Extended Practice
Danielle Harrison
Archives
Module Evaluation - OUGD603
Outcome
I wanted to take this module as an opportunity to create work that I wanted to include in my portfolio, that showcased the type of designer and person that I am. I wanted my work to reflect the views I have, the sector I enjoy working for, my interests & hobbies and the type of design that I produce well.
I made sure to have a strong focus on digital design including websites, app design and animation as this is my strongest area. I also included illustration in a few briefs so that people can see that I am interested in mid century design, not just clean UI, and have a broad range when it comes to working in different styles. I think this is really important for potential employers to see that you can work on a variety of projects, as I worked on a range of clients and styles when I was at my placement over Summer and wanted to show that adaptability is one of my strengths.
I really enjoyed this module as I included a range of projects - from live and collaborative, to conceptual and purely aesthetic, from a clean style to illustrative and from digital to editorial design. I think it was really good for me to explore new processes such as animation, because it is the direction that I want to go in after uni (digital + multi disciplinary), and print based processes are not something that I want to pursue afterwards. It gave me the chance to learn the basics and practice before getting into the deep end in a job. It allowed me to become more comfortable with them, show that I can do them and have a better understanding.
This has been my favourite year overall as I have found it the least stressful yet the most productive, ambitious and professional.
What skills have I developed throughout this module?
I wanted to take this module as an opportunity to create work that I wanted to include in my portfolio, that showcased the type of designer and person that I am. I wanted my work to reflect the views I have, the sector I enjoy working for, my interests & hobbies and the type of design that I produce well.
I made sure to have a strong focus on digital design including websites, app design and animation as this is my strongest area. I also included illustration in a few briefs so that people can see that I am interested in mid century design, not just clean UI, and have a broad range when it comes to working in different styles. I think this is really important for potential employers to see that you can work on a variety of projects, as I worked on a range of clients and styles when I was at my placement over Summer and wanted to show that adaptability is one of my strengths.
I really enjoyed this module as I included a range of projects - from live and collaborative, to conceptual and purely aesthetic, from a clean style to illustrative and from digital to editorial design. I think it was really good for me to explore new processes such as animation, because it is the direction that I want to go in after uni (digital + multi disciplinary), and print based processes are not something that I want to pursue afterwards. It gave me the chance to learn the basics and practice before getting into the deep end in a job. It allowed me to become more comfortable with them, show that I can do them and have a better understanding.
This has been my favourite year overall as I have found it the least stressful yet the most productive, ambitious and professional.
What skills have I developed throughout this module?
Work/Life Balance
Although not a crafting or design skill, developing my work and life balance has had a huge impact on this module and my degree and lifestyle as a whole. In the first two years of my degree I spent too much time working and not enough time doing things I enjoy, but not being as productive as I should have been. This year I have managed my time better, became less stressed and enjoyed both aspects of my life more. I have done this by not feeling guilty when spending time with friends, done things with them more often, cooked fresh meals everyday and spent a lot of time on my hobbies. This has had a positive impact on my work, since I have produced more work than ever, tried new and challenging processes, networked more (going to events in York, Manchester and Leeds), as well as been offered a job and placements.
Web Design
This is something that I have been interested in for a while now and have created projects for websites in 2nd year. However, I was never proud of anything that I produced and didn't feel they showed off my interest and skills. This module provided me with the opportunity to create web designs that I was proud of, and could implement everything that I have learned the previous year, at placements and through networking. The two websites that I created for The Primate Project and YCN were something that I am proud to put into my portfolio and I feel they reflect both my interests and the ability I have within this area.
App Design
Since I do a lot of web design I wanted to branch out into app design as I realised that in a digital agency this is something that I will most likely be doing at times. I really enjoyed the projects that I did for this and really got stuck in. It felt like something I am quite good at, and has turned into one of my strongest areas of design. At first I was apprehensive that I might not create something realistic and I would have trouble with sizes and navigation, but I found it really interesting and loved the process of wireframing for them. I also decided to focus on apps for my dissertation to learn more about it, and so that really informed the work that I created for Extended Practice. I feel a lot more confident with app design now and I am glad that I had the opportunity to do a few briefs with app design.
