Module Summary/Evaluation - OUGD405

Brief 1

What Went Well

I was pleased with the range of initial designs I came up with, as something I struggle with quite a lot is getting my head stuck in one idea and being blind about it. The fact that I came up with 3 different ideas that were all conceivably doable all for different sorts of frames/shops. 

I’m also pleased with the photoshop skills I developed. The most important thing was possibly the use of masks, which is something I’d never looked at using before, as their importance and utility had never been explained to me before due to me self-teaching myself. I also learned about the various lighting effects/blending modes between layers allowing for different things to be visible through layers.

What Didn’t Go So Well

I was hoping that my designs would look more attractive when in the final mock-up frame. Annoyingly this seems hypocritical given I’ve just said my photoshop skill develop went well, but I think that the nature of my design was always going to make it difficult for me to make it look more attractive due to the specific requirements my designs needed for their contrast to work properly.

What I’d Do Differently

Upon reflection I’m quite happy with my work for this brief, and am really quite pleased with the process I went through to reach my outcome. I think the only thing I’d do differently is decide early on what sort of photo frame I would design for, and then this would narrow down my initial ideas, and would increase the chances of be really nailing down what I was wanting to achieve in the brief, and maybe this would’ve meant that the final outcome would’ve looked more attractive in the final mock-up.

Brief 2

What Went Well

Initially my word was Cartons, and I think first of all, I did well to link it to something I’d enjoy researching, however vague the link was. Secondly, I’m quite happy with the research I did, because it proved the underlying point I wanted to prove, which was that people didn’t appreciate how hard it is to keep fish as pets. I’m also confident that the sources of my research are legitimate in that they’re honest, factual or representative depending on the category.

What Didn’t Go So Well

My initial plan was to research the problems with fish-keeping, but I tended to stray more and more away from that and into comparing fish as pets to other pets. I mainly ended up focussing on dogs dogs. Whilst it’s not that my research didn’t prove what I hoped to prove, I was slightly disappointed that I didn’t research exactly what I proposed to research.

What I’d Do Differently

Like I said, I’m happy with my research, and also the methods I went about doing them. I would definitely spend longer thinking about what I wanted to narrow down my research to specifically about fish tanks, rather than jumping straight to the things that cause fish to die, and even then I doubt it’d have changed the content of my research or presentation much, only the slight disappointment I feel now for not sticking to my initial plan. I’d also try to be more serious in my presentation, I don’t feel that the rest of the group really understood what my actual research was about because they were concentrating more on the blunt and somewhat funny quotes that some of my friends had said when I asked their opinions. This is something in hindsight which I should’ve either avoided doing altogether or just discounted some of the less serious opinions. It just seemed at the time that they were appropriate because of how the answers were different and had a valid underlying point.

Brief 3

What Went Well

Similarly to brief 1, I was very pleased with the software skills I developed in this brief, but that was always going to be the case because of how little I’ve used InDesign before, literally a 2 hour lesson in AS Graphics where I got frustrated with the software and had returned to Photoshop by the end of the lesson. But I’m also very pleased with my development of understanding of layout in this brief as well, as it was something I’d never really done before. 

What Didn’t Go So Well

I think the main thing is that a few of the images I found on the internet weren’t high enough quality  to use in my spreads, which meant I had to waste time looking for more photo’s and preparing them for InDesign. Also, some of the photo’s I took were a bit dull and similar, which made it harder for me to produce interesting layouts with them.

What I’d Do Differently

The interim crit was very confusing for me, as the feedback I got was all useful as individual bits of information, but unfortunately it was split down the middle in terms of opinion on which spread I presented was mot appropriate, as I presented two spreads in different styles. If I was to do it again I’d ask more specific questions, the answers to which would allow me to decide for myself which spread was more appropriate rather than relying on the opinions of others.

Brief 4

What Went Well

I was please that this project linked in directly to brief 3 in terms of the work I produced, as it meant that I was confident that my outcome for this brief was appropriate due to how confident I was in my outcomes to brief 3.

