Blog Evaluation.

Alphabet Soup - Condense.

This was the first main brief that we did. The theme was quite basic but it allowed us to really focus on the concept in a direct way. My word was condense, to begin with I found it easy to find ideas to apply but as I got further through it got more challenging. Although I found that the ideas I came up with later were perhaps more successful than the originals. My research for this wasn't very specific because of the number of variations we had to create. As well as this I also looked into current typefaces that I could base my new design on that would accommodate my designs. I feel the most successful of the set are the condensation drops, bubbles and drips.
Alphabet Soup - Partner.

This is one of the briefs that I found I connected with and I really liked my end piece. Initially I found it difficult to apply the answers from the questionnaire to a typeface, although once I had decided on my compass idea and started experimenting with it I found it fitted into place. I found the most challenging part of this project was finding a suitable original typeface to use that fitted with the grid I had made. When I had finally completed it the time consuming part was transferring it by hand onto tracing paper especially with all the dotted lines.

Proverbally Yours - 3 posters.

Next up was proverbally yours where we were given a proverb from the randomiser, I got 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' which I was really happy with as it was one that I was familiar with and I thought I could produce some nice imagery to go with it. The research I did for this was very limited and could definitely be improved on, I think if this was done it would also improve the overall look of the posters too. I feel I did a good amount of layout experiments for the posters which ensured I chose the right option.

Proverbally Yours - Mail Shot.

Linking to the last brief we then had to create a mail shot, but with an added aspect of having to refer to a certain occupation. I had a rapper which turned out to be really difficult to link with my original proverb. Originally I had the thought of creating a cd consisting of rap songs associated with love, but after thinking about it I moved on to the links with that style of music and gang and violence culture. I liked this idea but I don't love my final piece as I find it isn't a style that I am aesthetically attracted to. I think the tattoo aspect fits well with my album cover research and the type style also links with my original poster design.

How To - Group.

This group started off individually with a how to question, we then got combined into larger groups of people with similar themes. After getting together we decided on the idea of how to grow vegetables. As a group we did a fair bit of research into this such as questionnaires, imagery and audience related. We found that when we went into our crit our idea changed quite a lot as it was brought up that it could cater to our student audience more. This put quite a bit of pressure on the group which was difficult and I got pretty stressed out right at the end and was relieved when it was over.

How To - Individual.

This was our main research orientated brief. It went on for a long time which allowed for a big body of work to be created. I found gathering the 3 sets of 100 really useful for when it came to collating my final piece. To begin with I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to create all 5 zines as it was a lot of work, although I found that once I had created one I found that the others came easier as I already had a template to work with.
The Poster Brief.

This was the first live brief we have been given and it was interesting reading a brief in a new format. I really enjoyed creating the imagery for this as I felt there was lots of avenues I could go down and I developed a style I hadn't used before. I did a lot of experiments for this which has been documented thoroughly on my blog. I didn't change a lot after my final crit except to alter some words and some colour tones.
Communication Is A Virus.

This was another group brief that I did with my 3 closest friends on the course. Initially we were slightly worried about the situation as we were unsure how we would work together in a group but afterwards e found that we worked successfully together, got a lot done and created some successful end results. We all had quite specific jobs to do within the project which worked well, this also helped when were presenting as we all knew what to say in each section. One thing I am proud of that we did during this was getting our product out into the environment via the local cafe's as we successfully pitched our idea the business owners and created our products on time to be used.
Stamp It.

I really liked the pieces I made during this brief and I really felt I explored a different style. After drawing my illustrations I had quite a strong idea on what I wanted them to look like so I was happy when I achieved it. The main challenge of this brief was condensing my ideas onto a small surface area and still conveying the intended message. After completing my stamps I am going to have to alter them slightly to focus on a different idea that was suggested in the crit.

End Of Module Self Evaluation.

Photoshop Brief Photos.

These postcards printed out a lot better than I expected seeing that I printed them using my own printer. I find it interesting looking at the photos because certain aspects appear to have a three dimensional quality and lift from the surface. I think they look good as a set with the bright colours and textural style. I think the white also works in breaking up the composition.

Final Crit Feedback.

Here is the feedback I received on the final crit from Sam and Sam. I am really happy with it as they right how they feel my piece is relevant for my target audience in the style I have chose. One development they suggested was to vary my imagery, this is something that I could work on for further pieces.

Final 100 Things Photos.

Here are some final images of my final pieces! I am really with how they have printed out apart from one small problem of one of the zines being slightly smaller than the other three. Annoyingly I didn't notice the fault until I started cutting out the paper a few days after printing and with problems in the print room I was unable to get a space because I hadn't booked a print slot. Even though it is still visible how my pieces work as a set and I think the consistency works well. To begin with I was nervous about the double sided printing incase it was really out of line, but it was all fine. I think my favourite pair is the 'students and finance' because I really like the contrast between pastel and burnt orange and I think the repeat pattern of the imagery looks attractive. From seeing all my pieces in a group I am happy with my colour scheme as I think each tone compliments well.

Photoshop Brief.

These are my final A5 postcards for the Photoshop brief. I initially chose the colour purple as a starting point, so from there I had to use images from my colour theory work, which were ones of this monkey keyring. To begin with I was unsure whether they would be suitable as they did't have a very sophisticated appearance. Even though I decided to continue with some experiments anyway to see how it would turn out, which I am glad that I did. I chose to harness the fun, laid back quality of the subject by using bright and contrasting colour to emphasise the purple and give an exciting look. I really like how the texture has been incorporated as well because it creates a variety of tones and pattern. The type was an addition that came at the end, as I was working my way through the editing I kept thinking of common sayings linked with monkeys and decided to incorporate them into the piece. I'm happy with the finishing touch this gives along with the lines to create balance. I hope printing goes well to justify the vibrant colour.

Photoshop Brief Construction.

This is the process I went through to create this set of postcards. Initially I decided on my chosen image to use and applied a texture on top and played with the opacity so the initial picture still showed through.

I then altered the settings of hue/saturation and brightness/contrast to give a more vibrant appearance that was more in sync with my chosen colour scheme.

Afterwards I used the eraser tool on a low opacity to remove areas of the top layer to make the image more prominent, on some areas I didn't remove very much in order for the texture to still show above.

Next I did some experimentation with type, looking at colour, font, placement and opacity. Because of the shape of the image it was difficult to create balance so it took a few attempts.

Finally I added to parallel, vertical lines just to break up the strong colour in the composition.

Group Crit Feedback.

Today we had a group crit where lots of statements were made about all the work that was displayed. Here is what was said.

• Unclear of audience
• Context
• Where/what/why?
• Interesting concept
• Is it what it says it is?
• Visually consistant
• Audience
• Are you being inventive enough?
• How would you justify what you produced?
• How the eye travels
• What reaction are you expecting?
• Repetitive
• Doing things for the sake of it

I didn't find this crit as useful as I have some others mainly because there isn't much clarity. For example, with my work it is hard to tell whether it is thought to be visually consistent in a good way or repetitive?

Final Postcards.

These are my final postcards I am really pleased with how they have turned out. I think the repeat pattern looks effective and the colour schemes of each work successfully together. I am also happy with how they are consistent with the zines and look good as a complete set. I was quite surprised that all the images worked well as a pattern, a few needed a couple of attempts to get a aesthetically pleasing and I think the darker one in them all finishes them off well.