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 - Design Process 2: Responsive (Individual Practice Evaluation)

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

I feel as though I have developed a lot of skills during this module. Being in control of my workload and having the responsibility to manage my time effectively and meet the deadlines set by myself has enabled me to grow as a designer and understand what is expected of me, and what will be expected of me when I graduate. I have managed to complete several live briefs for clients which has allowed me to develop my communication skills and I now feel much more confident when it comes to explaining breakdowns to clients in terms of cost as well as making sure I am regularly in contact with them so that they know the work is progressing. Being able to negotiate as well and not necessarily produce one of my preferred designs is something I have learnt to accept as well, as the client is always right and we have to give them what they want. 

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

So far, for the clients I have been dealing with, as well as the Fedrigoni YCN brief, I have been working digitally. The final product for Fedrigoni will be produced using the laser cutter as well. I therefore feel as though I haven't had much of an opportunity to experiment with a variety of different finishes, however it hasn't ever been necessary or appropriate. I do feel as though in terms of production I have learnt a lot when dealing with printers. I have been in contact to get quotes for particular jobs and have been able to deliver the final product successfully to my clients. This is something I value highly, as it is so important to know how to deal with industry professionals and get the job done to a high standard.

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

I think for each of the briefs I have completed I have shown a considerable amount of development. I feel as though this has been beneficial to me as well as my clients as I have been able to see how the initial idea developed in to the final product, which was considerably different in all cases. I think I need to make sure that I continue to work in this way, as it allowed me to identify the strengths and weaknesses with my design ideas, and this enabled me to produce final designs which I was happy with. I also think it is crucial to make sure that the client knows exactly how many changes can be made before the work is started, as the job can go on for too long otherwise and gets out of control.

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

I feel as though the way I presented my work in the final crit wasn't as professional as it could have been. I need to make sure that I concentrate on this for future briefs and revisit any that I have already done, to be able to use the work I have done and include it in my portfolio. I also still feel as though I could complete more live briefs and so I am going to make sure that I do this before module submission.

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

- I am going to continue to work on my time management, as this is something that can always be improved. Through doing this I will make sure that I take the time to balance between working on several briefs at once, as opposed to trying to get them done one at a time, as I feel as though this has worked for me so far.

- I am also going to try and work on more live briefs which involve a wider variety of outcomes, as this will benefit me in the long run when I am showing my work online.

- I am hoping to be able to use different production methods in the future, and perhaps be in contact with even more printers in Leeds to gain a larger contact list.

- I am going to photograph my work professionally.

- I will also organise more crits as I think they are invaluable and so worthwhile even if they only take up 15 minutes out of my day.

6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas:

5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor

Attendance (5)
Punctuality (5)
Motivation (5)
Commitment (5)
Quantity of work produced (4)
Quality of work produced (4)
Contribution to the group (4)

OUGD503 Responsive: Design Process 2: Venue Hair Company (Appointment card)

This is what the final appointment cards look like in context. I think they work really well next to the products that they have on sale in the basket and I am really pleased with the overall aesthetic. 

OUGD503 Responsive - Design Process 2: Save The Date Live Brief (Development)

I have always wanted to get involved with designing wedding invitations and so when my friend asked me about designing her save the date cards I was really enthusiastic and excited about this brief. She sent me an email with all of her initial ideas so that I could start working on it as soon as possible. 

When Lucy first contacted me via email she informed me of a few ideas she had and sent me a quick slide show illustrating her ideas and providing me with some initial imagery to worth with. This was really helpful as I could get a feel for what she was wanting to see on the end design.

There were two routes she wanted to explore; the idea of a fun and quirky postcard with their heads in the wooden cut outs shown on the first image, or something which looked a little bit more like the festival flyer, with a bit more of a corporate feel. I personally thought that the more corporate design would work really well, but also thought that the other idea had a lot of potential, although it would be hard to produce without it looking unprofessional. However, I do know that the wedding isn't going to be a very traditional wedding and will be more like a party, so this is something to keep in mind.

Below is the email I received to start with. There were a lot of different routes I could take design wise, however before inserting any photographic imagery of them both I wanted to experiment with the general feel of the design first and get that right before trying to work the images in to the postcard design, as this may not even be very successful.

Although Lucy provided me with some imagery to work with I felt it was important for me to do some more research myself, so that I could potentially get some more inspiration. As I didn't have much time to do the initial research, I simply did a search online. Had it been a situation where I had more time I would have visited shops and taken photographs of inspirational designs. I do as though the internet was sufficient enough however, as the save the date card which I created is very bespoke and personal to the couple, and especially as I have been provided with such specific imagery to start with, I felt as though I had more than enough to work with.

I have shown all of my research on my context blog and it is clear from the research I found, that I have been able to take inspiration from certain designs and apply the same sort of effect on my own design work. 

