OUGD603 & OUGD602 Extended Practice Reflection First CommercialChalkboard

I have recently done my first real life application chalkboard. There are a few things I have taken away from this. The major one is that I would like to do more of these. They are quite grueling, especiall when they are this size, but to step away at the end and know I did that with my hands and my mind and nothing else, is a wonderful feeling that I want to keep having.

There are also some tips that I want to employ next time I do one of these:

- Take breaks.

I did seven hours solid work on this including the clean down and by the end my hands were shaking with exhaustion. I need to learn that pausing for a sip of coffee is not a break.

-Do exercises both for your back and hands.

Again, this is just a tiering process, you really can't sit in the same awkward attitude for too long without it having a negative affect.

-Stay flexable.

No matter how carefully you plan the board it will always slightly fluctuate due to something unforseen, don't worry bout these changes too much, they make the board what it is.

I am going on to approach more independent cafes about chlkboards and this time I am going to be brave and ask for payment!

OUGD602 PPP Organising and Planning Around all Modules

It has been slowly creeping up on me, just how much I am going to have to juggle this year, no one is going to chase me to be organised and I need to take control now before it is too much to take control of.

So, I have started to use my calendar app as a separate thing to my google calendar and college workshops and classes. This way it looks far more manageable and I prefer having timetables college events separate to the work I need to do in my own time.

I started with a google docs to split down the work in each module that I need to do and then colour coded for urgency (the scary thing is the pink is stuff that needs doing this month). This is a document that will change as the year progresses but it is a good starting point for a working doc.

At the beginning of each day I look at my two calendars and put together a to do list.

The main aspects of this to do list are then colour coded by module relivance and written into my dairy. Hopefully this system of multiple formats reminding me to do things will stop me from forgetting anything. It only takes 5 mins in the morning to sort out now that it is up and running so, let the trial period commence!

OUGD502 PPP 02 Making Contacts

Over the last couple of months I have become increasingly aware of the fact that I need some work experience this summer. Although I have got the green light from parallel magazine, they are still evasive about time and place. So, I have made a few more contacts in the hope that they may evolve into something more.

After hearing about Solid Block in Norwich During a PPP talk about linked in and LCA alumni I gave them a call and asked about whether they would be open to taking someone on for a few weeks over the summer. They said they are not planning to but if I send my portfolio (which I do not have yet) over in pdf format and they would go from there. They seemed very positive and welcoming so once I have the portfolio after PPP submission I will send it over.

I also realised that I wanted to look into specific production methods as well because learning a specific craft really well could be very useful. Letter press is something that I am desperate to learn well. So, I looked around north norfolk and admittedly there was very little in the way of presses. Looking around leeds and west yorshire produced phylecia Sutherland. She designs and prints at home with letterpress equipment. I sent her an email just to see if she wanted to meet up for a coffee, because just talking to her about what she does would be fascinating.

OUGD502 PPP 2 Campaign piece for Students Union Communications Officer

For my campaign visuals I used some chalk board lettering to communicate a condensed slogan version of my manifesto. A chalk board seemed apt because of its integral connotations of education and the way it allowed me to produce something by hand which helps to communicate my hands on approach to design and therefore how I would approach the role of communications officer. I have created small square flyers and larger posers from this lettering as well as using it online. Because of its square shape it is perfect for instagram and facebook as well as print outcomes. 

I also spent some time writing up my manifesto. I didn't want to have something preachy and all about how I am amazing. So, I focused on a conversational tone of voice and just wrote what I felt would appeal to me and I think it worked out well.

Hiya!

I am a second year Graphic design student. I suppose it might be strange that I choose to define myself by my discipline, but I am one of those painfully nerdy people that is a sickening try hard when it comes to what I do, and I am good at what I do. Although, there is always that voice that says I could do more. And that’s exactly what I want to do with the communications officer post: do more. Go beyond the basic add, classic poster design and create work that is befitting of an art college. By these means I hope to have all of the executive SU posts contested next year.

