OUGD502 / STUDIO BRIEF 02 / TYPEFACE

To begin developing my concept, I tried out various typefaces to see which communicated the idea behind my identity

Above I have experimented with Apercu Mono, Circular Book, GT Pressura Mono, Bookmania & Bookmania bold.

From these experiments  it is apparent that capitals are much more in your face and readable. I chose Bookman (one of my personal favourites), and used Apercu Bold for the asterisks as Bookmania's looked like a flower; I prefered the more geometric style.

Finally, I decided to experiment with some colour, to see if that worked and livened up my branding:

Out of these, I feel the pastel pink is a good colour to work with, as it contrasts well with harsh black and is a contemporary colour. Pure black also works as it keeps it more minimal and as though the name is one unit.

OUGD502 / STUDIO BRIEF 02 / SELF BRANDING REFLECTION

Last year, I chose to go with a different name for my own identity, a name which I had previously attached to my own illustrations and social media, and this was 'medusa'. The back story behind this name was that I previously had dreadlocks, and this was a popular nickname for me from friends and family, plus it sounded more interesting at the time than Lois Wilcock. 

It's no secret that I have a burning hatred for my last name. It doesn't flow well, doesn't have any interesting connotations and quite frankly - it has the word 'cock' in it. This made me really hesitant to want to work with it during the PPP briefs. However, the name 'Lo Medusa' does not seem as appropriate as it once did, and therefore I decided to try and contemplate using my real names during the self identity refresh this year.

My full name is Lois Hannah Wilcock, so that's three names I could work with. Altogether I feel this is too long to dedicate main logo to, and Lo Wilcock sounds much more snappier. 

Throughout high school I had a lot of puns made from my name, all because of the 'cock' part, so taking this, I decided to use the funny side of my name for the basis of my branding. I wanted to fully play on the whole 'cock' joke of my name, but not be too vulgar. Something subtle which captures my personality as well. 

It started out with my blog header; months ago I was creating headers for each of the blogs and giving them a bit of a refresh for level 5. I created this header for my main page:

I got a bit of feedback from peers who said this idea was a "clever" way of using my last name. When I began to think of my self identity this year, this idea is what sprang to mind, and therefore I chose to develop this further to be incorporated into several other deliverables.

OUGD502 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / BERLIN BASED STUDIOS

Ideally, eventually I want to gain some form of experience in another country, working for a studio that best suits my design style. One of my favourite places that I have visited is Berlin, a hot spot for graphic design and a great city for contemporary design especially.


HelloMe

HelloMe work with a broad range of clients, and on their website is projects and information about them. It is refreshing to see such a broad range of medias that HelloMe work with, however ideally I would prefer a more focused and specialised studio, but as long as I would be working in an area that I was happy with, it would be brilliant. HelloMe have also established themselves well as they have worked with large companies in the past such as H&M and Computer Arts.

"We consult and design identity & branding systems, communication strategies, bespoke typefaces, visual concepts, campaigns, magazines, books, catalogues, editorial projects, posters, music- & product packaging, websites and mobile applications, fashion, textiles, spacial installations, interiors, guidance systems and exhibitions.”

On the website it also claims that they do take internships, however these are only offered irregularly for certain periods of 3 to 6 months. 

It's great to see work on their website that I have seen on Tumblr and Trendslist. Their work is very up my street and I'd love to end up working in a studio like this.

SLANG - Studio for graphic design

“SLANG was founded in 2000 in Berlin and is run by Nat Hamon and Florent Moglia. Our focus lies in contemporary art and cultural exchange. Being French and American while living in Berlin, we live and work in three languages. We draw on this tricultural perspective and our passion for art to inform our practice.”

I like that this studio focuses on contemporary art - it is important that I end up somewhere which highly concerns themselves with contemporary design. From their website I can see that they have produced identities, web design, advertising, alongside books and magazines. I would love to work with editorial design, therefore this is crucial to me, however I would be open to completing other tasks for clients, as I feel my skills are not only limited to editorial design.