Animation
Along with app design, animation is something new that I have tried this year and really got into. I really wanted to bring my web design and app design to live a bit more, as you don't get the same response when you show someone an image of a website than when you do a book as it is not meant for print. So, I decided to explore animation so that I could show that I have thought about the navigation, transitions and the way they work. This is something that I put a lot of time in, figuring out how everything works in the wireframing process but nobody knows that I do it or can see it from an image, so this was the perfect solution to that. My first animation project was for The Primate Project, and I have improved so much since then. I definitely would not show that animation in a portfolio now, which just shows how much I have learned over a few months. I am happy with my progress so far, and cannot wait to start some new projects next week to keep practicing.
My most recent animation was for the design publication and that was a new way of animating for me. I decided to watch several in depth tutorials going through each section of After Effects to gain a better understanding of it and learn about all the different tools available and what I could do with them. As before this I was just teaching myself, so I knew that I probably wasn't doing things the right or most efficient way. This week however, I have learned so much and feel so much more confident with the programme. It was also my first time animating pure illustrations, as previously I had only used it to show the way my websites and app designs work.
This has been my favourite skill to start learning this module, and I feel it is the one I have improved on the most.
What could have been improved?
The one thing that I would improve if I did this again is produce more work. There are still a lot of things that I want to experiment with (particularly practicing with illustration and animation) and it would have been good to have more things like this to show in my portfolio. I have a few ideas in mind of projects that I want to do, and I will start these next week but it would have been good to have more work to hand in. However, given everything that I have done this year I don't think it would have been possible to do it all since learning animation has been a learning curve and takes time to practice and understand the process.
I also would have liked to have been involved in an exhibition. I had the opportunity to as ex student Suzy Cichy was involved in one earlier this month, but at the time of needing to submit work I had too much projects on and didn't have the time (YCN deadline/client work). That would have been a fun opportunity, but I still get to partake in the end of year show so I will still be part of an exhibition this year.
The one thing that I would improve if I did this again is produce more work. There are still a lot of things that I want to experiment with (particularly practicing with illustration and animation) and it would have been good to have more things like this to show in my portfolio. I have a few ideas in mind of projects that I want to do, and I will start these next week but it would have been good to have more work to hand in. However, given everything that I have done this year I don't think it would have been possible to do it all since learning animation has been a learning curve and takes time to practice and understand the process.
I also would have liked to have been involved in an exhibition. I had the opportunity to as ex student Suzy Cichy was involved in one earlier this month, but at the time of needing to submit work I had too much projects on and didn't have the time (YCN deadline/client work). That would have been a fun opportunity, but I still get to partake in the end of year show so I will still be part of an exhibition this year.
Overall
I am happy with my progress so far, and I am glad I learned new processes before leaving otherwise I don't feel I would have enough time or freedom to practice my skill set. I feel completely ready to begin the next stage now in getting a job in an agency and I feel confident with doing that and being able to produce good work. There have been times when I didn't think my work was good enough or I felt burnt out and wasn't producing what I wanted, but I became motivated again and looking back of my work I am proud of what I have produced.
Brief 12: Yearbook - Test Print
We got the test print back today, we are happy with it but some changes need to be made:
- Daisy Wright/Natalie Rogers - add contact details
- Change Jessica Kobelt's image
- Choose thinner stock - 85gsm
- Increase width of wrap around flap
- Have screws go through the wrap around
Design Publication: Evaluation
The Outcome
For my publication I didn't want to create a book - that isn't an area which has been relevant to me this year. Animation and web design is something which I have concentrated a lot on, and so I knew I wanted to create one of those. I felt animation was the most appropriate as it would be easier to effectively communicate my methodology than through a website where usually the main purpose is to sell a product/service. Recently I have also felt that I don't want to be known as a 'web designer' - I don't want to pigeon hole myself, or have others see me as this because I know that I can do more. I think this is what people would expect me to do, so I decided to go with animation. I also think that an animation would be clearer to communicate my thoughts as well as incorporate illustration which is something I have been doing more this year.
I also decided that the content should revolve around my work/life balance. This is something which has been really important to me this year, and I have made it a big focus. The first two years of this degree I spent too much time doing work and felt guilty if I had a night of - when in reality I wasn't that productive by doing this and wasn't enjoying life outside of uni as there wasn't any!
Over Summer I had the chance to experience the 9-5 work hours at an agency, and I really enjoyed it. I got so much done within the day and then had the whole evening and weekends to enjoy myself. I found this was a much better way of working than I had been used to, and gave me time to see friends more and have new hobbies.
