Photoshop

Design ideas and design process

I developed my designs using video examples from YouTube on how to create different effects on photoshop. I demonstrated this by using the pen tool on photoshop to create different colour strokes in blue, green and white. The pen size was a little big too. I then went on to using the liquify tool. This tool allows you to blend the different colour pen strokes. I used this and blended the different colours to create a marble effect. I got this marbled effect inspiration from TikTok the app. I was on TikTok where I saw this candle making video which was made with a marbled effect. Then later on during the day when I was starting my photoshop task I remembered this and then the idea was created. I first searched some video tutorials on how to do this. I then found a video which was helpful for me because I was new to photoshop I didn’t want to do something that went wrong so this video linked below was very helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouviTuZUB4E. For the text I wanted something simple yet effective. I changed the position of the text to warp to create a curved effect for Typography because this was the main text focus here. I created a tagline/slogan for the podcast and added a headphone icon to show it is a podcast because after doing research I saw that most podcast covers have a microphone or headphones an an icon.

 

For design 2 I went for geometric shapes. I outlined them with a dotted stroke line, and also using inspiration from design 1 to change the position of the text again too wavy. This wave effect really goes well with the curved circle edges.

For design three I focused more on the text and the microphone as the icon. I incorporated the letter ‘I’ from the ‘communication’ text to microphone. I felt this made it look better and combining it makes it aesthetical to look at. 

 Software tutorials

I watched the video on how to use layers on photoshop and how to create different ones for the different elements on the page. Adding layers helped me organise my work and helped me lock the layers for the ones I was not using. With layers I was able to separate the images I used and edit them without affecting other parts of texts.I converted the image layer to a Smart Object. this allowed me move the new object around on the page, edit and resize it without affecting other things on the page and the resolution of the image. The quality was not affected. The video on linking images was very helpful. However, I watched this video after creating my design. I didn’t want to fall a week behind so I didn’t make changes.This led to me not having an effective podcast cover. If I was to do this again I would be able to do it much better.

 

Design resources and articles

An additional software tutorial I used was the liquify video linked above. This video helped me develop creative skills because the liquify tool allows you to create a marbled effect and you can use this and position it anywhere on the page. I also researched into how to create a text background for design 3. The first time I did this the text was not aligned because I copy and pasted the text several times. It went all wrong. However, after doing some research I was able to create a uniform background with the text ‘typography and graphic communication’. I feel to improve maybe not having it in all caps would make it look better because in all caps can make it distracting from the original text which is the podcast title.

https://99designs.co.uk/blog/design-other/how-to-design-a-podcast-cover-the-ultimate-guide/ 

I also researched using the above link into what makes a good podcast cover and i used this to help me chose the colours I ended up using. I used analogous colours which were blue and green shades. I like the idea of using analogous colours because despite lacking in contrast the colours actually do go well together and make the final outline look quite serene to look at.

30-creative-examples-of-podcast-cover-art-and-branding

This was another website I used to take design inspiration from because it had great podcast cover ideas.

overall, I found this task very interesting. I learnt new things.

 

 

 

Apples, sausage dog and travel

I was given three words by Neve. Apples, sausage dog and travel. I decided to create an apple basket in the shape of a sausage dog because Neve said she “absolutely loves apples” and really wants a pet dog. So I wanted to combine both of her likes and interests into one useful product which she can use over and over again.

Funeral Card

The object I chose to write my blog post from Emma’s collection is a funeral invitation card. I chose this object because of the different typographic elements used.

Printing Process 

The art work has been printed in many different ways.For example, the name ‘Mr Biscoe’ is handwritten but the actual invitation information looks as though it has been typed using a typewriter. The details around the text such as the skulls, coffin and the signs etc all woodcut images that have been engraved into this thick material of card/wood. I think once the engraving was done a stamp or a press was used to spread black ink over the engraving to show all the little details more effectively, and then the writing was added in the empty white space.

