ITAP : Week 8

Production of Visual Communications

From Novice to Expert

The Novice to Expert scale is used to determine what stage you are at, within your working field. Everyone can use this scale, as it is not based on a certain skill.

The field that I am working in is graphics, and would like to work as Graphic designer, mostly the fields of Advertising or film. After looking at the scale and comparing myself to it, I would class myself as Proficient in my working area. The reason I classed myself as Proficient is because I believe that I match the areas, which are stated, even though some areas might tick a few areas of competent.

In the future I hope that I am able to reach the status of expert within my chosen field. To make sure I obtain the expert status, I hope to gain knowledge through my years at university and putting things to practice so that I can keep improving, another way is by reading more and visiting events related to my chosen field. If I follow this plan I should be able to class myself as an expert after I leave university in 3 years time.

And to check whether or not I have achieved my aim, I will compare myself again to the Novice to Expert scale in 3 years time and see what stage I am at and if I can progress even further.

Examples of work within project working on :

Design Workflow

From looking at company workflows and plans , i created a workflow of my own that is related to my L4 project that i am working on . Below is the work flow i created. 

Week 7 : ITAP

ITAP : Week 7

Delivery

There are many different platforms that illustrators, Graphic designers and photographer’s can use to deliver and promote their communication, which could even effect how the work looks.

One platform is Editorial magazines, this is can be used by all three above as it’s a simple platform where most people start their careers and can get a message out to readers who are interested in the area.

Another platform which is used is: Advertising, as this can be spread across from billboards to posters seen on walls, and is a easy way of communicating to a larger audience as more people are likely to see it, compared to seeing it within a magazine.

Other platforms can also be used such as: Publishing, Textile and Fashion however using an online platform can be a bigger advantage than the all the above mentioned as it can be accessed around the world, and communication can be spread.

Medium

Most Illustrators, Graphic designers, film makers and photographers tend to use the internet in these modern day to promote and represent themselves, and can be done using different websites which use different techniques to spread information.

Facebook is one of the biggest social networking websites on the Internet in which people display information about themselves and can upload images and videos to their own personal page, which friends and other can see.  The Facebook website is now used a lot by illustrators, Graphic designers and photographers as they are able to make groups to promote their businesses and are able to display work.  Facebook also allows you to send personal messages, making it easier for communication.

YouTube is another, as it displays millions of videos uploaded around the world. This website is mostly used by filmmakers as it’s the perfect environment and videos can be uploaded in a variety of formats. The YouTube website can also be used by Graphic designers, Photographers and Illustrators, however their work must be presented in a video format such as a slide show. The most useful advantage of using YouTube is that you are able to get feedback via comments or likes/dislikes which can help gather research into whether a piece of work is successful or not.

Another website which is used by all people working in different fields are blog websites such as Tumbler as they give you the ability to post information, photographs, images and videos on your own personal web space which anybody can access and you are also able to get feedback in similar ways to the ones used on YouTube.

Using website’s to promote and represent is common in today’s world, as it’s easier to communicate through and also gives you the ability to have more space than before , and is why more and more people are starting to use the internet. 

Week 6 : Narrative

ITAP – Week 6: Narrative

Developing characters

Within every story there is always a hero, but for they’re to be a hero, there needs to also be a villain. A hero is normally a regular that has had to rise to extreme heights to overcome obstacles, whereas a villain tends to be a person who has a fatal flaw.

When developing a character you have to focus on how the character is portrayed, such as looking at the clothing they wear, the way they talk and even how the character reacts.  

Most villains and hero’s tend to have a story behind them and how they got to the stage they are at, and so a personal profile should be developed on each of the characters so that everyone knows a bit about them. 

Not all villains and heroes are always good and bad, as within some stories the villain can have a positive side to him/her and even have sympathy for some, and the hero can sometimes not really be a heroic, as things might happened on accident or it could be a coincidence.

So when creating a character for a story, you have to think about more than there name and gender, but you have to create the character from scratch so that you and the readers know everything about the character.

Narrative techniques in context

One way of getting a Narrative story across is by using simple images that have a meaning behind it and tells a story. Most people do not realise that there is normally a story behind most images and logos.  

An example of this is the apple logo, when I first saw the apple logo I personally never thought about the meaning behind it and what it meant, it was only in todays lecture that I had found out what it represented. The apple logo that represents the apple company is about the story of Adam and Eve and when Adam bit into the apple which god told him not to do, he gathered knowledge and this represents apple trying to spread knowledge through their products.

 This single logo represents the whole story of Adam and Eve.

Another example is the Nike brand, the logo and name comes from the Greek Goddess of Victory called “NIKE” and the swoosh tick it uses as its logo represents one of the Greek Goddesses wings.

Week 5 : Legibility & Tone of voice

ITAP  (WEEK 5)  - Integrating theory & practice

Principle 3 – Legibility

Legibility: The quality of being clear enough to read.

When designing or working with text, you must ask yourself: Is the design suitable?  and does it work? As the design can have a huge impact on whether something is legible or not. The text size, colour, font and background can all effect how text is read.

For my recent assignment of creating an online magazine, I created a double page spread that I had to think carefully about, due to the colours I was using, my text on the design was not easily read. Here is an example :

From looking at this design you can see that the text colour does not make this design legible, as it is not easy to read, this is due to the white from the background image interfering with the text colour. Due to the interference, the letter “O” in the word Broad looks like the letter “G”. As this one legible I had to change the colour of the font, to make it more suitable.

After going through a variety of colour pallets on Photoshop, I was able to find a colour, which was legible and had little interference.

This process is necessary when designing as it can influence your final outcome and can decide whether your piece of work stands out or not.  Below are a few more images of others work, which are legible and not legible.

Due to the text being so small on a poster about something important , this poster is not legible and even defines the purpose of what is being presented.

This design is not legible as the background colour clashes with the font colour, making the text not easily readable.

This poster design is legible as everything is clear to read and also the colours used go well with the design.

Principle 4 – Tone of voice

The text font and size can make a big difference on designs, but that all depends on the tone of voice being used.  The best way to describe tone of voice is by looking at different styles of text.

BIG

This text font above is an example of a tone of voice, as it is using the font style and size to match up with the written text.

 However the tone of voice does not always match up to the text written, such as the one below, but can be done on purpose to attract the viewers attention, making both ways effective.

Loud  !      à should be à L0UD !

Other good examples of tone of voice are:

HARD     ANGRY    Small      

The effect of “tone of voice” tends to be found in comic strips and  poster designs, one example I found was from Roy Lichtenstein’s work in which he uses the word “ WHAAM!” to create the feeling of sound.

Using tone of voice is a good way of grabbing the attention of a viewer , however to do this , it must be done properly using the appropriate : font , size and colour for what the message is conveying.