Grace Walker Communication Design

To create the range of 4 stickers, I used the main logo to create 4 different designs for the event in Photoshop. As stickers would be given out at the event, they did not need the location or website so I included the relevant information: the title, logo and host company. They are all different but are aesthetically similar. I then used these designs and that of the poster to create a lanyard as this would be needed for the event.

To create the Twitter header I initially sketched layouts on paper to see which one had the most balance (starred image) and I then created this in Photoshop. 

Positives of Web 2.0: Services such as YouTube, WordPress, and Flickr provide users with easy-to-use platforms which enable them to place their creative work online These services are typically free Being part of a big, popular platform makes it easier for your work to be found by others The commenting and community facilities enable others to engage with and respond to the content, and help to build relationships, and possibly collaborations, between creators Web 2. 0 sites provide no content themselves, but instead become highly valued and (in some cases) profitable businesses off the back of the creativity of their users. They 'exploit' the 'labour' of all site visitors, who generate valuable data about their interests and activities as they click around a site. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 

A person should be enabled to 'express their meaning in action'. Link between joy and creativity. The iPad was a step backwards in the evolution of personal computing devices, towards media consumption rather than media production. 'Generativity'. World wide web. 

Social capital. Bordieu.  Coleman. Putnam. Increasing nationalisation and globalisation of shops, banks and businesses. Generational change, television, suburbanization & commuting, everyday pressures. Majority of people regular internet users by 2010. 

For create the iPad templates, I used my poster as a starting point and took the main logo and used the soft light blending option to decrease the saturation and use it for the background. I created a quick sketch on paper before starting the designs in Photoshop for a basic outline.

Big 7 factors affecting happiness: Family relationships Financial situation Community & friends Work Health Personal freedom Personal values Social factor in life. 

I created a first draft of the poster design to match my initial theme as shown below: To create the text I used Illustrator and then used the eraser tool in Photoshop with multiple layers of the same text in different colours to get the effect. I then put the main text in InDesign to create the layout of the poster with the information and then transferred the layout design to the document in Photoshop. However, I was not happy with the balance of the design, and the 'form & function' part looked out of place. I adjusted the placement of the text multiple times to try and find a better balance. I used the previous hierarchy task to adjust the layout of the text and created a grid to help with the placement. I added an image of the location and used the Image Trace tool in Illustrator to make it simple and fit with the modernist style but it did not add anything to the poster and made it too crowded so I then removed it. I then adjusted the 'form &...

YouTube has become somewhat ubiquitous on the internet, and in popular culture generally. Web 2.0 applications which encourage people to make and share things are often not very specific tools, as such, but are broad platforms. Without the 'amateur' content and contributions, YouTube would be much less popular. YouTube is a platform which offers a framework for participation, but which is open to a very wide variety of uses and contributions, and basically agnostic about the content, which means it has been adopted by a wide range of users for a diverse array of purposes.  People spend time creating online content because they want to feel active and recognized within a community of interesting people, and because they wish to express or display aspects of themselves and their interests. 

After googling lots of different poster designs relating to both grunge and modernism, I settled on the theme of modernism as I think it will be more of a challenge and I find the posters more aesthetically pleasing. Below is a mood board I created of particular modernist posters which stood out to me: I then recreated 3 of these posters, one multiple times, to find the best software to use. I found Illustrator best for creating text, but photoshop better for putting the designs together. I presented these ideas to the class and the most popular one was the faded overlay of gold on the black background. I will use this idea for my project and build on how the gold creates a 3D effect, especially with the 'O'. My next step will be to use this style on an actual poster, instead of Lorem Ipsum, and create information for a modernist exhibition. An idea from the feedback discussion was to build up the opacity of the gold throughout the press pack as if it ...

Rules create a framework for design without determining the end results. Style sheets are rules for displaying the different parts of a document. Rules can be used to generate form as well as organise content. Rules can be produced in computer code as well as natural language. Repeating and rotating forms are universal principles of pattern design. 

