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Showing posts with label Brief 2: Eureka DP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brief 2: Eureka DP. Show all posts
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
End of Module Evaluation.
This was and was always going to be the toughest module of the entire course. I have however gained more than just experience and a portfolio I dont feel ashamed of, I have gained acceptance from a group of peers I thought would chew me up and spit me out like the previous year. I have made some friends, designed some good work and gained a whole heap of new lessons that will bank within my cortex for many years to come. My practice has reached a stage where I feel as if I could happily carry on and create even better and more visually stimulating work without fear of ridicule or personal defeat. I think from what I have talked about with tutors, pros, peers and mates is that I have a much clearer - yet not fully formed - idea of what my future holds. From how to present myself, how to get myself known, who not to call, who to call and how to be someone I will be proud of.
I believe to have succeeded in my illustration abilities and learnt that if I spent time on what I am doing whilst keeping in mind a strategy for producing work, I can create wonderful, high quality and near professional imagery. I have managed to achieve my goal of actually making full use of the processes and workshops available to me, rather than wasting time and deliberating over what can and cant be done. Being a doer not a dont. I took on a range of briefs to make up for lost time in previous years where I would create abhorrent, unprofessional, unconsidered work that just wasted my time on the course. I think that I set the bar a bit too high for myself in order to try give myself the best chance to seek out employment/freelance work when I graduate, but have loved the extremities of late nights and hard work despite the overall outcome.
The briefs were diverse enough for me to try and test a range of abilities I thought I did not have; type, illustration, in fact the whole bag, but I am confident that I can and have applied my own personal touch to my projects, despite my feeling of "its all a bit late for that now" syndrome. I can confirm though that after all of this work and tribulations that I am indeed an image driven illustrator/designer with a long way to go, but I have accepted this and am eager to see what I can do, where I will go and how I will shape my future.
The lack of actual hand drawn illustration was a fault of my own, lending to personal confidence issues and an overall draining of time and responding to managing multiple briefs. I think I really could have found more ways to include my style of illustration to fit into some of my other briefs, but once again down to self-doubt and relevance to each brief's context. I really believe that I have enough time and experience to develop my skills further for future endeavours. From feedback from peers and others, I feel as if I am at a stage where I could confidently approach others to collaborate or work for.
The products I have produced are a mixed bag, to be honest I think I could have produced something of a much higher quality than I have submitted, but that's down to not trying everything due to financial restraint and poor planning.
The 2920 brief could of been sent of much earlier, but I was being finnicky about the outcome and paid the price as it has not even arrived yet. I am proud of that brief as a whole, as I created a whole range of top quality prints, especially concerning the Treaty and the Morag Tong writ of sealing. They were the pride of the range of deliverables because they came out the best in terms of how I foresaw them and how they manifested physically. The map was the weakest, as I should of screenprinted it onto cloth, but decided that it would of been safer just to print it digitally and then deal with the outcome. The method of production for the map would have changed if I were to redo the brief, as the tatty ends do it NO JUSTICE. I was under the influence that I would make it look presentable, but time has not been my friend. The chest itself will be redone after I get it back so it fits in with the rest of the brief. I will also be making the brass replica dagger as it kills me how unreliable blacksmiths can be.
The quality of Jenny's deliverables were a mixed bunch, to start with the production was left until very late, as I believed I could satisfy the deadline as well as produce something that, physically looked professional. The box looks amazing, but that is because I did not make it. The prints/postcards came out unaligned, but that is because I let Jenny print them as she was disorganised and had to take my later slot which cost me valuable deliverables for the other briefs. I am not entirely pleased with the entirety of the brief's deliverables, but I am glad that she has some cool promotional materials that I can reproduce in time for her EOYS.
Code magazine came out pretty well, despite the draft issue in the cover being made by myself, which turned out terribly, yet rectified by sending it off to be produced. The quality of the VG book in tandem was not entirely up to what I expected, but the positive is that I managed to research and discover a whole range of self-publishers and their respective quality when concerned with publications. I think I really should have produced more prints for the VG feature, but once again poor planning and lack of project management did not allow for this.
