Background information:

Over a period of 4 years the University of Reading Library is undergoing refurbishment. The marketing team required some graphics to be made to communicate important messages to the library users.

Restated Brief:

The graphics created needed to be incredibly diverse to work in a number of different situations including at large scale to cover false walls that would be put up during the redevelopment. They needed to help ensure that students, staff, and other users remain positive throughout the redevelopment process. It was also important to our client that the designs could be easily adapted throughout the development of the library in case the timeline changed. Our team set out to create a number of different possible solutions to this problem that we could present to our client.

End outcomes/objectives:

• Designs for temporary hoardings to be used across all floors of the library.
• Designs to help provide information and sell the development of the library to existing and potential students for the reception area.
• Thoughts on how the designs could be extended into other elements.

Research:

Much of our research centered around looking at the types of graphics being used in other libraries analysing how they were effective in communicating important messages to their users. We also spent time looking at how large-scale wall graphics were used, particularly finding inspiration in how timelines were used in some examples that we found.

Wayfinding was also a key point of focus in this project, as areas of the library would be closed for lengths of time and collections relocated, we also looked into innovative ways of directing library users around an environment.

We also got involved with a set of focus groups to see what students across various years thought of the library development. This gave us crucial information which we could go away and build our ideas upon. It also provided us with an insight into how people perceived the library and its redevelopment and which gave us some considerations to look into when designing our outputs.

For example in one of the focus groups which was ran, all the students agreed that they would not want the colours used within the different library floors to be altered. This was because users of library tended to spend a lot of time on one specific floor and felt comforted by the surroundings – changing these colours dramatically could potentially cause unwanted effects.

Initial Ideas:

We each took the research that we had conducted and began to develop some initial ideas separately then came together as a group to discuss and build on what we had begun to put together. These are the ideas that we came up:

Pictograms and patterns

This initial concept involved using a set of pictograms. These pictograms could be built upon on top of the existing pictograms in the university brand assets. Building upon these kept branding consistent with the university and created a system which could be easily evolve throughout the period of construction. These pictograms would then be used to create a pattern for the temporary hoardings in the library. The reason for going with a pattern it that it it helped reduce distraction to those studying in the library (reduced distractions was highlighted as an area of particular importance to students during the focus groups). Within these patterns motivational quotes or information about the library could be placed.

This system could then be easily adapted to create a simple wayfinding system for students. The wayfinding system could then be used in conjunction with a set of pictograms to create a timeline for the project, giving the students an idea on when projects should be complete. Having a wayfinding system embedded into the walls also meant the that they would be easy to follow from a distance which is important when items in the library are in temporary places in which the students wouldn’t expect to find them.

This concept also played on the fact that ‘Reading’ is spelt the same as ‘reading’. By placing this visual pun in the context of the University of Reading library, we thought it would be a simple way of making people look twice to understand the meaning. We also wanted to emphasise the fact that this redevelopment would benefit everyone and was ‘for’ the student to benefit from.

When we pitched this idea to our client liked the concept of patterned pictograms but were less keen on the copywriting. They explained that they usually tried to avoiding confusion between ‘Reading’ and ‘reading’ and they did not think that this was as strong an idea as the pictogram concept.

Type within Type

This idea centered around using large letters and number to draw attention to important facts and instructions. These large-scale type elements could be filled with buzz-words that relate to the redevelopment project to help create a positive atmosphere and a good attitude towards the construction work.

Overall this proved to be very adaptable concept as it would be easy to change the colour scheme if necessary. We found out that it worked well alongside photographs so a wide range of media could be used. This concept could also build on top of the existing University of Reading brand guidelines as it would be based on top of the Effra typeface.

Again the client liked the concept of this but they feared that if the concept is used everywhere it could potentially be a distraction to those studying in the library.

Crosswords

This concept aimed to make the library feel like a friendly place to be. The idea was that buzzwords could be placed inside a crossword like pattern, with a goal of creating buzz and excitement about the project. Each crossword could then build on the existing colour palettes for each floor. 

Developed Idea:

Following the feedback and discussions from our first pitch to the University team we settled on an approach which combined the ideas of the “Pictogram and patterns concept” and “Type within Type” concept. We then worked together as a group to bring these ideas to create one unified concept and explore other potential graphic outputs.

One output that the marketing team were particularly interested in was how graphics could be used on the windows. Placing graphics on the windows meant that the distraction caused by workers moving around the outside of the library could be lessened, however it was also important to note that it was mentioned several times in the focus groups that the library should retain as much natural light as possible.

During this development we also looked at ways that this concept could work on smaller format handouts such as posters and handouts which could be left around the University campus. These handouts would go into details about the benefits of the libraries overhaul.

Conclusion and cancellation:

A few days after pitching our developed idea to the client we were unfortunately informed by our client that they had decided to hand this project on to the internal University design team due to a shift in the proposed deadline date. The client however did inform us that enjoyed working with us and they thought the work that we produced was brilliant.

While it is a shame that we did not get to see this project through to completion we all learnt a lot about pitching ideas to clients and designing for large-scale print projects such as hoardings. During the research stage we learnt the importance of getting insights from people who will be affected by the designed outputs through interview methods such as focus groups. These focus groups helped us create sensible graphic outputs for a campaign which would impact many people in a negative way. We also gained more experience in working with existing brand guidelines and generating numerous ideas for a project.

Team members

• Clara Kightley
• Jessica Davis
• Joseph Cooper

Background

A brochure containing the full programme, abstracts, bio notes and other information for the II IntermIdia Conference ‘The Moving Form of Film: Exploring Intermediality as a Historiographic Method’ was needed. The client was Professor Lucia Nagib, who was the conference organiser.

Restated brief

The brief was to design a brochure that would hold all the key information for the visitors to the conference. The brochure was required to hold a large amount of information whilst sticking to the clients tight budget, for the 100 copies they would need. Many of the conference visitors would be international, so it was iterated that the information must be clearly laid out.

As the conference was organised by FFT, and the limited budget would influence the production and printing costs of the brochure. After discussion with the client, A5 format was decided  for the brochure as due to the lower production costs and usability for the visitors. From the first meeting with the client, it was iterated to them that there would have to be an eight day design turnaround, to allow for the print time. The only requirement from the client was to use the image from the predesigned poster for the conference as the image for the front page of the brochure. In terms of the text layout inside the brochure, there were no set criteria and the client was happy for judgements to be made by the designer. The brief didn’t change throughout the project.

Initial designs and ideas

From the initial information provided by the client, it was envisioned that the brochure would come to 50-60 pages. After discussing with the client what she wanted from the brochure, and providing the necessary text and images via email, it was then time to assess the various levels of information and discuss how these may be presented.

The first necessary inclusion was a map of the university of Reading, where the three key locations had to be highlighted. The second was all the chair and panel information, of which a lot of literature was provided for. Initially a two column layout was used for the large amounts of text, to help reduce the number of pages and thus the printing costs, but due to the small format of the brochure, the line length was too short so a single column was decided. In order to minimise the number of pages it was decided that the text would flow from one page to the next providing that it adhered to orphan/widow rules. as there was little specification from the client in terms of design decisions, there was free reign over the type choice for the brochure, so it was decided that FreightSans Pro should be used due to being a clean sans serif, with high readability and modern aesthetic. FreightSans also includes a wide variety of weights which, due to various levels of information, would be needed. The third and final requirement was a contact list at the end, which would have to display the name, institution and email address of each of the conference speakers and organisers.

Developments

As the main design decisions of this job would be typographical treatment, the client was happy for judgements to be made by the designer on the typographical treatment, as long as the document remained professional. So much of the development was adjusting the paragraph style settings applied to the different levels of information to create a finished visual.

Initially a new page was given for each new panel, but this created large areas of white space, so it was decided to have the panel information running as continuous text, which helped to maintain an attractive layout to the brochure also helping to keep the number of pages used to a minimum.

Once approved by the supervisor, the client was sent a PDF of a finished draft of the brochure. Unfortunately, many of the book titles were meant to be in italics, but the style had been lost in InDesign so the entire brochure had to be edited so book titles were displayed correctly, this happened very close to the print deadline so the absolute priority was ensuring that the brochure was sent to print with all the information displayed correctly. The clients wish was to have the map of the University spanning a spread, which was what was designed, however in the test run by DPS the alignment of the lines highlighting the three key venues didn’t match, so last minute is was changed to the map being on one page with the key being on the other. Unfortunately there wasn’t time to run this by the client, due to the print schedule, aside from this the set up of the document was fine, and the brochure was sent to print for 100 copies, with the clients thanks and praise for the commitment taken to ensure the brochure would be completed in time for the conference.