AHOY

What strikes me as brilliant about AHOY is their ethos, “communication with a pleasant wake up call for everyone and everything seeking to make the world a nicer place”, which communicates a really friendly, fun vibe. They have worked on a lot of publications which as I’ve said previously is important to me, and also a vast range of other clients, and clearly are a well established studio.

Their work also concerns itself with a lot of social / environmental issues which is really interesting, as design has a lot of influence in these areas to create change.

NODE

 

 

“NODE is a Berlin- and Oslo-based design studio founded in 2003 by Anders Hofgaard and Serge Rompza. The studio works collaboratively across various media for a diverse range of clients from individuals to institutions, focusing on print, identity, exhibition and interactive work. Besides studio projects, NODE gives lectures and holds workshops at art & design academies…

…The distinct feature of the work done at NODE lies in its relational approach to graphic design. The graphic designers that make up NODE reflect a lot about the way they work. A number of colleagues see NODE as a conceptual design studio. However, NODE may also be seen as a strategic studio, seeking to relate to people in projects where design can happen.”

From looking at work on NODE’s showcase, I immediately fell in love. This type of design is especially suited to me, and I find it visually appealing. 

NODE are also accepting internships for Summer/Autumn 2016, which could be an amazing opportunity, especially as I feel I could fit in within a studio like this.

OUGD502 / TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS / PRESENTATION

OUGD502 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / DESIGN PRODUCTION EVALUATION

The design production module was challenging throughout and really demonstrated the step up from level 4, which kept me engaged and striving to appropriately resolve the briefs. The briefs offered a chance to learn new skills within graphic design and acquire a new insight to the processes and considerations within a response. They allowed me to create work that I am proud of as a growing designer, and it is encouraging to see improvements as I keep learning throughout the course. Workshops and visiting professionals further engaged me into the projects set, and allowed me to discover methods of working which ensured a further critical understanding through research and experimentation. 

Brief 01 initially challenged me as it was the first brief set and the time scale to complete it was one week, meaning time management skills had to be polished and improved upon to ensure that the brief was completed appropriately. Considerations for this brief included the commercial aspect and communicating valuable content professionally and suitably, allowing me to reflect upon my own design process in the duration of the week. The use of creative hand rendered mediums appealed to the target audience of youthful design students with a passion for creativity. Overall this response could have been improved by revisiting the size of the leaflet and opting for thicker, non-matte stock to allow for a sturdier structure.

Brief 02 allowed me to begin to branch away from a style of graphic design I have held onto throughout the course previously. I wanted to experiment away from using a constant hand rendered approach as a safe zone and try more contemporary conventions by using vector. This brief allowed me to communicate with a client as it had a live aspect due to choosing an existing Kickstarter project to design for. I managed to create a response that I felt suited the brand and was an appropriate resolution to the brief, and that had successfully differentiated from previous work. In order to be able to submit something physical for brief one, I decided to experiment with screen printing. Since this module is heavily focused on production, this was a great way of experiencing a different production method. Due to human error that screen printing allows, it was not a perfect print however it effectively demonstrated use of neon colour choice and also a more adventurous printing method. I had to ensure that the inks I was using would be opaque enough for the black tote bag which was a crucial part of production; without this the outcome would not have been successful. Alongside this deliverable I created an online presence for the brand demonstrating uses of the logo on both screen and print.

Brief 03 followed from the Summer brief to collate images from a certain location over the holiday period. It was crucial to collect high quality pictures that would look professional in a publication. Engaging in primary research lead to enhancing my own critical analysis and further created a response with informed design decisions. For this brief I decided to engage fully with this and make the most out of it, and because of this the outcome was exceptionally rewarding, making this project my personal favourite. All the decisions I made were informed by considerations that are involved in print, ensuring that the response could be visualised being sold in an art book shop. From putting this resolution on social media it was excellent to receive comments from popular internet account People of Print. 

