Catching Up...

So, yesterday I was a little ill and had to miss half of the session to go to the doctors! I managed to come back and sit in the afternoon session, as I knew it was important and didn't want to miss my opportunity to get in a creative partnership. It was, however, very interesting to watch the session take place and the competitiveness within the class in order to get the partners they wanted. Nevertheless, this has meant that I had to play catchup today, get myself organized and back on track. I was partnered with Liv, so we went in early today to fill in the sheets the other collaborations had filled in yesterday.....

This first task was to evaluate myself and the skills I have to offer as a designer in our collaboration...

This task has truly made me consider how I see myself as a designer and what type of work I enjoy and want to produce, but also how I can put this to use within our collaboration.

This next task required us to consider our skills as a collaboration so we can see what skills we have between us and how we can then make the most of them.
I found this task very useful in visualizing where we stand as a team and how we can capitalize on these skills we possess.

Weekend Plans

To Do List

Now I am back in Leeds I have written a list of what I need to get done in the next few days.

YCN ...Notes on the briefs

I have visited the YCN website to check out the briefs and make a few notes on my initial thoughts of each....

//very open

//a lot of scope for creativity

//digitally based

//large audience base

//younger target audience

//advertising campaign

//sport orientated

//digital or non-digital

//low budget

//marketing campaign

//non-digital

//paper showcase

//audience within the design world (highly crafted piece of design will be appreciated)

//Inspiration from GF Smith papers

//packaging project

//creating interactive products as physical products

//scope for imagination

//digital or non-digital

//purpose: to inform

//Part A: packaging brief (a little restricted as cannot change the packaging format)

//Part B: logo redesign

//Part C: direct mail marketing campaign

//Can get creative with these: use GD skills to make designs stand out and not become junk mail

//young target audience

//(packaging) advertising campaign

//food orientated

//strong focus on target audience

//digital/non-digital

//student target audience

//small budget

//both digital and non-digital 

//either digital or non digital (digital may be more suited)

//target audience: illegal downloaders

//scope for imagination and creativity

//packaging/product innovation brief

//wide target audience

//retain M&S brand values

//strong eco policy to withhold

//teamwork should be considered (will enhance project)

//marketing campaign

//digital/ non-digital media

//window displays/store design can be considered

//retail design/graphics

//football orientated

//knowledge of football required

//digital media preferred

//celebration of 20th birthday

//young target audience

//fashion and jewellery focus

//advertise their fashion range of jewellery

//digital/non-digital

//store design

//very open brief

//young target audience

//brand values must be considered

//brief1: creative advertising campaign

//lots of scope: fun, friendly tone of voice

//could be digital/non-digital

//brand driven

//brief2: informative brief 

//strong focus on health benefits

//use a variety of media

//young target audience

//point of sale promotional material

//retail graphics

//audience: females

//paper based media but transfer into digital media

//convey message associated with fitting

//create a strap line to work with campaign 

Chosen three:

Fedrigoni: creative, paper based design, can use traditional printing techniques

M&S: a lot of scope for creativity and innovative ideas.

Triumph: retail/store graphics, this is an element of design which I am really interested in, so if I can begin to work on briefs within this area it will provide me knowledge as to whether or not I do want to pursue this line of work.


Definite NO:

Industry trust: it doesn't appeal to me (it is a large debate which I don't think many people pay attention to, but then again this could a chance to make a difference and make a campaign that stands out from others)

Peacocks: Peacocks have gone into administration so there is no point! Although, I really would like to work on store design and retail graphics.

Sega: I have no knowledge of football!

Briefing ..Task for over reading week

Type Session5

Further working on last weeks leaflet...

Considerations...

//Where to break the line

thinking

about an allotment

thinking about

an allotment

thinking about an

allotment

(last)

thinking

about an allotment

thinking about

an allotment

thinking about an

allotment

//way split sub headings 

....make longest line as biggest point size you can, then make all the others the same (then there will be no broken sub-headings) 

//Paragraphs

...no idents or line spacing between paragraphs.