What Didn’t Go So Well

Similarly to brief 2, I ended up doing something quite different to what I wanted to do, and this recurring problem suggests that I need to think more at the beginning of briefs about the most suitable way to solve a brief is, hopefully this is something I can improve on. Lastly, I'm quite disappointed with the poster I produced. The paint I used was very disappointing and didn't quite produce the results I wanted, but in the time scale I had I stand by my decision not to screen print due to being unsure about stock, ink and timeframe, because there's no guarantee that screen printing would've produced anything different.

What I’d Do Differently

Like I said, I’d have spent more time at the beginning of the project thinking about the best way to solve the brief. But also I wouldn’t have spent time attempting to start by designing a poster which I was unsure what the content would be, on reflection, this was a very stupid idea, and I wouldn’t have wasted any time doing so if I knew the results would have been non-existent.

COP - Essay Research

I wanted to look at the value of things from the viewpoint of how useful or important they are or have been in history. I was particularly interested in American WW2 Propaganda Posters and the effect they had on womens roles within society both during and after the war. I found a very useful article on a history blog.

http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=american-women-1940s

Glow in the Dark Posters

It was suggested to me in the final crit that as a solution to the problem of the poor lighting inside fish shops, I should experiment with glow in the dark ink and produce a poster that either explained the same information as the leaflet, or created a mental link to the leaflet in the audience’s mind. I think it was fairly unanimous within the group that there was too much information in the leaflet to put on a poster, and so I hope to produce a poster that works alongside my leaflet.

After researching what sort of effects could be made using glow in the dark inks, I was quite surprised at how cool it could look. I was expecting it to be a fairly limiting material that would reduce you to big blocks of colour and fairly little detail, but the posters below show otherwise. I should add, these pictures were collected from the internet, and so I have no actual proof that they are glow in the dark in their physical existence, but I decided to still look into the effects they created whilst appearing luminous on screen.

Vector Images

This poster shows how glow in the dark ink can be applied in the same basic way as normal ink, as shown in the intricate details and blobbier block colour parts of the image.

Iconic

The “Everyhting good dies here. Even the stars” poster is very similar to the keep calm and carry on style posters, which is re-assuring because it shows that the more traditional styles of poster still work in glow in the dark ink, and it’s not like I’ll be learning to design something completely different to what I’ve done before.

Detail

The amityville horror poster is interesting because of how it combines glow in the dark ink with normal ink to create highlight and shadow by printing on paper that isn’t solid black, which is something I’ll take into consideration.

 Gradients

The Simpsons based trick or treat poster shows how you can create gradients, and after looking into this online, this is something that, in all honesty, seems to be more trouble than it’s worth and something that isn’t appropriate for what I need, as you have to mix the inks in various different ratios and manually paint it.

Viral/Humour

This poster for marmite shows the effect glow in the dark ink can have on different audiences. For example, you couldn't see this actually being used for an advert for marmite, but it's the sort of thing you could see fulfilling a niche role either in shops or on the internet.

Problems with Luminous Ink.

After speaking with a guy in the third year who'd recently used luminous ink about the problems with it, I decided against attempting to screen print with the ink due to all the problems it presented. Instead I'll mock up how the poster will look in context.

The problems were:

• It needed to be ordered in by screen printing staff in advance
• There's no guarantee that any ink I buy to avoid waiting for the ink will work on the printing beds in college.
• To avoid the luminous ink setting into the paper and stop being luminous, you have to overprint the luminous ink on top of a pre-printed poster.
• Not only this, but you have to use fairly thick stock for the best effects, which can prove quite expensive.
• Even when it's printed you then need to charge it with some special sort of light (I think it was black light or something along the lines of that).
• You need to store it under certain conditions for it to retain its luminosity.
• It needs to be displayed in certain conditions for it to show its luminosity.

Given that I found all this out on a Friday, 6 days before not only the brief deadline but the module deadline, I think it would be far too ambitious of me to experiment with not only using the screen printing facilities at LCA for the first time, but using luminous ink for the first time in my life, especially given how it would take a few days for the ink to arrive. I think my time could be better spent elsewhere on the module.

