Moving Image - ITV2 Ident

In the moving image brief their was four different briefs to chose from.  We had to work as apart of a team to create an animation.  There was an ITV2 ident brief a, new radio station, an animation with black hole as a starting point and we could rework a different brief, from our previous project, Branding, 

I paired up with two friends and we decided to recreate the dancing itv2 ident, but instead of using people, just use footsteps.  After having thought of how to create the piece we decided that stop frame would work and that the music would be important aspect to the final piece.  We wanted music with a good beat but no lyrics.

Week 1

With little time spent on thinking of other ideas, we went straight for our first idea and took some test shots.  We used the green colour form the original itv2 logo as the background and used white feet to dance them about the board taking photos after every movement of the feet.  We then used imovie to place the sequence together and add music to create an animatic.  An animatic is a short presentation of your idea using music, to present your idea to the client etc.  After using the green background it was difficult to see the white feet so we decided that we would use a white background and green feet and reproduced the test shots and this worked and looked better than the fist attempt.

Week 2

 

We decided that the animation had no narrative, and narrative is important within any moving image project so we decided to incorporate dancing moves within the ident.  After 

Editorial illustrations

This brief was about image making. There was four different briefs to chose from and as I have never chose to do editorial illustrations before I decided that I would give it ago.  Not wanting to be an illustrator, I found this brief quite challenging for my skills.  I learnt that illustration is about story telling and you can use anything to create the narrative behind the design.  We was given a few different texts to illustrate and after reading them all i decided that the one about x-ray specs would be very fun to illustrate.  

Week 1 

I started by doodling alot of ideas down on paper, after pictionary day in the studio. I used pencil and pen to create fast ideas.  I then used different materials such as paint, inks, etc to come up with ideas for x ray goggles.  After doing some research I found some inferred images that had black backgrounds and vibrant colours of pink, green, blue, red, yellow and orange and I wanted to create images that look like this.  I had ideas of x-ray machines Skulls, radio waves/tower and eyes.  I did alot of experiments and scanned them in and manipulated them.

Week 2 

I then thought of the magazine I would be pitching for and that was the New Scientist magazine.  I wanted to create radio waves so using pen and paint I created a few swirling movements and scanned them in and added different colour of brush layers on photoshop.  I did the goggles in the same way as for the front cover I wanted the goggles to be in the middle and the radio waves at the side.  Inside I wanted the goggles to be as though the reader is wearing them and the text would be in the googles.  I found some skiing mask goggles that would look good drawn so I used them.

Week 3 

After the tutorial last week, my drawings had to be more hand crafted.  So for the radio waves I decided that moving a torch in a black room whilst taking images of it on a slow shutter speed would produce lines and make glowing movements that could act like radio waves.  I placed them into photoshop and overlapped them to create radio waves.  I was pleased with the final outcome of the radio waves.  Inside i decided to draw an eye leading to radio waves to the goggles to more radio waves and a radio tower.  This would go straight across the double page spread meaning the goggles would be in half across the page and so big enough to fill the writing inside them.  The goggles where produced in the same way and i kept the colour scheme of the inferred images over the goggles.  Overall I am slightly pleased with the performance of my illustrations however I feel I need more ideas to make the most out of this brief.  After this brief i felt illustration is my weakest element for my career.

Term 2_Week 7

Today we was given a new three week brief about typography and publishing. There was four different briefs within this area of Graphic Design.

I chose the BLAD ( Book Layout & Design ) brief in which we had to design a book named the "The visual language of Typography."  We had to design the front and back cover, a contents page and three double page spreads inside the book.  We had to produce a dummy using our choice of paper stock that is suited to the publication. 

This book would have been published by Laurence King, therefore needs to be a high quality standard.  

The audience is students and graphic designers of today, so between 17 and 30 year olds.

Week 1 

During this week I researched more about typography from my Level One studies. To understand the Visual Language of typography, I first looked at what typography is and looked in many different books and the internet.  I asked myself several questions, What is Typography? Where can it be seen? Why is it there?When does it need to be legible? When doesn't it?

I then looked into the different styles of typefaces and font families and also looked at the terminology of typography such as x-height, leading and kerning as these are important characteristics to type.

Week 2 

During this week I decided that I need to have some categories so that I can answer the brief with my three double page spreads and allow myself and the reader to understand the visual language of the typography.  I found out that type can be placed into BLOCK, GOTHIC, ROMAN and SCRIPT.

