Brief 6 - Presentation boards (small)

Brief 6 - Poster artwork

I began to devise some poster designs using the existing photography and alternate hues to represent each aspect of the course. I experimented with various layout formats — initially a 2:1 ratio format to emulate the yearbook layout and then vertical layouts for the sub-posters.

Brief 6 - Final layout

Based on the initial layout concepts and spreads I devised, Max created the final publication of all 17 DFGA students. We are still awaiting the imagery and content from a couple of students which we have now been informed that they should be sent our way soon (fortunately with a PDF delivery, problems like these are not vital to resolve immediately).

The layout is based on an interactive navigation, with users being able to click on a students name on the contents page which would take them to the relevant page. A subtle icon in the top left of every page would then take the user back to the contents page. The students name would also remain in the same place once clicked to their relevant section.

We still need to alter the colours but this needs to be discussed with Mike, the course tutor.

Brief 6 - Layout development

More layout development exploring how the contents link to the relative pages —

Brief 6 - Editing / Mock-ups

After selecting some of the images we thought were most effective due to the photos depth of field, for example, we began to edit the photographs to increase the saturation of the colours. Design for screen has far more colour density and vibrance than design for print which is something we intended to emulate within the title spreads.

We also duplicated a couple of the shapes to make the setting feel more 'busy' and began experimenting  with the application of text. We chose a heavy, sans-serif typeface to ensure it wasn't lost inbetween the shapes and coloured background.

Brief 6 - Studio

We booked the photography student to achieve a more professional shot for the title spreads of the yearbok. This particular set-up was for the 'games' DPS, using tetrix / pixel blocks to subtly communicate the essence of games. As suggested by Mike, the photos needed to showcase more of a depth of field between the suspended shapes which is something we took on board for these photographs. Thee photographs still require some editing to saturate the colours and increase the brightness.

Brief 6 - Photo editing

Through Photoshop, we started to edit the photographs — looking at increasing the saturation to create a more vivid colour palette (as this will ultimately be displayed on screen). I also removed the white threads though we will look at whether we could keep these in to further enhance the 'process' concept.

 Original —

Edited (with the second, I blurred out some of the shapes to create a depth of field) —

We started to explore other colour palettes which we could use within the other title pages (this is a proposed set up for games). Simply by changing the hue we could look at other potential colourways.

Max also had the idea of masking DFGA over the photograph. The colours will inevitably change for the final design as we could potentially have each letter representing the corresponding title page (different shapes and colour palettes). For the final photo, this could potentially be achieved by placing a stencil infront of the lens.

Brief 6 - Photography set up

We set up a mock up studio in Luke's bedroom to photograph the shapes suspended from the ceiling. We used contrasting stock to the orange shapes to create a more vivid aesthetic. We just used thread to suspend them and masking tape to attach as we intend to edit the photographs within Photoshop.

We then altered the white balance which completely changed the outcome — the colours appeared much more vivid, especially against the blue background. These will still need more post-production to ensure vivid colours but it was interesting to see it all coming together.

Brief 6 - Preparing shapes

For the DFGA yearbook, our encompassing concept is based on process. We want to translate elements of films, games and animations into the 'title' pages within the document based on pop culture references and relevant imagery.

As we wanted to portray the process and production of the three areas, we thought this could translate well to paper craft and physically producing these elements. To show Mike, we decided to create a mock-up shot to showcase how our concept would be applied. We initially started with generic shapes simply for ease but we will inevitably create more relevant shapes. We chose a yellow / orange colour palette just as a test.

We then looked at various coloured backdrops which we could use for the photography. The blue creates a vivid impact due to the contrasting colours and the greys create softer hues.

FMP - Crit

Brief 6 - Idea development

As we have received the final copy and images from Mike, I decided to start devising some initial ideas regarding the layout and interactivity of the pdf. I used a 420 x 210 ratio as requested to correspond with the ratio of some of the images provided.

I primarily looked at how the names of the students form the contents page and these could link to the corresponding sections or result in a pop up once clicked by simply linking it to a page of the same design. The font used is simply a placeholder at the moment until we all get together next week and decide what to use. The three lines in the top left of some of the pages is a link back to the contents page.

Statement of Intent

OUGD303 FMP Tutorial

Brief 6 - GD yearbook concept

As a group, we got together over the break to begin generating ideas and concepts to ultimately put the concept board pitches together. After initial talks, we set upon the idea of treating the entire year group as a unit as opposed to having individual pages per student — in turn, this decreases the amount of pages due to the more refined and focused content. Due to the more limited amount of pages, the budget would allow us to look at various specialist print processes to create a more imposing, engaging and tactile aesthetic.

V

As it is the 5th year of the course and also the 5th and final year of our current degree programme, we thought it would be interesting to explore and develop this within the publication. Charlotte came up with the idea of a roman numeral, "V" symbol which would act to brand and encompass our year. To counter the idea of removing individual pages per person, we proposed to have a categorisation system of 5 design disciplines which each person would choose to contribute to. This would be accompanied by an index, referencing the students work and their contact details.

Visual direction

We wanted the aesthetic of the yearbook to be visually imposing and striking. To reference the idea of our year being a solid unit, we thought to reference this with print production. We intend the publication to be monolithic and unified in its presentation through the use edge printing in the same colour as each face of the publication — in turn, this will create a solid block of colour.