I do feel a little disappointed in my decision to not actually produce the poster, but had this been the first breif in the module as apposed to last, more time would've been available to me and I'd have felt much more comfortable in attempting to do it. I just don't think it's an appropriate process for me to be using at this particular time.

COP - Essay Research

I was looking into the history of the Louvre in order to compare in tho the Bauhaus, and was interested in statistics about visitors so I could assess its cultural value. I found a very useful online article from the Telegraph.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8993072/The-Louvre-attracts-record-visitor-numbers.html

I then looked at it from a historical point to assess its historical value. For this I found that the most valuable resource was the Louvre's website itself.

http://www.louvre.fr/en/history-louvre

From here I looked at the Monalisa so I had something to compare to the Gerhard Richeter painting that first got me into art and design a few years ago. I did this so I could compare the sentimental value of art between something massively famous to something massively personal. I found that the BBC was a good resource for this. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/leonardo/gallery/monalisa.shtml

Graphic Design Books

As part of my research into layout I have decided to look at the layout of some books on Graphic Design, as you'd expect the layouts in books based on Graphic Design to be examples of "good" layout.

100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design

Triangulation

The topic of this page was triangulation. It was admittedly the first page I opened the book on, and I thought that the 3 column grid was used to reflect the 3 sides in a triangle, or at least I thought this optimistically. It seemed to me thought that nothing else was based on the content of the page in terms of the layout, which was surprising to me, given how much it had been emphasised after our crit that content should inform layout in good design. I find it almost hypocritical on the books behalf.

Comic Lettering

I then found a page on comic lettering, which used the same 3 column grid, and this confirmed to me that the 3 columns in the triangulation page wasn't inspired by the 3 sides on a triangle, and instead is something designed to look aesthetically pleasing. The use of the exact same page layout except for the fact that it's reversed suggests no consideration of the layout with respect to the content, and this is the same with every page in the book.

The A-Z Of Visual Ideas

Building A Bigger Picture

This page I found to be quite simple in it's reflection of page content in that the 4 column grid on the right page suggests smaller widths of text coming together to produce a bigger one. This is also the case with the images (and their captions on the left page), smaller ones are used in a column next to the larger one which suggest smaller things coming together to be the same size as a bigger thing.

Counter-Intuition

To confirm that this wasn't just the general grid system throughout the whole book as was the case with the previous book, I then looked at the counter-intuition page. Again, this one is quite simple. The 2 column grid is used where previously there was a 4 column grid, and this relates to 2 sides of an argument or 2 opposing forces. In context everything has an opposite, dark to light etc, hence the 2 columns. The right page is quite busy, whereas the left page uses a lot more whitespace, which again shows counter acting. 

I broke down the two layouts used in the A-Z of Visual Ideas book I looked at for potential ideas to use as a grid system. Black boxes indicate text, and red indicates and image or caption.

Magazine Spreads

I was looking on the internet at magazine double page spreads to gain some ideas as to what sort of features I could include in my spreads, as often it's the small things that make design successful.

This spread shows how the contrast between using white text on a black background gives a totally different vibe to using black on white. It looks a lot slicker and darker. I also think it's interesting that large text is able to span the fold whereas smaller text normally stays discriminately on one page.

The use of pull quotes is something I haven't considered yet, and I think it's a really effective was of highlighting important information. I also think the vector artwork on a pale background works really well against a whitey spread. Using stronger colours might have made the contrast too harsh.

This is an example of how using bright coloured text can be visually cancelled out by having a large bright image. Whilst I don't think this spread is particularly creative, I appreciate how useful using a large image can be in the interests of balancing the spread.

I found the images interesting on this spread, because of how a lot of colour in the images is the same colour as the spread background. This subconsciously creates a lot of shapes, and keeps your eye engaged with the page.

COP - Essay Research

I found an online article about the valuation of art and how the galleries control the markets prices. It had this diagram on it which I found useful as it makes clear how one thing directly relates to another

Dorling Kindersly Fish Books - Double Page Spreads

The inside pages of this book were all very nicely laid out  in my opinion, and the main reason behind this is because of the grid system the text was used in. There is very little variation in the type on the pages, and because of this the pretty images are made even more stand-out, I also think this is helped by the fact that the images don't stick to the grid system rigidly, the slight overlapping of columns gives them a type of importance. The text itself is attractive in how it's laid out within the grid system and how the ends and beginnings of some lines are shaped to fit the fades of the images. 

