Maxim Cook

3rd year student - BA Graphic Design Communication, Chelsea College of Arts

[maximcookdesign]

BLOG KEY

PLEASE USE THE ABOUT SIDE MENU TO SEARCH FOR A PROJECT

FOR EXAMPLE: cdw = Clerkenwell Design week 

unit9 / unit10 / fmp / d&ad / cdw / unheardvoicesredo / data

[maximcookdesign]

FMP PROPOSAL

My FMP project summary: A  digital campaign to focus on the reform of most typical assumptions surrounding HIV within young people, using illusion and progressive visuals to tell the story of the stigma and transform it into something unknown to the viewer. To be distributed into a social media which is becoming the fastest platform for consumption in the ‘Instagram age’. The context of my FMP is focussing on the wider theme of HIV awareness, and the 10 year anniversary of RED RUN LDN. How colour can be associated with an epidemic and hold a stigma for a broad number of years. How can we change this stigma and make it more appealing to the young audience that PositiveEast want to attend RED RUN LDN? My research will focus about how HIV campaigns have changed constantly since the AIDS EPIDEMIC, to broadcast and manipulate stigmas that surround HIV. How can red be used as a protagonist within design and especially within advertising to be able to communicate a concept or a warning sign to the viewer. The audience has somewhat been predefined by PositiveEast and remains to be: Individuals between 20-30, too young to remember or be taught of the AIDS epidemic, who have had no HIV education or awareness throughout education, and live and work in and around London The media I will be focussing on will be interactive and digital posters, coinciding with a digital and print campaign, as well as a potential for motion graphics.   Three interactive/digital posters that include art direction and set design and the relation of objects to surrounding individuals, that progress on to tell a narrative that tackles the surrounding stigmas of HIV in the UK. Including a brand film that promotes RED RUN LDN in a manner to reach the audience quicker through social media. My professional contact for this brief is Ian Montogomery, Campaign and Fundraising Manager at PostiveEast, organise and part of RED RUN LDN.

[maximcookdesign]

FMP SUMMARY

FMP Project Summary

RED RUN LDN integrated social media campaign that tackles the 3 main stigmas that still surround the public’s opinion on HIV in the UK today. 5 x video adverts and 6 editorial posters. One key thing that I have learnt from this project, is Cinema 4D and After Effects. Software wise I hadn’t really used these programmes before and they weren’t easy to learn. Cinema 4D especially was a different kind of render setting than Premiere Pro. During this project I have also learnt to manage my time a bit better and make sure that I am on time with tasks. What was helpful during FMP is that I would make a checklist and a time frame to be able to complete it by, which structures the p[ace at which I working making me more ruthless when it comes to varying my work and pushing forward with decisions.

My professional contact for FMP was Ian from PositiveEast, he’s he fundraising manager/one man design team at PostiveEast and has direct control over RED DUN LDN. Ian has been incredibly helpful during FMP and has given me regular updates on the concept and where it was going. One thing he like in [particular is how I tackled the 3 stigmas subtly through the changing/moving imagery. The project has not been released yet to the wider audience, but there is discussion about going through a few things and potentially being released in September.

[maximcookdesign]

BRAND FILM 2 - iPHONE

[maximcookdesign]

FINAL BATH / BIRTHDAY / FLOWERS adverts

[maximcookdesign]

[maximcookdesign]

FILM EDITING 

On Premiere Pro, before any grading was done, I had to get the edit right. The process is long but I could manipulate the images to move in a way that tracked back  and used a porportionised scale that was adherent throughout all 3 of the videos. It was at this point that it was apparent the candle wasn’t going to be in focus much for the films, which was unfortunate. 

After the videos were finished I took them into Cinema 4D, similar to what I did with D&AD and managed to drop them into a rotating iPhone mockup. 

What I found frustrating wad the colour grading of the white balance, it took so much messing around to make the red stay red and the white purer. But after messing with he saturation after I had finished with the white balance sector, it seems to work out a bit better. The only thing with colour grading is that it’s a very long process ro grade the films to the correct colour.

[maximcookdesign]

The posters, come from stills from each of the shoot and they are what I am most happy with about this project. The typeface works well, and I was decided on that quite quickly. I was finally paying attention to the variation that I knew I had to include into my design process and my design thinking from D&AD, The design is coherent as well as the colour scheme, and the fact that although the typography changes between the two separate elements of the posters, they are a clear set. The only set back is, if they are released and set up at multiple locations individually, I do think that they may not work as well as singular posters. 

