OUGD504: Design for print - Logos/indentity concepts.

We were asked to bring in 5 logos/identities to the session, with these 5 logos we discussed what the design choices were for each.
We started the session by analysing one of the old NASA logos.

The logo was used during shuttle missions in the 1980's.

Logo is either in read or black to signify danger/importance.

Colours used in logo, among with the white space suits and blue signifiers combine to create a reflection of colours used in the american flag.

A nod to patriotism.

Type used is futuristic - Space travel seen as something of the future.

Also creates a pictorial representation of the tubing used to connect the astronauts to the rocket.

A&S are linked - Astronaut & space/shuttle/spirit/service

Stopped using it because they felt it was associated with people dying, and so NASA returned to the classic 'meetball' logo.

Lacoste is a tennis brand.

Designed after a tennis player nicknamed the crocodile.

Every country in world has one of the 5 colours in their flag.

Image looks as though it has been hand drawn by a child. 

Children are often portrayed as innocent characters.

founder wanted it to look as though his child had drawn the image. 

Uses san serif typeface representitive of danish type, Pandora hails from Denmark.

Type is elegant and powerful.

O is pictured to look like a diamond ring. 

Type has been created as a 3d render.

The type created looks plush, like the nappies that are being advertised.

Also reflects that of a plush toy, emphasising that the nappies are huggable.

Shell used to be an antiques shop in London.

- Sold antiques and oriental sea shells. 

- Began importing kerosene.

- In 1987 The shell transport and trading company was formed.

- The logo is red and yellow as shell wanted to stand out amongst their competitors without offending the natives of their first location of California, whom many had spanish roots. 

Levis jeans were made for those who participated in physically hard work eg. mining.

They were specially made where at points of tension/strain in the jeans, were secured with rivets for extra rigour. 

The horses pulling a pair of jeans in opposite directions reflect this quality.

Not all customers of Levis spoke english and so it was important that they used an image to express this. 

Lush logo looks like in industrial cleaning logo. 

Green to represent organic side of company.

Good be a cunning representation of the company wanting to get 'back down to basics' and strip away the frivolity of the soap/cosmetic industry by choosing such an industrial logo?

Victoria an Albert were the Married queen and prince.

They were seen as inseparable.

Alberts life was cut short when he passed away, hence only using half an A.

Logo is seen mostly in black, as after Albert passed away Victoria only wore black to mourn his death.

Instagram logo is shaped like app icons as its only purpose is to perform as an app.

Looks like a polaroid camera - Has the same instant printing/uploading effect as a polaroid camera.
Polaroid ----> Instant picture = Instagram

Telegram? Instant telegram.

Apple logo is made up using circles. 

Same shape since 1976.

Lasts longer and is iconic due to its perfectly geometic shape.

After the session we were asked to go away and research further into at least 1 of the logos we had seen today. I have chosen to research further into the starbucks logo and the adidas logo. 

Starbucks:

-Pictured within the logo is a double tailed mermaid. 

- She is known as 'The siren' in greek mythology.

Sirens 'were dangerous and beautiful creatures, portrayed as femme fatales who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.' source

Starbucks was originally named 'Pequod' after the whaling ship in Moby dick. It was later renamed Starbucks after the chief mate on the ship 'Starbuck'.

Starbucks has a heavy nautical infused theme as it was founded in Seattle, a city with strong seaport roots.

At the time that Starbucks was founded, people were very invested and interested in reading books about Marine life. 

- The sirens were known for their mysterious and striking persona. - might be trying to market Starbucks as having irresistible products. 

Starbucks continues to rebrand its self however the Siren never leaves the logo as it is believed that she is the heart of Starbucks. 

OUGD504: Design for print - studio Brief 1.

Brief

Produce an approriately designed 'info-pack' of things to know, consider or remember in order to produce successful Design for Print. You should use the seminars and tasks from the module as a starting point for your own individual/independent investigation of the methods, processes and formats that can be used to create innovative but practical solutions to print based design briefs and all aspects of print- based delivery. For submission and assessment you will also be required to select, summarise and evaluate appropriate primary & secondary source material and submit it in an appropriately designed and produce graphic format that reflects your cretaive and technical appreciation of graphic design.  Your submission should demonstrate your understanding of print processes, conventions and creative options from the perspective of a graphic designer. It should also demonstrates your ability to effectively organise and present a body information in a designed format. As well as presenting your resolution you should  upload a multi page pdf version to your Design Practice & Design Context blog via 'Issuu'. See additional briefings for further information.

