OUGD503: Secret 7" Born Slippy

I restarted the process again, I felt the stronger style to go with was my detailed style. After sketching and outlining I scanned in the image at a high resolution to save time on outlining the image digitally again.

The colours I chose to use were all very nineties, I wanted to reference the decade the song was released in and being very inspired by Trainspotting (a film the song featured in) I made the guy look a little like Ewan Mcgreggor's character from the film. 

In keeping with the tone of the decade and still inspired by the film I wanted to add a drugs element to the cover. The song is defiantly a rave song so I felt LSD (a drug taken at many a rave) would be a suitable drug to use for the design and also make a good repeated pattern. I researched into LSD pill designs and replicated five of these in strong 'trippy' colours.

Although the backdrop and illustration worked well together I didn't feel I had quite captured the full extent of the psychedelic feel I wanted so I warped the background to make it look like you were staring at it whilst high as a kite.

Once again I felt I could push the image further, the character in the drawing is clearly tripping on something, and the serious style of the illustration failed to represent that in the way the background did and so I decided to turn him into a block pattern to make it look as though he was fading into the trip.

From this vectorised form I ended up submitted three designs, the illustration and background together, just the vector guy and just the background. And I certainly feel that they capture the 90's feel whilst remaining in a clean 10's style, oh and they're trippy as hell. 

OUGD503: Secret 7"

Project Rational

Secret 7 is a yearly competition/exhibition where designers everywhere can submit 7" album cover designs for a select list of songs. Designers can rationalise their designs in anyway, it can be take from the lyrics, the artist, the theme of the track, or just something that makes them think of the song- it's a very open brief. The only requirement is to not have the name of the song or artist on the cover (this is the secret part), this way when being sold at the exhibition buyers will purchase a record because of it's design and not because of the song, or because a famous designer produced it. 



I immediately knew I wanted to do secret 7" this year as part of my responsive module so the day the artists were announced I went straight to the webpage and listened to all the songs.

The track that stood out most to me was Born Slippy by Underworld. After listening to all the tracks on offer it was the one that conjured the best visual ideas. I purposefully chose not to look at artwork already existing for the song or the band as I felt this would dictate the style too much and it wouldn't be my own style that produced it. I also felt existing work would be something a lot of people would try to produce images in the style of and so be an overly common style of submission.

 There was one visual idea that I liked the most and it was an image of a boy pulling his chest open and looking at his exposed ribcage and heart inside so I made a quick sketch (and when I say quick, I mean quick, 15 mins tops) of it and scanned it in to be digitised.

I had decided that I wanted to produce the piece in a more vectorised style than my normal illustrations and so using the pen tool in Illustrator I created shapes for each of the elements (skin, hair, jacket etc) in order to get that 2D look.

I struggled to decide whether I liked the illustration and figured I'd wait and see what it felt like with a background, however, choosing a 'trippy' enough background just made me loathe the whole idea more.

No matter how many different versions I produced I just didn't like it, and to be honest the vector style I had set out to used just wasn't sitting right with me. I've always worked well with dark outlines and have to accept that's the way my illustrations look best and so I decided to go back to the sketch book and produce a more detailed version of the design. 

OUGD505: SB1- Part 1: Science Denial, More TED Talks.

Inspired by Michael Specter's talk on science denial I feel this is the subject I will further research into. It's an incredibly broad subject that covers many issues from health to intelligence to environmentalism and conservation, and it is a present danger in the first world that people, who are only so fortunate in the lives they live in because of scientific progress, are now denying it in favour of unproved and 'alternative' methods and beliefs. 

I want to look into some key areas related to science denial:

Science denial as a whole, global warming and the environment, why governments don't put as much money into science, recycling, vaccinations and pseudo health, genetically modified foods, creationism vs evolution and most importantly- why people feel the need to fear or deny science seeing as it is the only reason life is as good as it is. 

I've gone back to TED talks for a few longer talks almost around the subject:

Micheal Shermer's Why People Believe Weird Things, Richard Dawkins Militant Atheism and a talk by Sam Harris: Science can Answer Moral Questions.

Shermer's talk was a humorous one, not really relating to science denial but looking briefly into why people believe things without evidence and how easily the human mind can be swayed into believing something: an example is the Virgin Mary present in a cheese sandwich and on a glass window.

He made a few funny comments, firstly that the virgin Mary on the cheese sandwich looked a lot more like a 1940's movie star and that when he and a few colleagues went to see the virgin Mary in Florida they took a walk around the building to discover wherever there was a palm and a sprinkler there appeared to be another Mary only this one partly wiped off because, as he said 'I guess you can only have one miracle per building.' 

The talk on science answering moral questions given by Sam Harris wasn't really based on science or science denial more of a question that morality is a subject that people can look at factually just like any other discipline. There were however a few quotes that spoke to me and I feel can relate to science denial.