I then researched grids and thought of the layout more.  I found out that there are eight different grid structure methods.  A GRID is a system of vertical and horizontal diversions.  I then also learned that CONTENT BUILDS THE GRID for you. Matter ( content images etc) affects the grid.

I then looked at many different images of typography.  Type can have/be.......Personality, Space, Images within the type, Expressive, Simple, Emotions, Different Arrangements, Formats, Use of Colour, Break the Rules, Under lying message.

I also looked at the market and Laurence King books to see what and how they produce books that we buy.

I found out that type has a personality and is selected to enhance the message.

We was told to look into the vernacular of typography.  I found in a book that the vernacular is the everyday language spoken by a group of people that includes slang and regional phrasing.  It is the language of the street, no matter where the street is.  After researching I decided that the categories that I would use for this book is : Traditional, Formal and Expressive and I would show examples of in each category.

I then found images of each category and wrote next to each image why it belongs in this selected category.  I also looked at Modern memorable logos of today and explained why the font selected helps the visual language.

I also thought of my format for the book and decided that a small a5 portrait book would work best for my book, so it can be easily be placed into bags or even pockets.

I was starting to become confused with the groups I had chosen as some typography images could be placed into either categories.  So I then changed my categories to more broader ones such as Conceptional and Analytical approach, but same happened as before.

After going to my second tutorial I found out that we had to produce the images ourselves rather than showing images that have been made already.  We was told that we was getting confused on what exactly we needed to produce and agreed that the brief was vague and needed to be written so students can understand what exactly they have to do.

Having understood what exactly I have to do now I chose to do an introduction page, a contents page and two different styles of type.  They where Historical Typography and Sci-Fi Typography.  I chose fonts for each group and wrote words that relate to the title in them selected fonts ( these was my images for my book).

I then used InDesign to create layouts and body texts for my book.  I found out how different point sizes of text affect the block of text needed for my pages. 

 

Week_6_Branding_corporate Identity_ Brief

This brief we got given a few starting points. There was a 'live' FCUK Brief, Design a brand for a large oil/petrol company called Sustain, Clothing brand named No Sweat, A unique coffee/ Live music place, Coffee Ground or a Photographic paper company named Max D.  Having thought about each brief i decided to chose the Logo design for a Oil/Petrol company named 'Sustain'.

 The Brand must use future technologies, be environmentally friendly and have a social conscience.  The logo to be applied to Petrol Pumps, tankers, uniforms, and fore courts.

Week 1

This week I researched petrol Brands, Shell and Bp.  We also had to come up with Core values that our logo represents.  This was a good starting point as it gave you a clear pathway on what your brand logo says.  I also thought about my audience as its an important starting point when designing anything.

Core Values of My petrol/ oil company 

Economic, Environmentally friendly, Technology advanced, Social Conscience, Cost effective.

Large audience being 17-80 ...ACT NOW campaign 

or  

Youngsters 17 - 30 ....FUTURE PEOPLE of the world 

I then produced a core sentence for what my Logo must achieve.

"A technology advanced petrol company that is environmentally aware'

I researched into the a new technology where hydrogen and the sun can createa renewable fuel using a Tandem Cell.

To begin I thought about the marks that I could draw on paper.  I came up with an arrow, square, a circle and a hollow circle.  These would be placed in a certain way to my logo.  

I looked at the work of Pentagram, as they create fantastic logo's and marks for inspiration.

I thought that the S of the Sustain would be used in the Final Logo Design.

Week 2 

I started to use layout paper and drew shapes that could make up the logo.  I also looked into typography of as many S as possible.  I then used these and shapes to create an idea for the logo.  My logo started to look like an electrical company rather than an oil company, so i looked into the structure of molecules in petrol and ethanol and other related products.

Week 3  

Having researched into the structures, I felt i didn't gain any ideas from the structures apart from a hexagon shape that i could use in the final logo.  So I decided to go back to the simple shapes and 's' idea to create the logo for this oil company.  I then chose the best typographic 'S' and manipulated them into different logos.  I had 8 different 's.' altogether.  After doing this is chose the best 9 designs from what I had created.  I chose one from these 9 and was very pleased with the look of the logo as it best described my core sentence intentions.  It used 2 arrows, an oil droplet, and an s character.  I then needed to look into colour for the logo and chose earth colours.  I eventually chose a darker blue and a light green.  Blue for the dirty colours of petrol and green for the environment purposes.  I chose a stencil font named 'post no bills.' I then took photographs of petrol stations and pumps and tankers etc and placed my logo onto the forecourt, pumps, tankers and signage. 

