OUGD406 - Studio Brief 2 Final Design

After the crit I considered the feedback I received and started to make a new design. I wanted to play around with the 3D effect and mixing of the inks, as this was the most popular idea when it was discussed in the crit. It involves aspects of the idea of looking closer, and makes the image slightly distorted. I created this design, experimenting with shapes and text: 

I think this could work as the cover, but it doesn't particularly strike me as a book cover, it looks more like a poster and there's a lot of white space that I don't think works that well here.

Not being 100% happy with this design, I started again. Instead of using red and cyan to create a black, I changed the colours slightly and tried pink and cyan. These colours worked better together I think, giving a dark blue/purple look. This works better because the use of 2 colours mixing together to give a 3rd bright colour, rather than black makes the image look more interesting and inviting.

I warped the text around the swirling shape, as though it's drawing you into the book. I feel that this is my most successful cover design throughout this project, and I'm happy with what I've created. The cover looks exciting and it draws you into reading it, without it being misleading about the content as the cover its self is quite ambiguous. I think this design will screen print well and the inks will make it look very interesting. 

Now that I have a cover design, I'm going to focus on the spine and the back of the booklet to create the full wrap around design.

OUGD406 - Studio Brief 2 - Interim Crit

Today we had the interim crit for this brief, and 2 second years also joined us to give feedback and useful tips about screen printing.
These are the 5 designs I took into the crit:

 
 


I got some useful feedback here, and now know which direction to take my cover. Most people liked the 3D effect design, and said that it would translate really well as a screen print, using the colour overlays. People also liked the illusion designs, but someone said to be careful about looking like a magician or a world record book. The circular pink design didn't do too well, as someone pointed out that it kind of looks like a medical information leaflet on breast cancer because of the pink and delicate typeface used. I found the second years advice to be really useful as they're more experienced and sometimes have some ideas that we haven't thought of before. 

Overall I'm pleased with the feedback because people have given me a strong direction in which to head, and these designs aren't final anyway, so I have time to improve and consider what way I want to go.

OUGD406 - Final Ideas for Crit

For the interim crit we need at least 4 different ideas. The Illusion one was okay, but I decided to create another using wavy lines rather than circles, and also keeping most of the text legible:

I think I prefer this design as it's neater and more subtle than the other, and it doesn't look like an obvious illusion.
As my only designs so far had been based on illusions, I decided to try something different. I experimented with shapes and putting text around them to make it quite hard to read, but not impossible. I wanted the viewer to have to think about what they were looking at, so I came up with this:

The circular shape with the bold text inside represents an eye/telescope/magnifying glass, to signify looking closer. I think this cover would be suitable for this book as it's a text heavy book, but the cover is light and approachable but not misconceiving. 

My next idea was based around illegibility. I've recently been using a 3D red/blue approach to my work, which I really like - overlaying the colours to make a new colour in the middle can make it look quite disorientating if done correctly. Firstly I typed out the text and made it cyan, copied this text and offset it slightly and changed it to red, then applied the darken blending mode. I used the liquify tool to make the type quite illegible but also interesting to look at:

This is one of my favourite covers so far, because the colours and the way they over lay each other. I like the concept of the illegibility and how it fits together with the title. 

Finally, my last idea to take into the crit focused around the question mark sign, as a lot of the essays in this book question design and push the boundaries. I tried to combine it with the illusion designs slightly, to make it more interesting and came up with this: 

I'm not sure if I'm 100% on this design, I have others that I prefer, but it's always useful to get other peoples opinions from the crit so I'll see what they think. 

OUGD406 - Initial Ideas

My initial ideas for this project was to focus on the title of the book "looking closer" and play around with that, but also make it suitable for the content. As I stated previously, I don't think an illustration based cover would be applicable for this book because the entire book is just text. 
My first thought for the book was to do an illusion on the front, so you had to effectively look closer to see what the title is. Something like this:







I looked up some tutorials of how to make these kinds of covers and I came up with this:

The way this design works is you have to actually be further away from the cover for you to be able to tell what it is. My only concern about this is how well it would work as a screen print.

OUGD406 - Studio Brief 2 Research

To begin this brief, I decided to conduct some research into existing book covers to gain some inspiration. I looked at the online resources on estudio, and found the penguin drop cap series exceptionally well designed. I had already seen these before, but they're perfect research for this brief.





These covers have been created with between 2-3 colours and stock, which is one of the requirements for this brief. I don't think I'll be creating something illustrative for my cover, as my book is very text heavy and it would be misleading to have an illustration on the front. 

I also found a website called From Cover to Cover, which is described as "An ongoing project to design new covers for books I’ve read." This site was useful as each book was really different and all designed by the same person. Here are some of my favourites:















Most of these designs would be hard to achieve with screen-print, but most of them use text only with shapes and textures, which is something I'd like to achieve. I think these book covers are effective as they're simple, and don't necessarily reflect a strong message about the book - or if it does, its not obvious. I think this shows that you don't have to read the book, or relate the cover to the content for it to be successful. 

