OUGD603 / Extended Practice - Peter and Paul: Submission boards.

OUGD603
PETER AND PAUL
SUBMISSION BOARDS

OUGD603 / Extended Practice - Peter and Paul: Feedback + Evaluation.

OUGD603
PETER AND PAUL 
EVALUATION

Feedback:

• It could have been a good idea
• Missed the boat with it
• Should have been an underlying/subtle theme, but was too literal
• Implied implications from prospective students

Working with the Danielle:

Working with Danielle was a really positive experience, we both have a similar work ethic and so neither of us were ever waiting for the other to get work done. She was also really easy to communicate with, and neither of us would hold back on our opinions which made it a very professional and easy working relationship. I also found Danielle's positive attitude motivated me and was one of the reasons I was excited to partake in the live brief. 

Our outcomes:

In the end at final mock ups I was really happy with our resolution, however throughout the project I did question my ability to produce my side of the design. However, the more progress I made throughout the project the more confident I became in my side of the design. I also think that the designs work really well together and are simple but strong. In addition I think the designs were really well considered, as well as bringing something new to the table, we really considered the surrounding environment the designs would be housed in and drew direct inspiration from this. Although they could be considered a bit controversial I think our designs represented something students need to be reminded of. Overall I think our outcomes worked really well for only a few days work from research to end product. 

What could we improve on?

In terms of improvement based upon the feedback given by Peter and Paul, they said that we should not be so obvious and direct with our message, which I understand, but thought the concept worked really well anyway. Another simple addition which I thinking could have helped to improve our work was just more time. I don't usually work with a focus on just type, however I have done a few bits and pieces before in different projects, but this is what Danielle approached me for. I know that if I had more time I would have been able to refine the design a lot more and produce something I was really happy with. On the other hand also, if I had the chance to re-do the project I would consider producing a typographic piece that is not so stylised and complex, but still withholds impact and the light heartedness of the script font.  

  

What did I learn?

I learnt a lot about working relationships in this project, mostly that working with someone who you trust and who has a similar work ethic to you will not only make a successful project, but an enjoyable one. I also learnt a lot about concepts, the controversial message may not be seen as appropriate by everyone, but sometimes taking a risk can be rewarding, maybe not in success but in enjoying your design practice, and from time to time you should test the waters and do something that excites you. I also learnt that type is not one of my most lucrative skills and although I managed to get there in the end and complete something I was fairly happy with, if I ever plan on on doing a typography focused piece again, I'm going to need to work on timing and planning to leave enough time to develop something I'm happy with. I spent the 2-3 full days we have just working on the one piece of type by hand before spending time working with it digitally and so It would be nice in future to work on my skills and perhaps practice typography outside of design so I can become more efficient. 

OUGD603 / Extended Practice - Peter and Paul: Design development.

OUGD603
PETER AND PAUL
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT



Today I have to begin working on and producing the piece of lettering as the presentation is tomorrow. I don't yet have a particular methodology towards creating type as it is something I have only just began experimenting with. My methodology for creating this piece of type was to work on each word individually. As previously, seen in my Heavenly project which I completed opposite my dissertation, I have worked with constructing my own type, but only ever with one word pieces. As this is a full phrase I decided that dissecting it would be best, using each word I sketch out as a size reference for the next. I also thought that I could go back at the end and redraw the whole piece of type together at the end ironing out any glitches, and making the composition more technically sound.                                                 

With each word I completed I took pointers from the previous in terms of x height, counter sizes and swashes. In the end the type piece should look quite organic and fluid, and so in reflection of this I am taking a very organic approach. 

The more words I sketched out I began placing them into the composition I would follow to see sooner rather than later where the technical issues would be that need ironing out. I also have to keep in mind that the wall I am creating the type for is very vertically focused, and so I began thinking about the amount of words per line, and how the phrase would fit into the space. It is important that the type fits vertically but also that the composition does not come into contact with the water fountain seen in place at the bottom of the space, and doesn't over hang the top. 

I will be able to control the scale and placement more so once I am happy with the type and begin working digitally.

