OUGD503 - Studio brief 02 - Research

I picked up Design Origin : France from the college library, the book explores the French nation’s contemporary design that remarkably informs the country’s traditional emphasis on arts and crafts. The title profiles more than 40 prolific creatives who produce stunning work for local and international clients from the fields of music, fashion, sports, architecture and publishing. All 40 of the studios are asked the same questions, so I decided to focus solely on studios from Paris and the questions 'How would you identify your artistic style with french culture?', 'Where can you find influences in France?' and 'How would you define French creativity?'

Adrienne Bornstein

How would you identify your artistic style with french culture?
I feel like I belong to the young European generation of graphic designers who all share similar knowledge, professional backgrounds and are only differentiated in terms of cultural references. French may be more literary in typography by playing more with line breaks and vintage typefaces.

Where can you find influences in France?
Im greatly influenced by objects and images that surround me, from childhood memories to recent finds. I often include in my composition the vintage objects that I've bought at French flea markets.

How would you define French creativity?
France has always been very respectful for its patrimony in all fields. Thats why we are still influenced by the likes of Savignac, Bernard Villemot, and Cassandre, and appealed by the handmade nature of Michel Bouvet, Philippe Apeloig and Michal Batory's work.


Avant Post

How would you identify your artistic style with french culture?
We do not entirely asscoiate oursleves with French culture. To us, french graphic design style is more about creating strong images, whereas we work towards being information architects who develop concepts through organising elements within a graphic system that we design.

Where can you find influences in France?
Both in the work of great designers and the amateur creations that we stumble upon in the streets, such as the handpainted typefaces of Paris' classic storefronts. We try to spot little details that we could use in a smart way when they fit the creative concept.

How would you define French creativity?
This is really a tricky question. We can define our own creativity process, but it would be unrealistic to pretend that we understand what french creativity is. Does such a thing exist?


Giga Kobidze

How would you identify your artistic style with french culture?
French culture is unique. I believe it encompasses a much wider definition of culture than the one that is used elsewhere that confines our ability to express ourselves.

Where can you find influences in France?
The aesthetic sense is deeply embedded in every corner of this country. The flow of life is communicated through its vibrant people, their energy, and their style as you travel through France. The movement of life here, with the innate sense of individuality is a constant inspiration for me. I love it.

How would you define French creativity?
French creativity comes from the roots, it comes from a rebellious spirit, an energy and a curiosity that is centuries old. I understand completely why the french have excelled at conveying emotions through different creative paths through art, be it graphic art, digital art, haute couture or its cuisine.


In the pool

How would you identify your artistic style with french culture?
Its difficult to stand back from your work and the country youre living in. We both have a father of non French descent, so we have a cultural mix in our family which also reflects France in general. Perhaps the fact of being inspired by diverse influences is what brings us closer.

Where can you find influences in France?
Everywhere! Paris is a city of endless inspiration! The street is a real means of expression in Paris. We are always pleasantly surprised when we see super funky posters promoting classical events. The amazing posters Pierre Jeanneau created for the Belleville Theatre is especially memorable. There are always something interesting to see and a lot of specialised libraries.

How would you define French creativity?
It seems cliche that France in the eyes of the world is all about luxury goods, traditions, good food, because France is also about the result of anti conformism as reflected in its art, fashion and bolder graphic design that always try to differentiate itself from other European design. Situated in the middle of western Europe, our borders are quite open to ongoing immigration. In a way, we lose a bit our nations identity. But on the other hand it creates emulation and makes France a rich cultural cross road.

Following research into Design origin : France, the book left me with a number of potential research paths which could inform the ideas. Including studios and practitioners mentioning handprinted typefaces on store fronts, Pierre Jeanneau, Michel Bouvet, Philippe Apeloig and Michal Batory's work.

