Friday, 30 April 2010
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Friday, 23 April 2010
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Content, Product & Context
Content
3 minutes as a theme
Typography within the environment
Folk etymology & idioms of the British Isles
Regional dialects, north/south divide
Photographic documentation of type in the environment
Product
Screen printed posters
Foil/emboss/varnish
Typeface(s)
Logo
Context
Branding and logo design
Avant garde page layout
Entertaining/humorous
Typeface design
Limited edition prints/printing
What I Want To Do & Why
01. Design a typeface(s)
My interest in the anatomy of type has rapidly developed since engaging with the typography module and the construction of an entire typeface is a skill I would like to explore further.
02. Illustrate more - portraiture in particular
I feel that over the past two years I have neglected to maintain my illustrative interests and therefore it would be good to revisit a skill that I really enjoy. The notion of paying particular interest to portraiture is something that comes natural to me, but I'd also like to study illustrated letter-forms/type as image.
03. Screen print a limited edition run of posters
I want to improve my skills with the process and I am particularly keen to develop tangible print based solutions that are one-off; especially in this digital age.
04. Dedicate time to developing brand identities and logos
Branding and logo design for me is a way of working with type in a creative and visual way, be it digitally or illustrative and I think its importance to a business or client is an aspect that I find challenging and motivational.
05. Photograph and document type within the environment (inspired by Ed Fella)
Ever since I purchased his book I have been interested in making simple observations within my environment; especially through documenting letter forms. I find it really engaging how many comparisons can be made when you collect a vast amount of source material.
06. Experiment with Avant Garde page layout techniques
This interest ties into my a-level studies where I became fascinated with avant garde design and designer such as Marinetti, Werkman, El Lissitzky and Rodchenko. I like the way they use the page and direct the viewers eye, break convention and challenge what page layout can be. As a result of completing the type module I feel these two aspects work quite closely and provide n opportunity to develop some interesting work.
07. Work with a 3D environment to create a 2D, print based piece of design
My old interest in collage and working with craft materials transcends into my practice today although I don't believe I exploit it enough. I am quite interested in the idea of working from 3D to 2D and the book Tangible has been quite inspirational as of late.
08. Create type and letterforms from everyday 3D objects
I've been interested in doing this for a while and the idea stems from a hybrid of points 01 and 07. I also believe that this is yet another new skill I could easily add to my existing capabilities; I just need to give myself an opportunity in which to do it.
09. Get a business card professionally printed
Self promotion is shaping up to be a fundamental element of my design practice as my time on this degree draws to a close. Getting a business card professionally printed is something I have wanted to do for a long time; most definitely since working on this in the typography module. I just can't get those scenes from American Psycho out of my head. Ohh, nice!
10. Create a brand and work with it across a series of promotional materials
Essentially I intend to carry this out as means to develop my skills in appropriating design solutions and working with the same source material across a breadth of media; both digitally on screen and print based on paper stocks.
11. Learn to use Flash, or at least develop an awareness of how it can be used
The opportunity to learn any additional software skill in my opinion is a blessing whilst in education. Flash is a piece of software that I haven't approached yet and I would like to at least know the fundamentals of how it works even if my own skills in using it are not brilliant.
12. Further knowledge on using Dreamweaver to produce a professional website
I want to have as much control as possible over the build and maintenance of my own website and potentially that of clients. Although I don't want to get real tech in the head with this, it's always good to have the knowledge.
13. Become fluent in using Illustrator
An aspect of my practice I have been trying to improve since the beginning of this course. I have always been more proficient on Photoshop and I feel my lack of capabilities in Illustrator have at times hindered my progress in developing my concepts fully.
14. Start keeping a daily sketchbook of illustrations as a recreational hobby
Whenever I go onto designers websites and conduct contextual research I constantly see them keeping sketchbooks as a leisurely hobby if nothing else... every time I dribble over how nice they are, how personal they feel. I always seem to think why do I not do this, do I even have the time? But I think I am just being lazy and should ditch some of my other hobbies in order to dedicate time toward doing this. It'll mean I can illustrate more!
