OUGD503 - Studio brief 01 - Idea development

For development I designed each of my ideas in Illustrator sticking to the template provided by Penguin, at this stage I wanted to get a rough idea of what the ideas would look like in digital form then I'd be able to select one to carry on developing with help of peers feedback. Below are the first ideas I developed, I created a 3D triangle then made a pattern in Illustrator, the triangle resembles social class, hierarchy of Maycomb and social equality. I created the pattern as I was influenced by 1930s patterns for this book title. I chose Futura for the type used on all the first developments to give an insight into what a sans serif typeface would look like, Futura was designed in 1927 so is close to the time of the book. The three changes I made to this first idea was mainly the type layout, at first I positioned it at the top then the centre but the colours didn't work so I placed a box behind the type to make it more visible. I received some feedback on this idea and a peer recommended I changed the colours so I selected a green and golden yellow from the colour palette I made which was more appropriate.

The design below is to signify Harper Lee's admission that although the book is set in Maycomb, the setting could be anywhere in the southern part of USA. The line is an outline of the southern USA map, I blended the lines to also suggest social class, with the numerous layers showing hierachy. This is an ambiguous response yet has pointers towards the books main talking points and definitely has a point of difference from the many other book covers it is competing against.

The next idea is a selection of the 7 items found in the tree which were left by Boo, I decided to illustrate these in a way playful way which almost makes the book look like a children's novel. Its the most striking cover due to the colours and the complexity of it compared to the other designs and would definitely stick out on a bookshelf. When these 7 items are put together then the concept behind the cover comes together. 

OUGD504 - Studio brief 02 - Ideas refinement

Following some feedback on my ideas I made some additions to the ideas to help them reach the request of the brief. I previously made a swot analysis of the ideas so instead of repeating this process I added other factors into the ideas including:

• Visitors must be able to work, learn, study, and connect within their social networks by using the app.
• As long as visitors remain attached to mobiles and digital devices, the virtual overlay is likely to continue to all aspects of consumer life, therefore the consumption of art in the Baltic.
• Baltic needs to find ways of ensuring visitors engage with the art, through how the work is displayed, and most importantly interpreted.
• Consider language and tone of voice.
• Games for younger audience.
• IOS and android features integrated.
• Compatible for all devices.
• From research I found out Baltic has a regular, core audience of visitors, an estimated 67,000 regular visitors made over half of the 390,000 visits recorded from January to December 2007. They visit on average 3.3 times a year, a third of them to use the café or shop. They are happy not knowing what exhibitions are on before they arrive, they expect there will be something to see. These visitors are reliable, loyal and should be nurtured and developed.

OUGD503 - Studio brief 01 - Idea development

In development of the ideas I decided to choose three idea concepts to take further thanks to the feedback, I chose hierarchy of Maycomb which also links to the theme of social status / equality, the seven items Boo left in the tree and finally the southern USA map. A helpful way to start developing these ideas was looking at other visuals of hierachy for example. Using other examples gave me a starting point for my initial sketches, a majority of the images I looked at were illustrations along with my influences for this brief which were also mainly illustrations such as the 1930s film posters. At this stage I was keen to portray the book in an illustrative style so I went into development with this in mind.

Initial sketches were to just get a basic understanding of the what the main elements of the cover would be for example the ladders and triangles resemble the social status and hierachy of Maycomb while the small illustrations are of the items found in the tree.

OUGD504 - Studio brief 02 - Idea Feedback

Following on from creating solutions to the set problem I required feedback on my ideas so I first showed the brief then the ideas and asked a number of my peers for some feedback and the following is their responses:

• Older generation may not have technological capability to use the web app
• Children might struggle with web app 
• If the Batlic was suffering from internet problems then the web app wouldn't work
• If user has no battery on device then will be unable to use the web app
• The web app has a long life span and wont need much maintenance
• The web doesn't promote any face to face communication
• Bitesize info will keep it brief and engaging while creating enthusiasm
• The web app is more personal to the visitor and relates most the set brief  
• Using social media on the web app has a wider spread to the target audience but the other two ideas dont use social media.
• The web app has more potential as new technology and software could be incorporated into it.

OUGD503 - Studio brief 01 - Inspiration

I gathered a number of influences for this brief which were mainly 1930s visuals including film posters, colour palettes, patterns, type and a more new line style illustration. After reading sections of the book and watching the film I was able to visualise imagery that related to the film such as the pastel colours of the 1930s, patterns found in fashion and film posters from that time so I made a colour palette to help me throughout the development of the ideas.

OUGD504 - Studio brief 02 - Coding lecture

We had a brief introduction into coding and how this may help us as designers in the future as its always another bonus to add to our creative cv's. It was interesting being shown coding on a basic level as its something i've never really been taught, and before this lecture anything I was entirely bothered about. Even knowing HTML and CSS can help a graphic designer a lot in the long run, but also knowing when to use and introduce a developer is a crucial part of the designer and developer relationship.

Languages of coding:

• html / hyper text markup language
• css / cascading style sheets
• java / android language
• javascript/  advanced effects and android interactivity
• php / server based language
• iOS / apple language 
• ruby / twitter 

OUGD504 - Studio brief 02 - Timeplan

23rd - 29th November:

• Primary and secondary research 
• Range of ideas and idea refinement
• Rough sketches / wireframes
• Feedback on research and ideas

30th - 10th December

• Feedback on wireframes 
• Wireframe development

OUGD504 - Studio brief 02 - Research

I found a extremely helpful source called 'Culture Hive' which shows studies providing primary data through interview led exit surveys to gain a deeper understanding of visitors, who they are, their motivations and attitudes. It examies reasons for visiting, marketing reach, exhibition awareness and engagement, and visitor satisfaction. The insights informed recommendations for how Baltic could deepen engagement and improve the offer, and provided comparative data when set against other regional/national museums or art galleries.

