~ Creative networks - Final evaluation & timeplan ~

This was a really enjoyable start to the year and jumping back into designing again. The brief had a really direct outcome which was a good way to get back into the swing of things because we knew exactly what was expected from us. Being briefed a live brief was an exciting prospect for me as it's something i'd not previously done before. The potential opportunity to be a part of something real was great. This enjoyment of 'reality' is something I felt informed my decisions in terms of what briefs I wanted to do for the rest of the year. I wanted to focus more on live briefs with clients to get a real sense of the bigger picture and what would be expected. 

It lead me to conducting research in a new and much more valuable way. In previous years I had relied overly on visual research and looking at 'similar' design work. I felt this was influencing the style of my outcomes too much and the originality of my designs. For this brief I did much more research into the contextual background behind the context/artists the posters were about. This lead me to make design decisions informed by the subject matter and target audience rather than designing for aesthetic. 

The brief was a group task, working with Amelia and Cameron. This was a challenge for me as they both have very different design styles to my own. It was a chance for me to approach this as a positive rather than a negative. We used our differences to approach the brief from different perspectives and create something that combined all of our preferences that could be enjoyed by a broad audience. One negative I found was that due to me designing out of my comfort zone I felt apprehensive about pushing my designs as much as I could of done. Upon reflection i'd of pushed more towards including the 3D elements within the final designs as i feel this could of given it a real edge and appeal.

In any collaborative briefs following I will be sure to push my ideas forward and make my creative voice heard. This brief has taught me the value of having confidence in my own ideas. Working in a studio environment when I leave this is something I will have to get used to and confident in doing.

Overall I felt my most successful stage within this brief was the experimental process. I was able to let my ideas flow from one to the other. Creating physical experiments and conducting variations to present to the other team members. 

The final design treatment was successful in its consistency and simplicity. We ensured that each and every one of the design decisions made was solidly informed by an element of context, research or target needs/specifications. For example it was my idea to vary the typeface throughout the designs variations - choosing a specific typeface for each speaker informed by the tone of voice it gave off, linking to their practice and style. Overall this brief went really well, we stuck within the time plan well and completed all work for the deadline with careful planning. 

Time plan

Week 1 - Initial ideas & research
Week 2 - Experimentation & design
Week 3 - Final design resolution & submission
Week 4 - Feedback & evaluation

~ Creative networks - final result - evaluation ~

These are the final designs we submitted for this brief. As a group it was really important that worked in a set as we wanted the design style to be consistent throughout - we identified this as a matter of importance from the initial briefing. This translates really well with the structure we designed. 

We wanted to use the general structure of the design to create consistency and the other more informed elements to be representative of the speaker themselves. We used the background image and variations in typeface. We felt using the speakers imagery purely un-stylised would ruin the overall consistency between the posters so using a fluidity/liquify effect creates a much more abstract representation of their work and relies much more on colour theory - for example Mike Mignola uses colour in iconic ways throughout his work - mostly very monochrome with dashes of bright red and earthy colours - this is translated perfectly by this abstract version of his illustrative work. The inner rectangle featuring the content of the poster design is then created taking one of the most frequent colours within the background so it follows each speakers personally identified colour pallet.

The next part of the posters design which would change according to speaker is the typeface - for example Mike Mignolas poster design we chose something bold, sharp and something we felt represented his dystopian tone of voice. In contrast the poster design for Anna Asante uses a quirky and individual feeling sans serif - we felt this was a mash up of traditional serif typefaces and clean modern sans serif ones - representative of the commentary on traditional values of racism and how this has changed in modern times which her film work focuses on.

Evaluation

Although unfortunately we had an issue with submission and our email didn't get through to be judged on time - so we weren't chosen. I still feel this brief was a really great opportunity as it was a chance to work collaboratively and learn skills in which I will need to work within a collaborative design studio environment. I enjoy working with Amelia and Cameron as I feel our approaches to design style are drastically different which brings a lot of different ideas to the table which I wouldn't of thought of working on my own. 

I feel the negative element of this brief was the lack of time - it was hard to manage time in just a week to complete as I had very extravagant ideas which could of been even more successful if given more time to produce and experiment with them.

Despite this issue I am really happy with the final outcome - it was well considered, critically aware and informed design treatment which fits the brief well. It's given me better skills in working as part of a team and the ideas process for me is improving constantly.

~ Creative networks- development - experimentation & final ~

Throughout the design process I have experimented lots with different ideas. Each are informed by the target audience (art students) and the artists the posters are based upon (mike mignola etc.)

My initial sketches are all surrounding the theme of 3D design. 3D design is a good way to design posters as they instantly grab attention and become more interactive than standard 2D designs. This sketch shows examples of making parts of each poster 3D; the iconic hellboy horns, The batman logo, Typography, a ripped style design revealing his work and a cityscape. 

Following various online tutorials I produced some mock up 3D bats. Although the design would work well its more iconic of the film and 'overdone' rather than representing the artist himself effectively.

