Study Task 6: Proposal

Study Task 5- Planning and Structuring an Essay

Suggested Research Question:

• How much impact does the aesthetic of the brand design have on the business' well doing/popularity?
• To what extent does aesthetic impact a brands identity/branding
• Focus specifically on product branding

What is the problem? Why is it important or interesting?

• Poor branding/design will impact on the business
• Price point- if it looks expensive, are people more likely to buy it? but sometimes the cheaper brands end up being better quality
• The brands quality (e.g. skin care product) could be amazing but if the design is poor, the public will choose a better design aesthetic brand over it that probably wont be as good
• The importance of aesthetic for branding
• Dupes

Which Academic sources will you reference?

• https://www.idealstandard.be/nl/pers/2014/2015-03-12-aesthetic.html -How design and function impact aesthetic perception
• https://medium.com/coffee-and-junk/design-psychology-aesthetic-usability-effect-494ed0f22571 -The Aesthetic-Usability Effect: Why beautiful-looking products are preferred over usable-but-not-beautiful ones.
• https://uxdesign.cc/design-principle-aesthetics-af926f8f86fe -Design principle: Aesthetics
• http://customerthink.com/the-importance-of-having-a-killer-aesthetic-for-branding/ -The importance of having a killer aesthetic for branding

Case Studies:

• Focus on beauty products as it is wide spread and it is personal to the purchaser, however everything is about opinion too. Quality of it VS design
• Does quality relate to how durable it is, how well it works etc
• Comparison! e.g. apple vs android or Glossier vs too faced for beauty product case study:

Comparison: Apple vs Android

Beauty product branding: Too Faced 

Beauty product branding: Glossier- very minimal
compared to Too Faced, does this reflect on the quality?

Essay Map/Critical Argument:

• The areas of aesthetics- simplicity vs busy
• What is aesthetics and branding- intro to how they both link and the importance of it
• The aims of a brand and how its communicated through the design aesthetic
• Quality vs design/aesthetic
• How well it works...but this could also be down to opinion- how certain products work on different people etc
• Does a cheaper brand need to have a tackier or more expensive aesthetic???

Study Task 4- Identities and Consumption

What is meant by multiple identities?

A person with a number of identities would be classed as having multiple identities, the number of identities someone has depends on the amount of different social situations they often see themselves in. don't even have to be set in real life, it can even be online.

How are identities formed?

By knowing who you are, it allows people to answer questions and theories as to where they fit in to something. The way in which we see ourselves is influenced by our individual experiences which creates our unique identity. Identities start very early on in life and develop all throughout as human identities are constantly moulded and influenced by everyone around us.

What is social categorisation?

Social categorisation is is the process of categorising applying to people and/or as shaped by interactions with people. People tend to categorise others in relation to themselves so that they can easily find similarities and differences between themselves, however this process can lead to depersonalising yourself as well as others.

What is social comparison?

Social comparison is similar to social categorisation as they both start with yourself. However, social comparison is more about opinion, its about how you learn about yourself through comparing yourself with others. This has a lot to do with self-esteem.

What is social identity theory?

An individuals identity which has stem from the groups to which they belong, where they feel that they 'fit in'. It can also link to how they want to be seen by others, not necessarily who they actually are.

What is an example of strong brand identification?

An example of strong brand identification is being able to recognise a brand instantly, usually by a simplistic and eye catching design/specific design element. Brands can be turned into symbols, the symbols can often be constructed through continuous social activities.

What are the negative effects on body image?

This stems from social comparison, there are instances where this consumption can be detrimental to who we are. Media messages has a lot to do with physical appearance being important, suggesting that body image is a part of our identities. The pressure to become 'picture perfect' comes from a very young age, when we start comparing ourselves to others.

What is self-discrepancy theory?

Self-discrepancy theory links to why people become unhappy with their physical appearance. This theory suggest that individuals have three types of self-schema; actual self (the way people are at the present point in time, ideal self (the self we aspire to be) and ought self (the way we think we should be)

Study Task 3- Parody and Pastiche

Each text discusses parody and pastiche in similar ways but to an extent, there are some theories which are different from Jameson and Hutcheon. Hutcheon talks more about post-modernism and how it links to parodies whereas Jameson discusses how parody replaces pastiche, giving things less of a meaning. 'The disappearance of the individual subject, along with its formal consequence, the increasingly unavailability of the personal style...what may be called pastiche'. Whereas Hutcheon is more open minded about the matter; 'post modernisms main interest might seem to be in the processes of its own production...but I want to argue that it is precisely parody'.

