Studio Brief: "How To..."

We were put into Groups of 5 and we were given a topic at random. I was in Group 5 and our given topic was TRANSPORT.
We then brainstormed ideas and avenues to do with transport that would be interesting areas to research (see picture):

Group 5 Spider Diagram of Possible Avenues

Personal List of Brainstorming

We each had to select 1 area to work with out of what we had brainstormed. Initially, I selected DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRANSPORT IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES (see picture):

Selected Areas for each Group Member

I considered different avenues, such as Variations in Countries, Climate affecting Transportation in areas and the economies of different countries effecting the available transport/ quality of transport in that country.

However, I decided that this was quite a narrow avenue to go down as it would leave me very limited in regards to my primary research therefore I decided to go down the route of TRANSPORT & THE ENVIRONMENT.

From this, I went on to produce research into the subject matter (See Design Context Blog) and produced 3 Design Development Boards on the topic. One had to be primary research, one had to be secondary research and one had to show the direction I would take the work in (see picture):

Primary Research Design Development Board

Secondary Research Design Development Board

What Direction Design Development Board

After having a Crit within our group, we then were given the topic that we would be basing the next bit of work on: GET PEOPLE TO USE THEIR VEHICLE MORE RESPONSIBLY.

From this, we then had a group brainstorm of ideas and initial topics that this could include (see picture):

Initial Ideas as Group Brainstorm

We were struggling to come up with some successful ideas so we decided to split up and come up with our own initial ideas and developments to the brief topic and then reconviene at a later time.

My Individual Initial Ideas Design Sheet

I managed to cover a range of topics and came up with some concepts which I then expanded on with developments, making them into a series or pushing the display of information from just a written idea. I think one of my concepts is quite clever as it takes the imagery of a motorway sign and turns it into an advertisement poster, as it takes distractions of stereotypical irresponsible driver scenarios and highlights it by using a motorway diagram. Other areas I looked at included a hard-hitting poster concept involving a crash test dummy and a comment on environmental effects from irresponsible vehicle usage.

From reconvening and discussing the initial ideas we had managed to come up with as individuals,  there was discussion of coming up with a game, a publication and I discussed each of the ideas that I had come up with as well.

Initial Ideas as a Group

We managed to put all of our ideas together to come up with an idea that would fuse together each idea put forward by each group member. We settled on the concept of producing a package/ mail shot that would be used as a campaign to help aid new drivers (as well as competent drivers) to remember basic driving instruction. The pack would contain a keyring and air freshener which would have an instruction written on them, such as 'Check Your Mirrors',  a calender that would have seasonal advice and statistics, a publication/ leaflet that would have information on for the new drivers as well as a questionnaire with free post envelope so that we could get feedback from the audience. We would need to produce a brand identity and logo that would adorn the products and we would have an advertising poster that would be relevant to the remembering elements of the work.

Our Concept Answers the Questions/ Fulfillment of the Brief

We went through every question that was presented on the brief and made sure that our concept would provide a successful outcome for what was being asked of us. We then designated jobs within the group, making sure that we all had our own job to do and our own area of research.

Group Delgated Jobs and Roles

My job is to research into road safety advertisement/ posters and I am to develop the initial idea advertisement poster that I came up with to make it relevant with the rest of the project. Then I am to produce it.

Firstly, I researched into road safety advertisements (See Design Context Blog)

Design Sheet with Development Planning

From this, I went on to make another design sheet with group planning on it including: brand identity notes, possible typefaces, names and slogans, logo sketches and my final decided series with notes.

I decided that I would focus on the motorway distractions poster scenarios except use the ideas I had come up with in the development sheet when developing my work so that my posters work well with the rest of the group and the concept of the project that we are focusing on. I decided that my poster series should be made on either Illustrator or Photoshop as I knew that the rest of my group would focus on this aspect of production and I didn't want my work produced to look out of place.

Using Pen Tool with Layer

I started by getting an image from the internet and working on top of it using a separate layer and the pen tool. As you can tell, it is very wobbly and un-coordinated in regards to the circle and it was difficult to produce a different arrow from the ones from the image.

Using Shapes

By asking for some help, I was shown an easier method by using the shapes provided and using the unity and subtraction tools. This produced a template that I could use for all 3 posters that would mean that I would have even shaping and

Colour Selection

 I added the use of the cyan and white colour in order to make it look like a genuine motorway sign.

Original Poster Series

I started by using the font Gill Sans for my posters to add on the type that I needed. It is a font that is used for the universal signage system so I thought it would be useful until I had the chosen font that we were going to use as a group. I used 48pt as it seemed quite an even size with the amount space available.

