Altering Reality with a Couple of Clicks

Photoshop is arguably one of the most popular pieces of design software, used by over 90% of professionals. In the industry, photoshop is primarily used for small clean-ups and corrections, but what can we do with it when unrestrained and opened up to a new plane of imagination?

Design ideas and design process

Design 1

For the first edit I wanted to make sure I had a good grasp on the tools I learned from the ‘Editing Images’ task. I decided to make a collage style image so that I could focus on each of the individual elements, and then putting them together. To begin, I created a new fill layer on the document, and set the colour to a dull yellow colour. Then I needed to create the arch shape, in order to do so, I used the shape tool to draw a rectangle and circle then combined them to create the arch. Next, I created a new layer and made the fill a light sky blue and used a downloaded brush to paint clouds, effectively making a sky background. To apply this only to the arch, I masked it by selecting the blue layer and holding down option (alt), which gives the option to create a mask that only applies to the layer below it, in this case the arch shape. Now that the background was complete, I inserted the main subject. I did this by using the select subject feature on the original image, then copying the selection into my main document. To get his elbow outside of the arch, I created a layer mask and used the brush tool to erase the corresponding mask area. For the flowers, I decided to go with pink and white as they provide a nice contrast to the background while also complementing the subject’s shirt. I places the flowers in and arranged them in a way that frames the subject. To create some depth, I repeated the same steps as before the bring the areas of some of the flowers forward. As a finishing touch I added some text as there was a lot of lank space, as the subject is a member of a group I like, I added some text relevant to that aspect.

Design 2

After refining my skills with my first edit, I decided that I wanted to try and create something more complex and more diverse in terms of the tools that need to be used. Whilst looking for tutorials I came across one on how to make a flower face cut out image and chose to follow this one. I started by importing the photo into photoshop and using the pen tool to draw paths around the areas that I wanted to cut out. Then I right clicked on the path and chose ‘make selection’ then pressed M for the marquee tool make the path into a selection, after this I right clicked again and chose ‘copy via cut’ to separate the selection from the main photo. I also created a solid black layer under the original photo to serve as a background for the cut out areas. Next I used a bevel & emboss effect in the cut out areas to give them more depth. I then placed in the flowers I wanted to use and changed the hue and saturation of them so that the colours and brightness would match well with the purples and blues in the photo. I arranged the flowers as I wanted them to appear in the edit, then went to the main photo layer, held down control and clicked on it to create a selection, then went to my flower layer and created a mask on it and pressed control + I to invert it. This allowed me to then use the brush tool to paint over parts of the flower that I wanted to appear i front if the photo, to create the effect that the flowers are growing outwards. To finish it off, I reselected in the visibility for the cut out parts and readjusted them in a way that was distinguishable from the rest of the face, but not too isolated.

Design 3

This edit is far simpler in comparison to the first two, however I thought it was important to not only focus on changing the main subject if the image, but also pay attention to the background and how it can alter the impression a photo makes on us. I started this edit by cropping the original image and placing it into photoshop as well as the new background on another layer. I then went to Select > Select and mask, then pressed select subject, this selected the person in the image, I could then use the sliders to refine the selection if I wanted to. This then created a mask which isolated the subject and brought it in front of the new background. Now I had to change the lighting of the subject to match the background. I did this by going to Filter > Neural filters > harmonisation, which analyses the two images and adjusts them to match. However after applying the filter I wasn’t satisfied, so went back and adjusted the saturation and CMYK sliders until I was happy.

Software Tutorials

As I have no prior experience with photoshop, I mainly used lengthier Youtube tutorials that went into more depth and explained each tool. I had no confidence with the tools, however after watching and following the tutorials, I feel that my skills have made a significant improvement.

As the first edit built practised knowledge I learned from a different task, I did not use a tutorial so that I could make sure I actually understood what I was doing.

This tutorial on how to make a flower face image guided me through the second edit. It mainly utilises creating masks from specific selections so that they can be added to or subtracted from, for example when choosing how much f the flowers I wanted to have ‘outside’ of the face. The tutorial was very clear and showed the progression through each step well, so it was easy to follow along and see the effect of each step which was a major aid in learning about what he use of each step was.

