OUGD504 - Brief 3 - Initial Development: 2

OUGD504: Brief 3: Type In Context

Initial Development: 2

This spread was well received by students during my initial feedback they said they liked the symmetry of the design and the use of white space allowing the components to sit nicely within the spread. Taking this element of symmetry further I felt this design retired a structural grid to ensure a continuity between all of the spreads. I looked back to my research on grid systems and started experimenting with the Van De Graaf canon as this placed two symmetrical text areas within the page. As my images are square I needed to alter this grid to adhere to my content, I used the existing grid to create a hybrid that would allow my content to remain consistent and aesthetically pleasing within the publication that does not differ too drastically form the original yet will work well with my content. 

With a grid set in place I could then start experimenting with the aesthetic of the spread, I started with a  minimal monochrome palette, this was informed by the presiding for print workshops and would be cheaper to print with a monochrome palette it also reinforces the minimal nature of the spread and prevents too many colours from the photographs making the spread look busy and overcomplicated.  This design is clean minimal and sleek with plenty of white space and harmonious symmetry. 

This design trailed introducing a bold colour to the spread to elevate the design from a single monochrome palette, This would still be cheap in production with the use of a spot colour and adds the vibrance of the bold orange which is described to be a creative colour thus appealing to the target audience of creatives,  It also relates to Australia which is synonymous with orange as this areal picture highlights I took on the plane flying over the country. I have incorporated a small map into the design using spots to show the geographical location of each of the letterforms, This will easily help the reader to identify where the letterform is from and can allow them to start to create links between the aesthetics of the letterforms in each city I visited. 

Moving away slightly from the minimal aesthetic I wanted to experiment with a more playful aesthetic. I created simple illustrations to bring the type to life as the descriptions could be seen as dull. These illustrations reference the letterform for example A is taken from an asian restaurant therefor the illustrations are created appropriately depicting chop sticks, noodles and a ramen bowl. This creatively adds further context to the letterform and makes the spread more visually engaging which will appeal to the target audience. The series of playful illustration and make the publication more likely to be picked up and interacted with. I trailed two variations with the vector letterform (above) and monotone photograph (below) I kept the image in black and white to keep the spread from becoming too busy with a range of colours, the palette set from the illustrations is simple and effective and would create a great consistency across the whole publication. 

FEEDBACK:

I asked student for feedback regarding these developments and asked them to justify which one I should develop further into a full scale mock up. I received positive feedback in response to these developments, students said they likes the use of a grid and how I had made it personal to my content, one student said 'I like the use of white space and this grid will make it easy to lay out the content so it looks professional'. 

They felt the use of orange was well informed relating it back to Australia and ensuring it will appeal to the target audience, comments included; I love how you've chosen the orange you can clearly see it in the aeroplane picture and its very contemporary at the moment so will appeal to the creative audience'. 

Students seemed to really engage with the illustrations, again they liked how they were informed form the context of the letterform and said that it provides a further playful context that is emotive and engaging. I found that students preferred the variant that included the photograph as they felt this was more appropriate to the brief and said it was a nice contrast between type, illustration and photography as this appeals to more specialisms within the creative field. 

Students agreed that I should develop the concept that incorporated type image and illustration into a full mock up. Reasoning for this included; 'I love the playful vibe the illustrations give it makes the spread way more engaging and I think it will appeal to the target audience way more.' The illustrations are really cool, I liked the minimal layout but felt it could get boring after 1 or 2 pages, if you created custom illustrations for each letter it would be really cool and stay interesting right to the end' This shaped my decision making to develop this spread into a sophisticated design concept as I felt this could be really successful in creating an engaging aesthetic and appealing to the target audience.