I carried this on into 3rd year, and continued to do the things I did over Summer - go to the gym, cook fresh meals everyday, see my friends and watch boxsets when I wanted. And the result is that I have become even more productive, produced more work, focused my practice, learnt new things, networked more and been offered job & placement opportunities. So I have proved to myself that I can do both - I can have my life and work hard and still achieve things while being happier at the same time. So I felt this was the most appropriate and relevant thing to focus on since I have completely changed the way that I live and work, for the better.
What Have I Learned Throughout This Project?
I feel this has been a great project to end the year on, as I have taken it as an opportunity to practice more with animation and learn as much as I can before I leave. Previously, I have done animations but picked it up as I go and taught myself - meaning I probably haven't been doing things the best or most efficient way.
This time however, I took it upon myself to sign up to Skillshare and watch lots of tutorials on how to do things the right way. This is very evident in my animation and the improvement is clear to see. I watched several tutorials which are about an hour long looking at different tools within After Effects such as the graph editor, easy ease transition, shape layers and precomposing. Although it took me longer than it usually would to create this, it is because I was doing things the proper way and referring back to these tutorials when I knew there was something I could use from it.
I feel I have a much better understanding now of why the way things work, and if a problem arises I have a better idea about why it has happened. I do not feel as limited within my design as I know I can animate more than I previously could. I don't become as frustrated with it now because I know ways around the problems I was having, and feel more comfortable with the interface and tools.
The area of the animation I am most happy with is the transitions stages - when one part goes and another comes. I spent a lot of time learning and testing the tutorials on this as I wanted to make them smooth and professional. Although there is a long way to go, it is a big improvement and I feel more confident with After Effects now.
What Could Be Improved?
Whenever I need to start a project that I think could work really well, I always think of a reason why it is a bad idea or why I shouldn't do it. I put it off because I'm worried it won't turn out very well and think that I might come up with a different idea. I didn't have a long time to do this project and I didn't have time worry about this, yet I did anyway and ended up starting later than I should have - with the same idea I had in the first place. I thought I would have learned after YCN to 'just do it', but found myself having the same worries again.
I was worried that the outcome would be cheesy and not in the right direction, but I've realised it doesn't matter if people think it is cheesy as I have learnt so much and can apply what I have learned to new projects in the future that I would like to share on my portfolio etc.
I do feel like the illustrations could be improved as they are not great, but as I was doing animation I am unsure as to create textured shapes in the programme since I recreated all of the illustrations in there so they could be easily animated.
I also feel like music choice could be improved. This is not something I am good at selecting, but have started to following prior feedback from people about not including audio on my animations.
Overall
I am very happy with the outcome since I did not spend a long time on it, and yet I can see how far I have come with my animation progress. It has definitely motivated me to start new projects after deadline, particularly the ones on Skillshare they provide with each tutorial.
I think that it is very personal to me, and shows exactly what this year has involved for me. My 'methodology' has been to incorporate a balance between work and life and is very important to me in being able to still enjoy doing what I love and being more productive in every aspect of my life.
I know that I made the right decision in creating an animation and not a book, as although it is not conventional, it is the direction I have been taking my practice in this year.
For my publication I didn't want to create a book - that isn't an area which has been relevant to me this year. Animation and web design is something which I have concentrated a lot on, and so I knew I wanted to create one of those. I felt animation was the most appropriate as it would be easier to effectively communicate my methodology than through a website where usually the main purpose is to sell a product/service. Recently I have also felt that I don't want to be known as a 'web designer' - I don't want to pigeon hole myself, or have others see me as this because I know that I can do more. I think this is what people would expect me to do, so I decided to go with animation. I also think that an animation would be clearer to communicate my thoughts as well as incorporate illustration which is something I have been doing more this year.
I also decided that the content should revolve around my work/life balance. This is something which has been really important to me this year, and I have made it a big focus. The first two years of this degree I spent too much time doing work and felt guilty if I had a night of - when in reality I wasn't that productive by doing this and wasn't enjoying life outside of uni as there wasn't any!
Over Summer I had the chance to experience the 9-5 work hours at an agency, and I really enjoyed it. I got so much done within the day and then had the whole evening and weekends to enjoy myself. I found this was a much better way of working than I had been used to, and gave me time to see friends more and have new hobbies.
I carried this on into 3rd year, and continued to do the things I did over Summer - go to the gym, cook fresh meals everyday, see my friends and watch boxsets when I wanted. And the result is that I have become even more productive, produced more work, focused my practice, learnt new things, networked more and been offered job & placement opportunities. So I have proved to myself that I can do both - I can have my life and work hard and still achieve things while being happier at the same time. So I felt this was the most appropriate and relevant thing to focus on since I have completely changed the way that I live and work, for the better.