Motion is a kind of change, and change takes places in time. Time and motion are considerations for all design work. Any still image has implied Motion, while motion graphics share compositional principles with print.  Animation encompasses diverse modes of visible change. Alternative modes of change: scale, transparency, colour, layer, etc. A word or design element can stay still while the environment around it changes. A motion sequence is developed through a series of storyboards, which convey the main pages and movements of an animation. Cropping a shape can suggest motion, just as diagonal compositions do. Complex and subtle behaviours are created by using different modes of change simultaneously. When animating type, the designer must pay special attention to legibility and reading order - context is important. Storyboards summarise key content/moments of an animation's events. Interactive logos and graphics are another aspect of motion design. 

In the workshop, I practised using Illustrator to get used to the tools and try and find a theme for my project. From using the tools, I found I was leaning towards modernism and geometric patterns as well as grunge typography so my project will lean towards one of these themes.

A diagram is a graphic representation of a structure, situation, or process. They allow us to see relationships that would not come forward with a straight list of numbers or a verbal description. Edward R. Tufte - “A chart or diagram should employ no metaphoric distractions or excessive flourishes, but should stay within the realm of objective observation”. A network (graph) is a set of connections among nodes or points. Centralised networks include pyramids and trees, where all power issues from a common point. A decentralised network has a spine with radiating elements. A distributed network has node-to-node relationships with no spine and no centre. Diagrams for product design: Matrix diagram Action flow User flow Venn diagram Design Task 1 For this task, I used red lines to connect a grid of dots in different ways. The first is a distributed network and the second two are decentralised networks.  Design Task 2 For this task, I created a di...

Surface pattern is creating a vibrant discourse. Rebirth of ornament. Nearly any pattern arises from 3 basic forms: Isolated elements (dots) Linear elements (stripes) The crisscrossing or interaction of the two (grids) Pattern design is about creating a larger texture. A pattern results from repetition. Every pattern follows a rule - designers can define rules with computer code meaning they can create variations by changing the input into the system.  Design Task 1 Here I created a simple element and added variation to show pattern. Design Task 2 For this task, I created a seemingly random pattern of cats and used slightly overlapped tiles to make a repeating structure.

A grid is a network of lines. The lines are typically vertical and horizontal and evenly spaced. Guidelines help the designer align elements in relation to each other - layout process is more efficient. Grids are culturally associated with modernism. They help designers create active, asymmetrical compositions in place of static, centred ones - leave some spaces open rather than filling up the whole page. Create a black-and-white concept first, then use colour to emphasise or counteract the underlying structure. Columns break up space and make pages less overwhelming for readers.  Design Task 2 For this task, I designed a weekly calendar page. I tried to think creatively and move away from the standard square format of calendars.

Every design problem is completed within a set of constraints or limitations. Modularity is one of these constraints. A module is a fixed element used within a larger system or structure e.g. a pixel. Breaking the rules of a standard design can produce a new response. Modular type can be made of anything. Think about the negative space around the letters. A calligrapher can freely adjust a character in relation to the marks coming before and after. A symbol stands for or represents objects, functions, and processes. Symbol systems are often based on geometric modules that come together to create myriad forms and functions.  Design Task 1 For this task, I used a grid to produce four letterforms with common characteristics. I then translated this into an image from physical objects. Design Task 2 In Illustrator, I used a square, a rectangle and a quatre-circle to make the alphabet, experimenting with letterforms. Design Task 3 I created all the char...

In Photoshop, I used a pair of contrasting letterforms; g & Z, and created logos using just the letters and a background to see how the curves and straight lines contrasted. 

Transparency suggests clarity and directness at a social value. In design, transparency is used to create dense, layered imagery. Opacity.  A viewer perceives the transparency of one plane in relation to a second one. In video and animation, face and dissolve transitions are used.  No material is wholly transparent e.g. scratches or cracks in glass. Graphic transparency. Design Task 1 For this task, I looked for transparency in the environment and photographed examples. These are shown below: Design Task 2 Here I combined image and type, and made parts transparent to see how it affected the image. For the first example, I made the text over the people transparent, to make them stand out and for the second example I used an image of a church and put a layer of crosses on top, and then made a large cross symbol in the crosses transparent so it is hardly noticeable, which is an effect I like.  Design Task 3 For this task, I combined an im...