Baltic has a regular, core audience of visitors, an estimated 67,000 regular visitors made over half of the 390,000 visits recorded from January to December 2007. They visit on average 3.3 times a year, a third of them to use the café or shop. They are happy not knowing what exhibitions are on before they arrive, they expect there will be something to see. These visitors are reliable, loyal and should be nurtured and developed.Baltic’s iconic architecture, location, views and reputation as a major attraction in the region, means that it continues to attract a significant number of new visitors. In 2007, around 120,000 people visited Baltic for the first time, the vast majority from outside the region and overseas (over 30,000 visitors were from outside the UK). Whilst a third of them say they are very likely to visit again (about 40,000 people), Baltic needs to ensure that it provides a high quality, engaging visitor experience that leaves them wanting to come back.

Whilst it is retaining its audience, and continuing to be a major draw for tourists to the region, only 11% have been to Baltic before and are returning. What this means is that visitors to the building are far more likely to be either regulars or first timers, it does not tend to appeal to infrequent visitors, or to those who may have visited in the first few months of opening. This presents both a challenge, and an opportunity, for Baltic, as potentially there is still a local and regional market that could be reactivated by the organisation.

First timers are keen to learn more about art 51% of first timers said that one of the reasons for visiting was to improve their knowledge of art. It is important for Baltic to respond to this desire to
learn if they are to meet their needs.

Most visits made to Baltic are intentional but tend not to be exhibition specific. 71% of visitors were making a general visit to see whatever exhibitions were on, only 10% came specifically to see one or more of the artists showing in November-December. The building continues to be a draw for new and lapsed visitors. The challenge is to ensure these ‘building driven’ visitors are engaged sufficiently to feel that there are other elements of the offer that will give them a reason to return. Baltic needs to find ways of ensuring visitors engage with the art, through how the work is displayed, and most importantly interpreted. It must communicate, clearly, other aspects of the offer that provide a reason to return, such as the activities, tours, high quality catering and retail etc. More lapsed and first time visitors found the visit relaxing and stimulating than they expected to and these messages would be worth communicating as visitor benefits. Regular visitors have a range of reasons for visiting, some of them are regular users of the café and visit Baltic because it is a social space with art, rather than for the exhibitions themselves. Some visit because they want to see awe inspiring artworks, and others want to be able to relax and re-charge. Generally their needs are being met, but not exceeded. They are confident about what they want from their visit and they get this, but, given the proportions who are not currently using the full range of facilities there is potential to deepen their engagement and exceed expectations.

This chart is helpful as it shows activities visitors would be interested in doing while at the Baltic, a free tour, shop online, library archive, family activities and adult activities are all aspects that could made into a digital experience.

All data available from  http://culturehive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Baltic-2008-audience-profiling.pdf


Target audience personas

Personal details:
Name : Chris Smith
Age : 35
Nationality : British
Location : London
Occupation : Accountant
Income : £42,000
Education : BA Hons in Economics at Newcastle University
Family : Married and a father of two

Technical details:
Handheld device : Apple Iphone 7
Preferred browser : Safari
Internet skill level : High
Internet / digital device usage per week : 24 hours

What does the user want and need?:

• Fun creative activities for himself and the family either using digital devices or away from them.
• A user friendly interface that keeps him engaged
• Easy accessible information at his disposal 

Personal details:

Name : Pauline Graham

Age : 61

Nationality : British

Location : Durham

Occupation : Retired high school teacher

Income : Pension

Education : MA in History at the University of Manchester

Family : Married with two children and five grandchildren 

Technical details:

Handheld device : Samsung S4

Preferred browser : Firefox

Internet skill level : Low

Internet / digital device usage per week : 5 hours

What does the user want and need?:

• A basic and stripped back UI to allow an easier experience
• To leave with a greater understanding and a reason to return
• No confusing UX thatll distract from the artwork

Personal details:

Name : Alex Jones

Age : 15 

Nationality : British 

Location : Newcastle Upon Tyne

Occupation : Student

Education : Studying GCSE'S 

Family : Lives with his Mam and Dad and two older brothers

Technical details:

Handheld device : Apple Iphone 5

Preferred browser : Google Chrome

Internet skill level : High

Internet / digital device usage per week : 15 hours

What does the user want and need?:

• A chance to include his social media life with his day to day activities
• Fun and engaging activities that he can enjoy on his own and with friends or family
• To learn and to be more enthusiastic about art 

Personal details:

Name : Xabi Torres

Age : 23

Nationality : Spanish 

Location : Newcastle Upon Tyne

Occupation : Games designer
Income : £26,000

Education : BA Hons Games Design at the University of Arts London

Family : Family resides in Barcelona

Technical details:

Handheld device : Google Pixel phone

Preferred browser : Google Chrome

Internet skill level : High 

Internet / digital device usage per week : 35 hours

What does the user want and need?:

• An experience that has no language barrier 
• Activities to engage him on new levels of art experience 
• A sense of being welcome and a part of something 

OUGD504 - Studio brief 02 - Research

As a part of research I looked into the client itself, the Baltic. Personally the I've visited the museum countless times on school trips and personal visits so I'm familiar with the building itself and that it used to be a flour mill but not so much the in depth knowledge of the museum. I wanted to learn the basics, history and identity of the the Baltic.

