Category: Real Jobs

The Gentlemen Danes book illustration

Background

My client for this real job was an independent publisher based in Reading. The client is writing and publishing a new book that details historic events dating back to the early 19th century. The book tells the story of Danish prisoners of war, residing in Reading during the years of 1807 – 1814; mainly taking from the memoirs of one of the prisoners, who became better known in the town as the Gentlemen Danes (also fittingly the title of the book). The book is the first to detail the ventures of this particular group of war prisoners as the memoirs were recently recovered and have only been translated fully as of 2020. The story of the Gentlemen Danes follows the group mainly throughout Reading and different parts of Berkshire; describing their lived experiences that make for an interesting, historic read.

 

Restated Brief and deliverables

The job originally started off as a commission for an illustrative font cover with a rather quick turn-around; it entailed that I create an illustration that works as an eye catching, historically accurate front cover that did allowed ample bleed and did allowed for the integration of text for the title to exist in the same space also. To begin with there were not many reference images to work from, aside from one sketch that my supervisor had quickly drawn herself. Ultimately the illustration was described to me as a somewhat realistic illustration for The Gentlemen Danes history book that displays one fete (‘Revel’) as described in the text (the text was provided for me also). After emailing my supervisor who was in direct contact with the client, I then found out more about the nature of the illustration and some possible additional deliverables on top of the proposed illustration. It was being discussed if the cover would also serve as a smaller sized thumbnail image on the inside of the book also. I was also told to consider using the colours that were see in the Danish flag and that the exact colour values I use would have to be noted for possible use elsewhere on the book; perhaps for the titles or other text on the cover. This meant that I also had to think carefully about which tones would work on top of the illustration for it to be legible enough.

After going back and forth further with my supervisor and client however, we came to an understanding that the colour would be dropped as a deliverable and that the main focus was just the cover as an illustration. During this process the dimensions of the cover (275mm x 212mm) were given to me as well as how much bleed was required (3mm around all sides). From the start the illustration was set as being CMYK as it was definitely going to be printed, and the point was made that care would have to be taken to make sure all necessary detail was big enough to be see on a cover at the size it was. The other considerations that were very important that I think about carefully were the accuracies of not only the scene being depicted, but the clothing, hairstyles etc. of the time as well.

There were only two reasons where the brief had to be changed in a substantial way; one being because of the change of deadline and the second being because the main deliverable changed. During around December time the client decided to change his mind about what he wanted for the cover. I was told that he came across an original painting that displayed the Danish flag on its sales and he thought it to be a very good cover for what he was writing about. This did not mean that I had been designing for nothing however, and he made the compromise to keep a space left in the book for my illustration to be displayed. The brief had to be updated from a cover illustration to a general inside pages illustration; which fortunately meant that I would not have to change much except fill in the space where I left empty for text to be.

Schedule

The job to begin with was a rather quick turn-around of Around 5 weeks, of which I was confident in reaching on time. This did not go as planned however, and the level of accuracy and detail that my client required was more than initially expected. Not reaching the deadline I was given was not however a problem; I had warned my client before time that I may not reach the deadline I was given, which was originally the 15th of October and he explained that he truly wanted the illustration done by January. I assumed then that the original date given wasn’t entirely true to the sentiments of the client. Over the time it took to create the illustration, I believe that I have kept a steady, suitable pace, even when other commitments got in the way. In terms of communication with my supervisor and client this real job felt a little different than the average. My supervisor was a Masters student who was very busy a lot of the time, and it became apparent when her reply times were getting longer and longer. We came to a happy medium however where I would directly email and set up video meetings with the client instead of going to my supervisor first. This was agreed on by all parties and in retrospect made sense for this kind of job; I was making changes as per the clients request so the supervisor just being an extra messenger was not the most efficient. From this point in about early November, I would be meeting frequently with the client, and every so often emailing my supervisor with an update on the illustration process.

Process

At the beginning the job ran like a normal real job would. I contacted my supervisor for feedback, and when given the green light I would get feedback from the client. Often times my supervisor would be medium between us, but after a while it was established that I was better off getting feedback directly from him as it was his specification I was catering to. It also meant that I wouldn’t have to go through my supervisor just to get to my client. From then we were in agreement that this be the process for communication. In the first couple weeks the interaction between me and the client was mostly to do with general styles of illustration and the composition of the scene. We settled fairly quickly on a style, but the layout of the scene took a while longer to agree on. At this time I was still working with barely any detail and mainly would move rough stickmen figures to signify where a person would be in the illustration; perhaps the lack of detail and didn’t allow for a true representation of what the layout actually looked like at this time. In this part of development we went over a lot of changes in a period of time, building up the composition piece by piece.

An example of the images sourced from the research visit to the MERL – image is from Pyne’s British Costumes (William H Pyne)

After a while of talking about research for the kind of clothing they would wear at the time, the client requested that I visit the Museum of English Rural life to get a more accurate and confident look and feel for this aspect. The visit was very fruitful, and the notes I took were very helpful to the character development over time. The books where I got the most useful information from were British Working Dress – occupational clothing 1750-1950 (Jayne Shrimpton) – Shire Library, and Pyne’s British Costumes (William H Pyne) It was the first time that I would have to an extended amount of research for an illustration. It was also a learning curve for me in terms of illustrating from descriptions in text.

Design

The first sketches I sent to the client were in pencil and were to get a feel for the number of people in the scene how the scene would be generally set up.

 

Image of initial sketch used as template for graphic styles
Initial sketch of a possible layout of the scene

I would also draw in pencil a template for the styles I gave to the client to decide from. I had already been told that the client liked some of the styles shown on my portfolio, and I had also been told that the illustration was to be somewhat realistic. I drew the same human figure and took it to illustrator to create a few different styles of which the client picked the one that incorporated shading made up of hatching. The reason was that it resembled engraving and gave historical connotations in of itself.

One of the proposed illustration styles sent to the client
One of the proposed illustration styles sent to the client (chosen)

From here we would simultaneously go through different characters and the accuracy their clothing, and the composition of the scene as whole. Up until the last one, every meeting with the client would result in either a major or minor change to the illustration.

Initial digital sketch – use of stickmen for positioning of characters
Developed digital sketch – composition is more balanced and background is built up with detail
Developed illustration – composition nearly finalised and relevant detailing is coming more and more into the scene
Final illustration with all details added, sense of depth with blurred background, and etching style finish over the top of it

For a while it was quite intense with the number of changes suggested, but I soon got the hang of it. I also learnt very quickly to work in a way that would allow for things to be moved easily around the illustration without any problems, i.e. ensuring each person was their own entity (by grouping their components) so if they were to be moved to the left or made bigger, it was an easy change. After a while colour was incorporated, many characters were changed around, taken out or added and the whole scene became a reality.

Reflection

The real job ended different to how it started in more ways than one. Firstly I didn’t realise how much detail and research was required for this illustration, and it came as a little bit of a shock to me how much time I would go on to dedicate to it; it stands to reason that the initial brief set false expectations due to it being advertised as a quick turn-around. Another area where there was a big change was the connection between me, the supervisor, and the client, with the supervisor eventually becoming an unnecessary step in getting feedback from the client. The final area was when the job illustration changed from being a for the cover to being for the inside content.

At the start there were a few things that the client wanted to explicitly be in the illustration in some way or another. The list consisted of a black and white dog, some of the Gentlemen Danes in the frame, one of the main Danes being very tall and skinny, a large famer welcoming them into the fete, a line of fete banner across the field they were on and some kids playing one of traditional summer game. With all of these worked into the illustration, the client seemed very happy with what was achieved. A word from the client that further justified this;

“Lewis put his name forward to do an illustration of a country event in Berkshire in the early nineteenth century for a forthcoming book. In order to be as historically accurate as possible Lewis had to do a lot of work in researching the costumes people were wearing at the time. After many online meetings, and a number of adjustments and modifications to the original brief, we finally honed it down to a picture that I was very happy with. Happy not only because it is an authentic reproduction of how the event might have appeared like, but also because it was done in Lewis’ own graphic style. It was a very pleasant experience to work with Lewis and I wish him great success in the future”

Overall I was very happy with how the job turned out, and although the prospect of having my illustration as a book cover was more exciting, I am still very glad and grateful that it even gets to be in a publication of some sorts. The end product felt deserved due to all of the time, research and effort that went into the work. Thank you to Libby Skipp and John Nixon.

Red Emerald Branding

Background

Red Emerald is a new business that aims to advise and support leaders in universities, colleges and government bodies on internationalisation strategies and activities. For example, supporting university students in achieving their goals to engage in an international experience indirectly through university staff. Red emerald also advises international students and their parents, wanting to study in the UK or UK students wanting to study/work abroad. The company with hold conferences with government bodies for which they will supply reports and other reading materials.

