The AUB Human Symposium was an event held from the 26th February – 13th March 2018 named Innovative Futures. The event featured workshops, talks from award-winning industry speakers and students at the University. There was also a pop-up cinema made from straw bales.
The aim of the symposium was to celebrate social, ethical and sustainable creative practice within the community. “It connects designers, architects, filmmakers and a pool of creative #AUBMAKERS who share one desire – ‘to bring positive change for global good’.” (Arts University Bournemouth, 2018)
Merchandise for the event was created such as a AUB Human bag and water bottle made from BPA free, LDPE waste material.Members of the community joined in such as Bournemouth Council who provided Fairtrade cookies and Divine Chocolate. South Coast Roast handed out free coffee to anyone who brought along their own mug.
On the 6th and 7th of March, Arts University Bournemouth built a pop cinema to celebrate social, ethical and sustainable design. Students and visitors could come and view “A Plastic Ocean” on the 6th which brought to light the issues of single use plastics on the environment. The selection of student films were screened throughout the day on the 7th of March.
Below shows some photos of the event and a video made by the university to sum up the event.
I felt that our use of metaphor from daily language could be transferred to a digital space, where the user could interact with the physical spaces through technology. I considered how augmented reality could fit well and provide an extension onto the experience by making it more interactive by the user being in control of their view, so each user can have their own physical perspective of the language.
Augmented Reality (AR) refers to situating a virtual image over real-world objects.
‘The user base of AR is expected to grow up to 1 billion by 2020. This technology is currently being tested and experimented with in the market today with businesses working out how they can implement this feature into their user experiences.’
(Jain, 2017)
Physical Space
I then considered how the metaphor could be explored in a physical setting or become an experience for the user. I thought about how the paths of light of the metaphor could be turned into physical paths to walk on. I began thinking about how typography could be attached to different surfaces such as the wall, windows or the floor.
I decided to place some of my typographic experiments into the context of physical spaces so the architecture around the uni campus became the canvas. I wanted to try using surfaces that would allow me to experiment with changing the angles of the paths of type. I thought that the users could be taken on a physical journey in order to explore and experience features of their language.
Light Photography and Film
I collected some glasses, filled them with water and placed them on the window sill. The sunlight that was shining through the window moved through the glass and dispersed to create the colour spectrum.
I then photographed, filmed and edited them in Photoshop to make the images clearer. I aimed to create a link between light and the perspective of language.
I then took my photographs, printed them out onto paper, then got a sewing needle and pierced a series of small holes into the paper around the shapes. This technique was inspired by Daniele Buetti. I believed that the light shining through the paper was an interesting effect that I could carry forward and experiment with further in a different way.
I felt that the pierced holes could represent the pathways of light. Light is used in order to represent our language which illuminates our thoughts and reflects and shifts.
Type Rotation
From my research about perspective changes, I thought about how you can physically do this. I thought about changing angles and position. One way to do this is to change your location. I explored how letterforms as the symbols of our language could be rotated to see the letter from different angles.
I took the wireframes from the letters and considered how our language could be mapped onto a physical space. I enlarged the rotated letterform and overlayed it over a map of the local area. I placed a dot on each of the intersecting points in the wireframe and them removed the shape to leave the dots on the map.
I then used each of these points to create a route to visit each of the individual points.
Filming Shadows
I looked at systems that change in the natural setting to see how external factors could influence something to create an interesting visual. I had been testing changes in perspective and shifts in angles. I thought about how the sun changes its position in the sky which casts different shadows.
I considered how this could be used as an experiment to create different shapes and shadows of different objects. I aimed to depict the differences in peoples thought as each individual has a different idea and view of the world around them, formed from their experiences and culture.
Typographic Rooms
What if language was a room or a building?
I sketched out a few ideas for floor plan designs which would visualise the ability for humans to use different languages to communicate. It represents the freedom to navigate and way find around the building, entering the rooms. In the example above, each of the rooms have a window that faces inwards which would allow the person to see through to the Earth figure.
In Ancient Greece, orators visualised their speeches as a mansion, placing topics in each room, then retrieving them while taking an imagined route through the building.
Edward Sapir, a linguist who proposed the Whorfianism theory, suggests that the “Strong Whorf theory might be compared to the idea that language is a prison, while the Weaker Whorf might be compared to the idea that language is a room, but you can leave the room and enter other rooms, and return to your original room, shifting perspectives as you go
Imagining languages as different rooms that contain different objects as their interior design. All languages are made
up of different things.
