Contextual Portfolio - Typography

I'm always looking out for good design and things I just generally like and enjoy. On my way to work this week I had to take a different route due to the Leeds Half Marathon taking place; this meant I had to walk pass the Leeds market. 

I haven't been around this part of the centre in a while and was surprised to see these wall murals welcoming the public to leeds (the coach and bus station is also next to the market, hence the welcoming). These caught my eye straight as I was drawn towards the bright colours and the playfulness of the type which was so inviting. 

This reminds me of my visual appendix and how location affects the narrative. This position of the mural is important, it was placed next to the bus/coach station for a reason as the council want to welcome new people to the city or welcome people back to the city if they already live/work here. This warm welcome as soon as you arrive could affect a persons opinion on the city straight; and if the council want to attract people to the city, opinion is important. 

A similar thing has happened in the train station, before you leave the main exit/entrance there is a installation which I see as a welcome to leeds.  The purpose was to welcome visitors and illustrate Leeds as a creative and cultural city. If you have an interest in the design and thought process behind the illustration you can visit this blog that documents all the stages; http://www.designsomethingmore.com/blog/making-the-windows-of-leeds/

Contextual Portfolio - Radio Hud

Although you may not think being a presenter on the student radio has any value towards improving as a designer, I would disagree entirely. At the start of year 2 I struggled with communicating and expressing myself which is mainly down confidence; so this academic year I joined Radio Hud and I have learnt so much. 


First of all I had to create a brand for my show which was named 'Jukebox Time Machine; this gave me a chance to be creative (the logo I designed is to the left). 


As part of the show I feel that I have improved my confidence levels which as a designer you need confidence to communicate your ideas to the client and to get a job in the first place you need to be able to communicate well. My confidence has improved throughout the year from having a show, going on socials, taking part in charity days/meetings and generally meeting new people. 

Thoughts
I had my last show of the year on Wednesday and from joining the society I have a new found confidence, new friends and new connections to different disciplines and courses. For example if I needed help on marketing or anything related to the business side of design I know I would have contacts from the society who would be more than happy to help and guide me.

Contextual Portfolio - Evian

I came across an advertisement by Evian that involved using a celebrity to boost their advert and brand. Using a celebrities can help to increase sales as if consumers have a good connection with the celebrity they will want whatever they are promoting whether they need the product or not, they will now want it because their favourite celebrity has it. 

Evian have been clever with who they have chosen to be the face of their campaign; Gigi Hadid is a young model which automatically links well to the live young message. The advert shows Gigi in the present moment and to the right is a young child replicating her image. To me this is saying if you have Evian you will be more healthy and thus be youthful. Gigi is a high status model and as she is currently dating former member of One Direction, Zayn Malik she is in the limelight even more recently. This makes it a good choice for Evian as she is high profile with high profile friends.

Thoughts
When creating an ad campaign you need to think of all aspects and how you can boost the campaign so that it reaches a bigger audience; this may be achieve by using high profile celebrities. In terms of my practice I can take this on board but I don't think that this is achievable for me to have connections or financial backing to support the use of a celebrity in my work. 

Collide - Outcome and exhibition

Posters, Postcards, App

Life Lessons/ Activity Planner

The three themes of this brief were happiness, future self and the digital age; so I’ll explain how these have been considered. 

When starting the brief I wanted the outcome to be personal to me but also be able to relate to a wider audience; I felt the outcome would more than likely be personal due to the themes.

Happiness:

Before starting the brief I knew I was going to be an auntie which was something I was looking forwarded to. So when I was given the brief I thought about what makes me happy and I instantly thought about the happiness my soon to be nephew was already giving me before he was even born. With this in mind I wanted to create something around this topic or make something for my nephew. 

Future Self:

I started to think what will make me happy in the future or what I will be doing in the future; so as I was going to be an auntie soon I thought about what stuff I could do with my nephew which is when I came up with a bucket-list type of idea which developed in to the activity planner which helps you plan activities and explore what other people around the world are doing.

Digital Age:

I feel that with the app, I’m feeding the digital age as it allows you to plan on the go and is removing the stage of using pen and paper. As part of the app is similar to a scrapbook but I’ve turned it in to a digital element.

OUTCOME:  

Physical - Postcards and poster

Digital - An app

Physical/Digital

Digital

                                      
                                             Activity Planner from Jade Irving on Vimeo.

Process and Production (year 2) - Physical Studio - I am... with Nick Deakin (part 6)

This was the last session of the process and production workshops of year two; in particular I have enjoyed Nick's type workshops as it's allowed me to get away from the computer and be creative. So for this last session we were carrying on developing what we had done in previous weeks. 