Example of a pastiche from the session, this design copies an original design which supports Jamesons theory:

An example of a parody that I found myself. The image relates to makeup, however the packaging, layout and design elements of it relates to Graphic Design. The image displays two different eyeshadow palettes. However, the top one is the original which is around £40, the bottom one is a dupe from this eyeshadow palette which is a lot cheaper (around £10).

Dupe on the left, original on the right

Original is the top one, the dupe is the bottom one

Identities and Consumption (Studio Work)

What is identity?
Identity is what a person or a thing is. The characteristics and personality- the general things that make someone/something, a thing.

What is consumption?
Consumption is the process by which goods and services are, at last, put to final use by people. Involve things that are used

Capitalism- Mass Production- Consumerism- Commodities

-Goods= Identity?
How are we persuaded to acquire goods or services?

10 Brands that you buy into:

-Adidas trainers
-Crunchy nut cornflakes
-Urban Outfitters clothes
-Mac makeup
-Aldi
-Macbook
-Nutella
-Dominos pizza
-Uber
-Instagram app

Chose one- why does it specifically appeal to me???

-Mac makeup; I used this one over other makeup brands because the foundation is the best I have used out of all other brands since I started wearing makeup (early teens). I specifically use Mac studio fix as it stays put all day, and is buildable which is useful if I want a more natural look (coffee date) or a more heavy look (a night out). Mac also allows the customer to get matched perfectly to the shade that that is best for them.

I have been using this foundation for 1-2 years in the shade NC 37.

We were set the task to look at a bunch of adverts and identify the audience, message, how they promote the needs and how they form an individuals identity.

Ou group was given a set of Nike adverts:

1.

-Audience: Aimed at runners

-Message: To promote them to buy the shoes, they are better than all others

-How do they meet/promote needs: Make the runners feel confident in them, that they'll run better in them
-How do they play into or form an individuals identity?: It'll make them look sporty; 'look at me im a runner!'

2.

-Still aimed at runners
-Running makes things better, you can run from everything!
-Self esteem and achievements
-Running from things to relieve stress???

3.

-Aimed at the ameture basketball players
-That anyone can wear them, you don't have to be an amazing basketball player to wear them
-Love and belonging, community
-If you wear them, you are a basketball player

4.

-People that are more rebellious? People that would need more firm shoes for certain things e.g. running from the police or something. The specific add shows a women activist
-Inclusivity
-Respect and confidence
-Make them look more rebellious and crazy

5.

-Aimed at nerdy people
-Even nerds can be cool and wear Nike shoes!!!
-Nerds can b respected
-Make the not so-cool kids, look cool?

6.

-Late 90s/2000s aesthetic, aimed at the cool kids from that era
-The message is that you can be like Michael Jordan if you wear Nike
-Belonging
-Plays into the idea of supporting Michael Jordan

7.

-Everyone, basic needs; comfort.
-Promoting the new Nike Airmax
-Safety/comfort/health
-Wear these and you'll be comfy and cool

8.

-Aimed at everyone since its about equality
-Nike believes in equality? shows that they are good people/a good brand
-Self- actualization, respecting others
-If you wear the shoes, this is what you believe in

9.

-Female tennis players
-The message is that women are just as good as men at sports
-Confidence
-That you believe in equality

10.

-Aimed at everyone, shows a middle eastern girl skateboarding
-Nike isn't aimed at just a specific type of person/ethnicity
-Esteem and belonging
-Still focuses on equality

Study Task 2: Ethical Graphic Design

In todays session the main focus was to discuss different perspectives on how Ethics impact the practice of Graphic Design. We discussed some different points in small groups and documented this through mind maps;

We were then set the homework task to write a short piece of writing (250 words) exploring articles and essays by designers - 'they read like personal opinion but you will still apply academic conventions - writing in the third person and paraphrasing'. The main article that I focused on for my 250 words was 'The Only Way is Ethics' by Tim Abrahams, the article was featured on its nice that. I chose to focus on this one as I felt I could relate to it and understand it better than the other articles that were listed.

My 250 words:

Ethics have a huge impact towards Graphic Design, the same as with any professional job. However, even though ethics do play a part in everyone’s job, it doesn’t have as much as an impact on a designers career than it would for a doctor, for example . ‘To a doctor, ethics are about keeping a patient alive.’ (Abrahams, 2016) whereas, for a Graphic designer an example of an ethic could be about being politically correct and non-offensive towards the audience.