24 Hour Perspective
I took my research that I had collected from my survey where I asked people to choose which gender they associated with a selection of nouns. I then created visualisations of this data intro blocks to create patterns which were unique to each answer. I aimed to show the differences in our perspectives and opinions visually.
Once I had created these, I thought about how this might apply to a context or how it could be applied to a system that exists already. I felt that it could be transformed into a digital output so people could input their own answers to different questions and get their own customised pattern.
I believed that this could be linked with Facebook as I felt that it would be sharable, people would be able to collaborate and compare answers with friends and people around the world.
The data visualisations could be shared by users on Facebook by updating their profile photo temporary with the customised filter.
Users can invite their friends to take the questionnaire as well in order to merge their answers to create a collaborative image. each of the users is a different colour. The mixing of these colours creates a new colour if the friends choose any of the same answers.
The questionnaire would be set up in order for the users to submit their answers.
Users could also explore the worldview, which would be on a live update throughout the day. The bar underneath the data visual allows them to explore the changes that have happened throughout the day by dragging the square along the timeline. The user can find out about similarities, differences, their complete matches or mis-matches in their perception with others around the world.
Trapped vs Freedom Layout
I took my research that I had collected to understand what people associate with the words captive and freedom. I took the keywords and answers that participants had left to inspire some ideas for layouts.
Light and Metaphor Layout
I sketched out some ideas for how different behaviours of light could inspire the layout of type. I found a link between metaphor and light as they both reflect and can shift. I wanted to explore the pathways created by light rays.
I researched different properties including:
The Law of Reflection
The Law of Refraction
Dispersion
Interference
I saw how the change in direction of the path of text could represent the shift that happens over time for metaphors as they turn from live to dead.
Posters
Visualising the presence of metaphors in speech, showing how common they are.
The next experiment I completed uses the idea of highlighting the use of metaphor within speeches. Holes are punched into the paper over the top of the metaphors to represent how over time we become oblivious to the presence of a metaphor.
I completed “The Prism of Language” for my Major Project.
I started with the word language and then tried pairing and colliding different words in order to find different possibilities for where to take my project. I have a keen interest in the English language and psychology, particularly our behaviours and thought processes. I am interested in how we communicate and the features of our language.
I thought that it would be interesting to bring to light some features of our language that most speakers are unaware of in order to teach them something new and to consider something that makes up such a large portion of our lives.
I wanted to experiment with ideas typographically, and explore the medium of print, finding different outputs for the solution. After I graduate, I would like to work in publishing and book design, so I felt that exploring this area of design would be important for preparing myself for my future career.
Whorfianism
The theory known as Whorfianism or Linguistic Relativity was hypothesised by linguists: Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in 1929.
There are two sides to this theory which view language in different ways. The weaker version is the one commonly accepted by linguists today.
Strong version: the theory that the semantic structure of a certain language shapes or limits the speaker’s conception of the world. In this version of the theory, language was compared to a prison.
Weak version: language influences a speaker’s view of the world but does not inescapably determine it.
This theory questioned whether:
‘…the languages we speak may shape the ways we think.’
Metaphor
‘We use metaphor because issues like crime or the economy are hard to think about. They are complex systems that we’re talking about. None of us has a complete understanding of the systems, so we draw on knowledge of what’s familiar to us.’
(Moxley, 2014)
Primary Research
Light
“Culture could be shaped by the prism of language.”
Reflection: the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it.
Refraction: the change of direction of a ray of light, sound, heat, or the like, in passing obliquely from one medium into another in which its wave velocity is different.
Dispersion: the variation of the index of refraction of a transparent substance, as glass, with the wavelength of light, with the index of refraction increasing as the wavelength decreases.
Our language is something that can be split apart, interpreted in different ways by individual speakers with varying experiences.
Aspects of our language shift as meanings and contexts change compared to the way that light changes direction as it refracts. Metaphors go through a process of change as they shift from live to dead over time from their common use within our language.
Metaphors reflect the characteristics of another thing to show their similarity andhelp to clarify and visualise meaning.
Artist Inspiration
Daniele Buetti
Daniele Buetti is a contemporary Swiss artist who designs with multi-media with a mixture of light installations, performance, photography, and sculpture with the aim of communicating and conveying the ‘fragility of popular culture’.