Changing a background of an image was much easier than expected thanks to Adobe’s analysis software, Adobe Sensei. This has made things such as selecting the main subject or the background of an image much easier, and needing less fine tuning from the designer themselves. This also applies to matching the lighting of the subject to the new background using the neural filters. Even though this technology is making these editing process much easier, it is still important that we implement our own flair and opinion, for example when using the harmonisation filter, I did not think Adobe’s result worked, so had to make adjustments myself.

In future projects, I would like to begin using tools that I have not used in this task, and explore further into the full range of photoshop’s abilities.

Design resources and articles

Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/68074669/Floral-Face?tracking_source=search_projects%7Cfloral%20face

Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/136162759/Photo-Manipulation-Artwork?tracking_source=search_projects%7Cphoto%20manipulation

Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/107723375/photo-manipulation?tracking_source=search_projects%7Cphoto%20manipulation

My sources of inspiration for these edits were these projects that I found on Behance while looking through the ‘Photoshop’ tag. I really liked the first two images as they caught my eye straight away with the bold colour palette and layering of the different layers. This helped inform my decision to implement this effect in my own design, as well as the the bevel and emboss feature that is used on the skin cut-outs.

The second two photos are my inspiration for my third edit. I found the one with the mushroom was so fun and really tells a story just from one picture. On the other hand, the cloud edit is dramatic in a way that leaves you to think, and the way the lighting matches both the person and the background made me want to try and achieve that effect in my own work.

Learning across the module

As a whole, this module has immensely improved my design skills and sparked new interests in different softwares. The first part of the module began to develop our understanding of each piece of software, and now we have developed our skills and are practicing them as professional designers would. I think this development is really shown throughout my work, not only in the final piece but especially in the process, the steps that I am taking to reach the end goal have become more refined. This shows me that I have achieved one of the goals I set for myself at the end of the first submission: “I feel that I need to improve my efficiency in using the program by learning more keyboard shortcuts past the realm of basic ones like the selection arrows and the pen tools”. The other goal for myself, “I would also like to improve on the way I view my own work, because at times I find myself being caught up in details that don’t end up being necessary, and trying to overcomplicate designs to make them look more complex when they don’t need to be.”, I think I have improved on this, but have yet to fully conquer it, though this only means I have more opportunities to learn.

Type Talk

Design Ideas & Process

Type Talk. A title that’s rather straight to the point and quite representative of a podcast. The whole title “Typography and Graphic Communication” is quite the mouthful and not the most catchy for an up and coming podcast, so I decided to use something with a bit more impact– after all, that’s what design is about, right?

Design 1

I wanted my first sticker to resemble a logo/sub mark to represent the podcast. I decided to try and achieve a clean, modern look. In order to accomplish this, I wanted the letters to come together seamlessly and in a way that looked merged, but also holds distinction between the two letters. This required me to research how to create an outline to then subtract from the other vector. I used the ‘Offset path’ function to create this outline( shown in Screen Capture (SC) 1), I learned that I could use the shape builder tool to eliminate extra parts – this made the letters look combined while allowing a breathable space between which lends a vital hand in making the sticker look clean. After creating the stars (SC 4 & 5), I then experimented with offset paths to create different coloured outlines of the stickers as a solid background (SC 6-7.1). I chose a light blue as it contrasts well with the main elements being black (SC 8).

SC 5: Using pucker and bloat to make stars

SC 7: Experimenting with different fills and outlines

Design 2

This second design focused more on developing the skills I had learned from making the first sticker, namely using the offset paths. It is much simpler than the first sticker and only makes use of a few tools in Illustrator, however it still benefits me in the sense that it helps me to practice the skills I already have which is just as important as learning new ones. I made a speech bubble using the ellipse and pen tools, then combining them using ‘unite’ from the pathfinder window (shown in SC 1); while adjusting the bezier points as I learned how to do more efficiently using shortcuts in Integrated Design Methods, I saw that the corner point of the speech bubble didn’t fit the look I was going for, so I rounded it (SC 1.1)– creating an overall softer look. I chose the font MADE Dillan, as it had a heavier weight as well as rounded serifs, which added to the soft and welcoming design I wanted (SC 2). After all the base shapes were made, I experimented with the offset path and created outlines for the text and the speech bubble, then changed the colours. I chose Pantone colours 13-1520 and 15-3919 as they compliment each other very well and are quite subdued. Choosing specific colours also helped me to learn how colour swatches in Illustrator work and how to get them (SC 3-6).