In regards to the brochure cover, we decided that with the limited time scale, creating a refined design was unlikely and so using a university template along with the image that was used in the conference poster. This would provide a professional layout to the brochure cover, the use of university branding was not inappropriate due to the conference being organised by a university department.

Overall thoughts

This job has developed my confidence when interacting with people in a professional environment. My organisational skills have drastically improved due to this real job having to be completed in a week as well as working on my other design projects. Utilising InDesign’s style sheets was also a key improvement through this job, as due to the large and complex levels of information, properly set up style sheets were needed, and to also set up an InDesign document for professional printing. Liaising with DPS for the printing was a key part of this job, as the print run through highlighted an issue with the printing of the map, so the design had to be altered last minute to allow the print to run in time. Working to a tight print budget forced me to think about the text hierarchy and ways in which the information could be economically grouped together. This project has allowed me to exercise my professionalism and develop a suitable tone when engaging with my client over email, correspondence that we had regularly, due to the quick turnaround of the job. Engagement with the supervisor was key during this project as the quick turnaround meant that the normal process of a Real Job did not fit with the schedule, so developing a sense of when it was important to show the supervisor the progressing brochure was key, which allowed for more constructive feedback, as the visuals provided were more finished.

Final deliverable

The client was happy with the final deliverable and its design. If I were to complete the project again, my main wish would be to have more time to complete the job, to allow for more feedback from the supervisor, as there was room for more refinement of the brochure, especially with the map at the front. However, considering the quick turnaround of the job, I am pleased with the design and the brochure is finished in its visual with a clear text layout is  clear. Upon receiving the finished brochure, my only concern was that the margins at the spine were slightly tight, something, that if more time was available would have been amended.

MEETING THE CLIENT

Once this job was allocated to us the first step was to contact the client. This job was part of an initiative of The University of Reading carried out by the University’s Centre for Quality Support & Development. We contacted Nicky McGrr (Open Online Course Project Manager) part of the University’s Study Advice team in order to set up our first meeting in which the client, roughly introduced us to the project and explained what our contribution would be (three videos). After reviewing our notes from that first meeting and getting a general idea of the project and the deliverables we gathered a list of questions or things we needed in order to have a complete and clear brief (see below)

Questions we have/things we need:

• We need a specific deadline date
• We need a list of the main illustrations for each video
• We need a document specifying the content of the three videos not only for the sake of their structure but also for our understanding of each topic
• We would like to have the video examples we talked about in our first meeting for inspiration
• Is there a structure for the video you are especially keen on?
• What is the audio for the videos? Will it be provided?

Following this meeting, we met with Yen Tu (Assistant Digital Learning Producer) who oversees the illustrative aspects of their courses. From this moment on we mainly met and reported our progress in the project to her. In our second meeting where we were able to ask the questions raised after our first meeting. Shortly after discussing the project with Yen Tu and the rest of the team, the client provided us with a written and more complete, focused brief, which also included further background information about the overall project. We then considered carefully the brief and its objectives and agreed on everything except for the deadline, which we thought left us with a very reduced time span to make changes. We then spoke to the client and moved the original deadline they suggested (31st of July) to the 14th of August. See final brief below:

THE BRIEF

Study Smart: Your Essential Guide To University Study

Background Information

The University of Reading created a 3-week online course: ‘Study Smart: your essential guide to University Study’, to be hosted on the digital learning platform FutureLearn. The aim of this course is to support the student’s transition to learning in Higher Education by helping them reflect on their previous learning, introduce them to the different expectations and styles of learning, and being part of an academic community.

The course was scheduled for launch in early September to coincide with the new student intake. The primary audience were first year undergraduates who are about to commence studying at the University, though it could also be used by any student as a reminder/refresher.

Objectives

The objective is to create three animated videos, approximately 2-3 minutes long. The Study Smart team intend to include one animation per week, to represent the following principles:

Week 1 – Constructing citations

Week 2 – Communication at University

Week 3 – Learning at University

Inspiration

The feel of the course is to be informative and exciting for students to watch, the client provided an example of a video for inspiration (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6xlNyWPpB8). However, the client made it clear that this material was to serve as inspiration and that they did not expect the same style as they wanted us to be innovative and creative with our ideas however they were keen on the two dimensional style of the illustrations in this video

Content for videos

The Study Advice team also drafted a sample script for each week, in which key points for each video were pulled out to outline the basis of each video. These sample scripts were edited later on the project when necessary

The client also agreed to provide the full recording of the voiceover of the academic, Michelle Reid, who provided all of the voiceovers to help set the pace and tone of each animation.

Dates

All illustrations to be completed- 17th July

Week 1 animation –  24th July 

Week 2 animation – 31st July

Week 3 animation  – 7th August 

Animations to be completed- 14th August. 

THE DESIGN PROCESS

Once the brief was reviewed and agreed on the client sent us 3 tables, one for each video in which they suggested a series of illustrations could potentially go along the voice over of each video. This way of breaking down the videos was very helpful for us as it allowed us to create a list of illustrations for each video as well as creating a detailed story board for each animation. It could be argued that the story boards (see images below) were our way of visualising these tables and making any changes to them if necessary or more convenient for the overall flow of the video.

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Due to the nature of the three videos, we created three different scenarios in which the main character takes the viewers through all they need to know on each topic through visualising what is being said by the voice over.

The client suggested they preferred a simple, however, colourful animation style where flat colours would be employed. The first step in the process was to design the main character who would stay the same in all three videos. We suggested using a robot or alien-like character to avoid gender specification. The first main character, however, was not approved by the client and therefore we kept exploring other routes such as other robots, a monster or an astronaut. (see images below).

However, after sending these illustrations to the client their feedback was that, despite they were keen on the idea of having imaginary scenarios and characters for the videos, they preferred a more human-like main character which would still remain non-gender specific. Much like the character used in the TedTalk video they provided as inspiration. The client also asked for the main character not to have a real skin tone as well as any features that could make him more relatable to a specific race or gender, such as hair.

After receiving this feedback other options for the main character were designed (see images below ) and we suggested the inclusion of texture in some of the illustrations in order to contrast that flat solid colour feel of the illustration style.

The feedback received from the client after sending these other options was that they were very keen on the use of texture, however, they specified they wanted the main character to be quite simplistic, having a more stick man like appearance. Therefore we took a new approach to designing the main character (see images below ).

The client was quite pleased with this new more simplistic approach which we developed to reach the final design for the main character. We created two final options (see images below). However, the client preferred the blue skin tone as it was less alien-like.

To differentiate the videos between one another, as they have the same main character, we gave each of them a different background,  keeping, however, the same style and theme. The background is always a planet with the sky behind it. Both the planets and the skies have different textures and colours. (see images below).   

The fact that the client provided us with the three voice overs from the start, made the process simpler as it allowed us to accurately time each action in every scene.

The videos mainly display what the voice over narrates. However, the audio contained pauses in which we added some features/actions to make the whole animation more interactive and quirky. An example of these details can be seen in main character’s eyes which move depending on what happens around him and continuously blink in order to give a sense of movement. We also added features such as question marks popping up when the character is confused, or magnifying lenses when he is exploring something new. These kinds of details were carried throughout all three videos (see images below).   

Due to the context of these videos, it was also key to include some of the most important information as text. This helped make the explanations on each video clearer. We created different ways to animate the text, which helped to the overall dynamism of the animations. Some examples of these text animations are speech bubbles, text appearing on a chalkboard or laptop (see images below).

The first video took slightly longer to animate as we had to get approval for the main character and the illustration and animation style.

When we received the feedback on the first video the client often seemed quite confident in what they wanted to change or tweak. They occasionally suggested us to change features for ones they had initially thought of. However, some of these suggestions were later on discarded with mutual agreement following our recommendations to avoid confusion. An example of this was the client’s idea of using a mouse to represent the action of searching, which ended up being better represented by a magnifying glass

We did not always agree with the changes received in the feedback. However, in some instances, the client insisted on us making these modifications. For example in the first video, when the TV rolls on the screen, we initially had the text floating next to the TV. However, the client made us add a chalkboard with the text, in order for the latter not to float. We personally thought it was more unnatural to have a floating board next to the TV. (see images below).

LEARNING OUTCOMES

As this was our first real job, it helped us learn how relationships with the clients work, and taught us some key points that will help us in future jobs.

The clients often knew what they wanted but were open to opinions and new ideas. We found it was important to voice our opinion as in some cases we can advice the client in order to achieve a better design product. However, we learnt that if the client does not agree with an idea or feature in the work, it is, after all, the client’s product, and therefore we realised the importance of sometimes accepting these disagreements in order to provide a product closer to their needs

It is important to also keep in mind that the client might not be able to give feedback or answer questions right away. In the later stages of this project we also learnt that it might not be worth spending too much time on small details at first as the videos continuously get reviewed by the clients who not always communicate all changes at once. Therefore it is wiser to work on the main features and structures first in order to have more time to review and refine the details when the deadline starts to get closer.