But, I love design. Most of all I love the people behind design. I love the energy of creative collaboration and the incredible work it leads to. This is what this opportunity is to me: a chance to meet and work with some inspiring people, including the student body. As the audience for all the work I will produce, I am working with and for you too. I couldn’t think of a more interesting or exciting audience to work with and I hope you will give me the chance to push the boundaries of communication design with you.

It must have done because I am now officially the communications officer and am looking forward to next years excitements.

OUGD502 OUGD503 REsponsive Brief 02 Collaborative Practice Reflection and Formative Evaluation of Self

I have been working with Roz on a D and AD brief for the second part of our responsive module. I have really enjoyed our idea generation and the positive energy we always get from working with one another. However, I have noticed that in comparison with Roz I am a much slower worker. This is always the way I have worked. I like to spend time sweating the details and crafting something. As this project progresses I realise more and more that this is not feasible for commercial practice and I need to speed up on all fronts. Roz is helping with this and we have an open dialogue on the subject (in any collaboration communication is key) slowly but surely I aim to improve this part of my design practice and I will monitor it in the coming briefs.

OUGD503 Responsive Leeds Arts Party Flyer for Showcase Evaluation and Reflection

Evaluation:

Using hand draw lettering in this brief was a justified decision in the fact that it communicated a hand crafted more human approach which fits with the message of the arts party. However, in this situation I am uncertain about how effectively it has worked in situ. I am uncertain why this is but it could be the hand drawn type on top of hand drawn type, too much perhaps. Through the development of the design I have learned about the aesthetic that the arts party wants to create and how I can best achieve this. Mostly through the use of colours it seems, although the colours are very light pastels and this can seem very girlie and soft, perhaps the colours require the harsher edges of digital design to counteract this. I also learned a lot from working with a group of people that aren't necessarily graphic designers. This means you have a few communication bridges to cross but the effort is worth it and having crit with them was a new experience entirely. I think one thing that this project highlighted was my need to step away from my work before someone critiques it. I found that working on it and then the next minuet getting a crit meant I was much less open to making changes and could (internally) get quite defensive. I am glad I have learned this about my process because now I can mediate this. I really liked helping out on the day of the showcase because I got to see the delivery of my design and gauge a response. The response was overwhelmingly positive, despite my hang up about it and this was heartening and also very motivational, just to see my work in use out side of the college.

OUGD502 Nomination for Communications Officer Students Union

Recently I received an email from James in the SU about the up coming student elections. He suggested that I might be good for the role, based on the work I have done with the Arts Party so far this year. To start with I was hugely flattered but I started to feel that perhaps the role would be too much to balance with what I know to be a steadily increasing work load in the third year as we approach graduation and becoming a professional designer. I talked to Danny and Amber about this opportunity and they seemed to think that it was  a great move and even that some of the work could be submitted as part of the responsive module in the third year. I also talked to James about my concerns and he summarised the briefs that I would be doing during the year and the way the role works in conjunction with all the other representatives in the students union .  This sounds so great to me, I would get to work with new people and get a budget for the print work we do. So, I went for it, the next step is to look at a small visual campaign that tells people that I am running.

OUGD503 Responsive Penguin Book Cover Competition Submission and Evaluation

This was a very self pleasing project that was supposed to be quick and simple. However, nothing ever is with me. I did very little research for this project and was simply inspired to do this from an exhibition of book cover illustrations I saw recently. However, I am very happy with how this has turned out. I really enjoyed the process of creating this and treated it as a kind of respite from other work. I love the deep symbolism of the illustration and the way this came very naturally from reading and enjoying the book. The lettering work is not my best by a long way but I think it works in this context, creating a human feel to the design and an imperfect emotionality that fits the book and its tone of voice. The only concerns I have are to do with the target audience and the business of the cover. I feel like perhaps this is not a gender neutral cover design, it is very feminine (this is because the book is so) and this may not help its chances in the competition. The quote on the front of the book was not something I knew about until half way through the brief. So, perhaps because of my carelessness, the cover is a little busy. it doesn't need the extra visual texture of the quote but it had to be there. Apart from this, the brief has been a thoroughly enjoyable one and I hope to do it again next year.  

