Module Evaluation

Module Evaluation

Throughout 603 I pushed myself to develop more skills in the areas I am most interested in pursuing, these include: web design, branding, layout and ux design (app design). Although I focused mainly on these areas, I also tried completing briefs that were a little out of my comfort zone, in order to prepare for industry where it is highly likely I will be asked to do some design tasks I am not as comfortable with. My strengths are research, a lot of research before beginning to design, which is a good thing but can also be a curse. With this in mind I did a few short briefs with a time constraint that made sure I didn’t dwell on research for too long.

With all of the briefs I completed I made sure to have a wide range of knowledge on both the subject, as well as design skills and tools that can be used to compliment the subject. I have been consistent with reading design blogs, keeping up to date with studios I am in interested in and being inspired by both their style of work and approach to the field. I have made sure to complete only work that I can fully immerse myself in, in order to produce the best outcome and not wasting time on pieces of work that don’t both excite and challenge me. Time management has been a big factor in completing extended practice, it has been essential to keep a diary and plan my weeks ahead to ensure I had enough time to complete everything to a high standard. As I develop work, I am sure to document the process and talk about my design decisions at the time, as if I left it later it wouldn’t be as impactful and I couldn’t talk about it with as much passion. Using blogger to document my work has taught me to plan time for the admin side, as well as encouraging me to keep a record of design development.

Experimentation is also a key skill, having creative block is a common problem and the way to get through it for me has been to try and get out as many ideas as possible with pen and paper, before diving straight into the Adobe Suite. Ongoing review and evaluation is essential to having a successful outcome, as I develop and design I am sure to keep referring back to research, as well as what the brief is actually asking me, at every stage of the design process I have made sure to ask myself am I still answering the brief, and not veering off in a different direction. Through extended practise I have also gained transferable skills such as: team working through collaboration, dealign with clients and having to push them in the right design route. In general my time keeping skills and planning have also improved, and dealing with stress and juggling briefs has become second nature, ensuring I will be able to handle the industry pressure. I have approached every brief with an open mind and produced strong outcomes that answer the briefs in both a visually pleasing way, with also being full of context and meaning.

Bibliography

Know Your Onions: Web Design - Drew de Soto
It’s Nice That Magazine Autumn/ Winter 2016
The Graphic Design Idea Book - Steven Heller & Gail Anderson
Make Your Own Luck - Kate Moross
The A-Z of Visual Ideas - John Ingledew

Statement of Intent

Through 603 extended practice I plan to primarily explore my interest in branding, layout and web design. I will also explore print and packaging, as these are areas that I enjoy however feel I could push myself more in. My finished body of work will be a strong portfolio of work that I feel represents me as a designer, and through research and brief selection, my interests as a person.

SB9: Evaluation

For this quick brief, I decided to produce three outcomes with three different interpretations of the brief. The outcomes are different in terms of their style of design, the message they send out, and the t-shirt design in terms of placement and colour. I wanted to challenge myself by producing work in a different style than I am used to, having three submissions also higher the chance of being successful within the competition. The brief began with some research into t-shirt designs they have previously sold for campaign CoppaFeel - all of these designs were very illustrative by nature and included a lot of bodies, with this theme being diversity bodies are also relevant - but as they had been used a lot in that campaign I made a mental note and conscious effort to steer away in a different direction for my designs. From this point, I did some other visual research, whilst also looking at quotes around the theme of diversity, this inspired the initial sketches, which I then chose the three strongest and developed them. The biggest constraint of this brief was the fact you had to include their Pantone yellow within your design, for one of the designs 'primary heart' the colour itself has great meaning - in that the three primary colours can be used to make any colour, which is very relevant to the race aspect of diversity. However with the other two designs I simply concentrated on the message and design complimenting the shade. I have never done any clothing related design before but really enjoyed it, designs for t-shirts must be strong and eye-catching as they are such a blank canvas and I believe all three designs stand out and stand alone well. The competition aspect of the brief itself was a great driving force it wanting to complete strong work, in a short space of time and from the get go it was important to make quick decisions and experiment as much as possible before settling on the final ideas - in the time I had.  

SB9: Submission

I wasn't sure where to submit my designs to enter the competition as there was no information on the brief. I emailed Ayesha (the woman who sent the brief to Amber) to find out where to submit. She informed me to just email it in.

I added the right size and resolution designs with an explanation for the designs to ensure they are fairly judged for their meaning and relevancy to diversity. 

SB9: Finished Designs

The flowers design would be on a black t-shirt. 

The hands up design would be large and central on a white t-shirt. 

The primary heart design would be placed on the pocket of the white t-shirt. 