If I were to redo this module, I would definitely make sure that I stuck to a brief until it came to fruition rather than allowing it to fall through my grasp and then I lose all interest in it and its subsequent impact. I would also develop more deliverables and try to exploit everything to its fullest potential rather than scaring myself into thinking I cannot produce something to a high or acceptable standard.
I would definitely get everything designed, and sent off to print much quicker as I have been waiting around for ridiculous amounts of time and generating a whole hotbed of stress for myself which doesnt really help at all.
I came out of this module feeling more confident but not entirely convinced of my level of skill in relation to graphic design. I do feel as if I could go out and effectively collaborate or apply through gritted teeth due to the existing levels of peer professionalism which tends to dampen my spirits and overall confidence. I am worried but excited about my future, I worry about my time management, I worry about alot of things, but I will give it my best, try get a job in a print studio and be the best damn illustrator I can be, hoping to join the ranks of those I worship.
I believe to have succeeded in my illustration abilities and learnt that if I spent time on what I am doing whilst keeping in mind a strategy for producing work, I can create wonderful, high quality and near professional imagery. I have managed to achieve my goal of actually making full use of the processes and workshops available to me, rather than wasting time and deliberating over what can and cant be done. Being a doer not a dont. I took on a range of briefs to make up for lost time in previous years where I would create abhorrent, unprofessional, unconsidered work that just wasted my time on the course. I think that I set the bar a bit too high for myself in order to try give myself the best chance to seek out employment/freelance work when I graduate, but have loved the extremities of late nights and hard work despite the overall outcome.
The briefs were diverse enough for me to try and test a range of abilities I thought I did not have; type, illustration, in fact the whole bag, but I am confident that I can and have applied my own personal touch to my projects, despite my feeling of "its all a bit late for that now" syndrome. I can confirm though that after all of this work and tribulations that I am indeed an image driven illustrator/designer with a long way to go, but I have accepted this and am eager to see what I can do, where I will go and how I will shape my future.
The lack of actual hand drawn illustration was a fault of my own, lending to personal confidence issues and an overall draining of time and responding to managing multiple briefs. I think I really could have found more ways to include my style of illustration to fit into some of my other briefs, but once again down to self-doubt and relevance to each brief's context. I really believe that I have enough time and experience to develop my skills further for future endeavours. From feedback from peers and others, I feel as if I am at a stage where I could confidently approach others to collaborate or work for.
The products I have produced are a mixed bag, to be honest I think I could have produced something of a much higher quality than I have submitted, but that's down to not trying everything due to financial restraint and poor planning.
The 2920 brief could of been sent of much earlier, but I was being finnicky about the outcome and paid the price as it has not even arrived yet. I am proud of that brief as a whole, as I created a whole range of top quality prints, especially concerning the Treaty and the Morag Tong writ of sealing. They were the pride of the range of deliverables because they came out the best in terms of how I foresaw them and how they manifested physically. The map was the weakest, as I should of screenprinted it onto cloth, but decided that it would of been safer just to print it digitally and then deal with the outcome. The method of production for the map would have changed if I were to redo the brief, as the tatty ends do it NO JUSTICE. I was under the influence that I would make it look presentable, but time has not been my friend. The chest itself will be redone after I get it back so it fits in with the rest of the brief. I will also be making the brass replica dagger as it kills me how unreliable blacksmiths can be.
The quality of Jenny's deliverables were a mixed bunch, to start with the production was left until very late, as I believed I could satisfy the deadline as well as produce something that, physically looked professional. The box looks amazing, but that is because I did not make it. The prints/postcards came out unaligned, but that is because I let Jenny print them as she was disorganised and had to take my later slot which cost me valuable deliverables for the other briefs. I am not entirely pleased with the entirety of the brief's deliverables, but I am glad that she has some cool promotional materials that I can reproduce in time for her EOYS.
Code magazine came out pretty well, despite the draft issue in the cover being made by myself, which turned out terribly, yet rectified by sending it off to be produced. The quality of the VG book in tandem was not entirely up to what I expected, but the positive is that I managed to research and discover a whole range of self-publishers and their respective quality when concerned with publications. I think I really should have produced more prints for the VG feature, but once again poor planning and lack of project management did not allow for this.