SC 1.1: Uniting the shapes and making the stroke heavier

SC 3: Outlining the text using offset path

Design 3

For my final design, I learned more new techniques to challenge myself. As I am fairly familiar with the Illustrator software, I wanted to make a sticker using features that either I haven’t used before or am still getting to know. While thinking of the design, I came across my Bauhaus inspired InDesign postcard and thought to bring some of those elements over into this sticker, mainly the angular and abstract shapes as well as the colours being loosely based off the primary colours. I created and outlined the text, as well as making a division in the word ‘TYPE’ to make some visual interest (SC 1). Then I used the effects window, went to 3D and selected Extrude & Bevel; I chose ‘Isometric Top’ to make the text look as though it was facing up (SC 2). To create the effect of depth and lighting, I selected the relevant areas and used the gradient tool to add shading onto the outer edges of the letters and darker colours to the inner gaps (SC 3-4), then to accentuate the letters and add more dimension, I used the pen tool to add white highlights (SC 5-6). Finally, to tie the whole design together as a sticker, I worked on choosing a shape to have as the main base of the sticker and act as its main outline. After experimenting with different shapes, I settled on an ellipse as it creates an even overall shape and plays into the perspective of the type without looking uneven, unlike squares or other polygons. For the background colour I chose a mid yellow to orange, as it compliments both the purple and the blue used.

SC 2: Using 3D effects (Extrude & Bevel)

SC 5: Adding highlights using the pen tool

SC 5.1: Looking at the highlights from afar

Software tutorials

As I have previous experience with Illustrator, I was able to proficiently use basic features such as the pen tool and pathfinder tool. However I thought that just using what I already knew would not help me develop my skills, thus negating the aim of this project and module.

For the first two stickers, I knew that I could have just drawn outlines I wanted with the pen tool, but this would have taken a very long time and start a long, never ending mission of accurately trying to adjust every curve and line as we were shown in Integrated Design Methods. This encouraged me to look for a way to create outlines without having to draw them myself. A quick search on Youtube lead me to this tutorial which taught me about the ‘Offset Path’ feature; which creates an outline with a specified offset, meaning that it can be as far away or as close as you’d like. Once the outline is created, it acts as a normal stroke, which allows you to alter the stroke weight or switch it to a fill if desired. I used it both ways, however I’d like to experiment with it more to see what kinds of artwork I can create with it, and if different effects could be applied over it to make it even more visually appealing.

For the third sticker design, I wanted some more guidance on the effects panel and the different things it had to offer. While searching for tutorials, this one caught my eye, so I decided to use the basic premise of the effect and add my own flair to make the sticker more original and fit into the aesthetic I wanted. Once the chosen text as outlined, I used the extrude and bevel effect and set it to isometric top. However unlike the tutorial, I used only one layer to make the text look more solid as opposed to the different coloured layers in the tutorial. I have attempted to make an effect like this during my A-Level projects, but I had always used the blending options, and it never occurred to me to use the 3D effects. Creating the gradients and stars were already skills that I knew, but using them again helped me to develop and practice them.

Design resources and articles

Inspiration pic 1: https://www.behance.net/gallery/126398389/stickers?tracking_source=search_projects_recommended%7Cillustrator%20stickers

Inspiration pic 2: https://www.behance.net/gallery/129405123/West-Coast-Waves?tracking_source=search_projects_recommended%7Cillustrator%20stickers

Inspiration pic 3: https://www.behance.net/gallery/110020681/BuyBlack?tracking_source=search_projects_recommended%7Cstickers

My inspiration for the stickers was taken from these three sets of stickers I found while scrolling through Behance. The first picture shows a similar merged letter effect that I aimed to achieve in the first sticker, the second shows the repeated outline I used in the second sticker, and the third picture shows the 3D/isometric view of text that I applied in the third sticker. These pictures all caught my eye because while they’re all distinctly different, there’s an element of fun to them that I wanted to try and capture in my own designs. I also decided to use these as inspiration because they all included features that I had never tried to recreate on my own, which allowed me to develop my skills closer to a professional standard as demonstrated by the pictures above. In the future I would like to explore each of the concepts I created around my stickers further and possibly develop them into unique branding ideas and aesthetics.

