BRIEF 14: DIALOGUE//PHOTOGRAPHED POSTER//OUGD603

dialogue//colour print

black and white half tone poster for dialogue exhibition

BRIEF 12: SECRET 7//FINAL PRINTS//PHOTOGRAPHED//OUGD603

secret 7" (collaboration) - massive attack - karmacoma

BRIEF 09: MEANTIME//FINAL REPRINTED DESIGNS//OUGD603

final photographs:
After working on solving the print problem on this brief I am now finally happy with the outcome and have photographed it.  The final images are a huge improvement on the way I photographed my work in first and second year and I feel it makes all the difference to the final outcome and the overall professionalism of the designs.

BRIEF 13: THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF ROSY LEE//DEVELOPMENT//OUGD603

brief 13_development

I wanted the layout of this publication to be simple, I didn't want anything distracting from the single image and the type.  Each image would relate to the passage written in some way, linked through a memory or a visual image for the written passage.  I wanted quite a wide margin to give more white space.

Essentially what I've been doing with the footers of the right page is mapping, addresses/locations and the time.  This gives the image a bit more context in terms of factual information about the visual, the quote allows for the image to be read with more understanding 

I want to keep the style and layout of this publication simple with a lot of white space as I feel this would be the best arrangement for the imagery.  I am struggling with the positioning of the images on each page, and whether to keep the layout of the images on the left hand side consistent the whole way through or dot them randomly around each page according to that specific spread.

Some pages also vary as it could be one teabag image or two made up to form one image.  This spread has two reference points, using two visuals from the passage, however because theres such a contrast I don't know whether to exclude the smaller photo as it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the page.

I thought the serif fonts were quite appropriate for the aesthetic of the publication, the style of photography etc.  The basic layout is simple which is what I think works best as an over complicated layout could take away from the images.

cover:  For the front cover I don't want to include an image on the front page as I feel I couldn't pick one that would be appropriate to sum up the publication with a specific image, I also think it gives the content of the book away if being able to see one of the images on the cover.  I would like to have the cover in different stock, possibly brown parchment card with a sleeve over the top.  Another consideration was whether to include the meaning of Rosy Lee on the front cover, I think it would probably work better being in the title page:

This will be the opening page of the publication, including the title and the definition of 'rosy lee' (to give the book/title context)  I then added a quote by Marcel Proust that touches on 'memory' and the past which links well with the idea of the book, looking at memories and past events.

Now that I have printed the 'Tea in Paris' booklet I would quite like this publication to be printed in a similar way as I feel this would allow design consistency and also work well as a collection.

BRIEF 13: THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF ROSY LEE EXTENDED//PRINTING PROBLEMS//OUGD603

brief 13 extended: printing problems
It was important to print this booklet on a stock that was going to allow the photographs to show up bright and clearly as the layer of fabric type texture from the tea bag was layered over the images making it harder to see the photograph as clearly.  This is why I chose the matt paper from the print room.  I was really happy with the way the images printed, however, the paper was too thick to fold and ensemble and just ended up looking creased and unclean.

I then had to reprint it on a thiner matt stock to allow the folds to be completed properly and without creasing the paper and leaving visible marks and finger prints.  I think when I reprint this again before submission I will make the opacity on the teabag layer higher as the photographs have come out very clear and I think the whole publication would benefit with having the images looking slightly more faded in the teabag.

front cover: For the front cover I wanted to have a clean cream/white textured stock that would really compliment the serif typeface.  For the cover I have decided against having a teabag image, I think the plain cover with just the title 'Tea in Paris' will be more effective.

I wanted to add a small bookmark that depicted the most appropriate part of the T.S. Eliot quote, also covering the 'tea in' title so it just reads Paris.

I tried laying out the quote using both typefaces that were used throughout the 'Rosy Lee' booklet, after printing both I decided to go with the italicised print with the heading about 'drinking tea' which I thought was really fitting, in a separate typeface.