Situated on the south bank of the River Tyne in Gateshead, England, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art consists of 2,600 square metres of art space, making it the UK’s largest dedicated contemporary art institution. Its mission is to create exceptional access to important and innovative contemporary art in a unique setting, that encourages and enables learning and transformational thinking. Over the years it has gained an international reputation for its commissioning of cutting edge temporary exhibitions. It has presented the work of over 350 artists from over 50 countries in over 190 exhibitions to date. Since opening to the public in July 2002, Baltic has welcomed over 6 million visitors. The building itself was a industrial flour mill but the building was redeveloped with a new structure consisting of six main floors and three mezzanines, 3000sqm of arts space (four galleries and a flexible performance space), artists' studios, cinema/lecture space, shop, a library and archive for the study of contemporary art and the rooftop restaurant.

For visual research for the Baltic I firstly looked at the website to see what already exist in terms of digital visual identity. The website is stripped back, with a subtle minimal aesthetic that heavily relies on a basic black and white colour palette. When you use the drop down menu to see the other webpages the titles are presented to you in large uppercase type which is function-able. The website is responsive and very much so form follows function as its an enjoyable experience to use the website.

After extensively looking at the website, initial thoughts on the identity which I've been familiar with for many years now are that its a effortless identity which doesn't aim to take to much away from the exhibitions on show. Many museums and galleries go for this identity which lets the work on show speak for itself with subtle hints of the museums identity here and there. The original identity which includes the logo and custom made typeface which is by Henrik Nygren was designed in 1998, I think the typeface is similar to Din yet has more rounded and rough characteristics.

After Nygren designed the logo and typeface, Founded a Newcastle based studio took on all of the Baltic's visual output including exhibitions, marketing material, signage as well designing the identities for the shop, cafe and sister gallery Baltic 39. One of the studios challenges when producing work for the Baltic was connecting with the North East public and wider art audiences, they use language and humour for the Baltic's tone of voice to make it a 'cool brand'. The use of colour and typography is great as it allows consistency and can be applied to many variations of the Baltic's visual output.

A visit to the Baltic

For some first hand research I visited the Baltic to get an idea of the Baltic's identity including typefaces, colours, wayfinding and printed material that will inform the design of my ideas.

The use of Nygren's custom typeface which is similar to Din is heavily used throughout the Baltic's identity inside the building as its used for the main typeface throughout, for example the vinyl titling for each exhibition and the wayfinding, for the body copy such as the exhibitions descriptions and floor descriptions a sans serif grotesque typeface is used. In terms of colours used the Baltic sticks to a limited colour palette, infact each floor has a different colour scheme as shown on the image of the '3' with the orange painted walls so this shows a variation on each floor. When I was strolling throughout the Baltic one colour that was heavily used was a warm yellow, this is the one colour that comes across as a home colour along with black and white.

OUGD504 - Studio Brief 02 - Research

For research I looked into technologies in art galleries and what already exists to see the potential of my idea, and how certain galleries use technology to engage visitors actively in new kinds of experiences with works of art.

The Cleveland Museum of Art
The first example I came across was The Cleveland Museum of Art, it has the ground-breaking Gallery One, an interactive art gallery that opened in 2012, Gallery One draws from extensive audience research and grows out of a major building and renovation project. It is a 13,000-square-foot space where art and technology provide a environment for visitor exploration with the aim of the program to help people interpret art and help visitor outreach, Gallery One’s innovative blend of art and technology invites visitors to connect actively with the art on view through exploration and creativity. Designed for visitors of all ages, both novice and seasoned, the technology interfaces inspire visitors to see art with greater depth and understanding, sparking experiences across the spectrum from close looking to active making and sharing.

The main use of technology used are Multi-touch screens embedded in the gallery space which invite close examination of the objects on view. Placed 14 feet in front of the groupings of art objects, the screens offer interpretation and digital investigation of the art. Each artwork in the installation is interpreted through storytelling hotspots with opportunities to explore artworks visually through magnification and rotation, and to discover their original context and location. Each interface has a series of games that invite visitors to engage with the art on view through questions and experiences. The use of games engages a younger audience which I like, and what is even better is the games are about art. Rarely ever will someone play a game that involves art so the gallery has a unique touch in that sense.

For example, one of the art installations that visitors encounter is titled “How Do Our Bodies Inspire Art? . The game is an installation that encourages visitors to connect actively with the collection and see themselves in the art on view. “Strike a Pose” invites visitors to explore sculpture by asking them to match the pose of a sculpture they see on the screen. A motion sensor records their pose, and the interactive determines how closely the visitor has approached the artist’s sculpted body.

Pointilize yourself
Pointillize Yourself, allows visitors at the The Indianapolis Museum of Art to use the interface on an iPad to take a selfie then apply a pointillist filter, select small, medium, or large dots; adjust tint, temperature, and saturation; add a digital signature and then share the finished portrait via social media.The app created was made available on two iPad kiosks installed in one of the exhibition galleries. The completed self-portraits were also projected outside the exhibition; visitors were often observed waiting to see their photo appear or taking photos of themselves standing in front of their self-portrait. This is a great example of how visitors can engage with the exhibitions in a fun way but lacks in education because it gives the visitor a wrong impression of how pointlist art works. The graph below shows the age group of users of the app, I was surprised to see that 55-64 year olds used it the most but this is maybe down to the overall audience of the museum. Yet this proves that an older audience does engage with technology.

The British Museum has forged an ongoing partnership with electronics giant Samsung and in November 2013, the museum trialled the first fruit of this collaboration: a new in-gallery app called ‘A Gift for Athena’, designed to help 7–11 year-olds engage with the museum’s Parthenon gallery. Children were given tablets pre-loaded with the app, which used image recognition of objects to bring up a virtual layer of games and facts about each. The Science Museum made a similar move with its app ‘Science Stories’, which uses an AR avatar of Top Gear presenter James May to act as one’s palm-sized personal guide through the Making the Modern World gallery. It’s not just younger visitors who enjoy exploring collections with technology, though. For example, the San Francisco Exploratorium ran a series of adult only late night openings where galleries transformed into a AR playground and allowed attendees to become part of the art being stalked by Dali’s giant ants or having a Magritte style apple head super-imposed on their own.