Reflection

By doing this task I have improved my general knowledge of the program and have used more complex effects. I have also learned that there is more than one way of doing something, and some ways produce different results. I feel that I need to improve my efficiency in using the program by learning more keyboard shortcuts past the realm of basic ones like the selection arrows and the pen tools. Though it may seem abstract, I would also like to improve on the way I view my own work, because at times I find myself being caught up in details that don’t end up being necessary, and trying to overcomplicate designs to make them look more complex when they don’t need to be.

Overall I really enjoyed this task as it had a lot of creative freedom, which allowed me to freely experiment with different styles. Even though I have used Illustrator before, I never looked further into the different features available, however this task let me do that and create designs I am happy with, as well as develop new skills to be used in the future.

AK Design Studio

Brief

This project with Sophia White from the Brand Design Agency will help you look at design trends and understand how a mood board can be used to help you develop and design with this in mind. You will develop ideas for Logotype Trends for 2022-23 working with a specific theme in mind. This project will help you to look at trends and design logotypes for a specific theme. Using the selected theme, create a logo for yourself as a designer that you may use to promote your work/own design studio.

Process

The first step I took to approaching this project was selecting a theme from this article that Sophia sent us in advance that lists 10 upcoming interior design trends for 2022. After looking through the different trends, I found that I was most drawn to the ‘Organic Materials’ theme. This is because I liked how it was very simple yet combining different elements still creates a clear contrast. Whilst looking at pictures associated with my chosen aesthetic, it reminded me of Japanese minimalist interior design so I decided to base my logo ideas around the elements of it. To get a better idea of the elements I wanted to use, I made a mood board of pictures so that I could start creating some sketches of possible logo ideas.

I isolated some prominent features of Japanese minimalist interior design and found the following:

Organic shapes contrasting with geometric
Block colours
Simple lines
Nature
Clean cut aesthetic

I began by sketching the different elements I found so that I could see them all in front of me and start thinking about how I could combine them into a logo that represents me while adhering to the theme. While considering the theme of the logo, I also had to decided how I would represent myself – either with my own name or a different one. In the end I decided to just use my own name – more specifically my initials ‘AK’ – as it is much more direct and clear; to showcase that the logo is for our own design company, I chose the name ‘AK Design Studio’, with my initials being the main focus. Because I decided to use my initials, I thought to use my signature, which makes the logo much more personal, as well as making it look more refined and clean. As for the inclusion of the theme, I quite liked my initial element sketches around the subheading ‘nature’, so my logo was steered in that direction.

Now that the main base of my logo was decided, I had to begin to try and incorporate the elements of the theme into it. To start this process, I sketched out my initials and drew circles and ovals around it. This is because my signature can create either a general square or rectangle shape, so by drawing a circle/oval around it creates the contrast similar to what I identified in my primary research. In order to add ‘nature’ into the logo, I replaced different sections of the ellipses with a branch of leaves, making them look like wreaths.

After doing some more sketches experimenting with different placements, I saw that none of the ones I produced seemed to fit the result I was looking for. I then realised that I could venture into the concept of ‘nature’ a bit further, and use imagery such as moons and stars instead, as it still fit in with my original objective. Like before, I started sketching new ideas with these new images. Rather than trying to make the additional illustrative elements a main part of the logo, I decided to accentuate the initials by making the entrance and exit (which serves as the diagonal of the K) strokes longer; by elongating these strokes, it created a gap which I was able to fit the words ‘design studio’ into, hence making the title portion of the logo complete. Concerning the illustrative elements, I noticed the space underneath the ‘AK’ looked quite open, whereas the top half already had the point of the ‘A’ which was balanced out by the valleys either side of it. Because this open space made the logo look unbalanced, I decided to add a four-pointed star underneath. I made this decision as the other images I tried to add into that space didn’t work for the balance overall.