OUGD503 - Studio brief 02 - Research

An interesting find was one on AIGA Eye on designs website, about how Atelier Müesli is helping Paris become a destination design city again. It starts by describing Paris as a city of stifling historical preservation laws and pearl clutching attitudes toward change, but then introduces the areas of change in city such as Pigalle, Montparnasse and Belleville. "Walk the gentrifying 3rd and 10th arrondissements, explore the once squalid streets of Montparnasse, Pigalle, and Belleville, and you’ll find yourself in a 21st century Belle Epoque of futuristic fonts and peculiar palettes—antidotes to Gallic classicism" The change in these areas and streets has a lot to do with graphic designers, as they have helped evolve Paris to an exciting design city again. Its exciting as its staying away from traditions,  "The key to that “New Parisian” freshness is a commitment to spontaneity. “We don’t spend too much time with ‘blah blah blah,’” says Ducomet. But there’s always a hazard, particularly on Paris’ hipster east side, of falling into sameness. Even in the field of public art, Ducomet says they find it increasingly difficult to push through to their more radical ideas, citing “accessibility” as one enemy of creativity"

OUGD503 - Studio brief 02 - Research

As an individual research task I wanted to look more into Paris as a design city and what the current graphic design scene looks like in the capital at the moment. Prior to this I read an article in Its Nice That magazines SS16 about Paris as told by graphic designers. Its a nice read with it giving an in depth insight into three independent studios about everything from gentrification to the rise of artist run spaces, and the ups and downs of creative life in the French capital.

The article has some great points about the independent scene in Paris which informs our chosen culture, firstly mentioning that the graphic design scene in Paris is overlooked and thriving at the moment. This is similar to the Parisian youth culture in general, the thriving scene can be down to the relationship between cultural and commercial design, or how the city’s rich cultural history can be both a blessing and a curse. Personally I don't a vision of French graphic design or to be precise Parisian graphic design, one designer talks about how globalisation has affected the Parisian visual style. "I’m super interested in ornaments and patterns and architectural details, but I can’t really say that’s part of French graphic design. Things are so global now, I don’t think there is a Parisian style"

Global contemporary design is influencing Parisian design, maybe this links to the problems many Parisians have with the gentrification and Bobo-isation of Paris. "There are always people talking about gentrification. It doesn’t bother me. I think it’s super normal. I read something the other day that people complaining about gentrification are actually complaining about the “Bobo-isation of Paris”. Bobo [bourgeois bohemian] is a term we use for people who have a certain lifestyle. This paper was actually saying everybody in their 30s in Paris is a Bobo now. So the “Bobo-isation of Paris” doesn’t mean anything, just that part of the population is getting older and they have other expectations". This excellent quote sums the changing scene in Paris right now, and how some older and more traditional Parisians are complaining at the gentrification of certain areas and how a youth culture is uprising.

Another point to back the comment on the areas of Paris changing is that many Parisians who are younger have less money compared to their parents. Therefore many graphic design studios find solutions to still live and work in the city. "We bought a flat two years ago in an area in Paris near Barbès, which has a big African community but it’s super mixed now. I understand why people complain, because the area is changing but that’s life. It’s always in movement and it’s always changing – it’s a city, it’s normal to evolve. The French love to complain, it’s a fact." 

I know for myself that Paris is a very expensive city, so for upcoming designers they have to find ways to make a room for projects. This alone is one difficulty but as well in Paris it’s very hierarchic and it can take such a long time to prove the value of your work, or to prove that even if you’re young that your work can have value. Paris comes across as such a constrained city, and I found out that something in French design separates commercial design from design for cultural or non-profit projects. The distinction seems less radical in other cities such as London, New York and Berlin but maybe there is a tradition in Paris of good design that is cultural and commercial but not intellectual enough. Learning that the French also think of graphic design is elitist in a way, was interesting as many Parisians think it’s something too specific and too disconnected from the rest of the art scene or the city. Which personally I think is so narrow minded, I found some really interesting design studios from Paris but finding out that you have to wait until you have been working for 20, 25 years to have commercial success. 