During research I found an article that talks about how technology can save and improve the museum experience and the part I found most relevant and interesting was what future innovations could solve these problems. "I think it’s dangerous to assume the best starting point is technology. It’s people: some of the most enduring, compelling innovations come from looking at what people want, and at their latent needs. Of course there are exceptions to the rule (the folks at Apple and Ikea, for example, don’t waste their time on user-centric design) but museums, as social institutions, really need to think about people first." This response is from Kati Price who strongly believes that many of the problems museums encounter is down to neglecting fundamentals such as what the visitor really wants.

Other questions from the article include 'What do you think museums of the future will be like?'

"There’s so much interesting research in this area in this area and reports like TrendsWatch do a far better job than me of summarising key trends for museums. But we’re all thinking about the Internet of Things and how that might open up new possibilities in museums."

"Museums of the future will also be social institutions (if they’re not already), more collaborative, more focused on engagement than presentation, and developing online (as well as physical) experiences. To do that well, we’ll need to have got our head around big data but perhaps we should focus more on small data or just using data better, to create truly personalised experiences for our visitors."

OUGD504 - Studio brief 02 - Solution to the brief

After reviewing the brief I brainstormed a number of ideas that maybe the solution to the problem in the brief. The brief is all about enhancing the experience of a visitor to the gallery through digital media, so first initial thoughts were about which platform to use; whether or not this is a phone device screen based on walls or projections.

Idea 1
A web app for the gallery that provides the information about the exhibits on show. The information will be bitesize which will be engaging and not too dense, with other content such as videos, interviews and other works by the artists. The web app will guide you through the gallery personally on your own device, offering new insights into the work and overall bringing the gallery into the digital age.

Strengths
The app will be a web app, which means that you'll automatically be able to use it once you sign into the Baltic's wifi. If the idea was solely an app then people would have to download it prior to visiting the Baltic, and the app would be obsolete outside of the gallery. Therefore having it a web app will make it more effective because firstly you are obliged to open it once you sign into the wifi, secondly because the web app wont take up any storage on your device like an app would.

The information provided to you will be bitesize unlike the in depth information on the walls, it will be brief and informative. The use of videos, interviews and other content such as more of an insight into the artists will benefit both visitor and artist. Firstly through videos and interviews the visitor will engage with the work more, by seeing processes and stories behind the work. The idea of using videos will also push the use of audio in galleries, normally before you enter an exhibit you are offered audio headphones to learn more about the work. Too often the audio is misused or obsolete so by offering the audio through your own device and earphones / headphones you'll be more compelled to use it. It will benefit the artist because often a disconnect happens between viewer and artist, by the viewer having a more personal insight into the artist work such as other artwork, background etc. People will leave the Baltic knowing a little bit more due to the web app. By using a web app it will reduce the use of paper throughout the gallery, handouts and leaflets would still be needed but less would have to be printed as people would take the option of the web app. As an aim in the brief, Baltic aims to be more of a green brand and achieves this through the web app.

A large target audience is reached as anyone with a smartphone will be able to connect to the web app, as the Baltic's average target audience is an age group ranging from 10 - 60 years old its a large audience. Ways in which to reach out to other audiences is social media being integrated into the app, through the likes of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter people will be able to inform others of the visit to the gallery. Seeing the experiences of others on social media may incline audiences to pay the Baltic a visit. Attracting a younger audience who wouldn't normally visit the Baltic is another benefit of the web app, as the younger generation are technology driven today; the chance to view art in a new experience that involves technology is something that'll interest a younger audience.

Weaknesses
The whole point in visiting an art gallery is to look at the work on show and not your phone so this may prove to be a weakness but if the work on show is also presented on your phone then it's almost a handheld digital Baltic. This is a weakness because the web app could prove to be distracting but ways in which around this could be having a striped back design that doesn't prevent you from looking at the work on show.

Opportunities
The opportunities for the web app are to include a navigation system, this will help the visitor move around the Baltic better. The navigation will also notice your location inside the building, so the option of the shop website will open when your near, a similar experience will happen when your near the cafe or restaurant. Opportunities to take social media further as well, using a feed inside the gallery can bring visitors together, almost like an online community inside the Baltic.

Threats
With people looking down at phones throughout the visit this may cause a number of accidents but as the web app will aim not to distract this hopefully will not occur. For a small minority that may not have a smartphone then they will miss out on the experience which may cause a lesser experience than everyone else.


Idea 2
A digital experience on tv screens throughout the Baltic is another idea to enhance the digital experience of a visitor. Large screens will almost replace the vinyl lettering on the walls to make it more engaging, the screens will be able to show videos and animations.

Strengths
The screens will provide constant ever changing content for the viewer so it wont be boring and dull, like the web app it will provide the information in bitesize, so it wont be replicating the vinyl lettering on the walls. Like the web app it will also reduce paper use for the Baltic as the information will be predominantly digital.

Weaknesses
Aesthetically large scale tv's might look ugly when on walls so maybe having the screen integrated into the wall might be an option. The content on the screens will gather crowds at times but this could be a weakness as visitors will be unable to view the screens due to large footfall around them. Unlike the web app, this option doesn't offer anything personal to the visitor as the content isn't being viewed on the visitors smartphone.

