Extended Practice has been a proper challenge, a major undertaking. I feel like I've put everything into it and am thoroughly proud of the work I've done this year.
Looking at my work as a whole, I've pushed outwards in every way, trying to get away from flat digital print and essentially move where the project dictates. A strong example of this would be Wall of Sound, where the process came to me months after the original spark of the idea. Wall of Sound is a project that I'm proud of - despite the slightly underwhelming final print. It's a piece that I will push forward in the near future.
I believe the branding briefs I've undertaken this year show a huge leap forward in my understanding of the client and the appropriate brand application. Taking the Laura Farrall brand as a case study, I spend a long time with the client going through various iterations and gradually chiselled a final brand that she was extremely happy with. I believe I've grown into a more mature designer who can work with the client and not just for the client.
On that note, every brief - bar one - is recognisably my work. I feel confident in my voice as a designer and confident that whatever path/process I go down, my fingerprint is still there. The brief that is less successful in that regard is the Plusnet brief. The copywriting choice is strong - this is something i've improved on massively - but the aesthetic echoes Steve Powers' work more than I now feel comfortable with.
Finally, this last month has seen a strong collaborative project with Alec, the textiles yearbook. The brief shows a full range of skills. We worked as a pair but have both left a mark on the book. We curated the work carefully and the result is a strong flow of work, each piece sitting well next to their counterpoint. We worked hard to restrain our own aesthetic input, letting the yearbook work as a blank/neutral canvas and letting the work inside providing the pop of colour. This restraint shows my maturity as a designer and the finished print should be a beautifully bound, subtly foiled piece for my portfolio.
Extended Practice has been a long struggle but I've applied myself to many different projects, processes and collaborations and as a result, produced some very strong work.
Monday, May 23, 2016
OUGD603 / Extended Practice / Wall of Sound / Evaluation
Wall of Sound has been by far my favourite extended practice project to work on. After the initial idea of making print more accessible, enjoyable and less static, it was a while before I found the process to match the idea.
When I discovered the conductive ink, everything clicked into place and I ran with it. The end result is a small part of what the project can become, with a wall piece the ultimate goal. Despite this, the flat, painted keyboard is something enjoyable and accessible to all.
I had problems screen printing the typographic element of the keyboard. Working with a new material (the conductive ink) comes with its' challenges and I've learnt the hard way not to mix it together with binder! The screenprint test in the folder is as the keyboard should ideally look, but adding binder to the paint lowered the conductivity. On that note, the typographic element of the project is something I'm really pleased with. I created a useable typeface, deriving from the problem of making a typeface conductive in this context. I did multiple tests and settled on a dot matrix face which allows the electricity to pass between the dots.
As the project progressed, I felt the need to give it a space online. I created a simple website which displays the board in 'use' and also provides a space to let people get the typeface and share the project. I think this project has potential to be shared and so gave this option to send out a tweet with a link and a few words.
I'm really pleased with this project. It hits every part of the brief that I wrote and most importantly, anyone who has a go on the keyboard seems genuinely shocked and happy at a sensation which is quite alien. I aim to extend this project into a gallery space, making use of a larger scale wall and for the final pice to feature the typography, as is visible in the screen prints.
When I discovered the conductive ink, everything clicked into place and I ran with it. The end result is a small part of what the project can become, with a wall piece the ultimate goal. Despite this, the flat, painted keyboard is something enjoyable and accessible to all.
I had problems screen printing the typographic element of the keyboard. Working with a new material (the conductive ink) comes with its' challenges and I've learnt the hard way not to mix it together with binder! The screenprint test in the folder is as the keyboard should ideally look, but adding binder to the paint lowered the conductivity. On that note, the typographic element of the project is something I'm really pleased with. I created a useable typeface, deriving from the problem of making a typeface conductive in this context. I did multiple tests and settled on a dot matrix face which allows the electricity to pass between the dots.
As the project progressed, I felt the need to give it a space online. I created a simple website which displays the board in 'use' and also provides a space to let people get the typeface and share the project. I think this project has potential to be shared and so gave this option to send out a tweet with a link and a few words.
I'm really pleased with this project. It hits every part of the brief that I wrote and most importantly, anyone who has a go on the keyboard seems genuinely shocked and happy at a sensation which is quite alien. I aim to extend this project into a gallery space, making use of a larger scale wall and for the final pice to feature the typography, as is visible in the screen prints.
OUGD603 / Extended Practice / Yearbook / Evaluation
The textiles yearbook was one of the more challenging briefs of the year. Working with Alec Mezzetti, we went about condensing 70 students' textiles and surface pattern work into an 80 page book!
I'm very pleased with the outcome. We pushed against other yearbooks after seeing muddied concepts and busy designs by producing the clearest, most transparent iteration of a yearbook that is possible. This all started with the cover, which we decided early on would be the contents' page. This simple trick meant that page 3 would immediately get you into the students' work.