From my poster series, I need to make some developments in order for them to be successful. I need to change the font used in the posters so that they are more fluid with the rest of the components being made. I need to include a logo for our campaign/ product so that it has more of a context and so that it is inclusive of the identity of the branding. Also, I think it might be a good idea to have a tag line or a point of contact as a footer to flesh out the poster and make it seem like it is a proper campaign poster.

Poster Series With Font Developments

I had the read the book 'Just my Type" and had remembered about the history of the font 'Transport' so that was selected for the body copy text with 'Franchise' being a group choice for the headline text. I think this font choice is a lot better than Gill Sans as it looks so much more genuine and slightly friendlier due to the fact that its recognizable in it's rightful place. I made the point size come down to 38 as it was too big in the original size.

Poster Series with Logo Colour for Background

Next thing to tackle is the logo as I wasn't it visible and clear on my posters yet I think I will have to make my poster contents smaller in order to get all of the detail in whilst allowing it room to breathe. The colour choices for the logo was different from the colour i had previously been using for my posters therefore I changed it using the Eyedropper Tool. I was convinced at first but the colour change has grown on me and I think it looks less juvenile.

Posters with Logo attached

I decided to place the logo in the bottom corner of my poster as most campaign posters have the campaign logo in the corner of the poster to give it some context whilst at the same time not interfering with the imagery of the poster. The only problem was that I couldn't change the white background that the logo had been done on therefore I made it look like it had been stuck on without any due consideration.

Poster Series with Logo Placement Development

I managed to amend this problem by raising the blue background and creating a larger margin at the bottom in white, hiding the real logo background. This makes my poster look so much more professional and I'm really happy with the aesthetic that it creates.

Poster Series With Facebook Group Reference in Bottom Corner

Based on the fact that a member of our Group produced a Facebook page to aid the promotion of our cause, I included in the bottom corner that the public could find us on Facebook and put the group name 'Drive Safely' in order to encourage people to look us up and learn more about our campaign.

From this, I decided that I was going to produce my main poster into an A5 postcard that could be put inside the kit as well as have the large poster series that's used as an advertisement. I felt that my posters could work in both contexts and would flesh out the mail shot kit by providing some context to the user.

A5 Postcard Front & Back

I used the back of my postcard to give some information to the user in order to orientate them and give an identity to the campaign that we are holding. I included some information on the group, some facts and statistics on road safety deaths (I collected my data from Department of Transport (2012) "Reported Road Casualties in Britain: Quarterly Provisional Estimates Q2 2012"[Internet] 1st November Available from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-provisional-estimates-q2-2012 (Accessed 6th December 2012)) as well as what is included within the pack. Also, I included the incentive of getting a free Bumper Sticker by completing the Feedback Questionnaire as the member of my group who was focused on identity and product came up with this concept so therefore I added it in.

Final Piece as an Individual:

In order to produce the final pieces for my part in the project, I printed the posters in CMYK in A3 size.

Finished, Printed A3 Poster Series

They came out really successfully, which is an odd thing to say when the colouration printed out slightly dull but, it just gives the impression that it was quite an old and well used sign thereby adding to the genuine aesthetic given by the posters. I'm so proud of the professional aesthetic of the posters and that they really do look like they could have been used on any real campaign!

In order to produce my postcard style information leaflet for inside the mailshot/package itself, I had to print double sided by turning the files to 'TIFF' files, putting them into Adobe Acrobat to make the PDF's and then printing them long-sided. Admittedly, I needed some help with this!

Double Sided A5 Postcard

I was a little bit disappointed with the fact that my postcard is a bit uneven in regards to the placement of the double sidedness of the postcard, however, I think it isn't as noticable as I think it is. I probably notice it more because I made it. I'm very happy with the aesthetic quality of the outcome and how it means that my poster translates well on both a small and larger scale which is a bonus as it means it is communicative on any level.

Final Product as a Group:

Final Product

Alex: Branding and Identity (Logo and Products)
Jane: Calender
Jordan: Packaging
Danielle: Online Questionnaire and Social Network
Me: Advertisement and Poster Design

Overall, I am really quite proud of the outcome of our product as we worked so well together as a group and I think this is reflected in the outcome. The product has a aesthetic consistancy and solid identity which makes it stand out and have a brand which is individual and unique. We have easily communicated the intention behind our product and we have answered and fulfilled the brief.  As a Group, we all pulled our weight and had our own personal thing put into the final product which means that we all contributed in some way. We helped each other out, listened to everybodies opinions and came up with something to be proud of.