As my book is part of a set, I decided to look at the other editions of the book to see what their covers are like. 

All over these covers are very different and don't really match in any way. I think the 4th one is the best, as it's simple and clean. Other than that, I don't really like any of the covers. They don't reflect whats inside the book - essays and critical writing. I think they would work better if they had a consistent style so you know that they're part of a set, and looked more like a book about essays. As the target audience is students, graphic designers, or people with an interest in graphic design, I think they need to be more appealing to designers. If I saw any of these books on a shelf I wouldn't pick any of them up. I think they need to be more exciting, but also still reflect the content in a way. 

OUGD406 - Studio Brief 2 Study Task 3

For this study task we were asked to consider the feedback we received about or book covers in study task 2, and start to think about our own covers. I wanted to communicate an unclear message in which you had to look closer to understand. I wanted it to be eye catching, confusing, but also fun. 

Taking these words, I decided that Dingbats was a suitable typeface to try over a normal sans serif typeface, such as Helvetica or gill sans. I wanted the structure of the cover to be title, subtitle then the author.
Within a few minutes, I created this and printed it off: 

I feel like the idea I had in mind was better than the actual outcome. I think if I had more time on this idea it could look better. The idea was to play off the illegibility, so that you have to look closer to be able to see what it's saying. The words and comments I received for this design were:

Busy, illegible, decorative, postmodern, unreadable, busy, chaotic, challenging, difficult, too much imagery and unfriendly.

This was not what I was going for, but I do agree with those words as I was rushed to produce this and it's not something I'm very happy with. I think I'll try and develop this idea further and consider it for my interim crit, but I think the idea was better than the final execution. 

OUGD406 - Studio Brief 2 Study Task 2

For this study task we were asked to look at the front cover of our book and analyse it. This is the cover of my book: 

The cover was designed by a studio called Pentagram. They are one of the largest independent design companies in the world, and Pentagram does work in graphic design, identity, architecture, interiors and products.
The intended message of this cover is to show how serious the content is and links to the classic looking serif typeface used. The image overlaps the text slightly, as though you need to look closer to see the words. This book is one of 5 editions, and they all have different covers with no link to each other. The image used is quite sinister, especially with the negative effect. It also links to the title of the book.
I think the cover is successful in the way that it connotates the seriousness of the critical writing inside the book, but I think its quite boring and won't really grab attention, especially that of designers. 

In our groups, the feedback on my cover was:
- Looks like Law and Order (Bland)
- Eye catching because of the inverted photo, theres not much detail from far away so you have to look closer, relating to the title. It's scary and haunting, successful but outdated. (Haunting) 
- You could replace the title with Paranormal Activity and it wouldn't look out of place. It looks like somethings watching you, rather than you looking closer.
- It's not very relevant, it's more scary. It could be made relevant with the eyes squinting maybe. (Irrelevant) 
- It does work and stands out, but it's generic. It hasn't aged well. Effective.
- It looks more like a horror book. Black and yellow signifies danger. It's not very well thought out.
- It's very in your face. It doesn't link to the content. Unsuccessful. (Out of place)
- It looks like a "____ for dummies" manual. 
- Spine doesn't work, ruins legibility. It looks like a thriller novel. It needs more relevance to critical writing.
- The back is more relevant and appropriate. The colours work but overall its inappropriate. 

I agree with all of this feedback, I don't think the cover is overwhelmingly successful and I don't think it appeals to me as a designer, let alone anyone else. It looks dated and isn't relevant to the content, which can sometimes be a good thing, but this book is about critical writings only so some indication on the cover towards the content would be better. 

OUGD406 - Studio Brief 2, Study Task 1

Today we were given our first study task for Studio Brief 2. Although we haven't been given the proper briefing yet, this task is directly involved with it. We picked a book at random and had to research it in depth, looking at the context of the book, purpose, audience, when it was published, who by, who wrote it, etc.

My book was Looking Closer 2: Critical Writings on Graphic Design. It was edited by Micheal Bierut, William Drenttel, Steven Heller and DK Holland. This book is the second of its family, and there are 5 Looking Closer books in total. It was written in 1997, so as time progresses, the critical writing may need to be updated or new pieces should be written to keep up with the progress of design. The entire book is a collection of essays and critical writing, profoundly aimed at students, about graphic design. It's a non-fiction book written by professional designers, which will appeal to students as they can take inspiration and read about graphic design in a more academic way. The purpose of this book is to inform and educate within design. 
Since this book was published in 1997, 3 more books from the same series have followed it, so I am unsure of the relevance of it anymore. Most of the content will possibly be out dated. 
The design of the book is suitable for the content as it is heavily text based. It uses flush left on the body which reduces rivers. The rag is also barley noticeable, which makes it easier to read. The headings and sub headings are made clear with a different use of typeface, and each essay is distinguishable as it has a large title and is underlined. 
As this book is about a broad range of subjects from one period of time, it doesn't necessarily associate with one school of design. It has five main sections, including:

Design as language
On teaching and learning
Changing paradigms
Design as strategy
Public works

Within these sections, there are over 5 essays by different creatives on this subject, appropriate to the time period. 