  Now after having my tutorial the lecture was pleased with the design to my final logo however the colours and the font needed to be changed.  I changed the blue to a lighter blue and changed hte font from 'post no bills' to 'Futura.'  This had a really good impact on the design and was very pleased with the final logo design.  I then placed the logo onto forecourts, pumps, tankers, uniforms and signage.

Week 2_Interactive Travel project. istd brief

This week we was given a new project.  Interactive design, a four week project. We again was placed into groups, but this time smaller.  I was placed into group of two others.  We had different sections in this brief to chose from and after some debate we decided as a group that the 10 things you should about... part of the brief was interesting to create a project on Interactive design.  As this was a istd ( international society typographic designers) brief, we have to think carefully about type and typefaces we use. 

We collaborated ideas and decided that our interactive project was about TRAVEL and we would create a webs

ite.  We had many ideas, and I thought about using a map with pin point locations on, so when the viewer clicked on a location, it would change to information about that location etc.  I also thought about as a homepage using an arrival board at an airport and the viewer had to click on a certain named location.  We first decided that we should look into a different continent and chose Africa.  I produced some drawings and sketches of Africa and an arrival board.

However, after our first tutorial we decided to create a website for gap year students who are thinking about traveling, this was a good angle as we can now get 10 things about travel and then our ideas changed to having a bag as a homepage.  I then thought creating a bag out of a text and creating animations, like text coming out of the bag etc.  I also thought of scanning in things to do with travel for backgrounds etc.

The Production of site.

This week we got all our ideas together and chose the best parts from our work to put together.  We decided on a simple approach to the design of the site, as too complicated can affect the thoughts of the viewer.  Keeping them interested, we found quite hard and so we decided that a few simple series of animations would help this situation.

Welcome Screen

My welcome animation was chosen and someone else's bag drawing was used for the final welcome screen and that had a link to a static homepage of the bag.

Home Page

A simple bag with hotspot links.  We decided to link to a padlock, pass port, camera, a whole in bag, a water bottle and a journal.  I added a background image to the home page.

Final Website

I was pleased overall with the design of the website with the clean and simple navigation and hotspot rollover links.  However some of the images kept moving.  this was the layers system in dreamweaver.  Our site could be used at schools and collages in which uses touch the certain parts of the bag and the animations play reveling the informative information about traveling on a gap year.

Go to http://www.interactivetravelntu.blogspot.com to view more images and final work.

Week 1 _Career Project

This week we was given a research project on the different jobs available in the graphic design industry.  We was put into groups.  There was fourteen people in ours.  We was then all given a term to do with graphic design.  My group got given TYPOGRAPHER.  We wad three days to research typographer and present a presentation to the rest of the year.

We had to say, what a typographer was? how do you become one? how do you get a job? Salary? etc.

We also had to have a poster that showed all this information on it.

We then had to think how we would present this TYPOGRAPHER presentation.

  

Using books and the internet as a group, we found alot of information on a typographer and I presented my research to the rest of the group.

As the groups where very large, we decided collectively that we would split up into smaller groups and split the presentation up into these: What a typographer was, what a typographer is now and what a typographer will become.  This way we found it easier to collaborate ideas.

I was in the group what a typographer was, therefore I looked at the past of typographer and found that Bruce Rogers was Americas first known typographer of the 2oth century.  However in the UK the term typographer was referred  to someone who worked with type: basically a book designer.  I looked at  the work of  Bruce Rogers, Jan Tschichold and Marinetti who as a typographer where all influential designers with typography.  Tschichold with his asymmetrical designs and Marinetti's experimental work.

The presentation went well.  I placed my research on the wall, like a timeline.  We then placed a table and chairs in the middle and got the audience to walk around us as we spoke about the term typographer.  I was the first to speak and I'm normally quite nervous about giving presentations but I spoke clearly and I throughly enjoyed doing our presentation. 

I learned alot in this project, learning new things to do with different areas of graphic design and I thought it was a good project to get us back into the swing of things after a long summer.

I don't think a typographer is an idle job for me, at this stage I'm keeping my options open until later in the year, when hopefully I will find my specialism.