Fiona Fraser's Graphics

Tuesday 15th January  – Launch + Workshop – Manifesto

To begin with I had a lecture on what illustration was in comparison to Graphics. I learnt that illustration is from the word illuminate, where the piece of work illuminates the viewer. An illustrator will use visual representations of a piece of text and then usually given to a publisher to take forward. The art is different as Graphics is more based on projecting experiences and ideas in a contextual and visual way. I then realised that is why communication is more key in graphics as I (a graphic designer) am demanding attention instead of offering the representation like an illustrator.

Later we were placed into our groups along side the illustrators, where we did a simple team building exercise. After that we showed some of our best work to our smaller team of 5 but only 4 of us were present. Through showcasing each of our works I learnt that the illustrators preferred the hands on approach where they had the physical objects; whereas us graphic communicators preferred the digital aesthetics.

We were given the brief, where we have to protest against something we believe in. After a long thinking process the idea of how the education is out of date. This is a broad spectrum so did some quick research on our phones into what topics this could be. The exams are a good concept to go with as they have any disadvantages. Some examples are being if you have an off day that is your future messed over, another it is just a memory test so if you cant remember the topic then you are not likely to pass, on top of that the actual courses that the students take are very outdated.

To go forward we have to create a few posters of our manifesto so to begin with I have created a mood board of the better graphics out there that I can use as inspiration.

Monday 14th January – Formative Critique

Over all I am happy with my out come as it fits well with the theme of how people’s looks can affect assumptions before anyone gets to know you.

However, I now realise that I did not share enough of my work with the team. I could have sent a few more of my initial ideas and poster styles to our group chat.

To improve further I should have thought about what sizing is needed. Such as a square for Instagram or something that would fit on to a social media page.

Christmas Holidays – Independent Study 

Having taken and already messed around with the images, I needed to create a layout for them. Looking back at my research and sketches I started to use a simple three column grid system, that is used in some of the previous artists designs.

The font used is the same as the two we previously discussed as a group as well as the black and white themes. However to begin with I did start with the coloured design and then realised the group wanted to fully remain black and white, which I agree is a good decision, due to the attention not being taken away from the images.

Wednesday 5th to Friday 7th December – Independent study 

These are the logo designed by all the group including me (bottom left four). We decided on the top left styles, which gives a temporary and sleek look.

When looking into designs similar to the style I can across a book cover that includes the slave trade within the garment and overall fashion industry. I like the simplicity of the layout through using a symmetrical layout with a small component of asymmetry. The creator uses black and white photos with one simple pop of colour, which can be more emotive as you are not drawn away from the message portrayed. http://www.safia-minney.com/slave-to-fashion.html

The other images are from an Instagram page by Lucas Grassmay, shown to me by my group. All his work is very up to date, with a clear grid system throughout. He breaks up images to create depth and frames them with the text creating a pleasing visual. https://www.instagram.com/lucas.grassmay/

When looking into more research and talking to the team we decided to use photography and type based graphics.

The outcomes we plan to have are posters, gifs, video/clip and a social media page or banner. When creating these we will each have one aspect to take forward.

One worry we each have is how coherent the designs will become and how well all the aspects will come together for one brand. To try to overcome this we quickly chose black and white colour scheme but debated over the fonts. So made a short list of the fonts we each liked and highlighted the differences.

As a group we decided on the bottom two font styles. One for headings and the other for body text.

 

Other resources I looked into for quotes and visual inspiration;

https://www.behance.net/gallery/4836967/BESPOKE-E-Newsletter-Issue-1-3?fbclid=IwAR12Akacypgsdf2mTSVaRw1th-dezMFF_2xQ9RL_AY7nEAuoMtfbNWdVd98

https://www.canva.com/learn/best-email-designs/?fbclid=IwAR3Bze1HlP_F5VdajkR5_2PyBhH-yN58y_vVXfFfMAqDXWag-GMBmhYPj9g

http://marketinghire.com/archives/employers-rate-importance-of-physical-appearance.html

http://www.pretty52.com/topical/real-life-does-your-appearance-have-an-impact-on-getting-a-job-20170219

Week of the 3rd – Design as Activism Brief

Our brief is to create a series that will explore the role that graphic designers can have in enlightening, persuading and provoking a viewer to engage them with a particular subject matter or moment in time. This 2 week project is going to help us figure out what roles we play within a group, how well we work with others and where graphic design sits within the world of art.

Our group of 5 immediately brain stormed ideas and random concepts that effect us and the general public in today’s times. We looked at some main objectives of social, cultural, political and environmental issues. Some ideas we came up is the mistreatment of the NHS and other emergency services, government corruption and their budgets. Through a group conversations we all had leaned more towards the inequality concept.

To go further we needed research and a more in depth plan, so another member and I created a Lotus Blossom thinking technique so that we can start our creative flow and start to link ideas. Another created a mind map of different sub topics we could specialise into. While the other two members researched the overall topics that helped us to move forward. By doing this it allowed us to explore and be more creatively. This also made us think about what is already out there as we don’want to repeat a very similar concept.

With a lot of our ideas laid out we can up with the concept of inequality based on physical features such as looks. To narrow this down we looked into the job and recruitment as well as educational implications a certain physical attribute has.

Going forward we found it had to find a name that would fit. Our idea is contemporary and hard hitting so we need the name to reflect that. At first we came up with Opportunity without inequalities or OWI for short. We were not sold on this idea so discussing with our tutors we all had time to reconsider and change the name. Through talking through as a group we decided upon Aesthetic Presumptions (AP).

 

 

Morning of 3rd December – First Things First Manifesto

After a short lecture on the expectations for this new project we were given a small 3 hour project on ethical graphics. This is small project included the ideas and development of these concepts. We assigned our own groups and our task was to “develop an idea that promotes and provokes the design community to take responsibility for the work that they put out into the world.” – tutor presentation.

At first we talked about the rejection of commercial work; through removing this style of graphics we can engage the public to embrace empathy, consideration or our position in the world. We continued to discuss elements such as the ideal of good vs evil/ yin and yang/ devil against the angel. This could be represented by having only just positive and negative space, then finding the grey area within a mini animation/ gif.

When looking into research we all came across all the pop up adds, which we all found generally irritating. At that point I came up with the concept that the graphic designers could take control to stop all the pop up adds. For this to work we would have to also target the major companies that use the pop up adds but then take small digs at the designers.

We began to look into how we could create this concept through a movement piece. Our group drew up some initial sketches and came together  picking ideas from each designer. We wanted to use visual metaphors so began to draw a backdrop which is a shopping centre style. I suggested that we have the perspective of the viewer which represents the view of the screen while online shopping.

Going along the animation we have the viewer walk out of a shop and onto the high-street, which would be the same as closing your current tab and opening a new one. while the character is walking he encounters some pop ups in the distance then these popups become louder and closer. We all wanted these adds to be animated and human-like so we drew on arms and legs in an aggressive style.

Through having a simple frame style story board we were able to showcase our ideas methodically and the viewers understood our message. When presenting one comment was that there was no conclusion to the idea. We had created a story that finished half way through so to improve the concept we would have had to have a few extra clips that shows the user being overwhelmed and then cuts to a conclusion that the graphic designers or general public can do.

Overall I learnt that I work well in a team and I am able to take the lead in decision making. I can use other peoples work and ideas to create a mashup concept that can become very good with further development.