OUGD403 Study Task 02 
Symbol

First of all i've enjoyed this short brief as I think it didn't have many restrictions unlike study task one in which you could only use one typeface etc, and being able to present numerous ideas instead of just one allowed various styles. 

Before the trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park I had a number of ideas in which i'd like to expand on, the trip was a good source of research and influence as I got primary research on sculptures i'd base the symbol on. What I learnt from visiting YSP is that when designing for a client its best to immerse yourself within the environment to maximise the experience of the client/company. If we didn't have the trip to YSP, I would have mainly focused my ideas from secondary research online. 

Above are a handful of pictures I took on the visit, when looking around I was aiming to look for angles and sharp edges as this was one of my early ideas for a symbol. As the trip went on I was influenced by textures and shapes. I wasn't so much influenced by colour because I felt with the it being a park, the colours change throughout the year with the four seasons so sticking with one colour wouldn't work for YSP so I thought a black and white design 
would be best. 

This idea is influenced by the countless human sculptures you can find at YSP, it has a handful of faces so I had an idea that this would make a good identity for the logo. I didnt design a final solution for this logo just variations of the symbol. I designed the logo in illustrator then added radial blur and a cutout effect to achieve an abstract style.

These ideas are based on the nature at the park,its the biggest aspect of YSP. I wanted the tree symbol to be like a sculpture itself so I used symmetry, which gives it solidity and structure. Personally this symbol is my favourite because its a structure itself but one problem of the design is when scaled down it could lose its effectiveness because of its detailed design. The other design is a minimal tree rings design which I think would look good alongside YSP current typeface logo, this symbol could also represent the shape of the park. 

Both designs are inspired by Barbara Hepworths sculptures at YSP. Her sculptures can be described as abstract, geometric and have a semi rough finish. Once I did a small amount of research into Barbara Hepworth I had a concept of what I could do for a symbol influenced by her work, I used circles often found in the centre of her work and wanted to explore the way she stacked vertical arrangements at the same level so I came up with this design.
Using radial blur gives the symbol a semi rough finish that Hepworth was known for. My only problem with this design is that it represents YSP through one artists work, in this case Barbara Hepworth. 

Architecture and the Yorkshire sculpture triangle are explored in these designs, the design to the right is influenced by the contemporary architecture at YSP, most of the buildings have sharp edges and look like they were built in 80s due to style. One particular picture I took at YSP is almost illustrated through this symbol. The other symbol is influenced by architecture as well but is referencing more towards the Yorkshire structure triangle which YSP is in. 

In the final critique for this task I presented my ideas to a small group, having another insight into my work is always helpful as it always improves my way of working. I received feedback such as

-Expand on why some of the symbols are blurred 
-Good reason for not using colour
-Clear Presentation
-Use more range of colours
-Good range of styles but expand on one
-Could of tested the symbol alongside the logotype

I've taken all this feedback onboard and now know what I can do for future study tasks similar to this to improve. I certainly know if this was a longer brief I'd develop one idea further and experiment with colour more. In summary I've enjoyed this small study task as it allowed freedom within design but the most important part was the critique for me because Ive learned I need to ask more questions during the design process.