I had studied Daniele Buetti’s work during A-level Graphic Design and remembered a technique that he had used in a few pieces of his work. My intention was to use the technique as a way to highlight the pathways of light as I wanted to experiment further and look at how a link could be tested between light and language.
Prototyping
I sketched out some ideas for how different behaviours of light could inspire the layout of type. I found a link between metaphor and light as they both reflect and can shift. I wanted to explore the pathways created by light rays.
I experimented with the rotation of type. This aimed to show changes that happen gradually over time for our metaphors. The original meaning of a metaphor shifts bit by bit until it is no longer noticeable.
I then aimed to expand out my ideas for representing metaphors as beams of light sketching out some layouts using different directions and paths of light. I explored how light could enter the book through the use of holes punched into the pages.
Typeface choice: Azo Sans
I chose Azo Sans as the typeface to use because it has humanist, geometric sans serif characteristics which I felt would match well with the geometric, mathematical and scientific concept being explored through the theme of light. I believed that using this typeface would be more contemporary and modern in comparison to a serif font and this was important because the content being explored and studied is current and recent material.
The Grid
I used a 7 column grid for flexibility and a 4mm gutter which was 4 times the size of the column width so provided a proportional ratio.
Top margin: 15mm
Bottom margin: 15mm
Left margin: 20mm
Right margin: 20mm
I wanted to create a symmetrical layout so I set the margins to be identical on each page. I wanted to add more space on the left and right margin in order to create a more expansive feel and to allow enough space to do Japanese stab stitch binding.
Paper stock
I felt that the warm yellow was the best option because it is associated with sunlight, happiness, warmth and stimulation and looked the best fit. I decided on a slightly cream paper for the main body pages. I felt that the yellow tones in this paper would match well with the yellow and black to create a cohesive look.
I purchased my final main body paper from Direct Paper Mill, called Natural Cumbria, in 135gsm. This paper was slightly transparent which I felt was appropriate as the concept is based around light.
I also purchased Black Card, 240gsm for the cover to create a clear contrast between the inside pages and cover. Black and white also creates associations of light and dark.
The half page inserts for the chapter pages use Canford Card, Buttercup in 220gsm to bring a more dynamic look to the book and to create clear distinction between each of the chapters for easier navigation.
Final Outcome
A pack containing a book, 4 concertina poster booklets and a couple of explanation sheets. The pack explores the power and presence of metaphors within our everyday language and speeches which have great power in shaping our thoughts and actions. It aims to highlight the control that word choice can have on our lives and features of our own language as shifting and reflecting our thoughts and perception of the world.
Metaphors change from live to dead as they become engrained within our language and through time we start to become oblivious to metaphors and do not recognise them as metaphors at all but common phrases that lose their original meaning.
The pack uses the behaviours of light in the way that it reflects, refracts and disperses. Holes are punched into the pages to allow light to pass through to create shadows and create the pathways of light. The type is arranged in single lines as pathways of light as it is placed in different directions to depict a shift in how a metaphor is thought about and noticed in our language.
Explanation sheets
In order to communicate the concept to the user in a clear and cohesive way, I decided to design some individual A5 sheets to come with the pack. On one card is a reference to the prism which is being used to represent the splitting of light and language travelling along different paths. The holes have been cut into the pages to link in with the styling of the rest of the pack. This also creates a link between the imagery on the front and the back.
These sheets were printed onto A5 paper as I wanted to create a clear and proportional hierarchy between the elements of the pack by using A4, B5 and A5.
Metaphor Book
For each chapter, there is a different angle of dotted line that moves clock wards as the user progresses through the book. On the chapter page, the positioning is reinforced by placing the numbers on the dots closest to the edges of the book to show the start of each line for each chapter.
The lines of text are rotated to create either a reflection of the type, or refraction where the angle of the type is shifted to create a visualisation of language change. The paths are reinforced by the use of dots to show the start and end of the light path.
Concertina booklet
Within the pack, there are a series of four fold out concertina booklets that analyse metaphors in four different contemporary speeches. The booklet uses the folds as the points of reflection and refraction to show the change that has happened to the metaphor over time.
Different sized holes are used to allow more or less light in depending on how noticeable the metaphor is to speakers. When the booklet is opened, a shadow is created on the inside of the booklet, creating a temporary impression of the metaphor as they can be ephemeral as they continually go through a process of change.