We pushed this idea further by asking for a brisk tone of voice from Duncan when introducing the book. The effect is essentially 'Hi, get on with it, this is great work.'
Despite wanting to get to the work before anything else, we wanted to instil some personality throughout so spent a good while working with typography. We printed onto material and projected onto walls to create typography that truly responded to the surface that it was on. On that note, we worked with the phrase 'there's more beneath the surface' for quite a while before restraining, feeling it coloured the piece too much. This neutrality even extended to our choice of cover stock, we're going for a beige / grey in order for the colours in the actual work to do the popping.
Working with the Textiles team has been a pleasant experience, with them being really responsive and helpful when critting our work.
The strongest aspect of the piece is undoubtedly the curation of work and how each spread pairs two pieces of varying process / design into one unified space.
I'm very pleased with the outcome. We pushed against other yearbooks after seeing muddied concepts and busy designs by producing the clearest, most transparent iteration of a yearbook that is possible. This all started with the cover, which we decided early on would be the contents' page. This simple trick meant that page 3 would immediately get you into the students' work.
We pushed this idea further by asking for a brisk tone of voice from Duncan when introducing the book. The effect is essentially 'Hi, get on with it, this is great work.'
Despite wanting to get to the work before anything else, we wanted to instil some personality throughout so spent a good while working with typography. We printed onto material and projected onto walls to create typography that truly responded to the surface that it was on. On that note, we worked with the phrase 'there's more beneath the surface' for quite a while before restraining, feeling it coloured the piece too much. This neutrality even extended to our choice of cover stock, we're going for a beige / grey in order for the colours in the actual work to do the popping.
Working with the Textiles team has been a pleasant experience, with them being really responsive and helpful when critting our work.
The strongest aspect of the piece is undoubtedly the curation of work and how each spread pairs two pieces of varying process / design into one unified space.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
OUGD603 / Extended Practice / Wall of Sound / Instructions for Use
Below is a diagram of the working and finished Wall of Sound print.
Instructions for use:
Plug (A) - USB into any usb wall plug or USB slot on computer.
Flick switch on side of Speaker (B)
Press the yellow / gold button on the circuit board.
Touch the keys, there should be sound!
OUGD603 / Extended Practice / I Need You to Change / Further Plans
Does it need to look like a piano?
Or should the notes ascent as if on a scale?
The title Wall of Sound popped into my head and I think it might be perfect, kind of cool but also playful. An accompanying play along sheet could spell out some popular songs to play along with?
I'm waiting until I can test the device first but hopefully it's polyphonic... that would mean more than one person could play at once or you could run a backing beat in the back ground??
OUGD603 / Extended Practice / I Need You to Change / Plan of Action
Was thinking about musical interfaces but just a keyboard seems too removed from 'graphic design' and maybe would be there just for the sake of using the ink...
Anyway, on the subject of musicality, musical notes are also type - ie A B C D E F G . These type forms could act as the 'keys', out of which the fitting notes would come out of the speakers. I really feel this would tie together graphic design, typography and the interactive element that I've so desperately wanted to include!
Anyway, on the subject of musicality, musical notes are also type - ie A B C D E F G . These type forms could act as the 'keys', out of which the fitting notes would come out of the speakers. I really feel this would tie together graphic design, typography and the interactive element that I've so desperately wanted to include!
First tries of the layout (which could be initially tested as prints on nice stock) but here imagined on the wall at the show.
Shown: letters as 'keys' which are linked by conductive paint / ink to the central hub. This circuit board contains music files which the keys link to. There is an audio output and a power output. Above are possible speakers in order to make the sound loud, vibrant and exciting / more of an experience than a little tinny speaker.
The whole thing is actually quite elegant, requiring no external computing power.
Things to test: how long you can make strips of paint before the signal cuts out. What shape the 'keys' should be. Could a typeface derive from this, ie not need the circle but be part of the line itself?
Colour is also a big part of the experience... classy mustard or garish green?
OUGD603 / Extended Practice / I Need You To Change / Kate Stone: DJ Decks Made of... Paper
I was passed on to this video by a friend after me telling them about the conductive ink breakthrough!
The video shows Kate Stone - a scientist / designer describing her involvement with conductive ink and some of the products that she created through meticulous testing and forward thinking. She demonstrates a poster with an image of a drum kit, which wirelessly plays drum sounds via her iphone... amazing!
Finally she shows off a dj deck, held in her hand, just a piece of card which again wirelessly connects to an ipad - she proceeds to do loads of dj stuff just by stroking a piece of paper. There's something magical about suddenly not having to touch a glass screen and yet getting results that are impossible with just the paper itself.
Very inspiring and has made me consider that whatever is produced must be immediately exciting and interesting to a wide audience.
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