Opportunities
The opportunity to provide on-going content at the same time throughout the whole building is a bonus, this means no matter where you are in the building the content wont be interrupted.

Threats
The large scale tv's could prove to be too distracting for the viewer, if the exhibition is small then maybe a screen may overpower the exhibition.


Idea 3
Projections and projection mapping onto walls and objects in the galleries, projection mapping uses everyday video projectors but instead of projecting on a flat screen, light is mapped onto any surface, turning common objects of any 3D shape into interactive displays which will create engagement throughout the gallery. Projections of video onto irregular shapes will create a unique experience for the visitor, something many will have never seen before in a public space.

Strengths
The projections will show content that has to be a moving image because I believe their is no point in projecting still image onto 3D shapes. The projections will have no purpose for still image as it creates no real engagement other than the initial realisation that its projected. On the other hand if the projection was moving image it would invite people in to take time and view the projection. Having a projection also enhances the opportunities for video, using video for the web app and tv screens limits it to the screen in use but using projections means you can play it onto any object inside the gallery.

Weaknesses
Having large scale projections can be distracting outside never mind indoors so visitors maybe turned away from the artwork due to the projections. Also projections work well in the dark but terribly bad when light is introduced, as the Baltic is heavily basked in daylight due to the large windows to help highlight the exhibitions; projections would defunct, the daylight would dimmer the projections causing a faded result.

Opportunities
The endless opportunities of shapes to project onto are the benefit of this idea, the opportunity to cooperate the artist work into the projections is also an option. For example if the artwork on show was sculptural then it could have projections onto it. Picture a contemporary sculpture constructed from metal and plastic then a projection shines onto it to give the work context and meaning that may have eluded the viewer beforehand. This idea can influence a collaboration between the Baltic and artist because it can merger technology and art together.

Threats
The projections become overpowering and defeat the aim of the brief completely, content on show may end up be filling pieces and not educational and inspirational content intended. What I mean by this is that video content can only say so much about one thing, and the threat of the projections being looped will cause the viewer to struggle to engage for too long.

OUGD503 - Studio brief 01 - Ideas

Following on from research into To killing a Mockingbird, I was able to note down some ideas that could be made into visuals I got from either reading key parts of the book or watching the film. Key notes from ideas include:

• Southern USA map. The location of the film is Maycomb but Harper Lee makes it clear that the location of To killing a Mockingbird could be anywhere in the southern part of the United States.
• Black and white people living together, as one of the books main talking points is social inequality and race; This is a visual idea I could show on the cover.
• Hatred, prejudice and ignorance
• Coming of age
• Hierarchy of Maycomb
• Courtroom
• The items left in the tree

This range of ideas can be made into visuals to experiment with but I wanted to gain feedback on the key notes I made, I asked a number of people who have read the book what they might think of some these ambiguous ideas that step away from the usual To kill a Mockingbird cover. Feedback included that people liked the idea of social inequality and the hierarchy of Macomb being visualised on a cover, but asked how I would do this? Using imagery of hierarchy ladders and triangles resembles social systems so this is one solution to the idea. The 7 items which were left in the tree which symbolise friendship was another idea that caught on, I mentioned the opportunity to use my illustrative style for these items which people visualised and could see it being a effective cover. The main themes of hatred, prejudice and ignorance are ideas I explained I imagine being visualised as a typographic response. People were intrigued by the idea of the courtroom and how I could show this on a book cover in a engaging way, I think the obvious response would be to illustrate typical imagery related to law such as the stand or hammer but I could show the layout of the courtroom in a ambiguous manner.

OUGD503 - Studio brief 01 - Research

I looked into current trends in book cover design to gain an insight to what is popular, as digital mediums are taking over the reading and publishing market, we’ve seen book design trends and styles change as well. Trends of today include black background / striking contrast, huge cities and huge type, small dots and understatement. Below are some examples of book cover designs I find inspiring, the use of type catches my eye the most I noticed in looking into book cover designs. I found two Penguin covers which I like, both using face iconography / symbols on the cover which I find very powerful. I also visited Waterstones and Blackwells to look at book cover designs and took pictures of the ones that caught my eye the most then analysed why.

I like the book to the right because of its simple illustrations and use of a basic colour palette but what made me give this book cover a second look is the layout of the type. The titling 'Houses' is striking due to the stencil font in use then the positioning of the other type elements in the cover are carefully placed so they don't clash with the large illustrations.

The Languages of Cities cover works well thanks to the grayscale imagery of buildings, objects etc which help highlight the sans serif typeface title. Also the way the random objects have been placed together in order makes this is a eye catching cover as it combines these images which have no correlation to each other, and makes them work cohesively on a cover.

OUGD503 - Studio brief 01 - Research

As Ive never read To kill a Mockingbird before I need to undertake research into the book to understand it and help inspire ideas for the book. A necessary start is to look into the author, context of the book, themes, motifs and symbols.

Harper Lee
Harper Lee was an American novelist widely known for singly To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960 which become a classic of modern American literature. Though Lee had only published a single book, in 2007 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to literature. She was also known for assisting her close friend Truman Capote in his research for the book In Cold Blood which is also a Penguin book cover option to design, Capote was the basis for the character Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird. The plot and characters of To Kill a Mockingbird are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family and neighbours, as well as an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 10 years old.

Context of book
Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama, a sleepy small town similar in many ways to Maycomb, the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird. Like Atticus Finch, the father of Scout, the narrator and protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee’s father was a lawyer. Among Lee’s childhood friends was the future novelist and essayist Truman Capote, from whom she drew inspiration for the character Dill. These personal details notwithstanding, Lee maintains that To Kill a Mockingbird was intended to portray not her own childhood home but rather a nonspecific Southern town. “People are people anywhere you put them,” she declared in a 1961 interview.