The next design experiment was to use the 3D idea but 'inverted'. The first design idea is informed by the 'action' and utopian theme of Mike Mignola's work. The idea was to print a minimal title/date design on a coloured stock (the colour informed by the speaker, red for Mike Mingola as he uses red in most of his illustrations and light blue for Todd Haynes as its iconic within his most well known and recent film Carol. 

Todd Haynes iconic film Carol is about a lesbian relationship in the 50's; its about love, secrecy and the fight for a women's right for her child. Informed by this context and the idea of secrecy I created a minimal design depicting the title & important information. I then folded over the edge revealing a still from the film; giving the audience more visual content surrounding the speaker. The prototype represents a light blue coloured stock for the front page print; this is informed by the cinematography and branding of the film (iconically pastel, melancholy and blue). The typeface is also informed by the branding of the Carol film, its also clean, clear and easily legible to get the information across effectively. 

Secondly is the Mike Mignola variation of this design idea. Rather than using the folded corner design I produced a ripped open design. This is informed by the action, dystopian, super hero nature of his work. Once again informed by the speaker himself the front page is to be printed on red stock (the colour most seen throughout his work). The typeface used for this design is 'Resistance' its a mix between a slab serif and a traditional gothic typeface; relevant to the style of illustration. 

The next experimentation route was with considering 3D form within the design in a simpler way. I felt creating a label style design (3D) would have the same 'grabbing attention' effect but would be easier to reproduce with consistency. This image shows some basic experimentation of the layout of the label design. 

Using the resistance typeface informed by Mike's work and Avenir as the body copy to ensure strong legibility. 

Using the label design ensures that each poster, (no-matter who the speaker is each time) is consistent in design with each other. But each can have a main design element that is inconsistent and individually informed by each speaker.

 The designs are initial experiments using the overall theme of 3D design in a different way. I rendered images of Mike Mignola's illustrations into Spheres. I think although this design is aesthetically effective its not as well informed and considered as it could be.


Moving on from 3D design - moving on from the theme of 3D I decided to focus on the type and information within the posters. Making that at the top of the hierarchy of information and creating the visual elements (aesthetic) as a secondary importance. 

 These are various examples of type only/type focused designs. I experimented with various placements of type to see what made them more effective - how placement, pt.size, typeface effects the hierarchy of information. 

This was my favourite of the type only designs as it can be 100% consistently be reproduced for each guest speaker over the year. It uses bold type in the background to inform the audience of who the speaker is, the repetition of such making it the most important piece of information. But to ensure the information of date and context is displayed clearly this is put in-front, clearly on a white background. 

I finally decided to further pursue the idea of producing a consistant label for all the designs but create a background image for each that was informed by them. This image shows how we created an abstract representation of the design (using liquify in Photoshop) to create a background informed by the illustrator. This was the obvious use of unedited imagery (which we felt is overdone) is avoided but it still delivers the iconic colours of each artists work.

These images show some physical/mock up experimentations of implementing the label onto the background design. Although this does look effective we actually found it being 3D didn't add all that much to the design, and keeping it integrated within a 2D design would reduce costs and time in final production. 

 This is an initial experimentation creating a more integrated label design. We initially chose to justify the label and the main type within it left.

Further experimentation shows the decision to blend the background colour of the label with that of the abstract background to re-inforce its integration and the colour theory. 

These are the 2 final designs submitted for this brief. The main background components of the designs are distorted/abstract versions of the guest speakers work - making them directly informed by the colour theory they personally use. This abstraction makes the poster intriguing and exciting, causing the audience to want to know more. 

The final label it integrated within the design using colour matching. The type setting it centered making it bold and at the centre of the audiences eyes (the top of the visual hierarchy). The title typefaces have been chosen informed by the artists themselves and style of work produced - and the body copy has been chosen for legibility and consistency within a set. 

~ Creative networks- brief & initial ideas ~

Client: CEE (Careers, Enterprise and Employability) - Leeds College of Art.

Brand: Creative Networks
Date: September 2016
Contact: Andrew Jones andrew.jones@leeds-art.ac.uk (Head of CEE)

Initial test brief to determine finalists:

We want to see your work. Following the brief below, please provide a 1xA3 PDF and/or a moving image file designed for the next guest speakers. One design for Mike Mignola and one for Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF 30) with a guest speaker of your choice. This could be someone you would like to see talk at Creative Networks or someone you have seen speak. Submit to joshua.edgington@leeds-art.ac.uk - DEADLINE 14th October, 5pm.

Project description: Promotional material for five Creative Network events. Creative Networks in Leeds College of Art's majoy external engagement event where high profile speakers from the creative sectors are invited to share their expertise to an audience consisting of industry, staff and students.

Requirements: The CEE team are looking for a small team of students (3 to 4) to help promote and design material to be used at each of the five Creative Networks events happening this academic year. Each event is unique based on the guest speakers and flexibility with designs and concepts is key.
The digital materials are needed a month in advance of the event to assist in promotion, whilst printed materials need to be approved by the CEE team as soon as possible and need to be printed a week before each event. See below:

Print:
- A1 Posters (pre-event and on the night decoration)
- 1 x A1 previous speakers poster (list will be provided)
- Signage for guests (choice of size)
- Signage for the night / Vinyl branding (guest speakers name etc.)

