PPD Presentation

After todays presentation i have had a sort of wake up call.

Iv realised after last weeks session, i still haven't really decided on the kind of designer i am! I really struggled last week as there are so many areas of interest that i wanted to look into, but now i have finally realised that even if i have an interest in some areas it doesn't mean i have to develop in it!

for example, i'm really interest in branding, i think its important part of design and something that would be useful, but as everyone keeps saying, you don't want to be 'a jack of all trades and a master of none' so now its about realising where my skills lye.

I know that this is what Fred has been trying to drill in to us for the past few weeks but for some reason it clicked today, so i need some major rethinking.


I think my fear is that if i start narrowing down my practice im going to miss out on something, and think maybe iv make a mistake and should have chosen to look into a different area. I do envy designs with one straightforward approach and know what they want, but the fact of the matter is i enjoy designing for a lot of areas. I feel like I'm still learning.




After the panic was over i have been back to my briefs and i have re written my umbrella statement. 

Astronomy - further experimenting

Simply adding the type and image together. Its really starting to take shape in terms of an instant visualisation of astronomy.

Astronomy - Space type

This project is going to be heavily based on type, not just all the body copy but as part of the visuals so I have been experimenting with the word 'space' (to begin with) to see what i could come up with.

These are a few of the ones that i think are more successful.
although this isnt legible, i still like the idea of it and using a grid based around the orbit circles of planets. This could be incorporated into the design of a page easily.

This type gives a very retro feel, even though i really like this, im not sure that it is appropriate to the designs of the star pack. But this could possibly work for any posters or visuals like that rather than in a information booklet.

Again this is a bit of a retro look but could be developed and used.

One of my pet hates is when people stretch and distort text in designs, but this dose rather remind me of that. However it could be appropriate with some development as its based again around the orbit circles.

Developing the above type i cut this font out of circles so you still get that orbit feel but it doesn't look stretched and distorted. This really works in with the circle shapes im using for the planets.

Astronomy - cut out planets

Iv been experimenting with simple shapes and layout. How a circle can become a planet just by its layout.
I have chose to work with black and blue with white stock so the colours are very simple but will be effective in making this pack coherent and visually attractive.

These layouts are just initial thoughts on how to represent the solar system, so a quick setup and 'snap' to get the idea across.

Astronomy - Initial design

Well I didn't want to fall into the similar trap of researching loads of secondary work for weeks before touching any people, so i delved straight in and started laying out some work. 

Starting with paper to look at layout I was looking at the relation of type to image for the front cover. As i am not an illustrator, the imagery is very simple but i don't want it to be lost within the design.

This piece is to unfinished for the approach i am going for but its a good starting point for how the front cover of the information book can draw impact.

From this initial crafted cover i developed it in illustrator for soemthing a bit more finalised. However this is to clean and crisp for the approach i want. Iv made it all digital and lost the crafted feel. Aiming for somewhere in between .

Astronomy

This is the first brief that i have decided to take forward for the next 2 months. Its based on Astronomy as i'm really interested in it myself. When i was 11 my dad bought me a 'Star Pack' from 'Royal Greenwich Observatory' and this began my love of Astronomy (even if i do get it mixed up with Astrology).

However i did loose interest in the pack soon after as it was to heavy on the information and very few visuals, and i didn't understand most of the terminology. But within the pack you got a selection of star cards that marked out the stars in the sky and their names. This was brilliant and I really enjoyed identifying starts. With this you got a log book so that you could record which stars you saw and when. 

I have written this brief to re design this pack and up date it. I'm going to produce a pack for kids 9-12 that gets them excited about space while learning about it. 

Started to brain strom some ideas on what sort of outcomes i want to produce and will be appropriate. I want this to be quite a big project as its the one i'm looking most forward to resolving. 

Personal Identity

Over the summer i have been working on my personal identity and own branding, you can see the development on my PPD blog but here are my final products.