Background / Considerations

You are graphic designers, everything you produce should be designed, considered and effective. You need to be in complete control, even if it's carefully arranged to look casual! Don't ignore your knowledge of layout but expand upon it! The content should be ordered and informative with clear example of what you mean, the style your own, derived from the study of the work of other designers. Commercial print processes are of concern to you especially as, at times, you will have to relinquish the hands –on production control of your work for a more specification/managerial role. Your research will be informed by the seminars delivered as part of the module but how much more can you find out? What do you need to know about print production and what is relevant to your own practice? How do you communicate your research in a way that is reflective of your creative ambitions. Your considered opinion is important. You should use appropriate examples of professional creative practice in order to demonstrate your breadth and depth of understanding.

From the briefing/presentation and brief I made notes on a number of things that I will need to consider for the brief. 

- Consider the form and the function of your info pack.
- Who is it for?
- What stock will you work with?
- What is the tone of voice?
- Is it to educate/ instruct/ advise?

Innovative but practical solutions to print based design.
Select, summarise and evaluate appropriate primary and secondary source material and submit it in an appropriate graphic form.

Demonstrate understanding of print processes and demonstrate the ability to organise the information in a cohesive manor.

Create a multiple page pdf document and post it to the blog that displays digital development.
Everyday people appreciate good and effective design. 

- Don't ignore knowledge about layouts.
- Commercial print processes, you have to put your work into others hands.

- What do you need to know about print production.
-Consider what purpose the info pack will serve. 
- Who will read/ learn from it?
- Will it make sense to the casual reader or is it for a specific audience.
- Demonstrate good understanding of print.
- Design boards, content, context and concept.

- Completed info pack that identifies a good amount of design for print, techniques, processes and technologies.

Possible chapters:
- Ink 
- Stock
- Format
- 6 categories spoken about in class.


Production, method and format.
Stock/finishing.
Colour systems.
Commercial costings. 
Type and font usage.

Form/ function/ production.
- Appropriateness of response.
- quality of resolution.
- meeting the deadline.

- WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
- who is the audience?
- what is the context?
- what is the method of delivery?

- What is/ will be the problem?
- Persuade/ inform/ promote/ educate/ explain/ clarify/ organise/ confuse engage/ influence/ entertain.
- Are people bored by the subject? if so entertain them by it.
- Ask a question, give a statement, give an order, deliver and instruction. making someone laugh/cry.

Rationale:
- concept
- idea
- research
- audience
- context
- media
- creative 
- ethical
- commercial
- handmade
- digital
- lens based

- try it.
- test it.
- make it better.
- organise crits in studio development.
- Talk to your audience and dont imagine.

- infographics
- typography 
- form and format.

OUGD504: Independent work.

Find 2 examples of each category:
- Colour
- Format
- Production
- Processes
- Finishing 
- Stock 

1. Colour. 
In terms of colour there are lots of different print processes available that offer different colour options. If we were to use a Digital print we would have to print using CMYK mode, in which there are a limited number of colours available. However if you are to use other processes such as lino print, mono print or screen print you are able to mix custom colours, and view the physicality of this colour as it is being mixed which some people may prefer. 

source

Through using screen print, the above designer is able to make the design bespoke, by selecting an individual colour choice. 

source

As the above designer has used digital print as their production choice, they are only able to use those colours within the Pantone system. This limits them to a range of colours, however it also means that as RGB colours are not reproducible during CMYK printing, that Screen print could be the better option if you are wanting more vibrant colour. 

2. Format.

There are a range of formats to choose to work in when creating graphic design, however I would like to focus on a large format and a smaller one. I found that when considering format, it is very important to consider who will be your audience. 

Billboard

Billboards are a great choice of format for lower budget briefs, Billboard advertising is the cheapest out of television advertising, radio advertising and newspaper ads. By using billboards, companies are able to reach their specific audience aswell as those who aren't within their demographic, without the audience having to purchase a magazine/newspaper etc. 

' - Billboards allow you to reach more people faster and easier than any other type of media.'

' - People spend more time in their vehicle than they do to read the paper and watch the news.' sourced

The above billboard shows great example of how to connect with the demographic audience, the billboard was the best choice for this kind of advertising as it is aimed at those who drive cars. A billboard is the quickest and easiest way to get a message across to those who use vehicles. Above is a new series of billboards released by mini. Owners of a mini, can apply to have a customised message, pop up on every multimedia mini billboard they drive under. 

Business card

Business cards are appropriate for small specific pieces of information, as they are used to act as a reminder and mental aid. Due to the little amounts of information, business cards are usually small (around the same size as credit cards) and are therefore easy to slip into a pocket or purse after they have been handed out.  

3. Production.

Mass production .vs. single production.

ethical v.s non ethical.

4. Processes. 

Inkjet printing and Laser printing.

Why do people still print via inkjet when laser printing is available?

Inkjet printing is not regularly used for commercial printing but for the consumer, or general public, in comparison to the Laser printer that is used for commercial based work.

An inkjet printer has little warm up time and has a low cost per page, in comparison to the laser printer. 