Restated Brief

Our aim was to create a brand identity for Red Emerald, that would appeal to the company’s broad target market. The brand needed to be consistently identifiable across all design outcomes whilst complimenting the different formats required. Competitors currently in the market mostly have a typographic logo, with a fairly muted colour scheme. The few that have a graphic logo reference a globe illustration, which our client wanted to avoid for individuality.

What we agreed to design:

  • Logo
  • Business cards
  • Letter & Report Template
  • Presentation slides template

Communication and Schedule

We were able to keep in touch with Charlene for the most part throughout the project, but there were times where we would not be in contact for a while due to the success of the business. This meant the proposed schedule was delayed; however, we kept our supervisor and the Real Jobs team up to date by attending Real Jobs meetings and staying in contact via email.

Delays in client meant that we could not meet the original deadline date for the project, we felt her feedback was crucial to creating successful outcomes that satisfied her expectations. However, the extended deadline allowed us more time to contemplate and make improvements to each of the design outcomes, so we do not feel that this had a negative impact on the work produced. An extension date was never finalised between the client and us, but our main priority was to ensure the client was happy with the final design outcomes. More consistent communication between Charlene and us may have enabled us to finish the project on time.

Research and ideation

Red Emerald currently has few competitors. In our initial client meeting we looked through some of their logos and discussed why we thought they were or were not successful. This helped us later in deciding the approach we wanted to take to our own design work. Most of the logos used a single block colour which was extended throughout their branding material, while others chose more intricate designs that featured shading to create a 3D effect. We also considered how each brand had a slightly different target market which led us on to identify the different user groups for Red Emerald and create user personas to represent these.

Red Emerald current business competitors.

We explored some of our design ideas by creating mood boards. We took two approaches to this, the first explored the more blatant theme of creating a brand related to the individual words in the name: ‘red’ and ‘emerald’. On this board we explored different emerald cuts and shades of red, combined with a contemporary approach to typography using sans serif fonts.

Mood board exploring emerald cuts and different tones of red.
Mood board following a floral theme with serif fonts.

On the second board we explored a subtler approach covering a floral theme as our client informed us that red emerald is also a plant. On this second mood board we looked at floral fonts that also incorporated a vintage aesthetic as this was something the client has also expressed an interest in. 

Design Process

Logo

The client had a lot of input in the design of the logo with regard to their own ideation. In our initial meeting she provided us with a few sketches which we later used to brainstorm an array of initial sketches for further development. Charlene had expressed interest in using a floral theme throughout the branding which we found quite tricky as we needed to ensure that the logo was not gender oriented, so the nature of the business was not misidentified. We created a range of initial sketches on paper and then Adobe Illustrator to explore the possibilities of combining aspects of both of styles explored on our mood boards. A range of graphic elements were explored in this stage of the design process including; textures, colour gradients and shadows, but initial feedback led us to decide that block colour logos had the most impact. Block colour also did not compromise the legibility or clarity of the logo when adapted to different scales for the required documents and interfaces.

Initial logo sketches presented to client.
First development of initial logo sketches presented to client.

Charlene always kept us up to date with feedback she received from her colleagues regarding our ideas for the logo. To ensure Red Emerald presented a brand image that was appropriate to be presented to Government Organisations we quickly veered away from the original classic vintage style with serif typeface and moved towards a more contemporary style with a sans serif typeface. Floral elements no longer felt appropriate and we required a deeper exploration of the emerald cuts and shapes associated with them. This enabled a clear direction for ongoing development.

We explored typographic logos using the initials of the company but later decided this could be confusing for clients so we concluded that having the full name Red Emerald alongside the logo image would be more effective especially while the business is establishing itself.

Developing the logo, incorporating an icon with ‘Red Emerald’.
Final logo for Red Emerald, the logo is preferably displayed as white writing on a red background but there is the option to have red writing on a light background as we stated in the brand guidelines.
How the logo would be displayed as a profile image on social media.
Logo specifications in the brand guidelines document.

Combining the text with image was one of the most challenging aspects but also helped to determine which was the strongest design. The design chosen provided us with a diamond graphic that fit comfortably alongside the name of the business and presented a corporate aesthetic which met the client’s needs.

Business cards

We initially took a more personal approach to designing the business cards and considered styles and patterns that Charlene had liked from our first logo designs. While dismissing the floral theme for the logo, we considered there may be an opportunity to incorporate it into the business cards to achieve this. However, we later decided, based on feedback from our supervisor and client, that while this was a valid experiment the outcome was not successful.

Initial business card design ideas.
Development of business card designs.
Final proposal for business card design. It includes a front cover and two options for the back cover that display different information.

Developing the business card design involved exploring the possibility for a variety of layouts both portrait and landscape. As the project progressed, we began to think more about how the business cards could tie in with the other design outcomes. We ended up with a faint polygon pattern behind the logo on the front of the business cards which was then used on the report and letter template. The final business card design allowed for two text layout options on the back, one displayed the information that Charlene has available to her now and one shows the information that the business will have in the future once it is set up. The client decided to get the business cards printed using an external printer, so we created the appropriate files to enable her to do this. We discussed a variety of print finishes and in the end we chose a spot UV finish for the logo.

Report template

The primary function of the Report was to present information to a range of clients by aesthetically supporting the written content without distracting from it. We discussed with the client the kind of content that would be in the report to establish what components we needed to design. It was agreed that we would supply a range of paragraph styles to support hierarchy within the text and create a style for tables and charts, along with a colour scheme.

Final report template.
Final report template showing table and pie chart style.

The final report template allows the client to add an image to the front cover or keep the logo watermark as shown. The paragraph styles present a range of heading options using fonts that are available on Microsoft Word and Apple Pages on multiple devices, to avoid complications when the template is being used by Charlene’s colleagues.

Letter template

The letter template was one of the last outcomes we designed, it was easy to create a successful design once the final logo had been confirmed. The polygon design used in the business card was recreated in the form of a banner which was positioned at the top of the page to help form the consistency in the brand that was required. The main difficulty with designing the letter template was that it introduced typographic restrictions as we had to consider the traditional layout of a letter and consider that most of the information would ideally sit on one A4 page. As with the report template, the letter template included types that are available in Microsoft Word and Apple Pages on all devices.

Final letter template design.

Slide show template

When designing the Presentation, the first consideration was to ensure coherence of the branding we had carried through the other documents. Using the red from the colour scheme and inspired by the geometric pattern used in the diamond graphic of the logo we began to create some slides incorporating the chosen serif typeface for the brand. In our first drafts of the Presentation slides the font was too small when we considered that presentations generally don’t contain large bodies of text and must be legible from a longer distance.

Progression of the design in the other documents, gave headway to the development of the Presentation, elements such as the subtle watermark and red polygon pattern on the business cards were brought in to keep consistency throughout, as well as the logo. We were unsure for a while what the best approach to the presentation slides was, so we had a range of options for the client to choose. From our Supervisor’s feedback we decided there was too many variants of slide backgrounds, and this surplus of choice was unnecessary as well as confusing for the user who really only needed one maybe two options. Peer feedback also implied that the all red background was too overwhelming on the eye, especially when considering the slides are likely to be presented on a large screen. The slide backgrounds that were decided on was a combination of the watermark and banner which influenced largely to mirror the report design.

Presentation slides template, title slide.

The final important changes made, included the placement of the logo which needed to obtain to the agreed bordering space outlined in the brand guidelines and secondly it had to be exactly the same size and placement on all the slides. The watermark felt too opaque and infringed upon the editable presentation copy, so the transparency was increased to amend this.

Reflection

This project has given us a great insight into the design process for creating a brand identity. In each stage of the process the challenge of brand consistency presented itself which often meant that we had to rethink the logo or the fonts we were using. Better analysis of who we were designing for and what the company’s main activities are, would have helped us make more informed design decisions. We had a lot of ideas at the start but there are some styles we didn’t explore, and we could have created more initial sketches that potentially would have helped us decide on a final logo sooner.

 

“It has been a real pleasure working with both Aoife and Hannah. They have both been incredibly helpful with their thoughts, ideas and creativity. I have appreciated their suggestions being both creative but also academic in what works and what doesn’t work from a design learning perspective. They have always been willing to make changes and trying to come up with solutions that both work from a design perspective and what works for me as a client. They have always been quick to respond and have been very patient (as I haven’t always been able to respond as quickly!).

Their design work has been received very positively from the small market research I did as part of the development process. Comments received included ‘clean and bold’ ‘love the colours and how simple but affective the logo is’ and ‘It represents you really well…it will be attractive for your markets” – Charlene Allen, Managing Director of Red Emerald.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Infographics for PhD research thesis on aphasia

Background

The client for this project is Willemijn Doedens, a PhD student in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading. With a background in speech and language therapy, the client’s PhD research focuses on aphasia. Aphasia is a language and speech impairment occurring as a result of brain damage. Her research conclusions explore how real-world communications can be defined, how they can be clinically tested and the findings of her research experiments.

