End of Module Evauation

Throughout this year I think my researching skills and how those skills are used has improved. Before this year I only ever used the internet to do my reading and research, however since branching out I believe it has better informed my design process and the decisions I make after. For our first essay we were set one task was to look into books, journals and articles. I think this helped me get the ball rolling rather than going straight to the internet. Thus showing me that the internet is not always the best source.

I think my writing style still needs improvement however I have learnt how to reference correctly in my essays as well as using text to base my writing off. I haven't done this before so I found it difficult to do. I have never been good at writing essays but I feel like I am slowly improving. However if I was going to do this whole process again I would ask for more help and give in as many drafts as possible. One of my biggest weaknesses is that I rarely proof read which can make the difference from a 2.2 and a 2.1. This year has taught me that I will need to get on top of that because what we learn in this year from the lecture series we could go back on and use in 2nd or 3rd year. 

In regards to my practical work I believe that it is relevant to what I was doing and it was so much fun and interesting to learn more about the handmade print methods as it has always been something I have been fascinated about. I learnt they take more time than you expect and things can go wrong! I don't think however that I have challenged myself enough but hopefully with my ISSUU presentation it will get me off to a good start for the second year. 

For the second year I need to remember a couple of things; manage your time better so that you can be more effective and up to date on your work. Keep on doing drafts of essays and go to the lectures - they serve a purpose! 

Overall I'm satisfied with the work I've produced for this module but I could benefit from better organisation skills so that I receive all the feedback that I can get to strengthen my arguments in my forthcoming essays.

ISSUU presentation Studio brief 3

http://issuu.com/leahratcliffe/docs/cop2.pptx

here is the direct link to my presentation.

Essay drafts and feedback

These were my drafts and feeback I got on them is below. 

Outcome Study Task 8

After looking at all the feedback and different designs I had done I decided I would letterpress my favourite quote. On the right you can see where I have tested out 4 different types. After looking at them all closely I decided I would pick the top font as it was the one that represented what I wanted to do the best. I then moved on to put all the letters in the correct way and line the up all perfectly. I actually found this task a lot harder than I thought it would be due to the fact I had never done it before. However saying this it did not stop me because when I did the first press of the practice types I found it very satisfying. This made me think of Pepin Zurburg when he said, ‘the computer does nothing for you, it only makes things a lot easier’. Because as I experienced it first hand it made sense, I could recreate what I did by hand but on the computer and it just took less time but was more rewarding.

The thing I found most difficult was  making sure that everything was lined up correctly with the correct spacing and making sure the letters didn't fall out - to do this there had to be the right amount of pressure being put in the correct spaces.

As you can see I tried pressing it many times, quite a few times it did not come out properly but I managed to get there in the end. Despite the process taking a lot more time than a computer I am still heavily interested in using it and wanting to make more things by hand, which related to something Odling-Smee said;  ‘Despite being slow, labour-intensive and costly in comparison to modern printing methods, and increasing number of designers (and often their clients) want to use it. ’ .

In reference to the brief I believe that i have taken a step in the right direction, it is going to take a while for some people out there to appreciate the handmade print methods but this is somewhere to start. I have also shown that it can be used in some like an exhibition which is where my series of hand made printed posters could go. ‘Some are using letterpress and silkscreen technologies to produce small-batch or one off products’ (Meyers, 2009) I believe that I have made an example of what Meyers is talking about.

Feedback / further developments Study task 7

I then decided to take the advice of my peers and look more at the posters as if they were a series and how I can make them look like one withot it looking taccy and unproffesional.  I definately prefer the look of the black on one bold colour as it gives it more class. However in general I do not believe that these posters are finished.

I could improve them by getting the correct amount of space around the text so that the text doesn’t just look like it is either floating or that it is out of space.

At this stage in my developments I have gone back to black and white because I believe that the colour is a bit more suitable for the younger generation however for it to be put across as the people who appriciate print that could be more vast but they could be a minority. Due to this fact and the aesthetics and meaning of my project I believe the best design decsision for this project was to strip it back to black and white, which is still striking, and let the quotes talk for themselves.

Due to striping the posters back I thought it would be best to revisit the fonts to doube check that futura was my favourite.  I looked through multiple different fonts, out of the majority of them these three were my favourite. Futura, Impacts and  Rockwell Extra Bold. Again I went back to my peers to see what they thought, much like me the majoirty of my peers liked the way that Futura looked with all of the type, it didn’t look out of place and it was the best for this job.