This book was published by Allworth Press, who published the other versions of this book, and also books titled "Graphic Design Time Line: A Century of Design Milestones", "Graphic Design and Reading: Explorations of an Uneasy Relationship" and "Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design".

OUGD404 - Studio Brief 2 Book Ideas

This week we had a short crit to discuss our ideas about our book. I decided I wanted to create a book on something that I had knowledge about already, and something that I enjoyed. I decided to pick cooking, and wanted to create a recipe book. I liked the idea of having a book with two spines with a front and back, which then had main dishes on one side, and desserts on the other.

After discussing this idea in my crit group, we bounced ideas off each other about what kind of demographic I should aim at. I thought about looking at students, since I am a student. We also looked at meals for one (one is fun). I was initially thinking about designing a cook book filled with cheap, healthy eating recipes for students, but then I looked at the POLPO cook book and fell in love. I want to create something similar to that, with a sense of luxury to it, and this wouldn't really appeal to students at all. 

The white cover and gold foil print make this book look desirable, and the exposed spine works really well. The layout of the book is suitable, and makes the finished product enticing. The image spreads across two pages, but this isn't affected because of the exposed spine. 

After looking at this book, I've decided that I would prefer to bind my book, rather than use a fold technique. I think it will give a better finish and look more professional and luxurious. I am going to conduct more research into other cook books, and experiment with illustrations or photography, as food is quite temperamental with photography and sometimes doesn't look great. 

OUGD404 Studio Brief 2 Study Task 4

In the book binding workshop we created a range of books using different binding methods. We created 3 different types of book, a saddle stitch, japanese stitch and a concertina. 

Unfortunately I only have 2 of the booklets because I left one in the book binding workshop by accident and when I went back to collect it, it wasn't there.

OUGD406 - Secret 7 Submisson

Today I submitted my design for Secret 7: 

OUGD406 - Studio Brief 1 - Final Design and crit

After considering the feedback I was given, I decided to go with design 3, it was the design I was most confident with, due to the simplicity and the use of vectors:

I wanted to tweak it slightly so it looked more hypnotising and linked more to technology, so I decided to give it an anaglyph pattern, and have a pale pink background to make the colours stand out more:

Overall I am happy with my design, I think it gives a clear message and links to the song without being too obvious. The final crit was very similar to the interim, but we were given sheets of questions to analyse the work using the acronym DIET - Describe, Interpret, Evaluate, Theorise. The feedback that I received was very positive:

Describe:

An illustrated face with spiral eyes. Just features of face - eyes, nose, mouth. Swirly/spiral eyes. Blue and red used gives a 3D effect with a pinkish/off white background. 

Interpret:

Eyes look hypnotising. Blue and red reminds us of 3D glasses, which is suitable to the nature of the song. The mouth is slightly parted which emphasises the shock of hypnotism. Creates a sense of illusion and dizziness even though it is simplistic. 

Evaluate:

It's successful because it makes your eyes go fuzzy and you feel disorientated, almost like it's hypnotising you. Reflects the song well. The colours communicate a 3D effect which also adds colour the the illusion its self. They contrast well. 

Theorise:

Yes, it reflects the nature of the song, due to a sense of hypnotising the viewer, which is similar to what the song portrays. The idea of technology taking over. Expression looks consumed in technology. Looks best digitally. White space works well allowing features to breathe. Clear message, can't think of many improvements.

I feel happy with the feedback I received, they understood my message and I think thats important, because at first the design can look quite ambiguous, especially when you don't know what song it is.

OUGD406 - Studio Brief 1 - Interim Crit

This crit was different to all of the crits we have done before. It was a blind crit, so we had to leave our work on the table and ask questions for people to leave comments. While people were writing comments on ours, we critted other peoples work. I found this crit useful as people were more honest with their feedback, and gave me some good ideas, where as in normal crits, not everyone gives their true opinion yet.

This was all of the feedback I received about my designs. There was a lot to go through but it was very helpful as I don't usually get feedback in this volume. The numbers on my feedback are referring to my designs, which I will display here with their number:

Design 1 - 

Design 2 - 

Design 3 -

Design 4 - 

Design 5 -

Here is the feedback I received in more detail:

What song do you think it is?

