Wednesday 30 September 2015

OUGD504 - Brief 01 - Design Process - My Personal Process

What is my personal design process?

Before receiving this brief, I hadn't really considered the fact that actually, I do have a design process. I think as I'm working on my design, I don't really follow a strict 'process' as such, I actually tend to get caught up in the concepts and ideas and get swept away. But subconsciously, I do follow a process. It may not be the same for every project, I think working in this way is monotonous and doesn't allow for much deviation from my artistic style and norm. But there are things that I do every time I begin a new project and I do find myself repeating the process over and over. Below is a flow of my 'design process'. I found it pretty easy to structure and order once I got going:
Writing out my version of the design process was a great exercise. It provided me with a lot of perspective on this topic and has given me a greater understanding of ways in which designers work on an individual scale as well as in a grouped mentality. 


RECEIVE BRIEF> READ THE BRIEF THOROUGHLY> READ IT AGAIN> AND AGAIN> IDENTIFY THE NEEDS AND ISSUES THAT MUST BE SOLVED> IDENTIFY THE TECHNIQUES AND MEDIA THAT WILL BE MOST SUITABLE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUES FOUND> CONSIDER THE COSTS AND TIME-SCALE OF PRODUCTION> BRAINSTORM> PRIMARY RESEARCH> THEN SECONDARY RESEARCH> REFER BACK TO INITIAL NOTES> GENERATE INITIAL IDEAS AND CONCEPTS> ASK FOR FIRST FEEDBACK FROM PEERS AND TUTORS> DO MORE RESEARCH (VISUAL AND THEORETICAL)> DEVELOP THE INITIAL IDEAS> CONTINUE TO GENERATE MORE IDEAS> TRY NOT TO JUST STICK TO THE VERY FIRST IDEAS GENERATED> PICK THE STRONGEST CONCEPTS AND PUSH THEM FURTHER> ASK FOR MORE CRITICAL ANALYSIS/FEEDBACK> CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THE CONCEPT> GATHER MATERIALS AND MEDIA REQUIRED FOR PRODUCTION> WORK OUT EXACT COSTS> BOOK SLOTS IN SPECIFIC LOCATIONS/WORKSHOPS> FINALISE DESIGN WORK> PRODUCTION> FINAL FEEDBACK> SELF EVALUATION 

OUGD504 - Brief 01 - Study Task 02 - Folds

In today's session we spent time experimenting with various types of folds. We were given an hour to try out a number of unusual and exciting folding techniques with stock of our choice. Today's session was useful in relation to this project as one of the first things that I must do in order to develop any concept is decide which folding method I want to utilise to make sure my leaflet design is successful.

During the session, we were given time to do some primary and secondary research. I looked thoroughly through Pinterest and various other design blogs which gave me some good food for thought. Many leaflets that I see in the commercial print world are very simple in their aesthetic. Due to print costs and efficiency, many leaflets are produced using simple concertina folding methods which is understandable. However, I want to create a leaflet that instantly catches your eye and I think using a slightly more complex/intriguing folding technique will allow me to achieve that. But another part of me wants to keep it as simplistic as possible in order to not distract the audience from the content. I will continue to research folding techniques and try to find some middle ground. Below are photographs of the various experimental folds I did in today's session.

This first fold was arguably the most complex one I did in the session. It took me a good 20 minutes to work out where the folds needed to be made. I used fairly lightweight sugar paper for this fold, because it needed to be folded at least 12 times, heavier stock would not have allowed me to do that. I was really pleased with my efforts, and I think that this leaflet is very unusual and unique. However, I knew after completing one test fold that it wouldn't be practical within the context of this brief for a number of reasons. We were told to constantly consider the practicality of our own process throughout this brief, and this fold is just not practical within the time scale. If I had longer than a week to complete this brief then perhaps I would invest time into designing content for this folding technique. But I don't, so I am abandoning it. It was a great learning experience trying out this fold but sadly I won't be using it for my leaflet.




The second fold I tried turned out looking like an envelope. It was fairly straight forward but as I was completing it I knew that I didn't really like it that much and it would probably be a pain to design on InDesign. But it was worth experimenting with. 





This was one of the most simple and effective folds that I experimented with and for a while I thought that I was going to use this fold for my leaflet design. I do really like this technique and think it is visually exciting and required a lot of interaction and participation from the audience. One thing that puts me off is the space; there is a lot of space to fill with content which I find a but off putting because I don't want to feel that I have to cram the space with information or imagery. I will continue to consider it throughout the research period of this brief. 



Exact same folding technique but instead of using straight lines I played around with curved edges. The results are aesthetically pleasing and I am glad that I messed around with different cutting techniques here. 