 

Use of Colour 

The only colour used for this funeral card was black. And this could be to signify grief and solemnity. Black was a colour used in the 19th Century for mourning and the loss of an individual and if any women was seen in black when not in a mourning period was seen as dangerously eccentric. The black colour in contrast with the half white background makes the writing really stand out.

 

Lettering Style 

The letters used in the text is a serif font. The spacing between the lines is quite small. The writing seems together. But the spaces in-between words are quite bigger than a normal space. There is text used for the actual invite message but also in the engraving. The engraving has texts such as ‘remember to die’ and these texts in the graving are all in caps and this could be to ensure the text is bold and stands out.

 

Audience 

The audience was adults, those invited to the funeral. They had to bring this card with them.

 

Staircase theme

For the broken narrative task I decided to chose the theme ‘staircase’. I really enjoyed working with this theme because I was able to create a staircase effect in the centre of the book. I cut this out to give a spiral staircase effect. As you go through the book (down the stairs) you can see the pages from inside start to get darker and the corners start to tears away. This symbolises how the man from the theme is getting more ill every time he goes down one floor of the sanatorium. Towards the end on the last page you can see the page fully turns black. This shows his sudden death.

 

 

 

 

Instruction signs

When taking pictures of the signs I started in the Typography department, and I started to take pictures of signs and posters with serifs. For example, the road sign that reads ‘MINISTER AVENUE’ has serifs on the typeface.

As I left the department and went outside I noticed numerous signs with information and instructions. I then found a theme of ‘instructions and informative signs’. I continued taking pictures of bold instruction signs. I organised my pictures into two categories. Instruction signs with text and instruction signs with icons. The first set shows instruction signs with text. An example of one of the sign is the blue one that reads ‘staff parking only’. The blue colour for the sign shows that this is a positive instruction sign that must be followed. Another example with the colour blue is ‘fire door keep shut’, again this sign represents that these doors must be kept closed at all times. The colour blue for these instruction/informative signs will draw attention. The sign that reads ‘drop off only’ and ‘no entry’ are in red. Red symbolises important and strong instructions. The colour red can also be seen from a very far distance making it useful to be in red to inform people on what the sign is about.

The second category I chose was instruction and informative signs with icons. One example I really liked was the yellow sign which read ‘floor may be slippery when wet’ and has an icon of a person slipping. This sign caught my eye because the sign is showing you the effect of what can happen if you walk on the wet floor. Yellow signs are simply warning signs but they are still informative as they are warning you on what could happen. Yellow also suggests danger. An instruction sign with icons which reads ‘no smoking in this building’ is a command and is telling people not to smoke. The icon with a cigarette with a red line through it makes it very clear that this must be followed, and with the sign being red it makes it stand out more. Other signs such as the ‘give way’ sign with arrows shows to allow drivers to pass by coming from the direction of the arrows and signs like ‘CCTV cameras in operation’ with a CCTV camera icon makes it noticeable that there are cameras in this building. Again this is a yellow sign suggesting the danger on what could happen if instructions are not followed.

 

Shades of green

My mood board started off with different shades of the colour green. It then developed into a darker emerald/forest green, and then I incorporated leaves into the board along with the colour gold. The final colour theme I went for was emerald green and gold. I wanted the background to be green so I added a leaf texture effect on one side and a solid green on the other. And then I added a geometric gold and green pattern one on the bottom. I then went onto the text. I chose a serif font for my first name as I wanted my name to have a professional look, but I did the ‘graphic designer’ text in a sans serif font because I wanted that to stand out a little bit more to show what I do. I finally did my surname underneath and kept the spacing in-between both “A’s” in my first name to make it all equal. The leaf pattern was a good choice for me because when I think of green the first thing I think of is trees and leaves, so I feel it fit well in this context. One thing I would do to improve is make the text of my full name a little bigger or maybe spaced out a little more.

 

I also went on to creating a smaller logo design shown below. I wanted this logo to read my name but also represent my initials ‘ZH”, the square has my initials in it in a darker shade of green than the outside square and also added more squares to give it a geometric/ symmetrical effect which went well with the letters.