PPP: 2012

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
Throughout the Design Skills module I have developed my skills in the digital software such as Adobe Illustrator. Although I had used the software on my previous course I did not feel confident when using it and therefore preferred to produce my final outcomes by hand. As part of the 'Alphabet Soup: Illustrator' brief I was able to attend a series of workshops on Illustrator which built my confidence with the pen tool as well as the software, this enabled me to produce an alphabet solely using Illustrator

2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
Many of the briefs we were given as part of the Design Skills module were short, one week briefs. This has encouraged me to develop several initial ideas quickly in order to meet the deadline. I believe this approach to the brief is effective in the development process particularly in longer briefs as it will give me more time to produce and develop my final designs

3. What Strengths can can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I believe the strengths in my work are the concepts/ideas behind my designs. As I particularly enjoy creating initial ideas during the design process, I have put an emphasis on producing creative ideas which experiment with a variety of medias throughout the briefs I have been given. In future I will concentrate on developing several of my initial ideas rather than just my final/chosen idea.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in future?
I believe the weaknesses in my work are the quantity of work produced. As I was given less time to complete the briefs, compared to what I am used to, I feel particularly at the start of the brief I did not produce enough work. In future, I will manage my time effectively during the brief so I will be able to produce more work.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
1. Do more research: As many of the briefs we were given were short, one week briefs I feel I did not produce as much research as I normally would - Doing this will expand my contextual awareness and influence my ideas.
2.Improve time management skills: On a couple of the briefs I felt rushed to meet the deadline - By managing my time I will be able to complete my work to a high standard without feeling rushed.
3. Keep up to date with blog: I believe throughout the design module I have not kept as up to date with my blog in relation to annotating - By annotating as I go along I will have more time to develop my final designs
4. From initial ideas develop several possible solutions for final - By developing several of my initial ideas rather than just one I will have a range of possible designs to use as my final outcome.
5. Improve quality of -some- of my final designs which have been rushed to meet deadlines - Although I am happy with all the outcomes I have produced for the briefs as part of the Design Skills module I feel the quality of some outcomes particularly for the 'Message and Delivery: Distribution' brief could have been done to a higher level.

6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas?

Attendance - 5 = Excellent
Punctuality - 5 = Excellent
Motivation - 3 = Good
Commitment - 4 = Very Good
Quantity of work produced - 3 = Good
Quality of work produced - 4 = Very Good
Contribution to the group - 2 = Average

During the 'What is Graphic Design For?' presentation we were given as part of the Personal and Professional Practice Module we learnt about specific areas of Graphic Design such as; Information and Way Finding, Publishing and Editorial, Branding and Identify, Product and Packaging, Retail and Promotion.

INFORMATION AND WAY FINDING

Structure
Data
Figures
Facts
Info graphics - Dull information, visually interesting

PUBLISHING AND EDITORIAL

Editorial - Magazine categories

Fashion
Music
Lifestyle
Health and Beauty
Current Affairs
Photograph
Technology
The Arts

Type and Image together
Across printed and digital media
Content, type, image, format and grid
Trend and template driven

Publishing

Fiction
Non-fiction
Travel
Biographies
Manuals
Children's Books
Education
Training
Reference
Languages

One off
Body copy

General Publication

Annual reports
Catalogues (Commercial)
Catalogues (Events)
Brochures
Instructional

Format: Stock, Media

Combining media
Book as format and product

BRANDING AND IDENTITY

Brand - Overall corporate image
Identity - Visual aspects that form part of the brand

Coca Cola - Brand, Identity and logo, 'dirty brand'
Innocent Smoothies - Pure, healthy, ethical and simplicity
Innocent smoothies are owned by Coca Cola

Product, Packaging, Print and Screen

PRODUCT AND PACKAGING

Fun
Calendars
Paper Products - Birthday cards
Gift Tags
Stationery
Wall paper

RETAIL AND PROMOTION

Tags
Bags
Signage
Exhibitions
Shops
Promotions

Task: 5 examples of websites / blogs that will help you to define; Information and Way Finding, Product and Packaging, Branding and Identity, Editorial and Publishing, Retail and Promotion.

- Write a brief statement defining your understanding of each of the design areas

INFORMATION AND WAY FINDING
Information is a collection of data, facts, figures and statistics and way finding is the process of creating something which is 'visually interesting' and could be understood by a wider audience. E.g. Info graphics which use simplistic pictograms to large amounts of information.

http://visual.ly

http://www.good.is/infographics

http://flowingdata.com/category/visualization/infographics/

http://killerinfographics.com

http://infographics.com

PUBLISHING AND EDITORIAL

Publishing is the process of production used to make information available to the general public, it refers to publications which use mainly body copy, such as books, annuals and brochures. Editorial refers to publications such as magazines which use type and image together.

http://acejet170.typepad.com/foundthings/penguin-books/

http://acejet170.typepad.com/foundthings/books/

http://danielgray.com/info/

http://www.vmagazine.com

http://www.oliverdaxenbichler.com/index.php?action=archives

BRANDING AND IDENTITY
Branding is the overall corporate image of a specific company. Whereas the identity is the visual aspects that form part of the brand and is associated with the identity such as the name, term or symbol.

http://www.davidairey.com/category/branding/

http://imjustcreative.com/blog/

http://www.aisleone.net

http://www.logodesignlove.com/category/identity

http://www.blackcoffee.com/blog/2010/09/10/brands-and-identity-me-vs-we/

PRODUCT AND PACKAGING
A product is defined as a result of labour or a process and can refer to anything that can be produced, The product would then be enclosed within packaging to prepare and protect the product for distribution and sale.

http://www.davidairey.com/category/packaging-design/

http://www.thedieline.com

http://wemadethis.typepad.com/we_made_this/product/

http://www.releasethechicken.com/?portfolio=product-packaging

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/06/02/beautiful-and-expressive-packaging-design/

RETAIL AND PROMOTION

Retail refers to the sale of a product or service. Design aspects of the retail industry include bags, tags and signage. Promotion refers to a variety of techniques used to promote or market the product, a product is marketed to increase sales, create a brand identity and to introduce a new product to the market.

http://www.farfetch.com

http://www.pop-boutique.com

http://www.oxygenboutique.com

http://www.lunacyboutique.co.uk

http://www.net-a-porter.com

- Identify 10 examples of each discipline and 'categories' them by genre, audience, content, sector, budget and/or any appropriate method as discussed in your groups.

- Comment on the effectiveness of the examples with regards to content, format, function and media.

INFORMATION AND WAY FINDING