Process and Production (year 2) - Physical Studio - I am... with Nick Deakin (part 2 - Extension)

I'm thinking about applying for a placement year in the new year and I was thinking of ways I could stand out from my peers or make an impression on a potential employer which is when I thought back to the second session with nick where I created type. 

In the session I spelt 'I am a challenge', which sounds as if you will get a reward from spending time with me. I like this idea and I thought I could make it into to a print of some kind; but I didn't have this available so I used my polaroid camera. I took polaroids of the type and I thought this could be sent out with my CV to make a statement. 

Process and Production - Character workshop (part 3 - extension)

Old design

New design

I didn't really like the outcome for the cereal box as it looked cluttered; although I liked the colour scheme I had used. I enjoyed the project so I decided to create another packaging design but aimed towards a male target audience. I used a toy/object associated with boys as the main focus for the cereal and then chose a complementing colour scheme.

Contextual portfolio - Gathering of strangers

Gathering of strangers is a piece I missed off of my post about the trip to the Whitworth gallery; I don't know how when it was the most influential piece I saw at the gallery. 

I was drawn to the piece through its choice of colour and style. I like how the statement can have a number of meanings and it is open to interpretation from the audience. After visiting the gallery I did more research and found that the sign has been placed in numerous locations which causes the narrative to change slightly when moved. 

"Coley’s text piece Gathering of Strangers oddly advertises the uncomfortable circumstances of an assembly of unrelated, unfamiliar people, implying a condition of contemporary global nomadicism. The multicoloured, fairground light bulbs evoke an amusement park attraction, yet the phrase they spell is a common idiom for Christian congregations or the Church itself, presenting a modern-day conflict between carnival and Lent. Like Coley’s camouflage churches, Gathering of Strangers questions how our environment is invested with meaning, how meaning shifts from one social context to the next, and how the values to which we aspire are reflected in the way we describe ourselves and the associations we make."

Taken from the the exhibition catalogue 'Take Me There (Show Me The Way)', Haunch of Venison, New York, 2009

Source:

http://studionathancoley.com/works/gathering-of-strangers

Process and Production (year 2) - Physical Studio - I am... with Nick Deakin (part 3)

This being the last physical studio workshop of the term we were still aiming to develop on the outcomes we had made in previous weeks; this meaning that we were required to bring them with us to compare to and inspire us. In the last workshop I created my letters using strips of paper and by the end of it I found this process tedious and therefore this time I decided to move on from this process. 

As like previously we were asked to up scaled our typography and since I was happy with what I had created previously I decided to change the process and make the type look more rough by using paint, brushes and tape. The process involve taping out the letters on to the paper with masking tape and then painting over the page thickly at the bottom and using a scumbling effect towards the top. Then I would pull back the tape revealing the letters left behind. 

You had the choice to change your words as well but I decided to stick with my sentence 'I am a challenge' as I wanted to try achieve my aim of the type being a challenge to read as I don't feel I had done this up to now. I feel I achieved this with this attempt as toward the top half of each letter there isn't much contrast between the letter and the background which in turn makes the letters less legible.

I think that the scumbling technique works well on this occasion; I came across this technique whilst doing A-level art so it was good to be able to transfer these skills in to the workshop.

Overall I have enjoyed this course of workshops involving type as it has allowing me to use my art based knowledge and step back from the computer for once and get to grips with hand based techniques. Also I feel by using this process it allows you to be more free and creative as it has less restrictions; I feel these skills will prove to be valuable for future briefs whilst in uni and potentially in industry.

Contextual Portfolio - Visit - Whitworth Gallery (Manchester)

As a course we took a trip to Manchester with our tutors to visit the Whitworth Art Gallery; the purpose of the visit was to look at the current exhibitions and look for any inspiration/ become more culturally aware. I'm not the type of person to visit galleries normally so this was a good opportunity for me to visit one; whilst I was there I documented anything of interest, inspiration or anything visually appealing. To me the gallery didn't have a direct connection to graphic design but it was nice to immerse myself in to the world of art for one day. This trip helped me to look into the world of art and to see what types of work have made it to being displayed in a gallery for art lovers to see and to indulge in.