The article talks about the pace of the city and how this affects the design industry, the city rarely changes so people have to find new and exciting ways to create. "As a designer it’s interesting to deal with that, whether you embrace it or not. It’s a special time for art and fashion in Paris right now. There are a lot of new brands, and a lot of new places to go, small galleries, artist-run spaces that didn’t exist five or ten years ago. Maybe it’s because for a while people in Paris were complaining about the night life and the art world, and decided to take things and to create something new. Maybe you have to fight a bit more to create new things. We already have a big history, and I think people want to shake that."

OUGD503 - Studio brief 02 - Research

This example of work is a perfect example of how graphic design and typography expresses culture, local aesthetics, traditions, tastes, humour, quirks, places and people. Design agency KittoKatsu designed an identity for ‘Little Tokyo,’ the Japanese quarter of Dusseldorf. “Little Tokyo is not only a fun place to eat sushi or have a cup of sake after work, it is also a unique fusion of Japanese and Rhineland culture,” The unique qualities of both cultures is perfectly presented, with the design bearing both languages. Cross cultural dialogue is achieved and a mix of traditional German and Japanese cultures is showcased through illustration, use of cold colours and clean sans serif typefaces. KittoKatsu say “ The identity speaks as much of the city as it does for the Japanese community,” “In creating an identity for Little Tokyo, we wanted to give the district its own voice, so that it can communicated across the city limits.” The design evokes better cultural understanding of Little Tokyo, even so that KittoKatsu is pushing for it to be the official identity of the unique area.

OUGD503 - Studio brief 02 - Research

Some excellent pieces of research and influence I found was from another type foundry, Fontsmith. It’s Nice That and Fontsmith collaborated with three creatives from around the world to create a series called 'local characters'. The series shows how typography is created but also how it can be adapted to add personality from particular backgrounds. Similar to the Monotype brief the typography aims to broader the possibility of type and to represent a culture, community or country but instead depicts the city of the designer and the unique visuals of that certain place.

My favourite of the series was designer and illustrator Jimmy Turrell's bespoke type design inspired by Byker wall in Newcastle. I connected with this design the most as its my hometown and I'm familiar with the Byker wall so I can see the inspiration behind the type design. To summarise Byker Wall, its a council estate in the east end of Newcastle, its literally an architectural wall of housing. The estate curves around the area of Byker and was a forward thinking piece of architectural design in the 60s as the primary colour clad construction and geometric forms are a visually striking part of the east end of Newcastle. Its practically impossible to miss the Byker wall if you pass through the area but its a far cry from the ultra modern Northern metropolis it once was imagined to be. 

The architect behind the wall wanted the ethos of community, care and colour to represent the design and in Jimmy's designs he highlights these ethos as influences. He exceptionally represents the culture within the wall, he used a classic brutalist typefaces then simply by using a photocopier he scanned the type to create the basis of the design. Then adding primary coloured geometric shapes which help identify the aesthetic of the wall, but what I love the most about the design is the expression of an accent. The interrupted stylisation of the type is Jimmy trying to visualise the Geordie accent, as i'm a Geordie myself I know how it leaves many people scratching their heads trying to understand whats coming out my mouth. The typeface captures the tone of the Geordie accent perfectly, as sometimes it can be a fragmented accent. 

In a different approach to the series, creative director of Atlas, Astrid Stavro, tailored the Fontsmith typeface FS Sally, to represent the split personality of her birthplace, Trieste, Italy. I was intrigued to know how Trieste is 'split' and what has potentially informed the design but the city is described as a puzzle. Throughout the city, architecture and nationalities intermix lucidly, in a naturally laid back style that only the Italians can master. I would describe this typeface as a multicultural response that reflects contrast, the elegant serif typeface FS Sally resonates a tradtional Italian typeface. Then the contrasting bottom half reflects a brutalist approach I believe, this could have links to the architecture in Trieste. The typeface has a broke feel to it yet it remains graceful, again this typeface perfectly sums up a place in the eyes of the designer, something that is very inspiring.

