'GOOD IS' - Wrap It Up - Package crit

Similarly to the last crit we had to present our work on its on and then move to another group to crit their designs.

The feedback I got was a bit frustrating as some of the things being said, although constructive, aren't quite accurate and relevant to my 'good'.

For instance, the lines on my design representing the strings of a ukulele start with the thinest string then the thickest and the next thickest after that and again the next after that. This is how a ukulele is strung and it's part of the instruments character and is one of the reasons it sounds the way it does.

The feedback given to me stated 'strings get thicker lower down - keep visual references appropriate' and 'strings get thicker the lower the tone. You know this. Apply to design. At the moment it doesn't follow that reference'

Being a ukulele player myself and having done my research I know that the referencing for that part of my logo was correct and appropriate. I would imagine that the group criting my work didn't know this about the ukulele.

Although this bit of feedback was frustrating it does now raise an issue of how to educate people that the ukulele is strung the way it is and not like the standard stringing of a guitar.

Positives and strengths from the feed back.

- Like the strings going around the edge of the bottle net package

- well crafted

- combination of image and type

Areas for improvement

- the curves on the guitar shape clash with the strings

I will have to look into either making the guitar less curved or maybe even making the strings curved themselves to keep that flowing of the curves.

- needs to visually represent a ukulele more

The group mentioned that it looks too much like a guitar, which i cant argue that it doesn't, however, a ukulele is a miniature Hawaiian guitar and it takes the exact same shape and aesthetic as a guitar. Speaking to some of the group I asked what I could do to make it come across as a ukulele and not a guitar. They thought that if i included some sort of Hawaiian reference such as the hibiscus flower which is the native plant of Hawaii. This could be a good addition to the logo but I feel it may clash with the typeface and tone of voice.

- try some more typefaces, the word 'strings' similar to  'syrings' - LEGIBILITY

The letters seemed to be too squashed together and the typeface wasn't very legible although still readable.

- use all the faces of the net not just the front

I agree with this bit of the feedback completely, I felt I didn't have much time in the end to experiment with the layout of the design, but looking at everyone else's packaging I've been inspired to go back and address and few things such as...

- the inside of the net

- how the package is opened up and how the audience has the information revealed to them

- using the logo more than once on the net

- a second colour

- more use of colour on the stock, not being shy of putting down a lot of ink in places

I may even try changing the word 'strings' to ukulele to make it about my 'good' rather than just apart of it.

So a bit of a mixed bag but overall I've got a lot of useful points to address now. 

'GOOD IS' - 150 logos crit and feedback.

After working hard for a week on the logos we ten had to pick 10 of them that we favour higher than the rest. Afterwards we moved to the next crit groups work and went over the logos they had picked for themselves and we had to whittle each persons selection down to just one by critically analysing each one.

Here are the 10 logos which I selected as my best. I realised after I had selected them that none of them came from the first 30 or so designs that I did. This shows that being exhaustive and repetitive can reply help to get the worst out of you first and move on to the better or best.

This was the logo which the group criting my work chose for me to continue to develop.

The feedback they left was positive and constructive. 

They noted the good points that it represents a ukulele and that it was compositionally pleasing.

However the type needs developing to bring it into context with my 'good' and to create a more rounded aesthetic.

They also noted that I may want to try blacking out the logo or having it as white outlines.

Lastly they advised me to incorporate the text and the string shapes of the symbol and play around with the angle of the image and text together. This I think will be useful for when I go on to develop the logo for the packaging.

Professional Print Visit - Target Print

After a 30 minute bike ride through previously unfamiliar parts of Leeds I got to Target Print. From the seminars on print and print processes I was expecting it to be much bigger. Other than that it was just how I imagined it to be.

We met Peter Biggins who works at Target and he began the tour by explaining all about plates and the CMYK colour lay up, stuff that we already covered by still important to go over before seeing the machines. Then he took us through to the warehouse where all the printing, cutting and packaging goes on.

Firstly he showed us the Big Litho printer which is the main printer for the company and he explained how they kept the jobs as economically efficient as possible with how they lay up the plates with both sides of a flyer of leaflet and just send the paper through again, this saves money and time on creating a second set of plates for the reverse side of the prints.