This is one of the first pieces I was drawn to; its colour, texture, material and detail was what attracted me to the piece. I believe it was made up of a mixture of metal and string. Although for me this piece is something I would consider to have no meaning, this may be due to my lack of interest in the art culture. 













This piece was interesting to me as it looked like a walk through installation, but unfortunately we were unable to get any closer to the piece. I like the use of type and the way they have used light to create the type. The idea of an interactive exhibition would be of interest to me which I could keep in mind for future reference. 

I photographed this piece just for the scale; it was very large which made the piece intriguing and of interest from the audience point of view.  It had a room dedicated to the piece which meant that you could put all focus on the piece. Although the scale was impressive it is not something I have an interest in, in terms of the design. 

The use of materials and layout is interesting in this piece, the layout looks overcrowded but this may have been done purposely.

I was instantly drawn to these due to the contrasts in colour in both pieces. I was also interested to see what the messages were incorporated in to them. 






My thoughts:
I enjoyed the trip on a whole as I got to experience something that I don't normally do. However, I would say that I would prefer to go to exhibitions with a more direct link to graphic design as I have more of an interest in advertising rather than the art side of design; the reason for this is, is I prefer design to have a purpose whereas I feel art is too open and random. Although I would say it has helped me gain some culture and I was still impressed with the typography based pieces. 

YCN - Information guide development / outcome

This is an information format that would be emailed to the target audience upon signing up so that they get more information on the opera. There is a poster that would be spread across social media to initially catch their attention to actually sign up. 

The information can be transferred on to email, online website, flyers, posters etc. to get the word out about the opera. 

YCN - Vinyl cover outcome

These would be a limited edition set of three 7” vinyl’s that the target audience would get the chance of collecting by signing up to the mailing list and viewing the online information. 

The covers are quite minimal and don’t give away the opera song on the vinyl straight away as I want the user to read more into opera and find out for themselves. 

YCN - Vinyl Cover Development

These would be a limited edition set of three 7” vinyl’s that the target audience would get the chance of collecting by signing up to the mailing list and viewing the online information. 

The covers are quite minimal and don’t give away the opera song on the vinyl straight away as I want the user to read more into opera and find out for themselves.

 

YCN - Loyalty card development

Here are the initial stages of developing a loyalty card; I have stuck with the colour scheme of the ROH so that it is instantly relateable to the brand identity. 

I have played around with using the building as a main feature and played with type on the card. 

Here are the initial stages of developing a loyalty card; I have stuck with the colour scheme of the ROH so that it is instantly relateable to the brand identity. 

I have played around with using the building as a main feature and played with type on the card. 

Here I have looked at creating a loyalty fob just like in my research where there was a hat one that you could attach to your keys. 

I think that this is a good idea to pursue and as a quick note I think that the darker colour scheme works better than the red and white so I may explore this combination further in my designs. 

Process and Production - Character workshop (part 3 - extension)

After doing the cereal work shop I wanted to play around with illustrator further to develop my basic skills. Also at the same time I needed to design a ticket for my brothers birthday present. I used a tutorial online to know the correct way to use the tools and make sure the outcome looks professional. 

I found this tutorial to be very useful as it gave a step by step of what to do:




Here is my version which I'm pleased with as it looks like the tutorial and works well with the brand of Leeds Rhinos: 

YCN - Loyalty cards development

To get the target audience interested they like to receive something back for doing something so I thought I could produce a loyalty card to get them to go in the first place and to get them to keep returning and building a relationship with the Royal Opera House. 

Here are some quick sketches of the loyalty card idea; there is ones where the card would be stamped but I thing that the design would work best if it was a plastic card that can be scanned and monitored online. 

YCN - Loyalty Cards Research

I have thought about a loyalty card system to get the target market engaged with the Royal opera House so I had a look at what cards/ loyal cards I had myself to get inspiration. 

All of the cards are pretty similar and simple. Most of them connect to an online service as they are scanned / swiped so that there is a record of their interaction. I like the idea of having one that can be attached to your keys like the hat on the end as it is a constant reminder when they pull their keys out and the hat is an interesting shape. I could play around with this idea by sketching it out and then developing it further on the computer. 