This response reflects the atmosphere of Moscow, using the Fontsmith typeface FS Dillon to depict the insane reality of the city. Designer Anna Kulachek depicts the city as bold, busy and bright and then relates these characteristics to the cities structure, architecture, restaurants and people. Fontsmith’s typeface FS Dillon, a sans-serif font, was the perfect fit to display the strength in tone of a Moscow native. “I decided I wanted to do a really typographic poster, which would reflect both Moscow’s architecture and traffic,” Anna explains. The designer decided upon FS Dillon due to it’s linear structural elements that mirror not only the city’s architecture, but attitude too. “This typeface was the straightest of the Fontsmith fonts, it is bold, just as Moscow is.”

Looking into the Fontsmtih x Its Nice That collaboration was an excellent source of research as it almost mirrors the Monotype brief, seeing how the designers altered Fontsmith fonts assured concerns about the Monotype brief. The designers almost make it look easy to alter a typeface to help evoke a culture, I can offer this research to my group and I'm assured this will later influence my groups work.

OUGD503 - Studio brief 02 - Research

As my first part of individual research for the brief I looked at Monotype, its a company that I am fully aware of as I'm graphic design student but for the brief I wanted to know a little bit more about the world’s best known provider of anything type related. "Our fonts and technologies are designed to enable creative expression and give brands a distinct global voice. We’re behind the text you read in newspapers and books, in the apps on your phone, in the websites you browse, on the dashboard you scan, on the goods you buy, and in the games you play. We bring the world’s words to the page and the screen" 'enable creative expression' is the one thing I highlighted from Monotype's brand message, that reflects the brief. Some of the worlds most famous brands such as Ralph Lauren, Nike, IBM and Prada all rely on Monotype for creative expression so for research I wanted to look at how Monotype enable creative expression and how typography can be a global language.

Last year Monotype and Google collaborated to create Noto, which is an open-source typeface family that covers every written language in the world, living and dead. It is one of the largest typographic projects ever undertaken and the result of five years collaborative work. The look and feel of Noto may feel like any other sans serif typeface but it covers over 800 languages and aims to preserve little-spoken or dead languages to help enable global communication “across borders, languages, cultures and time periods. This is relevant to the brief not only because its linked to Monotype but the typeface serves many particular languages and communities. It was fascinating to see the amount of research that went into the project, from designers to cultural experts who made this typeface possible. Finding out that the help of Buddhist monks helped the process of Noto was amazing, the monks critiqued the font and helped make adjustments to the design.

Its a typeface which celebrates the diversity of over 800 languages, and gives many of the languages a digital face as some have never had any representation through type. As the Monotype brief stated 'one typeface can feel British as much as another can feel German' but Noto is different in the sense that it offers a functional service of all these languages.

I looked into Craig Oldham who is a Designer, educator, publisher but more importantly the founder of the eponymous practice, Office of Craig. The Office of Craig are in collaboration with this brief so it was essential to look into Craig's work. From what I've seen of Craig Oldham's works I would describe it as passionate design with a strong use of typography, so I can see why his studio is linked with the brief. One example of Craig Oldham representing a culture through type is his well designed book In Loving Memomory of Work. The well informed book documents the UK miners’ strike between 1984 and 1985 and makes the subject of the miners strike more engaging through the visually striking graphics and custom made typeface. My dad actually owns the book, but he is totally unaware who Craig Oldham but luckily Ive had the chance to scroll through the book and admire the beautifully bold typography.

In terms of how this book links to the brief, it stands on behalf of the miners (miners culture) who fought day after day, month after month for their jobs and way of life. The design reflects the attitudes and beliefs of the miners as the aesthetic of the book is powerful, unabashed, garish, strong and unapologetic. As I studied the Miners strike in high school, I know that there are books that are media and politically biased, but this book gives Craig's opinion with a superb level of creativity. In my opinion its definitely a niche book as it tackles a subject through design, something I'm sure hasn't been done before for the Miners strike.