However, catering to every single persons needs is a struggle that every Graphic designer will experience when considering ethics, as every single person has a different opinion than yourself; ‘What does the client do? Is this ethically acceptable or not? Indeed, is this politically acceptable or not?’ (Abrahams, 2016) Additionally, ethics can vary in terms of importance, according to the specific target audience for the particular brief.

For example, a brief aimed at children would be designed in a way that would be easy to understand and simple in terms of context and content. This would mean that the ethics wouldn’t play a huge part, as a brief aimed at children obviously wouldn’t mention areas such as politics or possible discrimination; the design aesthetic, concept and context would be catered to the child’s needs.

However, sometimes Graphic designers do choose to create political material purposely as it can allow the designer to be expressive, being opinionated isn’t necessarily always a bad thing. This could also help to designer to put themselves out there more, especially a young graphic designer.

Study Task 1: Writing my Question

Using the 5 five mash up titles/themes that I have created using one of each of the 3 categories, I have begun to make a mind map of possible areas that I could explore.

The 5 mash ups:

• Funky, festival branding, colour theory
• Experimental, miniature designs, aesthetics
• Illustrative, humorous design, music research
• Colourful, interactive designed, grid systems
• Cutesy miniature things, using print making

Ideas that appear in my mind map:

• Think about my hobbies/personal interests, in particular; music/festivals/gigs etc. Could base my question on this, a certain music genre, re-branding/branding a festival or combined with merchandise. Design my own line up?
• Combine the theme of print making with experimentation; combination of 3 different print methods for one concept
• The link between girly/cutesy things and miniature...a tiny book feminine book?
• Represent hobbies/music elements as miniatures 
• Feminine aesthetic for something that isn't feminine at all...e.g. pink footballs, relating to the theme of humorous design that also interests me
• Combine book binding and miniature things...with humour? A tiny book which displays photographs of large things like whales, with a massive book that displays photos of tiny things like ants
• Colour theory and aesthetics, colour plays a big part in the aesthetic of something
• Illustrative, humorous designs that represent my personal interests such as music

Furthermore, I felt that my ideas focus highly on the aesthetic of something using in different contexts; e.g. the big and small book idea- the scale gives each book a different aesthetic. Additionally, one of my ideas was to create a set of 3 zines which all focus on the same topic/brief (using the same content) but all follow an extremely different aesthetic- focusing on how each zine makes the reader feel even though the content is all the same...

• How does aesthetics affect design?
• How much impact does the aesthetic have on the design concept?
• How much impact does the aesthetic of a design have on the reader?

OUGD501 Briefing

Research project

Areas of interest could include...Typography, Advertising, Branding, Publishing/Editorial, Design for screen etc

10 words that relate to my Graphic Design practice:
Colourful
Funky
Abstract
Fun
Cutesy
Experimental
Girly
Physical
Illustrative
Printing

Deliverables: This brief is separated into two parts but assessed as a whole;

Part 1-
1. COP blog
2. 2500 word critical essay including reflective evaluation

Part 2-
3. 6 Design boards documenting your practical work including project brief/ any practical work

Deadline: 04/04/2019 by 15:00

Academic support pages:

-JSTOR

-Google scholar

-Google books

Design issues/themes that I am interested in:

-Music

-Buying things/shopping

-Socialising

-Gigs/Festivals; the design for these as well

-New places/travel

-Interactivity 

-Illustrative zines/prints/posters

-Miniature designs

-Girly things; pink, glitter, soft

-Physical printing; screen print, collagraph

-Humorous design

10 Things I read about/research last year in PPP, COP or Studio Practice:

-Print making history- from the first printed book ever to Anthony Burrill. Learnt how to screen print

-Researching things like music- 80/70s in particular for the last Studio practice brief

-Typography- how legible/illegible something can be, its still a typeface even if its slightly illegible. The type specimen brief

-Book binding, all the different techniques and how some are more suited to certain concepts

-First hand research- actually going out and visiting places in order to gather research instead of doing it all online

-Aesthetics- a certain aesthetic can make you feel a certain way

-Colour theory- contrasting boundaries, colour wheel, contrast of extension etc

-Grid Systems- Muller Brockman

-How to present yourself in the real world (PPP)

Create five mash up titles/themes using one of each of the 3 categories:

-Funky, festival branding, colour theory

-Experimental, miniature designs, aesthetics

-Illustrative, humorous design, music research

-Colourful, interactive designed, grid systems

-Cutesy miniature things, using print making

Study Task 9: Project Statement

The print making practical project based on ‘Cats in Hats’ is inspired by the second essay ‘Why are handmade techniques still embraced within graphic print practices’. In particular, one of the main print making methods which is discussed throughout the essay: screen print. This inspired me to base my practical work purely on this technique.