SB9: Development 03

The third and final design I developed was 1 - 'hands up if you love the skin you're in' is about coming together and being positive about who you are. This was to be the most simplistic design of them all, requiring only some hands up vectors, not far from the initial sketch ideas. 

I decided to have the illustrated hands at different heights to signify diversity, and have them coming from the top to represent all cultures and places around the world. 

I added their Pantone yellow and played around with Shape modes to create an interesting design, I wanted this design to be in the shape of a square, that everyone is in together and this isn't clear from using white as you can't see the clear sides.

I added pink, as it compliments the yellow well, a long with the text 'hands up if you love the skin you're in' in caps to represent confidence, and sans serif to be firm and reassuring. 

SB9: Development 02

For the second t-shirt design I decided to go with the second idea from the initials - flowers represent personal growth, everyone is at different stages and that is okay - don't compare yourself. However I wanted to change the theme/ message around this one to be more about diversity and being different rather than the personal growth route. 

I drew out some flowers in illustrator to begin with, they will be paired with the quote ' A lot of different flowers make a bouquet.' but worded slightly different. I didn't want to draw a bouquet as I wanted the flowers to be seen in all their beauty alone, before they would be put together to be made even more beautiful.

I experimented with different colours and the typeface seen above. I thought that a sans serif would stand out and compliment the delicate drawings, however they just didn't go well together. Below I decided on a serif - Delicato Pro Regular. It compliments the drawings and with the alignment fits well with the design.

 I had used white and black for a dramatic effect with contrast before realising I hadn't used the Pantone yellow that the competition requires.

I incorporated their Pantone Yellow by having the flower outlines and detail/ stems contrasting in either yellow and black, or yellow and white. The design could be printed on either black or white t-shirts as it works well both ways. I personally feel that the black background is the strongest as it allows the design to stand out and be seen a lot more.

SB9: Development 01

The first design I decided to further develop was  3 - a heart, representing love and two faces within - you can't tell their gender, race or therefore sexuality.

I took to Illustrator to create a vector heart and minimal facial features, the couple share a set of lips as they are intimate, the only differences the eyelashes and eyebrows. At first glance you would presume it is a female and male, however eyelashes alone cannot give this away. 

The above are experiments with the minimal features, they are deliberate as to not give any indication about the people they represent. It is about diversity and anyone can relate.

 I then decided to experiment with colour, as the brief indicates, it is essential to include their brand colour - Pantone: 7404c Yellow.

To begin with I used the yellow with red, as they contrast yet compliment each-other. I used the clipping mask tool to create a heart shape with the colours. I then thought about a way of including everyone with yellow and yellow - the primary colours if you add blue. A relevant idea as every colour can be made from these three primary colours. The illustration is inclusive of sexual orientation, whatever gender you identify as - as well race inclusive!

I further played around with different colours to see what went best with the Pantone yellow, using different shades to represent skin tones, before however deciding the strongest outcome was the use of the primary colours. 

Above is the final outcome, I enlarged the blue box to cover more of the heart - this strengthens the design. I also changed some of the features once again to find the perfect balance, making the lips a little smaller and changing the angle of eyebrows.

I produced some t-shirt mockups to ensure the design would look good after production and in context, I think the design is strong in this placement, but would be more desirable to millennials in the position seen below. The pocket placement is trendy and seen a lot in t-shirts at the moment.

SB9: Initial Ideas

left to right 1,2,3,4

left to right 5,6,7,8

I printed off some t-shirt templates to draw some initial ideas, the sketches are just in pencil and I will choose 3 to further develop from this point. 1 - 'hands up if you love the skin you're in' is about coming together and being positive about who you are. 2 - flowers represent personal growth, everyone is at different stages and that is okay - don't compare yourself. 3 - a heart, representing love and two faces within - you can't tell their gender, race or therefore sexuality. 4 - cocktail glasses, each has their own ingredients and are vibrant and tasty for different reasons. 5 - a rainbow representing equality and diversity with the colours of the rainbow. 6/7 similar idea to the cocktail sketches, fruit and plants come in different shapes and sizes but are enjoyed and respected for their differences. 8 - hot air balloons are bright colourful and give people wonderful experiences, just like everyone regardless of their gender, race or orientation are able to provide to others. 

SB9: Research

We want to keep the brief fairly loose but would love for you to capture our playful, fun and tongue & cheek tone whilst also delivering our message of bringing people together irrespective of their race, gender or sexual orientation. We want to empower guys, gals and non-binary folk that irrespective of what they look like their identity is valid and they should be proud of who they are. 

We currently sell a range of t-shirts marketed to a younger audience of millenials/Gen Z (18-35 year olds) and are currently in the process of rebranding and redesigning our branding material, which will be further fortified with this collection.

