OUGD504: Brief 1

Fonts such as Helvetica simply are too angular and I don't think reflect myself at all.

Difficult to read because of flourishes. Even though I like script fonts this simply isn't suitable for purpose. 

I started looking at other script fonts:

However on the whole I felt as though the flourishes within the letterforms as beautiful as they are not suitable as they are hard to read when in a smaller point size. These types of beautiful script fonts have other uses though as they can be used as a header or as part of a logo as script fonts have a certain personality that some brands use to their advantage as being feminine, upmarket and expensive. 

I quite like this type as it is informal and quirky and therefore somewhat reflects myself and the design I like. 

I initially began looking into different typefaces and which I would prefer as the brief is to create something for myself and to reflect my own process. For me I find a sans serif font too harsh but a script is illegible when used for text which isn't a header. I also thought about colour and incorporated a rainbow pattern behind some text but this doesn't really work at all because I want the colour scheme to be considered and organised to reflect myself. 

I am going to take this font forward:

I don't want my final piece to appear too formal and precise as even though I am organised I tend to take a feminine approach to the aesthetic of my work as Script fonts remind me of books and handwriting and therefore are visually appealing to myself. 

I tried this font into the framework of my leaflet: 

I quite like the way it looks similar to handwriting and therefore for myself appears to be quite friendly and contrasts the angular shapes created by the leaflet. 

For each of the sections I also thought about using small illustrations to reveal what the title of each section means. I think using too much text would make the design feel cramped and therefore be illegible to the viewer. 

I love quirky and fun looking design especially as this is something for myself I prefer design to be a little more informal when addressing myself. If this brief was to be for a specific audience the style would definitely be different. 

https://www.behance.net/gallery/13468859/Burn-Your-Portfolio

I love the limited colour palette used with this design and also the illustrations as they are quite simple. When making my design I will try to draw in a similar style to this as I think it compliments the fun tone of voice and a younger student audience. This brief is for myself and therefore I need to choose a style when I enjoy.

https://www.behance.net/gallery/20163651/Sweet-Pea-Makeup-Artistry-Branding

I love the flamboyant nature of this script font and on the whole these styles of fonts do appeal to me quite often as they are beautiful in their form. They are also quite feminine and I would say that I prefer creating work which has that "pretty" influence but that changes with the demands of each brief and the audience however as this brief is designing for myself I will look into fonts I prefer. 

https://www.behance.net/gallery/11591115/Quote-Blocks

I love the tone of voice with this as it makes something which is quite dry and boring into something fun especially with them being in blocks and the use of bright colours. 

Initial ideas: could draw a think bubble or a brain to show thought.. this first part of the process is to show how it is the initial ideas and therefore based on thinking of concepts and ideas rather than physical work .

Broad Research: I tend to think of this section as the part where I make many lists of things I could do and a whole range of ideas and refine them by writing further lists. 

Specific Research: I normally find from the library in books or from blogs and articles online this is normally where I refine my ideas and I think I find books most useful. 

Critique feedback: I could draw a speech bubble as information is passed from one person to another or arrows which go in opposite directions. 

Design Decisions: i could draw a pantone chart but with limited colour options I don't think this would be a good idea therefore to get my point across i could draw an artist's colour palette. 

Experiment: I struggled for ideas with this section until it reminded me of a science experiment where you put different elements into the mixture to see what happens which is exactly what a brief is its trying and testing different options. 

Development: I usually refine my ideas using software on my laptop even if I am screen printing or some other process I find it is a quick solution to seeing how my work can develop. 

Final Outcome: I could either draw a picture frame around the text to represent a finished piece or an art easel which shows a finished piece however I feel as though no piece of work is finished and can be continually worked onto much like a painting. 

Choice of colour scheme: I initially thought about leaving my piece black and white however I think it would look quite boring so I looked around my room for inspiration on colours that I naturally use without knowing:

I found that a lot of items in my room including clothes tend to be versions of black, grey and pinks/ purples and therefore I think it would seem fitting to create a colour scheme using these. I want to use mainly a bright pink in my design as I did some research into the meaning of colours and magenta is quite a strong colour: 

"Magenta influences our whole personal and spiritual development. It strengthens our intuition and psychic ability while assisting us to rise above the everyday dramas of our daily life to experience a greater level of awareness and knowledge."

"This color is an instrument of change and transformation; it helps to release old emotional patterns that prevent personal and spiritual development and aids us in moving forward.