Once I had completed sketching up each word separately, I moved onto tracing each word with layout paper drawing guides for figures such as base and x height so that the piece of type looked more fluid and in proportion to itself. 

Happy with the design on paper I then transferred it into illustrator, where I plan to vectorise each word of the composition separately so each word could be individually cut large scale on our in house laser cutters reducing cost and the need to outsource. 

I created an illustrator document the same size as the space I am working with on the wall:

H = 2450mm

W = 1770mm

With my canvas being equivalent to the space on the wall I have to work with, I began drawing up each piece of the type composition in illustrator, and putting it into the format shown in my hand drawn piece:

Once I had done this I took the design into cinema 4d in order to make it 3d.

I added a mirrored texture to the front of the type and I also thought about how we could incorporate the pink of the neon lights into the typographic piece by colouring the exposed sides this colour, whether this be by painting or spray painting the wood.

I thought the idea and visual of incorporating the pink into the environment worked really well and would further help to integrate the type piece into the space. 

This is the design I am choosing to present in the presentation:

In terms of the wall Danielle was working on, to include the opinions of our course mates whom share the space and gain a more accurate view of the activities our peers like to do outside of design, we asked them what they like to do outside of university and what other places they gather their inspiration from. 

In reflection of the answers given Danielle would create a set of symbols that represent the answers that people give, alongside other activities relevant to the course students that she thinks of. 

In response to the answers she got, Danielle created a simple set of symbols to communicate the activities we should partake in and not forget about when we are in the graphic design zone.  

OUGD603 / Extended Practice - Peter and Paul: Design development.

OUGD603
PETER AND PAUL
IDEA / DESIGN DEVELOPMENT





We began by looking at an array of different type installations. We mainly wanted to look at ideas inspired by our environment such as neon typography, in which we could use colours taken from the neon lights in the environment. We also looked at typography that was more industrial and had a metallic aesthetic to draw upon the materials of the exposed pipes in the spaces.



The neon lit typography looked really great and bold, and more so would be a great reminder for those staying late into the evening up until college close as it would light up in the darker hallways reminding students that there is more to life than graphic design. 

Although we were both in agreement that the neon type would make a great statement and tie in well with both the message and the environment, we also of course, have to consider budget and so integrating lights into the design is most probably going to be out of the question. Therefore if we want to incorporate the neon colours we are going to have to find another way to do so that doesn't include lights. 

We also had a look at another material option which was the use of more metallic and industrial textures, such as metals and shiny acrylics. Again the metal could be a bit too expensive, and so if we were wanting to use more of a metallic texture, the most viable and affordable option is probably going to be using mirrored acrylic which we would have the ability to laser cut ourselves to whatever shape needed inside of college. 

The idea of a reflective material over a metal also seemed more appropriate as the phrase which we are wanting to install onto the wall is in reflection of all the students on Graphic design. Therefore the material would play upon the theme of reflection just as the type installation has done below. 

In order to create a statement we really wanted to make a statement that is individual and bespoke and involved me creating a piece of lettering from scratch, giving me the scope to do almost anything with the lettering. In order to avoid the type appearing like just another type face we looked at piece of typography that were one off statement pieces. 

There was a piece of type in particular that we looked at which we felt was a great statement, and had great fluidity. Illustrative work is one of my stronger points and so such work seemed to match my skill set. I also liked that it seemed to make the typography a little bit more whimsical and fun giving the message a light hearted edge, rather than serious, which you might get from a bold sans serif typeface, and lacks formality which would have come from using a serif type.  

I also found a type installation that used a similar fluid piece of lettering that was produced 3d and structured using laser cut corrugated card, which is a great way to build script 3d type as the material is very flexible. 

In order to make our piece of type 3d, if we do choose to plan on cutting it from mirrored acrylic, which id not a flexible material, we would have to consider layering the type, possibly cutting it from one material such as a low weight wood, and cutting the design from mirrored acrylic which would be laid on top. 

Before thinking any further about the technical details of producing the piece of type, I worked on drawing up the phrase in the style we desired. 