I changed my original brief which was based on prints inspired by Cadburys Chocolate as Cadburys was one of the very first brands to use print making throughout their branding. However, I changed my brief to Cats in Hats as the Cadburys brief as I later realised that the idea didn’t interest me enough. Cats in hats is based on personal interest and love for cats, which meant that I enjoyed it a lot more, changing my brief was the right decision.

Before and during creating my screen prints, I researched into collage artists as the imagery for the cats in hats was created using collage, the artists that inspired me were Quentin Jones and Antoine+Manuel. Furthermore, print making  artists were also researched and referenced for the practical work as well as in the second essay: Anthony Burrill and Ben Rider. Anthony Burrill has made more impact on the way graphic design has developed through print making methods, whereas Ben Rider is an artist that I personally love the work of, his work has a more contemporary, wacky and individual look, this is what inspired the playful aesthetic of the screen prints I created.

The technique of screen print was used throughout the practical work in 2 ways; through A3 posters and through A5 postcards. I think I fully explored the technique of screen print because the posters and postcards were different sizes, which meant that scale and layout had been thoroughly experimenting with when creating my screens as well as the actual prints. The technique of screen print was a really interesting and enjoyable method to use once the screens are exposed and ready to print.

I was also extremely happy with the final outcome, particularly the postcards. Furthermore, my initial idea was to just create a set of screen printed posters. However, I felt that the posters weren’t experimental or as fun as I wanted them to look, which is why I decided to create a set of smaller postcards to go with them. The postcards have a much more fun and abstract aesthetic.

However, I think I could have linked my practical work to my brief more maybe if it was inspired by certain artists that I talked about that use screen print, e.g. Anthony Burrill. This could be done by adding typography into my screen prints, instead of just imagery. I also think I could’ve explored the print making topic more through my practical work if I used more than one technique, for example a combination of two techniques in one piece, or just creating separate pieces which both explore a different technique. Screen print combined with letter press would have been a nice contrast to experiment with.

Study Task 8: Postcard Printing and Final Set

Today I have screen printed my postcards for cats in hats, the postcards were made to match the posters that I created. I really enjoyed creating the postcards as the outcome and process was successful and fun, I think I prefer them to the actual original posters. The screen prints consisted of 3 layers; the background, the cat, and the hat, the background and the hat were printed in the same colour, with the cat printed in black.

The final set of postcards work extremely well and look great as an extra to go with the posters, I will continue to create postcards in future projects if suitable. The postcards present the concept of cats in hats successfully in a fun, wacky and cute aesthetic.

The 3 different layers:

The final set of 3 postcards:

Submission Info

A3 submission file containing:

Written essays: 2 x 1250 word academic essays. 12pt Aerial, 1.5 line spacing, MUST include some quotes. MUST use harvard referencing when using information from other sources (not just quotes) MUST include a reference list at the end (bibliography)

• Piece 1: A historical overview of the topic, define
• Piece 2: A critical discussion aiming towards some sort of argument/resolution or overview of that topic.

Practical project brief:

6 x design boards:

• Brief: (elaboration/interpretation of the brief, like a rationale for the brief) present it as a story line, JUST focus on the brief
• Research 1 and Research 2: 1 needs to be research of the sources I've used in my essays (the books, articles etc) and then the other is a normal research design board for practical work
• Idea generation: (3 different potential variations) kind of like initial ideas
• Developments: What initial idea I develop and why and how I did this
• Final Outcome: 

COP 1 project statement and evaluation: Explicitly and clearly explain and justify your project choices in relation to the written pieces... why I've wrote about this, how i'm trying to elaborate those arguments in my practical pieces, how do the practical and written pieces relate?

Blogs: As PDFs

Study Task 8: Artists Influences

In order to create posters that communicated the theme of cats in a funky and abstract way, before creating my collages and during creating them I researched into collage styles and the work of other designers which would influence and relate to my work. The main 2 designers that inspired me when collaging were Quentin Jones and Antoine+Manuel. Both designers/duos produce extremely quirky and fun collage work whilst still both having contrasting overall aesthetics.

Antoine Audiau and Manuel Warosz are two Paris based artists who have joined together to create Antoine+Manuel. Each of them explores his favourite fields and techniques of working. What I liked about their work was that they combine hand drawing and computer illustration with photography and typographical design, I really like the contrast between handmade and digital that runs throughout. This influenced the my cat collages in terms of first working handmade and then re-creating the collages digitally. The result, although varied, has an evident unity and a unique graphic style. The overall quirky, busy aesthetic also works really well as the pieces are structured, clean and professional at the same time.