It was also important to meet all our formative deadlines as leaving things last minute would have meant some of the changes the client requested could not have been made. In some cases the client also asked to see work before the deadline to allow more room for potential changes.

Lastly, during this job we also learnt the importance of continuously saving and backing up our files to allow us to go back to a previous version at any time.

It has always been one of my main goals, to some day work in the music industry as a designer, and hopefully one day creative director. For the last couple of years at university, I have been chasing any work opportunity I can find around electronic music, and more specifically Drum & Bass. It would make sense that combining design with something I personally enjoy would be the ideal plan for my future as a designer.

After the end of last summer term, the Reading University Drum & Bass Society (RUDNB), asked me to create a brand identity for them, since they were planning to start organising and promoting their own events by the following October. Other than an old low-quality wordmark logo, set in the Blade Runner font, the society had no visual identity before that. I was given two weeks to not only produce the visual identity of the society, but also to create a social media presence for the brand, in order for them to be able to gain more members, and better promote their future events and activities.

The brand identity that was created had to be dark, minimal and gritty. Bold and aggressive typography was used, along with dark photography and abstract 3D visuals, created from the new logo itself. RUDNB now had a new official Facebook page along with a Facebook group to promote member interaction, a new instagram account to share more casual and friendly photos of the members, and a new Soundcloud account, used by the Society’s DJ’s to promote student music production. All the visuals for the social media accounts were under a clear cohesive visual identity, that aimed to promote a new Drum & Bass society.

I was also tasked with managing all the social media accounts of the society for the first month or so, in order to help them grow and build a membership. There was new content being shared every other day, on all social media account, like Track & Mix of the Week competitions, edited photos of society member to fit the brand identity, promotion of music production, etc. etc. In addition to the social media accounts, a direct marketing campaign was set up through MailChimp, to target all the upcoming Fresher’s that would be joining the society in September.

Within a month of the creation of its social media presence and new brand identity, RUDNB’s Facebook account had went up to 200 likes, and the Facebook group had another 150 new members, with a lot of them taking part in in daily discussion and being active members in the society. Shortly after, the first RUDNB event night followed at great success, with people asking the society to buy T-Shirts with our logo and managed to sell more than 30 in less than a month.

Overall, the new brand identity and activity seemed to work well for the society, and I’m quite happy with how the logo and visuals worked out. I was also happy to be given the chance to handle social media accounts and learn how to promote content on Facebook and Instagram, as I have always been interest in Marketing. Through the work with RUDNB, I managed to meet a lot of local promoters, that were giving me design work like flyers and social media banners for their events, which I was also happy to do, since I wanted to expand music design side of my portfolio.

Regrettably, after the last year of working with local D&B promoters and labels, I’m not sure if there’s much to be gained in terms of learning and becoming a better designer. There are a lot of problems that I did not anticipate when working within a niche, local, underground scene as a designer. Most of the promoters seem to be set in outdated ideas about how they should be promoting within the industry. Every single client I have worked with in the past year, has been micromanaging and requesting a lot of absurd obscure ideas that result in terrible design.

With a quick look to the Ivaderz or Playaz music label website, one can see how most of the D&B industry seems to be stuck in its old ways. Terrible vector art created from tracing photos, or loud obnoxious designs with 10 different fonts and all the colours they can possibly fit in, all within a 150 x 210 mm flyer. This outdated practice in design seems to have been plaguing the industry for many years now, and the local promoters are not about to change that any time soon.

This mentality seems to be linked with the industry fighting back against change of the old-school, a way to keep things the same, and a way for the local promoters to compete with the bigger international names in the scene that are growing bigger and bigger with the rise in popularity of D&B as a genre. They see to be using and embracing outdated practices both in their requested designs, but also in how they promote events.

This is not to say that the whole of the industry is stuck in its ways though. There are several D&B labels that are pushing the boundaries of electronic music design, or at least D&B. Labels like Critical Records have been pushing for a composed high quality visual identity, that doesn’t go overboard with their designs, and seem to be catching up, if not on par, with other genres of electronic music that were always known for boundary-pushing design. When asked about the visual identity of Critical Records in an interview with Fabric, Kasra, the owner of Critical Record’s mentions how since the inception of the label, he’s been fighting against the cliches of the design in the music industry.

“When I started the label I knew that I wanted to combine my love of drum & bass and the culture that surrounds it with some of my punk/American underground guitar music design ethics and my penchant for more minimalistic designs facets. I’ve never really been a fan of the sci fi influenced d&b cliché to be brutally honest, you can be forward thinking without thinking futuristic or using futuristic imagery.”

But then again, he is the owner of one of currently biggest and most well known D&B record label, both in the UK and Internationally. So the problem is not really in the industry itself, but rather the smaller local promoters and music producers being stuck in the old ways of doing things, and being unwilling to catch up with an industry that is moving forward without them. What all this means for a young designer who was hoping to be part of this industry, is that sadly, unless you manage to land a job in one of the bigger names in the scene, there’s little to nothing to gain from a designer’s perspective in experience or learning, which I’m sure holds true for any small and niche industries, and not only D&B.

In the past year, I have enjoyed doing some fun and creative branding work for the RUDNB society, which helped me land several other small jobs throughout the year. But after my experience with the industry, I will more than likely be changing my plans to pursue a career in the music industry as a designer, unless I can land a position as an in-house designer for one of the bigger names. Nevertheless, it has been great producing design work that was out in the public and seen, and to some extent, appreciated, by people that have an interest in the same music as me.

Looking back at  the work and interactions I had with those promoters, I have learned a great deal about what I should be willing to accept as a freelance designer when working with such clients. At the start of the year, when I was first being contacted by these promoters to produce design work, I obliged at every request for small changes and revisions that they wanted, resulting in me working extra hours that I did not originally agree to, due to be excited to start working with people of the industry I was looking to join. In the future, when receiving similar freelance work, I will be more careful when first communicating with the client and in setting the ground-rules for how and what work will be produced.

Overall, I am happy to have produced the RUDNB brand identity as I was part of the society myself, but I am also happy to have worked with those promoters while at university. It would have been much worse if I didn’t have this year’s experience and ended up landing a position with a similar music promotion company, resulting in me having a job that I wouldn’t have enjoyed. After graduation, ideally,  I will be seeking to earn a position at a branding agency, since it is one aspect of design that I’m most interested in. Maybe that will change as well in a year’s time, after I get to actually experience working there.

RJ00241: Reading International

Reading International

The initial brief set by the client (Susanne) was to design a set of email templates using MailChimp for Reading International. Reading International is based in Reading, its an art organisation which is led by the Reading School of Art at the University of Reading. It is a contemporary visual arts organisation that promotes and commissions solo exhibitions, groups and thematic shows. Through the organisation a programme of events are undertaken some of these include, performances, film screenings, workshops, talk, offsite projects and temporary public artworks.

INITIAL BRIEF
The initial brief which was set was to design cool looking email templates using MailChimp. The organisation wanted to design an e-invite that could be sent out regularly from their current MailChimp account, that was eye-catching but also matched their current branding.

CLIENT MEETING
In order to fully understand the organisation and the set brief, it was essential to arrange a meeting with my client. In order to arrange the meeting with my client I had to construct a formal which introcuded myself. The first email which I constructed to my client was the most important as this set the tone for the whole real Job. I wanted to ensure that my client trusted and respected my opinion throughout this job. 

To prepare for the meeting I created a set of questions, these were then asked within the meeting. The sorts of the questions which were asked helped me understand what my client wanted from the real job. It was important to undertake these questions to ensure that my client got the most out of the job. The following questions were asked;

• What do your current email templates look like?
• What do your email templates promote?
• Do you have different email templates for each program?
• Whats the current logo for Reading International?
• What typefaces used currently?
• Any competitors? What do their email templates look like?

Asking these particular questions aided me during the design process. However, due to University strikes and my client working at the University of Reading, the job was therefore delayed, although this was communicated. The job began to progress towards to the beginning of April. This therefore pushed back the initial deadline, however during the first meeting with my client this was communicated as I wanted to ensure that there was no confusion. This progress helped me understand that communicating with a client is a vita aspect. Additionally, to this as my supervisor was on strike as well It also delayed the process. However, I ensured that I kept my supervisor up to date once the strike was over.

COMMUNICATION
In the initial meeting with my client we arranged that all contact would be made through email. The designs for each template would be created on MailChimp, this would then be shared with my client. After my initial client meeting, a restated brief was undertaken. This involved stating specifically what my client wanted from the job and most importantly a schedule to organise the work that needed to be completed for the deadline.

