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@desn512shams
My Final Animated Poster Set!!
"Aotearoa Today"
For the Summative Assessment: The Life Force
I'm wondering if 're-blogging' will put this on the top of my blog, since that was a request for the Summative since I finished mine on Friday I believe, so it isn't the very top post anymore...
P.S I think out worked!
My Pitch Deck Design
Reflection;
In hindsight; it could probably benefit with a table of contents page and some page numbers because it's so long! haha!
Also another thought is that there is room to consider other forms of layout that isn't so straight forward...But I'm pretty happy with how clean and cohesive it turned out.
Struggles: was hyphenation: taking it out and then trying to clean up the 'rag', is that the term? Make the edges not so ratchet. It meant making a couple of text boxes slightly bigger than others, and make it work as best I could! Also remembering how to use all the things like kerning, and keeping it to 9-14 words on a line, my body is 12 over 14, and the headers are x3 the body text size...just lots to keep in mind...I probably should have created a check list to tick off to make my life easier!
Some of my pitch deck inspirations; I have a whole folder of these!
Reflections:
I noticed that the majority of pitch decks I came across felt very corporate and same-y. These are some of the few, in addition to the ones from class, that felt like they had a bit of creativity with the layout and design, and didn't feel so corporate.
For my pitch deck, I ended up not using a template as inspiration, because none of these seemed to do it for me. Not saying that I created anything revolutionary by any means, I just decided to keep it simple, similar to Osbourne-Shiwan in a way, and use a couple of my colours from my poster, the jade tones & a soft gold.
For typeface choice; I went with 2: the first is my typeface from my poster, it is the broken-down version of Engraved Expanded, which is a signature of my poster and animation design. Second is a clean type that is in contrast to the above, and that was RALEWAY. I loved Raleway because it's beautifully designed, polished, and contemporary, and works well for both print and screen. It also felt approachable, yet sophisticated, and didn't clash with my main typeface, in my view. It felt like a good type to represent me. Since the pitch deck is my voice, I chose Raleway for the body text.
Didn't realise that I missed posting this! Notes from Osbourne-Shiwan :)
Reflections - it was great to hear and see how a brief is addressed, and how we end up arriving at a final design. I noticed that their pitch decks were quite simple, so as to let the content and their story-telling take centre stage.
"Design is about implementing an idea in a fantastic way."
Pitch Deck Rationale - Final Draft
Ko te Mauri he mea huna ki te moana
The life force is hidden in the sea
My posters are about the hidden treasure symbolized in this whakatauki. It is the story of an ancestor who calmed the sea by tossing his cloak into the waves so others could cross. It speaks to the hidden value of gifts from those that have paved the way for us. It also speaks about a true treasure, hidden away, but you’ll see it, if you know where to look. Personally, this whakatauki resonated because I have only just rediscovered my passion for art and design, recognizing its significance only recently. I had lost myself once upon a time, and finding a new home here in Aotearoa has shown me the path towards gaining my true self again. In other words, Aotearoa and its people, represent not just my home, but the very golden Life Force that has propelled me forwards on my journey. It has kept me safe, fuelled me with Aroha, and hope, and like the chief that tossed his cloak to pave the way, I too, one day, would like to have paved a path inspiring others that follow. It is my hope that my design resonates in the same way for all; That Aotearoa’s today is because of those that have taught us, or improved our lives in some way to get us to this point. For this, we are so grateful. And, for the collective to see in themselves their talent that can be used to help grow, and pave the way, for Aotearoa’s tomorrow.
Thoughts for improvement; re-do this to touch on how the design elements I've picked (colour, design elements, typeface) relate as well.
My Workflow/Process for this hand in:
Refine posters until finalised, & no more changes needed so that it doesn't lead to me double-handling or making changes to the animation because of a modification to the posters...
After Effects; focus on getting the story completed
Pitch deck last, after all the work is done
Reflections; I did have a general look for my Pitch deck set up before I finished the After Effects work..it's very simple though. It took me longer than I expected to figure out After Effects. Just a mental note for me that when I'm learning something new, that I need to allocate 'practice/learning time', so I don't run out of time and sacrifice quality at the end.
