Personal Module Evaluation
The third module of my first year studying Visual Communication was called Sound and Vision. I was given 7 weeks to complete three aspects of the brief all for which I have combined within a single document as part of the submission. My task was to create ideas and final design outcomes for a new, small, independent festival of music. This is something I have never done before and was excited about embracing this new challenge. Along side this main brief I was asked to research 10 current and inspiring graphic designers to produce 2 case studies; one international and one UK based. Finally I completed work and created a CD cover design as part of the Secret 7 live competition for which I submitted my designs at the start of the month (march 2016).
At first the brief overwhelmed me but after going over it on the evening of the project launch I was clear of the task ahead. I was placed into a small group of people who had similar music taste and we began to brainstorm names, locations, acts and the type of audience we wanted to target for the event we were creating. From this point onwards I began to produce my own individual outcomes for the project. I first decided on the name ‘Coast’ after analysing existing events whose names have a form of connection with the location they are set within. I wanted to further challenge myself and set the event in a location I would not be able to get to – mimicking situations that in my future career I will not always be able to visit the site.
My next task was to define the target audience. This was one of the most important requirements of my learning outcomes as without a clearly defined audience my visual outcomes would not attract the right people to come to the event. My festival as outlined in my brand design guide and business plan is aimed towards the free spirited who want to enjoy life to the full, the modern 21st century hippy.
This project has been heavily digital based and my research and inspiration behind my design outcomes has been based on designers such as Kate Moross and Yoni Alter whose visual work suited well to the illustrated approach of style I have applied to this project. Early 20th century graphic posters have also inspired me especially the American National Park Service who commissioned a series of advertisements to get people to come and visit the parks. These examples have all been recorded on my blog. I have not directly recreated these designs but applied the technique to create my own unique style to suite my target audience and event ethos.
I began the project by defining my logotype and colour palette, which over the course of the project developed and become more refined. After the last project I was inspired and determined to produce the typography for my logotype, which was a challenge at the start. Repeating each letterform before combining them and digitally editing the overall design. The colour palette has been an important aspect to consider throughout the project for which I refined and reduced towards the completion of the collateral elements, using a mixture of yellow, blue and purple which worked together well to give the audience the summer vibes I was hoping for.
My ideas developed through a series of sketches I completed in my sketchbook. Once I was happy with the ideas I then moved my work to digital using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create the final outcome, which helped tutors and peers along the way to visualise and critique my work. I would create a visual using the relevant software, and I would then show my peers who I would consider to be my target audience. Constant feedback from my peers and tutors throughout the project has really helped me to refine my outcomes to produce work of a high standard. As stated before my main editing process was that of the Adobe Creative suites as my work was illustrative based.
I went about producing my outcomes again using the adobe software suites but I was also asked to create a series of ten images and a short 10-second promotional teaser video. The images could be produced using any medium but I specifically chose to use photography. My reasons behind this were to add a sense of realism to my work seeing as my main collateral was created using digital illustrations. Luckily over the course of the module the weather has been particularly pleasant thus I have been able to create some summery visuals. My ten images vary from images taken below of people and the sky, textures of sand and scenic photographs of coastal settings, which I sourced from my stock images I have been collating. These images I have then used as part of my social media promotions for my festival where I created accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. These four platforms are the most popular and my audience will most likely be using at least one of them – hence a good method of promoting and informing my audience. My ten-second promotional teaser video was produced using film rather than animation and this was again to add a sense of realism. My video works well and can be used as part of a series to tell the story of a person’s journey as they embark upon the festival.
I have had many elements of my project that have worked really well and others that haven’t. The use of colour and my legibility was my biggest issue. In my feedback I was advised to source a secondary typeface, as the one I was using, although suited well to the project I had created, couldn’t be used for all aspects, hence a second typeface needed to be introduced. My colour palette also needed to be revised a few times, which meant big changes along the way. However with these changes made my work has become both more legible and more professional in its appearance. The one thing I would change in my approach in the future would be to not do all my research at the beginning but to do it continuously throughout the project especially as I began to create the different collateral elements – however I feel I was able to adapt my work in accordance to any new sources of inspiration I found.
I will now finally talk about the other two smaller tasks I was given. During the third week of the module we were asked to independently complete these two tasks, however I was in New York during this period taking part in the annual Viscom field trip. Therefore my time management for this project has had to be on top form. I researched ten designers who inspired me the most before settling on two. The first being Tony Brook of SPIN studio in London who has created a series of promotional and branding campaigns for large corporations. The second was American designer David Gibson, a way finding expert who has built the two-twelve studio into a world-renowned establishment. Researching and learning more about not only the various industries and pathways graphic design can lead into but also the various key figures has been really interesting. Following on from this task I was asked to produce a vinyl cover for an artist of my choice (from a selection of 7). I chose to design a cover for Tame Impala’s ‘The less I know the better’ song. I first went along the path of incorporating my digital illustrative style to the cover but felt I needed to push myself further. Using inspiration from the 60’s and listening closely to the meaning behind the songs lyrics I produced a tie-dye, kaleidoscope design that incorporated repeating patterns and images. I was really pleased with the outcome and my tutorial with Tracy Allanson-Smith stated how it was good to see me experimenting with a different stylistic approach.
Overall this module has been really interesting and exciting. I have enjoyed working my way through and producing a range of collateral outcomes that has forced me to move out of my comfort zone thus allowing my work to develop and become more professional in appearance. This has also been helped by me achieving my first accreditation in Adobe Illustrator, which has pushed me to work towards achieving accreditation in the other software’s. This project has been very digital based and has been really beneficial in developing my skills in this area. I feel a lot more confident in my technical skills development and I am beginning to develop my own graphic style.
Adobe Accreditation Progress:
Graphic Design and Illustration using Adobe Illustrator CC 2015 – MAC
Accreditation Achieved - 25th February 2016
I have also booked my exam for accreditation in Adobe InDesign. I plan to work on my accreditation in Photoshop over the Easter break.
For my submission I have combined the brand design guide, my two case studies, my final design for the Secret 7 live task, the business plan and this personal module evaluation within a single PDF document.
My 10-second promotional teaser can be accessed through a web link created within my brand design guide.
Posted | Monday 14th March 2016