ORIGINAL RESTATED BRIEF
The related brief concluded that three email templates would be designed on Mailchimp, which would contain one of each program. These are; exhibition/projects or events or Artlab. Alongside the deliverables a schedule was created. This was sent sent to my client through email and ensured the she read it and got back to me if anything else needed to be added or if anything was incorrect.

RESEARCH
In order to understand what other e-invite templates look like, I conducted some research to see how other competitors within this field create their templates. My client also forwarded me some emails of other organisations, this helped me understand what my client wanted from the job as well this it also ensured that I created something unique for Reading International. In addition to this, I also checked out the Reading International website to see what colours, typefaces and sort of style they currently have.

DESIGN PROCESS
Once the restated brief was approved by my supervisor and client, I then began to design aspects of each template. After looking at other organisations it was clear that everything was kept consistent. I also wanted to portray this with Reading Internationals templates. As the restated brief stated above, three templates would be created, one for each program. However, the current Reading International templates were evident that each template wasn’t differentiated. I therefore I wanted to create headings for each template to ensure that people who are subscribed to Reading International know which sort of program is being advertised.

Once these headings were deigned I then sent them to my client in order to receive feedback. This was important as it ensured that I was producing something that my client wanted. As well as this it made me understand how important it is to get constructive criticism from clients. Furthermore, after gaining feedback from my client, it was clear that she wanted to differentiate each of the programs through their layouts, instead of using headings. I did however question this because I wasn’t aware at the time if it was important for the person receiving the email to know which programs are being advertised or not. However, once discussing this with my client it was made clear that it was not as important.

Furthermore, during the design process my client stated how she only wanted two templates created, one for events and one for exhibitions/projects. In addition to this, she also stated how she wanted the logo to be redesigned as it previously had a cream background. However, the main website for Reading International had a white background. Therefore she wanted a logo that best reflected the brand.

Initial designs were created on Indesign using the copy text supplied by my client. This was completed in order to experiment with the different layouts. Once completed I started to transfer the different layouts onto MailChimp. However, as MailChimp is a website that has standard templates, this caused some limitations when designing layouts. After speaking to my supervisor, it was advised that I should share the templates on MailChimp with my client, instead of sending PDF’s of the draft templates made on InDesign.

Redesigning the logo taught me how to produce gif’s, this was something I always wanted to master but never got the chance to experiment with. The gif was produced on Photoshop using different layers. This was then placed onto the templated on MailChimp, I had to also ensure that file size was compatible with MailChimp, this involved a bit of research.

The templates were shared with my client were she was able to view the two different templates. My client expressed gratitude and asked whether or not I would be able to produce another template for a new series. I Kindly accepted this offer, however due to the restricted time that I had, this will be completed after May 14th. In addition to this, in order to keep the consistency within all the templates, guidelines will be produced to keep my client understand the design choices made. The guidelines would clearly state the typefaces used, sizes, spaces and colours.

UPDATED RESTATED BRIEF
As various aspects developed throughout the course of this real job it was important to produce an updated restated brief, which included the third template being created for my clients new series, the updated gif logo and the guidelines for each template. As the guidelines and third email template were discussed close to the original deadline, I will continue to develop these working towards a new deadline.

NEW SCHEDULE

16 Wednesday May 2018 – Third template sent to client.

17 Thursday May 2018 – Feedback from client.

21 Monday May 2018 – Guidelines produced and sent to client.

23 Wednesday May 2018 – Feedback from client on guidelines.

25 Friday May 2018 – Deadline, all files and MailChimp templates will be sent to client.

OVERVIEW
As this job has not been completed yet, I have still learnt a range of skills. These include learning how to create gifs on photoshop and learning how to use MailChimp. MailChimp was not something I was aware of until I took on this job. Using MailChimp helped me understand how email templates are created. The gif was a challenging aspects as it was not something I had done before, however gaining this experience has helped me implement this skill within my own portfolio. In addition working with my client helped me learn communication skills, such as forming professional emails, keeping my client up to date with each stage. These aspects helped me realise how important communication is when working in the design industry.

Context

Founded in 2016 and led by Jennifer Christine Stokes, Reside Dance aims to bring individuals and communities together by developing connections to places and others through dance. With a special focus on promoting and celebrating cultural diversity, Reside Dance aims to become Reading’s first dance company to bring its’ residents side by side to celebrate their individual and collective cultures within site-specific places. Drawing upon techniques and processes from dance theatre, social choreography and somatic practice, Reside Dance aims to strengthen Reading’s dance offering by creating innovative, high quality and accessible performances, workshops and programmes that widen dance audiences through its exploration of issues prevalent to Reading life.

The brief

Reside Dance were looking to establish and represent their values through consistent branding and a coherent visual identity, starting with a logo redesign as the foundation for this. They wanted branding to tie together all of their media under one visual identity, both online and printed. The overall aim of the rebrand and logo redesign was to increase awareness and promote the organisation to a larger audience in Reading, showing how they aim to become Reading’s first dance company to focus on promoting and celebrating cultural diversity, bringing residents side by side to celebrate their individual and collective cultures in a community based way.

Being my second real job project and working on my own for this project, I felt prepared for the task. I was in charge of managing myself and my own schedule rather than having to manage other people. Before the initial client meeting I carried out background research into Reside Dance, their competitors and their outlook and during the first and only face-to-face meeting we established a clear set of aims and objectives. Through a list of questions I had prepared before the meeting I was able to find out all of the information quickly and efficiently to then write up the restated brief. During the initial meeting we also decided that our main mode of contact would be via weekly emails. Meeting in person was hard as they job ran over Christmas and my client was also a full time masters student as well as running a Reside Dance. However, emails worked well and we were able to get back to each other on a weekly basis with in depth feedback as we stuck to the restated brief schedule rigorously.

Aims and Objectives

• To establish and represent the company values through strong, consistent branding and visual identity, starting with a logo redesign as the foundation for this.
• To create a coherent and clearly communicated set of brand guidelines for: typefaces, colour palette, layout, imagery
• Tie together all media through the a strong visual identity: posters, flyers, website, social media sites
• To increase awareness and promote the organisation through a strong visual identity.
• Show how they aim to become Reading’s first Charitable Incorporated Dance Organisation that focus on promoting and celebrating cultural diversity, bringing its’ residents side by side to celebrate their individual and collective cultures in a community based way.

Deliverables

1. New logo to be used on multiple applications as jpeg and png files
2. Brand guidelines document including: typographic detailing for all media, colour palette for all media, template example layouts for promotional material as a pdf file

Writing and signing off the restated brief helped me establish the guidelines and timeframes for the project and it was a very useful process to understand and confirm the terms of the contract as at first the deliverables of the project were too vague and negotiable. I ended up producing 2 restated briefs, 1 copy written for myself and 1 for the client only containing what they need to know. This was to keep the clients copy concise and relevant.

The biggest challenge I initially faced was confirming the deliverables as my client wanted brand guidelines with the logo but then asked for ‘future implementation of the brand guidelines’. However, this part of the contract was too vague as there was no timeframe and the project needed a finish date to aim for. Instead, we agreed on keeping in touch after the real job contract expired so the visual identity could be implemented in the future under a separate contract. Alternatively, another student could take on the job in the future and implement my brand guidelines to deliverables such as a leaflets and posters for future dance events.

How the project evolved

Initial stages

Once the restated brief, schedule and deliverables were confirmed I was able to look into the specific needs of the user and client and start looking for ways i could add my own ideas to the rebrand. I started by looking at similar organisations and competitors logos and branding for guidance in terms of colour schemes, typography, imagery and ethos. Here I began to think how each element could be used to promote certain brand values and characteristics.

I began by working on the logo concepts first as they would act as the foundations for the rest of the rebrand. I proposed a range of initial concepts to my client and from there the finer details would follow such as colour schemes and typefaces. After receiving feedback on the initial concepts I began to develop the logos as vectors in Illustrator and we went through multiple different ideas before narrowing it down to two concepts. The weekly email feedback made the sharing of files and timeframe manageable for both of us with busy schedules. Throughout this exploration process I was able to gain a better sense of Reside Dance’s ethos and values through the feedback my client was providing me and this would later help when writing the brand guidelines.

Initial logo concepts

The dancing figure logos are conceptually self explanatory. The concept behind the rounded shape logos was the merging together of different groups of people represented by the overlapping abstract shapes and different colours – creating readings diverse community. The concept behind the geometric, building like shapes was to give a sense of the community coming together in a range of public buildings around reading where the dance performances would be held – emphasising the word reside ‘to have ones home or be situated in a place’ (public spaces around reading). These ideas eventually combined to create the concept of a group of people holding hands from a birds eye view, forming a building like shape  – the community creating a sense of place and space through dance performance. 