First thing was to design a logo which i wanted very simple and clever and type based, but still something fun which is why I used yellow, plus it being a fresh and happy colour.

The next think i did was apply it to a website which again i wanted to look a bit different and a bit more fun. This is what my project page will look like, very simple and very easy to use.

And of course the business card was next. This was difficult that I thought but I'm very happy with the end result.

This image is a proof of the cards and will be printed to a professional standard and on a suitable stock, and then i will get another photo up here, but for now. . .

This is the final printed card and pinned up to our studio walls. The colour isn't captured well when i photography it as its a lot more vibrant than the image below.

10 Briefs

Open publication - Free publishing - More graphic design

My Umbrella Statment

" Content driven designer dealing with print based layout, typography and packaging for a young audience"

This mornings session was focusing in on our statement describing ourselves as a designer. We had to come up with a short statement that would cover all our areas of interest.
I found this really hard as i am still interested in a wide variety of design and still want to develop my skills into more areas. My personal views of designers is that there are two types, those who clients hire for their specific style and approach and so are looking for their certain look. Then there are the designers who are invisible, those who can produce whatever the clients want.
But i think this statement is a good start in showing who i am as a designer and this process did make me really think about what i am good at.


We got in to groups within the class again and went through our 'wants' and 'dont wants' statements and our umbrella statement. We then had to ask questions that would help to narrow things down.

Questions for me.

• Is there anything specific in the software's that you want to expand on?
• What are the reasons you want to develop your software skills more?
• You need to define your 'young audience' more
• Which specific hand printing techniques do you want to specifically develop on?
• What exactly is a professional portfolio?
• Is it necessary to develop skills designing for web if you are also focus on hand made approach?
• Why would you never work for corporate companies?
• Which specific publications do you want to be designing for?
• What contexts do you see your layout and type designs being in?
• Look into experimental printing techniques.
• What is the link between your hand made approach and the editorial side to your design? Can these work together successfully?
• Why do you like hand printing techniques?

Rational Writing and Statement of intent

Second day back and we are concentrating on writing our rational and statement of intend for the year ahead of us.
First task was to write down 'what do you want to do' and then'what do you not want to do' and it was a lot harder than i though it was going to be.

What do i want to do?

-Have a professional standard portfolio.
To show the standard and variety of work i am producing to potential employees and clients.

-Gain experience in the editorial and print industry.
To get an understanding of these industry's and how they work. Also experience the process in which they work and the standard of work.

- Become more capable with hand printing techniques.
To become more independent when printing and to understand the process more so that I can know their full potential and the limits within.

- Develop skills in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.
I know the basic skills to use these specific software's but i don't understand their full potential and so i end up limiting myself when using these.

- Develop my skill within designing for web.
Designing for web is inevitable for the future and i want to get a head start. To successfully design for web i need to understand what is actually possible, understanding usability and the different languages of web developing.

- Keep my approach as a more hands on based designer.
They way i work best is starting with my hands and crafting and then later developing digitally. I sometimes get lazy or distracted and go straight into digital, which means my work is never as strong.


What do i not want to do?

- I don't want to work in animation.
I don't have a great understanding of the technical side of the software's you need for this, and there will never be a need for me to do it as there are people who excel at it.

- I don't want to produce corporate work.
I find that corporate companies produce work that is very simple and clean but actually very safe, I don't want to be restricted to producing the same sort of work day in day out.

- I don't want to design any narrative or characters.
My skills to not lie in creating character and personality and i find it hard to produce design on a time line.

- I don't want to work developing and coding design for the web.
I don't enjoy or understand the technical side of web design and when I need to build a site there are people who can produce this must faster and easier than I would

- I don't want to be an illustrator.
I can work with basic image but my drawing skills are not strong enough to support my work. I also enjoy working with type and layout much more.

New Beginnings

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible."
Arthur C. Clarke

Ok im feeling motivated.
This is the start of the 3rd year, the final year and the year to show who i am.