End of module evaluation

overall, within the two components of the module I preferred studio brief 1 due to having 4 briefs instead on one substantial. The 4 briefs used different skills and had different media outcomes, keeping the module engaging. Within these briefs I enjoyed the interaction with the clients and the outcomes which will be used for their companies. I also enjoyed having to work with themes which aren't necessarily of my interest or 'style' as this has helped develop my idea generation and to be more flexible with the briefs chosen as they can be adapted to suit my skills.

from completing this module it has enhanced my professionalism with communicating with clients, working together as a collaboration, creating presentation boards and following a timetabled schedule. From the module I have learnt that I enjoy branding and would like to continue this further and perhaps start a business.

The brief of which I deemed most successful and was most happy with was the Wonder book cover, the cover was developed multiple times and had continual feedback which was important to the success of the cover. The cover successfully conveys the book and represents the themes in the book with also still appealing to children with succesful use of doodle illustrations. I enjoyed tackling the brief as with being targeted at children it allowed me to use an illustrative approach but also allowed me to develop my other graphic design skills and take attention to the detail.

To improve the module more contingency time should have been added due to printing mistakes and cutting mistakes of which was detrimental to the final result. Also, I should have been more strict with time with the idea stage of the projects as this would have allowed more time to experiment. The final outcome of the zine could have developed and refined more also, with the final outcome not being as successful as it could have been due to bleed errors and cutting errors of which could have been sorted if I had planned in time to sort the problems out, which is a lesson learnt for the next module.

Timetable throughout the whole project

final outcome - collaboration zine

With printing the final zine of day one at Coachella, it was proving difficult due to the page numbers of which were included in the zine. To cut down the stock to be perfectly straight, it would have meant that page numbers would have been cut off, therefore it was decided to leave the zine as having a contents page but no numbers would confuse the reader. A bigger bleed should have been added to avoid this issue and  contingency plan time should have been added in my plan for errors such like this that could have been sorted if there was spare time.

Binding collaboration zine

When binding day one at Coachella, there was a choice of colour between the material of which would be used. It was thought that yellow would be good as it represents the yellow stripe of which is found in Joe's work, however it doesn't match with the front cover therefore it was decided to use green as it still relates, with the project colour theme focusing on khaki, but aesthetically wise goes with the cover more.

stock choice (errors) - fashion collaborative

when printing the zine, stock was considered to enhance the concept. With group discussions it was decided that recycled stock would work well and represent the project of re using materials to create something of interest. With having recycled stock in mind, a offset printing one was chosen due to the grains shown in the paper which fit with the aesthetic of the zine. The first time printing wasn't successful due to James accidentally printing with white ink on the stock, so therefore he printed the design for free on his recycled stock. With this mistake, it allowed me to test the difference of the print on the different stocks, even with white ink it was apparent that the Fred Aldhous stock created a better quality of print, so therefore with the contingency plan of a booking the next day, the zine was printed correctly the next day. 

Final crit

For the final critique on responsive I showed my response to the wonder book cover brief due to it being the brief that I was most happy with yet wanted little details to be given feedback on , such as the type etc which would make the project outcome stronger

The feedback wrote when giving feedback silently:

feedback given after the silent aspect and I could explain the concept and the reasoning behind my design decisions:

works well as a children's book
have a better colour contrast- with a thicker stroke for the space illustrations- pops out more
use the handwritten type on the back
from far away the space illustrations look like stars - then when close up can see the planets
quotes are placed well as are subtle not obvious
you're is spelt wrong
for the e reader version both hands should be shown and to loose the small text as you won't be able to read it
with the finger that is pointing down maybe move a bit up
the hands clearly communicate what I'm trying to say with the helping element
on the spine perhaps using a helmet instead as it is more significant of an inconography
the type on the bend of the hand is too harsh so the corners more rounded???
perhaps less flat of the type with using markers and scanned in etc- so shows more of an imperfection
the yellow of the stars could be foiled to make them stand out even more and for the contrast

layout research - fashion collaborative

for inspiration on layouts done well, the book named 'The city talking' was looked at

throughout there is grid layouts used, with displaying the different variations of which I could use in the zine. The book really helped when design the zine due to seeing what professionally works well in order to create Joseph as professional outcome.