Alongside working on my Major Project, I continued to develop one of my previous projects: The DNA of English Language. I had created a prototype, however, I felt that I could improve the typographic layout, paper stock and overall quality of the book.
I also felt that the journey and experience of the book could improved , so I analysed how I might be able to alter my designs.
I was also required to produce a type specification document, which I think encouraged me to pay more attention to the precision of my type and reasoning for my choices as well as ensuring that there was a clear system.
Thermochromic ink cover testing
From my existing research of clues, I had felt that using thermochromic ink on the cover would be a strong feature to increase the user engagement and interactive experience with the book. I looked at different materials which possessed thermochromic properties which were more reactive, smoother and produced different colours. I considered a matt vinyl sheet, thermochromic film and black thermochromic ink.
Overall, I felt that the screen printed finish was the most effective for the book as it produced a white mark, which matched with the colour scheme within the rest of the book.
This brief was set by ISTD (International Society of Typographic Designers) in 2017-2018 and I chose this project in my third year of study of Graphic Design. I chose this brief because I wanted to work on my typographic skills and to consider the storytelling process within reading experiences. I would like to have a career in editorial/ print design in the future and felt that this project would allow me to explore layout and communicating ideas to a user.
The Challenge
Trace the history of a word, group of words or phrase and show where it came from – its provenance – how and when it became part of the English Language and how its meaning, use, spelling and punctuation might have changed in the process.
Definitions
Clewe (1150-1500AD):
A ball of thread or yarn. (Originated from Greek Myth Theseus and the Minotaur)
Clew (12th Century – Present):
The lower corner(s) of a sail to which a sheet is attached for trimming the sail (adjusting its position relative to the wind); the metal loop or cringle in the corner of the sail, to which the sheet is attached. In a triangular sail, the clew is the trailing corner relative to the wind direction.
A ball of thread or yarn.
Clue (15th Century- Present):
A piece of evidence or information used in the detection of a crime.
A fact or idea that serves to reveal something or solve a problem.
A word or words giving an indication as to what is to be inserted in a particular space in a crossword.
Experimentation
Forensic scientists rely on chromatography to analyse fibres that are found in a crime scene. I used this technique for typographic experimentation by printing out the word clue and applying fine liner to the letters to get the ink to run. I then hung the paper into a glass of water for a couple of minutes. The images above show the result which has been edited with different effects to change the finish.
The experiment above was created on the sewing machine with a blackletter type to reflect the typographic choices used in the 14th century when the spelling “clew” was commonly used.
I wanted to reference the original definition of the word in its initial context of being used in the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur where the string/ thread is used to navigate out of the labyrinth.
For the experiment above, I collected dust from a surface and mapped out a section of “The Secret Advisory” by Agatha Christie. I was testing different techniques for collecting evidence to be used as clues.
Poster Experiments
I created experiments using literature content from different eras in history. I chose the texts by identifying the key years for the change of the word clue and found a text which used the word clue during those years. I tried to identify a range of different texts that used clue in different ways to exemplify the differing contexts of use such as sailing/ Greek mythology and crime fiction.
The poster designs use columns with different font weights to create the strips of DNA.
Book Experiments
Colour Scheme
Type Choice
I chose to use Bembo as a font because:
– It is a British Typeface and I believed that this was a requirement because I am basing my outcome on specifically English Language.
– It was designed in 1928-9, which was during the Golden Age of Detective fiction and therefore, the rise in use of the word clue was key at this stage from the increase in reading of crime novels.
– Bembo was also based on a design cut in the 15th century, which is around the time that I am beginning my Literature content from as the first key texts using the word clewe.
– It is an old serif font, and I believe that it matches the style of many inside pages of crime fiction books and looks traditional which fits with the historic approach that I am taking by looking back to the origins of words.
Outcome
A typographic book mapping the history of the word clue though English Language. The history of the word is portrayed through literature texts which are on layered pages of tracing paper to create strips of DNA profiles. The DNA profiles represent the genetic make up of the word, showing the different characteristics that are inherited from different eras through its history while also reflecting a forensic technique for investigating clues.
Thread is used for the binding to tie in with the original definition of the word clue as a ball of thread or yarn. The cover is painted with thermochromic ink which leaves a temporary trace of the readers hand prints from their body heat when they handle the book.