Magenta is uplifting to our spirits during times of unhappiness, anger or frustration."

"The colour magenta is a colour of cheerfulness, happiness, contentment and appreciation for what you have acquired and achieved. Most people feel more optimistic when in the company of magenta."

http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-magenta.html

The design process is complex and allows for development of the mind through thoughts of ideas and concepts as well as the physical development of work this therefore means that magenta would be a perfect choice. 

I started looking at how colours would work together: 

I looked online at colour schemes that work that are pinks and purple however I find that they are quite dark and I don't think they would work. 

Therefore I brightened these colours: 

Which look much better and brighter which therefore compliment the friendly tone of the type. 

I thought about creating my drawings on illustrator but these might seem too intense and angular so therefore I hand drew my designs and then defined the lines on illustrator. 

After deciding on colours and my font choice I put the text onto the front of my net design however I feel it looks quite empty and as I have used a feminine theme I will look into what floral borders would look like. 

I don't like these corners as they don't add anything to the design at all nor do they frame the text. I then drew a more flamboyant design which reminds me of invitations which I looked at in my research I think these will work better in framing the text however the black looks aesthetically too intense with pink. 

I therefore tried fading the opacity of the designs into the background but I think white would look better as it stands out from the magenta. 

After creating the front I then moved on to trying and creating the panels on the back: 

The text for "initial ideas" was quite large and in the middle however after adding my drawing I realised that putting it to the side doesn't work at all and with an angular design making the piece central could really work quite well. 

I continued the central theme within the next panel and it definitely works quite well.

I played around with the placement of this image as it is the only section which has one word and I didn't want it to see too far out of place in comparison to the others. By making images and text central it definitely contributes to the idea of organisation and everything contributing and having its place. 

I felt quite content with this design however after asking a few others and stepping away from it I realised that the section "development" didnt work at all aesthetically along with the others as the laptop is not central therefore I will draw a different laptop which can work in the centre. 

Colours:

I'm quite happy with this design and will try a test print to see how it looks off screen.

I printed the design to an A4 format:

My test print was far too dark and too small so therefore before printing in digital print I am going to lighten the colours and print it onto an A3. I also noticed some white gaps between the squares on this print so I will adjust those so that the shapes are in line with each other and don't distract the eye from the type and image. 

Lightening colour:

These colours look far better and create a greater contrast with the black text and imagery.

Printing in digital print: I decided to try a cartridge paper which is matte and a thinner paper which was quite glossy and was recommended to be incredibly good for folds. 

I'm really impressed with the quality of the printing however as it is double sided I had to spend quite a while in the printers getting the design correct by adding bleed on one side the new printer in digital print definitely helped with the precise measurements of the design as I have struggled with printers previously to get both sides to line up correctly. 

With cutting and folding I came across a few issues with the matte cartridge paper because it creased quite visibly which looks truly unprofessional and generally unkempt. See image below:

Thankfully the other print I did with the thinner glossy stock worked wonderfully and there is hardly any crease marks at all which definitely gives it a better finish. 

To complete my final piece I was thinking of creating a sleeve however with the nature of the leaflet design I have chosen it opens up like an envelope or a present so therefore I think ribbon would be more suitable as it seems more personal which relates to the fact that the brief must be for myself and personal to me. 

(Google image search)

 I visited fashion and textiles to see if they had any ribbon or string which was for sale, unfortunately they didn't so I looked online for shops in the town centre and eventually came across "Samuel Taylor" which were really helpful and I ended up buying three different pieces of ribbon. 

I tried the three pieces of ribbon on their own but they are thin and were not strong enough to keep the paper from trying to flip out into its open shape so therefore I resorted into using all three pieces together:

Overall I'm quite happy with my design because I think it shows the eight sections I wanted to highlight and in the limited time available I think I have done quite well with sourcing stock and ribbon as well as putting time aside to do research and design the actual leaflet. However I think with more time I would of loved to have been able to use a thicker stock and emboss the floral pattern onto the front of design and perhaps have experimented with foiling, these are two techniques I haven't used before and in future briefs I really want to try ( see examples below). 

Embossing:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/20060351/TK-HOME-FURNITURE-BROCHURE-2014-White

Foiling: 

https://www.behance.net/gallery/20125563/Leadville-100

These techniques often look beautiful next to each other as they compliment each other in items such as packaging and create a luxury looking product.