OUGD503 - Studio brief 02 - Research

After we set the task to individually research into two cultures, communities or countries each, we met up to show what we found. As a group we found a range of interesting topics that all have uniques qualities in which we could showcase through typography. What we found includes:

• Japanese mascot culture. Mascots have become a huge part of Japanese pop culture and are used to promote a place or region, event, organisation or business. They are characterized by their kawaii (cute) and unsophisticated designs, often incorporating motifs that represent local culture, history or produce. They may be created by local government or other organization to stimulate tourism and economic development, or created by a company to build on their corporate identity.
• Parisian youth culture. France's economy may be flailing and its politics in stasis, but its youth culture is finally catching up with the rest of the world's. Something special is happening in Paris, for example the underground electronic music scene is nearly on the same level as Berlin, London and Amsterdam, thanks to the resurgence of Parisian youth culture.
• British football casuals / hooligans. This subculture is a subsection of association football culture that is typified by football hooliganism and the wearing of expensive designer clothing. The subculture originated in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s when many hooligans started wearing designer clothing labels and expensive sportswear such as Stone Island, CP Company, L'alpina and Lacoste in order to avoid the attention of police and to intimidate rivals. In more recent times casuals and hooligans hit the headlines during Euro 2016 when English and Russians frequently clashed, but are all football extremists like the ones we seen during the summer of 2016 or is they're a special story behind them.
• North Korea. The most secretive country in the world defiantly sparks a conversation and potentially this brief has the chance to evoke better cultural understanding of the lives of North Korean people who live under an evil dictatorship. 
• Refugees. This is an obvious response to the brief as it mentions immigration and free movement in the opening sentences of the background of the brief. Refugees have been one of main news topics over the last two years and this brief is ideal to help express and engage refugees with the world. 
• Hypebeasts. Quote from Urban Dictionary "Sneakerheads who only rock hyped up shit to get props b/c they got no self worth or sense of style" "A Hype Beast is a kid that collect clothing, shoes, and accessories for the sole purpose of impressing others. Although the individual may not have a dime to their name they like to front like they are making far more then everybody else" 

After much discussion we seemed to sway towards Parisian youth culture, Japanese mascots and North Korea as potential ideas to take forward. But as a group we knew we could only take one culture to research further, as we could undertake more in depth research if we solely selected one. The tipping point in picking one was Ben showing myself and Joe videos on Parisian youth culture and the current underground scene in Paris, the videos opened our eyes to the potential of the culture and already we were visualizing ideas. We then made a number of notes on each video and realised it was answering questions to the brief so we finalised on Parisian youth culture. Prior to the small research task we set, I vaguely knew of the upcoming electronic music scene in the city but I never knew of the other big changes within the city. 

Above are notes Ben made on Parisian youth culture during the small research task, the notes delve into the aesthetics, traditions, tastes, places and people of Parisian youth culture but we knew at this stage that we needed to research much more into this culture to be able to evoke better cultural understanding and celebrate diversity. Then as a group we individually selected research we would like to undertake that is relevant to the brief and culture, the list is below.

OUGD503 - Studio brief 02 - Collaboration and brief

For the responsive presentation slides which were presented to graphic design, illustration and animation I highlighted Monotype as the brief I was interested in undertaking. I decided to pick this brief as one i’d be interested in doing because firstly I believe its current in terms of world affairs, relating to immigration and politics and gives the designer an opportunity to communicate personal views on certain affairs that may interest them. Secondly having the chance to engage in a topic that is vastly diverse such as culture allows you to have an open mind for this brief, referring back to my first point it can make it personal. And lastly being able to work with type draws me to the brief, as I am eager to further my practice involving typographic responses.