Development work can be found at:
http://b-taylor1316-dp.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Responsive%20Penguin%20Book%20Cover%20Competition

OUGD502 PPP 2 Inspirational Illustration and the Penguin Book Cover Competition

I recently visited an exhibition in the parkinson building. It was only small but ther was a great selection of illustration for book covers that re sparked my interest in the pengiun book cover brief.

Some of Emily Sutton's work was particularly interesting for the way that the illustrations covered the entire book and created a lovely unified feeling to the cover. The texture of these illustrations was also beautifully composed.

Mark Haddon has been one of my favorite illustrators for a while now and it was great to see some of his work in its original form. The way that he collages his drawings creates depth and a lack of preciousness with his work which is refreshing.

Charles Keeping was the illustrator of the images directly above. They really caught my attention because of the transparency of the the medium. This is shown in the way the ink dribbles and trails across the paper seamlessly making the shapes needed. Although I was going to put this brief to one side in the interest of doing more work with the arts party, I think I will use it as a quick refresher to try and improve my drawing (something I desperately need).

OUGD502 PPP 02 Work Experience Prep

As previously mentioned I am looking into doing some work experience with Dalton Maag. After Talking to Danny about this he suggested a few pod casts and mailing lists that I should look into, that's exactly what I have done.

I have really enjoyed these so far and can't wait for the next instalment. 

OUGD502 PPP 02 Work Experience Possibilities

I got in contact with parallel magazine a while back as part of a brief in our studio practice module. I didm;t get a reply for a very long time, but suddenly I got a message suggesting I look into applying for one of their vacancies.

I replied saying tat tis would be very difficult since I am still in full time education, but did ask if a work placement would be possible.

I got a very promo reply saying that it should be possible if I send in my details and some examples of work and some dates. So, that's what I did.

They replied saying that I had been successful but with no further information. I am chasing them up about it but it seems fairly positive.

OUGD502 Dana Tanamachi

I have been interested in lettering and hand drawn type for a while and I just discovered a letterer in New York that is incredible. She uses combinations of vintage fonts to create letter art. Below is one of my favourite of her pieces. 



FLOURISH from Dana Tanamachi on Vimeo.

This has got me thinking about what I would want to gain from my work experience and I want to look into some independent letterers as well as studios because the skills I could learn could be so useful.

OUGD502 Looking at Studios

I already know that the best way I work is with other people, so as part of looking for work experience I have started looking at the kinds of studios it might be beneficial for me to get work experience from.

What appeals to me about this studio is the variety of work they seem to do which is appealing because it may well let me get the best out of potential work experience. Indeed I found out about this studio through a friend that had done some work experience there and really enjoyed it. The only problem with this would be the distance from home, or anywhere I could stay. However, I can cross that bridge when and if I come to it. I continued searching according to location this time and found some interesting studios.

Unit studio Is a studio that I have been aware of for a while and although they are not the most illustartive studio out there, they have that aspect to them. This makes me feel that I could bring something to there studio and really feel useful when doing work experience.

http://u-n-i-t.tumblr.com/ (blog)

Catalogue Leeds is probably the least applicable studio to my own practice . However, there work is interesting and it could be beneficial for both parties to start a dialog with them.

OUGD502 Looking For Work Experience

Following a workshop with Dalton Maag type foundry I talked to Danny about the possibility f some work experience in a type specific sense. I know that I like typography and lettering a lot but I am uncertain if it is this discipline specifically that I want to pursue in a professional sense. So, work experience seems like the perfect way to test the water. 

Amazingly Danny emailed Dalton Maag for me, which I was not expecting, and they say that although there is a lot of international competition for these placements they are very enriching. They said that they would like to see a type specific portfolio and how it sits within my work. I thought this was a great idea and I instantly thought of the font books you get showing the different ways a font can work in size and context. I had the idea of producing a book of my type work, even printing on tracing paper all the sketches that came before the finished piece to communicate my hands on process. 