– Logo concept explorations

We eventually narrowed it down to the final logo concept after exploring various other possibilities through process of elimination. The client feedback I received was extremely useful during this process as they had a clear vision for the logo and they understood what was possible and what wasn’t. Here I made the requested adjustments from weekly feedback until my client was happy with the concept that fit the overall brand ethos. Once decided on the final concept, I was able to work on finer details such as typography, composition, form and colour. I feel that the weekly feedback approach with both my client and project supervisor worked well as it gave enough time to make the amendments and to consider feedback, giving the project structure.

Final logo

The Reside Dance logo conveys its values and brand through the imagery and colours used. The imagery shows a culturally diverse circle of people holding hands and dancing around the name ‘Reside Dance’ from a birds eye view. This imagery resembles the coming together of different ethnicities to create a strong network and community through dance and movement. The dancing figures also form a shape that resembles a safe public space or building in which the community is performing. The warm colour pallet also resembles the welcoming nature of the organisation as well as cultural diversity.

– Final logo

Brand guidelines

The finished logo worked as the foundation for the brand guidelines document and after I had finalised these visual guidelines I was able to apply them to business card and leaflet mock-ups using copy provided by my client in order to show how the branding would be implemented. The brand guidelines I produced included guidelines for the brand identity and ethos, logo, colour scheme, typography, business card mock-up, leaflet mock-up, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram logo mock-ups. 

– Leaflet and business card templates to show how the brand guidelines would be implemented

Final stages

Towards the end of the project my client got ill which slowed down the project as I needed feedback and confirmation to finish the brand guidelines. This resulted in us having to push back the finish date but after some negotiation with my client and supervisor we were able to settle on a later finish date in order to get the best results for the project deliverables, rather than handing over unfinished work. Here I learnt the importance of negotiation and patience when unforeseen circumstances arise in a project.

There was regular communication between me and my supervisor during the final stages of the project as I finalised the logo and brand guidelines. Here I learnt the importance of copy editing and writing in a style that a non-designer is able to understand. I also learnt how important it is to get feedback on designs and written work from other people as I kept missing small errors throughout the brand guidelines. My client, supervisor and peers were all helpful in providing this feedback. My supervisor also helped me tidy up my logo vector file so it was ready for multiple applications at different scales. These are all important skills that I will take forward with me into the future.

How the project was received

After handing over the final deliverables to my client I received an email of thanks. It was satisfying to know that the final outcome was well received and even more so to see the logo used throughout their social media platforms and on their website. It was also reassuring to hear that my attitude was professional and organised as working with a real client was something I hadn’t had much experience with before. After we finished the project, we decided to keep in contact for future implementation of the brand guidelines and any other work Reside Dance might need in the future which further emphasised the success of the project and the relationship with my client.

Reflection

I feel that the final outcome of the project definitely achieved its initial aims, despite working on a project out of my usual comfort zone. Being a charitable organisation, it wasn’t the typical style of work I was used to but this forced me to work out of my comfort zone which was rewarding as I was constantly learning new skills. Working out of my comfort zone also boosted my confidence, making me realise how the skills I have learnt at university are transferable to all styles and areas of design. I feel that if I am able to practice and refine the skills and styles i have learnt on this project, it’s definitely an area of design that I would want to do more of in the future.

I feel that the final outcome of the final logo is a little generic, looking like many other charitable organisation logos. Despite going through a wide range of initial concepts, some with more intriguing messages and visual forms, my client picked one that I wasn’t initially sure about. However, this made me realise that ultimately, the work is being designed for the client and it is my job to provide them with the vision they have for the project. On most other university projects, the work produced would be for myself, under my own guidelines, but here I was working for a client which made me realise the importance of being able to interpret and create other peoples visions. It was also morally fulfilling knowing that the work produced was helping a charitable organisation and the wider community in Reading.

Overall, I feel that the project ran smoothly and this was thanks to having an engaged and enthusiastic client. Now that all of the deliverables are tied together under the brand guidelines document I feel they act as a strong foundation for the future of Reside Dance. The most rewarding aspect of this project was working with a real client as previously I was used to making my own design decisions, based on my own preferences. This project meant that I had to work to a tighter specification where I was designing for someone with different ideas and tastes to my own. At first I found this challenging but I have learnt lots of valuable lessons from it and I feel that I can now handle negotiations and work on feedback (even if I don’t agree with it) in a much more professional way. This is an extremely useful skill that I will take into the future with me.

Final deliverables

– Final logo

– Example spreads from the brand guidelines

Client: Richard Joyce

The brief

W. R. Joyce & Company are a small firm of solicitors based in Co. Wicklow, Ireland. The client asked for the company’s visual identity to be updated and for it to become more distinguished. In addition to this, the client  was keen to implement a consistent design across all forms of company communication and also attract a larger client base through the updated brand identity. The main deliverable for this job was the creation of a new logo for the company. In addition to this, the client asked for business cards, compliment slips and letterheads to be designed and printed using the new logo design.

Research

Before creating initial logo designs for W R Joyce & Company, I wanted to gain inspiration from the Weimar/ modernist design that the client was keen to feature in the updated visual identity of the company. This style of design is something I had not previously experimented with or used within any of my design work. Therefore I was quite interested in how my logo designs would turn out. Below are examples of some of my findings when searching the modernist style of design. I immediately noticed the interesting use of the sans serif typefaces and the alignment of the type. Also, this style of design commonly featured different shapes and bright and vibrant colours.

I also looked into the symbolic meanings behind values that would be closely associated to the work of solicitors. These included trust, loyalty, leadership and wisdom. I found that the most appropriate symbols for a logo design would be an oak tree and the Celtic symbol of a Dara knot, which are both often associated with trust. From carrying out research, I learnt that as a designer it provides you with a good starting point to base your ideas on, making them a lot more focused on the clients needs.

Transform

After my supervisor signed off the re-stated brief and I had updated the schedule from what Stephen Hickson had previously agreed with his client, I began to create logo designs. I first began creating designs using the symbols, shown below in the images. These logos were a lot more traditional in their design and did not necessarily achieve the modern and updated visual identity the client was keen to achieve.

I was also determined to experiment with creating logo designs that stuck to the weimar/ modernist style of design. This was not as daunting because of the initial research I had done on the style, I now had inspiration and ideas of what made a modernist design successful. Within each of the logo designs, I experimented with the placement of the text ‘W. R. Joyce & Co Solicitors’, colour and shapes. Below are the logos that my both my client and supervisor felt were most effective.

After feedback from my client and supervisor on my initial logo ideas, it was clear that the logos featuring the modernist style of design were to be the ones I would develop further and improve. I was extremely happy to hear from my client that they were ‘delighted with the progress so far’. My next step was to experiment with different typefaces within the logo designs. In terms of typeface choices, I wanted to stick to the typical modernist typefaces, which included Futura, Optima, Helvetica and Alte Haas Grotesk. Below I have included one of the logo designs, but in the different typeface choices, rather than including all of the different variations I had created.

I then sent these variations of typeface choices to my client to see if he had any particular preferences. However, for a few weeks my client was unable to respond to my email because of his heavy work load. In the mean time I completed three print estimation forms using the link on my trello board, for the business cards, compliment slips and the letterheads. Geoff got back to me within a few days and I was able to send these to my client as well so he had an idea of what things may cost for a few different amounts. It was important for me to do this before any designs were finalised because the client needs to always be informed of cost as the job develops.

At this stage of the real job I was very aware that the original deadline has now past and was keen for the job to move forward. I made the decision to give my client a quick call to discuss the emails I had sent him, he then replied to the email the day after which was great.  I was also able to update the schedule within the restated brief. Within this email he chose the logo below as his favourite design, which uses the typeface Alte Haas Grotesk. The logo design is shown below. I was then keen to meet with my supervisor to make sure I improved the design further, before moving forward with the job.

He also said he would prefer to use his local printers, who have previously printed all of his materials, rather than using DPS. This is understandable as he is based in Ireland and would not have to worry about getting the printed materials over to him. My client also mentioned that he would be happy to pay me to create the website for his company as a separate job. I was delighted at this offer as this will be my first job outside of the real job scheme and once finished it will be a great achievement.

I then talked to my supervisor about how to improve the chosen logo design further. He suggested that I tighten the spacing between some of the characters, knocking back ‘Solicitors’ so it is less dominant and exploring ways to solve the award space underneath ‘Joyce’. As well as making these changes, I also needed to make sure the logo worked on the printed materials (business card, letterhead and compliment slips).

