OUGD203 - Design Practice, Collaborative Project, Evaluation

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

This project was designed to develop our collaborative skills. I have found that working with a partner, that I was able to choose, has been a really good experience, and I have really enjoyed having someone to work along side with. Working with a partner has developed my communication skills, which is important for all aspects of design.
We used a range of software within our design work. My InDesign skills have really improved with this project; we designed the booklet using InDesign and also used it to do most of our back to back printing; something I have always found really hard to get right!

My general development process skills have improved, and I have found myself working harder because there is someone else relying on your design work. Because we were intending to produce several outcomes to the brief, it meant that our time had to be really well planned. With two people working on a brief it can be hard to divide the work up, and make sure both people pull their weight. Our organisational skills were really good from day one, we kept a record of what we needed to do, and discussed the work we needed to complete at home before the next day. This meant that we were both doing an equal share of the work, and keeping up to date with our time plan.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

We thoroughly researched the National Portrait Gallery before we decided on what sort of outcomes to produce. We wanted to make sure that we had the right tone of voice, but were also putting engaging and interesting work out there. We used the internet, and primary research from the gallery to inform us about the client. We also looked at the way other art institutions advertise themselves, and drew inspiration from some of these methods.
Once we had decided the outcomes we wanted to produce, we researched existing versions of each of these, to find out what worked and what didn’t. Our main methods of research were internet based, and primary research of collecting examples of our intended outcomes.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

The success of this brief is mainly down to our partnership. I found that it really helped working with someone that I could talk, and have discussions with, without the fear that we would argue. We both have strong opinions, but we made sure that these were talked about rather than forced upon one another. I have really enjoyed working with someone who takes equal pride in her work, and is dedicated to the project – I don’t think I could have asked for a better partner.
I think that having someone to work along side, and keep you motivated has really helped our design work. The designs we produce all have a strong National Portrait Gallery element and feel to them, but we have tried to make a bit more interesting and engaging. I feel that we have produced some really strong pieces from this brief due to the amount of time we were able to spend on each element. We were able to screen print a small part of the invitation, and physically make every element of the mailshot, of which each was completed to a high standard and designed in keeping with the rest of the pieces.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

I think that the initial YCN brief was quite restrictive in what we were able to do with the brand. We knew from the beginning that changing perceptions was going to be a challenge, and it didn’t help that the gallery gave us a set colour palette and few images to work with. The overall tone of voice was very hard to change; we would have liked to produce something that may have been a bit more exciting or amusing.

5. Identify four things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
I would have liked to spend a bit more time at the gallery, finding out about what people in the local area think about it, and what would make them want to visit. It would have been helpful to be able to conduct questionnaires or research within the gallery.
I would have liked to have been more experimental with the design work. The limitations of the brief were a problem, and I would like to produce some work that brakes the brief and goes beyond what the gallery wanted.
Make sure that we make the most of facilities within the college. I think there are several facilities that we could have utilised better; screen print, and the digital print facilities ‘downstairs’.
I think that we could have asked for more feedback from our peers. It would have been helpful to get a bit more out of the crits we had, everyone was a bit ‘oh that sounds good’, and there was not much to take away from them.


6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas:

5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor

Myself
Attendance 4
Punctuality 4
Motivation 4
Commitment 4
Quantity of work produced 3.5
Quality of work produced 3
Contribution to the group 4

Partner
Attendance 4
Punctuality 5
Motivation 4
Commitment 4
Quantity of work produced 4
Quality of work produced 4
Contribution to the group 4

Final Submission...

These are the board layouts for our YCN submission. There are 5 boards in total, each one showing a different element of the mail shot package.

Finished Guide Book...

These are the finished page layouts for the guide booklet that would be sent out with the mail shot. We wanted to make the pages eye catching and colourful. The guidebook example we have as research is very plain, the pages are off white with coloured title boxes (which are quite bright) but we wanted to make the overall booklet look more exciting - so we have made the pages coloured and the boxes white with a grey title. We have used 4 colours, that we chose from the colour pallet we were give. These four colours complement each other, and are tonally similar. The purple and blue pages are 40% tint, the teal and green are 60% tint - we decided that the full 100% for all the colours was much to dark for full page colour, and would detract from the information and images.

Guide booklet content...

We decided early on that we wanted produce the guide book for the Pop-in Portraits event. Obviously the booklet needs content information, rather than just the layout being designed; so, we have decided to come up with the basic idea for what would be in the book, and include as much information as we can.

These are some of the titles we have come up with for the bite-sized (20-30 minute) tours that we would like to organise for lunchtime and early evening:

Shadows, Models and Muses, Urban Scenes, Romatic Portraits, Perfect Pictures, Royal Reception, Explorers, Transport and Vehicles, Royalty, Celebrity and Scandal, Musicians, Medicine, Engineering, Family Portraits, Formal Photography, Religion,
Military,

Mailshot...

We have decided on a net to use for our mailshot. We really like that the base of the box folds out to be 'something else' that is flat - this means we have another element to include in the mailshot - yay!
Anyway this is the net for the base of the mailshot, and an example of what the overall mail shot with look like.

