OUGD405 - Module Evaluation

OUGD405 - Self Evaluation: Postcards

As Photoshop is a program I have been using for a long time, I found this brief to be very easy and quick to do. The restraints of only using this program made it a lot more limited than I liked though. I had gotten so used to using Illustrator and having clean cut vectors that coming back on Photoshop and using it in this sort of fashion was a little irritating to say the least - which was strange to me because before starting with Illustrator on Summer, Photoshop is all I used.
The shape I was given was circle, so after taking photographs, I decided to base the postcards on fire extinguishers as they are circles when looking down at them, but not so obvious when looking directly at them. I thought it was a good idea because even though you might look at it and it isn't obviously a circle, you know it is.
I found that cleaning up and sharpening up the photographs was easy enough, however, when it comes to editing the images to create the postcards, certain filters/effects can make the image look very tacky, so it took some time to get through them to find the ones that looked good and suited the image.
I initially settled with a red filter on them, but found them as a set to be quite boring as they were all the same essentially. So I then started to experiment with other filters and textures I could put over the top to make them all interesting, in the same style, but not repetitive.
In the end, after using a crinkled paper effect and a colour layer, I created the five. I printed them on a off white/almost orange colour piece of paper to see if it would have any affect on the colours printed. I am happy with them, but do think that I could do them better. I don't fully feel happy with them as I don't feel they are really that creative. However, I do think they have fulfilled the brief and at least shown a range of my skills on the program.

OUGD405 - Self Evaluation: Research, Collect, Communicate

At the end of this project,  I can definitely say I worked hard, and the final product shows that. Setting myself a magazine is a big task and I think I managed my time well and got it finished to a high standard.
I think it flowed well and stayed consistent throughout. The movie posters I recreated also fit in well and looked part of the magazine instead of completely different, which was one of my main aims of the project.
The posters worked out well and each was individual - with their own colour scheme & images/typefaces. However the poster I would think about redoing is the 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' one, as I feel that I did not do that one to the best of my ability. This is down to the fact I have not seen the film and there weren't really a lot of images with distinctive items or anything in, in which I could use on the poster. I would also consider redoing the 'Silver Linings Playbook' posters as I don't think I fully explored the potential ideas and layout designs I could have. Other than those two, I do think they all worked well and integrated into the magazine well.
For some of the information I got, I did find it quite hard to come up with images to represent them, which is because a lot of the information was statistics or films I had not seen so could not make adequate images for them. I did it where I could (Avengers & James Bond) but if I had more time, I would consider breaking down some of the pages and include some more images.
The simple book binding worked well and fit in with the style well, I think. If I had considered the size of the magazine/margin size a bit more, I would have liked to do something a little more decorative, but the simple binding works well on this occasion.
The calendar was a last minute decision but I think overall it worked well, and stayed consistent with the style of the magazine. I would have liked to create new images for this, however given the time constraint, this was not possible. I would have liked to have created images for one of the films that was coming out in the month - the issue arising that a lot of the films I had not heard of/had not been advertised yet.
Overall I think the project was a success and is definitely the best I have done so far. I enjoyed creating the magazine, however next time I will perhaps not put the constraints of Saul Bass style on it, as I would have preferred to do something a little more post-modern & Carson like as this is what I prefer. For this though, the style worked well and looked clean and professional in the end.

In the final crit, the feedback was mainly positive, the only negative being the amount of information on a few pages - which I do agree with - and that I should consider the use of white space and how effective that can be instead of overloading the page.

OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate: Rationale & Feedback

PUBLICATION & PROMOTION: WHY HAVE YOU MADE THIS DECISION?
For the subject matter (Film) and information I have collected & want to convey, it is the most suitable route to take. It will be a lot more flexible for the research and is the direction I want to go creatively.

WHO IS THE AUDIENCE AND HOW DO YOU INTEND TO ENGAGE WITH THEM?
Mainly film goers/people who are interested in film & the stats/history of film.
I aim to make it easy to read/easy to understand so the general public could easily read it too.
Up to date film facts - contemporary film facts & stats, along with information on the current awards seasons - in particular the Academy Awards.
Intend to include reinvented film posters as well.

WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF THE PRODUCT - IS IT SUPPOSED TO INFORM/ EDUCATE/ DOCUMENT/ ENTERTAIN/INSTRUCT? WHAT HAS INFORMED THIS DECISIONS?
Inform & entertain - After looking into other film magazines/apps I have found there is a mix of the two - information is done in an entertaining/fun way which is easy to read and not boring.

HOW WILL THE AUDIENCE INTERACT WITH THE PRODUCT?
I intend it to be a magazine so it will be read.