What Have I Learned Throughout This Project?
I feel this has been a great project to end the year on, as I have taken it as an opportunity to practice more with animation and learn as much as I can before I leave. Previously, I have done animations but picked it up as I go and taught myself - meaning I probably haven't been doing things the best or most efficient way.
This time however, I took it upon myself to sign up to Skillshare and watch lots of tutorials on how to do things the right way. This is very evident in my animation and the improvement is clear to see. I watched several tutorials which are about an hour long looking at different tools within After Effects such as the graph editor, easy ease transition, shape layers and precomposing. Although it took me longer than it usually would to create this, it is because I was doing things the proper way and referring back to these tutorials when I knew there was something I could use from it.
I feel I have a much better understanding now of why the way things work, and if a problem arises I have a better idea about why it has happened. I do not feel as limited within my design as I know I can animate more than I previously could. I don't become as frustrated with it now because I know ways around the problems I was having, and feel more comfortable with the interface and tools.
The area of the animation I am most happy with is the transitions stages - when one part goes and another comes. I spent a lot of time learning and testing the tutorials on this as I wanted to make them smooth and professional. Although there is a long way to go, it is a big improvement and I feel more confident with After Effects now.
What Could Be Improved?
Whenever I need to start a project that I think could work really well, I always think of a reason why it is a bad idea or why I shouldn't do it. I put it off because I'm worried it won't turn out very well and think that I might come up with a different idea. I didn't have a long time to do this project and I didn't have time worry about this, yet I did anyway and ended up starting later than I should have - with the same idea I had in the first place. I thought I would have learned after YCN to 'just do it', but found myself having the same worries again.
I was worried that the outcome would be cheesy and not in the right direction, but I've realised it doesn't matter if people think it is cheesy as I have learnt so much and can apply what I have learned to new projects in the future that I would like to share on my portfolio etc.
I do feel like the illustrations could be improved as they are not great, but as I was doing animation I am unsure as to create textured shapes in the programme since I recreated all of the illustrations in there so they could be easily animated.
I also feel like music choice could be improved. This is not something I am good at selecting, but have started to following prior feedback from people about not including audio on my animations.
Overall
I am very happy with the outcome since I did not spend a long time on it, and yet I can see how far I have come with my animation progress. It has definitely motivated me to start new projects after deadline, particularly the ones on Skillshare they provide with each tutorial.
I think that it is very personal to me, and shows exactly what this year has involved for me. My 'methodology' has been to incorporate a balance between work and life and is very important to me in being able to still enjoy doing what I love and being more productive in every aspect of my life.
I know that I made the right decision in creating an animation and not a book, as although it is not conventional, it is the direction I have been taking my practice in this year.
Design Publication: Animation
Here is the final animation with audio. I am very happy with the outcome!
Brief 12: Yearbook - Evaluation
*At this stage of writing we have sent the book off for a test print and not yet received it back*
The Outcome
This is a project that I really wanted to take part in, as it is a chance to produce something physical for a real client in a lot of copies. Initially, our group had pitched for the graphic design yearbook, and although I really wanted that one, we had said that our next choice would be Printed Textiles. We were lucky enough to get that course, and could continue to work on something we would happy to produce something for.
Another reason I wanted to work on it was due to it being editorial - I usually always do web design so it was a chance to try something new.
Now the project is coming to an end, I am very happy with how it has turned out. Although we haven't received the test print back yet, I know that we will be able to resolve any issues without a problem and quickly. I feel like it has all come together now, and although very stressful at times, I am happy with how it looks, the concept behind it and how we all worked together in the last week to get it sent of to print early. It was tough to get it ready in the last week for print as there is so much to think about - the wraparound cover, the page order, missing information, missing student work, photography needed etc. So it was a good achievement for us all to complete it ahead of the deadline.
What Were the Positives and Things I Learned?
Communication
This was key throughout the project. We as a group had multiple meetings and met up several times each week. This was to make design decisions, discuss what had been done and what needed to be done, as well as anything else regarding printers, photography etc. It helped that we emailed and texted each other too if we needed as we could get hold of each other quickly if we weren't around in person.
We also communicated a lot with Duncan as we needed to arrange things, ask for feedback, retrieve copy from him, talk about infographics and I also needed to let him know about different students who hadn't sent me work etc. This was so important to have close communication with him because it is such a big project and needed to be kept on track and sticking to deadlines.