If I were to redo this module, I would definitely make sure that I stuck to a brief until it came to fruition rather than allowing it to fall through my grasp and then I lose all interest in it and its subsequent impact. I would also develop more deliverables and try to exploit everything to its fullest potential rather than scaring myself into thinking I cannot produce something to a high or acceptable standard.
I would definitely get everything designed, and sent off to print much quicker as I have been waiting around for ridiculous amounts of time and generating a whole hotbed of stress for myself which doesnt really help at all.
I came out of this module feeling more confident but not entirely convinced of my level of skill in relation to graphic design. I do feel as if I could go out and effectively collaborate or apply through gritted teeth due to the existing levels of peer professionalism which tends to dampen my spirits and overall confidence. I am worried but excited about my future, I worry about my time management, I worry about alot of things, but I will give it my best, try get a job in a print studio and be the best damn illustrator I can be, hoping to join the ranks of those I worship.
Eureka Evaluation
Out of all the briefs, bar BOTB, I believe this is the least strong. The subject matter itself was very interesting to me, but as the brief went on and I lost all interest in infographics, I started panicking and not caring which is not a good combination especially on a final major project which is meant to be a carefully planned and thought through affair. Although with the unfortunate but not unwelcome recent realisation of what it is and what I want to do with my ambitions, I am glad I did this brief.
It was intended to be an illustration brief coupled with type, layout and editorial infographics. Already it is evident that I set myself a monumentous task, as usual I took a cliffside road rather than the comfortable bike trail by the river in terms of how I approached this brief.
I spent far too much time researching, cross referencing due to my fact-finding/anal tendencies which cost me dearly in the end. I also could not decide early enough on what subjects would best suit the audience costing me valuable scoops of time and designing sporadic and for the sake of it. I think that a major issue in all my work in college is that I seek the acceptance of my peers and those above my station when it comes to creating things, so I get bogged down in detail and trying to produce anything that I think would please the afore mentioned audience. With this in mind, I once again faffed around trying to find or discover a style that would give my work the edge I wanted. Alas it was to no avail, I fell back on vector illustrations and a colour palette I took from my favourite Youtube channel (Crash Course World History). I am not displeased with the cover illustrations, as I received very positive feedback, but on a personal note, it always feels like a bit of a cop out when I know I am capable of producing something very akin to my internal visual blueprint.
The spreads of information were the hardest part for me, as I am not good at all with layout or the formalities of type. I did alot of research, but felt like I wasnt really getting anywhere, until I just suddenly clicked. I cant remember what happened, it sounds unprofessional but I just woke up early literally just did some bits of layout and put some shapes together that I thought looked great and suited the brief. Although this again, was a latecomer to the finishing line, that I felt I should have developed more, not just for myself but for my portfolio's sake. Although I think that I am capable of creating spreads and layout out information correctly and presenting it in a unique way, I dont think I would excel in the field specifically.
Indeed a learning curve all round for this brief, but I did learn that I like reading about science, but I think there are better and more intuitive ways to do this than designing for a newspaper whose media is often skewed and biased at best. There are far better mediums out there doing a better job than the Times. I do think that the strongest element of this brief was the colour and the cover illustrations. Once again proving that I may just be a Jack of All Trades, as opposed to a Master of One.
It was intended to be an illustration brief coupled with type, layout and editorial infographics. Already it is evident that I set myself a monumentous task, as usual I took a cliffside road rather than the comfortable bike trail by the river in terms of how I approached this brief.
I spent far too much time researching, cross referencing due to my fact-finding/anal tendencies which cost me dearly in the end. I also could not decide early enough on what subjects would best suit the audience costing me valuable scoops of time and designing sporadic and for the sake of it. I think that a major issue in all my work in college is that I seek the acceptance of my peers and those above my station when it comes to creating things, so I get bogged down in detail and trying to produce anything that I think would please the afore mentioned audience. With this in mind, I once again faffed around trying to find or discover a style that would give my work the edge I wanted. Alas it was to no avail, I fell back on vector illustrations and a colour palette I took from my favourite Youtube channel (Crash Course World History). I am not displeased with the cover illustrations, as I received very positive feedback, but on a personal note, it always feels like a bit of a cop out when I know I am capable of producing something very akin to my internal visual blueprint.