BRIEF 13: THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF ROSY LEE//EXTENDED BRIEF: TEA IN PARIS//OUGD603

brief 13 extended, tea in paris booklet

After completing the collected writings of Rosy Lee booklet I thought about extending the brief further and just making an additional booklet as I have recently been to Paris and thought some of the photographs from my trip could be displayed interestingly with the tea concept.  I wanted to look specifically at Parisian buildings and architecture and the general feel of the city without including a load of stereotypical tourist photographs.

In a tutorial with Brian he showed me a folding technique that I thought would be perfect for this simple idea:

I thought this would be a nice extension from the original book that I was doing, the technique includes a certain fold that allows you to trim the top part of the book off to form a sixteen page book.

The layout is similar to 'The collected writings of Rosy Lee' using the same typefaces and general layout, I thought it was important to keep the design consistent as the concept is the same.  When selecting the images of Paris I wanted to either square in on one detail of the subject or use photographs that obviously displayed Paris, but perhaps not in such an obvious tourist way.  

The images ended up all being within quite a similar colour scheme of beiges and creams, with the odd contrast of flowers and graffiti in selected images.

I also found a poem that fits the context of the publication perfectly, by T.S. Eliot, with both the mention of tea and Paris, which I thought could tie the whole thing together nicely:

Portrait of a lady:

II

 Now that lilacs are in bloom She has a bowl of lilacs in her room And twists one in her fingers while she talks. "Ah, my friend, you do not know, you do not know What life is, you who hold it in your hands"; (Slowly twisting the lilac stalks) "You let it flow from you, you let it flow, And youth is cruel, and has no remorse And smiles at situations which it cannot see." I smile, of course, And go on drinking tea. "Yet with these April sunsets, that somehow recall My buried life, and Paris in the Spring, I feel immeasurably at peace, and find the world To be wonderful and youthful, after all." 

This was a really traditional French restaurant taken from the outside which I thought would go quote well in the publication however I thought the contrast of dark tones didn't quite keep the consistency with the rest of the images.

Deciding composition of image within tea bag, I was aware that this was a photograph of the Eiffel Tower and so I didn't want to make it look too touristy, cropping at angles allows a more interesting visual.

Although the book mostly focuses on the imagery I thought it would add to the general aesthetic if type was included on each page.  Again to keep consistency I used the same typeface as 'Rosy Lee' and just added the photographs location/address.  It was originally between two layouts (below) however I felt the left one worked more so.

BRIEF 07: PERSONAL MANIFESTO//DESIGN DEVELOPMENT//OUGD603

design development:

As I wanted the french fold manifesto to visually reflect me as a designer I wanted to use my photography, as this is a particular area that I am really interested in.  I also wanted to incorporate my handwriting as I feel this could be quite a personal feature.  One of my manifesto points was 'travel' i wanted to use a photograph of when I travelled round Europe, this particular one was taken in Amsterdam.  I then looked at some quotes that could sum up travelling, these were my particular favourites:

“Not all those who wander are lost.” 
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” 
― Ernest Hemingway

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” 
― Marcel Proust

“Make voyages. Attempt them. There's nothing else.” 
― Tennessee Williams, Camino Real

“But that's the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don't want to know what people are talking about. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.” 
― Bill Bryson, Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe

I decided to take the Tennessee Williams quote, I wanted a main quote to sum up the poster and then a more detailed one as body copy.

“But that's the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don't want to know what people are talking about. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.”  

This is the quote I decided to use for the smaller type, taken from Bill Brysons, Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe.  There were some issues with digitalising the type in certain areas that needed to be amended.

For the image I wanted to use one that I took whilst travelling on interRail, I thought this would be appropriate anyway as interRail is about travelling and I thought the image depicted a European feel, the composition works well to allow text to be placed.  I took the Williams quote and changed the text to white as it was more legible and looked better against the photographs background.

Positioning of text:  Looking at the best way to lay out the quote.  The photograph allows for the text positioning to have quite a few options in terms of header or footer off the page.  Certain areas of the photograph also benefit from having parts of the body copy in black.

layout:

I had a few similar layouts that could work for the final design.  I need to decided whether the contrast between black and white on the same design works well or looks inconsistent.  Also the positioning of the body copy and the quote needs to be decided, where it is placed best on the image.

layout 01:

layout 02:

layout 03:

TIME MANAGEMENT//EVALUATING PROGRESS//OUGD603

time management, evaluating progress.
I feel recently I've been a bit out of touch with work and lost track with the direction of things, I've been feeling fairly stuck with what stage to take next with a few briefs and so it feels like I've fallen behind in certain areas that I need to catch up on over the Easter break.  My general concern is how to get it all done now that I have to work on the COP book and the new ditto brief.