I then analysed some of the double page spreads in the book so to gain some idea of how I should lay out my pages. Black boxes indicate text, red indicates an image and it's caption

This layout is extremely balanced both in terms of the image:text ratio and the balancing of images on either side of the spread. It's helped by the fact that the row of photo's on either page are aligned with one another to make it seem like a continuous flow of image. Because of the busy looking nature of the spread, it seems important that the columns of text are quite wide to allow some room for variation due to images intruding into the columns, hence why there are only 2 columns across the majority of the spread.

My Breakdown of the Layout

This spread is more balanced in terms of colour, each side has a bluey image and a green image that balance each other out. This page is a clearer example of the use of two columns per page, and it also shows how using colour in a surrounding box can separate on section of the page from the rest.

My Breakdown of the Layout

The second book I looked at wasn't quite so impressive, but I think this might be because it had substantially less colour in it. But I also analysed the layout of some of the double page spreads in this book.

Studio Brief 2 - Research - Presentation

I did my presentation today, I thought it went quite well. I chose to spoke about how the statistics show that the average fish owner owns about 10 fish compared to the average dog owner owning about 1 and a half dogs, and how that suggests that fish can't be that easy to keep otherwise the number would be much higher as people would keep more. I then spoke about peoples  opinions on which pets are easiest and hardest to keep, and some of people more telling quotes with their opinions on keeping fish and dogs, as well as some the more interesting facts about fish.

Because I made it quite personal to me, the questions that were asked were generally about my experiences looking after fish rather than my research on fish, which was slightly disappointing, but I should've seen it coming.

Studio Breif 2 - Research - 20 Photos

Photo's I Took

My Cupboard Of Chemicals

3 Weeks Worth Of Dirty Water

3 Months Of Dirty Water

3 Months Of Dirty Water

It's Difficult To Catch Fish

Mouldy Tank Sides 

Mould Growing On The Plastic Plants

Mouldy Ornaments

More Mouldy Plastic Plants

More Mouldy Ornament

 Photo's I Found

Kissing Gouramis

Clown Loach (Black and Orange)

Male Siamese Fighting Fish

Congo Tetra

Marbled Hatchetfish

School of Neon Tetras

Angelfish

Kribensis

Queen Loach

Oscar Cichlid

Studio Brief 2 - Research - 20 Facts and Words

20 Facts - Taken from books, reliable internet sources, and verbally from people working at fish shops.

Fish need a certain amount of space in order for them not to be cramped. Kissing Gouramis are not actually kissing, they're fighting for the dominance of a territory. 

Pet shops sell fish when they’re young and small so they can maximise the number of them they can fit in the shop. The clown loach grows to a foot long, which causes trouble when it’s older as it eats smaller fish. Buyers often don’t consider this.

If you have more than one male Siamese fighting fish in the same tank they will kill each other, and for every male you need at least three females so that the aggression isn’t focussed on one fish in particular to the point where it will die. 

Congo Tetras are normally bought in big groups when they’re small because of their colour and fins, when they get bigger they nibble the fins off other fish.

Hatchetfish don't grow any bigger than 2 inches long, they usually cost £10-£15 each but will jump out of the tank when you clean it or change the water.

The smaller and more popular fish are bred in huge numbers, meaning that they’re often cramped and ill due to a lack of proper exercise. The stress of transportation from the shop to a tank in someones house is sometimes enough to kill them.

Fish that are sold at a fully grown or close to fully grown size are considerably more expensive, and won’t last as long in your tank because they’re older and so will die sooner. In order to always have fish that are attractive to their full potential you have to spend a lot of money. Angelfish can cost upto £30 each.

You are unable to tell the difference between the genders of some fish when they’re young. This is a problem in some cases. Male Kribensis grow up to be harmless, females however are very aggressive and will scare other fish so that they hide and you never see them.

Some fish have odd social habits. If you buy a lone queen loach it will hide all day and be shy. If you have 2 or 3 then they’ll be fine. any more than 4 and they fight with each other.