When it came to the task of finding other people to collaborate with I was surprised at how only a small number of people were interested in the Monotype brief. In total five graphic designers, two animators and one illustrator but in the end I was lucky enough to find an ideal group. Working with Ben Cooper (Graphic design) and Joe Baker (Illustration), neither of us has worked together before but we all share similar interests in and outside of the creative world. When we first got together as a group we discussed when we could organise to meet up, we looked through each others timetables and realised we both have free time after lectures on Wednesdays. Along with most Thursdays these were the two days we highlighted as contact time, then we could organise frequent meet ups in between them days. For other ways of contact we set up a Facebook group chat so we can keep each other updated at any time.

D&AD Monotype brief

In this brief Monotype challenges you to embody and express the importance of cultural diversity through a typography solution or campaign. In our first meeting as a group the aim was to analyse and interpret the brief in our own way. We agreed the best way to achieve this was highlighting key parts in the brief, this helps us understand exactly what the brief is asking for. As sometimes briefs can be overcomplicated but what we highlighted follows below:

• In collaboration with Craig Oldham
• Unique opportunity to express culture, local aesthetics, traditions, tastes, humour, quirks, place and people.
• Identify a culture, community, or country you feel is misunderstood, misrepresented or underrepresented
• Spark a conversation, evoke better cultural understanding and celebrate diversity
• Think about unique qualities 
• At least one poster, one digital element, one other touch point
• Use only type as the major creative expression 

Reading the brief a number of times really helped single out what we wanted to achieve as group for this brief, so we began to note down countries and notable cultures within them countries. When noting down these cultures we always had in mind if we felt it was misunderstood, misrepresented or underrepresented. By doing this it would help eliminate possible cultures that we considered an obvious response to the brief. 

As a group we decided to individually go away and find two possible cultures, communities or countries that we felt suited the briefed. Then we could meet up again and present what we have found, this would leave us with a total of six possible cultures, communities or countries in which we could select one then undertake extensive research. 

OUGD503 - Studio brief 02 - Study task 02

OUGD503 - Studio brief 02 - Study task 01

Define what is your motivation for undertaking collaboration?

• The chance to win a D&AD award
• Managing others
• Thinking creatively as a team
• Its importance practice for industry
• The chance to apply specialist skills to a project
• Having a valued role within a team
• Communicating with collaborators which will help communicating with clients in the future 

What methods of communication will you use?

• Face to face / studio
• Social media 
• Facetime

What skill sets does each member of the team bring?

Ben Cooper

• Photography 
• Photoshop
• Lightroom
• Up to date with current trends

Joe Baker

• Hand rendered illustration
• Digital illustration
• Traditional print

Me

• Illustrator
• Indesign
• Organised 
• Versatile 

OUGD505 - Foot Print talk

We recently had a talk from Leeds based ecological minded printers who can print booklets, zines, leaflets, stickers, newsletters, fliers, books and CD covers. What is unique about Foot Print is that they are workers of co-operative, which means the business is owned by the workers. As they have no bosses the workers run it as they want, doing interesting jobs for interesting people. They aim to be straightforward, friendly, responsible and responsive, rather than ‘aiming to deliver comprehensive multi-platform printing solutions to clients in the voluntary and vocationally challenged sectors’. Foot Print do it as ethically as they can, printing on proper recycled papers, powered by a genuine green electricity tariff and using the least environmentally damaging processes they can find. Its also a charitable organisation as they give a percentage of each job to a worthy cause. During the talk I had a browse of the Foot Print website and from what I seen they offer printing services which I would consider for studio brief 02. As I am to produce a piece of design that has ethical and sustainable issues at the core of it then Foot Print would be an option for printing.

OUGD505 - Ethics and Sustainability Seminar

As an introductory seminar for this module we were introduced to ethics and sustainability in graphic design. The seminar was focusing on the importance of ethics in graphic design and what is considered good design.

