Typogatauex Research and initial designs. OUGD405

For my typogatauex cake I had the idea to create my own design for an ampersand that I can decorate onto the top of a cake. I have started with finding many examples of the ampersand i could find, and it showed that there are a lot of ways to design one. I also found the perfect recipe for lemon and blueberry cake with an earl grey frosting which I think will be delicious and not too complicated to make.

Photoshop Workshop 29.11.12. OUGD405

The first thing we learned to do on Photoshop was to make sure the colours we are working with on the computer will come out the same after printing it out. The colours can sometimes change because RGB colour, which is used on screen, can create a lot more colours than CYMK colour which is what the printers use. To show this on screen you can use the gamut warning which will show which colours the CYMK printers cannot create.

To counteract this you can change the levels and/or the colour of the original image so that the printers will print out the exact colours on screen and the image will be just as you want it.

After playing around with these for a while you can create an image that will print perfectly using the CYMK printers.

Next we were shown how to use the mask tool to edit images so that parts of the image weren't too bright or not detailed. 

First you have to create a mask layer using the button at the bottom right corner of the screen. Then change the levels of the image to get the majority of the image how you want it to be, in this case we just wanted to get the bottom half of the image brighter and more detailed. Then using the mask tool you can  take away the top layer to reveal the original image, meaning that the top of this image was slightly darker and not washed out as it was after changing the levels. 

Thirdly we were shown how to use the quick selection tool so that you only change part of the image that you want to. This is good for when a part of an image is slightly too dark or light, and using the quick selection tool means that you can change just this one part of the image. 

Using the quick selection tool to select the statue in the foreground of this image means that i can just change the levels, colour and brightness of the statue keeping the background sky exactly the same. 

Finally we were shown how to create a panoramic image using numerous photos, using a tool on photoshop to stitch the photos together. 

Using photomerge means that you can simply select the images you want to put together and then select which layout you want, then Photoshop does all the work for you. Then the only thing you have to do is crop the image and edit it how you like and the panoramic image is done.

End of module self evaluation - OUGD403

End of module self evaluation

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

Throughout this module I think I have developed many new skills, including how to quickly and effectively come up with ideas and turn these ideas into a piece of work within a small time frame. I have applied this skill in all of the studio briefs and although towards the beginning I found it quite difficult to get into the flow of things, I feel that I have managed to do this more effectively in the latest studio briefs, mainly the message and delivery brief. I feel that I have also developed skills in assessing my work, both individually and as a group in group crits and have been able to use this assessment to develop my work more effectively. I have also developed an interest in type and typography that I wish to pursue further and develop a better understanding of it.

What approaches to methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

I have developed my method if idea production and significantly reduced the amount of time it takes me to put down my ideas onto paper, meaning that I have much more time to develop the solution to the brief and make it as good as it can be.  I have also developed my researching methods, finding a lot more visual research making it easier for me to find inspiration and generate visual ideas much more quickly.

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

Some strengths that I can identify in the work I have done since starting the module are the way in which I lay out my piece and I also think that the print workshops also show that I have a strength in those processes. I will capitalise on these by experimenting with layout and different print processes in my work in the future and see how I can use these strengths to make my work more interesting. I also want to learn more about these parts of graphic design and see what new things I can capitalise on.

What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?

I can see that my computer skills could improve, especially my use of programmes such as illustrator, but I think that this is purely because I haven’t really used these before and so I think that all I need to do is practice using these programmes more and learn new skills and this will improve. I also think that I need to be more experimental in my work as what I have done so far is playing it quite safe and I would like to create much more dynamic and exciting work. For this is will spend more time experimenting with my ideas and thinking outside the box for new ideas that could become a part of my work.

Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these.

1.     Practice using illustrator more and for different things to see what I can do with it and so from this I expect to develop my skills and create more professional looking work.

2.     Develop my skills in the print room by learning different processes to create more exciting work

3.     Put my ideas down onto paper much quicker at the beginning of a brief so that my ideas can develop more and have more time to create the final piece, meaning it will look much more professional.

4.     Continue developing my research methods to give my work a more contextual knowledge and a depth that I haven’t had in my work so far.

   

ocontinue learning about type and typography so that I can use this more in my work to create more interesting pieces of work using type as a main part of my work.

Alphabet soup - Typeface. OUGD403

For my final piece of the typeface I did two separate pieces. I started doing just the outline of the letter forms but i didn't think this looks quite right and so i did another with all the letter forms coloured in so that they looked as if they were all joined together which i think works much better and shows Ellens personality much more effectively. 

The idea behind the layout is to show how Ellen is a very loud and confident person, but she talks quickly and so is easily confused, and so placing the letters all to one side and jumbled up shows this. I really like the final outcome of this brief and am happy that the font shows what I was aiming for. 

As a short extension to this brief we were asked to choose a well known brand that our font could represent and use our font to change the brands logo. I chose red bull as it portrays energy and speed, which can also show confusion at points, and i think hat this works really well and fits in with the brand. 

Alphabet soup - Illustrator OUGD403.

With Simon we have been in workshops, learning how to use illustrator, and eventually how to create a full typeface using purely illustrator using one of our fonts from the original visual thinking brief. 

To start we had a worksheet to show us how to use the pen tool. Starting with straight line shapes, it got progressively harder, working our way up to a very tricky multiple curved line shape. Being that this was my first time using illustrator and the pen tool in particular i found this very hard, but really useful to know and practice.

 

Moving on from this we had a single letter form to trace  around using the pen tool, which i find very challenging but it was a great way to ease myself into doing my final illustrator typeface.

My final illustrator typeface was based on one of my 10 letter forms i did for the previous visual thinking brief, where we had to create 10 different versions of the letter form in response to the work boom. The typeface Is based on the font Cooper Std Black.

using the font as an outline, I used the pen tool to create straight lines in between the lines of the font to create my typeface.

Then taking away the original outlines to leave use the lines that I had created.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

My final typeface.

Message and delivery: Distribution - OUGD403

The final mail shot for the message and delivery brief.

Using the imagery I used on the previous brief in the posters, I created an unusual envelope that would get the attention of the institutions I sent this mail out to. 

Inside the envelope were two pieces of information. The first is a small leaflet/poster that could be put up within the institutions, and the second is a small leaflet filled with the main facts and things you need to know about Noc the whale. The idea behind sending this to schools and colleges is to create a curiosity within the reader and make them want to learn more about animal - human communication, and to educate those who have not heard about this phenomenon.

Overall I am really happy with how this has come out and how the message has come across within the mail shot, although the printing went wrong with the leaflet meaning that it was slightly off centre and the front and back didn't line up as I wanted them to. However, even with this slight mistake i think that it still works just as well and the message I wanted to convey has come across well.

Design principles - OUGD404

We were asked to identify the full typeface for all of our fonts that we found last week, and then choose the most readable font from each typeface, exploring point size, weighting etc. 

1. Scotch Modern

For this typeface i think that the most legible is either scotch modern regular, or scotch modern display in 36pt.

2. Criterion

The most readable font in this typeface is Criterion URW Regular in 72pt.

3. Imago BQ

The most readable font from this typeface is Imago BQ Book in 12pt.

4. Futura

I find that the most readable of this typeface is Futura condensed medium in 72pt.

5. FF Legato

The most readable font in this typeface is Legato OT.