This fold is one of my favourites, as it requires the audience to reveal parts of the leaflet as they open up the fold. I like the idea of compressing it down into something small and letting the information spill out from the folds. I think I am going to look into using a fold similar to this one for my final leaflet design. 





Monday 28 September 2015

OUGD504 - Brief 01 - Design Process - Internet Research - Folds


have a look at all http://www.pinterest.com/pinko0521/design-illustration/  Standard Folds:


This brief is specifically asking me to look at various methods of folding paper in order to produce an exciting and engaging leaflet. I looked on the internet for sources of information and conducted some secondary research. The image below illustrates well the number of simple folds that can be made to create a very basic leaflet. Some slightly more complex than others. I find this image useful because I know that I want my leaflet to be simple yet effective, I don't want to use an overly complex fold because I think that it could distract from the content.


Some simple yet interesting types of leaflet:

15 Brochure Fold Types 8

15 Brochure Fold Types 9

15 Brochure Fold Types 11

15 Brochure Fold Types 12

This leaflet for Esquire employs a simple fold, and develops out into a poster which is quite entertaining. This is something that I contemplated doing in this brief for my leaflet design, although I do feel that perhaps it has been over done, but for research purposes this example of a doubled up leaflet is nice. 

manual for a stylish life. -Has an old vintage wartime look to it -Red draws attention and works well with black -busy without being hectic. Great use of bold type.:

Another really nice example of how a leaflet can actually be a poster thanks to simplistic folding techniques.

Bassodrome 2.0 - SUPERSUPER. - Design graphique, Grenoble, France:

This Mondrian inspired folded leaflet inspires me massively. I want my final leaflet design to incorporate similar characteristics. I like the idea of revealing information from unfolding the paper, and I need to research these types of folds a lot more to find something that suits my design process and represents my creative vision well. 

le depliant est tres intéressant, il est original, et nous reconnaissons bien cette palette de couleur qui a souvent été réutilisé.:
This leaflet uses a basic concertina folding technique but is content aware are therefore highly appropriate in this context. The gradual gradient works across the folds and opens up to reveal a panoramic bar of colour, the fold makes this leaflet very effective. 
.:* L - Love these Pantone Wall Calendars!! [found by Design Vagabond: "This calendar by Jonathan Davies captures the essence of each month through a gradient of color. A beautiful item to display even after the year is over."]:

This leaflet for UAL is very simple in its folding technique, but  uses interesting cutting methods to make the leaflet a bit more intriguing to read and interact with. I like its design and find it quite inspiring.

University of the Arts London - my design summer School. Creative graphic design!:


Ficciones Asiáticas  http://www.arcreactions.com/services/email-marketing/:

OUGD504 - Brief 01 - Design Process - Study Task 01

After today's introduction to the second year of the course and module briefing, we split off into groups to conduct a study task. In our groups, we devised two versions of a design process. The first sheet was filled with as many parts of the process as possible and the second sheet was much more organised and strict.

On the first sheet, we went about making the process as meticulous as possible, listing every detail to the collective process. We listed everything thinkable from getting out of bed to having a morning beverage to arriving at the destination and so on. We kept it quite light hearted because that is how we agreed we all work best through our processes as young designers. Part of my process is to constantly remind myself to not get too overly stressed and to just take things with a pinch of salt. I think that being flexible and laid back is the key to producing your best work and that is something that is integral to my process as a practising student of graphic design. It was very interesting doing this group process, because I discovered that a lot of people have very different processes to myself. That is what I enjoy about being on the course, you get to work and interact with people who approach the briefs in many varied ways and I constantly find myself learning from my peers.

The study task asked us to create a rough infographic diagram which illustrated our 'design process' as a group of students. We broke our second sheet down into five key areas, and below the key areas there are several components that make up the entire design process. So we had, BRIEF> RESEARCH> INITIAL IDEA/CONCEPT GENERATION> DEVELOPMENT> PRODUCTION. We all identified the need to constantly be critical in our evaluation of the work we are doing and to always ask yourself exactly why it is you are doing the thing you are doing throughout the development of the project. We thought that a few nice illustrations would support our list like structure well. Personally I think we should have designed our process more like a flowchart or something along those lines, however I and the group all agreed that lists are more easy to follow and interpret.


Other groups took similar approaches in terms of describing the process as a set of steps, rather strict and pretty efficient. At first I didn't think I would be able to follow these models but after sitting through the group presentations I saw how relatable and logical some of the processes are. I found it interesting that each group shared many similarities. It just goes to show that as a collective group of students we all go through similar processes in order to complete set briefs, but at the same time, we all do things slightly differently to suit our needs and creative voices.