The first is a universal quote 'It is easier to break things than to fix them'. If we look at science and progress it will be a much easier path to undo all the work built up over thousands of years of human development rather than to carry on solving big problems and answering big questions. This does not mean that going back is the right answer.

The second 'When we are talking about facts certain opinions must be excluded; that is what it is to have a domain of expertise, that is what it is for knowledge to count.' This can relate directly to people who campaign for science denial, the holistic healers, the psychics, the anti global warming groups. Just because they have an opinion on the subject does not by any means mean their opinion is fact, or it is correct, or it should be listened to. Sometimes we must accept that just because we can't understand or comprehend something it doesn't make it untrue; I can't comprehend or visualise the size of the universe or the way sub atomic particles move, this is why I rely on people with far greater knowledge than me to understand these principles, science regulates itself with theories challenging other theories, it can only be considered fact when proven. Ignorance is not a strong enough basis for denial. 

OUGD505: Studio Brief 1- Part 1

Product, Range and Distribution

Studio Brief one as a whole is about linking media and message and discovering the way that graphic design products can relate to social, political and ethical change.

Part one however starts smaller. 

Through a series of workshops, seminars and individual exploration a body of research is to be produced fully exploring a social, political or ethical issue that we feel personally connected to. 

This body of research will eventually lead onto production of a product (poster, billboard, publication, badges etc) that relates to our issue.

As a highly opinionated individual I've struggled to think of an initial subject of research that I feel genuinely passionate about, there are way too many things I feel personally connected to and things that I consider important or things I care about so beginning my research was something of a nightmare.

I have however come up with a solution- or at least a point to jump off of. I mapped out an incredibly basic mind map listing some of the subjects I feel passionate about.

From this I decided to go to TED talks and watch a talk on each subject, when it came to a broader subject such a science I would pick a talk that seemed the most intriguing or watch more than one. TED talks are something I enjoy watching in my own personal time already and I felt that they would inspire further research and also help me get a better understand of what I cared about most.

Education

For the subject of education I watched a talk by Ken Robinson called How to Escape Education's Death Valley. From this I found not only three more suggested talks on the subject I wish to view but also came up with some questions for further research.

Science

With science a topic I wanted to look into was why current scientific projects get little to no attention or funding seeing as they are the things that could better the world for the next generation. For this I watched The Danger of Science Denial with Michael Specter talking about what is so deadly with ignoring facts and going backwards rather than forwards. I feel this topic is an all encompassing one that covers so many issues with the world today from the fear of vaccinations to fear of genetically modified crops, beliefs that some people may pass off as 'just an opinion' but really they are views that are genuinely damaging to the world that we live in and the people within it.

From this I want to look further into the fear surrounding genetically modified crops and vaccinations as well as the benefits both of these scientific breakthroughs have on the world as well as the reasons why there isn't more funding put into alternative energy sources or scientific breakthroughs. 

OUGD504: Module Evaluation

How have I improved this year? Over the course of this module I’ve improved on a few things. The key difference between Roz this year and Roz last year is my consistency with blogging. I think this year I’ve finally cracked the art of regular blogging and reflection; I’ve become more disciplined with myself. I make it a personal goal to stay a minimum extra hour after every day (with the exception of Tuesdays due to work commitments), which has become two hours minimum since starting back this term. A more recent improvement has been my grasp of research and commercial considerations, I think this is something that’s only began emerging from studio brief 4. Previously I believed research to be looking at examples and analysing them, and a small part of it is, but there’s more, for the last brief I looked into materials, pricing and distribution methods.

I’ve also begun to understand myself as a designer, my process and the way I work. I know now I don’t work well at home and so I refuse to let myself leave the studio until I’ve crossed everything off my list. I know that I will always underestimate how big of a job things are or how long they will take, so I’ve over estimated to compensate. I know that I will always make a horrible mess of my design when I first digitise or produce it, so now I make sure I get that out of the way so I can focus on getting to the final result. I also know I get too easily distracted by conversation so I’ve started listening to music as I work. These are all things that are making me grow as a designer. I’m also pleased to announce that I think I’m finally beginning to develop a ‘style’, I’m uncertain yet as to what it is exactly but I know when something is or isn’t my style and that’s a big leap.

So what are my weaknesses? I’ve still got great lengths to go with Photoshop and Illustrator, I get frustrated when I can’t do something and waste vast amounts of time skimming tutorials to get things done as quickly as possible. I also don’t ask for help enough, I feel that people won’t really care about what I’m doing or I feel too proud to ask for help, I get stressed out by my lack of knowledge but refuse to seek help. The annoying thing is I love helping others but believe I’m too smart to ask for any in return, which is stupid and something I need to get over.  I also need to stop doubting myself, I am sometimes my own worse enemy and I compare myself far too much to others. Despite knowing logically everyone’s different and that I will always see problems in my own work others won’t notice I still judge myself too harshly. I feel like I need consistent praise to be certain that I’m doing the right thing, which is something that I won’t be able to get, I’m not sure how to address this but I think practice will certainly help.