Race - colour of skin

Gender - what you identify as (social/cultural, not biologically related)

Sexual orientation - who/ what you're into sexually

We are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity life would be very boring.

A lot of different flowers make a bouquet.

Visual research:

SB9: CoppaFeel!

CoppaFeel! was founded in 2009 by Kris Hallenga and her twin sister Maren. After noticing a lump in her boob and repeatedly visiting her doctor, Kris was eventually diagnosed with incurable breast cancer, aged just 23. Unaware that breast cancer could affect people in their twenties and armed with little knowledge about the disease, it struck Kris & Maren that there was a significant lack of information out there for young people. Since then CoppaFeel! has been dedicated to educating young people on the importance of checking their boobs regularly and the signs and symptoms of breast cancer everywhere from workplaces to shower cubicles, university campuses to Instagram.

CoppaFeel! are on a mission to ensure all breast cancers are diagnosed at the earliest stage possible. whether you’re a guy, gal or non-binary pal, copping a feel regularly is the best way to get to know what’s normal for you and pick up on any changes quickly. For more information on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and for advice about getting to know your boobs or pecs, head to coppafeel.org

All of the t-shirts in this collection are illustration based, a lot of them feature bodies which is relevant to the campaign - as the theme I will be designing for is also based on bodies and people, I will experiment with this style, but will also explore options outside of the box, like using fruits or plants or something natural to represent different types of people. 

SB9: Print Social Brief

Print Social Uni-T New Designers Capsule Collection Brief

About Print Social

At 3rd Rail we have been providing industry standard screen printing to independent designers and well known fashion brands ranging from start up brands to high fashion names such as Liam Hodges, House of Holland, Martine Rose and special edition garments for giants such as Adidas, Nike and Champion for over a decade. We noticed that for a lot of independent creatives, cost was a significant barrier stopping them from creating their own collection. It was with this in mind that Print Social was born. We  believe that apparel and fashion should be accessible to everyone and endeavoured to create a free to use garment selling platform, where anyone can profit from their own designs.  Our mission is to empower creators by providing them the platform to support themselves through their ideas. We’ll handle the printing and shipping giving them more time to focus on what they do best. Print Social is free, (we’ll never charge upfront), sustainable (we only print what is ordered) and easy to use. 

Uni-T Project Information

No group of people embodies the Print Social ethos more than students. We frequently collaborate with well known artists and illustrators across a range of projects, but we recognise the importance of promoting exciting new talent in the creative industry. 

With this in mind, we will be launching our next capsule collection featuring a range of student designers/ recent graduates in our curated exhibition space at New Designers 2019. We want to work with creators, whose work we feel embodies the Print Social spirit of UNITY bringing student creatives and industry standard technicians to create high retail quality apparel. 

We will select our favourite 15 designs from all entries to exhibit at New Designers 2019 and promoted to our 12,000+ followers on Instagram and our other social media channels/ subscription lists. Everyone's a winner though, even if your design isn’t selected for the festival, we’ll still list it on Print Social for you and you will collect any profits from the sale of your design.  The collection will be launched on the final day of New Designers 2019, 6th July which also coincides with London LGBT Pride. The collection will be available to purchase on a pre-sale basis until 27th July. After this date, all t-shirts will be printed and shipped out to the lucky customers meaning there’s no wastage or excess stock. 

Artwork Brief

We want to keep the brief fairly loose but would love for you to capture our playful, fun and tongue & cheek tone whilst also delivering our message of bringing people together irrespective of their race, gender or sexual orientation. We want to empower guys, gals and non-binary folk that irrespective of what they look like their identity is valid and they should be proud of who they are. 

We currently sell a range of t-shirts marketed to a younger audience of millenials/Gen Z (18-35 year olds) and are currently in the process of rebranding and redesigning our branding material, which will be further fortified with this collection. 

We kindly ask that the artwork for this project be original. It will always remain the property of the artist however it cannot be reproduced in any capacity outside of use for Print Social for profit or otherwise. There is no limit to the number of entries you can make so submit as many variants/designs as you wish. Below is information about the artwork specification for designs. 

Important note, if your design isn’t within the parameters of the information below, it will not be eligible for shortlisting for the New Designers Capsule Collection. Inspiration from our previous capsule collection for Coppafeel!,  a youth breast cancer charity can be found here as well as in the accompanying visual document for this brief. https://www.weareprintsocial.com/coppafeel

Artwork Specification

Placement

Most people submit a design for the front of the garment only, however you’re welcome to create artwork for both the front and back. For example, you could make a left breast design with a corresponding back print. Sleeve prints, prints across seams and all over prints are not permitted. 