Yet the book’s setting and characters are not the only aspects of the story shaped by events that occurred during Lee’s childhood. In 1931, when Lee was five, nine young black men were accused of raping two white women near Scottsboro, Alabama. After a series of lengthy, highly publicised, and often bitter trials, five of the nine men were sentenced to long prison terms. Many prominent lawyers and other American citizens saw the sentences as spurious and motivated only by racial prejudice. It was also suspected that the women who had accused the men were lying, and in appeal after appeal, their claims became more dubious. There can be little doubt that the Scottsboro Case, as the trials of the nine men came to be called, served as a seed for the trial that stands at the heart of Lee’s novel.

Critical response to To Kill a Mockingbird was mixed: a number of critics found the narrative voice of a nine-year-old girl unconvincing and called the novel overly moralistic. Nevertheless, in the racially charged atmosphere of the early 1960s, the book became an enormous popular success, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and selling over fifteen million copies. Two years after the book’s publication, an Academy Award winning film version of the novel, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, was produced. Meanwhile, the author herself had retreated from the public eye: she avoided interviews, declined to write the screenplay for the film version, and published only a few short pieces after 1961. To Kill a Mockingbird remains her sole published novel.

In 1993, Lee penned a brief foreword to her book. In it she asks that future editions of To Kill a Mockingbird be spared critical introductions. “Mockingbird,” she writes, “still says what it has to say; it has managed to survive the years without preamble.” The book remains a staple of high school and college reading lists, beloved by millions of readers worldwide for its appealing depiction of childhood innocence, its scathing moral condemnation of racial prejudice, and its affirmation that human goodness can withstand the assault of evil.

Plot overview
To Kill a Mockingbird is primarily a novel about growing up under extraordinary circumstances in the 1930s in the Southern United States. The story covers a span of three years, during which the main characters undergo significant changes. Maycomb is a small, close-knit town, and every family has its social station depending on where they live, who their parents are, and how long their ancestors have lived in Maycomb. Told through the eyes of Scout Finch, you learn about her father Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly strives to prove the innocence of a black man unjustly accused of rape; and about Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbour who saves Scout and her brother Jem from being killed. Maycomb is suffering through the Great Depression, but Atticus is a prominent lawyer and the Finch family is reasonably well off in comparison to the rest of society.

For this part of research I preferred to summaries and analyse the story, Lee begins To kill a Mockingbird with an a quotation by Charles Lamb: "Lawyers, I suppose, were children once."A good part of this story's brilliance lies in the fact that it's told from a child's point-of-view. Through Scout's eyes, Lee is able to present the story objectively. By having an innocent little girl make racial remarks and regard people of color in a way consistent with the community, Lee provides an objective view of the situation. As a child, Scout can make observations that an adult would avoid or sugarcoat. Readers, too, are likely to be forgiving of a child's perception, whereas they would find an adult who makes these remarks offensive.

Themes, symbols and motifs
The most important theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is the book’s exploration of the moral nature of human beings that is, whether people are essentially good or essentially evil. The novel approaches this question by dramatizing Scout and Jem’s transition from a perspective of childhood innocence, in which they assume that people are good because they have never seen evil, to a more adult perspective, in which they have confronted evil and must incorporate it into their understanding of the world. As a result of this portrayal of the transition from innocence to experience, one of the book’s important sub themes involves the threat that hatred, prejudice, and ignorance pose to the innocent: people such as Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are not prepared for the evil that they encounter, and, as a result, they are destroyed. Even Jem is victimized to an extent by his discovery of the evil of racism during and after the trial. Whereas Scout is able to maintain her basic faith in human nature despite Tom’s conviction, Jem’s faith in justice and in humanity is badly damaged, and he retreats into a state of disillusionment.

Differences in social status are explored largely through the overcomplicated social hierarchy of Maycomb, the ins and outs of which constantly baffle the children. The relatively well-off Finches stand near the top of Maycomb’s social hierarchy, with most of the townspeople beneath them. Ignorant country farmers like the Cunninghams lie below the townspeople, and the white trash Ewells rest below the Cunninghams. But the black community in Maycomb, despite its abundance of admirable qualities, squats below even the Ewells, enabling Bob Ewell to make up for his own lack of importance by persecuting Tom Robinson. These rigid social divisions that make up so much of the adult world are revealed in the book to be both irrational and destructive. For example, Scout cannot understand why Aunt Alexandra refuses to let her consort with young Walter Cunningham. Lee uses the children’s perplexity at the unpleasant layering of Maycomb society to critique the role of class status and, ultimately, prejudice in human interaction.

The forces of good and evil in To Kill a Mockingbird seem larger than the small Southern town in which the story takes place. Lee adds drama and atmosphere to her story by including a number of Gothic details in the setting and the plot. In literature, the term Gothic refers to a style of fiction first popularized in eighteenth-century England, featuring supernatural occurrences, gloomy and haunted settings, full moons, and so on.

For some visual research I watched To kill a Mockingbird to get some inspiration for ideas. Although the film isn't a perfect representation of the book as Harper Lee refused to do the screenplay for the film, it still offers an insight into the book and gave me some ideas from just looking at scenes.

OUGD503 - Studio brief 01 - To kill a Mockingbird brief / Research

To Kill A Mockingbird is a prize-winning masterpiece of modern literature and was voted the most loved book of the last sixty years by The Times readers in October 2009. It has been translated into more than forty languages and has sold over thirty million copies worldwide. The trick here will be to come at it from a fresh perspective and to avoid repeating the obvious iconography from the many previous editions in print. The cover should feel timeless and confident, and appeal to a whole new generation of readers. Penguin are looking for a striking cover design that is well executed, has an imaginative concept and clearly places the book for its market. While all elements of the jacket need to work together as a cohesive whole, the front cover must be effective on its own and be eye-catching within a crowded bookshop setting. It also needs to be able to work on screen for digital retailers such as Amazon.