GROUP FEEDBACK:

• Look into what specifically will go on the inside
• Keep the whole thing consistent
• Consider where it is going to go and where it will be in context

OUGD405 - Initial Research Session

From the initial research I collected about Thomas Edison I had to come up with the 10 most interesting things about him.

1. Invented in the lightbulb
2. Developed the motion picture camera
3. First inventor to apply principles of mass production
4. Credited with the creation of the first industrial research lab
5. Invented items which helped largely with communication
6. Invented the phonograph - first music/voice recorder & reproducer
7. 4th most prolific inventor ever
8. Invented the stencil duplicator - the electrical printing instrument
9. Invented the turntable for electric railways

From this I had to identify how many were facts and how many were opinions:

Facts: 9

Opinions: 1

In a group we ended up with 67 facts and 13 opinions through our eight topics.

We then made a list of how we collected this research:

• Went to library & read books
• Went on the internet
• Watched videos
• Asked questions to people
• Applied/understanding on the subject which is already known
• Found images on the internet

Forms of source material gathered:

• Images
• Photographs
• Opinions
• Facts
• Dates
• Drawings
• Quotes
• Screenshots
• Observation notes
• Interviews, articles, photocopies
• Practical experiments/observation
• Clips, emails, interview
• Recordings
• Awareness of methods
• Review and evaluate
• New line enquiry

Problems faced during research:

1. Time restraints
2. No means to get the research
3. Geographical restraints
4. Expenses/costs
5. Lack of interest
6. Unreliable sources
7. Organisation
8. Legal restraints
9. Too much time
10. Dead people/past events
11. Cooperation
12. Outside limitations
13. Lack of prior knowledge

How these could be addressed:

• Budgeting
• Find out people who have been - send emails to people who are there
• Find substitute locations
• Google maps - information on travel
• Prioritise & schedule - planning
• Go to a museum
• Speak to Relatives
• Films/documentaries
• Find an alternative

Complete Research

OUGD405 - Self Evaluation: Printed Text & Reading

What role(s) did you take on in the group?

• I created the typeface which was used throughout the project.
• I also put this together with the illustrations to create the designs to go on the wall as the murals.

How well do you think you performed in the role(s)?

• I think I performed well in this role & got everything done to a good standard.

How well do you think you worked as a group?

• I think we worked well as a group & produced a large amount of work which benefited from everyones skills.

What were the positives of working in a group?

• Can get more done in a shorter amount of time
• More ideas
• Greater range of skills/styles of work

What were the negatives of working in a group?

• Communication
• Keeping a consistency
• Having a key role for everyone without complicating the project

What will you do differently next time?

• More research into wether it works/will work
• Actually applied the designs to the walls

Where could you have improved your resolution?

• Used different/more practical printing material
• Expanded the typeface to numbers & uppercase
• Prepared/research a bit more

What were the strengths of your presentation?

• Everyone created their own slides for their work
• Everyone had their own part to say - we were all equal
• Large body of work
• Showed everyones contribution
• Powerpoint was very visual

Overall I feel I contributed quite a lot to this project. By creating the typeface, it was used on everything that was produced and essentially made the rest of the group dependent on me when it came to the text and keeping it consistent and fit with the style we were going for.

The target audience was kids, so with the typeface I created I had to make it easy to read and not too clinical. By taking a sort of Bauhaus and perfect curves direction for it, I believe I did this. I managed to get it created and imported as a typeface within a few days so it gave everyone the opportunity to work with it . If I wasn't on such a time constraint, I would have liked to have thought about creating numbers and uppercase as it would help with the overall look of the text, however I do think the lowercase text did work on its own and was still easy to read.

OUGD405 - Collecting Research

Ways to research

• Visit exhibitions: Identify trends, competition & influence
• Setting up focus groups
• Questionnaires to collect facts, figures and opinions
• Interviewing professionals/specialists
• Experimenting with media or production
• Reading design publications
• Observation of life
• Photographing peoples behaviour/ architecture/ documentation
• Watching a film
• Collecting current or historical examples
• Market research in context

Sources

• Quotes
• Opinions
• Statements
• Facts
• Statistics
• Feedback
• Analysis
• Photographs/images/visual material
• Data
• Knowledge
• Examples
• Samples
• Documents

What can get in the way of research

• Expenses
• Regulations
• Payments for journals
• Not knowing if sources are reliable
• Biased answers/people not bothering to fill in questionnaires
• Can't get in contact with professionals
• Time constraints
• Cooperation with people
• Fake websites - not knowing if the information is reliable

Ways we can improve our research for our group project (How to get people to read more)

• Broader questionnaires
• Collect more statistics from different sources
• Ask target audiences
• Try different medias
• Visit Waterstones/Library - see how children areas are decorated etc
• Safety in spacial awareness
• Find out the most popular books/themes
• Look at existing products aimed at children
• Look at children's illustrations