We definitely wouldn't have printed the book by now if we hadn't had this communication. It has been pivotal when problems have arisen and we have been able to solve them quickly by talking - or even preventing problems from happening because of this.
I also think giving and receiving feedback has helped us create something that we can be proud of.
Towards the last week when we really wanted to print, this really became a constant thing. For example, Joe was in charge of the page order and contents, and we had to communicate a lot when there might have been missing contact details, or there wasn't enough spreads or it became confusing with the order. Since I was putting the spreads on the pages (made more sense since I have the student work on my Mac), I had to communicate with him a lot on the list that he had made. Since we were all really involved with everything that was happening, it was easy to ask questions and solve things as we were all up to date.
File Sizes
We actually sent it to print three days later than we planned - although it was ready, it wouldn't send because the file sizes were so big. It was at this point in the project that I got really stressed because I felt like we had tried so hard to send it off early and it wasn't working. I had also spent more time than I should have done on it, but since I had the files on my computer I needed to try and send it somehow. In the end, Danny took the files from me so he could send it and I could carry on with my other work. I really didn't anticipate how file size would have such a big impact on sending it to the printers. It also turned out they only needed the PDF for the test print, and so could have sent it on the same day we planned anyway as it was the InDesign file and links that were taking so long to send.
Preparing for Print
Since I usually work for screen, this isn't something that I am very confident with. However, I learned a lot for the preparation in InDesign thanks to Leo as he showed me which settings to use and how to check for problems. For example, I didn't even realise it said there were 15 RGB images in there when about to export it, yet he did and we were able to quickly resolve it. He also emailed Evolution a lot and copied me in so I was able to learn about issues through these such as info about the screws and wraparound cover.
Actually, it is a lot of work
I did not realise how much work this task would be. I did not anticipate girls emailing me at midnight with 5 weeks late submissions or data taking so long to reach us or problems with resizing images and margins. I thought that it would be a smooth process, and it hasn't been - so that has been very useful in seeing how a real life projects works with so many people to rely on.
I had the task of organising the girls images for the student work pages. This meant they were sending me their work, and I said that I would resize it too (this was easier with me having all of the files). This was a bigger task than I expected, as I needed to have a lot of communication with the course. A lot of times I needed work resending since it wasn't of a high quality, and I needed to think about how to talk to them about this. Problems such as Instagram filters, low res image, bad photography were common and I wanted to be as nice as possible when talking to them so it could be quickly resolved, and so they don't feel stressed about it. There were also times girls did not send me any work at all, and I needed to email them politely asking if they were having any problems - I was always friendly because although they were late, it was not a problem me adding in work late I just wanted to know if they were having any issues. I also didn't know their reasons for not responding to me, so I didn't want to cause more stress. I made the effort to make sure all of the girls got the layouts that they wanted, and had the best images of their work and emailed them to make sure they are happy if I needed to change them. Then there were times were people wanted their work swapping and layouts changing, which again wasn't a problem, it just meant I had to keep track of what everybody wanted and make lists. I made lots of lists. Lists of their names, lists who I needed to email, lists of layout choices, lists of images that needed changing, lists of copy that I needed, lists of details I was missing. This definitely helped to keep me organised since there was 62 students to keep up with. It also helped incredibly when resizing their work so I could tick them all of, or show Duncan when he needed to know names of people who needed chasing.
Although it was stressful remembering everything and chasing people down, it was very rewarding at the same time because their work is of such a high standard, and I really enjoyed seeing everything that they had produced and then seeing it come together in the yearbook.
110% for Effort
I definitely put a lot of time and effort into this yearbook, and really put 110% into it. I definitely spent longer on it than I should have done and went the extra mile with emailing students to make sure they were happy with the work that I was putting in for them - for example, some emailed me with work but mentioned they would have some new work in a few weeks time, so I made sure to email them in a few weeks so that could be included instead.
And with the quotes spreads that I was designing, I considered each quote and thought what prospective students would want to see the most, as well as photography shots that would work well with them too. I did quite a lot of development with these too since I wanted them to be really good - I knew that Jordan would be putting his symbols on them so I didn't want to let him down on the design as I wanted his symbols to shine through too. I was really pleased with these final spreads once Jordan added his touch to them, it really bought through the tribal theme that we wanted to portray.
