Wednesday 25 May 2011

INDESIGN - My final design - Evaluation


After looking through all of my designs, this is my final outcome. I'm really proud of this design, feeling it has a few interesting quirky elements but keeps to a formal magazine like structure. Using the word 'Epidemic' as a title is in keeping with the content and is quite humorous, after reading it, to then read the article, it will sound very sarcastic. I have kept a low tone on colour, the image hugely desaturated and type in just black. When printing out my designs, it gave me a real insight into the size type needs to be; a lot smaller than previously thought. I have chose point size 8, as its readable and fitting to the page size and amount of content. I chose the type face 'Times' as its quite contemporary and classic, it gives a formality to what is quite an unserious article, which gives it yet more depth and a humorous element.

Overall I feel I have made a real progression in using InDesign, I was very dubious about it at first, feeling it would limit me very much, in only being able to work to a grid system, but its so much more than that. After the InDesign workshops it certainly opened my eyes to the possibilities. My first initial designs, when critted I realised how much I had limited myself, after looking at some design online I realised how magazine spreads can be considered a piece graphic design on their own, some really works of art. I really inspired me that it's not all about content, but how you place it, use it and design around it. 

I feel for my final design I have really experimented and been through a creative process to achieve my outcome.
I have worked with a some what more complex grid system and series of image and type then I would have done, at first approaching this brief. I am very pleased with my design, as I can see how I've grown as a designer from start to finish with this piece.

As always, improvements can be made, some designs can be preferred to some more than others. I perhaps could have used more content, which would give me more to work with.

I am glad I was able to use photography within this piece, as found in previous briefs, I have taken a real interest to it, although my subject matter was quite hard to work with!

This brief has been a real interest to me, I've almost been more motivated to this over other briefs, which was nice, when I wanted to take a break from another brief, I would refer to this one, due to the fact its enjoyable more than a task. I did find research a main contributor to this, the want to re-create and have the ability to design something similar to those amazing designs out there was a real spur on.

INDESIGN - My final designs

After gaining much useful information and design inspiration from my feedback, I combined the elements of my outcomes, to produce yet more designs. 





I feel the design below is the strongest which I will take to finalise and become my final piece.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

INDESIGN - Feedback

I decided to get some visual feedback for several of my page spread designs by printing them out in black and white and asking people what they feel needs adapting, which would then be drawn / marked onto the print out. Simply printing my designs out gave me a better look at how well composition and size work, also by folding the page, it showed me how it would look in a magazine, it showed me some elements of a design need to be moved from the centre to be legible. Here are my original designs, which have been marked.




My adaptations made after the crit, according to what was written, marked and designed on the print outs. I found this task really useful, I was able to quite literally copy down what was aid, having a visual aid helped make sense of what people said. I also feel I've come out with some great designs too.




I decided I liked all three designs and wanted to produce a combination of all three to make a final design. This will be my next step.

Monday 23 May 2011

SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE - Final Poster designs







I really like the final outcome of my poster designs. I feel I have worked from the comments made n the crit, which preferred the posters to the stop motion, so this has become my main focus. I have really refined and worked on my poster designs. They now have continuity in their designs, monochromatic colour palette and layout on the page. I have tried to make them very outstanding and bold so passers by will be drawn in. Some a lot simpler than others, but this contrasting amount of information per posters gives and variety and interest to them.

Printed outcomes














SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE - Poster development

I wanted to really focus on my poster designs to try and develop them further. I wanted to still stick to my square format, but feeling this wasn't part of a poster convention, the put this square format onto another, more appropriate one. I stuck to my monochrome colour palette feeling it befitted my complex images, making them understandable. One problem mentioned in the crit to me was legibility, for some it was hard to notice and read words within the images, so i decided to outline what was said, by producing a small sentence of it, placing it below the image in it's own space, thus making it easier to read. 

I wanted there to be continuity within my design layouts, but also a variety. So sticky to using just black and white rectangles, I mixed and matched them around the designs. Here are the designs I came up with and developed.