OUGD603 / Extended Practice - Peter and Paul: Idea generation.

OUGD603

PETER AND PAUL

IDEA GENERATION

Last night I was contacted by Danielle Harrison who asked me if I would like to pair up with her to work on the Peter and Paul brief in which we have been asked to design environments for two wall spaces around our area. The presentations to review ideas are only in 2 days and so this will be a really quick turn around brief, but I was excited about the possibility of leaving something behind at the college after we left.

I have never done any environmental or spatial design, but this wasn't something that steered me away from the project. As a designer with an interest in branding I know that spatial design can often be used to extend and partake in a brand. I also felt it would be good for me to branch out and do something different, work on a very quick turn around brief, and also have a short break from other larger projects I was working on. 


The Brief:

What are you designing?

This is your building. You live here. So we want you to create something for the space that’s yours. This is your chance to become part of the fabric of the building and have a legacy even after you’ve left!

Your brief is to design a piece of semi permanent artwork to live in two spaces in the Graphic Design department.Your piece can be anything so long as it lives on these walls. Anything goes: Illustration, typography, photography, installation, whatever but there are some important things to bear in mind:

• This has to be something that you and your course mates want to look at every day – so it has to have some aesthetic value.

• It has to be practical – something we can feasibly produce for a moderate budget

• It should communicate an idea.



When we were tasked with the same brief we found it helpful to devise some themes against which to work. 

You can do that too if you think it will help you come up with ideas but it’s not imperative.

The competition process:

We will see all your submissions on Friday the 9th January and then select 3 or 4 people or groups to pursue their ideas to a second stage proposal.Once we’ve seen how that second stage has developed we’ll then select one person or group to make their ideas real on the walls!

We’ll then be there to guide with the process of making the work and installing it.





The Spaces:

Our theme: 

When I met with Danielle today she already had a theme that she had been brain storming before she contacted me. When discussing the theme with me I thought it was both exciting and a bit controversial, but if executed well, it could really work. Her idea was to use the space to help remind students that there is more to life than Graphic design. I agreed with her that although the concept could be a bit risque it was something that is relevant to the students across all 3 years of the course which come into contact with the space. Often we can all get swept away with the motions of Graphic design and forget to live life. I know that this is something Danielle has really been trying to follow thus far this year and so I was happy to carry on working on the idea with her. 

In relation to the two wall spaces Danielle had the idea of creating one space using type and the other space using just image. This is where I came in, Danielle had asked me to work with her due to some type work that I had done for the practical element of my dissertation project 'Heavenly chocolate'. I was happy to try working with type again, I hadn't done a lot of it, however with completing the Heavenly branding I was excited to have another go, to see if I could extend my skills further.

We wanted to use the phrase 'There's more to life than graphic design' to create a really bold statement that would stand out against the long white wall located on the lower floor of the selected environment. 

When thinking of an image based idea to reflect the type that we could put on the alternative space of the upper floor, we thought of somehow representing the text through a selection of imagery / symbols to communicate all the different activities to be done outside college that we as graphic designers enjoy, and should not forget about. 

Project management:

We decided to split the work into two, where I would work on the type based wall and Danielle would work on the image based wall. However we will both work on the research sector of each piece together to ensure that we exhaust as many ideas as possible. 

The environment at a further glance:

In order to gain inspiration for both pieces we looked at the surrounding environment at aesthetic properties such as colours and materials. 

We found that the space was really interesting and there was a few different aesthetic components that we could reflect on when developing designs for both wall spaces. 

The first thing we noticed were industrial elements such as the ventilation and water pipes that were left uncovered in the space almost as a piece of mechanical decoration. I felt that this really stood out against the white dominated space and could be something that we acknowledge and celebrate further. 

In terms of colour it was that there was a lot of white used, and there were large splashes of teal noticeable on studio doors etc. However at a further look we noticed that there was integration of colour implemented through neon bar lighting in the space using the colours pink and blue. We thought it would also be good to try experiment with these colours where possible to make our designs really connect with the space.