorrow. Hopefully we will receive some positive feedback.