So in my case I had done various experiments but my favourite was the 'party' type I did but this time I decided not to be so literal and spell 'work' as an opposite to party. This time I wanted to make the confetti string look as if it was coming out of the party popper which is why I decided that I would create a stop motion. 

I had my own camera, and then borrowed a tripod and lighting equipment which I used to set up the scene. I used a tripod for more consistency between shots, as if I were to take the photos free hand the end result would look unprofessional and wouldn't flow as well. 

Thoughts
I think the shots worked although the lighting could have been more consistent between shots; although this is the first time doing something like this so I'm quite pleased with the outcome. In future I would do a more zoomed out shot and crop it later rather than crop before shooting the stop motion. I would also like to learn more about my camera and what I can achieve with it so I can take better photos. Below is the stop motion I created with the photos. 

Process and Production - Cinema 4D Prototyping (extended)

After the last process and production session in C4D I wanted to take this further and add my own designs to the can and bottle; so I started to experiment in Illustrator using the templates Jay provided in the workshop. I thought about names etc for the branding and once I had the designs I placed them on to the can and bottle in C4D. 

Whilst in C4D I experimented with the background colours and the colour of the glass bottle to see what worked well with the designs. For the bottle I decided to brand an ale and although I tend to think they have a dark glass for the bottle I wanted a transparent bottle. 

For both the can and bottle I duplicated them so that I could show different sides of the product in the same shot. 

Overall I enjoyed creating these in C4D as I feel it looks quite professional when showing mockups of products; during the course of the sessions with Jay I have learnt a lot more about this software and developed skills I would have never have had without them.

Here are my experiments:

Contextual Portfolio - Guest Lecture - Ben Tallon

This week we had a guest lecture from Ben Tallon who is an illustrator mainly, which isn't something of interest to me as I'm not that great at it ( although I'm hoping to have some free time to improve). 

Although he doesn't specialise in something that interests me, I found the lecture very informative and useful. Tallon talked about he got the jobs he got and how to go about getting touch with companies. 

He made it clear if you want something you have to go out and get it, it's not going to come to you. A prime example of this, is when he went to London early in his career and went to agencies/ companies and showed his portfolio for advice and used the criticism to help develop his work. He used his own initiative and produced work for people like the Guardian with them asking for it and kept sending it through until they decided to commission him to provide the artwork for celebrities columns in the paper.

Thoughts
Although he doesn't come from the same design area as myself I still appreciate the hard work he has put in and has given me an insight in to how the industry works. This is useful to me as I'm still looking for a placement for next year and I need to know how to approach companies and what they will be looking for. 

Process and Production - Cinema 4D Prototyping

During this workshop we learnt how to create prototypes; this is useful to mockup designs so the client can visualise them in real space. We experimented with both a can and a bottle in this task. 

Can

Screenshots of the process

Starting with the can, we looked at building simple objects in Cinema 4D and since we had done packaging design earlier in the year we put the focus on packaging. The benefit of using Cinema 4D is that it reduces costs of printing when you are only in the prototype stage but still have something to show to the client. 

First we began by setting up the folders to organise all the files provided by Jay. Then we setup the artwork in illustrator which involved moving the rulers so that the 0 was in middle and to bottom of the can; illustrator automatically places the 0 in the top left hand corner but for Cinema 4D this needs to be changed so the object will sit right in C4D space. The file was then saved as an illustrator 8 and opened up in C4D by going to file > merge > open artwork. A lathe was added to both shapes, then I opened up the four views to move some of the points to clean up the top of the can. After that I turned on gouraud shading and added a floor and background. At this stage a material was created and on this material we went to reflectance > layers > click on default specular > remove and the add reflection (legacy), click on layer fresnel and change settings to dielectric which is for metal. Change preset custom to PET. We then went back to colour tab and added our artwork to the can, by going to texture and opening up the can label file. 

As i'm not good with measurements I wondered where the measurements from the can had come from and how I could do it myself for future reference in terms of creating artwork for the can. To do this you measure the height and width of the can to work out the circumference.  