....use white space to give emphasis

CHANGES

PRINT AND HAND IN HARD COPY AT END OF MODULE

//How to create WHITE SPACE

A white blank canvas is pure ...worth a lot

It is the relationship with the white space and the type

A black filled canvas communicates intimidation. 

With a frame... makes it feel safer (you know how big it is) ...it's not so in your face

Positioned at top of page ...intimidating

Lower down page ...less intimidating

Task: A4 landscape page

8 page document

shape/tone of black to communicate...

dreamy

aspiring

powerful

calm

intense

relaxed

stormy

precious

...then produce with body of type 'session 5' 

Evaluation

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN		LEVEL	05
Module Code	OUGD202
Module Title	DESIGN PRODUCTION - DIGITAL

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION

NAME

KIRSTY FRUIN

BLOG. ADDRESS

http://kf-fruin1013.blogspot.com/

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
I have learnt an awful lot in this module, mainly how to use a brand new piece of software. After having never used the AfterEffects software before, I now have a basic understanding of how to use it and have been able to produce some motion graphics which would not have been possible before this module. I have been able to confidently apply the techniques I have learnt in the sessions with Mike. Documenting the sessions has proved extremely useful in this process as it acts as a log which I can then refer back to at any point. Admitedly, I am always likely to be faced with problems arising at some point but I have learnt to ask for help from either Lorraine or Mike when this does happen. Looking back from where I am now, having just produced a 60 second title sequence, back to studio brief 1 where I produced the five 5 second silent movies, it is evident that my skills have progressed considerably and demonstrates the application of my newly acquired skills throughout this module. This progression is also evdient throughout my idents, the first ident does not use techniques as advanced as the latter. Now I have learnt some of the basic skills, it is now the creative application of these skills which will enable me to produce work of intrigue. Aside from the technical aspect, I have also learnt the sheer importance of organisation. This was a key factor within this project and something which I tried to keep on top of through the use of folders and prodcing a written log of where all my files were kept (should I not remember). If I had not taken these preliminary precausions it may have resulted in documents being lost and my final resolutions not working correctly.
2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
Learning to think about motion graphics in terms of time based graphics raher than animation has proved very interesting. I have learnt that you can take inspiration from non-digital work and produce motion graphics from this, it is not just about taking inspiration from what is out there already in motion. I feel this is a key aspect in creating some fresh motion graphics which haven’t been done before. Another aspect which has to be taken into consideration when designing is your skill ability; there is no point designing a piece of elaborate motion graphics when you do not have the skill set to produce what you are desiging. This is not to say that you cannot come up with ingeneous ideas for motion sequences but you definitely need to take into consideration what can realistically be achieved. The time available to me was another aspect that I had to take into consideration; I could easily design a sequence which was technically driven, however, if I only have a week to work on producing the design it may not be possible. I have learnt that AfterEffects eats your time away without you realising it; you soon get sucked into perfecting every detail of your design and excited to the extent that you want to continue working on the piece of production, it is therefore important to produce regular timeplans to ensure that you are using your time wisely. I have learnt the sheer importance of storybaording your work before you even get onto screen; AfterEffects is just a tool for production is does not provide you with idea generation. There really is no point sitting down to begin working on your motion graphics without having considered what you are going to include in your sequence first; you will simply be ‘filling time’ rather than producing the well thought-out design you have storyboarded. Timelining your storybaorded sequences is also an important part of the design process, as this allows you to view the artwork as being time based before it even reaches the screen. It also allows you to consdier pace within your design, something which becomes more important when you begin to design on screen as you then have an incline of where and when different transitions should occur.