YCN - Existing vinyl’s - NME’s creative vinyl’s

Vinyl’s can come in the basic form or as like these that I have found there can be something interesting to them to make them something worth collecting. 

This could either be changing the normal shape of the vinyl, adding colour, making it glow in the dark etc.. I found these interesting to look and has given me ideas for the limited edition vinyl’s. 

I could have the vinyl be in the shape of the Royal Opera House building using the illustration I created earlier. 

YCN - Existing vinyl’s - The smiths (primary research)

I own quite a lot of vinyl’s myself which is why I thought I’d look at the way one of them is packaged. I’ve chosen to look at The Smiths; this is a recent addition to the collection and is quite simple in design. 

Just like most vinyl’s if not all vinyl’s it comes in a sleeve within a sleeve which is quite standard for a vinyl. The sleeve inside actually has lyrics on it which is interesting as not many covers have this; it’s a way to get your audience engaged with the product. 

As for the actual vinyl, it is fairly basic with nothing overly exciting about it. This suggests that they want the music to speak for itself which I think is a good quality. 

YCN - Record Store Day

Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1400 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally. There are Record Store Day participating stores on every continent except Antarctica. 

This is a day for the people who make up the world of the record store—the staff, the customers, and the artists—to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role these independently owned stores play in their communities. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, DJs spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008 and Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday every April. 

While there’s only one Record Store Day a year, the organization works throughout the year to create contests, special releases and promotions in order to spotlight these special stores on the other 364 days of the year. These include the Adapter Prize—which honours releases chosen as “The Best” by store staff and customers and Back To Black Friday which gives record stores exclusive releases as part of the attempt to redirect the focus of the biggest shopping day of the year to the desirable, special things to be found at local stores. 

Record Store Day is currently managed by Michael Kurtz and Carrie Colliton, in coordination with Michael Bunnell and Eric Levin. Folks wanting to contact Record Store Day are encouraged to email us at information@recordstoreday.com

YCN - Vinyl industry boom

Guardian Take

The cost of the average vinyl is £20 and can be even more if there are extras included such as a poster or a lyric booklet; this is a massive difference to buying the same album for £10 on CD. Yet the sales of vinyl’s is booking, for in stance in 2014 sales passed 1m in the UK for the first time in 20 years and the sales have been estimated to hit the 2m mark. 

The music industry hasn’t faired well still since the rise in illegal downloading so the news of growth in the vinyl sector is some good news to the survival of the industry sales. Although many protest that vinyl is too expensive but if they were to be a little cheaper they would buy vinyl’s in abundance. 

From this research it shows that there’s a real interest for vinyl’s and the market is growing and if the ROH were to follow this trend they would be seen as ‘keeping up with the times’. 

Telegraph Take

Streaming services are actually helping the boom in sales of vinyl’s with the young generation as more and more people want to own a physical copy of something; they like the sense of owning something. I can agree with this as well; I want to create my own collection of vinyl’s like my parents have so I can show people in the future what I have collected. In a sense it like have a insight to you with what is in your collection. 

It shows how much more popular vinyl’s are becoming as big retailers such as Tesco are beginning to stock 12” records in store. 

So from looking at this research it shows that the young generation are interested in vinyl’s for a need to own a permanent copy and to collect records; which is why I think a limited edition set of vinyl’s would be a good idea to give as it relates to music/opera and what’s current at the moment. To grab the attention of this 20-30 year old market you have to first get them interested in something that they already actively which is to collect records. 

YCN - Target Audience Feedback

After getting feedback I decided to create a quick mind map to explore different avenues that I could go down in order to engage the target audience. 

I think that a information resource needs to be produced in order to inform the market of what is out there; some people are simply put off by going to the opera as they don’t know much about it. To get this information out they would need to make use of social media on a big scale. Could they have a snapchat account where they get the people involved in the production and the opera to document their day which may interest the audience to see the behind the scenes. I know they do behind the scenes videos on youtube already but this seems on a more personal level and not as polished and therefore they seem more approachable which is what the aims are. 

Then in terms of the give-away, the user would have to sign up to a newsletter etc. which would give them information on the Royal Opera House, but then they get the chance to receive a limited edition which gives them incentive to sign up and find more out about the Royal Opera House. 