collaboration - festival research - Coachella

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival takes place every April in Southern California’s Coachella Valley, hence the name of the festival. Although there is a Coachella, California, the festival actually takes place at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California. Indio is a small town in California’s Colorado Desert area, about 2.5 hours east of Los Angeles. Considering how many celebs live in LA, it’s no wonder that Coachella always draws a famous crowd. The town also hosts the annual Stagecoach country music festival, which takes place after Coachella.

While Coachella offers the option to camp overnight at the festival itself, many prefer to stay at hotels in the nearby town of Palm Springs. A favorite vacation destination for stars like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, who owned homes there in the 1950s and ‘60s, the swanky desert town has seen resurgence in recent years. And if you’ve ever had to deal with LA traffic, you can totally understand why they might appreciate a quiet respite to relax and hang by the pool.

Speaking of which, Palm Springs’ hotel pool parties during Coachella are legendary. Places like the Ace Hotel & Swim Club and the Arrive Hotel typically host all-day DJ pool parties, making them fun places to stay during the festival weekends. Nearby towns of Palm Desert and La Quinta also have a range of hotels and motels that would be convenient to stay during the festival. Considering temperatures can reach up to 88 degrees during the month of April in Indio, the air-conditioning might be worth it.

Attended by over 250K people across two weekends, Coachella is one of the biggest music and arts festivals in the world. Beyonce’s Saturday night headline performance enjoyed 485,000 views on YouTube’s live stream – the most viewed Coachella performance in history.

NEWSUBSTANCE (Leeds based studio) made its debut at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music & Art Festival with Spectra – a stunning, seven-floor pavilion.

Commissioned by Coachella as part of its over-arching Art program, NEWSUBSTANCE was one of 6 distinguished interdisciplinary artists chosen by Coachella to create new, brave and innovative original large-scale installations exclusively for the Festival.

Over three years in its conception and design, Spectra is an ambitious, architecturally informed installation featuring a spiral design, an observation deck at its peak, air conditioning and a dazzling colour scheme that reflects the lively spirit of the festival and its awe-inspiring location.

When journeying through Spectra, people were saturated in colour, offering a new outlook on the world around them. Every step on their journey through Spectra was different: different views, different colours, different emotions. As they rose through the structure and challenged them to interpret their environment through the medium of colour.

Sketches Joe made for the zine - collaborative

with wanting to show his process throughout the zine, Joe sketched some of his initial ideas more professionaly for the zine, with showing ideas with what the garment could look like.

responsive presentation and feedback - wonder

the main feedback from the presentation was ;

the process from idea to final was clear

the concept is strong

the background is too dark

the type should be experimented with

does look like a children's book

ideas - collaboration brief

Meeting up for collaboration

With having the brief to create a logo, business cards and a zine for Joe and his fashion work, it was important that we met to discuss where we were going to go in all these outcomes.

With meeting up over dessert, we managed to come up with some ideas of how the logo and business card should be, with Joe stating that he wants to brand himself professionally as being sophisticated, minimal, elegant and high end. We discussed the options for both the logo and business cards, with how I can take his vision and make it work, with the way in which the business card is printed and the materials used. Joe gave examples of excision fashion logos that he liked, with the examples being the likes of Fendi and Balmain. From what he already liked in the industry it was decided that the logo should become more of a logotype and use a serif typeface. With the zine, the ideas of how to approach this was discussed. With wanting to have one theme to focus on, instead of creating a look book of which just included all his work, even if style wise it doesn't work coherently, we both discussed what work he has done thus far and how we can produce a more focussed zine and what the underlying purpose is. Some ideas of what we came up with was; tailoring, sustainable fashion and festival fashion. These were the key themes that would correlate with Joe's work but also be more focused into one project rather than a range. From the meeting it was decided that I would use the information and insights to start sketching up logo ideas and that we would both think more about the zine and exactly what the purpose is and what the content is.