Digital:
- GIFs, images to social media dimensions etc. to be used as promotional material for the assistant CEE Manager.

Event Design:
- Predominantly managed by the Assistant CEE Manager, students will be welcomed to suggest ideas and facilitate them if appropriate (work displayed through projectors, light boxes etc.)

Moving Image:
- Played before the guest speaker is introduced as a way to quiet the audience in the lecture theatre. Moving image must include the Creative Networks logo and the name of the guest speaker(s), 15 seconds max and must include sound. The master version will need to be edited for each speaker's name.

Collateral:
- Postcards
- Floor stickers/Vinyl
- (Open to ideas)

Purpose and Benefits:
Creative Networks is Leeds College of Art's major external engage event. The event brings in industry to mix with students and staff as a way to develop connections and also to demonstrate the quality of students work found at Leeds College of Art. Looking forward new ideas will be introduced in ways to develop stronger ties with industry guests attending as a way to benefit students. It is an exciting time to be involved with this series of events and develop some great work for your portfolio and get it seen by guest speakers and a range of industry professionals.

Target Audience:
Staff and students at Leeds College of Art are aware of the events. Our main objective is to bring in professionals from the creative industries. Each guest speaker will appeal to different types of industry and so the work will have to adjust to these needs. A large majority come from Leeds with some who attend repeatedly, but the events are welcome to all from Yorkshire and surrounded cities. The main channels of promotion are print (posters) for within the College and around Leeds, social media and email campaigns are used to contact everyone about the events.

Background:
Creative Networks has been running for a couple of years now and has gone from strength to strength. Creative Networks is our own major professional events programme, and the largest network of its type in the region. It's a fantastic chance to mix with people from industry and to hear fascinating talks from leading speakers in a relaxed environment. Students, former students and staff at Leeds College of Art are all welcome to attend. For a list of previous speakers please look on the Leeds College of Art website under Creative Networks - http://bit.ly/2bT1tDc

Mandatory Requirements:
Leeds College of Art logo and Creative Networks branding must be on all material. A link to the Eventbrite page where tickets can be bought will also be needed.

Timescales & Approvac:
- Initial test brief deadline - 5pm 14th October
- Winner announced - 18th October
- Design work commences - 18th October

Creative Networks is a series of 5+ lectures/talks throughout the year by renowned creatives and influential people. Examples of past speakers include...

- Jimmy Choo

- Patrick Grant

- David Shrigley

The overall requirements of the brief (that will span the year) is to produce

Print

- Posters advertising the events

- Previous speakers poster

- Signage for the event

- Vinyl branding/backdrop for the event

Digital

- Gifs, social media, email promotion material for each event

Event design

- Animation to introduce each speaker

- Props, backdrop, light boxes - any ideas relevant to each speaker

This brief is an initial mini test to determined the finalists that will be chosen to produce the designs and branding for Creative Networks throughout the year. The brief is to create 2 mock up posters 1 for the up and coming talk by Mike Mignola and one for any chosen person from LIFF (Leeds indie film festival) who could possibly be a future guest speaker (of our choice). The posters need to be submitted via email by 14th October at 5pm. 

Screeen - Last year for PPP we got into groups and created small business like set ups for collaboration. Me, Amelia and Cameron have decided to use this group set up to collaborate on this brief, it will give us chance to bounce ideas off each other and share time responsibility as if we win briefs within this could come up as busy hand in times.  

Mike Mignola - Most well known for the illustration and character design for...

Atlantis

 Batman

And Hellboy. His illustration style is iconic of the comics and films (Disney). His style of illustration is very dark, comic book & often dystopian. Iconic imagery includes, horns, bats, city buildings etc.

Looking at examples of lecture & talk posters

These are some influential poster designs for creative talks & lectures. Something I have noticed is they don't all necessarily use the artwork or even style of the designer themselves. As the talks are more centred around spoken work and content than visual aspects. 

Consistency - if this brief is won we need to consider a constant theme to be used throughout the posters. This is an example of TED talk posters, they all differ in style, composition, layout etc. but are consistent and recognisable through their use of a fixed colour pallet throughout. This is important through the brief as it would allow people within the uni to recognise the posters about Creative Networks from something specific within each one.

Thinking outside the box - A way to create posters that instantly grab attention particularly inside the uni cafe that is saturated with posters, advertisements and information would be to use 3D elements within the poster. Its something that could also be used as a running brand theme throughout the year (consistency), used on all posters & the props/backdrops for the talks themselves. 

These are some examples I collected of posters using 3D elements to grab attention. Some of them are very complicated and would be difficult to reproduce in mass and short amounts of time. If 3D is used for this brief we will also need to consider how easy re-production will be when creating multiples of each poster; simple yet effective use of 3D elements can ensure this.

The opposite idea of this effect would be to create a 3D design using cuts in the paper to reveal a design below.