• St. Vincent, because of the number 4 showing the negative side of using too much technology/social media.
• Digital Witness definitely, because of image 4. 
• St. Vincent, very obvious = computer,  eyes, etc.
• St. Vincent recognisable from design 1, having listened to the song. All the others are slightly harder to guess but I like the enigma.
• St. Vincent because of design 4 and the use of the word "computer" - link to the name of the song. Also the blind design from the video 
• St. Vincent because of the word computer
• St. Vincent - number 3 is what gives it away - think its the most obvious
• St. Vincent - colours on no. 1 are bright and representative.
• Definitely Digital Witness because the overall theme is like hypnotism and downfall which is successful.
• I think it is St. Vincent because of the use of the window on 5, and the hands illustation (4) as her main message is that digital media is a waste of time and you may as well be looking out of the window. 
• Digital witness - Reference to hypnotism and "too much computer".

Which design is your favourite? Why?

• Number 2 because of the colours and the cloud like effect, although I wouldn't be able to tell that it was for the St. Vincent song. 
• Definitely number 3, I think it is a strong image as it is black and white and I could see it being in a shop.
• Number 1 - love the angled text, overlapping colours, would stand out from a distance.
• I like design 2 as it is unclear what song it is for and looks like peter pan. It looks magical and unique.
• Number 2 because it's not clear what song the design is for. It seems like a disney movie poster. 
• 2 is probably my favourite as it is subtle and fairytale like. 
• 1 - The use of text is individual despite it only being 1 word.
• 4 is also really nice
• 3, I like how simple it is, the spirals are actually hard to look at. 
• I really like design 5, I think this is an element that no one in the class has used. I recognise the blinds from the video and it links in well to the video without being too obvious or cliché
• My favourite is number 5 because it is quite a subtle message from the lyrics that only fans will understand. The drama of black and white makes it stand out from the rest of the images. However, I really like the visual look of number 2, I am just unsure of the message you are portraying.
• I really like number 3 visually, I think it works really well and is a simplistic design. The hypnotised eyes pull you in and almost create an optical illusion.

How could any be improved? Give details:

• Number 5 could be improved by having some type maybe?
• 3 - try different colours but I think white works, 4 - no type, 2 & 3 - not really sure of the concept behind these
• 3 - try a colour on the background with white imagery, 4 - try black/dark grey background
• design 3 is a little too simple, feel it needs something extra - maybe changing weight of strokes to show curves. I also think the type choice for 4 is ill fitting with the song or the theme of computers - too artistic, needs to be more simple
• Design 3 could be better if some colours would be added because at the moment it looks too simple.
• Design 5 - not 100% sure on what this relates - not clear on the shape or why the colours are used and this could be made a little more obvious. 
• Maybe add more depth and texture to number 1, I like how the bright colours and "yeah" suggest our submission to digital things.
• You could try number 3 against a brighter coloured backgrounds/maybe give it an anaglyph effect to make it a bit trippy. 
• Could experiment with the eyes in number 3, maybe different uses of colour

Are there any colour changes you would make? Why?

• Number one because there is too much colour because of the overlaying of words. Try using a limited palette.
• 3 - coloured background and white illustrations 
• Perhaos a different coloured background for number 5, something less dark as the video is very colourful. Maybe yellow to show light coming in. Number 1 colours are too bright possibly? something less fierce, not necessarily pastels but not neons either.
• Maybe have a lighter coloured background for number 5 which would make it stand for.
• The colours/white backgrounds are very subtle compared to design 1 which is eye catching and exciting
• 4 could have a little stronger as I feel they're too pale and dont stand out well on white stock.
• 5 - the song and video is very lively and jolly so i don't think black and white works at all with this as it gives off connotations of depression, doesn't fit or link.
• maybe optical eyes in number 3 should  be in the bright colours of number 1, enforce the illusion image - or use the lilac/green theme from her video on number 5, this would make the image look less harsh perhaps?
• keep it simple - i like the colours used in 1, really effective and simple.

How do you think these should be produced?

• Screen print/mono print/water colour (2)
• I would definitely say for the colourful one digitally, and for the less coloured one screen print. 
• Screen print 1 + 3
• Screen print or printed on acetate for number 3
• 1, 3, 5 screen printed, others digitally
• Design 1 would do well with screen print and design 2 using paint e.g. water paint.
• For 1, screen print could work well as the inks can be made transparent. 
• They look really good vectorised!
• Vector images! or even a screen print I think would be really effective

I found this feedback really useful but quite overwhelming as there was so much of it. I think that it's really valuable to listen to what other people think, and I will definitely take some of this feedback on board.

OUGD406 - Studio Brief 1 - Final 5

The final 5 ideas i'm going to take into the interim crit are:

These were the ideas I was most confident with. I decided to discard the "whats the point" design because it wasn't my style and I felt it didn't really convey the message.