What can I improve on for the next module? As long as I keep up the disciplined behaviour I should be able to achieve more over the course of the next module. I also need to better organise my time, this way I can juggle all the briefs I have going on and give each of them the deserved amount of attention and book the appropriate printing and production time. Being more thorough with the ‘gritty’ stuff such as researching will also greatly improve my understanding of a brief’s requirements. Getting things done as they appear such as design boards and evaluations will mean that when it comes to the next submission I will have everything all ready to go. I also want to play about more next module, not just with the briefs but with my own little projects so I can further develop my emerging style.

OUGD504: SB4- Evaluation

I was genuinely exciting by the idea of studio brief 4, augmented design was always something that interested me, unfortunately I think I only realised the full potential of it after I had created everything and when it was way too late to back track and start it all again. I think it would’ve been better to categorise the brief as ‘interactive design’ as opposed to augmented, I was rather fixated on the idea that the audience had to use a phone, or an app and produce some ‘virtual reality’ when really it could’ve been anything that physically engages the public and causes them to interact with the advert. Still, I did enjoy my final outcome eventually.

Of course I had my major mistake moment, like I always do with every brief ever. This one came with the physical production of my designs, like it usually does. I was really pleased with my concept and my ideas (like I usually am) but for some reason I had it in my head that I was going to use a photograph to create the dank and full of flowers landscapes. See, if I had had more time, over the course of a year I would take two photos of the same field, one full of wild flowers in the height of summer and the second with the barren and empty landscape in the autumn or winter. But seeing as I didn’t have the time frame to do that I simply caused myself endless frustration trying to Photoshop flowers into an empty field. No matter how hard I tried the flowers looked fake and just didn’t fit with the landscape. However, I’m glad I had this major mistake because it caused me to change my approach and style. I ended up producing a vectorised cartoon style image that I really like. It suits the family and children demographic I had been aiming for much better than the photograph idea and it feels more ‘my style’.

I do have one major problem with my final designs though, and it’s that the ‘before’ image looks really boring (that and I wish I had put something like ‘download the app or scan QR code to see a transformation’ instead of ‘Use your phone to interact’, so clunky). In comparison to my field full of flowers with a happy little bee it just feels so dull. I suppose that was the point but I don’t think it would grab anyone’s attention; no one would interact with it. I think a better choice would’ve been the positive image that becomes animated once you interact with it, or that the poster smells of wild flowers. This is the problem with my concept though, I’ve tried to give the scary shock factor common with most conservation posters but also leave people with a positive feeling at the end. The vectorised style suits the happy ending but the photograph I feel would’ve best suited the dull start- perhaps a combination of both styles would’ve worked? Who knows?

I have one more hiccough with this brief and it’s my seed paper. The seed paper was a key part of the physical side of the campaign, something people could plant, something to hold. But annoyingly, despite ordering the paper 2 weeks ago and paying for first class delivery, it still hasn’t arrived which is really frustrating. It feels like a key component of my idea is missing and that’s genuinely sad. I can add it later yes, but by then it’s too late.

Overall, I do like what I’ve produced, I could do better, I always can, but despite a few problems and a lack of seed filled paper I think the campaign works. It’s not so much about advertising the website as it is about encouraging people to engage in home conservation and providing information about bumble bees and I think that’s what it’s achieved.

OUGD504: SB3- Evaluation

Studio brief 3 was something I hadn’t been overly looking forwards to, I felt out of my depth when it came to designing a website and completely drowning in the Atlantic when it came to coding. That being said I was certainly pleased with the subject I’d be doing for it- bee conservation; this meant I already had a rough knowledge of how these websites worked as I had been on and off them all summer.

From my research I knew I wanted a flat design style website, cut the overly detailed graphics, keep it simple and about the information first and foremost. Unfortunately though my first attempts at digitally producing my designs didn’t go according to plan. In scamp form my initial ideas looked beautiful but making those scamps a reality was just awful. I always tend to make horrendous mistakes on my first attempts at anything, it’s always a little down heartening and no matter how many times it happens I find it difficult to recover from. ‘Oh I’m an awful designer, look at what everyone else is producing! Why am I so terrible, I’ve learnt nothing!’: but this is just an annoyingly essential phase in my process and once I had some more feedback I was able to go back and reproduce new scamps and new designs that looked a lot better.

I didn’t enjoy coding, I barely understood coding. It was a genuine relief once we were informed it wasn’t an essential part of the submission because I think that would’ve stressed me out far too much.