Idea Generation / Prototypes Study Task 6

In order to develop my intial ideas based uponhand printing methods. I also wanted to incorporate my piece to have meaning behind it and put a message across.  I decided to go with a poster which tries to grab the viewers attention. The best way for me to do this to attract my audience is to focus on the big bold text and have the right amount of white space around it whilst still getting the viewer to look at the poster to recieve the meaning that is coming through the poster. 

On top of this I also chose to look at colours and how that effects the way the poster looks and how it impacts on the message and the viewer. When making these 3 initial ideas I wanted to focus on colour that are opposite on the colour wheel as it is suggested that they grab more attention. I personally believe that when looking at the 3 coloured designs that they distract away from the writing rather than drawing attention to it.

I chose to keep the designs quite simple by leaving out an image and just having it as the texts, I think that it keeps the viewers attention to the meaning of the poster rather than just looking at the picture that is behind it. Keeping it to just type it effectively demonstrates the approach that I am going for.

I pitched the idea of a poster or a poster series that feature quotes that have meaning behind them.

I recieved some useful feedback that I then used to aid my project further. The feedback I recieved was that I could use famous quotes which I could then refine to a certain area for example technological quote like steve jobs “innovation distingushies between a leader and a follower”.  Another suggestion I got was that I could use the quotes from my essay or I could make up quotes in a way that portrays a messsage. 

In relation to my sketches shown here, they have helped me visualise my ideas which I’ve developed and taken further since this point, which can be seen in my prototypes and development stages. 

My problem that needed solving was how print can be used and appriciated today. The solution to my problem was to create a series of posters that was most applicable to my audience. For these ideas I was thinking of the younger generations, those who have just learnt about print methods and want to try new things so I looked into colours that work together and the space around the text. When researching into the colour I thought it was best to look back on Burrill’s work to see what colours he put with other colours to see if I liked the look of them. For the text of my posters I went with quotes from my essays to reinforce my project as a whole.

By doing this I think that it has impacted on the meaning of what the type is trying to tell the viewer. However saying this I like the way the black writing looks on top of the warm orange. I like the orange of this poster due the fact that when I looked at all these prototypes together my eye was drawn to the orange one which means that it must be the one that stands out the most. However unlike my original ideas for the use of colour it does not completley draw your attention from the type that is there at present.

For these prototypes I also looked at teo different fonts. I used Impact as the heading font and futura of the smaller fonts. I wanted to see if you could spot the different fonts when looking at them and which looked the best. I think that the kerning of Impact is a bit too close together which makes it harder to read.  

I asked some peers about what they thought about these so far and the response was similar to mine however some thought having so many different colours doesnt really tie the whole project together as one and it looks a bit overwhelming and unproffessional.  

Research Study Task 5

Eye catching typography

My poster series I heavily based on Anthony Burrill’s work. Burrill is perhaps best known for his typographic, text-based compositions, including the now-famous “Work Hard and Be Nice to People”, which has become a mantra for the design community and beyond. I love how meaningful and eye catching his work is. 
The wood type that he used is always especially bold, and it fits. It is pretty strong, simple and non-designed.

Colour Theory

Colour theory is a body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual effects of a specific color combination. 
block colours
The designs need to take into considerations the target audience, mine is those who still appreciate print which is quite broad. This is why im basing my series on Burrill. Looking at Burrills use of colour he goes for very bold colours with high contrast to get the attention of those viewing it so he can get across his message.


Psychology of Posters

“The purpose of any poster is to communicate a message. To accomplish that, a poster must first grab a viewers attention. A poster is seen while someone is on the move - driving, riding, or walking by - so it must be engaging enough to capture a person’s attention amid all the other visual clutter."

Handmade techniques

Letterpress printing would be a good analogue technique to use, sticking to the hand-made theme. This process involves printing copies of type by pressing a raised surface, in the shape of the characters, onto paper. Before digital printers, this is how books were printed, it is very time consuming, contemporary experimental designs are created with letterpress. Screenprinting is another handmade technique which is widely used and something that I could use in my designs. 


