Crit With Lorenzo

The Design Context publication needs to be written out in a proper brief format so I can work towards clear objectives of how and what defines my practice. The name is clear and obvious, but the publication itself needs some direction to its outcome and content. The publication itself has to be either a brief or a seperate entity. I would rather it not be assessed as a brief, so I will re-jig it where appropriate.

The Design Context book's categories need to be defined by the briefs and how they tie in with the chapters. The objectives need to be reviewed and addressed accordingly to make sure I stay on track with what I proposed.

Eureka! brief needs to be cut down considerably due to the nature of content driving the brief. Instead of doing 10 covers with the DPS in tow, it was discussed that it would be far more productive and worthwhile to do 5 cover illustrations well, inclusive of the double page spreads being designed.

This would ensure the final outcome would be professional and professional looking.

Keeping in context of categorisation and whatnot, I should make the stories fit with a theme for the overall publication. Eg military technology or life sciences, etc.

The Ruddy Pixel brief has now replaced the Tomb Raider brief because I thought that the press kit/limited edition release would not fit with my SOI and thus hinder my progress. Lorenzo thought the idea was nocel, including the various elements that compose the newspaper/mag which makes it stand out from other conventional video game journalism.

What/who/behaviour - defining the gamer and how the gamer is viewed in contemporary society. A good idea that Rob gave me was to have a page 3 'girl' in the form of a character, game or gamer/designer featured.

The E4 brief was fine, just need to start it properly, which I will be doing when I get in later....

BotB is good, just need to review what the client wants and define my deliverables. 

SO, Eureka! editorial can be skimmed down to 5 stories, focus on content of the theme/category in context. 2/3 spreads a story. Probably start with 2.

SOI Adjustment

"An investigation into publication and print with a focus on content, delivery and illustration/image making"

Is the original statement, but due to the digital nature of some of my briefs, it can be rectified to this:

"An investigation into publication and print with a focus on content and illustration, with the potential to transfer onto digital mediums."

This is due to the  fact I do talk about how certain briefs require websites as well as translating assets into animations. It is not a main focus, as I do like to work with other people for the digital side of things, but I do not want tit to be the predominant factor when considering the outcome of certain briefs.

Crit Feedback

OK so basically it was acknowledged that the collective needed to rationalise the deliverables and their significance to the rest of the SOI and the briefs included in the umbrella statement.

The Heroes of Science brief needs more of a range, with the possibility of accompanying posters or promoted so it adheres more to my SOI.

Bottom of the Bottle needs to be rationalised as to certain outcomes at my discretion. This is to avoid doing too much work for the sake of doing work. Also to make sure I create some "sexy" design as to give my work more impact.
"The illustrations are looking great, but what else could be applied to make it better?" - I think the content of the drawings need to be reconsidered as I was only thinking of the small scale impact over the actual A1 solution that is needed. I will need to draw bigger and much more detailed. More time needs to be spent on my illustrations to ensure the application is relevant to the brief.
"You could do a launch night, tickets, promotion etc..." this was a brilliant idea, despite the client not wanting to spend too much, I think this would be a highly beneficial exercise to give me more range and create a solution that is weighty and demonstrate my ability to think on a larger scale.

Tomb Raider needs to be clarified, less objects and more design. Focus on elements that will support my SOI and my intentions. A special edition publication would be much more appropriate so I will focus on trying to create more specialised print based solutions for this brief.

SOI/Current Status