As a group we had to brainstorm what we thought of the importance of ethics in graphic design, the image above lists our responses. One of my additions to the brainstorm was ethics allowing the brief to have restriction, when a graphic designer works to brief they hope for restrictions which create structures and helps work to the requirements of the client. Other answers we thought of included, allowing you to consider the audience in more depth. An example of this is to consider culture, race, gender and religion when taking audience into account when undertaking a brief. Another question we had to work on as a group was what good design is? Collectively we thought that this rather subjective, but good design can be well informed and considered responses to a problem. To take it further good design can push you to better yourself and do more, subsequently when considering ethics and sustainability this can lead to furthering your work.

What is Sustainable design?
Sustainable design which can also be called environmental design is the idea of designing physical objects, environments, and services to work with the principles of social, economic, and ecological sustainability.

Financial 
Designing financially viable work focuses on the issues that affect the costs of distribution and production. On the other hand if designers focus too much on cost cutting or profit making, a potential disadvantage is that the results will be obsolete and boring.

Social 
This is whether the overall design benefits society as a whole.

Personal 
Creating personal design work is about fulfilling the requirements of a individual consumer.

Environmental
Environmental design is about considering the natural resources in the production process.

In the seminar we were given a number of texts from famous designers such as Stephen Heller about ethics and sustainability in design. We had to read through each text then select three ethical beliefs we would like to include within our own practice, the beliefs I selected are below:

• 'Make it honest, make it relevant'
• 'Good design presumably serves many citizens'
• 'Political and social concerns

Below are image of another task we undertook, at first I didn't fully grasp what the chart was for exactly. As I steadily got more of an idea of what it does then I seen its relevance and we used the D&AD Fur For Animals brief as an example of how this financial, social, environmental and personal chart can work. 

OUGD505 - Studio brief 02 - Product Range Distribution


Studio brief 

Examine graphic design outputs relating to social, political and ethical change. Aim to increase your awareness of historical examples plus contemporary practice that is responsive to 21st Century issues. Be sure to note the interrelationships between medium, message and distribution. You should then produce a body of research work that explores the connections between these concepts and their respective design outcomes prior to your own practical and conceptual exploration of possible products, ranges and methods of distribution that may be suggested by your preferred content or, indeed, those that reflect your own ideologies, concerns and/or ambitions.

Background / Considerations 

This brief is in two parts -
Part 1:  Based on the introductory sessions develop a practical, visual and contextual investigation of a specific subject. You should aim to develop research from a range of primary and secondary sources in order to fully explore the opportunities for informed creative development. Your research and development of this part of the brief should be documented on your Studio Practice blog and will be presented as part of your interim concept pitch.

Part 2:  Devise and develop a body of practical work that both distils your knowledge of an identified issue and demonstrates your ability to tap into the market potential for socially, politically and ethically-driven design. This output should still work within the broader creative and professional contexts of graphic design but could be based around ideas of awareness or protest. Examples of potential deliverables include (but are not limited to):

• materials relating to an issue-led campaign (this could be one affiliated to an established organisation or a more ‘guerilla’ approach)
• a poster series
• a booklet/publication/manifesto
• a web/digital platform
• placards, banners or a set of badges
• a range of products or merchandise that communicate your identified core message

My contextual research, critical observations and reflective evaluations should be documented on my Studio Practice blog and summarised within reflective content that supports my design submission. My response should explore the relationship between product range and methods/media of distribution as well as specific audiences, contexts and appropriate tone of voice.

Mandatory Requirements

As defined by your interpretation of the selected brief.

You will need to meet any mandatory requirements specified on individual briefs.

In addition to the submission requirements for the briefs you will need to evidence the research, development and production of your resolutions.

Your work should be documented through regular labelled posts to your Design Practice Blog.

Correct labelling of your work on your blog is essential.  Failure to organise your work clearly will affect the assessment of your worK.