Binding
I chose to bind my book with thin white thread to represent the original definition of the word (clewe) to mean a ball of thread or yarn which was part of an Ancient Greek myth “Theseus and the Minotaur” where Theseus takes the thread into the Labyrinth in order to find his way out again after killing the Minotaur. This is the first piece of literature that is displayed in the book.
I felt that I could represent the timeline as a pattern in the binding to relate to the inside content by the omissions of thread to mark the points.
Cover Design
For the cover of the book, I have used thermochromic ink with a cut out to show the title of the piece as a way to reveal information and as a block to refer to the shapes that are used within the book.
The user would read and handle the book and the body heat fom their hands will reveal hand/ finger marks recreating the leaving of traces on the book as evidence/ clues of someone interacting with the book..
This mark will gradually fade as the book returns back to room temperature. This allows the process to be repeated for whoever handles the book so can be done more than once and personal for each individual user.
Opening page activity
Timeline down the side
A timeline of key events have been added to the left side of the main content to show the key moments that influences the use and popularisation of the word.
I designed this as an activity which the reader uses the first of the two pages to see the clue for each word for them to try and decode the event. The year is also provided as a clue. On the second of the two pages of the text, the answer is provided by layering over the top.
Terms fading
As the reader progresses through the book the older spelling variations (clewe and clew) become less visible as each page is turned. By the end of the book the reader can no longer see the clewe spelling because in todays English language it has completely dropped out of usage however, the spelling clew can still just about be seen through the paper as it has decreased in usage but is stillpart of the English language. The spelling clue can be clearly seen because it is the current variation of spelling.
Sleeve Design
The sleeve wraps around the to show the title and provide a clue into the content of the book as the cover is completely black painted with thermochromic ink. Clues are small things that are part of something larger and often left and disconnected from their larger self, which is what the sleeve is able to represent. On the inside part of the sleeve is an activity for the reader to take part in as the investigator to search through the text and solve clues in order to find the 3 definitions of clewe, clew and clue.
This brief was set by RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce). I undertook this competition brief in my third year of study of Graphic Design. I chose to work on this particular brief because I am interested in packaging design, design for good and also have an interest in children’s development. At A Level, I studied English Language and one of the topic was child language acquisition. I really enjoyed learning about how children develop their speech and thought that this was a project that I felt passionate and inspired by.
The Challenge
Design or redesign a consumer toy and its product packaging to eliminate waste, using circular design principles.
User: 4-6 year olds, male and female
Key research
Circular Design:
the circular economy is restorative and regenerative by design. Relying on system-wide innovation, it aims to redefine products and services to design waste out, while minimising negative impacts. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural and social capital.
Study of 2000 parents (conducted in 2012) showed that the biggest barrier to passing toys on was parents not knowing how to pass them on safety and where to take them.
(British Toy & Hobby Association, 2013)
“I don’t feel that I have enough knowledge to teach my child about nature and don’t know what to do with them if I take them there. I think they will get bored.”
– Parent
A new two-year study by the government has discovered that more than 10 percent of children haven’t spent time in any natural setting for at least one year.
(Martinko, 2016)
“Six in ten parents said they struggle to get the family together as a whole”
(Maughan, 2015)
“When children play in natural environments, their play is more diverse with imaginative and creative play that fosters language and collaborative skills.”
Moore & Wong 1997, Taylor, et al. 1998, Fjortoft 2000
71% of children have never seen a lizard in the wild in the UK, more than half (53%) have never seen a flock of starlings and more than a third (37%) have never seen a hedgehog.
(Wildlife Trust, 2015)
Children’s roaming ability has been significantly reduced since the beginning of the 20th century.
Idea Generation
This idea was formed from my insight from my observation of the Forest School session where children were finding loose parts/ materials from the woodland and using them to create their own structures. For example, a group of boys collected a number of large sticks and built their own den.
For my idea, I thought about how the packaging of the toy could be used as the base for using loose parts such as stick and leaves to add on to create their own structures from the child’s imagination. The lid would detach to become the collection bucket for acquiring the materials that they need for their designing.
Creating toppers on sticks which become like puppets to create role play/ acting out different scenarios where the characteristics are not predetermined by the toy maker. The packaging then could get used as the stage to do the performances.