Pitch Deck Intro: Final Draft
I chose to rewrite my intro completely so that it is more authentic to me, and shows the raw growth journey towards why I chose communication design....but it's so long. Argh. How do I shorten this tale? I'm not a writer so this is tough! But here it is...
I am Shamsa Baddai, a first year of Bachelor of Communication Design student at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). Auckand is my home, where I live with my partner and our ginger cat named ‘Loki’. Originally from Oman, growing up, I endured oppression and domestic violence. I had a passion for art, and despite winning National art competitions during school, I was discouraged from pursuing it. My voice was stifled, and my art dwindled, replaced by fear and following orders.  I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology from the University of Auckland in 2018 as it was the closest I could get to an art education at the time. This period marked a turning point in my life as I fought for my rights, ultimately gaining refugee status, and winning my case; which set a precedent for Omani or Arab women seeking refuge from violence. I am now a proud Kiwi citizen. While working in admin, I was sought out for my creativity to make posters, invites or signs despite my lack of technical skill, which ignited my creative side again. I even taught myself to use tools like Photoshop. I loved utilizing technology to fuse my art with design to create a meaningful artifact. I also really enjoyed interpreting a vision and expanding upon it. My turning point was during a recent overseas trip to Universal. I noticed the ‘Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ had such creative posters. That entire world was designed by ‘MinaLima’. It sounds crazy, but I teared up. I wanted so badly to be part of the team that created such beautiful artefacts, and I realised that I deserved to finally pursue my creative dream, now that I can. I don’t know what kind of designer I am going to be yet, but I do know that my goal is to use my illustration & digital design skills to craft print that is imapactful, beautiful and strong, like my voice, and I want my work to be out on the walls, in films, and in the hands of Aotearoa, and the World.Â
It took me seeing their posters on a wall in Universal. Where it all came together, and the journey here began...
**Reflective Notes; Revisit my writing to shorten, and clean it up, because it’s currently too long…
After Effects Planning Sketches: (Just noticed that I hadn't shared these yet, whoops!)
The first (A4), is the very first concepts: I ended up enjoying working with concept 1 and building upon it. I couldn't figure out how to do Idea#2, and I researched and googled, but i just couldn't get my head around it. So that lead to the course I took...
the second post-it, is in my 'fine tuning'-final phase. The main design and movements were animated on the page, and upon placing them side-by-side, I realised that the lighting needed to work across from each other, and the reveal timings needed to gently show that they are a unified set. So the post-it is my plan, with slight tweaks after multiple tests.
My Final Animated Poster Set!!
"Aotearoa Today"
For the Summative Assessment: The Life Force
Posters submitted for Feedback in the last class
What isn't working/needs improving:
David said to make sure that the waves (wave warp) returns to its original form (back to 0) by the end of the 10s. Because it's jarring the way it has a sudden stop. Very true. So I will fix that.
Also the golden poster: the colour in the Maori text has finished off 'white', and not in its true colours, due to the light effect. So I need to try and get it back to its original colours by the end.
Things to consider:
David suggested that perhaps the smaller scaled text, could reveal themselves in a non-linear form. Like the middle sort of first, and then top or bottom. Which is an awesome idea, because nature does work that way.
Upon testing though, it didn't quite work for me, because it disrupted the flow of the comprehension? it got a bit muddly for me, but that could be due to my skill level. So I kept it simple and linear due to all the other abstract elements also participating on the page.
It looks like a good contrast between the two types of text, the larger scaled are a bit more magical and soft and flowy, against the smaller scale, but impactful text. And together, they have a clean look.
What's working:
I had taken out the bright light spark thing from the blue poster on the left (see below for the prior version), and this works better. Its simpler, and not as distracting...
I also had worked with Gaussian blur, and you'll notice the timing of each side is deliberately designed with the other side in mind to create a reveal that flows between the two. Each side is translating and evoking the other. I used Gaussian blur because it looks to me like something appearing from the depths, and allows for me to finely control the reveal timings between the Left side, and the Right side in keeping with the theme.
So that flows well, and seems to work for this set.
Testing the posters as a set:
They needed work with setting up the timing correctly. I decided to use Gaussian Blur to make sure that the text on the left at the top reveals itself first, followed by the gold on the right, and followed by the left middle..and so on. So it is all timed to reveal itself, and work together with each other in doing so, avoiding clashing with other elements on the page. I want to allow breathing room for each element, also not so slow that it loses pace, and it has a good rhythm & flow.