However original inkjet ink is very expensive, and when a lot of the catridges used in inkjet printing declare themselves empty, they are capable of printing over 30% more good quality prints.

Laser printers are highspeed with an ability to print 6000 coloured pages per hour.

Inkjet pros and cons:

Pros:

1. Ideal for printing photographs and other image intensive documents.
2. Inkjets can print onto many types of paper, from cheap office paper to high-end glossy photograph paper.
3. Little to no warm-up time is needed for printing jobs.
4. Most inkjet cartridges can be refilled and reused, which cuts down on waste and saves money

Cons:

1. Brand new inkjet cartridges tend to be a bit pricey.
2. Inkjet ink is typically water-based, thus making prints highly susceptible to water-damage and fading.
3. Ink cartridges need frequent cleaning, which most printers perform automatically. Cartridge cleaning accounts for a majority of ink usage, rather than for printing actual images and documents.

Laser printing pros and cons:

Pros:

1. Due to the printing process, laser printers can print documents at a much faster rate than inkjet printers.
2. Price by price comparisons tends to favor laser printers over inkjet papers for documents that are not graphically complex.

Cons:

1. Warm-up times delay the initial printing startup time.
2. Upfront toner costs are higher than inkjet ink cartridges.
3. Because the toner has an electrostatic charge, toner will stick to most anything, making toner leaks and other mishaps cleaning headaches.

source

5. Finishing.

The two finishing choices I looked into were matte and glossy. I never really put much thought into choosing whether to have my documents with a matte or glossy finish, however the two have pros and cons of their own. 

Matte:

- Matte finishing has a softer more glowing appeal.

- 2.0 websites inspired soft design in print - so websites such as twitter, youtube and hubpages.

- Matte paper better helps the ink to diffuse by limiting how much light is reflected off the papers surface. 

- Is quite regularly more expensive than glossy paper .

- It will preserve any smudges/dust/ finger prints that it comes into contact with.

- Colours can often look less vibrant with a matte finish. 

- Matte is a good finish to use when lighting/reflection could be a problem.

Gloss:

- Makes colours brighter as the stock reflects a lot of light.

- Great for colours such as black which look very intense with a glossy finish.

- Gloss is more often less expensive than matte.

- Gloss is seen as the more professional paper choice.

- However the shiny coating that enables the paper to be glossy picks up finger prints.

source

source

As seen in the above image when not interrupted by reflection, the black with a glossy finish is a lot more intense when compared with the matte black background.

6. Stock.

Newsprint.

When people are creating publications, they have to consider there stock in order to relate to the end user. The newspaper is accessible to everyone, and has no particular specific demographic audience, therefore is has to be easily available to a wide range of people. This is made tangible through the stock that the newspaper is printed upon. News papers are printed upon newsprint, a strong, adaptable to 4 colour printing and Low cost stock choice, meaning that the price of a newspaper is very low and therefore economically available to most people. 

High gsm, aqueous coating, spot varnish.

Using different paper stocks helps to express the attitude of a project, Using a higher quality stock emphasises the aim for a higher standard. The use of a paper with higher gsm, creates a feeling of more substantial work and improves the print quality. We would expect this kind of stock to be used in more high end design, such as the work below. 

The design work for rolls royce is a great example of how differentiating stock can alter the end user. 

Above is the owners manual for the Rolls Royce ghost, a premium booklet consisting of 127 pages that elaborate on how to use the car. The book features a black leather bound front and back, in which two 'ghost like' R's are debossed into the front. The use of leather, and range of stock and processes (digital print and debossing) shows that this brief has been completed with a very different attitude and end user in mind. 

OUGD504: Design for Print studio session.

In groups we made a list of things that we thought certified a piece of design as design for print:

- Use correct colour code CMYK.
- Tangible design.
- Consider printing options (Bleed etc)
- Consider stock.
- Digital/traditional print. 
- Consider scale/format.
- Resolution (300 dpi)
- Consider the finish (foiling, spot varnish etc)
- Consider the cost.
- Consider audience.
- Consider amount of time available.
- Pantone referencing system.

What is design for print? 
As a group we came up with the idea that designing for print is preparing/constructing artwork taking into consideration all the valuables/ factors for print/physical. 

To help me figure out a general understanding of print, I looked up the definition of print:
' Produce (books,newspapers etc) esp. in large quantities, by a mechanical process involving the transfer of text or designs to stock/ paper.  Source

We were then asked, is laser cutting a printing process? I think the above definition helps us to figure out the truth to this question. The above definition helps to configure the answer, ' a mechanical process involving the transfer of text or designs to stock', it does not articulate the idea that this much be done via colour/ink/paint etc being pressed upon a surface, as it is in obvious print processes such as screen print. Therefore laser cut fits into being a printing process as it is a mechanical process involving the transfer of a design onto stock.