So as far as the website goes being commercially viable I think I did ok. The designs I ended up with were flexible for different devices and worked on large screens and small, the text I chose was a web safe font, the design wasn’t overly complicated and the images weren’t particularly large so loading time would be quick and despite all these practical characteristics I don’t think it looks boring. It may not be the most interesting site to interact with but it’s there to provide information, not entertain and it suits that purpose well.

Where target audiences are concerned on reflection I don’t think it’s really as attractive to children as I hoped it would be, it is a little plain and dull, but perhaps it would be something that could interest older children and teenagers or even parents as opposed to younger kids. This is a shame because I’ve sort of missed my target audience with the look, the information is in small enough doses to be easily absorbed by kids but the style wouldn’t interest them. Perhaps if I had added a cute little bee character or some interesting animations or even a game it may have better suited them, but live and learn. I think my key problem is I tried to reach too wide of an audience and ended up accommodating some but not all. If I were to do this again I would rethink who my exact audience is.

As a whole I’m happy, could be happier but that’s always going to be the case.

OUGD504: SB4- Further Development and Final Designs

So I've had a complete change of idea… as we all do sometimes. Not with the concept of my idea but the style of it.

After staring at my photographed masked image I realised that I hated it. It didn't fit in with the look and feel of my website and as far as my target audience is concerned (young families being the key demographic) it would't be something that got their attention. I needed something I felt proud of as well as something parents would feel their children would be interested in and children themselves would want to engage with. 

So I decided to play on my strengths and go for an illustrative/vectorised style for my posters. Going for a cartoon look would not only give a more professional look and feel in comparison to the photograph one but it would also appeal to children and parents and give the family friendly feel I'm looking for.

So I began by searching for images of British wildflowers and sketching some very simplified versions to get a feel for how the design would look. I then digitally reproduced them in illustrator and created a simple vector background.

I then produced a simple vectorised (and incredibly adorable) bee and added text and the logo. The final result of it all is something I'm very happy with. I feel it suits not only the context and the audience better but fits in with the style of the website and my style as a designer. 

The first image will be the printed and visible version and the second will only become visible once viewed with a smart phone.

 Once the billboard version was created it was simple to adapt the design for the portrait bus stop poster and magazine sizes. 

To add a more physical element to my interactive design I decided to make some little bumble bee fact cards with facts taken from the website. I believe this will engage audiences more with the cause and add an educational element for children. When someone can hold or touch something they become more connected with the design and more attached to the cause, it also gives the campaign a physical presence (along side the seed paper). 

OUGD504: SB4- Development

For my development I began by heading out to a field in the back end of no where to take some pictures for my 'empty field images'. I was very specific with the kinds of images I wanted; although I needed a sunny day with good lighting I still wanted a barren and muddy looking landscape to give the full dramatic 'world without bees' shock for my audiences. I chose this photo to develop into my billboard image.

Of course the brightness of the image didn't really give the strong sense of doom and gloom that I had wanted to convey so I had to add an element of depression to the image by desaturating the colours and washing out the brightness. This wasn't too difficult, the difficult bit came next.

Because the key element of my augmented design relied on the same field empty and then full of flowers once you interacted with it, and seeing as the time of year it is meant I wouldn't be able to photograph the same field empty and with flowers it, it meant I had to improvise.

I took my image, brightened it up and then searched for some flowers I could add into the field. This was an awkward time consuming stage in itself, I needed British wildflowers for a British audience, I needed a high quality of photo as well as a large photo that would cover the entirety of my field. And most annoyingly I needed an image that matched the depth of my existing photo; it needed to blend in as if it were already there so it needed to be set at a similar distance. Still after many tweaks to google's advanced search options I finally found an appropriate picture.

I decided the best way to integrate my found image into my snapped image was to use a layer mask. Now I love and hate layer masks, yes they are useful, yes you can add or remove elements to and from an image, but when it comes to highly detailed pictures it becomes fiddly and it's very difficult when something is so detailed to make it look genuinely a part of the existing picture.

There's also a particular problem I have with layer masks and it's that if I stare at one for too long it will never look right. This happened to me with this image, no matter how much I zoomed in and out, tweaked and… twerked? The image didn't look right. 

Happily though I took a break, got some outside opinions and it was agreed that they had merged together well, with a few issues regarding colour which were easily solved. 

In order to make the entire 'after' image look bright colour and full of flowers I needed to add some leaves to the bare trees. This was something I hadn't done before and so with every new technique I attempt I looked for a tutorial to guide me through it.

According to the tutorial I found it was actually pretty easy, using a brush tool, messing around with the  jitter, painting and then overlaying the image I managed to turn bare tree into full leaved ones. Although close up it was quite easy to see the brush marks, once zoomed out they looked rather realistic.

I now have a before and after for my billboard, for the text I want to use indesign to get the alignment correct, so next will be the bus stop and magazine images. Knowing I can either crop the existing image or repeat my techniques on other images will save me a lot of time when it comes to producing the others.