Creating puppet shows to encourage role play and acting out using their knowledge and experiences from nature.
The packaging becomes the stage for the child to act out different scenarios. Using their drawing skills to create different scenes with the addition of loose parts from the garden to be attached to the box.
What if the child became the toy?
Repurposing the packaging and using to create a play experience. It encourages the child to use it to create their own character using nature materials to build onto the packaging so they can fit inside and act out different scenarios as children engage in lots of role play at this age as they make sense of the world.
The package would contain the attachments to fix the nature materials onto the box. The idea could expand out to use household waste to attach to the box to have different materials.
I saw how children particularly enjoyed storylines and make believe narratives. Especially if they could be a part of them, act them out and be the designer of the storyline.
From the keywords I came up with a concept of the travelling suitcase which would be the fixed structure representing the journey of the reuse of the toy and the exploration and adventure aspect which is something that is taken with you when you travel.
Children would purchase the suitcase which would be able to be returned back to company after use. The journey that that suitcase had been on would be told as a narrative with different travel stickers for each user that has owned the suitcase.
The child uses both for their art creations and also for their storing of their achievements. Adding personal touches to the suitcase will increase the sentimentality of the toy.
Use of stamping with the tokens on the outside of their case to look like travel stickers.
The packaging for the tokens/ stamps would attach onto the suitcase to carry round the parts like a luggage tag which is the part that gets replaced to create new play experiences.
Final Concept
“Rewild” is a toy aimed at children aged 4-6 which encourages interaction with the outdoor environment and living things within nature. Returnable stamping tokens are used as a way to teach children about circular design systems and reuse as a concept to take forward and become aware of as a way to be better for their environment.
Tokens are delivered in thin packaging to the child’s house which contain the challenges, circular record board, stamp token holder and an ink pad. When the child completes a challenge they pick out the token and click it into the holder. They press the holder onto the correct circle on their board and put the token back in the space in the packaging. Once all the activities are complete, the parts are repackaged, sealed and resent back to the company for cleaning and maintainance to be sent out and reused by another child.
The reusable aspect is the tokens which are engraved with designs to create patterns to stamp on their board. The packaging is used as the communication and storing device before sending the packaging back in the Royal Mail to receive the next pack to move up the levels to become a gold nature explorer.
Development
The child receives the challenges and their corresponding tokens for stamping in the packaging delivered to the child’s house. The packaging is designed to be small enough to fit through a letterbox and post box.
Design Inspiration
I used biomimicry within my design by taking inspiration from trees such as the rings within the trunks which represents the age of the tree. I thought that this idea could be linked to my solution by using the rings to mark the ownership and lifeline of the toy.
I also used colours found in nature such as greens, oranges and yellows for the colour scheme.
Solution
Outer packagingOuter PackagingInside of packaging showing the challengesInside of packaging with cut outs for the tokens and stamp parts
The tokens would be produced from bioplastics made from potato peel, which once the coins become unusable and reach the end of their life, they can return back to biological systems in the environment to decompose.
Token designs for challenges
Examples of challenges and corresponding stamp designs for different categories
There are 8 different categories for the toy:
– Light and Dark
– Fruit and Veg
– Animals
– Birds
– Growing
– Insects
– Trees
– Community
They are designed to have different difficulties so that the child feels that they are improving and being challenged.
The challenges are based around different themes which are designed to fit their development stages and needs. The challenges fit into the following categories: Risk taking, art and design, information, exploration, collaboration with friends, interaction in the local community.
Record board for the child to stamp onto when they have completed each challenge
The record structure is inspired by the rings within a tree that show how old the tree is. The board is split into three rings to build bronze, silver and gold levels into the toy to act as a motivating factor for carrying on using the toy. The difficulty of the challenges increase as the user progresses through the packs. Each of the packs contain an assortment of the categories to be more varied and exciting for the child.
Extending my idea
I believe that this toy has the opportunity to partner up with organisaions such as the RSPB (The Royal Society of the Protection of Birds) to create activities that will encourage the engagement with RSPB reserves in the child’s local area.
Therefore, this would encourage a platform to get children to become part of a nature organisation and act as a bridge for getting children to engage with nature in the future.
How does the solution help?
– Parents can have experiences with their children to reconnect families with the outdoor environment and to spend quality time together.
– Children develop an interest and knowledge about nature to learn about the world around them.