As a class we did a brief overview of what we thought contributed towards design for print. 
- Mass production/ printing in large quantities.
- Process informs design. 
- Stock informs process.
- Prototypes/ mockups. 

Web design/ Design something for web, Is designing something that could be temporary, information on the web can be interchanged, deleted or redone. Where as print is a permanent facet of design, it cannot be deleted, information cannot be interchanged so the previous information did not exist, printed design is stuck in history.

List as many printing processes as you can in your group:
- Foiling 
- Woodblock
- Letterpress
- Embossing
- Laser cutting
- Lino print
- Screen print
- Monoprint 
- Digital print
- Etching
- 3d printing
- Collograph
- Spot varnish
- Dark room developing photos
- Vinyl cut

INDEPENDENT TASKS

1. Look into the following 6 printing categories and find 2 examples for each:
- Colour
- Format
- Production
- Processes 
- Finishing
- Stock

2. What processes do I want to get into?

- I really enjoyed doing screen printing last year and It is a process I would like to prioritise doing again this year. 
- I haven't done any embossing or debossing and so this is a process I am curious about trying, especially the technique of blind embossing, in which colour is totally subtracted from the original process. 
- Laser cutting is a completely alien subject to me, and would give me the opportunity to work with design on a totally different type of stock, for example wood or acrylic.  

3. Bring in 5 pieces of print. 

OUGD406: Self evaluation.

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN	LEVEL	04
Module Code	OUGD406
Module Title	DESIGN PRACTICE 1

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION

NAME

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
Through this module I think I have developed the skill that is being patient, normally, or through out other modules, I stress myself out focusing on the time it takes to complete/do things rather than the actual process taking place. This module I think I have been much more patient with design. Going to other workshops such as binding, to complete my board game took a lot of time, as this workshop was very busy, however I was really able to take in the process, and watch how others worked in order to learn new things. I think I have developed a lot more skills in working independently also, when I first came to the university during the first module, I was very dependent on receiving a detailed brief, however completing briefs such as communication is a virus (group task) and speaking from experience has really helped me to get to a place where I can work freely, and to my own briefs. I also think that I have developed improved time keeping skills as I have balanced the workload of this module, which took a lot of input into workshops etc, with other modules such as COP of which the work took time to produce.
2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?
The most valuable process I think I have learnt took place when I went to the book binding workshop, as going here informed me of ways I could have improved the group project communication is a virus. It would have been better if we had gone to this workshop and considered the methods of binding for the 10,000 steps publication, instead of others jumping ahead and resorting to stapling. I also very much enjoyed learning how to use the letterpress in this module and will prove to be a great design process to know when I am in need of traditional print.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I think within this module there is a clear sense of organisation and progression from initial ideas to final piece, supported by sketches etc. All work has been well documented on my blog, and there is a clarity between the research that has taken place at the start of a brief to the end result. I have taken the time to ensure my work is well produced for example going to the binding workshop to produce a authentic looking board game. It is also clear in my design process especially for the speaking from experience brief that I am now not afraid to give up on an idea when It wasn't working, where instead of previous times when I would push forward with the design worried that I would not be able to start a new idea and finish it in time. There is also sense in finess in my work which I think was not there before, an attention to detail, such as searching for new materials like the Balsa wood I experimented with in speaking from experience. I also think it has become quite apparent in my work that I very much take on a leadership/ problem solving role when working in a group, as I put the publication of mine and Sam's work together and took it to print, sorting any issues with this as I went.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
The one thing that I think has just held my work back this time is working right up to the deadline, It was suggested to me one week before the module deadline I should go down to vernon street to bind my board game in order to in keep an authentic appearance. However with the binding workshop not open until wednesdays, I only had this day and thursday to complete the bind. Due to this, the game board lacks a final detail, the ability to hold all the cards in the allocated sections. I think what would have improved this mistake and what I will do in the future, is research more into the design processes at the start of the project in order to avoid problems like these.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
Use a new printing process to further broaden my knowledge and expand the range in which I can produce work. Work out all the printing and construction processes at the start of the project to avoid having to work things out towards the end. This will boost my organisation skills and make me less stressed toward the end of deadline. In other group collaborations I think I will stand up for what I think is right and back this up with evidence in order to get my point across. This will enable us to have a larger range of options as a group and could mean that we avoid silly mistakes. Experiment with new things so that I do not have to go outside college, for example going to wood shop to cut my own wood etc, so I am able to complete the design process unaided. Plan ahead if I am unsure something will work, so that If it goes wrong, I have enough time to create a full solution. This or always plan a back up for things that I am not sure will work.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’) 5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance				x
Punctuality					x
Motivation				x
Commitment				x
Quantity of work produced				x
Quality of work produced				x
Contribution to the group					x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.