 

Restated Brief

The client requested two infographics to summarise the conclusions she has drawn from her research project. The main infographic would be included within the research thesis, acting as a visual break from the written content. The second infographic would be used on social media to summarise the full infographic and promote the publication of her research paper. The crucial aim of the project was to make the infographics “aphasia-friendly”, so the client could share the research results with the participants of her experiments, who have aphasia.  Although the main infographic was due to be submitted as a physical copy, COVID-19 meant that the client’s final thesis submission was digital. As a result, both deliverables for this project became digital files, with the view to being included within a printed thesis at a further date.

 

Design Process

Research

At the core of this project was gaining an understanding of how to design for those with aphasia. With little knowledge of aphasia, myself, collaborating with the client to gain an insight into the subject area became a vital tool for my research. Alongside discussions with the client, turning to the Stroke UK website, I came across resources directed at designing for those with aphasia. From this research, I gained far more perspective on the direction I would need to take the designs to make the infographics “aphasia-friendly”. For example, those with aphasia understand documents best when each part of the text is supported by a diagram.

Although designing for those with aphasia was key to this project, it was important to assess all the different users of the infographics. Creating user personas, it became clear that the design was directed towards those with both scientific knowledge of aphasia and the general public. As a result, the written content for the infographic became key to creating a successful design.

 

One of the four user personas I created for this project

 

One of four user personas I created for this project

 

Content Transformation

Due to the scientific nature of this project, the client provided the copy to be used for the infographic. However, the copy was around 1500 words and needed to be reduced significantly whilst maintaining its academic integrity. Working in collaboration with the client, I worked to break down the content into digestible sentences. This was particularly challenging because in order to break down the content, I had to read it through many times and discuss it with the client to gain a basic understanding of it myself. Once I had gaining some basic understanding, I was able to work on reducing the content down into a more condensed format. However, as I had spent time discussing the content before condensing it, it was hard to gauge whether the content would make sense to someone who hadn’t read the original copy. Therefore, testing became vital at this stage of the process and I carried out many informal reviews of the content with family and friends. Through this testing, it became clear which parts of copy made sense and which didn’t. I also found it very beneficial to ask others to explain what they thought each part of the copy meant so I could compare their understanding to the original copy and see which parts were being misunderstood.

 

Illustrations

Alongside working on the written content, I worked on designing the illustrations to go with the copy. This was key to this project as much of the original copy could be translated into diagrams, saving many words and making the design far more aphasia-friendly. Working on the copy and illustrations simultaneously allowed me to adapt the content efficiently and reach a set of illustrations and copy which reflected the original 1500 words effectivity.

Illustration sketches alongside the corresponding copy for the infographic
Illustration sketches alongside the corresponding copy for the infographic

 

The client expressed an interest in having the experiment setup translated into a diagram but had no other specific requirements for the illustrations or styling. As a result, I researched into different styles of illustrations used for scientific content and examined different approaches that could be taken. With the key focus of the infographic being to make it easily understandable  for those with and without aphasia, I decide that the most appropriate style for the illustrations was flat 2D vectors. However, for the experiment setup I trialled and tested both a 2D and 3D setup which led to the 3D diagram being used for the final design. This was due to the 3D version being more easily understood as users could see that the middle bar was a barrier without the need for a label.

 

2D version of the experiment setup
3D version of the experiment setup

 

Initial Layout Ideas

Having worked on the copy and illustrations to be included within the infographic, I worked to mockup three different layouts for the infographic. The client did suggest she wanted to avoid a design which looks like a scientific poster, so layout 3 was originally not the favourite. However once I had explained the benefits of layout 3 for those with aphasia, this was the design taken forward.

Three initial layout ideas: layout 1 (left), layout 2 (centre), layout 3 (right)

 

Data Interpretation

One of the hardest parts of the design process was creating illustrations for the experiment results. This was because the client didn’t want to use physical data on the infographic as it would be too complex for those with aphasia to understand. She did however really like the idea of using graphs to display the results. As a result, we had some long discussions about the use of graphs, as generally people assume graphs to accurately represent data. For this infographic though, these graphs would simply be a visual representation of a difference in results between the two groups of the experiment. Consequently, I provided the client with some different options for making the graphs as appropriate as possible and also an alternative Venn diagram. With these options the client did decide to use the bar and line graphs, in the knowledge that they are a visual representation not accurate bar graph. As a result, the graphs were changed and refined many times.

 

This was the final iteration for the Experiment A results as a bar graph (this was chosen for the final infographic)

 

This was the final iteration for the Experiment A results as a Venn diagram

 

Use of colour

The client expressed the importance of having a reasonably simple colour scheme for the design to meet the needs of those with aphasia and suggested a plain white background would be most appropriate. I explore a few varying colour schemes, before coming to a scheme which took inspiration from scientific poster whilst also providing enough variation to make it stand out. I also explored the use of colour to benefit those with aphasia, for example, repeating the set of three red icons throughout the infographic to reinforce the main three parts of real-world communication.

Two different colour schemes which were trialled for the infographic

 

Social Media Infographic

Having finished the infographic to be included within the thesis, I worked to design a summary version for use on social media. This was more challenging than I had anticipated, as I had to consider the context in which this social media version would be read. After making many edits to the copy for the summary, I arrived at a concise design which featured enough information to explain the research subject area to someone who would not have read the thesis itself.

 

This was the final outcome of the social media infographic

 

Final Deliverables

The final deliverables were produced as digital files, with the main infographic being placed into the client’s research thesis and the social media version ready to be published on twitter (once the thesis is published next year). Below are the final outcomes of the project.

Infographic to be included within the thesis (page 1)

 

Infographic to be included within the thesis (page 2)

 

Mock up of the social media summary infographic posted as a tweet

 

Reflection

When this project began, I felt quite daunted by the idea of working by myself having not completed one of these projects before. As a result, the working relationship I developed with the client, from the offset, was very important to me. From our first meeting, I felt very comfortable working with Willemijn on this project. As an academic herself, she recognised that my strength laid with the design of the infographic and avoided biasing my ideas with her own. At first this left me feeling very lost with endless ideas and options for the infographics, but by the end of the project I realised that as a result of her open views on the designing process, I felt far more confident in my own ability to design a successful outcome. Additionally, having to work through my ideas without the help of a team, I found that I became more confident in explaining my ideas to others and working through constructive feedback from both the client and my supervisor.

Having always struggled with time management, completing this real client project motivated me to stick to a schedule. Planning became vital for this project, particularly during the content transformation stage. I underestimated the amount of time that I would need to transform the content for the infographic. However, by working in collaboration with the client, I was able to transform the long content into a digestive amount of information which was appropriate for the general public and those with aphasia. Following this slight set back, I was a little rushed at the end of the project. But, thanks to the strong communication I developed with both the client and my supervisor, I was able to successfully finish the project on time.

Overall, I found this project extremely rewarding as it has given me more confidence in my ability to communicate with clients, execute my own ideas and work to a deadline. It was also lovely to know that my views on how the project went were replicated by my client, who provided me with some lovely feedback on submission of the final outcomes:

“You really understood the research from the start, and you were able to capture the key elements of the project right away.  I thought the whole design process and collaboration with you went really well – above and beyond what I could have expected”

A Survival Guide to an Emotive World

Background

Young adults with a learning disability may struggle to go to university, not due to a lack of skills but due to confidence issues. Being a student studying Graphic Communication is exciting and where you experience unique things that are not known to people who aren’t students. Opening these young adults eyes to the graphic design world and life being a student, hopefully will build their confidence to be bolder to taking new opportunities.

Restated Brief

Objectives

The aim of this Real Job was to write and present a talk that explained my passion for graphic design and being a student. This needed to be presented in an engaging way that would trigger enthusiasm within the audience. I believe I was successful in achieving this as the students were responding to the presentation content throughout and some asked questions at the end.

Deliverables

The deliverables of this project were somewhat unique for a Real Job as the design work involved using a template that the client provided. The outcome of the project acted as the deliverable, this being the presentation slides. The presentation lasted 30 minutes and needed to cover the topics that were agreed and discussed with the clients. The content of the presentation was: Myself & Design, what is design that including examples of a film poster project, infographics, data visualisation and pictograms. These topics were chosen as they were able to be related to by the audience despite having no background knowledge to graphic design. The film poster project being specifically relatable as the films chosen were well known. There was discussion of a hand out however, considering the time restriction this was agreed not to be included.

Image 1: Contents page
Image 2: Initial sketches
Image 3: Initial designs
Image 4: Student examples

Schedule

Due to the project being presented in the Easter holidays the client was flexible with the date of the presentation. I had the choice of three Fridays (the day that sessions were scheduled), my presentation was scheduled for the 17th April.