Saturday, 17 April 2010
OUGD204: Self Evaluation
1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
This module for me was all about getting to grips with the technical aspects of type and grasping how to apply fundamental elements and rules in relation to point size, weight, case and leading etc. In making progress on this I believe that I have also developed a much stronger sense of hierarchy with some areas almost developing into intuition. In addition, the application of grid structures and understanding what you can explore in regards to margins and gutters has assisted me no end in producing more consistent layouts that suit the purpose of the document.
2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
Primarily my research has been driven through collecting and sourcing relevant materials to be documented within the type journal. Furthermore, I have also requested numerous stock samples from suppliers such as Benwells which has been useful no end; especially as you can specify what you would like to receive in terms of letter heads, business cards and compliment slips etc. In direct relation to magazine layout, analysing publications such as Grafik and Creative Review was also useful.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
My strengths in this module have come through understanding the fundamental rules of typography taught to us within the timetabled sessions. In gaining this knowledge I have been able to rapidly advance in producing more consistent layouts that suit the purpose and temperament that they were designed for. In order to capitalise on this and make the most of what I have learnt, I would like to push the boundaries further and explore what is achieving whilst breaking rules through being informed of what they were in the first place.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
As stated by a few of my peers, I also feel that my weakness within this module has been the type journal. Although I have engaged with it well at points, I largely felt I was compiling it as means of assessment; not because I actually enjoyed it and found the benefits of its existence helpful. Through collecting source materials for research I have been able to enhance my learning of typography, however I feel I may have over analysed what I was looking at – subsequently causing me to not enjoy the process. Next time I feel it would be beneficial treat the type journal in a more light hearted manner and enjoy researching in ‘little and often’ visits, as opposed to ‘intense but not so often’.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
1. Dedicate time to engage with type journal and the benefits that it provides.
2. Spend those extras few minutes/hours to explore just a few more possible outcomes in terms of layout.
3. Make decisions faster, as although I improved on this I still idle about too much.
4. Try to focus more time on collecting useful materials for research. Research I have learnt; is vital.
5. Push boundaries in terms of hierarchy and try to make progress more quickly.
6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas:
Attendance 4
Punctuality 5
Motivation 4
Commitment 3
Quantity of work produced 4
Quality of work produced 4
Contribution to the group 3
This module for me was all about getting to grips with the technical aspects of type and grasping how to apply fundamental elements and rules in relation to point size, weight, case and leading etc. In making progress on this I believe that I have also developed a much stronger sense of hierarchy with some areas almost developing into intuition. In addition, the application of grid structures and understanding what you can explore in regards to margins and gutters has assisted me no end in producing more consistent layouts that suit the purpose of the document.
2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
Primarily my research has been driven through collecting and sourcing relevant materials to be documented within the type journal. Furthermore, I have also requested numerous stock samples from suppliers such as Benwells which has been useful no end; especially as you can specify what you would like to receive in terms of letter heads, business cards and compliment slips etc. In direct relation to magazine layout, analysing publications such as Grafik and Creative Review was also useful.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
My strengths in this module have come through understanding the fundamental rules of typography taught to us within the timetabled sessions. In gaining this knowledge I have been able to rapidly advance in producing more consistent layouts that suit the purpose and temperament that they were designed for. In order to capitalise on this and make the most of what I have learnt, I would like to push the boundaries further and explore what is achieving whilst breaking rules through being informed of what they were in the first place.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?
As stated by a few of my peers, I also feel that my weakness within this module has been the type journal. Although I have engaged with it well at points, I largely felt I was compiling it as means of assessment; not because I actually enjoyed it and found the benefits of its existence helpful. Through collecting source materials for research I have been able to enhance my learning of typography, however I feel I may have over analysed what I was looking at – subsequently causing me to not enjoy the process. Next time I feel it would be beneficial treat the type journal in a more light hearted manner and enjoy researching in ‘little and often’ visits, as opposed to ‘intense but not so often’.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
1. Dedicate time to engage with type journal and the benefits that it provides.
2. Spend those extras few minutes/hours to explore just a few more possible outcomes in terms of layout.
3. Make decisions faster, as although I improved on this I still idle about too much.
4. Try to focus more time on collecting useful materials for research. Research I have learnt; is vital.
5. Push boundaries in terms of hierarchy and try to make progress more quickly.
6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas:
Attendance 4
Punctuality 5
Motivation 4
Commitment 3
Quantity of work produced 4
Quality of work produced 4
Contribution to the group 3
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
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