Brief 04 was exceptionally challenging. Being briefed by Only created a professional environment, alongside various visiting professionals who conducted interesting and realistic workshops which guided me into the correct direction and allowed for me to consider various aspects when designing for screen, such as the relationship with the developer and limitations during coding. I struggled initially with this brief but after further conceptual thinking and the use of wireframes, I eventually created an outcome that I am proud of and that is suitable. This brief was important as previous briefs have not allowed for purely screen based design, meaning throughout this brief I discovered a whole new side of graphic design that I know I still have  a lot to learn about, but that I am equally anticipating.

Overall it has been a challenge from start to finish, but has enhanced my critical analysis and quality of work as a designer, boosting confidence and most importantly allowing me to experiment with a completely different style of design that I will carry onto future modules.

OUGD502 / STUDIO BRIEF 01 / ME

Rhys

Physical: Bob game strong, great fashion

Mentally: focused, very evaluative and analytical 

Socially: loves a bev, office buddies, #whyalwayspryzm


Cameron
Physically: all black everything, very stylish, chic, always has lovely hair and makeup always on fleek. 

Mentally: very positive, great at listening and giving advice, silly, fun to be around, a great laugh. Motivated, driven and dedicated to contemporary graphic design. Has strong visual style and is confident in your own abilities and aesthetic choices  

Socially: inspiring and motivational to be around, makes very tasty lunches wink emoticon

OUGD502 / STUDY TASK 01 / TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS / EDITORIAL COVER

We chose to create a publication for this task, a magazine entitled Bodies, representing our USP, of visually displaying student work and giving young creatives an inspiring platform. Rhys created our logo with input from each member of the group. We chose a sophisticated serif, communicating a professional and contemporary feel. The circle in the center of the O represents the universe, and how student work is the central focus on our publication. It also represents how you should be the center of your own universe, anybody can be a somebody.

In order to get a feel for how our publication would look visually, I created the front cover of the first ever issue.


For the front cover to appeal to our target audience of young creative students and older industry professionals, we agreed that the front cover should include an appealing and artistic image which would be relevant to our publication, such as a featured professional's work. We agreed on Jan Vranovsky's photography in Japan, and gathered a few which may be appropriate for the publication as a featured section:

  

These images have a soft appearance that would fit in amongst other creative publications, which feature aesthetically sound images on their covers and within the content, such as Cereal and Supplement magazine. 

 

We wanted the magazine to have a timeless yet contemporary feel, which the audience can take inspiration from with their own projects, along with the content inside. I ensured it was minimal and clean, utilising negative space accordingly. On the cover there would be the title, appropriate image of work, featured artists name and issue number. I did not want to over complicate the front cover which could create an undesirable composition due to over facing the audience.

The front does not include any photos of another person, bringing an interesting juxtaposition between this and the title.

After creating the page, I mocked it up to look more professional and provide an image for promotion on social media, other websites or print, which was Jack's responsibility. 

OUGD502 / STUDY TASK 01 / TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS / CONSIDERATIONS

Studio Structure 

Our studio structure would be a highly relaxing environment, boosting creativity and increasing morale. It will contain open minded individuals who would be at work in an open plan studio, a spacious area to create breathing space and avoid feeling claustrophobic. A clean, uncluttered space would be maintained, to conserve a clear mind and create an enjoyable and appealing workspace for each individual.


Competition

Since we would be producing a publication featuring students work, there will be a number of companies and studios that will be competition for us, which will prove to be a challenge to contend with. An example is It's Nice That, a website which publicises upcoming original and inspirational work by creatives in the industry - essentially what our publication would achieve, but with student work. We must remember to differentiate ourselves and our product, as individuals may find it more appealing to access blogs instantly than purchase a publication. That is our main concern.

Another example is competitions such as the D&AD New Blood awards which essentially showcase upcoming work on a professional and prestigious platform. For our publication, we must provide our audience with a similar calibre of professionalism and acclaimed respect that D&AD provide in their annuals.