Process

Initial contact with the client

The initial meeting with the client was via Zoom so I was never able to meet the client face to face. However, the meetings were very relaxed and efficient as the client was clear with their objectives.

The client and myself maintained good communication, although we could’ve perhaps set a certain time each week to touch base because it was such a short project, there wasn’t time for mistakes. On the whole I felt this worked well. The client was clear with what she wanted to achieve and this was all outlined well in many exchanged emails. Overall, I felt that I worked with the client in a professional way where their vision was achieved.

Research

My audience were mostly adults aged 18–35 with learning difficulties who did not have the opportunity for university or further education, this being due to self-confidence problems. Every Friday, sessions are run for them to gain insight into a specific field that differs each week opening them to more opportunities. I needed to ensure that the presentation was appropriate and simple to understand, not bombarding them with too much information. The appropriateness for the audience was a way to manage the success as was measured by the engagement and enjoyment of the audience. To make the presentation engaging, I made sure that I covered a few topics in depth to fully explain to the audience the different processes and examples of graphic design, providing consistent structure to the presentation.

Image 5: Initial Brainstorm
Image 6: Slide Plan

Design and Development

After deciding the content that I wanted to include I had to organise this in an appropriate and methodological way. Despite being given a template by the client I still had to design the slides so that they appeared intriguing yet clear to my audience. One challenge I did face was ensuring that the script was coherent to the slides and that everything I spoke about was demonstrated on the slide. To create a clear structure of my presentation I added an introductory slide that acted as a contents page to inform the audience what I will be speaking about. This helped me to create sections within my presentation ensuring that I spent an equal time on each topic. Conforming to a template was useful as it ensured that the students were familiar with the format and were forced to focus on what was on the slide rather than a new design.

Trello

Trello allowed me to organise and present my ideas effectively. I now have a better understanding of Trello so I am now able to use it more efficiently. Throughout this project I was able to upload developments of my work, explaining the rationale behind my decisions. I altered the checklists on Trello to suit my project, this helped me to manage my time well and to ensure I had achieved the requirements of the client. The Trello board also ensured communication with my supervisor so that they also were able to monitor my progress.

Final Stage

Feedback

The instant feedback that I gathered after completing the presentation was that the students asked some questions throughout showing that they were engaged. One student also stayed behind on the call to ask me some feedback on a website he had created, where he has put together a gaming portfolio to show to possible jobs related to gaming. The client also phoned me the following week to provide me with some feedback, she felt that my presentation remained professional whilst ensuring interaction with the students. It was also mentioned that reading from a script can sometimes make engagement hard but this was fine as I was able to come away from the script in order to speak directly to the students. Overall the client was pleased with my presentation and she felt that the students benefitted from my Student 101 greatly.

Reflection

Time Management

This was my first Real Job that I have completed so far. I feel as though I learnt many things this term, where I had to manage many other projects alongside this having to make my own decision as to when to prioritise different work.

Communication Skills

I found it insightful presenting to strangers where I was able to convey my passion for graphic design. It definitely benefitted me working on this project alone as it became a personal journey through the presentation where I essentially had the chance to showcase some of my favourite projects. This project will definitely help me when I have to present in the future whether this is at university or in my professional career as this was the first time I presented to strangers.

COVID-19

The deadline had to be met as the client and her students were relying on me to deliver my presentation on a specific date. The initial plan was for myself to come to Reading in the Easter holidays and to present in person, however due to Covid-19 this was changed to a Zoom presentation. I was initially unfamiliar with the software, however after doing practice presentations I felt more confident.  Zoom did not restrict or limit my presentation but the challenge of engaging the students became harder as it was a greater challenge to give a talk that engaged people who were not in the same room. To try and help this I asked questions throughout the presentation at the end of each topic, rather than waiting till the very end where I opened them up to asking questions.

Personal Journey

Retrospectively, the outcome of my final presentation was pleasing and I was encouraged by the response of the students. I really hope that this benefitted the students and that I provided them with some confidence to explore graphic design and further opportunities in this field. My eyes were opened by one of the student’s website that he had designed by himself in his free time, seeing his passion was very uplifting as I became aware that I had pushed him to be confident enough to share his work with me. I thoroughly enjoyed this project working with the client and supervisor, where the final outcome was not just impactful on the audience but also myself. This unique project was quite refreshing taking me away from physical design work, making me think about why I am really passionate about graphic design.

 

Wychwood Project Rebrand

Background

The Wychwood Project is a registered conservation charity located in Wychwood, covering an area of 120 square miles. Its focus is to encourage and help locals to understand, conserve and restore the landscapes and habitats. The charity was started in 2000 with the branding remaining the same since its initial establishment. It now needs a refresh of the entire brand identity which will increase the engagement and reflect the conservation efforts in the local area. 

 

Brief/restated brief 

We aimed to create a professional brand identity that portrays the organisation’s values of conserving the landscape, wildlife and inhabitants in the Wychwood area. The new brand identity also had to ensure that it could be used to promote the charity and attract both a younger demographic as well as the current one. By applying the brand identity to different social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and twitter. We also designed a website storyboard that maps out an improved golden pathway, which the client can later develop into a fully realised website. For the visual identity the client requested to include some motifs from the old logo including the Oak tree and colours correlating to the theme of ‘conservation’. To create a recognisable brand identity that portrays the organisation’s values and message.

 

Deliverables 

The deliverables included a brand assets (e.g. colours, typography, name, strapline, logo), social media pages and a website storyboard which is consistent with all platforms. The aims for these are to showcase a new take on the brand identity which attempts to engage with a younger demographic whilst also introducing a revised name and strap line which accurately reflect the description of the organisation. 

 

Research and competitors 

Before starting the sketching process, we researched the different aspects of the organisation by going through their website and social media pages and identifying the most important parts of their work. This included things such as conserving the wildlife, the current oak tree logo and the colours used throughout. These all helped us to map out in which direction our initial logo sketches would go; which we concluded would be based around the ‘nature’ rather than ‘charity’ or ‘conservation’ aspects.

Looking at the current website helped to initialise the colour scheme which encouraged us to create colour scheme mood boards which we felt reflected the organisation. This was then used in the first vector sketches we created, along with some typeface experiments that we carried out. Through our research, we identified several conservation charities and organisations whose work and aims are similar to that of the Wychwood Project. This helped us to compare them, identifying which aspects made them each successful and unique, and what exactly our own designs need to compete. Notable organisations included:

  • RSPB 
  • The Earth Trust 
  • The Wildlife Trust 
  • WWF 

After comparing their brand identities, websites and social media pages, we noticed several features which each organisation shared that arguably made them successful in their field. These include:

  • The use of high quality photography to portray their organisation and its activities 
  • The use of colour across all platforms to create a unique brand identity which stands out from the rest and allows users to identify the organisation 
  • A mix of full length images and smaller images across their websites to keep users engaged 

The current audience for the Wychwood Project are typically older members who have time to volunteer in the activities. These members help the charity as they are willing to invest money into the projects. With the rebrand of the charity, the client wanted to maintain this current audience whilst also being able to engage to a wider demographic, such as families and children as well as local businesses and societal groups. 

 

Design development:

  • Name and strapline

In terms of the name and strapline, we researched other charities and organisations in the same field and analysed what works and what doesn’t; which are the most successful in reflecting their aims and values. We curated a list based on this which we felt were in line with Wychwood’s own aims. We curated a list of name and strapline ideas, where the client chose their favorite leading us to coming to a decision on which we should use. 

The final name: Wychwood Forest Trust

The final strapline: For wildlife and wild places

 

  • Logo

We sketched some initial ideas based on the client’s feedback. This involved the concept of an oak tree which would help to portray the organisation clearly to all users. After several experimentations with this idea, we decided to broaden our design concept beyond the simple idea of an oak tree and explore other elements. Referring back to the user study that we have made earlier we wanted the whole brand to be contemporary yet still connect to the existing market. This enabled us not only to create a design which was visually more appealing and generally unique, but also to break away from the regular circular design and play around with layout and colour. 

Using the client’s feedback for the new set of designs we managed to narrow down three visually different styles on which we could improve, we started to experiment with colour choice, typeface and the positioning of elements. The first logo is a hand-edited typeface created from an already existing typeface which we believe enables a sense of identity to the brand. The second logo is based around the basic idea of a tree, whilst combining other elements to create a unique visual design. The use of the owl and tree in conjunction with the ‘W’ creates an individual identity which audiences can easily relate to the organisation. The third Logo focuses on other elements of the Wychwood area rather than just the idea of an oak tree. The deer is the most visually recognisable and so can be identified by members of any age group.

While designing the logos we explored different colours schemes that had neutral tones with accented colours. Eventually, we stuck with a natural colour scheme to ensure that Wychwood’s message of conserving wildlife was still portrayed. As for the typography, the two chosen typefaces worked the best with the logos, colour scheme and layout. 