Using all of the above images I then developed a variety of different design ideas to present to Lucy. I wanted to try and experiment and create some designs which are quite corporate and professional looking, but also create some designs which are more fun and informal. 

I had a go at some hand rendered drawings as well and thought it would be quite personal if I added some of them in to the designs. I will have to see if any of them are suitable when I start designing digitally.

Here I have taken inspiration from the festival leaflet and have adapted the drop down block colour with the pointed edge. I feel as though this gives it a friendly feel and almost looks like a ribbon dropping down from the top of the page to give an added feminine touch. I have also incorporated the rope (as suggested in her ideas) and I hand rendered the 'tying of the knot' to give it a personal and rustic feel.

Once I had sorted the layout of this design I then experimented with the typeface and the line around the edge of the blue tab. I wasn't entirely convinced as to whether Lucy would prefer a sans-serif or serif font so thought it would be best to supply her with both so she can make that decision.

I then took an entirely different approach and went for a more minimalist look. Illustrating an anchor in the centre links the design to the seaside but in a more subtle way. 

Here I experimented further with the idea of using illustrations. I feel as though they complement each other really well and separate the text up so that it is easier on the eye.

By simply adding a border, the design now looks more finished and desirable. I am hoping that Lucy agrees when I send all of these files to her. 

Using the knot alone, the text fits around the image really well and could work in the centre, as shown here or even increased in size to fill the postcard.

Having sent all of these ideas to Lucy I then waited for feedback to allow me to make further progression. When I received the feedback I was slightly disheartened because I thought she would probably be happy with one of the ideas and that she would want to take one of them further to eventually become the final design. 

Instead she responded to my email explaining that her and her fiance had had a go at putting something together to help me to understand what exactly they want. They had obviously put a lot more thought into the design by this point. She did say that she realised the design had changed a lot from the initial idea and didn't want to take up anymore of my time if I had other work to concentrate on, but of course I wanted to see the project through to the end. 

She attached the images below and said "Anyway, I have attached one slide with notes on (hopefully these make sense) and an idea of the back - it would be awesome if the line around the edge could be the rope idea you used in your ideas. The photo on one slide is the one we've taken our heads from!"

The notes on the following image are self explanatory and she has tried to make it as straight forward for me to do to speed up the process. I feel as though if I had known this from the start then it could have been completed a lot sooner.

At this stage in the development I am concerned that some of the images won't be a high enough quality to use for the final design. I have mentioned this to Lucy but she has searched for alternatives and there aren't any which are suitable.

The back of the postcard is very simple with not a lot of detail. I personally think it would benefit from having a small illustration on it, but I will have to experiment and see.

I responded to her email with the following design ideas. I found it really hard to make it look presentable because it is very different to anything I have designed before, and I usually work in a much more minimal way, but it is definitely teaching me to step outside of my comfort zone and understand that it is what the client wants that matters. 

I explained what I had done on an email...

Although this isn't what I would usually design, I can appreciate how it relates to the seaside strongly and how playful and fun it is. I experimented using a font which is made up of a rope, as well as a serif font, and spent quite a while cleaning the central image up to remove the text overlaying the image. 

I thought it might be quite nice to reverse the colours on the back and have the blue in the background, however since sending it I have realised that this isn't an idea colour to write on with a black pen as it wouldn't show up very well, so I am either going to have to reverse the colours back or use a lighter shade of blue instead.

I then heard back from Lucy and she asked me to make some more tweaks to the design and then said it would be ready to send to the printers. The updated designs are shown below and the changes are quite obvious. 

When I heard back from Lucy after she had consulted with the printers, she explained to me that she had had a few printed and that the images weren't high enough resolution. This is something I had already anticipated earlier, however she was sure that they were the photographs that she wanted to use.Unfortunately this meant that, due to the limited time, they had to pay for some high quality images of Aberdovey and use them instead. The job ended up being slightly rushed at the end, and the image which I had edited on Photoshop couldn't be used because it was too blurry. Lucy and her partner then ended up using a template to place the images ready to print. This meant that when I received my Save The Date card in the post it looked completely different to what I had originally sent.

Evaluation

I feel as though if I had been given an extra day to tweak the design for the printer, then I would have been able to provide them with a design which was not far off the one they wanted. If I had been working on this brief from home it would have allowed me to have more regular contact with Lucy, however I do feel as though we were able to manage the work and give regular feedback via email. I feel as though I have learnt a lot from this brief, because I have not only worked for a friend and realised that it isn't always as straight forward as anticipated, but I have also been able to experience first hand that the client is 'always right' and as frustrating as it can be, sometimes it means waiting for the end result to realise that it isn't going to be as successful as originally planned (in this case with the image quality). I am pleased I saw this brief to the end though, as there were many times where I was told by my client that she would complete it if I didn't have enough time with the rest of the work I had on. But that is all part of being a graphic designer, and turning clients away in my opinion is like throwing an opportunity away, because no matter what the end result is, there is always a lesson to be learnt.