WHAT IS GOOD?// Logo Concept

I want the UKSA logo to be re-branded as a much more respectful and scientific institution. One that makes it clear that they are pushing progress forwards and have a real importance. I find the current logo to be way to naive and over the top,  patriotic but in a horrible trashy bulldog sort of way.

I started with experimenting with shapes. I thought that this could represent a scientific diversity, by knocking out holes in the shapes I tried to make the letters UKSA. This was not a total failure and I do really like the way the triangle has become and 'A' although some more work could be done to improve the shape. The other letters are too abstract and I will design them from scratch in illustrator.

This is a screen capture of how my UKSA logo came about, what I have tried to do is have one bendy shape followed by a triangle; in the U and the K and then repeat that with the S and the A. I thought that this would allow for some level of symmetry or rhythm in the text based logo, whilst making it pretty good to look at.

I then knocked out a hole in each letter. This was originally only going to be the A however that would unbalance the whole logo so I took a slice out of each. This allows the K to look much more like a K should and does not really effect the U or the S aesthetically. What I liked about the logo at this stage was that it was becoming to look pretty 'space-age' a sort of retro vision of the future that still looks very appropriate today. A have also experimented with the weight of the lettering here although I will probably stick with the original.

I just mocked up up this example of how a letterhead could look with this new logo. The logo could be scaled up of down and create a heirachy on the page. I have also tested out if writing the agencies full name beneath would be suitable for the letterhead. It would be good to assume that with the new branding this sort of confirmation of the name would not be needed.

To go with the text based logo I have designed this simple badge logo. This involves a large body of mass in space trapping another body in its orbit. By incorporating this simple piece of space physics in to the logo design there is no question as to what industry the UKSA operates in. The logo os very visually recognisable and really fits with the text logo at its centre.

This is a mock up of how the front cover for the identity guide could look. I have decided that the large circular logo should be the UKSA primary logo and the smaller text based logo can be used for secondary purposes or wherever the circular logo is not suitable. Having these two logos that are largely the same will allow them to be applied to a huge range of products and real world applications.

OUGD 503 Module Evaluation

The module as a whole has been mixed for me. At some points I have found topics which really interest me almost impossible to work on and at the same time I’ve found that some of the most boring briefs have resulted in the most imaginative ideas, and the best design work.

Being able to choose my own briefs was a great opportunity for me to try out a wide range of industries I could potentially work in, from a business consultancy to an indie film-maker to a soda company. This has informed me in many ways as to what sort of companies I want to work for in the future instead of just what I want to do right now, although having said that I do feel like I would have been more motivated to work and happier doing said work if I had just picked design briefs I knew I would enjoy. This is my main regret from this brief, that I didn’t just use it to do some fun projects well instead of experimenting with industries.

One of the best parts of working with all these different types of people has been the types of feedback given for my work, this has really expanded my knowledge on how to deal problems and improve my design for people who aren’t designers for a change. For example in our studio crits someone might say that your kerning is wrong or that a grid is 2px out, both valid points. However feedback from actual clients can lead to total work overhauls, which really makes designing more dynamic and fun, as well as (usually) pushing my design in the right direction. I have also gained confidence in talking to clients openly about work and how to argue in favour of my design to someone who doesn’t understand what you are talking about. Another advantage to working for real clients is the added pressure to perform and get it right first time. This is increased if money is involved and I have found myself producing work that would often take me a day to organise usually in about an hour.

Due to the fl uid and fast paced nature of the work I have experienced, this module has taught me a much faster technique to finishing design work and generating ideas that I can carry over into other parts of the course. Also during Fedrigoni I started actually working as hard as I could, instead of doing things as easily as I can, this has improved my confidence in the work I do, and once we start the next brief I feel like I will finally start getting things done again.