 

After back and forth feedback we reverted back to the core oak tree image, as it is what viewers associate the organisation with. For the final logo, it is based around the idea of a tree but presented in a graphic way. We revived the original logo with a contemporary twist, having redrawn the tree and re-coloured it to create an individual identity that is both nostalgic and relevant. Creating a silhouette makes the logo clear and cohesive, as well as allowing it to work more efficiently as a logo at any size. The bright, acidic green colour reflects the aim of engaging with a younger audience and allows the tree to be both recognisable and intriguing.

  • Typography 

The typefaces chosen are suitable for the organisation as they are legible and accurately reflect the organisation’s values of conserving wildlife and wild places. They were also chosen as they are timeless therefore unlikely to feel outdated. For the logo we used ‘Varela Round Regular’ using the acidic green as a dominant colour.  Based on our typographic knowledge we attempted to change the clients’ mind regarding this typeface, as we believed it would be too light to work when scaled down, however the client insisted on this typeface. For the headings we used ‘Montserrat Regular’ in the same green. As for the body text, we used ‘Asap Regular’ in a stone grey colour.

Logo: 20pt 

Body text: 25pt 

Headings: 40pt 

Website menu text: 30pt 

Website buttons: 60pt 

Strapline on website header: 100pt 

Website information (at bottom of page): 23pt 

All type sizes are relative to the website page size.

 

  • Colour scheme 

For the colour scheme we referenced the original branding while giving it a more contemporary feel. Using neutral tones throughout, alongside a vibrant green and neutral lilac. The green would be used to separate information (used in headings, boxes and contact icons) while the lilac is used in the form of interactive buttons (sign up, donate and support). Both these colours are emphasised in the cover and display photos. The background colour used for the website is a green-tone white that acts as a backdrop for the acidic green headings, lilac boxes and grey tone body text.

 

  • Social media

We chose three main platforms to focus on social media presence which are Facebook, Instagram and twitter. For the social media pages we combined both photography from the organisation’s existing websites and social media with our logo along with the matching colour scheme, to create a sense of cohesion among all platforms. The layout and size of elements within the logo were tested with the mockups to ensure that they were legible at any size required.

Facebook: the mockup for the logo can be used across all social media platforms. The photography is chosen to be cohesive with the logo design. The continuous use of green and the minimalist photography helps the audience to focus their attention on mostly the logo which is the first sense of the organisation’s identity which will be seen. Facebook mockups with the logo in both of its variants. Custom header pictures which include the strapline for the organisation. 

 

Instagram: the focus of the Instagram page is to create a complete individual identity for the organisation by combining both the logo design and the strapline. The mockup for the logo can be used across all social media platforms. The first mockup uses the logo in its original form, with green on white. We zoomed in on the logo to make the best use of the small space for the logo within the Instagram circle, to give focus. The second mockup uses the logo in its reversed colour form, with the white on green, which can be used as an alternate option. 

 

Twitter: having the mockups with the logo in both of its variants. Custom header pictures which include the strapline for the organisation. The mockup uses the same layout and image treatment as the Facebook page, creating a sense of cohesion throughout all the social media platforms. 

 

  • Website golden path

For the prototype we chose to do a golden path for the website. This included pages such as  the ‘Homepage’, ‘About us’ and ‘Donate and Support’. The design of the website pages are both simple and professional. It has a basic linear format which is seen on most websites, allowing it to be visually engaging to a wide audience and easy to update. We incorporated elements of the logo within most of the website such as the tree silhouette and solid coloured boxes to create cohesion. The background colour used is a pale green that acts as a backdrop for the acidic green headings and grey tone body text. We packaged the website storyboard to have screenshots of each page, a walkthrough of the prototype and the website assets used.

 

 

Reflection

We believe that we have created a refreshed brand identity which differentiates the Wychwood charity from other similar organisations whilst also clearly portraying its aims and values. One of the main challenges that we faced was not receiving enough feedback in time. Our schedules had to work around the clients, which made it harder to plan out future input logs and the different steps for our design stages. Another challenge we faced was the fact that we were unable to visit the site which meant that we did not have a full sense of what the organisation entailed, making research slightly harder as all we had to go off of was the organisation website, social media and the information provided by the client. As a whole, the job took much longer than anticipated as it was originally set to be done in June but due to COVID-19 and our main client leaving the organisation, our deadline was extended as the other clients were much more flexible. 

What we learnt from this job is how to effectively manage our time and the workload so that we are constantly on target to reach the deadline. We also learnt how to work with different types of clients and what way is best when dealing with certain problems, such as the client not responding to our emails and calls for three weeks. We both agree that the final logo produced would not have been our first choice due to the fact that we find it to be too generic as there are already many brands and organisations who have a tree within their logo design. Also, we found that it has a direct correspondence to their original logo which we both were trying to steer away from. This was evident in our vast experimentation of logo illustrations and styles where we played around with incorporating animals and even solely typographic designs. We both pushed to have a more current typeface with a thicker output, however the client insisted on having the typeface light and simple. Nonetheless, we had to push our design preferences aside and give the client what they wanted, in return they were extremely satisfied with the end result. Regarding the website, we were relatively happy with the final outcome as it was a refreshed version of the original, being more dynamic for different screen sizes and enhancing the overall user experience with straightforward navigation.

We both worked extremely well as a team, dividing the work equally and helping each other throughout the entire project. Working together also allowed us to manage the time which we put into each deliverable in order to ensure that each was produced to the best of our ability. In future projects, we will make sure to use more persuasive techniques to convince our vision to the client. 

Longhaul Endurance Branding

Background

Longhaul Endurance is an up and coming brand, which aims to provide athletes with high quality performance food. Co-owners Staale and Amelia both saw a gap in the market – most foods manufactured for the athlete on the go, did not come in savoury flavours, and often were full of highly processed chemicals. Being athletes themselves, they wanted to provide a natural alternative which provided a great quality energy source on the go. I was allocated this project in a team of 4 fellow students, consisting of myself, Alex Ganczarski, Liselot van Veen and Louisa Ellis.

Understanding our project better

We began this project by organising to talk to our client, so we could get a better understanding of their aims for their business, what kind of message they’d want to put across, and why exactly they wanted to rebrand. From here, we were able to restate the brief. The client from the beginning was keen to reinforce the idea that their product was unique, and that it was important that the branding expressed their aims to create all natural food, without the crash of sugary alternatives. Another important thing to ascertain from our initial meeting was the proposed audience for this product. The client mentioned that they target those between the ages of 35 and 55 – predominantly those who participate in endurance sports, hikers, or those who enjoyed the outdoors. This meant for us, we needed to create something reasonably clean and professional, that might appeal to that audience. The client also indicated in the meeting that they believed that their current tagline: ‘Prolonged energy release food’ did not represent them as effectively as they would like, and they really wanted to reinforce the ‘natural’ side of their brand.

Their existing brand

Research

In our research, we focused on competitor brands with a similar focus to that of Longhaul Endurance. One particular brand that our client identified that they admired the visual style of was ‘Tribe’ pictured below.  As pictured, ‘Tribe’ employs vibrant colours and textures in a ‘landscape style’ particularly in portrayal of outdoor adventure and hiking. Other brands that could be comparable such as ‘G Endurance’ and ‘SiS’ give more of a clean, clinical sense, potentially more aimed towards gym users, and those who focus on building muscle. From the research, we determined that it would be useful to echo some of these themes in our design process. However, one issue we faced straight away with this idea is that Longhaul focuses on a variety of endurance athletes, rather than a particular focus on one discipline.

A comparison of Longhaul to similar brands

We also had a look at the existing materials already available for Longhaul, and discussed these with the client. They emphasised that they already felt their logo was representative of their brand, and felt professional. They also explained that their budget is quite small, and making drastic changes to their logo would increase their printing costs tenfold. We did try some initial colour changes, and how we could try to minimise the costs of printing – however after further discussion with the client and their printer, we came to the conclusion that we should leave the logo as is, and focus on the visual design of the pouch.

The Pantone colours of the brand
Test prints of brand colours and potential replacements

Design process

We began the design process by individually brainstorming and sketching out our initial ideas for the front of the pouch. From here, we pooled our ideas and met to discuss which ideas we believed had legs. One particular idea I had was using ‘leading eye’ to draw the eye to the pouch in form of a running track.

My initial sketches and ideation for the front of the pouch

From our initial sketches, the next stage of progression involved development digitally. By this stage, our client had provided us with all the EPS files and copy necessary to start working effectively with their existing brand.

Digital development

Again, after developing them digitally, we took the time to assess the designs as a group – this helped us to compare and understand which of our designs we felt worked well, as well as which designs we could exclude from the further development process. Below are four different concepts that we narrowed down our concepts to. In retrospect, as a group we agree that we did produce too many concepts at this stage – basing our decisions on having one concept per person, rather than choosing just a couple concepts that we felt were strong enough to progress.