One of the other workers at Target happened to be fitting some of the plates that we saw at the start of the visit into the machine, It took him about 15 minutes to fit them all and it would take about an hour to get them all printed, guillotined and packaged. So it has a very good turnover rate and they can do several jobs at once by placing more than one design (rotated to fit) on to any spare space on the sheet. This allows them to do lots of jobs incredibly quickly and efficiently

Peter Explained how the rollers revolve in a certain way so that they pick up more or less ink depending on how much need to go down, It comes off on the roller in stripes of different densities and lengths. Very clever method and amazing to see happen in front of you.

Peter explained lots about how the machine processes the paper, how it works to a well timed system of grips opening and closing fractionally to feed the paper through each of the 'towers' where the next layer of ink will be applied.

This is the start of the machine where the paper is feed through to being with, which is all done by the machine using a vacuum to lift the paper and a push it through, the part which Peter is pointing out is the bit which stops the paper before it goes through to make sure none of them overlap and jam the printer. Just to the left of this is a small part which makes sure the paper goes in straight so you have no off prints. These machines are very cleverly designed to maximise the efficiency and success of the finished job.

There was a build up of what looked like white dust on parts of the printer, Peter explained that it wasn't dust but it was in fact a starch power that gets sprayed onto the prints so that they don't rub off on each other. The amount applied is tiny, only a very thin layer is needed for it to be effective.

At the end of the process someone is checking the prints everyso often and making sure they remain consistent and checking the ink levels incase some of the ink is running out or has come out a different colour to what it should have. This is important so as to keep the client happy and to save money because if something is of then you would have to reprint a lot of jobs.

After the printing is done on both sides it's passed over to the guillotine to be cut down and trimmed for packaging and delivery to the client.

The machine used is very high tech and requires someone to operate it constantly. Its a very safe machine because for example if you were to put your hand in the lights under the blade it will automatically stop where every it is in the cutting. Furthermore it has two buttons that need to be pressed with both hands for the blade to actually come down and if one button is released it will stop the blade.

Once the prints are trimmed and guillotined they throw away the top and bottom most flyer or leaflet incase they have gotten dirty or smudged in the process.

We were shown this machine which is designed to fold prints like menus, greetings cards and brochures. Peter mentioned that they rarely use this as Targets main source of profit comes from the Litho printer jobs. If they get a job where they are asked to print and fold they will normally print the work then send it somewhere else that specialised in folding and creasing and then have it sent back. The same would apply to print jobs that are too small or jobs that require particular print finishes. So the company has handled that for the client even though they haven't done those finial touches to the job. 

Finally before leaving we were shown the printer that makes the plates that would be attached to the cylinders in the Litho printer. The machine is very reliable and they have little to worry about when using it so they generally have quite a smooth start to most print jobs.

The printer will make grooves and cuts in the edges of each plate as its being printed in accordance to where the plate is attached and bolted into the four colour towers on the printer. Very precise and sophisticated technology.

Overall I found the visit to be extremely interesting and very educational. You don't really appreciate the knowledge, skill and practice that goes into printing until you see the process for your self.

Peter has very kindly emailed me some links to Kooji Creative and to his own blog for further research into Target Prints facilities and the processes they use.

http://koojicreative.blogspot.com/2011/04/target-print.html

http://leedsprinter.blogspot.com/2011/04/target-uncovers-cannabis-factory-after.html

PPD Task 1 Why Am I Here - What do I want to Learn?

Identify and explain 5 reasons why you chose to study on this programme.

1. I like leeds, my brother attended Leeds University and graduated three years ago. I used to visit him when I used to visit him when I could so I got to know the city a little bit. It's similar to Manchester but smaller and more focused so which is perfect for me. 
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3. I liked what I saw and heard on the open day. The tutor to student ratio was appealing because I came from a foundation course that had 210 students and only 8 tutors and it wasn't quite enough.
4. I didn't want to do an airy fairy course where you don't get taught and you only go in for a few hours a week. I wanted to be on a course that would motivate me and be more strict because its so easy to fall into the habit of being lazy and unproductive. The course, from what I gathered would make me be more passionate, proactive and competitive so I knew I would be getting my money's worth.
5. Graphic design is one of my biggest passions in life. Being creative has always been fun and engaging for me since I was young and designing computer games. I went from wanted to be a games designer to an animated film maker to a fine artist and then finally I found my true joy lay with graphic design. It however was not my first choice of career paths, I was making progress towards becoming a professional rugby union player until I sustained an injury. Since then I have focussed on my creative work and hope to return to playing amateur rugby later in life.