The spreads of information were the hardest part for me, as I am not good at all with layout or the formalities of type. I did alot of research, but felt like I wasnt really getting anywhere, until I just suddenly clicked. I cant remember what happened, it sounds unprofessional but I just woke up early literally just did some bits of layout and put some shapes together that I thought looked great and suited the brief. Although this again, was a latecomer to the finishing line, that I felt I should have developed more, not just for myself but for my portfolio's sake. Although I think that I am capable of creating spreads and layout out information correctly and presenting it in a unique way, I dont think I would excel in the field specifically.
Indeed a learning curve all round for this brief, but I did learn that I like reading about science, but I think there are better and more intuitive ways to do this than designing for a newspaper whose media is often skewed and biased at best. There are far better mediums out there doing a better job than the Times. I do think that the strongest element of this brief was the colour and the cover illustrations. Once again proving that I may just be a Jack of All Trades, as opposed to a Master of One.
Product shots from boards
Didnt wait to spam a load of images I didnt use form the camera as I took well over 100 shots. Here are the selected few...
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Submission Boards
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Friday, 25 May 2012
Final Eureka
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These are the final covers to accompany the spreads for the main stories I have selected, I think I could have designed them to a much better standard, but I got caught up in my other briefs and kind of lost interest in the brief as I let it drag on for so long, but I think the outcome is not that bad.
Here is the development PDF I thought I had lost:
Thursday, 24 May 2012
Rough Boards
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Open publication - Free publishing
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Eureka: Finalising stages
So I finally got myself up to the challenge to finalise and make the covers for the eureka something semi-decent and I was happy with, whilst at the same time making sure I stuck to the original colour palette I settled with earlier. Managed to make the vectors more interesting based on my research into the Thought Bubble graphic team. Also stole their colour palette as it works rather well!
Think that I could of spent way more time on this brief, but instead I wasted valuable time on cross referencing, getting bored and busying myself as opposed to doing something productive and creative.
This aside, think its looking pretty decent, the layouts look much more vibrant and visually engaging. Now the only thing to do is finish the other covers...
Finally decided on the final content for the Times magazine, although took it down to print and it seems that the size is not the exact same as the times. Unless I should of been designing for the Sunday edition, which can be recitified relatively easily. I also believe that I could make more promo/special edition newspapers but the amount of content that I have would barely fill 5 newspapers.
The Royal Society is included as it is the 350th birthday of the institution, but it is intrinsic to the content, as they have funded and opened new avenues for the greater good.
I then finalised the Times covers to accomodate the stories I had illustrated for the covers and managed to get the all in the right dimensions and source the relevant people of interest for the front page.
AAAND everything that is finalised and done done done done. No more will I piss around on this brief. I like it, I think it functions and the colour scheme is brilliant if I dont mind saying so myself! Lets see how they print!
Monday, 21 May 2012
EUREKA! I HAVE CRACKED IT.
Pardon the appalling pun, but after a day of sitting down and condensing the info from all the articles into a much easier to read and digestable format I have cracked it. Or getting closer to it. From this project I have understood that I sit firmly in the image bias of the field of GD. I enjoyed it at times, but the only thing that brought me joy was inserting the basic (but effective) graphics to enhance the overall feel of the page. I will have to redo the cover illustrations to match the content now, and extend the amount of covers I have. Not too hard, about another day and I will be closer to fully finishing this brief!
Just have to polish off the newspaper deliverable and post some of my other development work up here....
Just have to polish off the newspaper deliverable and post some of my other development work up here....