Just a small selection of digital developments proposed to the client

Our client kindly offered to send us some samples of their pouches – we had a copy of the dimensions of the pouch, but we found it hard to visualise how the design would fit on the pouch, and any potential things we needed to be careful of when designing the pouch. From meetings with each other, as well as our client and supervisor, we were able to work out a couple of layouts we felt worked well to balance the hierarchy of information effectively. We found fairly early on that a space that worked well as a container for information was the same triangular shape as in the logo. From attempting to arrange the information within the triangle, we decided to extend this approach to the outside world. We felt that mountains naturally mirrored the shape we were looking for, and therefore began to focus our strategy on how we could represent mountains in our designs.

Our experimentation of using the triangular shape as a container for information

From here, we wanted to continue this exploration into mountains, as we felt the simple triangle wasn’t enough to show the rugged, textural nature of a mountain. Below, we have further examples of how we incorporated further illustration into our design to create this depth of detail.

Exploration of different approaches in creating the ‘mountain’

Finally, after much exploration, we decided that a polyart style of illustration provided a great balance of rigidity, depth and fun to really emphasise the nature of the brand, and the colours we chose we believe really reflect the savoury, nutritious product within the pouches. We presented our client with this as a proposed outcome, and they seemed to be very impressed.

The polygon mountain style

Our client said: ‘The use of a mountain is very well aligned with the brand image we want to portray. The design works well as a concept that we can apply to new product ranges. It is both clean and eye catching.’

Continuing our design to the back of the pouch

Unfortunately, this project was stalled for a couple of months due to the effects of Covid-19 on their business. The image below compares the existing packaging with the final iteration of our proposed design.

Concluding adjustments and design sign-off

The final part of the design process finally took place when we were able to regain contact with the client. From here, they gave us some helpful feedback to make the adjustments to the designs that they wanted to their design, and we refined our work down to print ready documents using the artworking techniques. Prior to requesting signoff with our supervisor Rob Banham, we had a conversation with him regarding any further considerations he felt we should make – particularly in regard to the print production of our work. From here, we did attempt to contact gualapack (the printing agency that Longhaul used for their work). They were somewhat helpful – however there were some issues with a language barrier to bypass!

 

Technical preparation

Finally, our designs were signed off by our supervisor Rob, and the design was effectively ready to send to the client. Despite our best efforts to retrieve all the copy for the project, the client was not ready to provide us the ingredients for their two new flavours. Therefore, in another conversation with the client we decided it was worth us simply packaging our indesign files, along with information and a short guide as to how future designers should attempt to adjust the work – in the file transfer to the client was all the information, images and copy we had used, and the documents were ready for final production. This means the final details, alongside additional flavours can be added providing a further scope to our client.

Final front and back designs
Final front designs and colourways for all 4 flavours

Reflection

Although the final deadline well surpassed our original deadline, I’m relieved that we were able to complete the project and create the client a design that they felt represented them, and were proud of. I feel as if our team worked fairly effectively together, and all contributed a sufficient amount to our progress. I would say I’m overall happy with these designs – however there’s a chance we were too broad with our approach too late on in the project – we may have benefitted by having more time to refine our final ideas, particularly for the back of the pouch.

Final feedback from our client

‘It’s been a pleasure working with you all and I’m very impressed and pleased with the final result. So thank you for all your efforts, and for your patience during these lasts few months.’ – Staale Brinchmann, Longhaul

‘We have been extremely impressed with the designs that you have all put forward. We both wish you all the best for the future.’ – Amelia Watts, Longhaul

 

Reach Out and Connect

Background

A group of volunteers had set up a Facebook page called ‘Mature Engagement’ during the first Covid-19 Lockdown in the UK, the initial idea behind the page was to ‘encourage engagement from mature people who are isolated and anxious’. The purpose of the page was to provide a virtual space for mature people to be able to come to in order to meet new people and create connections that would lead them to feel less isolated during lockdown.

I was brought into the project in order to create a visual identity for the page through producing a profile and banner image as well as offer any design or style advice that the group may need throughout the process.

 

Restated Brief

Deliverables:

  • To design a banner image for the Facebook group
  • To style the site, based on the graphic recommendations above, choosing fonts and images to complement the messages
  • To assist with the development of the Facebook group with design and style advice

The idea behind the group changed as I attended initial meetings with the clients as they chose to widen their audience by changing their name and change from being a Facebook page to a group. However, this meant that they then had a better understanding on how they wanted to present themselves and what was going to be shared on the online platform.

 

Research

I was provided information on what the clients wanted the group to represent and provide for people from meetings I attended with them. The idea of a Facebook page changed to being a group, meaning that I only needed to design them a banner image, they also changed the name of the group to ‘Reach Out and Connect’ in order to sum up their idea better.

I was invited to regular group meetings in order to gather a better idea on what the volunteers wanted to be included and shared in the group. Along with their ideas and information they provided me with I also conducted research into other Facebook groups to see how they used the platform as well as defining the terms ‘reach out’ and ‘connect’ in order to think of other visual representations that could be associated with the words.

 

Design Development

I faced difficulties with the clients as they were undecided on how they wanted the banner image to look, this left me to come up with ideas that I felt most appropriate to the brief whilst trying to include the initial ideas they had mentioned to me. The process became easier when I began to show the clients initial designs I had created and providing small colour and typographical variations so that they were able to see what they did and did not like.  I maintained contact with my supervisor, finding that it was important to ‘provide clients with a controlled set of variations so that you only show what you think is your best work to avoid working on a project you no longer find enjoyable’.

Initial designs for Facebook profile and banner images

As the design process went on, I attended meetings to keep in constant contact with the clients in order to discuss what was happening with the Facebook group and how I could help in any other way, as well as keeping tabs on the ideas they had for me to add to the graphic elements I was creating. The clients and I appreciated the constant contact so they could see what I was working on for them to make changes as well as for me to understand what the group was becoming. As I was able to present approved ideas to the clients they remained happy with my progress and enjoyed the ideas and discussions that I was able to share with them.

Range of developed Facebook banner ideas

Final Outcomes

After providing the clients with design developments and ideas we all finally came to a set of ideas that were most appropriate for the group, once the group had decided that the puzzle banner image seemed to fit the idea and purpose of the group, they requested that the other designs I had created be turned into square images that they could use as posts in the group. After providing them with the final images, they were able to upload them onto their page and provide the group with a visual identity.

Final Facebook banner image
Images to be used as Facebook posts

Reflection

Throughout this project I have come across small challenges such as adapting to the clients changing brief as well as ensuring that I stay on track with the message behind the group they were trying to create. I was lucky in not needing to produce any physical deliverables, meaning I did not have to work with print deadlines or costs. Due to the longer deadline on this project was also a positive as it meant I had time to keep in contact with the clients and my supervisor to ensure I was on track and to fully understand what was required from me in order to complete this job.  When the clients had uploaded the banner image they also posted how happy they were with the final outcome in visualising what the group represented.

Overall, I had a great time working with my clients and have been able to grow in confidence when working with new people and learnt how to contact and have meetings with clients. This has been a fun small project to work on and has allowed me to be able to learn how to organise myself to work on an extra project alongside my third year modules.

Mock up of final banner image and one of the post images

IAWADBD: issue 3 zine

Background

This real job was slightly different than most real jobs. Rather than getting a client brief, we make an ‘I am we are… different by design’ zine, and have done every year since 2017. This zine showcases diversity and inclusion projects from students in the School of Arts and Communication Design and from other significant people in the industry. As students, we go through the entire process of planning, interviewing, writing, and designing. This year, Liselot van Veen and Labiba Haque were team leaders, while Robin Smith and a few third year students had a more general role. Our zine secured the funding to have more copies printed and to be longer (48 pages versus 32), which meant there was more to plan and oversee.

Research

The next stage of the project was to generate some featured article ideas. Our team dedicated one or two meetings to this but, despite the lengthy discussion, it proved difficult.

This issue was longer than the previous two publications. This meant we faced generating more ideas but under the same time crunch. The difficulty also came with thinking of subjects within diversity or projects to discuss that were of enough substance. As well as this, a lot of the ideas had to come from the three of us as a number of the team faced scheduling conflicts and frequently found attending meetings difficult, so this stage took more time than usual. We also were unaware of projects being produced by Film & Theatre students and so had to undertake extra communication tasks to find out. Though ultimately, this hard work paid off as we formed an interesting gamut of topics to discuss.

To start then organising our ideas, we formed a colour-coded document:

Still image of our initial article ideas, taken from our shared Google Doc

The aim was to group articles based on their subject matters for a cohesive reading experience. This was seemingly an effective system as, once shared around the team, everyone was on the same page and knew what was to be included.