Dimensions

Artwork must be no larger than 39cm wide x 49cm length

Resolution

Artwork must be at least 300dpi at print size

File Format

Any of the following are accepted: JPEG, PNG, PSD, PDF, AI or EPS

Colours

Artwork must contain our new brand colour of 7404c Yellow. Designs submitted that do not contain our brand yellow will not be selected. Artwork must contain a maximum of 4 colours. 

Pantone: 7404c Yellow (Pantone Coated Guide Book)

HEX: #F4DA40

CMYK: 0 8 86 0

RGB:  244 218 64

Garments

We will be using White & Black Gildan Premium short sleeve t-shirts and which are affordable and sustainable and of a good quality, allowing for the maximisation of profit. 

Payment Terms

The artist will receive 100% of all profits raised from sales, profit correlates directly with the volume of units sold.

As an example, if 30 units were sold at a retail price of £25 with a two colour front print the campaign would raise £411.60  in profit of which all would go to the artist.

Payment will be made to a UK bank account or Paypal account of the artists choosing within 10 working days of the sale period ending. Please note funds received into a Paypal account will be subject to an additional fee.

Promotion

Print Social and 3rd Rail will promote the selected creatives and the artworks through organic and sponsored content via our social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook as well as their mailing list, blog and website. 

The artist will be expected to promote their t-shirt via their own social media accounts and mailing lists in order to encourage sales. Print Social will supply the artist with product photos, promotional images and marketing material in order to allow them to complete this successfully.

Deadline

The deadline for receiving final artwork is midnight Friday 3rd May 2019 (friday night going in to saturday morning) entries after this point will not be eligible for selection for the New Designers capsule collection. Please directly send your entry via email to ayesha@weareprintsocial.com We’ll announce those selected for the exhibition on Friday 17th May 2019. 

Supporting Material

A Photoshop T-shirt template to mock your designs up will also be attached to this document. This file is very useful as this is measured to exactly replicate print sizes on a medium size garment. Resizing your designs on this file is strongly advised. 

Visual presentation of this brief, with images of some designs to use as inspiration/starting point

Link to our live print showreel, showing the type of display we will be showcasing at New Designers 2019. http://bit.ly/3rdrailliveprint

www.weareprintsocial.co.uk

Instagram: @3rdrailclothing @weareprintsocial

Supporting material folder link http://bit.ly/PrintSocialUniT

If you have any questions about the brief, please get in contact via email at ayesha@3rdrailclothing.co.uk

We can’t wait to see your designs, so best of luck! 

SB3: Evaluation

The final design for the app is successful in what the brief set out for background and considerations. A persons motivations/goals for using the app would be: to find recipe ideas based on ingredients or chef, to be able to search through them easily and for the layout to be simplistic enough that the ingredients and method are all on the one page, without the need of scrolling. This came up a lot through the research I did, a lot of people are put off using websites or apps for cooking as the screen goes off, or they have to touch it to get to the next page, which isn't what you want when you've got your hands full of food. This was one of the main things I thought about when designing the app, I considered doing it mainly for iPhone screen use, however thought an iPad would be more suited as it gives more space to work with, and a lot of families have family iPads, used generally around the house. 

The colour palette of the app was all about giving off a reliable feel, so that users trust it, whilst also sending peoples thoughts to food; if I had more time to focus on this brief I would have produced advertising to go with the app, the colours used for the logo would make people subconsciously hungry and want to try out the app. All of the decisions made during the design of the app were based on research, whether it was about why people still love cookery books, UX design and familiarity, or competitor apps. The toolbar at the bottom of the app ensures that the user can get to any page easily, and the highlight of icons helps the user be always aware of what page they are on, as the target audience includes the older generation, some of them won't be as tech savvy and millennials and this is essential to include them. Minimising need for typing was also a big thing, I made sure that the sign up pages were split up into sections, if someone saw a page with a lot of scrolling they would be put off - the same goes for the personalisation pages, I made sure to add a skip button for those who didn't want this feature, and kept it short and sweet - unlike some of the competitors apps. 

Through analysing other websites and apps, I was able to pull the successful features, and avoid the things that would make people with short attention spans avoid the app. During the app design, I had an iPad next to my laptop previewing the design, this helped a lot with the design process, it allowed me to instantly decide whether colours, typefaces and shapes worked on that size screen, rather than having to wait till the end and prototype it. Organising the pages whilst still designing was also a massive factor in making it successful, I grouped the relevant pages together and this avoided a lot of confusion with the order. The design is contemporary and easy to use, the flow of the app works well and the user would have no difficulty navigating. The app delivers everything I set out for it to, one thing I would have added was the option to log out from the profile page, this however is something that is easily done. 

SB3: Finished App Design

Above is a video of the finished designs for Appetite, it shows a run through of the flow of the app and its features including pages and search tools.