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Luca
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Monday, 14 May 2012
Times Newspaper
In order to expand the deliverables for my Eureka brief, I will be proposing and creating the Times' Newspaper entirely derived from the articles and stories highlighting importance of science in modern society. This will be done form excerpts from the Guardian, Times, New Scientist and Thought Bubble sites. The paper and project overall aims to inform and identify key areas of science that range from quite interesting, to downright intrinsic to our existence. I bought a copy of the paper, so I can get the measurements and hopefully get a copy of it printed for tomorrow.
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Crit
All in all, a very helpful crit that allowed me to see what I could not, in terms of where to go and what to do with my briefs.
The responses to my questions were answered in a range of ways:
(NR - Nat and Rob, MR - Meryem and Robyn)
1. NR - look at advertising/context, how it would be promoted, through the website?
MR - "It's strong enough that anyone who should know, will know"
- This means that I have successfully reached a closing point for the brief in regards to overall design, but need to look into how the magazine would be promoted.
2. NR * see above
MR - perhaps some additional print material - stickers, posters etc
3. NR - Watch out for widows, has good size and style, but use discolouration for the background to keep it in with the "old world"feel
MR - Yes
4. General agreement, just develop a bit more.
5. NR - Could have posters or packaging instead
MR - Enough publications, just need something printed or boxed to tie it all together.
6. YES!
7. NR - Keep eyes same over all illustrations, type is great and variety of type works for the identity, but use specific colours.
MR - Awesome, just keep going with them
8. *see above
9. Great extension, keep going.
SUMMARY:
+ I need to have more annotation on my posts to inform and explain everything I have done up until this point
+ Despite loss of files, I need to post relevant info/development work to enhance marks and presentation
+ Why am I doing something?
+ Applying deigns to a range of products
+ Visually impressive.
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
REVIEW
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Bottom of the Bottle was put on a backburner for regrettable reasons, however, I have quickly found a style that has been appraised out of crit circles and a hand type solution that compliments the style I am going for. I just have alot of illustration work to do and development, although I am confident I will have alot done for this brief as I am wholly enjoying the project and wish I started it sooner.
I will be starting the preliminary mural this weekend.
Bottom of the Bottle was put on a backburner for regrettable reasons, however, I have quickly found a style that has been appraised out of crit circles and a hand type solution that compliments the style I am going for. I just have alot of illustration work to do and development, although I am confident I will have alot done for this brief as I am wholly enjoying the project and wish I started it sooner.
I will be starting the preliminary mural this weekend.
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The most annoying part of this brief was making sure I found a border/cover decor suitable for the brief and of a quality that I would be happy with before sending off to the printers to be bound and foiled. I just cant afford to make a mistake in regards to production values, this aside, the die cannot be changed once purchased. I will be sending off the final designs tomorrow to make sure that I have enough time to produce the book itself.
I will also be re-visiting Spink and Thackwray to double check leather stocks and for a final estimate. I have emailed about 10/13 binders in total and they seem to have the quickest turnaround and best value for money.
The dagger needs to be modelled in 3DS and my blacksmith is incredibly awful at being in contact, despite my numerous attempts at contact.
The map needs to be foiled and the trouble came from screenprinting where a woman was cleaning screens for 2 days. No joke, she had the largest screens available and no one else could really clean their screens for processing. That said, the power hose nozzle broke, but has now been replaced. The map will be done by tomorrow since I will be able to treat the screen today.
The most annoying part of this brief was making sure I found a border/cover decor suitable for the brief and of a quality that I would be happy with before sending off to the printers to be bound and foiled. I just cant afford to make a mistake in regards to production values, this aside, the die cannot be changed once purchased. I will be sending off the final designs tomorrow to make sure that I have enough time to produce the book itself.
I will also be re-visiting Spink and Thackwray to double check leather stocks and for a final estimate. I have emailed about 10/13 binders in total and they seem to have the quickest turnaround and best value for money.
The dagger needs to be modelled in 3DS and my blacksmith is incredibly awful at being in contact, despite my numerous attempts at contact.
The map needs to be foiled and the trouble came from screenprinting where a woman was cleaning screens for 2 days. No joke, she had the largest screens available and no one else could really clean their screens for processing. That said, the power hose nozzle broke, but has now been replaced. The map will be done by tomorrow since I will be able to treat the screen today.