The winning design will need to:

- Have an imaginative concept and original interpretation of the brief
- Be competently executed with strong use of typography
- Appeal to a contemporary readership
- Show a good understanding of the marketplace
- Have a point of difference from the many other book covers it is competing against

One important part of this brief is to know exactly what the judges are looking for, also knowing what they specialise in may help my entry as their practice or interests could inform my entry. The Penguin judges include:

Suzanne Dean – Art Director

Suzanne studied Graphic Design and in her first job she was designing food packaging and brochures. and a year later she started publishing. She joined Penguin Books as a Senior Designer, working for Hamish Hamilton. Five years later she joined Random House as Art Director for Vintage Books, whose many imprints include Jonathan Cape, Chatto & Windus and Harvill Secker. Here she established the design for the Vintage Classics list. Her covers include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Sense of an Ending, Atonement and Murakami's Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. Below is an image of her work for The curious incident of the dog in the Night-time, her style is illustrative and playful with the use of bold colours and type, two versions of hand rendered type are used in the titling of the book which indicates a lot about her style. I found an article about what she thinks is a good book cover design on The Telegraph, 'To judge a book by its cover is so unwise that it has long been a metaphor for other forms of misinterpretation. But only a naive author would suppose that the cover of his or her book was irrelevant. It’s the first thing we see, and there’s no way to make it entirely objective: a book’s cover offers an interpretation of its contents – some inflection, if only by its typeface or colour. And yet its effect on the reader is mostly subliminal. Book designers are the ultimate hidden persuaders.'

She feels very strongly that e-books offer designers of physical books the opportunity to be more creative. “I absolutely think we should seize the initiative and make the best books we can,” she told me in her office earlier this week. “I can’t imagine a world that didn’t have books on shelves – it would be like having no paintings on walls or photographs in frames. All of these things are part of what makes you who you are.”

Dean often spends weeks during a design process gliding into abstraction, she once first asked a letterpress printer to blur wet ink, then realising she’d have to paint the letters herself. She printed out A3 sheets with the title and author in the faintest possible type, then went to work with a brush and Quink ink, which she felt the schoolboys in the book would have used. Her process isn't perfect as she says herself but she goes back to basics and isn't afraid to use traditional methods to get the answers to a brief.

Richard Ogle – Art Director

Richard graduated with a Graphic Design degree and the intention of working in corporate graphics and packaging but was fortuitously drawn into publishing through design agency The Senate.
Over the years he has worked on a range of cover designs for books in all genres, ranging from novels by John Grisham, James Herbert, James Patterson, Karin Slaughter, Wilbur Smith, P.G. Wodehouse, Lisa Jewell, Jilly Cooper and Douglas Coupland, to autobiographies by Peter Kay, Tony Blair, David Jason, Rod Stewart, Steve Coogan and John Cleese.

A supportive part of research again proved to be searching the judges online and trying to find any articles on them. I found one Creative Interviews article about Ogle, and the most useful part was him talking about his process for redesigning covers. 'Redesigning existing titles are an important part of your role as Art Director. Talk us through the process of breathing new life into these jackets, what is your unique approach? It’s hard to say as each redesign has it’s own challenges and requirements but, as a designer, the main thing we can offer is our interpretation of a book, so I think it’s very important to read the books to be able to distill your own vision rather than simply taking briefs at face value and supplying exactly what is asked for or expected.'

Jason Smith – Art Director

After graduating from the University of Derby with a BA Honours in Graphic Design, Jason moved to London to further his education at Central Saint Martins. He began his career working for a company which specialized in packaging for CDs and DVDs, combining his passion for music and film with design. The move into publishing was a natural progression and he secured a job at Random House as designer, quickly followed by a more senior role. He has recently been made Art Director of Cornerstone, working on a list of successful authors including James Patterson, Helen Dunmore, Tony Parsons, Hugh Howey and Katie Price to name a few.

Classic covers of To kill a Mockingbird

All though in the brief it specifies not to replicate previous covers by using the same iconography and symbols, I'm oblivious to what the covers look like so I feel some visual research into previous covers would help. Birds, trees and a child swinging on a swing are the most common symbols in use, so I'd like to stay away from these if possible. Further research into the book will help me find new and alternative symbols which the judges are looking for.

OUGD504 - Studio brief 02 -  Problems / The brief

Problems

Being unaware of events and exhibitions catered around your interests can occur regularly due to a busy lifestyle, could a digital option stop this ? I have this problem in my own life, too often I miss out on events that I'm interested in. This is down to either being totally unaware or simply that I forget, if a service offered me a constant update about events catered around my interests then I'd be more engaged with my interests.

Linking to the previous problem, this one is similar because its about the event or exhibition itself. Whenever visiting a gallery / museum, I find myself skipping past the in depth information about the work on show as its too dense and less engaging than the artwork itself. Yet when you are viewing the artists work, you feel less connected because you dismissed the information. Could a digital option offer a more engaging experience for the visitor, through smaller bitesize information that is catered around the user.

The Brief

The client
Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Its an international centre for contemporary art located on the bank of the River Tyne, which presents a constantly changing programme of exhibitions and events.

The problem
Seeing art in physical form can be engaging but with digital technologies advancing, the way in which people look at art in galleries can be enhanced. The problem is that all content provided to you is dense in-depth descriptions of the work on show, it creates no engagement many of times so will a digital option help the viewer consume the information better? and how can I enhance the experience of a visitor to the gallery?

