OUGD405 Overall Module Evaluation

Studio Brief 1 allowed for me to expand my knowledge on the use of subjectivity and objectivity in Graphic Design. The debate between Jan Van Toorn and Wim Crouwel forced me to consider whether or not I was approaching the design of the wayfinding system in an objective or subjective way and which one would suit my concept in the best way. The design of the wayfinding system allows for a person to understand how to successfully get from A to B and allows for an elements of subjectivity, resulting in an immersive experience. I found that in this studio brief, the research into existing wayfinding systems and a variety of artists helped me to develop a concept and deliver it in a suitable design style.

Based on in depth research, Studio Brief 2 required the development of something in a printed format that related to the object of choice. I feel as though I have responded to the brief and produced a concept that follows Pestalozzi principles which are to ‘always proceed gradually, cumulatively, and slowly’, shown by the large number of developments from initial ideas to the final outcome. If I were to improve any aspect of the Studio Brief, it would be to carry out more relevant artist research so that more of a variety of design approaches could be experimented with. A limitation to the final production of the product was having to use an existing cassette tape to show the concept of my design. The cases plastic became very scratched, something that wouldn’t happen if produced professionally.

Overall, I am pleased with the outcomes I produced, as I am confident that they respond to the briefs in the expected way, include all of the necessary deliverables and are developed and interesting concepts. The feedback has proven that the artist research into the particular topic leads to a more confident outcome and consistent design style, as there seemed to be a lot more development in Studio Brief 1 due to the large number of artist and other existing projects as inspirations. As a designer I would like to make sure that more time is designated to the research into artists and how they may approach the problem in a number of different ways, informing my own design decisions.

Studio Brief 2: Cover design development

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 1 shows an initial idea for the card design. It is a bar chart based on the structure of the song that was the top of the charts the year that the cassette was released. The sound wave line that is over the top of the bars could change colour depending on the theme of the cards that were in the particular pack. It has now developed and has taken one of the initial ideas of presenting the concept of an audio book and scanned it in in two different ways to see what patterns and texture could be created and used as a background. This idea was soon discarded as it did not fit with the design concept or visual style. The next design shows patterns that could be made based on the original method of book binding, but this was also discarded because the line work did not stand out enough against the other side of the card. A more geometric design needed to be developed so that it could also work as a branding logo for the concept. 

Another idea was to take the basic shapes of each of the parts of the cassette tape (fig. 2) and arrange them in different ways to create a pattern that works well as the design on the back of the cards. 

Based on research, the final pattern (fig. 3) is inspired by the work of Todd McLellan. He is an artist that takes and object apart and photographs each individual piece and presenting it all as a flat lay of them all together, but as separate pieces. 

Figure 4 shows the colours and the words and emotions often associated with each of them. Red was chosen to represent the literature theme because it best represents all of the different themes that can occur in a literature novel. 

Studio Brief 2: Final Mock up developments

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

The presentation of the final product is as important as the design, aiming for a professional finish means that everything such as background colour needs to be considered. 
Figure 1 shows the product in a wooden table, as if it was being played in context. This works well because it makes it look more real and shows how it would actually be used.
Figure 2 is presented on a red background, something that could be used to illustrate the theme of card it is, changing the background from red to green to blue. This concept works well, but the overall presentation looks very artificial.
The white background that has been used in figure 3 is the most common way to present a product. As the cards are black and white, this background colour does cause all of the focus to be on the actual product rather than the background.

Feedback suggested that Figure 1 was the most successful way to present the product, as it adds context and illustrates the fact that it is actually a game. 

Studio Brief 2: Final Crit

The final crit allowed us to present our developed ideas and get enough feedback so that the last few changes that we make will enhance the idea to its optimum potential. 

I took a mockup of my idea to the crit so that it was easier to explain rather than having it still on the computer. Having it like this also allowed me to directly draw onto the mock up so that I could easily narrate the changes that needed to be made. 