Open publication - Free publishing
This is the brief I am least pleased with in terms of quality and the overall outcome, I think it is safe to say I enjoy reading about and learning about science rather than illustrating its ideas and concepts. I thought on a limited basis of how to approach it and as a result, it is obvious that it is lacking as a significant brief. I do however have plans to produce a replica Times newspaper that echoes the many articles and stories published recently on the role of science in our society, how it is often disregarded despite the irrefutable logic and reasoning behind the practice. This will then be followed by the magazine supplement demonstrating the importance and nature of science. More or less finished, I will just be focusing on the paper for the time being and have print slots all next week.
This is the brief I am least pleased with in terms of quality and the overall outcome, I think it is safe to say I enjoy reading about and learning about science rather than illustrating its ideas and concepts. I thought on a limited basis of how to approach it and as a result, it is obvious that it is lacking as a significant brief. I do however have plans to produce a replica Times newspaper that echoes the many articles and stories published recently on the role of science in our society, how it is often disregarded despite the irrefutable logic and reasoning behind the practice. This will then be followed by the magazine supplement demonstrating the importance and nature of science. More or less finished, I will just be focusing on the paper for the time being and have print slots all next week.
Open publication - Free publishing
Code is the most complete and the brief I am currently most pleased about. The content took me ages to source and refine and edit and re-edit and re-re-edit. I do however, think it would be wish and entirely beneficial to the content and concept to propose a website that demonstrates how to redeem the online voucher code for the Virtual Geographic feature. I think my only concern is taking decent photos and finishing my new copy of quest which I received yesterday in the post.
OVERALL
General delays due to unforeseen circumstances or what is known in the insurance biz as an "act of god". Which can be easily rectified by producing and finishing off all the relevant components for the briefs.
My own self-doubt and over cautiousness in regards to my design work has halted visible work for which I am fully aware of. Once again this can easily be rectified by re-timetabling my weeks and making sure I stay on track for hand in.
Code is the most complete and the brief I am currently most pleased about. The content took me ages to source and refine and edit and re-edit and re-re-edit. I do however, think it would be wish and entirely beneficial to the content and concept to propose a website that demonstrates how to redeem the online voucher code for the Virtual Geographic feature. I think my only concern is taking decent photos and finishing my new copy of quest which I received yesterday in the post.
OVERALL
General delays due to unforeseen circumstances or what is known in the insurance biz as an "act of god". Which can be easily rectified by producing and finishing off all the relevant components for the briefs.
My own self-doubt and over cautiousness in regards to my design work has halted visible work for which I am fully aware of. Once again this can easily be rectified by re-timetabling my weeks and making sure I stay on track for hand in.
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Eureka is coming to a satisfying close...
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Open publication - Free publishing
Open publication - Free publishing
AFter much deliberation and a huge gap in development I have started on the LUCA story and how to effectively communicate the story and make it more engaging and visually stimulating. I dont think I have done very well so far, but the colour combinations are coming along quite nicely. I think I will try to keep a more rigid colour palette as I get on with this brief to tie it together and make it my own.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Eureka Initial Sketches
Some initial ideas of how I want the illustrations to take. Will most probably be vectoring them after I have loaded them up. Currently the categories are: neuroscience, animal psychology and early life/genetics. I believe them to evoke the most interest especially since I quizzed a few mates back home on the subjects and they seemed instantly impressed and interested in the topics.
Friday, 9 March 2012
Thursday, 8 March 2012
More Layouts
So here are the initial spreads I have created based on the stories I decided to roll with. Not sure if I am completely convinced by the illustrations yet as I have just gone straight into illustrator out of habit, but I think I have managed to have a good first go at it. I did however print out some of them and discovered a rookie mistake: the type is far too big at 12pt. I have used a web based font that is nearest to the typeface I can be without using Times. Although I could not afford the actual Times modern typeface, I managed to find a font called Nimbus Decker Extra Bold which functions flawlessly as the heading font.
Friday, 2 March 2012
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
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