– Children learn about reusing through the process of their toy by being involved and aware of the returning aspect to get the next set. They learn how to share and trade.
– The challenges are loosely set to allow the child to use their creativity and imagination some activties to have independence and freedom. Risk taking will allow them to increase their confidence to ensure they are not over cautious or over anxious in their future life or be too dependent on others.
– The toy provides the activities so parents don’t have to come up with ideas for how to get their children interested and playing in nature surroundings. Parents said that their own knowledge and therefore confidence got in the way of this.
– Teaches the importance of experience over owning things to build memories and relationships with others.
Develops:
– Language skills to communicate with others while they play.
– Motor development as they move around the spaces exploring helping with balance, coordination and increasing their physical exercise to help with the increasing problems of obesity in children.
– Emotional development when working together with other children to work though conflicts and understand each others perspectives as they come out of the egocentric stage.
– Cognitive development by finding out and increasing their knowledge of the world around them. Challenging their brain when finding out new information.
In the field of Graphic Design, it is very important to be able to communicate your ideas well to others. Graphic Design is all about transferring a message often through visuals to encourage change in someones behaviour, opinions or beliefs etc. There are many different ways that you as a Graphic Designer can influence your user.
In order to communicate ideas well, I think it is important to be able to communicate through drawing. In initial stages of a brief, rough sketching can be very important for generating ideas and creating the building blocks for the basis of a projects direction.
Therefore, over the summer I wanted to practice my drawing skills and so I started a sketchbook and used a step by step book teaching you how to draw specific objects. After completing a number of these, I began to practice drawing a few of my own ideas and added watercolour and fineliner to these in order to bring in new media and colour to my sketches.
Some sketches from my book can be found below:
From interning at a local Graphic Design company, I found out that drawing skills and having a sketchbook is something that they really look for in an applicant and this is a very important aspect of their decision process in whether someone gets the job. They like to see how you take your passion for design and do more than just study it for a degree. Being able to show that you will go the extra mile or use your skills in design for something outside of your studies is a very attractive quality when applying for a job.
In my free time, I like to practice and develop my design skills in different areas as I think that today in Graphic Design is is becoming evermore important to be a well rounded designer who has knowledge in more than just one area of design. Therefore, I have tried and the course that I take at Arts University Bournemouth focuses very much on giving us a well rounded experience and practice of different areas of design. I think that this gives us an insight into the differing design processes and approaches to different areas of design and really allows us to be able to see which branch of Graphic Design we would like to enter in our future careers.
One of the areas that I decided to practice was my Adobe Illustrator skills, particularly using the pen tool to create flat illustrations. In my Graphic Design study at A Level, I had been researching and completing artist copies of Airside. I greatly enjoyed working in this style and so decided to continue creating designs of my own in this style. I decided on some photographs which I wished to transform into the Airside style. My 3 designs are displayed below:
I designed some business cards to give out for networking and in preparation for graduation and finding a job at the end. I experimented with a few of my ideas with different logos to represent myself and mostly using one bold colour to be striking and impactful. I tried different layouts and then decided upon a centralised layout with one side red and the other white which can be found photographed at the bottom of my business card section of this blog post.
Final Business Card
Printed Portfolio
As I have a keen interest in editorial design and layout, I wanted to try and design a book to collate and display my portfolio work in to be related to a field of Graphic Design that I can see myself going into in my future career.
I thought about how I could make use of my bold red as part of my colour scheme and looked at my experimentations that I had completed for my branding experiments and started to create variations for cover designs. I focused on using a bold red rectangle to create visual impact and draw the eye to the book. I liked the idea of having a separate piece of card on the cover to create distinction within the content and create a different experience and interaction with the book. I thought about how I could layer designs. I created a design using my shapes underneath with the text already underneath where it is shown on the overlapping red card. I also created some versions which were more minimal and used more whitespace.
In this design, I thought about how I could use my “framing” icon to link with its use throughout the inside pages of the book for the headings.
I saw how I could create links between the cover design and chapter pages by using the rectangle of red. This would help the section to be clearly marked so the reader knows when a new project has started. I would create consistency and by using the same layout and typefaces for each chapter and the same structure as the cover. I also decided to add a small image in the top left corner to create some visual difference to the chapter pages to make it easier to distinguish and to relate to the particular project.