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I begun working on the briefs at an early stage of the module as I didn’t want to have it all left until the end and be in a paniced state getting myself stressed. The early start was beneficial to me, although the progression of my skills is evident within my work due to this. I do, however, feel I have planned my time well through the use of regular to-do lists and weekly/daily time plans. This has ensured that I have used the time availble to me wisely and not wasted a moment. I feel the work I have produced is once again informed and conceptualised due to the extensive reseach I conducted into the Ministry of Sound identity, artwork and itself as a brand. I have taken a few trips to CD stores in order to gain primary reseach into the Ministry of Sound album artworks so that I can see them for myself and not rely entirely on secondary sources. As well as providing me with inspiration for design ideas for my sequence, this also provded me fresh inspiration for my DVD sleeve design. I have also researched into the identity MTV Dance to ensure that my idents fit in with their brand image and work realistically being aired on the channel. I have produced storyboards of possible ideas before choosing one and focusing in on it and producing further storyboards with more detail. On a technical level, I have used the techniques I learnt in my AfterEffects sessions with both Mike and Lorraine. At one point I got quite into my work which resulted in me producing an extra ident due to feeling that my original 4th ident did not fit in with the other idents I had produced. I tried to focus on the celebration of 20 years (as it was suggested to me in my crit) however, this did not seem to work amougst the other idents I had already produced so I disregarded this and set about producing a fifth one. This fifth one, I must say, was the best and most technical ident I feel I have produced. This was most probably due to me producing it later than the others and my skills having developed by that time. I think it was logical to have worked on my idents first; they seem basic now as I look back on them, nonetheless it is a demonstration of how my skills have progressed throughout this module and resulted in me being able to produce a more technically driven title sequence.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
Some of my idents appear very simple and do not have an awful lot going on in them, although there is more detail in the finer transitions (fades, entering and departing transitions). Nevertheless, this simplisitc appearance fits in with the brand identity of MTV. All my idents differ slightly in some way; some contain the Ministry of Sound logo and others don’t, the binding assets are that they all contain a coloured gradient and the MTV logo present within them. I could have made them all follow the same structure, this is not necessarily a weakness of my work but I feel it may have made all my idents more coherent if this were the case. Since finishing my work, it has been pointed out to me that 1991-2012 does not represent 20 years if taken literally. It is a correct fact as they have not had there birthday yet this year but it has made me consdier in more depth the information which I present to the audience nd how they recieve it. The way in which I chose to work on this brief meant that I produced my four idents first and then used these to inform my design decisions for my title sequence. This made sense to me as it was easier to tackle 10 seconds at a time whilst I was getting used to the software and then progress onto producing the 60 second title sequence. However, after having produced my four 10 second idents I then found it a struggle to work on 60 seconds as it felt it was such long duration of time and consequently daunting. I began to think as if I were simply ‘filling time.’ In realising I was taking this approach, I took a step back and storyboarded my sequence in-depth on a timeline to give me something to work from and stop my ‘time filling’ attitude. I am not sure but it may have been benficial to me to have produced my title sequence first and then taken my idents from this.  In addition to this, I could have attempted to go beyond what was taught to us in our AfterEffects sessions and self-teach myself techniques which will enhance my motion graphics (such as the use of cameras and lights). Despite this I am happy with what I have produced in the time given to me and the techniques taught to me.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
1// Go beyond what is taught to me and explore other areas if it is going to be beneficial to my work. This will help me to create new and exciting pieces of work that push the boundaries of my capabilities.   2// When working on motion graphics I will ensure that I choose my audio early enough to be able to change it if it is required.  3// Storyboard a broader range of ideas, derived from my research, then narrow it down a worker closer on one sequence. Although I feel I did do this to an extent, I think if I had done more of this my final outcome may have been more advanced. 4// Produce more time lined storyboards, as this visual representation of motion and pace ensures a systematic approach to the production of work when in AfterEffects and allows me make an more informed decision as to which sequence I choose to animate.  5// Source more contextual research into both motion and non-motion graphics as they both inform my design decisions. You can never have enough contextual research to aid the development of contextualised design decisions.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas:  (please indicate using an ‘x’)   5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					x
Punctuality					x
Motivation				x
Commitment					x
Quantity of work produced				x
Quality of work produced				x
Contribution to the group