I also designed a few other spreads like the 'introduction', 'beyond the walls' and 'our studio is a space to be wrong'. These were quite simple and we got the copy really late for these - late enough that we had to delete some spreads we had already designed. So I quickly designed these in the style of the rest of the spreads. Working to quick deadlines is a good attribute of mine that I was able to implement here.
What Could Be Improved?
Timing
We had planned our deadlines a lot earlier than they happened. Although I would have preferred to have sent it earlier, there really was nothing that our group could have done differently to prevent this. We had asked for the work before Easter and for the content by Duncan then too. I was receiving student work at midnight before we sent it off for a test print, so this was something out of our control. I am happy that we were organised ourselves though, because if we wasn't it could have been printed even later. We still sent it to test print nearly two weeks before the final deadline so we still made good time - we just had originally planned to have it back for this submission.
Resizing Issue
There was one mistake that I made in this project which could have been prevented, and thankfully was easily resolved because of our good communication, as Joe spotted it. When resizing the images, me and Jordan completely skimmed over the fact we were making the book at B5 - and had done the measurements for B4. It was an easy mistake to overlook because we are not used to working in B sizes - and maths is definitely not my forte.
Thankfully though, Joe spotted it once he was inputting everybody's names and contact details on the pages. This meant we could resize the images before it was too late. Rather than me resize them all again, which took a whole day previously, we shared out the work equally. Luckily, I had created folders for each layout with everybody's work in a PSD and named correctly so I could share them on Drive and get started straight away. Thanks to my systematic way of resizing them, it only took an hour to resize them again due to being able to change the canvas size of the PSD and resize all of the layers (student work) in it. This shows that by not cutting corners and resizing the images correctly in the first place, it reduced this time a lot, and it also means that when we inserted the work the file sizes were a lot smaller and it reduced time here too.
Printers Feedback
Although we haven't received our test print yet, the printers have given some feedback - that the flap on the outer wrap around is too small so it sticks up, and the margins are too big where the screw binding is. If we had created a mockup ourselves we probably could have spotted this. We did print a page layout to see the margins, but would have been more effective to see it in an actual book format. Having said that, that would have taken a lot of time and we wouldn't have had access to the right stocks anyway - we are just lucky we sent off for a test print earlier than we needed too.
Overall
Although it was very stressful and time consuming, it will be worth it when we have the book. I am happy with how it all came together in the end and the way it looks and I am confident that we captured the essence of the course and reflected them in a human way but also represents their hard work ethic. I think one of the main things that motivated me through this was the quality of their work and the amazing, creative space that they share - I really wanted to portray that within this year book. Another reason was the fact we had a strong concept - they think of themselves as a tribe and so we had subtle tribal themes throughout such as in the copy, cover photo and with the symbols. This helped tie it all in, and I'm excited to see it all come together.
The Outcome
This is a project that I really wanted to take part in, as it is a chance to produce something physical for a real client in a lot of copies. Initially, our group had pitched for the graphic design yearbook, and although I really wanted that one, we had said that our next choice would be Printed Textiles. We were lucky enough to get that course, and could continue to work on something we would happy to produce something for.
Another reason I wanted to work on it was due to it being editorial - I usually always do web design so it was a chance to try something new.
Now the project is coming to an end, I am very happy with how it has turned out. Although we haven't received the test print back yet, I know that we will be able to resolve any issues without a problem and quickly. I feel like it has all come together now, and although very stressful at times, I am happy with how it looks, the concept behind it and how we all worked together in the last week to get it sent of to print early. It was tough to get it ready in the last week for print as there is so much to think about - the wraparound cover, the page order, missing information, missing student work, photography needed etc. So it was a good achievement for us all to complete it ahead of the deadline.
What Were the Positives and Things I Learned?
Communication
This was key throughout the project. We as a group had multiple meetings and met up several times each week. This was to make design decisions, discuss what had been done and what needed to be done, as well as anything else regarding printers, photography etc. It helped that we emailed and texted each other too if we needed as we could get hold of each other quickly if we weren't around in person.
We also communicated a lot with Duncan as we needed to arrange things, ask for feedback, retrieve copy from him, talk about infographics and I also needed to let him know about different students who hadn't sent me work etc. This was so important to have close communication with him because it is such a big project and needed to be kept on track and sticking to deadlines.
We definitely wouldn't have printed the book by now if we hadn't had this communication. It has been pivotal when problems have arisen and we have been able to solve them quickly by talking - or even preventing problems from happening because of this.