One thing to develop was the clinical aesthetic, something that is important for the modern interpretation, but the cassettes age needs to be reflected in a subtle way. It was suggested that the scanning in of paper could work well to add texture to the surface of the card, rather than the block colour. 
When discussing ways in which the different themes can be easily shown without changing the whole design each time, colour was decided to be the most effective thing to manipulate. Research into the colours and what they represent will help me to decide on the suitable colours for each of the genres. The sections of colour that will be changed will be the back of the cards, the 'grid' lines that are behind the writing and the details on the spine. 
The kerning of the sentences needs to be adjusted slightly so that it is a little less overpowering. Spacing the kerning out a little bit will make it fit in with the modern aesthetic and also easier to read. The idea behind it having the characteristics of an audio book is that it is a lot shorter and easier than reading the whole book. This means that the overall design style needs to avoid being complicated or misleading. Legibility is one element that will make the purpose of it being easily read well illustrated.
Trying to think of a suitable visually engaging bak page and overall theme for the design was proving hard as all of the novels are very different, so no particular theme could be focused on. The patterns of book bindings could form interesting patterns for the back of the cards. I need to develop a pattern that uses only two colours, the line work being in either black or white and then the background changing to suit the particular theme it is representing. I could also look at the patterns that I had developed using Microsoft word to see if any would be suitable for this concept. 

Final developments:
- off white paper
- different paper textures
- coloured lines to represent the particular genres
- wider kerning 
- pattern development
bound books as the pattern? or Microsoft word artwork? the pattern is the same throughout and it is the colour that now shows the different genres that are in the pack
- "why listen to the book when I can read short sentences?" relating to media and purpose of why it is aimed at the particular target audience 
- cards against humanity  - cards against literature, crime, classics, fiction etc. 

Studio Brief 2: Market research

The creation of a publication that would be appealing to the target audience of those of an age in education requires research into the popular aesthetics of publications that already exist. This understanding will allow me to design my 'audio book' cards in a way that the target audience will find appealing.

Observations:

• White and black are the main colours used for the pages and main colour from the colour scheme for each of the publications
• Bold typography
• Simple layouts
• Consistent aesthetic throughout 

Studio Brief 1: sal and evaluation

The wayfinding system has been designed so that it can successfully take someone from A to B. In Graphic design, there is the constant question of whether or not designers should be designing in a subjective or objective manner. The aim of this wayfinding system was to deliver an immersive experience for the users, sharing an insight into the previous mod subculture in Leeds. Similar to the work of Guy Debord, the map is designed in a way that allows for individual interpretations of the surroundings and the decisions on what way to go will be different for each person. Wim Crouwel believes that “as a designer [he] must never stand between the message and its recipient”, but this factor of the wayfinding system needs to allow for an element of subjectivity to reflect that the information on the Mod subculture is not completely factual, it is based on shared experiences.

The overall design of the wayfinding system follows the principles of objective Graphic Design, using a consistent visual concept so that the users can easily follow the directions and understand the concept that is being communicated.

The part of the brief that required a set of pictograms to be fully developed to represent each of the locations has been successfully achieved. The pictograms are designed in a consistent way to fit with the overall design style of the wayfinding system. The development of the final pictograms started with detailed line drawings and then removing lines and filling in sections lead to a fairly abstract interpretation of each of the locations. As all of the buildings being used have distinct features, the same design style could be applied to each of them without the user finding it difficult to guess which building is being represented.

A deliverable that confidently shows the concept of the wayfinding system is the 3D computer generated mock-up as it shows how the sign would look in context, the scale at which it would be and also the information that would be at the precise location.

The peer feedback critique highlighted that a limitation of the final outcome is the amount of locations that could be included in the wayfinding system. The way that the information was found out relied solely on people publishing their personal experiences in an online forum and images in an archive. With a longer amount of time, something could be developed so that the Wayfinding system could constantly be updated by everyone’s visit. The scanning of the QR code would be improved if once opened, people could add images or writing on their own experiences at the particular location. This further development would help to take the concept of interpretative experiences and user interactions and make it the most successful it could be.