For each of my headings, I decided to add my frame symbol which helps to draw the readers eye to this point on the page. It also helps to relate to my frame concept which spans throughout my other branded content.
I organised my images in a similar style throughout the book by using white bordering which is able to draw the readers eye inwards. However, this bordering is not always on all the edges. I wanted to create the impression of breaking out of the grid and also create more dynamic to encourage page turning.
Frame Final Projects
Concept
Frame:
a rigid structure that surrounds something such as a picture, door, or windowpane.
a person’s body with reference to its size or build.
place (a picture or photograph) in a frame.
formulate (a concept, plan, or system).
My overriding concept which spans across my branded material is “framing”. I wanted to portray the idea of structure and order. A frame is something where the content and context can be replaced but the surrounding remains the same. When I design, I use my design process for each project which often uses many of the same steps but the outcome and context in which I am working in is different. I felt that using a frame is a good way of portraying this as …
Cards
Therefore, I have designed some A5 cards which feature an almost full page image of the final piece of my project which uses a white bordering to create “the frame”. On the other side of the card, it uses the frame symbols to surround and create the framing dimensions of emptier space. The back is where the user will find the description of the project. These cards will be able to be slid into a container which has a plastic window in the front and a stand to allow the user to keep the work and display it.
Printed Portfolio sheets
I have also designed by portfolio in the form of A3 sheets which bring each of the components of my main projects together into separate pages. These sheets are shown below:
During the summer between second and third year, I am aiming to develop some material for self promotion to prepare for networking and job searching.
I began my process by looking on Pinterest and creating a board for inspiration. I had already designed by portfolio website and some business cards during my second year of Graphic Design study. Therefore, I felt that I could draw some of my ideas from my existing designs. (Photos shown above have been gathered as inspiration on Pinterest and I do not own these images)
Colour Schemes
I began by creating some colour scheme options which are shown below and organised into rows. I then tested them against black and on my logo designs to see which seemed more fitting and representative of myself. I initially liked the idea of using lots of bright colour but felt that as I was planning on integrating my colour scheme into my portfolio book etc, it might be too overwhelming and busy and distract away from the portfolio work. Therefore, I decided that a more simple and monochrome colour scheme using greys, whites and just one statement colour. I felt that I would be able to more easily integrate one bold colour and it would work cohesively with other material well. I also felt that using one colour would then become more recognisable and be able to tie my work together more effectively.
The row below shows the colour scheme that I have chosen for my personal branding material:
Logo Design
I began by drawing out logo design ideas to represent my work and myself as a Graphic Designer. I had mostly experimented with ways of using the initials of my name to form a logo and an example of this is shown underneath which combines a lower case “e” at the top which as a whole looks like an “S”. I also thought that as my name is quite unusual, it might be good to use my whole first name in some way although when creating a logo, I think that it is a good idea to use a small mark which can be used at different dimensions to be flexible across different material and different devices (print and web).
These were the final 2 logo designs that I was deciding between but I felt that there were clear differences between the associations that you could make with each. I sorted through my analysis for each of my notes that I had made when designing my logos. I then thought about which logo better represented the area of design I wish to go into, the style of design I like and my personality.
First, curved logo:
Free-flowing and curved edges give the logo a friendly, comforting and playful look
The combination of 2 letters to form one creates a cohesive feel and handmade and more innovative that the serif letter.
Second, serif letter:
The serif letter fits with the tradition and type of design that I particularly like. It also relates more to structured editorial design.
The serif edges create detail and clean style which is how I like to design, paying high attention to details and a minimal and design with simplicity and use of whitespace.
The “E” becomes quite impactful and is easier to read and distinguish what is meant however is not as creative or personal as the other logo.
Overall, I decided that the serif letter E using the typeface “FreightBig Pro” was more fitting to represent myself as it felt neater and more structure and I like to follow order and rules. I felt that I would be able to add more playfulness and personality using colour and shape so I could display 2 different sides of my design approach.
Branding Design Exploration
The experimentation below shows some ideas for how my design could become more playful and exciting when paired with the more structured and serious use of the serif “E”. I think being able to make these match and work together would be important for representing myself as a balance of structure and organisation with playfulness.
One idea that I had was to create something that could create a framework to enter my traits into which would fit into my concept of “the frame” with creates something where content can be swapped out. I think it would be effective to look at ways that this can be implemented in different ways across my branding material to branch out and further build my concept.
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