The Fedrigoni brief was by far the most successful project I have worked on during this module.  I think a lot of this was down to trying to keep Ste happy with the progress we where making, as I’m usually only accountable for my-self on these projects, this time I had to make sure myself and Ste did well. The other reason Fedrigoni was so successful is down to the way we structured the whole project, starting with research and development, then planning the work and design together and actually finishing with a made product instead of just mock ups and images. Ste and I also worked well together as a team, and any disagreement was met with a good solution instead of going forward with either of us unhappy. The only thing we may have compromised for was deciding to make two books so that we could each do a design. This decision was probably a bad idea at first, however we did make two books instead of one in the end and they work great as a set. It also got us working faster and allowed us to diversify our ideas for the better. The Fedrigoni brief also allowed us to experiments with a huge range of off-screen processes including laser cutting, bookbinding and embossing as well as pushing our time management skills to their absolute limit.

Research and contextualisation of the graphic design I was doing on this brief operated at different levels from project to project. Fedrigoni and Lego for example required a large amount of research and planning to even get going, whilst some projects, especially ones for new brands, could be complete in a day after looking at a few competitors in the market and planning how to go forward from there. I also managed to gather research from a range of sources. The library was invaluable for the Fedrigoni brief and provided all the research we needed on paper crafting, both in terms of manufacture and for new ideas. Again I got a large amount of the information I needed quickly off the internet, especially during Easter when a good number of research books are not close by. I also visited the Design Museum which was interesting, helped with the more contextual side of my development but didn’t actually provide any solid research.

This module has provided many challenges to overcome and meet head on. Having time to experiment with a range of briefs has been extremely useful for my development as a designer, especially with the interesting problems that live design briefs throw up. In the future I need to keep the same output as I managed on the Fedrigoni brief if I want to do well on this course.

RESPONSIVE REPORT AND EVALUATION

FEDRIGONI RESPONSIVE// My Contribution to the Fedrigoni Brief/ DESIGN SHEETS

3D VA ICONS RESPONSIVE// Submission and Evaluation

The client indicated that he wanted something that would fit with windows newer redesign, as his software will run on windows only. This lead me to produce all 19 icons as vectors in very simple colours, a dark grey is used for the icon and an electric blue for any accents or decoration on each one. Of course I didn’t have to use any colours at all, the brief stated minimal colours, however indicated that something a little different from the standard icons used traditionally would be nice. I created each icon from scratch with what I thought each one should represent, I did get feedback to change a few, usually due to over-complication, which I re-designed immediately. I really enjoyed working on this project in particular becuase I felt at home making these icons and using the terminology associated, something that I can say I understand well. Hopefully this is the sort of knowledge that can set me apart from other designers in the future. I came a close second in this competition after a lot of dialogue with the client which indicated that I was close but just not quite there. Having seen the winning submission the client has ended up going for a slightly more old-school icon set, with shading on the icons etc. If anything I am learning that I should have pushed the client harder for more information on how to improve the design, although I will never know for sure the exact process he used for choosing. The icons should really express what they mean in a simple way, and that’s exactly what working at this size is all about, to improve these icons I needed to go back and refine them down to even simpler shapes and perhaps make the colours bolder. I enjoyed working at this size as it was a real challenge, I created many different versions of each icon in the process of designing them and it came fairly naturally to me. The icons do work well at their 16px and 24px sizes, so I would label this brief as a successful one.

3D VA ICONS RESPONSIVE// Feedback and Changes

I received this feed back for the Icons brief. I managed to sort out the blurriness by turning the .png files settings to transparency when saving. This is the great thing about the live briefs in this module, they allow you to receive no-nonsense feedback from someone who has a real opinion, and a vested interest in you getting the design right.

This is an image comparing the old and the new symbols, I switched the shaded triangle shape for a light-bulb as was suggested by the client and the textured icon for a paintbrush. The paintbruch is something that I thought represented the texture tool as it is essentially the tool which paints your models with a colour or image. 