Going back to C4D we noticed that the label had been placed in reverse; this is because when is wraps it doesn't know which direction it needs to wrap in. You can correct this by going to the projection tab > change it to cylindrical > un-tick tile > right click on material > fit to object. Then we created another material, repeat the reflectance step, change type to GGX and then change the roughness to 20%, change global reflection brightness to 60% and specular brightness to 50%, colour change V to 36%. Then add reflection material to top lathe. Next was to add lights and we changed the coordinates to X: -500 Y: 1000 Z: -500, general > shadow > shadow maps (soft). Go to mode > view settings > view tab and tick shadows so you can see shadows in the view point, this is so you don't have to render preview it all the time to see the shadows. Copy the light and paste it name the 2nd light fill, then change X coordinate to 500%. Change intensity of second light to 50%. 
We had to add an area light, we did this by going to coordinates change them to X: 500%, Y: 300%, Z: -400%, Rotation head 45 degrees. Change the background colour to orange and change the render settings, to best and add ambient occlusion to get the best results. 

Key words: Lathing - when the shape wraps round and shapes something along the axis. 

Bottle

Screenshots of the process

After creating the can it was more straight forward when creating the bottle as we had already learnt most of the process it was just about applying it to another shape. So as before we had prepared the file in illustrator and then merged the bottle in C4D and added lathes to bottle and liquid. Then we went to content browser and clicked on the preset > broadcast > materials > glass > glass stained > un-tick bump box so that the lumpy texture disappears and finally add it to bottle in the objects list. Now copy and paste the material > go to transparency > on both colour tabs change the colour to white.On the second one change the colour to a beer colour and add to the liquid object. Now add a cylinder to the scene and set it at radius 73 and height 240, so that it wraps around bottle and covers it, this is for the label to sit on. 

We then added a new material and added an alpha channel, we then went to > add texture > tick the invert button and add it to the cylinder. We were taught that PNG files are better as they are lossless, this is best for C4D. Go to the cylinder caps and turn them off. Then click on material and change projection to cylindrical. Turn off tiles. Right click on materials and select fit to object. Then go to label material and go to colour > add texture and bring in the bottle label. Group cylinder, bottle and liquid together so you can move them as one. Add reflectance to the bottle repeating the same steps as I did for the can but lowering it further. The next step was to add a star and make it 20 points > 33 inner radius and outer 37, change to XZ. Add a circle and change radius to 33, and XZ. Then copy the circle and change it to 29, another at 17 and another at 0. Add the star and circles into loft once created. Now go into side view of object > move circles until happy with position of how the lid looks. Go to loft and change the object settings to,  mesh subdivision, U: 41, V: 2 and isoparm subdivision U to 3, and tick organic form. 

We went to simulate on the tool bar > cloth > cloth surface > subdivision 2 > thickness 0.5 > tick limit box and add material for cap reflectance. Remove default specular and add legacy reflectance. Next add dieletric fresneal and PET custom colour tab, then add the cap file using texture and add to cloth surface, if it's messed up it is because the material is square, we can fix this by the mapping, it has to be changed to look down on the object, so we went to the material tab and changed the projection to flat. Right click for another material and fit to object. Click the cube on the left with the checkers to do fit to object on the material, again it is upside down so we rotated it 180 degrees and changed the background colour. Finally we changed the render settings to the same as we did for the can. 

Thoughts
I enjoyed this process and production session as it is something I can see myself using in the future when prototyping products for clients and so on. It has been a valuable skill that will improve me as a designer; its something that can make my work look more professional with its mockups. Below is the renders I produced from the workshop, I'm pleased with the outcomes although in the future I would like to use my own artwork. 

Contextual Portfolio - Collide branding

I joined the collide exhibition branding team and although I couldn't commit much time to the project as I had my own projects I needed to really push, I still wanted to give my input and opinion on the direction of the branding since my work will hopefully be exhibited. 

The original colour scheme presented to the course wasn't taken well; I wasn't too keen on the colour scheme either so I decided to look for alternatives to present to the team. This is when I looked at Adobe Kuller, it allows you to search for colour schemes and then download them to your library. The exhibition was about showcasing young talent/ new designers, so when searching for colours I typed 'youth' and words of similar meaning. 

Thoughts
Below is some of the results, and although these colour schemes weren't chosen I'm excited to use them for my own projects. They have given me inspiration for my ongoing briefs; Adobe Kuller is definitely a tool I would and will be using in the future as it's nice to work with a colour palette, I also see them as mood boards which helps the design process. 

Contextual Portfolio - Rob Lycett - Seminar

For this weeks seminar we were set a task before we attended which was to produce a short presentation on existing exhibitions that could inspire us for our end of year exhibition. The task is shown below:

*In preparation for the 'Collide' exhibition, you will engage in visual research into innovative and exciting exhibition formats and make micro presentations in the seminar sessions on the 18th March. Think about the way that physical objects and digital media are presented.