My supervisor gave me helpful advise on further ways to make the logo look much more refined and dynamic. The most important change here was changing the typeface to Helvetica. This occurred because Alte Haas Grotesk looked very messy when looking at it close up. This change was not dramatic as the typefaces are practically the same. Another important change was the inclusion of different font weights within Helvetica, emphasising the hierarchy of the different elements of the logo. My client’s response to the updated logo design was ‘the suggested change is perfect – very subtle’.  I also had a discussion with my supervisor about the benefits of the company investing in creating a spot colour for the mustard yellow/ orange colour. This would allow the colour on their printed deliverables to be much more solid and vibrant. Using a spot colour will mean that there are no white spaces between the printed ink, like there is when using the four colour process. A spot colour is something I will definitely mention to my client.

In addition to the logo, I created a pattern, by creating different sized blocks of colour using the text within the logo. I felt that this was an interesting way of adding to the company’s visual identity. The pattern would be a meaningful addition to the range of deliverables I will create later on. Although, it was important for me to keep in mind that the pattern should never overpower the logo within a design, it should always be a subtle addition to a design, otherwise it loses its effectiveness.

What is next?

After the 14th, I will continue with this brief by finalising the print deliverables, which include a business card, compliment slip and letterhead. I will need to ensure that the files are ‘print ready’ for my client to send to his printers in Ireland and finalised to a professional standard. In addition to this, I aim to create a guideline document for the client, which will ensure that the consistency of the brand continues in future design outcomes, especially when used by others. Furthermore, I need to make my client aware of the regulations relating to the use of a typeface, if he would prefer to continue the use of Helvetica outside of the logo design. In addition to this, I will need to discuss with him the benefits of creating a spot colour for print deliverables. This is because the colour will then print much more solid and vibrant compared to creating the colour using the 4 colour process.

What have I learnt?

Throughout the job so far I have learnt how beneficial it is to regularly show my design work to others, especially my supervisor. This is because I am constantly able to improve my designs and learn new techniques to help a design become more effective. For example how effective different font weights of a typeface can be within a logo, to break up the text and the hierarchy. I have also been able to design a logo in a style that sits out of my normal comfort zone, as the client asked for me to create a logo in a weimar/ modernist style. This taught me that I should try not to limit my design ideas; I am able to be much more versatile in my design ideas. When I have finalised the brand guidelines, I will have been able to improve my understanding and the skills involved in creating clear and precise guidelines.

Restated brief

After we met with the client to discuss what they aimed to achieve, we sent them a restated brief, which was approved by both the client and our superviser.

We aimed to create a logo for a unique style of bag as part of a UK brand, which will be used by style conscious dog walkers. This logo needs to be able to adapt in size but also when it will be used on promotional material and different types of fabric in the future. The logo must work in a single colour both positive and reversed on a dark background, including being debossed onto leather.

The bag itself will be will be similar to a messenger bag, with different compartments for accessories such as treats and a lead for the dog. There will also be space for the dog owners own belongings (phone and house keys for example) The unique selling point for the bag will be the compartment for the poo bags as this will mask any odors. It is a bag that allows dog walkers to go from walking their dog, to socialising with friends in a cafe, with possible hashtags #WalkiesToWhine / #WalkiesToWine.

The target audience for this brand, are dog walkers who live in the countryside, rather than those who live in the city where bins are readily available. In addition to this, the unique and stylish bag is is aimed at those who are aged 30–60+, especially those who enjoy an upper-class lifestyle. The audience is likely to take their dog on a long walk, then head to their local pub for lunch afterwards, taking their dog with them. It is also for those who are environmentally aware and disagree with dog walkers who do not look after the countryside.

Transform

The client had not yet decided on their company name and were stuck between ‘Houndsley’ and ‘Hound Heritage’. When we created our first set of initial logo ideas, we created ideas using both of these names, as shown below.

After submitting these initial ideas to our supervisor, our main feedback was to place each logo idea onto 1 page each on a PDF, making it clearer for client. We also then selected our favorite logos from the set to develop, before sending to the client for their first approval. Below displays the three logos we discussed with our supervisor.

Our feedback from our client was that they did not want an illustrative logo, but rather a “clean, mainly text” one. They liked the current Chapman bags logo, which is rather a focus on typography and a small motif above, which is not too twee and obvious.

In addition to this, the client decided to go with the name ‘Houndlsey’ because it was only one word, rather than two and also because it sounded memorable. With this decision made, it allowed us to have a clearer focus on creating logos for that name only.

With this in mind, we focused more so on the typography and a small illustration above, (as shown below). We explored a range of serif and san serif typefaces. In the end we chose to explore mainly sans serif typefaces, such as Avenir, Aktiv Grotesk, Futura and Gill Sans. As well as this, we looked at a range of simple illustrations for the motif, we wanted something that was not too predictable but also represented the brand well.  As the clients wanted a primary focus to be the “English heritage/ Established” and “Made in England” style logo, we added these above and below ‘HOUNDSLEY’.

Typographic logos

The clients narrowed down their favourite typefaces to Avenir and Aktiv Grotesk. They also decided that they liked the idea of using a dog lead as the motif. From there we were able to play with the shape of the lead, rather than just having it laid in a straight line. 

After many developments and tweaking of the logo ideas, the client decided that they preferred the typeface Avenir because the stroke was very similar to that of the heart motif.

The final logos

After developing the logo numerous times, we decided that the logo would be more of a success if we had two versions of it, one that will be used for debossing, called the ‘alternative logo’, because it has a suitable amount of space within it and has a much better structure enabling it to be clearly debossed. The other version of the logo is called the ‘regular logo’, one that will be seen as the main logo for Houndsley, used in places like the website and promotional materials. However, if the client decided to do so, the ‘alternative logo’ could be used as an option, rather than just for debossing.

Alongside, the two main versions of the logo, we wanted to make sure that Clare and Becks had access to other variations of the logo, incase they were needed in the future. This included the logo with ‘England’ in bold and also a variation without ‘England’.

We feel that the logos that we have created for our client achieves the unique, refined and sophisticated logo which we aimed to produce. As well as this, the logo is very versatile as it can be carried across many platforms, with the use of the different variations. The logo we have designed, also achieves the clients wish to relate to english heritage with the classic and clean design.

Guidelines and file package

To ensure that the Houndsley logo would be used correctly in different design platforms the client chooses, we devised a set of logo guidelines. These guidelines explain the minimum size requirements for the logo itself as well as the lead motif, should that ever be used on its own. It also displays how much space must surrounded the logo when it is used.  

We also designed the logo to be placed on black or different coloured backgrounds, with the negative option for the client.

The client also mentioned as to whether there may be a coloured option, that may be used with different variations of their products. So in the guidelines explains the opportunity to add colour for the heart motif, as shown below.

The guidelines display mockups as to how the logo and motif will appear on different textures and design platforms, and debossed on leather. As the client will sell the product at trade shows, we also displayed how the logo will appear placed on a banner, as shown below.

Other mockups within the guidelines includes a tag, website and dust bag, as shown below.

Within the guidelines and also in conversation with the clients themselves, we needed to explain the importance of having the typeface license, if it was to be used in other material other than the logo. Currently, the client does not need to get the Avenir typeface license because we have converted the typeface to an outline in the logo and so the type is not ‘live’. However, they are aware that the typeface license will need to be purchased if they continue to use Avenir in future designs.

File package

When we had finalised the logo design and the logo guidelines for the client, we needed to make sure that the client received the files in a clear and structured manner as there would be many parts to the suite of files. To make this as easy as possible for them, we gave each version of the logo its own name, rather than numbering them. Along with this, we gave them a key to help guide them when looking through the files.

As well as this, we made sure that the client received PDFs and JPEGs of the logos so they were able to view them, as well as the illustrator files, which they can pass onto another designer or printer in the future. We placed each logo on its own A4 artboard, each having a width of 40mm as the height varied depending on the version of the logo. The A4 artboard enable the future designer or printer to have control over the amount of space surrounding the logo.

What did we learn?

Throughout this job, we learned that it is very important to communicate with your client and check that you are both on the same path as this allows the process to be more successful and run smoother. As well as this, we were able to learn the requirements which needed to be followed in order to create a logo which will be used in a print process such as debossing. This meant that we were able to see how two versions of the logo worked much better over different platforms.

When finalising the logos, we were able to see how important it was to make sure that the spacing of the different elements of the logo were balanced and also that the tracking of the characters were sufficient enough to be embossed onto the bag.

It was interesting to create and put together a logo guidelines as we had not yet done this before. During this, we realised how much detail and thought needed to be put into this, to make it as clear as possible for third parties to use if they took on the files. We also learned how to prepare the logo for different uses, such as placing it on different coloured backgrounds, therefore we had to ensure the logo was versatile for these platforms. Furthermore, we learned how to package the files effectively so that printers and future designers may access the files with ease.