I also think giving and receiving feedback has helped us create something that we can be proud of.
Towards the last week when we really wanted to print, this really became a constant thing. For example, Joe was in charge of the page order and contents, and we had to communicate a lot when there might have been missing contact details, or there wasn't enough spreads or it became confusing with the order. Since I was putting the spreads on the pages (made more sense since I have the student work on my Mac), I had to communicate with him a lot on the list that he had made. Since we were all really involved with everything that was happening, it was easy to ask questions and solve things as we were all up to date.
File Sizes
We actually sent it to print three days later than we planned - although it was ready, it wouldn't send because the file sizes were so big. It was at this point in the project that I got really stressed because I felt like we had tried so hard to send it off early and it wasn't working. I had also spent more time than I should have done on it, but since I had the files on my computer I needed to try and send it somehow. In the end, Danny took the files from me so he could send it and I could carry on with my other work. I really didn't anticipate how file size would have such a big impact on sending it to the printers. It also turned out they only needed the PDF for the test print, and so could have sent it on the same day we planned anyway as it was the InDesign file and links that were taking so long to send.
Preparing for Print
Since I usually work for screen, this isn't something that I am very confident with. However, I learned a lot for the preparation in InDesign thanks to Leo as he showed me which settings to use and how to check for problems. For example, I didn't even realise it said there were 15 RGB images in there when about to export it, yet he did and we were able to quickly resolve it. He also emailed Evolution a lot and copied me in so I was able to learn about issues through these such as info about the screws and wraparound cover.
Actually, it is a lot of work
I did not realise how much work this task would be. I did not anticipate girls emailing me at midnight with 5 weeks late submissions or data taking so long to reach us or problems with resizing images and margins. I thought that it would be a smooth process, and it hasn't been - so that has been very useful in seeing how a real life projects works with so many people to rely on.
I had the task of organising the girls images for the student work pages. This meant they were sending me their work, and I said that I would resize it too (this was easier with me having all of the files). This was a bigger task than I expected, as I needed to have a lot of communication with the course. A lot of times I needed work resending since it wasn't of a high quality, and I needed to think about how to talk to them about this. Problems such as Instagram filters, low res image, bad photography were common and I wanted to be as nice as possible when talking to them so it could be quickly resolved, and so they don't feel stressed about it. There were also times girls did not send me any work at all, and I needed to email them politely asking if they were having any problems - I was always friendly because although they were late, it was not a problem me adding in work late I just wanted to know if they were having any issues. I also didn't know their reasons for not responding to me, so I didn't want to cause more stress. I made the effort to make sure all of the girls got the layouts that they wanted, and had the best images of their work and emailed them to make sure they are happy if I needed to change them. Then there were times were people wanted their work swapping and layouts changing, which again wasn't a problem, it just meant I had to keep track of what everybody wanted and make lists. I made lots of lists. Lists of their names, lists who I needed to email, lists of layout choices, lists of images that needed changing, lists of copy that I needed, lists of details I was missing. This definitely helped to keep me organised since there was 62 students to keep up with. It also helped incredibly when resizing their work so I could tick them all of, or show Duncan when he needed to know names of people who needed chasing.
Although it was stressful remembering everything and chasing people down, it was very rewarding at the same time because their work is of such a high standard, and I really enjoyed seeing everything that they had produced and then seeing it come together in the yearbook.
110% for Effort
I definitely put a lot of time and effort into this yearbook, and really put 110% into it. I definitely spent longer on it than I should have done and went the extra mile with emailing students to make sure they were happy with the work that I was putting in for them - for example, some emailed me with work but mentioned they would have some new work in a few weeks time, so I made sure to email them in a few weeks so that could be included instead.
And with the quotes spreads that I was designing, I considered each quote and thought what prospective students would want to see the most, as well as photography shots that would work well with them too. I did quite a lot of development with these too since I wanted them to be really good - I knew that Jordan would be putting his symbols on them so I didn't want to let him down on the design as I wanted his symbols to shine through too. I was really pleased with these final spreads once Jordan added his touch to them, it really bought through the tribal theme that we wanted to portray.
I also designed a few other spreads like the 'introduction', 'beyond the walls' and 'our studio is a space to be wrong'. These were quite simple and we got the copy really late for these - late enough that we had to delete some spreads we had already designed. So I quickly designed these in the style of the rest of the spreads. Working to quick deadlines is a good attribute of mine that I was able to implement here.