Focusing on visual research, we collated idyllic examples on a Pinterest board of other existing spread designs. When making a publication as personal as this, it proved crucial in order to see what was possible and how we can get that emotion and feeling across.

Interviewing and producing articles

We distributed the work fairly among the team. Everyone was assigned with at least two articles to write up. Many of the pieces involved interviews and showcasing the works of others. Therefore, it was essential to follow ethics procedures before conducting interviews. The procedure involved reworking interview questions for review and approval from Jeanne-Louise. After the initial contact, all communications with participants were only to occur through our university email addresses and sent out individually for privacy and data protection. We emailed out specific documents alongside the interview questions to gain informed consent from the participants. Also emailing Victoria the appropriate forms filled out by both interviewers and interviewees as records of participation. Having collected the interview responses, we wrote the articles, sending them to Jeanne-Louise for feedback and worked on correcting them until they could be approved. 

The lengthiest part of the whole process entailed liaising between these various individuals and waiting for responses. However, this was vital in producing quality content at high standards while ensuring everything was ethically and legally secure.

Labiba wrote a think-piece in the zine about decolonising design. Initially, she planned to write about what it was and look into parallels present in Film, Theatre and Television, and Art. However, we did not sufficiently comprehend issues in those disciplines to write about them effectively. Focusing purely on design, she redrafted a more personal response as a designer on this course. As the zine’s purpose is to encourage and highlight diversity in the field, Labiba instead emphasised current issues that we have observed and suggested solutions based on the readings recommended in her article. Unlike academic pieces, writing for editorial purposes encouraged us to consider the audience more and deliver an easy read. Writing the articles enabled us to practice and improve word economy, offering more engaging, impactful and relevant pieces.

Designing

Liselot produced a template with grids to provide guidance for the team’s spread designs as we were making them separately. Though each article was individualised and had a different look and theme – as they should with subjects of this nature as to be personalised to the issue – the zine still needed to be consistent. Having the same grids across each spread meant, though different, they appeared still to belong to the same publication. The template was also useful for a member of our team, Khadjia, who joined from the Art department. She was unfamiliar with InDesign so having a template meant it was easier for her to learn, but also easier for us as typographers to make any fine adjustments later.

Paired with our previous grouping document, we produced a visual pagination to better see the balance of articles.

The pagination for issue 3 – colour-coded to show the balance of the grouping of articles under their umbrella topic

Utilising colour-coding again, we were able to see whether an appropriate amount of pages were dedicated to each group now that we knew how many spreads were required for each article. We ended up with a number of articles being of empowering marginalised groups but, given issue three was being published around the time of BLM and the horrific murder of George Floyd, this was not deemed a problem.

The process by which the spreads were designed was similar to module projects; produce a design, send for feedback, reiterate, and so on. 

The main consideration we had taken from previous years was to rename the paragraph styles to be specific to each article. When collating issues one and two, there was the time-consuming task of resolving the overriding that occurred from multiple files being joined together but InDesign confusing separate styles with the same naming conventions. Whilst significantly better this year as, with the scheduling conflicts of the same team members meaning they also were unable to find time to design their articles, we had fewer people designing and thus less room for error. There were still some difficulties as some had grouped their styles into a folder under their name which, when collated, provided the same issue of overriding. But this did not take as much time to resolve as before. So, if designing issue 4 as a physical zine again, it should be emphasised even more.

Below is an insight into the design process for the spreads we designed: how it started (left) versus how it was when it was printed (right).

‘Ok… you’re letting the grid control the size and placement of the image … think about how the image can be placed so that some of it is in the margin (rather than constrained by the column size) and this will make the layout seem less blocky.’
–Jeanne-Louise Moyes, supervisor, giving feedback on a version of the Toshi Omagari spread design

 

Collating and copy editing 

The three of us were left with the job of collating the entire zine during the summer after the third years had finished their final year. Luckily, Liselot had undertaken this entire job last year as well with Jeanne-Louise so she knew what we should keep standardised throughout the design process to make this part easier. With the knowledge from before, we were able to spread the workload between us while we were on a Teams call, and had a checklist to go through.

Unfortunately, there were still a few unexpected things that threw us off and made the process longer. There were a few spreads that had been made last minute and were claimed to be finished without the correct sign off. This meant that the design process fully moved into the producing stage. While we did expect this to happen in some way while we were going through the spreads to standardise them, we did not expect to design whole new spreads. This taught us that no matter how much planning, explaining, and chasing you do, the process will not always be correctly followed. We ended up trying to finish these spreads, but they still seem to be lacking something. Luckily, there are more good spreads that overshadow these less successful ones. 

After the three of us were done editing all the spreads, Liselot turned the individual InDesign files into an InDesign book since she also had experience doing this from last year. Although this would have been a great skill for others to learn, our deadline was coming up fast. After this stage, the editing continued when Rachel and Jeanne-Louise found some inconsistencies we had missed. Then the edits were to make sure the file was press-ready. While the design stage took quite some time, the editing stage was the one that was the most stressful, but the one that we learned the most from. We were able to find out what does and does not work based on the designs of other people and how they interact with each other. 

The cover was yet another thing that had to be made last minute, although it did still go through multiple developments. At first, many people in the team wanted to design the cover. However, after a team member had been allocated, seemingly nothing came of it. Realising that the deadline was coming up and there was no work, we had a meeting between us to generate some potential back-up ideas. Following this, Liselot took it upon herself to make a cover that could be used if the original stayed uncompleted. Everybody in the team seemed to like the back-up concept (basing it on protest signs as to relate back to the heavy focus on marginalised groups) which led to further development into the finished cover you can find on the zine today. This incident was a case of occasionally needing to ‘jump-in’ despite a colleague being allocated the role to make sure the final product is finalised in time, and is something the team can be proud of.

COVID-19 issues

In previous years, we booked a room in the department spanning over a few days dedicated to zine production. COVID-19 introduced a new challenge: physically preventing face-to-face meetings, thus forcing us to work remotely from our homes. Suddenly, the process became more individualised as teamworking was difficult in this environment and production ‘days’ turned into ‘weeks’. Therefore, our communication and time management suffered while everyone was adjusting to the new ‘normal’.

We lost the benefits of quick communication. The ethics approval process, and giving and receiving feedback on our spreads took much longer. Instead working in a studio environment, we were all directly emailing our pieces back-and-forth with Jeanne-Louise. All work had to be uploaded to our shared Google Drive to see others’ progress or receive any feedback from the team. We resorted to using Messenger for informal feedback, gaining faster responses from each other in order to replicate that studio environment as best as possible.

Following delivery from the press, we found the body text looked slightly large for the format. Although the size was forgivable, being unable to print and proof while designing stressed its importance. The disruptions in postal services, caused by the pandemic, further delayed the delivery of zines and gratitude notes to our participants. The result of this was email responses thanking participants for their patience with PDF versions of their spreads for the time being. In the end, all participants received their physical copies and were very positive about their experiences being interviewed by us.

‘Thank you for sending me a physical copy of the diversity zine – I thought it was exceptionally presented and a really interesting and insightful read.’ – Lizzie Moran, interviewee from MA Creative Enterprise (film pathway)

 

Reflection

After being part of last year’s zine, we expected the process to go more efficiently with improvements. We had noted where things went wrong and made it clear how we could improve those aspects. However, the world threw an unexpected turn, where we all had to work remotely and individually. This brought a whole new area of issues. Although stressful during the moment it is happening, this is where we learned the most. 

We produced a quality zine with engaging content and aesthetics. It is impressive that we successfully handled the challenge of managing a team and delivered a complete zine remotely. Acknowledging the current predicament, we realised transferring to an online platform would be best. Thus, plans for a monthly blog with promotional social media posts are currently underway for 2021/22.

Movie: a journal of film criticism. Issue 9.

Background

The Head of the School of Arts & Communication Design at the University of Reading, Professor John Gibbs, required a student to design issue 9 of Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism that followed Martha Macri’s new design system, created the previous year for issue 8. This journal originated from Movie the printed journal which was published between 1962 and 2000 by the late Ian A. Cameron. It has since been designed digitally for online reading and is a rolling journal, meaning that articles are added to the journal throughout the year. The articles respond to a variety of themes such as focus and contemporary film style and intention in film and television criticism. It is mainly concerned with the aesthetics of film and television-style, theory, analysis, and evaluation of film and television.  Movie issue 9 includes written articles and audio-visual essays. John Gibbs expressed that this issue must follow the new layout designed in the previous year because it enables the film frames to be integrated into the text. The website showcasing the journals also includes eBooks, which John was keen to redesign so that they created a sense of unity with the journal issues.