The target audience
The target audience is visitors to the gallery, so this could range from 10-60 years old so a large age group but one specific audience is people who have smartphones who could interact with a digital option. Another target audience to consider is a younger audience who don't normally visit the Baltic, through digital media a younger audience could be reached.

The overarching aim of the project
The aim is to create a digital presence in the gallery, to actively enhance the visitors experience. By blending art, technology, design, and user experience, it is intended to be educational, inspirational, personal to the visitor and create a direct link between gallery and visitors. The solution must create enthusiasm and excitement throughout the gallery and make visitors come back and back again.
Also think of ways to reduce the Baltic's use of paper as its eager to promote itself as a green brand. Reaching out and building new audiences including families, youth, school groups and occasional visitors is another aim, the opportunities are endless in present time to single out audiences. So find a suitable way and execute it to gain a new audience.

Mandatory requirements
Baltic as a brand must be communicated throughout with the use of logo and brand guidelines.

Deliverables
A range of ideas
Wireframes
The final idea must be presented in mockup forms along with a short animation of the concept in use.

OUGD504 - Studio brief 02 - Research

The relationship between the designer and developer is a consideration for this brief and following on from the studio talk with Only, they discussed in brief the relationship they had with developers and how good developers will understand the designers ideas and vice versa. So for research I want to look more into what makes a good relationship between the two as its key to a good digital design.

I found numerous webpages and articles which talk about the ways in which designers and developers can work together and decided to highlight the most common factors I came across. From what I found communication is the most useful tool, positive open communication often equates to good design but miscommunication can lead to an unhealthy relationship as designers and developers often see things very differently so open communication can help utilise their own skills, talents, and strengths. Designers and developers must trust each other, trusting that your counterpart will deliver his or hers tasks enables you to focus on your own work and create innovative work that you trust will replicated in the final solution. Designers being open minded and listening to ideas from developers can take a project one step further, as developers see things differently to designers it gives a new scope on the project which only equates to improvement in my eyes. When looking into what makes a good team between the two, commonly working in close proximity cropped up. During the Only talk they mentioned how on some projects the developer has been based in Poland or Holland yet they've been able to produce good work but when researching it is known that working in close proximity together encourages faster and more open communication. There's something about working face-to-face that builds more understanding and respect between designers and developers.

OUGD504 - Studio brief 02 - Only talk

We had a visit from award winning design and strategy studio Only, it was an interesting talk as they initially started by talking about common misconceptions of digital design and how people often think you have to code to be a digital designer, when you don't. 'It's not proper design' and 'its boring' are other misconceptions of digital design, Only made it clear that digital design gives the designer endless opportunities to create and allows no restrictions due to a constantly evolving area of design.

Digital design is now the primary way of consuming a brand as its the first point of contact, Only showed us their phases when producing a digital solution to a brands needs. The first being research, looking into the user of product and creating personas is a crucial part of research as many times it gives the answers to the problem. After research wireframes are mocked up to give the designer a feel of the work and to get a rough idea of what it'll look like in sketch form, then once this is completed Only develop these in the design process. Front end and testing follows to complete the stages, learning how a digital design studio work was helpful as it'll help me plan out my work for this brief.

Once the talk was finished they allowed the class to ask a number of questions, one of my peers asked the question 'Does the studio have an overall aim when creating a piece of work' the response was that Only create digital responses that are accessible for all audience and that anyone can access the content, so this would be classed an aim of the studio. I took this on board as an aim of my own for this brief as I want to create something that is available for all. Other helpful things I learnt from this talk was that space is important when creating digital designs because it helps you distinguish content more and Adobe have an app that allows you to view design on your handheld device.

OUGD504 - Studio brief 02 - Research

A necessary start for research is looking into what user experience and user interface design is.While user experience is a conglomeration of tasks focused on optimisation of a product for effective and enjoyable use, user interface design is its compliment, at the most basic level, the user interface is the series of screens, pages, and visual elements like buttons and icons that you use to interact with a device.

What is UI in more detail?
In information technology, the user interface is everything designed into an information device with which a human being may interact including display screen, keyboard, mouse, light pen, the appearance of a desktop, illuminated characters, help messages, and how an application program or a web site invites interaction and responds to it. The user interface can arguably include the total "user experience," which may include the aesthetic appearance of the device, response time, and the content that is presented to the user within the context of the user interface.

What is UX in more detail?
The term UX was made by scientist Don Norman in the 1990’s while he was at the advanced technology group at Apple. User experience covers a broad range of disciplines, and it can be hard for some to wrap their heads around but I found a quote that sums it up well, “The first requirement for an exemplary user experience is to meet the exact needs of the customer, without fuss or bother. Next comes simplicity and elegance that produce products that are a joy to own, a joy to use.True user experience goes far beyond giving customers what they say they want, or providing checklist features. In order to achieve high-quality user experience in a company’s offerings there must be a seamless merging of the services of multiple disciplines, including engineering, marketing, graphical and industrial design, and interface design.”

UX also goes through a number of steps including:

• The process they go through to discover your company’s product
• The sequence of actions they take as they interact the interface
• The thoughts and feelings that arise as they try to accomplish their task
• The impressions they take away from the interaction as a whole

The difference between the two?

Many people believe the two are the same and before some initial research into them, I believed they had very similar attributes. An example to consider when distinguishing the two is, consider a website with movie reviews. Even if the UI for finding a film is perfect, the UX will be poor for a user who wants information about a small independent release if the underlying database only contains movies from the major studios.

"UX is focused on the user’s journey to solve a problem, UI is focused on how a product’s surfaces look and function"