BRIEF 16: SELF BRANDING//CREATIVE CV DEVELOPMENT//OUGD603

creative CV development:

For my creative CV I wanted to create a small booklet with a fold out of my manifesto on the back page.  I thought having my manifesto feature in my creative CV was appropriate as I think its a feature that ties a lot about what I think about design and in some ways the visual aspect of my design together.  The booklet will be A6 size and feature samples of my work and my education and experience.

To keep it consistent with my self branding my logo will feature on the front page using the stamp, on brown stock, matching the duplexed business card stock.  

The first page will have a statement about me as a designer, the same one that features on my self branding post cards.  Followed by qualifications and experience, typeface used will be Minion Pro, the same as my branding logo to keep the style consistent.

mock up/ testing format:

I mocked up my idea for the creative CV to see how the fold out manifesto would work, I also looked at how I could bind the final design and decided a good way to, considering the fold out page at the end would be to use binding clips.  I wanted to use the same stock as I had for the duplexed business cards to keep the branding consistent.

BRIEF 16: SELF BRANDING//WEBSITE MOCK UPS//OUGD603

website mock up:
I have started putting together a mock up for my personal website which I will hopefully be able to code in the next few weeks.  I want the design to be simple with a lot of white space as I feel the main focus should be on the images of the work.  I have decided to use the same typeface as my branding to keep it consistent and have incorporated my logo in a way that I think suits the layout of the mock up best.  This was my original layout and design, however as I already have two variations of the logo, I didn't want to create a third as I  feel this would start to look inconsistent.

This was my new idea for the homepage, to have the second variation of the logo as a constant feature on all the pages.  For the home page I thought it would tie in nicely if I had the visuals from my manifesto (brief 07) as a set image that would change once the page was refreshed.  The logo would over lay the images and the quote from the manifesto would be centrally aligned, with the tabs being positioned on the left hand side.

Work page:  For the work page obviously the main focus should be the images of work.  This will be accompanied by a small passage explaining the brief, I think the type and description works better aligned on the left hand side along with the tabs as opposed to centrally above the image.

final web mock ups:

BRIEF 01: CONTEMPORARY CULTURE//PRIMARY ZINE RESEARCH//OUGD603

zine research
To get some more ideas about how to present the photography that I will have gathered for my contemporary culture brief, I took a trip to the Village bookstore to try and get some variations of layout.  This led to loads of great new ideas and inspiration for layout, finishing, stock and size.  Obviously I think it will be easier to judge what style direction the zines should take when I receive photos back from my selected designers.

Standard zines offer a basic layout and format, mostly being photographs, one per page with white space and usually A4.  I think this simple layout can be effective depending on the quality and aesthetic of the photography.  This could be a basic display of contemporary culture in a number of different cities, with the photos talking for themselves.

Again, another simple layout, I think the similarity in colour scheme between the two photographs, not only compliments one another but keeps it consistent.

This layout was slightly different, bigger format and with text.  Originally my idea was to add text to the zines, which is still the idea, however, I don't want to add text if it seems pointless or irrelevant to the zines subject and photographs.  Depending on which city and the style of photography, black and white could work for some of them.

 This publication really caught my eye, especially for the contemporary culture brief.  It was a collection of zines in a card book sleeve for them to work as a collection.  I think this is something to really consider with this project, how I can display the zines individually but also as a collection.  Either a small box, belly bands or a sleeve could all work.

This newspaper zine caught my eye as I've always wanted to print on newsprint, I don't think this specific project would be the best because Im hoping the photographs will be of a good enough quality to display on a clean white stock.  Also because the cameras used by each designer are only polaroid disposables the quality wont be as good as shooting digital/film and so newsprint may not allow for the colour and texture to show properly.