We also learnt that it is very useful to ask others who are not part of the job to ask their opinion of the logo. This is because they are able to notice specific details that could be improved or made clearer. In conclusion, it was a very interesting learning process, to design something that will be used on a range of design platforms.

In April 2018 our client sent us photos of the finalised Houndsley bags which had been through production. As designers for the project we were so pleased to see our designs working effectively on the product, as we had always envisioned. Furthermore, the Houndsley website is now up and running with our logo as the header. It was also flattering for the client to note thank you for our design work in contribution to the Houndsley brand on their new website.

RJ00227 London International Development Centre (LIDC) rebrand

Designers: Fabio Rahmani and Orla O’Connell

This London International Development Centre Real Job project was assigned to Fabio during the Christmas break period, and began with initial back and forth emails with the client to discover what work needed to be done. It was decided that a re-brand was required which included work for the social media presence of the organisation, a re-designed website to improve the user experience and a new logo.

Initial meeting

For the initial meeting, Fabio travelled to London to the office of LIDC to meet with the managing director to get a better understanding of the requirements of the project and the direction that the new director had envisioned for the organisation to go towards. Fabio prepared multiple questions to gain a better understanding of the organisation and their budget. Budget turned out to not be a huge factor, although it was constantly considered within every stage of the design. Through this meeting, Fabio also found that the client wanted to approach the rebrand in a way which would portray a modern and approachable identity towards the clients target audience.

Logo

The design process of the logo involved analysing competitors brand identities, which allowed us to highlight that key features such as approachability and community. We showed the client 12 initial sketches and they decided on the fractured letters that spelled out LIDC, but also made some suggestions for changes that they would like to see. We then went on to make the changes, and add another set of variations of that logo to allow the client to decide on which style they preferred. Once the logo had been finalised, we went on to add the colours and created variations with the colours to show the client. Below shows the finalised logo design, as chosen by the client.

Communication

For a few weeks after the initial meeting, there was a lack of response from the clients end, and when a response was sent it was often not relevant to the question asked which made progressing a little difficult. This may have been due to the client not knowing exactly what they wanted. Due to the lack of communication in this time, Fabio began designing the new website with existing content on their current website due to not being supplied with a new site map or content for the new website. Through the lack of responses Fabio learned that he should not always rely on emails but should instead use phone calls to get an instant response when it’s needed.

Second meeting & Communication workshop

After a long period of silence, Fabio received an email stating that LIDC had hired a communication manager to truly find out what direction the organisation should head towards with the re-brand. The new communications manager invited Fabio to attend a workshop that she was hosting to get all the members of LIDC to voice their opinions about the way in which the brand should progress. Fabio also showcased the first iteration of the website whilst at the workshop, explaining the key features and explaining whether some ideas were feasible from a web development standpoint. Through this we learned the benefits of hosting a workshop when the client doesn’t know exactly what they want or need and it also allows direct face to face communication which is far more efficient than conversing via email.

Website design 

One of the main aims of the website re-design was to cut down on the content, and to create a more concise site map. The old website had a lack of colour and a very outdated theme which meant that one of our main aims was to create a modern design, that also doesn’t detract away from the information that is being displayed. We had to ensure that the design appealed to both potential research students as well as research funders. Through creating clearly labelled calls to action we aimed to allow users of any technical ability to efficiently use the website.

To make the website more friendly and approachable, the use of bright vibrant colours was used in conjunction with the use of colourful photography. We also decided to keep most the background white as it would increase the contrast of the text being set against it, allowing for increased legibility for the users of the website.

An additional Designer

After the long period of a lack of communication, LIDC requested for Fabio to create the mobile version of the website also but due to the way in which the deadline had been pushed back, this was no longer possible for Fabio so Orla was brought on to develop the mobile website following the style guidelines implemented by Fabio. We had 2 weeks to create the web designs for desktop and mobile.

Mobile design

Orla had to adjust the information and the style that Fabio had created to fit the smaller canvas size of a phone. The small size of the mobile screen meant that the information needed to be broken down into smaller sections, to enable the user to read and understand the content with ease.

 On quite a few of the pages, the information is broken up into different sections within the app, for example shown in the three green boxes below. When the box is clicked, information is revealed, making it less overwhelming for the user, rather than the user having to read all the information in the section in one go.

An important part of any design is consistency, the mobile version of the website consistency uses the visual identity of the desktop design. At the top of each mobile screen, there is an image along with the section of the app the user is in, for example ,’About us’, ‘Contact us’ or ‘Teaching’, this helps the user when navigating through the app.

Furthermore, on each of the screens there is a burger menu in the top left corner. Once clicked, this then reveals the menu. Here the user is able to go to different sections of the website.

 A second colour is introduced on some of the mobile screens, which is also quite bright and eye catching. The purple is used for buttons that lead to another page. The addition of a second colour adds differentiation to the clickable elements of the screen, the green is mainly for sections of the screen containing information, whereas the purple buttons link to a new section.

It seems that there may have been some misunderstanding that Fabio and Orla were working on the mobile and desktop version of the website separately as the client only responded to Fabio with feedback and corrections. However, Orla was still able to use the feedback given to Fabio to make improvements to her mobile screens. From this real job, Orla learnt how important communication is between designer and client, in order to make sure both parties are on the same page. In addition to this, Orla  was able to improve her skills in being able to adapt a design, to work successfully in another format.

To conclude

The new deadline was the same time as 2 other projects and our dissertation which meant that we could not pay complete attention to this project as we had hoped during the 2-week window that we were given to complete the web designs. We were still in the process of refining the designs when we received an email stating that they wanted to take what we had done already to their web developer so he could create the website for a quick launch. They said that they liked our designs and that they would be enough for the developer to create the website from. Due to this we were not able to complete the web designs to a standard that we had hoped to achieve.

In the end, we learned that if the client is not communicating at an reasonable speed, we should do more to go out of our way to get a response such as using phone calls to get the clients attention rather than an email. We also learned about the importance of thinking about the way in which web design functions between various platforms. The workshop was also a good learning experience and is something that we will utilize if we ever have a client that doesn’t quite know what they want.

If we had more time we would have continued to develop both the desktop and mobile designs to a standard we were both happy with. Furthermore, if we were able to work on the majority of the design aspect of the job during term time, instead of the Easter break, we would have made sure to utilise supervisor feedback more effectively. During the time we worked on the brief, we made sure to meet up and discuss our designs regularly, in order to help each other improve. We also made sure to show our peers the designs we were working on, in order to gain additional feedback. Also, if we were to take this project on again we would utilise Trello more effectively as we primarily communicated our designs and process vocally whilst meeting up and showing each other the work we had done, but through using Trello we would have been able to record our progress more effectively and we would be able to refer back to it to effectively back up our design decisions and reference pivotal moments within the design process.

Ellie Hewitt, Fay Biggs, Fabio Rahmani, Jack Smithers

This project was initiated due to a branding module that we undertook during our third year of studying at The University of Reading. The module consisted of rebranding Connect Reading, which is a Reading based charity. After attending a meeting with Kirsti Wilson, the Managing Director, we created a prototypes and mockups of a range of deliverables and presented our idea for a new brand identity to her.   

Client meeting
Kirsti was overwhelmed by how much work and thought we had put into the project and therefore decided she would like us to bring our designs to life. To begin the process of the real job we attended another meeting with Kirsti and Tracey Rawlings Church (one of the members of the board for Connect Reading). During this meeting, we confirmed that the final deliverables would be:

– New brand identity (logo/colour scheme/typeface)
– Website
– Promotional video
– Information pamphlets
– Annual impact report
– Business card
– Social media overlays
– Stationary items

In the meeting we were advised not to use as much of the ‘midnight blue’ colour which we had initially used throughout many of our deliverables due to cost factors. We was aware of that the charity did not have a huge financial budget however this was stressed further to us. For this reason we agreed that any items which were printed would feature less colour than those that were digital however we would ensure that all still fit the new brand identity.

We also agreed that the new promotional video that we would devise, should describe what Connect Reading broadly does rather than focusing on a specific event which we initially had.

The timeline requirement for work was discussed and Kirsti expressed that she was very flexible and would allow us to create the deadline and schedule for the project. Overall a second meeting with Kirsti was very beneficial as it allowed us to gain more of a relationship with her as well Tracey Rawlin Church.

Board meeting pitch
During the meeting with Kirsti, she asked us if we could present our previous work to the board of directors to ensure that they also were happy with the progress that we had made so far. We agreed that this would be an amazing opportunity as it allowed us to gain a further critique on our designs and would give us an opportunity to pitch them to a well-established and executive board, which we had not previously done before.