Identify and explain 5 things that you want to learn during your time on the programme.

1. I have some knowledge and skills on design software such as Illustrator, Photoshop and Indesign however there are big gaps, I really would like to become quick and efficient on all the software so I can create lots of different types of design in the future and respond to briefs in a variety of ways.
2. How to promote and publicise myself if i were to go freelance and also for when I apply for a job.
3. I would like to learn more about typography as most of my work is based on image.
4. I would like to extend my imaging skills in the areas of illustration, photography and vector graphics.
5. I would like to learn how to print in alternative ways to given my work some unique qualities.

Identify and explain 5 skills that you think are your strengths.

1. I'm persistant, I will come in early and stay late and spend as much time as I can doing my work in order to get it done.
2. Working in groups.
3. Punctuality.
4. Managing a work load and knowing when I'm struggling and when I need to ask for advice.
5. Reproducing lots of variations in compositions for my work.

Identify and explain 5 things that you want to improve.

1. My creative thinking in relation to technology, scale and delivery of my response.
2. I would like to increase my work pace and efficiency when working to get things done quicker so I can have more time to design and also to enjoy more parts of life outside of college and my work.
3. I would like to improve how ambitious I am with my final pieces in terms of print processes and professionalism, last year I would slack off with the final deliverable and I would much rather put in more effort and have something that I am proud of instead.
4. I would like to improve my primary research skills and go out more to collect information, samples and photographs.
5. Improve my pool game.

Identify and explain 5 ways that you will evaluate your progress.

1. I will monitor how long it takes me to complete tasks.
2. I will post my work to other blogs to get feedback from other designers and critics to get more opinions and ideas than the limitations of the people on the course.
3. get a range of students to crit my work from the 3rd, 2nd and 1st year.
4. I plan to make lists of things to do each day or for every 2 days and I will go over the list of tasks at intervals during the day to make sure i'm on top of everything and if i'm not I will make changes to get back to where I need to be with my work.
5. Interim crits with members of the course.

Identify 5 questions that you want to find the answer to.

1. What type of designer do I want to be? I have never been focussed enough to know what I like the most within the design industry, I love print based design and innovative packaging but I spend most of my time illustrating and doodling. Furthermore, since starting the course I have become increasingly interested in publication and book making.
2. Where do I want to go? I would like to stay in leeds for a bit longer after my degree however I would really like to see some parts of the world whilst I'm young before settling somewhere and having a permanent job.
3. Who do I want to work for/with? I want to focus down what my ethics and motivations for doing graphic design are so I can become part of an agency or community of designers that will share the same views. I would hate to be working for someone or somewhere that doesn't share the same views.
4. How can I get more involved with art and design events and begin to make money and a name for myself through my work?
5. How much does the average graphic designer make?

Enterprise and Innovation - Lecture 1 26.09.11

How to get yourself out there.

• Marketing - the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.

• Roles 
1. identify customer needs to develop new products
2. develop pricing strategies
3. promote products to a target market
4. identify distribution networks
5. add value to your product through customer benefits
6. monitor the performance of the products

1. Identify customer needs to develop new products.

understand needs - develop concept - test concept - refine concept - market product - get feedback - repeat.

Value proposition - not about profit - about what value you can give to your target market

• Make it short
• be specific
• use your customers language
• pass the 'gut felling test'

past and future

external and internal

• networking events
• networking friends and associates

Don't be a busy fool!

• time
• travel
• equipment
• deliverables

they all cost money, so learn to say no/thats not enough.

Negotiate and close the deal

Basic principles of marketing - The four P's

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion

P.T Barnum video

1. Sell something Unique
2. Promote, promote, promote
3. Showcase yourself

WIG? Ukulele Presentation Feedback.

The presentation went well and I received positive feedback from the group I presented to. Most of them admitted to not knowing much about ukulele's to begin with and they all seemed to agree that it has a pleasant sound and it's a much appreciated instrument.

The focal point of my presentation was that ukulele's are good in light of the fact that music can make people smarter, more relaxed and happy and that the ukulele is the best instrument for this. The group found no discernible flaw in my argument but they did mention that they would have liked to know how it's constructed.

In terms of processes, scenarios, or contexts that might improve the potential impact of the concept, they pointed out that I play one myself. 

There was little discussion on how the concept might be creatively improved so I will research more and get some more feedback.

PPD Level 05

Year 2 Commences.