[maximcookdesign]

CONVERSATION WITH IAN

I have been in touch with Ian from PositiveEast again to see what he thought of my final outcomes, here’s what he said below unfortunately he’s a man of little words...

“Hey Maxim,

(3x Stigma films)

Looks great! The 3 films work well together visually and I can see what you were trying to get at. The only issue I would sya that i have with it is the reference of the blood and the semen, it just strays too far from the flowers and the candle I think object wise.”

Ian’s been great with helping me work on the concept of my FMP and make sure that I am appealing to the right audience. Especially as he know’s what he would want to get out of the campaigns working for RED RUN LDN.

[maximcookdesign]

FILM EDITING

On Premiere Pro, before any grading was done, I had to get the edit right. The process is long but I could manipulate the images to move in a way that tracked back  and used a porportionised scale that was adherent throughout all 3 of the videos. It was at this point that it was apparent the candle wasn’t going to be in focus much for the films, which was unfortunate. 

After the videos were finished I took them into Cinema 4D, similar to what I did with D&AD and managed to drop them into a rotating iPhone mockup. 

What I found frustrating wad the colour grading of the white balance, it took so much messing around to make the red stay red and the white purer. But after messing with he saturation after I had finished with the white balance sector, it seems to work out a bit better. The only thing with colour grading is that it’s a very long process ro grade the films to the correct colour.

[maximcookdesign]

BF2D iPH

Part of devlopment into FMP at UAL CCW (non commercial)

BRAND FILM 2 IN iPHONE

[maximcookdesign]

BF2D W 1

Part of devlopment into FMP at UAL CCW (non commercial)

BRAND FILM 2 IN WIDE SET

[maximcookdesign]

BF2D P2

Part of devlopment into FMP at UAL CCW (non commercial)

The second brand film is a little jazzier.I knew that I could manipulate the logo more and make it more playful and enjoyable than the first one. The first brand film is good, but somewhat minimal in how the design of the logo i explored. With the second brand film, I took elements out of the first one and eveloped upon them more.

The audio that accompanies this one is slightly more upbeat and adds a third element to the advert itself. One set back it that without the audio, the video seems oddly distracting and too fast paced, which would be something to consider when I place it into mockups. It would only be displayed as a social media campaign and not desktop

[maximcookdesign]

BF1 W

Part of devlopment into FMP at UAL CCW (non commercial)

Similar to the 1st Brand film, this one is just in a wider set for desktop advertising, 

[maximcookdesign]

BF1 P

Part of devlopment into FMP at UAL CCW (non commercial)

BRAND FILM 1 

The videos that tackle the stigmas work, but I wanted to design something extra to add to the brand of RED RUN LDN. A simple typographic animation that showcases the logo and includes imagery from the posters and the 3x stigma films. 

[maximcookdesign]

What pleases me most about these is that they work on the mobile format. I shot all3 of the films in portrait (orientation) on the camera and I was afraid that a loss of quality would end up in them looking blurry and not great. Unfortunately this was the case with the Birthday shoot, but it was the largest set and I was restricted with the camera that I had ordered. 

If I had treated this as a test shoot, the candle wouldn’t look so blurry because I would have been able to shoot properly again with the correct camera and a micro lens that could focus not he candle from a  much wider depth of field. 

[maximcookdesign]

ALL 3 BRAND FILMS

Bath, Birthday, and Flowers all shown together. It took me a while to get then to line uo straight at the beginning and change at the same time. Overall i’m quite pleased with the outcome, they express the concept well and after being heavily edited, the colours match up but aren’t exact, which is what I did kind of want. 

The copy works so well, it kind of just happened whilst I was helping with the aid of Johanna. There was some debate between saying the second line should be either 

“You can have a life with HIV”

or 

“You have a life with HIV”

My argument was that saying “you have a life with HIV” sounds too imperative and you don’t want to be send the wrong message out. The thing that does concern me most about the entire set of three is that it has one subtle nod towards the race, which is the medal. Other than that, it is quite a simple campaign, and needs and extra element of editorial or some quick animations of the logo.