Some fish only eat live food, which is more expensive than regular fish food. When you combine that with an 18 inch Oscar, fish can become very expensive pets. 

pH is the measure of acidity or alkaline of a substance. 

If the pH isn’t at a neutral level it kills the bacteria in the filter which keeps the tanks oxygen cycle running.

Ammonia is a type of poison that can develop if the filter fails or too many fish are added to a tank at the same time.

Nitrite is poison caused by the chemical change that occurs when ammonia levels drop, which renders blood cells to be unable to carry oxygen.

Nitrate is poison that is caused by fish faeces rotting. Causes growth of fish to be slowed down, damage to the nervous system and slow rotting of fins.

Some fish will eat others. Dead or alive.

Putting more food in the tank than is required means some food will rot and lead to nitrate levels rising.

Not putting enough food in leads to cannibalism.

Not cleaning the tank and changing the water leads to rises in the levels of ammonia, nitrate and nitrite

If you don’t check the pH, Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite levels regularly, or even notice changes in the behaviour of the fish, you won’t be able to identify the reason behind your fish disappearing and so will be unable to stop it continuing.

20 Words - Generally that people associate with having pets and causes of death to fish.

Love, Dependent, Tame, Trained, Personality, Character, Enjoyment, Companionship, Animal, Domestic

pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Cannibalism, Jumping, Over-Feeding, Under-Feeding, Cleaning, Ignorance

Studio Brief 2 - Research - 20 Statistics and Opinions

20 Statistics - Taken from reliable sources on the internet.

20 Opinions - Collected them myself via texting and talking to a variety of people

What is the hardest/worst thing about having a/your dog as a pet?

‘Probably cost? You have to pay for insurance, dog food, bowls, bedding, biscuits etc..’ (Female dog owner, 19 years old)

‘Having enough time in the day to give it a couple of walks’ (Female dog owner, 23 years old)

‘Picking up its shit’ (Female dog owner, 17 years old)

‘It’s very irritating when it barks whenever someone knocks at the door, so probably that’s the worst thing’ (Female dog owner, 19 years old)

‘Toilet training when it’s a puppy’ (Male dog owner, 15 years old)

‘If your dog humps things it is basically impossible to stop it from doing so’ (Male dog owner, 17 years old)

‘Making sure it gets enough exercise everyday’ (Male dog owner, 20 years old)

‘Not having the routine of looking after it when it dies’ (Male who used to be a dog owner, 72 years old)

Are fish easy pets to keep? Why? Are they even pets?

‘I’d say they’re probably the easiest animal to keep as a pet because you don’t have to take them walks or exercise them. I think they should be considered pets because they’re animals, but I see why some people might not consider them too be, I don’t imagine you bond with a fish like you would do a dog or horse.’ (Female dog owner, 19 years old. Never owned fish.)

‘No. You have to be always checking the water and cleaning the tank. If you don’t the fish will die from being poisoned.’ (Female dog owner, 23 years old. Used to have fish.)

‘Yeah, you don’t actually have to do anything. No, they’re just something to look at. If fish are pets then so are TV’s.’ (Female dog owner, 17 years old. Never had fish.)

‘Yeah probably, it’s not you take them walks or to the vets or anything like that.’ (Female dog owner, 19 years old. Never had fish.)

‘It seems like there’s lots of things you have to check regularly to make sure they stay alive. Also, whenever they get new fish the old ones don’t like it and you can tell they’re acting more aggressively. That proves they’re pets really, they have behaviour patterns just like any dog, cat or other pet.’ (Male dog owner, 15 years old. Parents have fish.)

‘Yes. Once you have them you don’t really have to do anything. Yes.’ (Male dog owner, 17 years old. Never had fish.)

‘Probably, it doesn’t seem like you have to do anything other than feed them and clean the tank after you’ve been and bought the fish.’ (Male dog owner, 20 years old. Never had fish.)

‘I don't know enough to give a reasonable answer, but I don’t se any reason why they wouldn’t be classed as pets.’ (Male who used to be a dog owner, 72 years old. Never had fish.)