Floorplans...

We've started to organise the information we need to put into the mailshot and the guide book. For one of the elements we need floorplans, but the maps provided on the website are too poor quality. So, I have spent AGES making vector images of these maps so that we can scale them up and down easily, and use them within our print based material. We decided to stick with the same colours that the original maps used, as these are used for signage around the gallery.

Poster Development...

Over the weekend I produced these mock ups of some of the ideas Emma and I have been discussing for the poster layout. We have been trying to focus on getting the required information across, and trying to keep the design and layout as simple as possible. The images below are all ideas that can be used on the London Underground and bus stop advertising spaces.

Final logo design...

Final logo design for the "coffee and culture" material.

What we are designing...

1. Poster; a. London underground
b. Bus stops
c. Mail shot contents

2. Postcards; a. promotional handout/mail shot content
b. mail shot content - several designs

3. Mail shot packaging; a. to be posted

4. Guide booklet; a. mail shot content
b. available in gallery

5. Full page "press release" for newspapers

6. Napkin; a. available in cafe for use on return visit

Our Rationale...

Background
The National Portrait Gallery is looking to encourage local business workers and residents to make “pop-in” visits to the gallery, and improve their brand image. NPG regard their brand as “welcoming, inclusive, fresh, inspiring and enriching”, and want the campaign to have a “warm, clear, informative, accessible as well as, lively and stimulating” tone of voice.

Concept & Proposition
We want to encourage more visits to the NPG by advertising and using promotional packs in the local vicinity, by targeting businesses and frequenters of the area. We feel that using the advertising opportunities that are readily available in London is the best way to reach commuters and those travelling by public transport. We want to produce a range of work that would be suitable for use in newspaper supplements or local publications; as well as posters, leaflets, postcards etc. The ideal way of providing individuals with information, and motivation to visit the NPG is by packaging it together, and distributing it as a mail shot type promotion.

From discussing this brief we have found that the implementation of our work is going to be the main element of persuasion. Therefore, we need to come up with strong design solutions that can be implemented across arrange of formats and media.

Considerations
The brief has dictated our target audience of 20 – 35 year olds that frequent the area around the NPG, such as Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, Soho, The Strand and Whitehall, who possibly work in media or creative industries, and are culturally aware. These types of people will be professionals that either travel through the area, or work and study nearby.

We know that we are working for YCN and NPG, and will need to adhere to their specified deliverables. We may wish to create more design solutions that are not directly related to this brief, but would be relevant to our college assessments.

Deliverables
YCN & NPG – Deadline Wednesday 25th March 1pm
• Artwork mounted on boards (A3 size, suitable for posting)
• All material must be clearly labelled
• Any additional support material must be A3 or smaller, and bound.

College – Deadline Tuesday 31st March 1pm
• 3-5 A2 boards demonstrating the research, development and resolution of the brief
• Additional support work must also be submitted
• All individual blog addresses must be provided

Plan for the weekend...

Today we drew up our rationale for the National Portrait Gallery brief, if I do say so myself it sounds rather good. We also collated the research we have collected in the past couple of days. As we don't have any proper studio time until tuesday, we have drawn up a plan for the main things that we need to do over the weekend:
1. Initial design ideas for posters and other advertising
2. Research content for the leaflet - relevant information
3. Update our blogs with relevant information about the development process
4. Concept ideas - tours, workshops etc
5. Communicate findings
6. Logo design for 'Coffee and Culture', 'Pop-in Portraiture', 'Bite-sized...'

National Portrait Gallery...

We have been given the choices for our collaborative brief, and I have picked the National Portrait Gallery brief. We have had to choose a creative partner, mine is Emma Sunderland - her blog is linked over there -->
We decided to work together because we both wanted to do the NPG brief, we're good enough friends to be honest when we think an idea is a genuinely bad, and we both have a strong work ethic, and know that we'll both put in the hard work required. I really can't wait to work with her, I love her design work, and the fact that she makes me laugh a lot, so this brief should be a lot of fun!

We've had a good think about what we want to do for this brief, and realised that the NPG are quite strict with their design work. We have decided that utilising the advertising opportunities that are already available in London city centre is probably the best idea - e.g. posters on the underground and bus stops. We are also thinking of adverts in newspapers (such as the metro) and using the Sunday newspaper supplements. We are considering postcards and leaflets, that would give short snippets of information, and could be used as a promotion, and we are also planning on designing the guide book with all the information about bite sized visits to the gallery.

We have planned out what we actually need to do, which includes;
Research into existing advertising for galleries, and advertising in London city centre which includes formats and costs.
Developing design ideas, whilst evaluating them throughout the process and finding a good combination of image and information.

Hello...

Hello and welcome to yet another Butterflies blog! This blog is for my final module, of my second year at Leeds Art. This blog is designed to document my progress the whole way through this final module, which will consist of one collaborative brief, and several other competition briefs. I am looking forward to doing lots of things at once, it will test my multitasking skills to the limit, hooray!