Geographical:

‘of or relating to the natural features, population, industries, etc., of a region or regions.’
In relation to the geographical aspects of Leeds I looked at firstly at the contemporary art galleries in the area. As my target audience is based on people who go to exhibitions and people who love hand made print. Examples of galleries include; Henry Moore Institue, The Tetley, Gallery Munro House and Sunny Bank Mills. I then looked at Colours May Vary which is a shop which sells some of Burrill’s prints. 

Demographical:
‘relates to a particular structure or sector of a population’

In relation to my awareness campaign my chosen demographic is students. I chose students as when you are starting at university you learn all the different techniques that you could want to know and mnay people become interested in print as they never really as the machinery or knowledge before. More specifically




students in Leeds having focused on those at the University of Leeds and Leeds College if Art. Obviosuly there are many people other than students who are appriciative of print however I wanted a general demographic as a whole and since I don’t know exactly who is appriciative of print then I chose students.  The large student population of Leeds means that if they put on an exhibition of their prints a wide range of people would be reached, with a higher variation of age.

Psychographic:

‘the study and classification of people according to their attitudes, aspirations, and other psychological criteria such as life style, social class and personality’

For this I looked at the overall lifestyle of the students in Leeds. The majority of students enjoy their time in Leeds as it is wll known for its nightlife which is appealing to the youngre generation. Looking at The University of Leeds itself, they were voted 4th in the UK in the 2017 Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey which is very high up.


I chose 3 letterpress example and once screenprinting example as those are my two options that I could use for my project. 

The first figure helpes inform my design as I think the bright colours compliment each other nicely.

For the second figureit again was letterpress, a piece from the print project. When it was created it has the idea of limitation and working with what you have got. This informed my design as it made me think that less is more.

For the third figure it is Burrill which is what I am basing my peoject on, from this i love the bold big text. 


For the last figure I looked at screenprinting. This particular screenprint was made by clare halifax, I was looking aminly at the places that she placed the leafs, I liked the layout and was thinking I could use that sort of layout as a background.

Defining the brief Study Task 4

Research Focus

Research must reference theme of technology.

Aspect of technology: Hybrid aesthetic / handmade aesthetic 

Graphic design discipline: Design for screen / print making

Defining the design problem

The Problem:

- How analogue techniques can be used and appreciated now

- What is the message being portrayed?

Brief ideas: 

• Create a series of posters that feature famous quotes? To go in something like an exhibition
• technological quotes? - Steve jobs

Client needs / requirements

• Must be hand printed to show the importance and that hand printing is still loved today
• Vibrancy / attention grabbing, boldness.

Target Audience

Target audience is those who still appreciate the art that is print making. It used to be that you could tell a place for gigs if there was poster activity about it. The posters shout at you for attention, to make you think or act or just to make you smile. A lot of the younger generation are looking to bring print back. 

Visual Analysis Study Task 3

These 6 images I chose as somewhere to start and something handmade which I was going to look at for my essays and project. They all relate to my quote due to the fact that they are all handmade. 

 Atelier Mit Meerblick

- done by hand, the type is physically burned into the paper using a stencil template, each poster being a unique.

No Fly Posters - The Print Project

- done by hand, letter-pressed onto the paper being used for the print project. they print client work to an incredibly high standard using special finishes and techniques that are not possible using modern printing processes

Grafica Fidalga

Gráfica Fidalga are a trio of friends in São Paolo, Brazil, who make posters on a 1929 German Letterpress using hand carved wooden letters. They’re famous for their printing and have worked with the likes of Anthony Burrill. 

 Bob and Roberta Smith

Bob and Roberta Smith see art as an important element in democratic life. Much of their art takes the form of painted signs. Central to Bob and Roberta Smith’s thinking is the idea that campaigns are extended art works which include a variety of consciousness raising artefacts.

 Anthony Burill

strong bright type which is the main focus of his work

 Paul Smith Bauhaus - Art as life (Barbican)

by Glasgow based graphic designer and illustrator, Paul Smith. These works were made in response to a brief to create six Bauhaus-inspired images to be sold in the Barbican shop.

Harvard Referencing and Triangulation Study Task 2

Theme --> Technology
Focus --> Why are graphic designers reverting to analogue techniques /methods?


Robert Urquhart, 2015
- desire for individuality
- smaller individual designers keep traditions alive


Rick Peynor, 2013
- 1990's designers more experimental in handmade aspects


Phillip B Meggs, 2006
- breakthrough technologies / design innovations
- influence of designers and consequences