After the editorial module in the summer term of my first year, I was eager to explore this design field further. It was an exciting opportunity to work with text, image, and layout in a logical way but also to create a visual aesthetic that readers would enjoy. Being able to design for such a broad interest like film instantly grabbed my attention and I was intrigued by the idea of using someone else’s design and making it my own. Designing eBooks was also a completely new field to me, therefore I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to develop my skills and knowledge within editorial design.

Brief

The objective of the project was to design the next issue of Movie, building on the previous two issues. The images in the issue should integrate with the text so that it relates to written content. Most of the work would take place between November and March but the journal’s practice is to produce a rolling issue. This means that additional articles can be added after the issue is launched at the end of October 2020. A Movie eBook designed as pdf’s was also to be produced alongside Issue 9, following a similar style to the issue.

Process

Initial contact with the client

Collaborating with a client from my University was beneficial to me because it meant that he was accustomed to working alongside students. This also meant that I could meet my client in person because he is based on campus. From our initial meeting, we agreed that our main form of communication would be via email, but we could also meet in person for updates on the project if needed. Email seemed sensible because my client is working with a team of authors, therefore it would be the most convenient way to receive feedback from them that can be passed onto me. The pandemic prevented us from meeting in person, but we were able to converse regularly by email and have Teams meetings if necessary.

The initial meeting with the client gave me the opportunity to clarify what he required. At this point, we did not have a confirmed deadline but I was aware that the journal was a running issue so I would be required to design articles after issue 9 was published. As the process also depended on the author’s confirmation of the design of their article, it became a lengthy progression. This process was also made longer due to the pandemic because it meant the project fell over summer when it was harder to reach the authors.

InDesign files

To begin the design process, I retrieved files from the designer of issue 8. My client requested that I use this design template for issue 9, which meant I had to adapt my design skills into an existing design. However, I was still critical of the existing files in order to improve the design and have control over the work. I spent time analysing the original file to gain familiarity and to ensure I used the paragraph and character style sheets consistently throughout the issue. This also allowed me to gain justifications from the previous designer as to why they made certain editorial decisions and whether these were important to follow through into issue 9 of Movie. Overall, the templates look very similar and I ensured that the images corresponded with the text throughout because the client expressed how vital this was. I used appropriate files and design guidelines such as page layout, the grid, typesetting, images and the cover design.

Design development

When I first started this project, I found it slightly overwhelming because I had never worked with so much text and image. It took me a while to become completely familiar with the paragraph and character styles, as well as finding consistency with spacing and the grid. After becoming familiar with these aspects, it was easier to successfully integrate the images which improved the flow of the text.

I found that feedback was very useful because there were often small aspects that I would miss out due to the volume of text I was working with. Gaining feedback from a range of authors gave me an insight into how feedback is carried out in the editorial industry. I also found it interesting to see how different editors and authors provided feedback. Some were through email with page numbers for reference, whereas others edited the pdfs they had been sent. I have been able to adapt to these different styles and ensure that I follow their instructions carefully, so I did not miss anything. This could sometimes be difficult, especially when explaining where in the text amendments need to be made.

‘Brilliant! Looks great, and the images are grouped and paginated perfectly. Please pass on my compliments to Beth for the design.’ – Article author

Cover experiments for issue 9 of Movie.

Around halfway through the design process of issue 9, I received useful feedback from my supervisor. He expressed that I should improve on the previous students work where I see an opportunity to do so. Until this point I had not been confident enough to do this, even when I may have seen aspects that I knew could be improved. After this, I felt confident in changing these parts to improve the design further for the client. One of the main changes I made was to the opening pages of each article. The idea was to create a clear colour scheme for each type of article that flowed throughout the issue and make it easier for the reader to navigate. I came up with a variety of possibilities and sent these to my client. We decided on a coloured outline box for the title with the name of the movie in that same colour. This corresponded with the running heads. I also adjusted the contents page and the credits, so the text flowed better.

‘This is really good work’ – James Lloyd, Project supervisor

Opening page experiments for the student essays. Experimenting with colour and running heads.

eBooks

Initial design ideas

For the initial stages of the eBook design, I asked my client to send me images of the original Movie books to ensure I included traditional aspects in them. They had to be sent via email due to the pandemic which was a shame because it would have been beneficial to see them in person. After receiving the text, I began designing the books. I used the same square format as the original books but used similar paragraph and character styles to issue 9 because I wanted the issue and the eBooks to look coherent and have a modern twist on the traditional design.

Examples from the original Movie books sent to me by the client.

Development

After the client was happy with the original template, I input the text and images for the other three books. This was time-consuming, but it was enjoyable because I was so familiar with the paragraph and character styles, as well as space between image and text to make sure it flowed. This made the whole process logical and overall, really satisfying. Again, I was working with a number of professionals which meant the process took a little longer. I received amendments back and forth between authors in order to make sure everyone was happy. Most of these amendments included missed italics or grammar/wording that needed changing.

The client requested the addition of keywords to each eBook to aid search engine optimisation. This was a completely new feature to me, but it was a lot more straightforward than I predicted. This provided me with a new skill that I am sure I will use again.

‘I really enjoyed working on the proof. I think your design is excellent, distinctive, and very readable. I tried it on my computer screen and on iBook on an iPad and it worked well in both contexts.’ – John Gibbs, head of the School of Arts & Communication Design

Covers

I then began to work on the cover for each eBook. The client expressed that he would like each of the books to work as a series but also fit with the style of the journal. My initial ideas included showcasing a range of images from each book on the cover or use one large image which would fit the style of issue 9. The client chose a range of images, so I created a simple grid system that would work for each eBook, using the same typeface and rule as the journal to create coherency. I thought showcasing a range of images within the eBook was effective because each book contains a variety of movies and it gives the reader an idea of the content. It also meant that one movie was not more important than the others.

Initial eBook cover experiments for Filmmakers’ Choices using a single image from a movie within the book.

While designing the covers the client and other authors suggested I design a logo for the cover of each eBook. This would show that they were part of a series and separate from the journals. I created a simple logo that incorporated a rule and used the original typeface from the Movie journals. I ensured that it was simple to prevent overpowering the images on the cover.

Experiments with the placement of the Movie eBook logo on the cover of Filmmakers’ Choices.
Final cover designs for Reading Buffy, Filmmakers’ Choices, Movies and Tone, and The Police Series eBooks.

Reflection

The design aspect of this project was quite straightforward due to the existing template. I also used a very similar one for the eBooks, which made it easier for me to design because I was already familiar with the files. This project has been heavily reliant on ensuring all my files are organised. This includes labeling them with different versions (For example Filename_V01, Filename_V02, etc.). This also refers to keeping the existing paragraph and character style organised as I added new styles to the existing ones. This was important to avoid confusion, especially when adding new articles and helped to keep each article consistent. I believe I was able to execute this successfully and I hope that the files will be clear for the designer who takes on the design of issue 10 of Movie. In order to make this easier for the next designer, I have created a template to help them understand the design elements and organisation.

I have learnt a lot from this project. To begin with I found it overwhelming but I have learnt how to work with large volumes of text and image and input them into a document that follows a strict design system. Using another designer’s existing style sheets has also taught me the importance of keeping InDesign files organised and I was thankful that the previous design did this. Having the ability to adapt and use an existing file will be a useful skill to have for future industry work.

I have developed a professional relationship with my client through regular contact via email when necessary. My client has always been easy to reach and was happy to answer any of my questions which made the flow of communication much easier. They have informed me when amendments are needed throughout the process and ensured that I have had plenty of time to make changes before deadlines. This has given me the confidence to develop my communication skills and I feel that I am now able to contact clients on a professional and confident level. This skill will be beneficial to me when developing relationships with clients in the design world.

Overall, I believe that I have met the client’s needs in achieving issue 9 of Movie that aligns with the work of the previous designer by integrating text and image, as well as keeping some original Movie design aspects. I was also able to design four eBooks that took inspiration from the journal but provide a slightly different feel. This project took longer than I had expected, however, this was due to the pandemic and the publication being a rolling issue. This meant that I was working with more authors, who were submitting their articles at different times. I was also really happy to continue working on this project because I have thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly designing the eBooks. Through this project I have learnt how to communicate with clients in a confident and professional manner, learnt how to organise and use InDesign for large files, and learnt how to create consistency between documents. I have received some lovely feedback throughout the process, which has been very rewarding, and I have been thrilled with how happy everyone has been with both issue 9 of Movie and the eBooks.

‘Thanks very much, Beth – they look great!’ – John Gibbs, head of the School of Arts & Communication Design

‘Wow! I am THRILLED by the layout! Please tell everyone involved how much I appreciate their ingenuity and vision. Their solution overlaying the grid atop the frame is both elegant and convincing. I am so moved that I wish I could hug everyone in thanks.’ – Marshall Deutelbaum, article author.

Read issue 9 here.

Read the eBooks here.

The opening page for the first article in issue 9 of Movie.
A page from the eBook of Filmmakers’ Choices.