This group shared similar processes to mine, and their main emphasis was on asking WHY all of the time, which I thought was really good. Always going back to WHY greatly improves and informs the design process in my opinion. 


Further examples of design process info-graphics found on various design blogs:

THE DESIGN PROCESS Infographic by Noura Assaf via Behance. If only organization process diagrams could be done so informative and visual:







OUGD504 - Brief 01 - Design Process

The Studio Brief:

During this week you will design and produce a folded leaflet entitled "The Design Process" that describes your understanding of the design process and specifically how this is applied to design problems. This assignment will allow you to explore the nature of design at an increasingly commercial level while also exploring creative approaches to leaflet design and folding.

This brief is only one week long and therefore will be very intensive. You will be given support by your tutors in the form of crits and tutorials while studio tasks will focus on aspects related to constructing and designing leaflets. You will be expected to explore and experiment with paper and card stock: folding techniques and styles; and graphic concepts and communication. Your progress, developments and creative decisions should be documented in your studio blog.

At the end of the week you will present your final leaflet design and plan for print to the rest of the group. You will receive feedback and points to consider during this final crit.

You are graphic designers; everything you produce should be designed, considered and effective. You need to be in complete control, even if it's carefully arranged to look casual! Don't ignore your knowledge of layout but expand upon it!

Leaflets are ubiquitous! They are a favoured medium for many businesses and organisations for delivering information to customers and clients. Most commercial printers will offer at least some leaflet printing/folding services while others will offer more complex and sophisticated folding and printing packages. Therefore it is important to consider not only the potential of leaflet design but also the financial and practical limitations.
The design process: In developing your understanding of the design process at an increasingly professional level you will show that you have considered the financial, practical and time-based concerns in regards to leaflet design.

The broad conceptual over view of how design goes through a process from brief to final result.  What leads up to a series of events that result in a final realised concept? The process of folding the stock is in itself a design process.
What is the generic design process that works and can be applied to a wide range of real life design situations?

How do I display this information? Info-graphics, flowcharts, bullet points, questions and answers, yes/no answers, chatter box, series of Q&A’s, photography and image, type and image or pure type?

Other's interpretations of what ‘The Design Process’ can mean:

The Design Process
1. Identify a Need.
Identify a Need or Purpose in a given situation.
2. Design Brief.
Produce a short Design Brief.
3. Tasks Schedule.
List all major areas of work and allocate times and deadlines.
4. Analysis of Brief.
Look at the Brief and produce a list of research questions.
5. Research.
Identify and collate information only relevant to the Analysis of Brief.
6. Specification.
Produce a list of design requirements found from research relevant to the Brief.
7. Generate Ideas.
Generate a range of different possible solutions satisfying the Specification.
8. Choose Solution.
Produce a solution to the Brief using the Specification and your Generated Ideas.
9. Develop Solution.
Generate details necessary to make the solution.
10. Make Solution.
Produce the solution.
11. Test Solution.
Test your solution against the Brief and Specification.
12. Modify Solution.
List modifications to improve the solution's effectiveness.
13. Evaluation.
Evaluate the project against the Brief and Specification, giving recommendations.

We all require food and shelter at the basic level, but after that we want different things because we all have different life styles. People use manufactured products so that they can do things. As people get older they want different things. It is the role of the Designer to find out what people want and produce solutions to their problems. It is said that a large manufacturer designed and made a range of eggcups for the Asian market. If they had done their research they would have found out that Asian eggs would not fit. The Designer must also establish where this need exists.

People complain that the product they have just purchased does not do what they wanted it to do. The need of the consumer is not being met by the product. This is the starting point of many "new" designs. Manufacturers spend fortunes asking customers about their own and competitors products to see if they can alter an existing product by adding new features to boost flagging sales.

NEED: What the consumer wants. This need may be real or it may be dreamt up by marketing department.

DESIGN PROCESS IN SEVEN STAGES:
·        DEFINE
·        RESEARCH
·        IDEATE
·        PROTOTYPE
·        SELECT
·        IMPLEMENT
·        LEARN

For me, this very simplified design process makes the most sense for me. I tend to work pretty quickly and abstractly. I didn't really consider myself to have a specific or regimented 'design process' as such before receiving this brief, but after doing some initial research and mind mapping I realised of course that I do have a unique design process. 

I thought it would be a good idea to find some info-graphic images which illustrate other people's ways of interpreting what a design process is and can be. This secondary research was used to inform the study task which I did in the afternoon session.





http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/design-methods-step-1-discover