The format will be a shortened version of the 'PechaKucha' style of presentation that is very popular in the arts and creative industries. Essentially, you talk for 20 seconds about each visual slide in your presentation. We will do a micro PechaKucha - i.e. 5 slides

An Adobe InDesign template has been supplied, which you must use. Do not alter the layout or typeface (size or font). The first slide is a title - so please enter your own name. Each slide should comprise an image, a caption and two written points/statements. These textual prompts will enable you to talk confidently about each slide without a script. The slide should contain a single image - see image below and the sample pdf.*

I chose exhibitions which were interactive as I'm not a regular attendee of exhibitions I thought of what would attract me to go or interest me whilst I was there. Some of the exhibitions looked at how you could utilise the space more. 

Process and Production (year 2) - Year 2 Showreel

This was the last After Effects workshop of year 2 and since we have learnt quite a few new skills this year and some of us are looking to get placements, it was a good idea to create a showreel to show off our work. The showreel would show our strengths, diversity and as I have no intention of showing it to potential employers I would say it will show my progression in this Adobe program. Personality is injected into the piece through style and choice of music to accompany the visuals. In terms of the order of content, we were advised to put a strong piece at the start to give a good initial impression, in the middle is your weakest pieces and then to end it on another strong piece to end on a high. A showreel can show your style, expertise and what potentially you can create for a future client. 

As always we were shown an existing clip to show what a showreel is and give us inspiration for our own. Sara chose to play showreels from Adam Gault; it was good to watch his as gets the timing spot on when matching up the visuals to the beats in the music. 

First we began in illustrator to create our title and end screen; these would introduce the showreel and who I am then conclude at the end with the chance for the audience to look further at my design through the provide links. Each element had to be placed on a different layer so that when it was transferred in to After Effects you would be able to animate/edit each element separately. I also decided to create a page changer slide which was used to transition from the opening slide; it gives the piece a bit more movement and flow. The overall style is quite simple and the colour scheme reflects the identity of my personal brand. 

These files were imported in to After Effects; I edited the opening slide, changer and end slide at separate compositions so I could use them in the final showreel/comp. By editing them in a different comp it made it easier for me to continue to edit them later rather than having complications in the final comp. I started by creating a new comp titled 'Final' which is where the renders and audio would imported and dragged into the timeline. I worked with the audio in the timeline first before working with any videos; I had to listen to the music and add markers ('*') to highlight the main beats/changes in the audio. The markers were there to pinpoint the beats in the audio enabling us to cut the footage at the right time in order for us to achieve a smoother outcome. In terms of the videos to be added to the showreel I decided to add my Cinema 4d pieces in addition to the After Effects pieces I have done as I felt these pieces were stronger. At this stage the videos were placed in the timeline and lined up with the markers, this ensured that the videos cut with the beats of the audio. The next stage involved playing around with the order of the videos and cutting them down to the best sections. Once I was happy with the outcome I rendered out the showreel using the usual settings but when I opened it up in quicktime I rendered it out again at 1080 dpi. 

Short Cuts

Sara decided to give us the shortcuts in this session, these help to speed up the process of editing which will come in handy in the future also. 

[ to cut to the beginning
] to cut to the end 

use the * button to add markers to the beat on our audio 

j - is for jumping back to markers 

k - is for jumping forward to markers.

layer selected - use cmd up and down curser which change the layer selected.

i - in point and o - out point of layer selected on the keyboard 

shift + cmd + d - cuts it and repeats it

My thoughts:

As this is the last session I will evaluate the year in After Effects workshops and the progress I have made throughout the year. Overall I'm pleased with the outcomes I have produced this year and you can see the progress I have made when I have become more confident working the program. This showreel shows how much I have developed throughout the year and if you were to look at my work from year 1 you would see a bigger improvement. This gives me encouragement to continue to use this program and improve further with more time put in. 

In terms of this session, I would say that it was pretty simple in the sense that we already had produced the content to work with; it mainly focused on the editing and timing. Although I would say that I learnt the importance of timing when creating a showreel and if the timing is out it can make the outcome look unprofessional and lower quality. I would say that I'm fairly confident with using this program at my current skill level but I would like to improve my skill set so that there is more option with what I can do with the outcome. All these skills I have learnt will only continue to improve me as a designer and prepare me for a future in the industry. 

Showreel 2016 from Jade Irving on Vimeo.

Collide - final prints

Outcome

Life Lessons

I have refined each life lessons and I’m happy with the outcome. Although originally I was going to have a book I would consider printing some as postcards along with posters.