I think this could be a great thing to do to hep me apply for work experience anywhere, so I need to sit down and look through my work and see how I want to approach this project and the work i want to include. My branding for the first PPP breif could play into this as well.

Image source: http://designyoutrust.com/2012/08/little-black-font-book/

OUGD504 and OUGD502 Dalton Maag Visit

We had a great workshop with a designer from the type foundry Dalton Maag. I had always thought that digital type and the less hand drawn type was less about instinct and more about measurements. In fact it was about instincts and what looked right. I found it fascinating looking at the over hang of parts of the letters and why some looked right in ratio to others.

This workshop got me thinking about type foundries as a possible job option. I know there would be a lot of work involved and I am far off the skill levee required but this is something that I am really interested in and want to continue working on. It is not the be all and end all of what I want to do but it is an option.

I also found a great video on their blog about the transition from letterpress to digital typography and typography in general.

Dalton Maag x Method present Typography in the Digital Landscape. LDF2014 from Dalton Maag on Vimeo.

OUGD502 and OUGD504 Salt Lettering

I have recently been working on some salt lettering for an advertising campaign. I really struggled with making this work. The balance between communicating the medium and achieving full legibility was quite difficult and I still don't feel that I have fully achieved it. However, I found it a very interesting process because of these difficulties and had a fascinating time experimenting withe the way different materials responded to letterforms and vice versa. This is something I want to revisit in the future with other materials that are outside the usual Graphic Designers repertoire and see how they tie in to my typographic practice.

OUGD502 PPP Improving Photography

I have been aware for quite some time of my lack of photographic skills and knowledge, so in order to mediate this I have started using Instagram. I know it seems quite a minimal action but not only odes it have a great number of designers using it to promote their work, it makes me think about the composition and lighting of every photo in a way that I have never had to do on a regular basis.

OUGD502 PPP Leeds Arts Party Flyer Work and The Showcase Spectacular in the Corn Exchange

This is the first real life responsive brief. I produced a A6 flyer for the stand the Leeds Arts Party had at the showcase spectacular at the corn exchange last weekend.

I came up with the tag line; create, celebrate, educate and worked it into the design. If you want to see the full development behind this design follow the link.

I helped out on both days of the showcase and on the saturday they asked me to produce some chalk board type with some questions to stimulate thought and conversation. they gave me the questions and let me do what I wanted with the layout. 

This is the first time I have ever really down chalk board type on a chalk bird but I am amazed by how much I enjoyed it. I would really like to cultivate this skill in the future so that it is something I can add to my repertoire. 

I had a lot of fun doing this and meeting all of the artists that had stalls at the showcase. I got talking for a long while with a lot of them and regularly got asked if I had a business card. This just goes to show that I really need to get on top of this self branding work because it really will come in handy. People were very good natured about me writing down my details when I explained that I was currently working on my business card designs, invariably starting off another conversation about the impermanence of self branding, but none the less this was a very positive experience for me.

OUGD402 PPP Reflection On Rossington Street Print Menu

I am really happy with the way that my print menu has come out. I have once again made use of my hand lettering and have implemented the restraint I felt was required in order to obtain legibility. The biggest thing I have learned during this brief is my ability to turn out work at a much greater speed than I would have ever of thought. Once a concept has been obtained it seems easy to expand on the project in the way that I have with this, making belly bands and posters in practically one day. 

OUGD402 PPP Reflection Alternative Movie Posters

I have used my alternative poster project to develop my hand rendered type skills. Although I am not completely satisfied with the finished look, I am glad I pushed my self to try incorporating this into a design. I hope to carry on working on this discipline and improve on its further. The more intricate type that results from this approach needs different handling and I think that the design could have been improved if I had possibly found a way to mix the type and the ink splash and left out the city scape. It seems a bit too busy for the small format of A4. This is something I need to bare in mind next time i work with hand rendered type.