Furthermore, the other artist that inspired me when creating my collages was Quentin Jones. Quentin is a is a mixed-media artist known for her short, black and white, surrealist videos. She was born in London and is based in New York. She is an artist who counts photography, animation, painting and filmmaking among the tools of her trade. When creating art, she is keen to play with the combination of layers of accidental and intentional paint combined with collage, which is what inspired by cat collages. Quentins work tends to have quite an abstract, geometric aesthetic combined with shape and handmade, experimental collage, I think this contrast works really well together as it creates a funky aesthetic. Her work which includes collage of two or more people/animals together was found most interesting and influencial when working on the on my designs. This plays on the idea of giving a face/person a new style through collage and scale.

Furthermore, since I based my prints purely on the technique of screen print, I researched into a wide range of different screen printing artists. One that stood out to me most was Ben Rider, I loved the vibrant aesthetic of his work and the bold imagery and messages behind his pieces, this is what inspired the playful aesthetic that I have tried to achieve throughout my screen prints. Ben specialises in rough, raw, punky image making bursting with energy and loud graphics and has worked for clients such as Film 4, 5SOS, Heineken, and Samsung. Ben loves the gratifying nature of print and what it can add to an illustration, he believes that the sense of physically making something with your hands has an honesty.

Study Task 8: Postcard Designs

I have decided to develop my final 3 cats in hats designs by showing them printed in different contexts and different scale; a set of 3 postcards to go with the 3 posters designs.

The same 3 edited cat collages were used within the postcards, but this time I used just the face of the cat instead of the whole body. This was because I wanted to emphasise the idea of the cat wearing a hat even more than the posters did, using the whole body could become too busy and distracting on a smaller scale as the details would be a lot harder to see. The postcards also only use the face of that cat so that the designs don't look the exact same as the posters; playing around with layout.

Also, I have decided to add abstract patterned backgrounds on the postcards designs to continue with the idea of fun and contrast that I wanted to achieve within the cats in hats concept. I think that the simple pattern backgrounds create a nice contrast with the detailed, collaged aesthetic of the cats. A collaged background would have become too distracting and busy.  Furthermore, for the postcards I used the same colour scheme as the posters so that they both link together despite the scale and layout differences. The postcard screen prints use the same colour for the background and the hat, with the cat screen printed in black.

I decided to create the postcards in A6 size rather than A5 as a smaller scale works better for a postcard; a typical postcard is A6 size. A smaller size also helps to give the postcard designs/cats more of a cutesy style.

Study Task 8: Screen Printing Posters

Today I have started to screen print my posters; Cats in Hats. I really enjoyed screen printing the posters as the process was really fun, I also enjoyed experimenting with different colours and paper. I created one set which was on white cartridge paper where each cat was black but had a different coloured hat; blue, yellow, pink. Another version followed a colour palette of red, black and white; I used black card, with the cats in white with red hats. The last version of posters uses the same colour scheme but this time the paper was red with black hats.

I was stuck between which style to use as my final set, so I asked my peers and friends which paper worked best (similar to a mini critique but with people individually, rather than as a group). Red had one vote, black had 3, however the majority of people that I asked preferred the normal white paper; 5 votes. I agreed with this in the end, I think the white cartridge paper with the coloured hats look best.

Study Task 8: 3 Final Collage Designs

These are the 3 final collages that will be used for my screen printed A3 posters; cats in hats. I have decided to create my posters in A3 rather than A4 as the details of the collages would be hard to see on A4, also A3 will stand out more.

I have begun to think about colours when screen printing. My first idea is to screen print each cat in black, but have the hat in a different colour on each cat, giving a simplistic yet bold aesthetic. I also thought about using a strict limited colour scheme throughout the set of 3 posters; black paper with the cats in white, with red hats. I will experiment with both ideas and then decided which works best.

This is what they look like thresholded ready for screen printing;

Study Task 8: Cat collages

I have now begun to create imagery for my set of posters, I have decided that the posters will be screen printed rather than a combination of methods to create a neater, cleaner look. I started with creating illustrations of cats digitally using photoshop, however this isn't really my style of working; I prefer to work more handmade and funky which is why I have used the technique of collage.

When collaging, I noticed than a common theme that I was using was giving each cat an accessory, mainly hats; I have decided that the theme of my posters will be cats in hats. The collages follow a humorous, funky, weird aesthetic as I felt that most cat illustrations that are often seen have a very simplistic, cute style, I wanted to do something different with mine.

I will now continue to create collages like this and then choose the best 3 to use for my screen printed posters.