Your response to the  brief should be supported by a rationale and evaluation of your work in relation to the initial brief.

Deliverables

Resolutions & Products appropriate to your selected brief(s).

A minimum of 5 x A3 design boards/design sheets (submitted as PDFs) articulating the selected research development, resolution and contextualisation of your work.


Posts to your Design Practice blog demonstrating your ability to effectively record, document and critically evaluate the progress of your work in relation to your own intentions and appropriate areas of contemporary creative practice.

Interpretation of the brief

Examining genuine ways in which graphic design can change social, political and ethical issues is something I'm looking forward to. This brief will allow me to accumulate everything i've learnt on the course so far into one brief, which will be a challenge but one I hope will end with a strong response for my portfolio.

Personal Aims

Considering ethical design is new to me, so to learn the in the outs of ethical and sustainable design is an aim of mine. This brief will have a number of presentation so I hope to present my research and work in a professional manner.

OUGD505 - Studio brief 01 - Leeds Public Spaces

Studio brief 

The uses and [sometimes] abuses of public spaces do much to communicate the identity and character of cities. Across Leeds there is a huge list of events that take place within its public spaces that range from carnivals, concerts, markets, exhibitions, parades, sports events, protests, happenings, flash mobs, etc. My task is to research the various events and happenings that have occurred in Leeds and helped shape the city; then choose one that will become the focus for an A3 traditional print that celebrates this event. You can choose any event whether or not it was organised or impromptu but it must be celebratory. My A3 print must use only traditional print methods. The prints will be exhibited in the level 4/5 exhibition in May.

Background / Considerations

Think visually, explore both literal and lateral responses. Explore working with text and image, both combined and separately. Consider the various techniques and processes that are available to you and their suitability for conveying or re-enforcing the ideas that you are trying to communicate.

Mandatory Requirements

Analogue print on A3 stock.
Content must be suitable for public viewing and be celebratory in nature.

Deliverables

Final print.
5 x A3 design boards that provide a overview of your research, process and design decisions.
Documentation of your development via posting to your Studio Practice blog.

Brief Interpretation

From what I've gathered from the brief I believe i'll enjoy all aspects of this studio brief. Ranging from researching into the city of Leeds, in which I've lived in now for nearly two years.  Also I like the printing restrictions as it only allows a screen printed response, this makes the process more enjoyable in my opinion. Another benefit of the brief only allowing a screen printed response is the satisfaction of seeing the work on display once the exhibition comes around in May. I know this from my first years experience, when my screen printed banknote was on display at Bank House. 

Personal Aims

One clear aim of mine is to experiment with traditional printing techniques more such as foiling. Till this point on the course I'm yet to foil so I'm hoping to experiment more with it. When I was first briefed I was enthusiastic as I attend a number of music based events in Leeds relating to my taste in music. The obvious response would be too create an event poster for a techno night but I want to push myself, and in research find a interesting and suitable subject to depict.   

OUGD503 - Studio brief 01 - Papyrus Development and Final

Before I started producing the response, I had to decide whether to draw or digitally produce the colour in pattern. My skills are more suited with a pen tool in illustrator than drawing so I chose the digital option, the briefs requires a 3px brush is used and a A3 page so I set up the correct settings before production.

The first stage was creating the grid which symbolises the ritual and order which can help stress, when drawing within the square grid the user can make patterns etc. The other elements which are the intricate illustrations represent puzzles and waveforms, the element is a pattern so it sticks to the ritual idea, with only one shape being used in the A3 page. This style illustration has a 80s style and one that can look vibrant once coloured in.

Feedback on the final included that the simple design has qualities that are potentially enjoyable to colour in. Even though the design has a few elements it can be still considered an adult colour in book drawing as the intricate pattern needs attention to complete.

To accompany the artwork a short sentence is required in the brief:
Creating a ritual in your life and solving problems, whether they be simple or intricate can help relieve stress and relax the mind.