YCN - Target Audience Feedback

At this stage in the project I wanted to get an idea of what actually would interest people into going to the Opera as I have my own views but this may not be the views of the rest of the target audience. 

So I decided to do a twitter poll and managed to get 90 votes from people aged 20 -30. From the result of the poll it was clear that the target audience want ticket prices to be lower which is something that would have to be discussed with the ROH before promising this to the market. Therefore after that point I think I need to focus on the idea of a free give-away and giving the audience a better insight into the world of opera. Although the market should be cultured I think that they would benefit from an information resource. As for the free give-away I was thinking of giving away limited edition vinyl’s of the opera as vinyl’s are quite popular currently with this target market so it would be something to get them interested initially. 

YCN - ROH Illustration test

After looking at the previous pages and the style of illustration I decided to create an illustration of the Royal Opera House which I could use throughout the visual aspects of the campaign. It would be a staple piece that you can automatically associate with the ROH. 

The building could be used to create a pattern design maybe? It depends what I intend to design on what the building could be used for but I thought its quite universal in its use. 

YCN - Illustrations from Pinterest

These are more illustrations that I have come across; these are from pinterest and came up when I was searching for the Manchester markets posters. 

I like the style of these as well; although they are actually similar to the Manchester posters anyway. So moving forward I will look at creating my own illustrations that I can used in relation to the Royal Opera House. 

Process and Production - Character workshop (part 3)

Moving on from the second workshop of cereal packaging this week we were to bring the finished cereal box ready to be printed and then assembled ready to take photographs off. Before printing the packaging I made last minute checks to ensure that the outcome had no mistakes or faults to the design. Then it was a waiting game as before we could print everyones packaging needed to be placed in to the Indesign document ready for Jay to print and collect. 

Once printed we either had the choice to cut the net out using scissors or a craft knife; since I had left my craft knife at home and there were limited resources in the workshop I chose to use scissors. I will add that I have the tendency to slip with craft knifes anyway so the outcome may have been worse by using one. When the net was cut out I chose to use the folding board so that each of the folds were straight and creased for easy assembling. 

So at this stage the box/packaging was assembled, next was to photograph the outcome. Jay had set up a mini photoshoot/ studio so that we could take professional photos that we could document. I felt that the photo's helped to make the packaging look professional which was important for me. The reason I felt that it was important was that I'm not fully pleased with the outcome of the packaging, as although it's a children's cereal and shouldn't be too complex I feel that I have made it too simple and flat. Some areas look a little bare which I will take in to consideration when working on layouts for packaging. 

Overall I enjoyed the process over the workshops going from a drawing to working digitally and then having the product at the end. Although I'm not overly keen on the design myself I think that the workshops have been beneficial just to improve the process that I go through as a designer.

YCN - Manchester Christmas posters 2014

I had come across these posters last year around the Christmas period and I was initially interested due to the colour scheme that has been used.

I thought about using illustration in pieces for the ROH in this style as they look quite modern yet playful which is ideal for the young adult audience that I’m aiming for. 

Moving forward I could look at creating my own illustrations using this as a reference. 

YCN - ROH existing examples of promotion

When going through the ROH guidelines for the brief I came across these existing examples of the way they advertise shows which was interesting to see their general style. 

From looking at these it is obvious that they try going for a stripped back approach in order to make a presence in the modern market. Although I think that this is going in the right direction I feel that they need to add another element or look at the channels they put these through. What is key to note is the attention to contrast within each of the posters; there is a strong contrast between the type to the background and the subject. In the guidelines it is made clear that the image/ subject shouldn’t obstruct or distract too much from the information on the poster etc. Therefore this needs close consideration when designing so that there isn’t any overly distracting imagery towards the bottom as that’s where the majority of the type is. Although I could add a shadow to the bottom like in the bottom left poster. 

As the ROH brand is well established I will have to adhere to the brand guidelines which they have set out which can have it’s positives as well as negatives as you can imagine. The positive being that you know how they want the advertisements to look, on the other hand you could see this as a restriction on freedom to create but we will see when I progress to the development stage.