I sent the client this 'Revised Version' design sheet with the Icons enlarged for clear viewing and at there correct size for screen.

3D VA ICONS RESPONSIVE// First Set

This is the design sheet which I have sent to the client for the 3D Viewer Application Icons Set. I have laid out the icons at thier actual size at the top and at a preview size in the middle. At the bottom of the page I have added a white on grey version of the logos, partly for decoration and partly as an example of how they still work as icons at this level. I'm very happy with this submission, and the project has given me a chance to try something out that I have never done before. Icon design is something that I take for granted every day when I use design software, so I guess I could appreciate the level of functionality needed in design at this scale. I thought that I should add some decoration  so with the use of simple colours and shapes, these icons try to be slightly unconventional versions of other softwares counterparts, whilst still being identified as the button for the action they need to express.

3D VA ICONS RESPONSIVE// Brief and Ideas

Create 19 Icons for use in a 3D viewer applications. Design 16 for the main workspace at 16x16px in RGB colour and three for use in the simulator at 24x24px in greyscale. The application is a general-purpose tool to quickly inspect 3D models, targeting hobbyist and professional 3D artists as well as developers working with 3D graphics.

The main task here is to not create anything that looks the last generation of toolbar icons and software like this is very prone to fall into this category. My task is to produce something which is much more up to date and can really utilise the newer generation of screens that 3D artists will be using by now as standard. However the size of the icons will still be set to 16x16px so I need to take great care to balance style with functionality, which will be key to winning this brief.

This image shows some development of ideas from left to right. These are not the final outcomes, just some idea I have been having as to how the icons are going to look.

DOS VECES RESPONSIVE// Submission and Evaluation

This poster plays on the theme of the title ‘Dos Veces’ as well as peace and war, be it in a revolution or a relationship. The hand is raised to show the number two -or- the peace sign depending on which way you look at it. This play on imagery and words should get the audience thinking about the themes and topics explored in the film itself. The poster was initially quite cheerful, however I have added a cracked concrete backdrop and some 50’s style revolutionary/ Cuban imagery to create a more stoic atmosphere. I have also added some bold text over the top in a classic Cuban style, the text repeats itself at the bottom of the page in a broken up format which is a very popular style within graphic design at the moment. Again the repetition of the text is a play on the title too. I think the poster has been very successful based on what the clients brief outlined. The Cuban imagery is strong and the poster reflects the duality of the film. The criticism that I got back from the client for this project is that the poster needs to be more ‘Hollywood’ than ‘Art-House’, although I still think the nature of the film plays into having a more conceptual poster the client wants me to produce another one with some stills from his film at a later date. To take this further it would be great to print the poster in a traditional way, perhaps with big colour plates followed by a screenprinted hand on top.

DOS VECES RESPONSIVE// Poster Part 2

I have continued from the poster I put together in Illustrator and here have applied some photoshop effects in a bid to make it more appetising to the film industry which the client is part of. The theme is suppose to be Cuban-Miami in a 'Stoic Style', which is a heavy contradiction between perceived culture and the felling they want me to portray. The Idea of layering some effects on top of the poster is to add this stoic emotion to the design, as the design underneath is fairly optimistic.

With the addition of the burnt and scratched effects I have also torn up the poster at the edges in an attempt to make it appear like an original 50s or 60s poster for some South American revolutionary movement. Although the new effects add a bit more character and Hollywood to the posters they are still too happy and optimistic for the film which sets quite a melancholic tone...

This is a problem which I have tries to fix here with the ramped up distress on the posters and a broken texture to the background. This cracked and decrepit concrete texture is the wall which the man's hand is waving in front of, I think this adds more depth and drama to the poster. The colouration is also much darker and more saturated to reflect the emotion of the film and is dark themes. The changes also transform the meaning of the peace sign into a more futile attempt compared to the older posters where the hand signal was more optimistic. Here its appears as a more distant hope for peace rather than a powerful proclamation.