What Could Be Improved?
Timing
We had planned our deadlines a lot earlier than they happened. Although I would have preferred to have sent it earlier, there really was nothing that our group could have done differently to prevent this. We had asked for the work before Easter and for the content by Duncan then too. I was receiving student work at midnight before we sent it off for a test print, so this was something out of our control. I am happy that we were organised ourselves though, because if we wasn't it could have been printed even later. We still sent it to test print nearly two weeks before the final deadline so we still made good time - we just had originally planned to have it back for this submission.
Resizing Issue
There was one mistake that I made in this project which could have been prevented, and thankfully was easily resolved because of our good communication, as Joe spotted it. When resizing the images, me and Jordan completely skimmed over the fact we were making the book at B5 - and had done the measurements for B4. It was an easy mistake to overlook because we are not used to working in B sizes - and maths is definitely not my forte.
Thankfully though, Joe spotted it once he was inputting everybody's names and contact details on the pages. This meant we could resize the images before it was too late. Rather than me resize them all again, which took a whole day previously, we shared out the work equally. Luckily, I had created folders for each layout with everybody's work in a PSD and named correctly so I could share them on Drive and get started straight away. Thanks to my systematic way of resizing them, it only took an hour to resize them again due to being able to change the canvas size of the PSD and resize all of the layers (student work) in it. This shows that by not cutting corners and resizing the images correctly in the first place, it reduced this time a lot, and it also means that when we inserted the work the file sizes were a lot smaller and it reduced time here too.
Printers Feedback
Although we haven't received our test print yet, the printers have given some feedback - that the flap on the outer wrap around is too small so it sticks up, and the margins are too big where the screw binding is. If we had created a mockup ourselves we probably could have spotted this. We did print a page layout to see the margins, but would have been more effective to see it in an actual book format. Having said that, that would have taken a lot of time and we wouldn't have had access to the right stocks anyway - we are just lucky we sent off for a test print earlier than we needed too.
Overall
Although it was very stressful and time consuming, it will be worth it when we have the book. I am happy with how it all came together in the end and the way it looks and I am confident that we captured the essence of the course and reflected them in a human way but also represents their hard work ethic. I think one of the main things that motivated me through this was the quality of their work and the amazing, creative space that they share - I really wanted to portray that within this year book. Another reason was the fact we had a strong concept - they think of themselves as a tribe and so we had subtle tribal themes throughout such as in the copy, cover photo and with the symbols. This helped tie it all in, and I'm excited to see it all come together.
Design Publication: Animation Development
After watching a lot of the Skillshare tutorials I decided to start on After Effects. I had learnt the proper way to insert Illustrator files from this, using separate layers for each thing and importing them properly into After Effects. I feel a lot more confident knowing that I am doing it the proper way!
I started a new composition in HD settings and changed the background colour
I started by trying to spin the arrows around the sign post by making them 3D objects
I did work and spin round - although it also went through it like this shows. So I decided to change the plan a bit
I precomposed it and altered the canvas so it was easier to manage. By precomposing sections of the animation it will make it a lot easier to manage and won't be as messy with as many layers - as there is going to be a lot!
I wanted to work with shape layers from the illustrator files so had to separate each group containing all of the different elements
I then went into each pre composed section and animated them individually - then they can all be seen in comp 1 and play after each other with a neat workspace
I had a lot of fun using the graph editor and it has really improved my knowledge and animation since watching those tutorials
I also figured out how to drop in text in a way that I liked using the scale tool that I have now learnt how to use
I liked adding that to all of the text - I felt that it dropping in the way it does matches the quirky illustration style
To make things easier, I moved the influence on the graph editor of multiple layers by selecting them all
I experimented with a few different type variations here
The bar here folds out into the website, showing how they are linked together
I wanted to do exactly what the text says on the tin here and keep it simple, with quick scale in and out methods to make the wireframe come and go
Onto the last section! I'm very happy with how it has turned out so far..
I changed the colour scheme so it stood out more, and thought about what to use as the copy. I don't feel as though this was clear enough though. I made the hands turn around on the animation
I decided that this was better copy to include and finished it off nicely
I then started to do the title - the text simply drops on and leads into the animation. I wanted a fun title, then a subheading to be clearer about what the animation is about
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
RSS Feed. This blog is proudly powered by Blogger and uses Modern Clix, a theme by Rodrigo Galindez. Modern Clix blogger template by Introblogger.