Like choreography.
What I don't like: I'll soften the Light Ray edges a bit so that they're not as sturdy and sharp.
Many many iterations later. Poster 1: I love how its come together. I'm not so sure about the bright-trail, it's a bit too sharp and bright though...
Testing The Waters: Continued
Animating the 'Ngaru' ocean wave pattern, to help symbolise movement, travel through time, and progress.
That felt like a concept that works, with some tweaking for speed.
In its current state it doesn't represent the 'hidden' mysterious life-force treasure. So I guess, I can use opacity will help create a subtler reveal, and more mystery.
I considered keeping the 'water' because it's such a dazzling look, but I still think I can evoke the water quality differently, and in a simpler way, to achieve a better outcome representing the meaning, and matching the original feel of the poster.
Testing the Waters: Continued
This does have a very watery feel. It's eye catching, and cinematic.
But like I had initially thought, it changes the colours, so it wasn't in keeping with my colour story, and loses the fine details in the type. Not sure if it's saying too much about the actual meaning of the poster either. So it would be great for another piece of work down the line maybe, just not suited to this one unfortunately.
Testing The Waters:
Pardon the pun. :P
Testing the 'across' idea, just incase it was a great one. It wasn't bad. But it looks like a cloud. Too airy I think...
Planning the Animation:
This is a terrible example, but it made sense to me. I had a few of these post-its. I visualised each section, revealing itself, with the middle 'more hidden' part emerging from the dark water in the middle.
I liked the fact that all aspects of the poster were dynamic, and could emote, or work to reflect their meaning, rather than remain static. So all aspects play a role, kinda like a dance, and choreography.
Other plans that were discarded:
-I considered having water sweep across both posters. It felt a bit too obvious, or on the nose? And then the other parts of the poster would just sit there, which would be a missed opportunity. Plus it felt like it would look different from my original posters. Isn't water flowing across more like a river, or a stream, rather than the sea? So I scratched that idea.
-Another idea was to have one poster on top of the other, and have them reduce in opacity and come through, revealing each other. But firstly, I didn't have the know-how to do that yet, and it does conflict with the side-by-side request from the brief....so didn't quite seem like the right way to start off. I thought I could revisit this one later if the other design idea wasn't panning out. (Spoiler; I ended up creating a hint/idea of this effect by using Gaussian Blur, in my final animated posters).
-I considered planning to use the water effect I had learned while I had been stumped when I first tried After Effects. The very first animation I made. I was honestly tempted, because it does look very cinematic. However, big problem; it's quite a 'blobby' shape, making the water texture of each letter, and I'd lose all my precise type design. Each letter has some fine elements. They'd all get lost. Plus a 'lifelike' water effect would also distort the original poster colours, again, a bad idea if I'm trying to represent the original poster set. Plus the complexity/timeframe; I'd have to create an adjustment layer for each letter, and time it just right. It would be a logistical nightmare since I still am learning, and dont know much about all the ins & outs yet. So it's a big nah from me.
Wk 10/Wk11 After Effects BREAKTHROUGH
Lawd. That was a mission, but omg, I GOT IT!! *happy dance*. Omg, it was a drama.
My posters were a set of shapes forming letters. They weren't letters anymore. Not a single one was a letter technically. When I took anything out of its 'clip group' they became squares because they needed the masking in the clip group to keep them in their original form. I had much dread.
Creating layers from their clip groups, didn't work.
David gave me a handy tip though, and that was to copy then paste-in-place each individual item, which kinda 'remakes it' outside the clip group. In class it worked, but at home, it didn't. hehe. Of course!
After watching the video above, (on the fifth watch because I couldn't understand initially), I learned that in illustrator, I could just add a layer, rename it, and then drag whatever I wanted into the layer, and skip the 'release to layers' part. This worked! It was very manual, but was really satisfying to work that way. It feel like dragging bits into their correct 'drawers'.
I didn't separate out each individual letter, because I had a design idea in mind that was to do with certain words revealing themselves. Where I thought I needed them separated, I did so... just to save on time, and too much complexity that could potentially muck things up, or confuse me, down the line.