The board meeting was held at Reading Buses headquarters which meant we were unfamiliar with the IT system that was in place. Therefore, we were advised beforehand that we should put the presentation on a USB and present from the computer that was fitted within the room we would be presenting in. Unfortunately when we arrived this did not go to plan which meant we has to experiment with the projector and use one of our laptops to present. Although this was an issue it was resolved easily and efficiently as we arrived a lot earlier than the scheduled time in case an issue like this happened. This emphasised the importance in always be prepared and arriving early.

Overall, the feedback we were given was positive and one of the board members whom is a marketing director even stated that it was one of the best pitches that she had ever experienced. She also gave us more input on our deliverables, particularly the video. She mentioned that we should use language which the audience would speak themselves and not overcomplicate it. In addition, she advised us not to use sound effects as it takes away from the seriousness of the topic.

Following on from this we had a team meeting to arrange how we would split the tasks evenly. We agreed that Fay would continue to be our team leader as she had been so far and had already built up good communication with Kirsti during our previous module. From then on we took the feedback we had gained from the board of directors and implemented these into making our final deliverables.

Social Media
Fabio’s tasks within the Real Job project for Connect Reading were to develop and complete the social media post templates, to effectively communicate social media growth strategy to the client during the pitch to the board members and to transfer the design that was created for the annual impact report to a word ready template.

The Social media templates packages contain both PNG’s to overlay on top of images as well as the original files to make changes to the existing design. Fabio created a variety of templates which included variations in colour and in the written text present on the overlay. A template with no text was also created to allow the client to add their own text for new events and seasonal greetings when required. We will also be meeting with our client to effectively communicate how to use the templates, how to make changes and how to upload the imagery onto social media.

For the social media growth strategies, Fabio could introduce the idea to the board members during the pitch which took place at the Reading Busses head office. Within his section of the pitch, Fabio covered extensive research from studies and personal experience on the most effective way for Connect Reading to gain exposure through social media. Through communicating with the clients directly, allowing them to ask questions highlighted that not all clients will have similar technological experiences and may require more detailed explanation which will be an important factor to remember whenever we have to pitch ideas to clients in the future.

Annual Impact Report
The annual impact report was one key deliverables for this project as the client uses the report to sell themselves to potential clients, boasting an impressive network and equally as impressive numbers. Throughout the branding project we created a document in Adobe InDesign to display all the information within the annual impact report in an aesthetically pleasing way, but as we learned throughout the Real Job segment of this project, our client (and our future clients) will not have access to the same software as us, and won’t always want to hire a graphic designer to make a few simple changes to the written copy. For this reason, Fabio took the initial design and recreated the re-designed annual impact report in Microsoft Word which is our clients preferred software to use. Initially, the annual impact report was designed to be printed but as the project developed it became clear that the report would be sent out via email as a PDF allowing us to freely use colour without worrying about the printing costs. It also meant that Fabio had to make minor changes to the design such as changing sections of the annual impact report which contained columns of text, changing them into one longer column of text to improve the on screen reading experience.

Video
Ellie was tasked with creating the new video as she had already made the previous one. To begin the process she brainstormed the main information that needed to be included and asked Kirsti what aspects of Connect Reading she wanted to be highlighted. From this she created a story board that could be sent to Kirsti to ensure that all the information was correct before devising the video.

When speaking with our supervisor, Ellie was made aware that the storyboard would need to be more detailed in order for our client to interpret the information fully. It was agreed that to do this she would give more description on the visuals and give guidance on the timing of the video. Our supervisor also pointed out that we would need to be more conscious of the symbols which we used as some may be seen as offensive or not interpreted in the way which we anticipated. For this reason Ellie developed the story board further. It was critical to get this feedback as it gave us insight that we need to be more aware of the design ideas we are sending to our clients over email vs. how we can describe them face to face.

The second design of the storyboard was presented more professionally and clearer for our client to understand. Ellie then presented this to Kirsti, who was extremely impressed by the amount of detail it provided. Together, Kirsti and Ellie agreed on minor changes to the script. Following on from this, Ellie recorded the voiceover of Kirsti so the video would be more personal to Connect Reading and their story.

While making the video, Ellie discovered that by placing other brands logos upon the design would clash and would not be visually appealing. For this reason the white versions were used and placed on the iconic blue circles that are used throughout the video. This allowed for the design style to stay consistent throughout.

Overall, we believe the video has been structured well to stand out from competitors while telling the story of Connect Reading. It can be used successfully across all social media platforms as well as the website.  

Website
Besides being project manager, Fay was also tasked with the design and development of the website. It was stressed during the branding project as well as the client and board meetings that the website and annual impact report were integral parts of the organisation and their redesigns were a priority. The objectives we developed in our restated brief aimed to create a website that was current, structured, easy to navigate and easy to edit and maintain from the clients end.

Because of the stricter budget of our client, the website had to be developed without the use of typical online web or blog builders and hosting services such as wordpress.com or wix as Connect Reading had already paid for their annual hosting and domain subscription with another server. Therefore, Kirsti put Fay in contact with developers from an agency here in Reading that were responsible for hosting the current Connect Reading site to discuss how the website can be developed and deployed. From meeting with a developer from the agency, it was suggested that the best approach to take was a wordpress powered site developed through the wordpress.org software. This website would be self hosted during the developmental stage and then packaged to be deployed by the agency who would host it.

Fay had never developed a wordpress site using the software before so it was an opportunity to develop a new skill in learning how to set up a site, databases and SQL servers. The experience was challenging at first, but the technical knowledge gained from it would become an asset in future development of client sites. Throughout the developmental stage, constant meetings with both the client and the developers helped give constructive feedback on both the design and technical aspects of the website. The developers were able to give key advice on realistically implementing some aspects from the design, making us aware of design components that we would have to change to create a more workable and easily maintainable website. The process of consulting and working with front and back end developers also provided an introduction to future experiences in the workplace where a designer would have to collaborate with various skilled individuals on large collaborative projects.

Unfortunately, the night before this job submission, a crucial wordpress plug in update broke some formatting and javascript design elements of the site. The technical difficulty was unforeseen and reminded Fay that site backups and being flexible and prepared for technical errors as such was a crucial part of being a web developer, especially when working towards a deadline. In the next coming weeks, Fay will be fixing the last few technical aspects and meeting with the web developers to ensure the site, software, databases and widgets are all functioning to make sure the client hand off and maintenance is as efficient and easy as possible.  At the end Fay was able to implement the designs proposed during the branding module into a responsive and dynamic wordpress site which will be later deployed in time for the organisation’s 15th anniversary.

Business Card
Jacks task within the project was to redesign Connect Readings business card with the new branding. The original business cards were very plain and not eye catching. Therefore, the main objective was to ensure the new design would stand out and give a good first impression to anyone viewing it.

As already discussed, the midnight blue colour should be used minimally on printed objects. Therefore, Jack looked into different approaches that could reflect the brand without having a high use of colour. Overall we feel that the business card gives a professional reflection of the company and meets the needs of the deliverable.

Powerpoint and Letterhead templates
Jack also had the task of creating a new presentation and letterhead templates that Kirsti could easily adapt without the need of any external help. It was arranged in our meeting that these would be created in Powerpoint and Word as these were familiar to Kirsti. She would also be able to export PDF’s easily and continue to save money on printing costs.

As the letterhead had a main purpose that would be printed, it was essential that the midnight blue was used minimally whereas the Powerpoint could incorporate more as it would always be digital. This reiterated to us, that when designing for our clients we should always consider how these documents will be used. Moreover, we believe that these deliverables would be easily adaptable for Kirsti and therefore meet the objectives and fit the new branding.

Sign up form
The original sign up form boasted a corporate aesthetic, therefore, Jack had a task to redesign it with the new brand identity. As Kirsti sends this to clients via email, it was essential that it was easily accessible to all that may want to use it. Therefore, the best document type was a PDF. This would allow businesses, charities and schools to easily fill  it out online and send it back. The usability of the document was considered throughout and therefore we undertook user testing to ensure that people who had not seen it before, could easily interpret the information and fill it out. This taught us that we should alway gain insight from others as it gave a new perspective.

Conclusion
In conclusion, we believe that we have created a vast range of deliverables which reflect Connect Reading’s new brand identity. For each deliverable we considered its primary audience and its use, which influenced the design choices that we made. Therefore, we believe each deliverable meets its objectives. The restrictions we encountered allowed us to each develop new skills.

Working with a proactive, organised and helpful client ensured that the job ran as smooth as it possibly could and indicated that making connections such as the one we have developed with Kirsti would be beneficial for our future careers. To develop this project further we will continue to liaise with Kirsti and the board or director at Connect Reading and make final adjustments to the deliverables and ensure that the brand is reflected to a professional standard.