To make the final refined logo, I took a picture of the sketch and imported it into Procreate; this is because the way the letters are written is quite unique, and I couldn’t find a fold that was similar enough to manipulate to recreate them. I used a thin technical brush to trace the ‘AK’ so that I could get a tapered effect that calligraphic typefaces don’t have. After doing this, I took the finished trace into Illustrator and did Object > Image trace > Make & Expand, which recreated my drawing as a vector that I could then manipulate. I then added in the words ‘Design Studio’ using Baskerville, I chose this font as a serif font looks much more cohesive with script/calligraphic lettering. Once this was complete, I created the star by making an oval, the going to Effect > Distort & Transform > Pucker & Bloat, then puckered the oval to bring in the sides apart from the vertical and horizontal points, thus creating a four-pointed star. After this, I positioned all of the elements of my logo together and readjusted them accordingly, to ensure that the balance was correct.

As this was a logo project, I thought that the most appropriate way to present it would be a brand board. In order to complete it, I made two simple submarks that still incorporated my initials and decorative elements. I also showed the fonts I would use in my brand, and displayed a simple colour palette.

Reflection

Overall, I really liked this project, as it allowed us to get an insight from a designer in the industry and showed us part of a professional’s process, which I thought was really interesting. Furthermore, I liked how much freedom the brief gave us, and there weren’t a long list of rules that we had to follow; the only ‘restriction’ being our chosen theme, which we still had freedom to pick. This project let us be creative in a way that was fun but also very useful to show us a real world application of our work, and how a typical project in the industry might proceed. As well as this, because we were able to create branding for ourselves, a lot of us may use these as either a starting point or how they are to develop an identity as a freelancer if we so wish.

brand board pdf

Good Omens

Brief

Complete the Great Gatsby cover we began in class, ensuring that, as much as possible, every detail is a match for the photograph we are copying. There is no need to ‘distress’ the paper. If you like, have a go at changing the colour of the book (perhaps use another well known Penguin colour) and change the book title and author to something else, to prove that your file is robust.

Once you have completed part 1, select another book and author – ideally something you have enjoyed or which means something to you. Something you know well. Inspired by the David Pearson’s Penguin cover for 1984, or both other artists or designers whose work you enjoy, create a new cover for your chosen book that:

- Sticks to the basic rules of your first classic Penguin
- Introduces new elements, or alters existing elements to create something funny / witty / insightful / relevant to the content or nature of your chosen book.

Process

After finishing the initial penguin book cover tutorial, I decided to have a go at changing some different elements of the book to see if I properly understood how the mechanisms in Indesign we learned worked and how to use them. For example making my own style sheets and making the cartouche again were especially good ways to see if i remembered how to make and use them, instead of just copying the tutorial. For the alternate version, I decided to make the cover for ‘Heartstopper Vol. 1’ by Alice Oseman. As the original is illustrated, I wondered how it would look as a penguin cover which is much simpler.

PDF’s for the two covers:

The Great Gatsby 01 Heartstopper 02

For the second part of the brief, I decided to use the book Good Omens by Neil Gaiman:

“[A] somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon — each of whom has lived among Earth’s mortals for many millennia and has grown rather fond of the lifestyle — are not particularly looking forward to the coming Rapture. If Crowley and Aziraphale are going to stop it from happening, they’ve got to find and kill the Antichrist (which is a shame, as he’s a really nice kid). There’s just one glitch: someone seems to have misplaced him. . . .”¹

In the book, the demon Crowley is often portrayed by a black and red snake, while the angel Aziraphale is usually only shown with wings to identify his true identity; another common motif for Aziraphale is his flaming sword. As these are the most commonly known portrayals of the two characters, I thought that including these would be the best way to make the cover more interesting while tying in the theme of the book.

I started by altering the details of the cover such as the title and author, as well as the small words on either side of the cover. After changing these main elements I took a picture of the altered cover and began to sketch the snake, angel wings and flaming sword over it. I decided to put the snake around the middle banner of the cover, as though it was coiling/hanging over it, and used the wings and sword to decorate the penguin. After sketching it out in Procreate, I transferred it to Illustrator and traced a clean, smooth outline using the pen tool. To make the colouring process easier, I took it back to Procreate and coloured it using a monoline brush to create flat colours. I saved the finished illustration as a PNG to make it transparent and placed it in InDesign.

However drawing the snake hanging over the banner looked too imposing and didn’t mould well with the rest of the cover’s components, whereas because the wings and sword were smaller to be added to the penguin, they fit in. For this reason, I thought about making the snake smaller so it blended in well – the only problem being its placement. Going back to my initial idea, I thought about having the snake wrap around something, but wasn’t sure about where to put it. After confiding with some peers, I decided to make it go around the cartouche. I thought this was rather ironic, having the representation for the demon at the top, and the angel at the bottom.

Again I sketched it in Procreate, but I decided not to trace it in Illustrator; after the first attempt of the cover, the smooth lines and flat colour looked somewhat out of place and too modern for a classic cover. So I made the decision to use a textured brush from Procreate and drew an outline that looked more like a pencil drawing or rustic print. I was much happier with how this looked, to took it forward and began to colour it; similarly to the outline, the flat colour didn’t merge well with the aesthetic of the cover, so I coloured it with a charcoal textured brush, making the colour slightly speckled and not entirely even. I was much happier with this result as it looked more fitting for a classic cover, and the added illustrations were balanced in their placement. For the main colour of the book, I settled for a deep blue that still allowed you to see the outlines of the illustrations and created a good contrast with the warmer colours used.

Reflection

Overall I really enjoyed this project as an introduction to using Indesign and it covered a lot of the main features that we will use in future tasks, while still allowing us to have some creative freedom and explore with it. Doing this project also made me understand why working with peers is very important – if I hadn’t confided with the people around me, I wouldn’t have been able to complete this project to a higher standard. Furthermore creating this cover made me think about how to develop something that already looks ‘finished’ even further and how to introduce a new theme, in this case the book’s premise, into something that already exists, and how to tie the two together. I think this project helped me make a confident start with using the InDEsign software, and developed my critical thinking skills.

Final cover PDF: Good Omens 03

¹taken from https://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/Good+Omens/

Different Every Time

Brief

A client has written a novel and asks you to work on the design of the book. He wants you to develop a concept that enhances and brings forward the visual dimension of the story. He does not request a traditional design, but a book that helps to develop the narrative through its form and materiality.

Out of the given story options, I chose Labyrinth, which goes as follows:

“A family moves into a house with unexpected spatial characteristics. The rooms keep shifting position every time a door is opened. The family members are trapped inside the house and start a journey to find the front door. While they keep moving from one room to the next, they discover that they are not the only ones lost in the impossibly infinite labyrinth of the house.”

Process

Rather than trying to think too carefully about how to display the concept of ‘Labyrinth’, I thought that just starting to work with the book after a couple of rough sketches would be a better approach given the amount of time we had to complete the project.

To get a clearer picture of what I wanted to create, I did some research on sculptural books and decided to base my design on the work of Brian Dettmer. From the summary of the story Labyrinth, I decided to focus on the fact the every time a door is opened, the rooms keep shifting position. To express this idea in a physical form I had the idea to separate the books pages into equal sized sections and cut out different shapes in each section to represent the rooms shifting, so that when the layers are laid on top of each other, the book itself looks like a labyrinth.

I started cutting out shapes from sections of the book, however due to the thickness of the book, the sections were relatively big so cutting was a difficult task. Because of this, some of the smaller corners and thin strips of paper tore, so I reinforced these with tape, which also made the structure of each section stronger and thus made them clearer. However I decided not to tape up the top section so that it would look more haphazard and confusing, relaying how the family would be feeling at the start of the story.

Reflection

This project really made me think about how to incorporate a concept or idea into an object that already exists, rather than making something from scratch. I enjoyed this project as it was very hands on from the start and had a lot of freedom concerning how we wanted to manipulate the books.

The Little Things

Brief

For this project, search for lettering around the campus based on a theme of your choosing and take photos of it. The theme can be whatever you like – or find, such as style, function, material, colour, texture, technique, and so on. Look everywhere – up, down, straight ahead; on buildings, objects (including cars), and bits of infrastructure (like lamp posts or utility covers). When you’re photographing, get up-close as well as shoot from distance.

Process

After the introduction to the project from Eric, we were left to take photographs for the remaining hour. As I wandered around the department to look for anything that stuck out to use as a theme, I stopped and thought to myself- ‘what if i did the exact opposite?’. So I decided to look for things that didn’t stick out, small examples of lettering that were passed by on a daily basis without anyone looking at them. I found engravings in the handrails outside of the department, university logos printed on the smallest of stickers and even a logo etched into the head of a nail.

Refinement

I decided to sort my photos into three sections: engraved, printed and raised.

I decided to do this to highlight the differences in materials, textures and creation methods behind each of my photos. For example, a majority of the raised and engraved letters are made from stone or metal, whereas the printed ones were on paper, plastic and canvas type materials. Making these connections made me think more deeply about the manufacturing process of these letters, and the different methods used, for example, after watching lectures from our Printing & Printmaking module, I considered whether metal casting similar to the process of making sorts was used for any of the small metal objects, such as the nail head.

It also made me realise, that while these small letters may not have any kind of significance to a majority of people, they still have uses to others. For example this small website at the very top of a bike rack- no one would ever bother to stop and read it, but if it were to break, the person repairing it would need that website to figure out who made it, and how to fix it.

Reflection

I really enjoyed doing this project as it was much more active and let us think for ourselves about a theme that we could apply to what we were looking for, essentially letting us each create our own unique brief as a development of the original. Doing this project also let me learn how lettering interacts with the environment, and that sometimes type is needed in even the smallest of things, as it can still communicate and has a purpose- not one noticed by many, but essential to some.

Scribble-as-you-go Backpack

Brief

After discussing three unusual/interesting facts with your partner, use these to design an ‘ideal gift’ for them using the ‘Double Diamond’ design process (Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver) by the Design Council .

Initial Ideas

The three facts I was given about my partner were:

She likes things to be organised, yet she herself just uses scraps of paper to make notes
She enjoys nature, the colours of it as well as its forms- and especially taking photos of it
Her favourite colour is blue

At first I considered going down a photography focused route by designing a camera that would take pictures exactly as she wanted. However it was difficult to incorporate the rest of her given facts into this. For this reason I decided to explore the fact that she likes things to be organised. I started this by thinking about the detail that she uses scraps of paper rather than a full notebook. This made me think of a wall planner to go above her desk with rolls of paper and small paper pads of varying sizes that she could tear off and use. To incorporate her love of nature, I added a wildflower design to the notepads to make the gift more visually appealing, and to create an overall theme for it.

Development

After finishing this design idea, I used the Random Word Technique so that I could develop this idea even further in more creative ways. The word I ended up with was BACKPACK. To incorporate this into my original idea, I took inspiration from a recently popular tote bag from IKEA which has gained a lot of attention for being versatile and practical. Using this bag as a starting point, I thought of ways to include a planner and camera into design. Rather than taking up the space inside of the bag for these, I thought of adding an extra pocket on the outside of the bad purely to hold small pads of paper, a notebook, pens, and pockets for anything extra. To include the photography aspect, I decided to add a small sleeve on the strap of the bag that could hold a slim camera, for example a Paper Shoot camera. Finally, to address her final fact- her favourite colour being blue, as well as her love of nature, I decided to make the bag blue, and add an embroidered wildflower pattern to it to add visual interest and adhere to her preferences.

Final Render

Initially I found it difficult to try and think of one object that could tie together three completely different facts, however I soon discovered that this was the goal of the project: to think outside of the box and generate creative solutions rather than trying to find something that already existed. For example. using the Random Word Technique was new and unfamiliar to me, but I it challenged me to explore different ideas and ways of experimenting during my design process.