Lady Livid, Evaluation - OUGD603

This project has been enjoyable overall as I got to produce outcomes in my style. This year is all about producing your own outcomes and creating or finding your own briefs but for some reason this one felt more open than the rest. I suppose without a deadline decided by the client it was a bit more relaxed but maybe it meant I dragged out the design process longer than it should have been. It was good to be able to have a project going on in the background whilst creating other pieces as well to take my mind off them and break through my "creative block". 

As I just sort of opened up to this project and let my ideas run. With the client enjoying most of what I designed It meant I was happier in the work. I managed to work with hand rendered outcomes and use a multitude of skills, from photography, illustration and digital rendering using software such as Adobe Photoshop. 

The skills I used within this project were not new but for some it has been a while since I attempted to use them in such a fashion as creating my work for university projects. The brief was not a small task and because of the methods I used it meant it took slightly longer. Overall it meant the designs were to a higher standard and I enjoyed them more than if I had just sat behind a computer screen and mocked up something up in a day on there. 

Although the project did take slightly longer than a usual one I did stay inside my own time plan and was able to create the final designs to a high standard within it. The client was easy to work with even if the feedback was minimal, this project was more about looking at the target audience for the band. I will be continuing to work with this client and hope that big things are to come for them.

Lady Livid, Final Outcomes + Feedback - OUGD603

Overall the client loved the final pieces and can't wait to release their new album under the designs I have created for them. After showing the piece to peers away from the client it went down well. No one suggested anything could be improved apart from maybe adding a face to the character design and maybe developing it a bit more. This is still something for a future project so can be established then. As for the logo, after explaining my worries with is in previous feedback sessions people were excited to hear that the client had decided against the old design and would much prefer a design fitting with their current style.

Below are just some very basic mockups for how these designs could be used in context but are nowhere near how the final product will be displayed.

Lady Livid, Refining Character Design - OUGD603

Watercolour was added to the design and then I tried taking a brush pen to add in some harsh shadows inspired by some of the tattoo designs Jake had sent over. Unfortunately the design I had created wasn't saturated enough and the harsh black didn't work in all the places I had added it into.

Luckily I had scanned a previous version of the design and was able to work on this for the digital editing. The digital editing was only minor to take away some marking from around the character and to change the dress colour to make sure we got it popping out and in Jake's preferred style. The hair colour is something we can edit in the future but for now as long as we have a basis for a character it is enough to go off.

Lady Livid, Character Feedback - OUGD603

Jake didn't give much feedback but said he did like the idea. Therefore I am taking it through to refine the design with watercolours before finishing it off digitally. Overall this is the initial concept for the character design to be later finalised after this project. 

After talking about the refinement Jake then added on that he would maybe like to look at changing the original Lady Livid logo. This is something I discussed with him last year when I made it up digitally for him. Explaining that he would need something more substantial, something that could last and his fan base would enjoy but at the time he wasn't for it. This will have to be created after this project has ended for time.

Photography Branding, Meet-Up - OUGD603

A meet-up was planned between Photography and Graphic Design. This was to create a sort of collaboration or skill swap for the two courses as well as creating a brief for the Graphic Designers to brand Photography Students.

Talking to many of the students they all wanted similar pieces for their identity such as logos, business cards websites and or publications. This would be strengthen their portfolio and push them further into the professional world. Some of the students didn't really have an idea of what they would like for their style and as designers we have mainly been taught to gain an insight into the type of person or brand we are designing for. This would give the best results for the final piece and would have a piece of them in the design.

I showed a brief portfolio of my work from projects I have posted online to the likes of instagram and behance. This was to show what they could expect from me but also to show the power of social media and how easy it is to get your work out their or even to show it in situations such as this meet-up.

I gave my details out to two photographers and by 12:00 on the same day I had received an email from one of the students making first contact. I managed to reply back the next day, Izzy decided she wouldn't need any help with dissertation work and understood that our hand in was fast approaching. She was nice enough to put the project on hold until our hand in and then get started at the end of January as her self branding was not urgent just yet.

Lady Livid, Character Design - OUGD603

Using some inspiration from the research Jake had sent over and from pieces I had collected online I started to design some pieces that could link to the character. The idea was to have her designed in a Pin-Up style. The piece shouldn't be over sexualised but should still feature key aspects from that genre. Above are some rough yet slightly more refined ideas than some of the other quick sketches. Doing sketches like this is to get a feel for the character before taking it further. The end piece with the hands in front is more of an experiment and could maybe work for a photoshoot or a digital vector piece rather than hand drawn. I took inspiration from 50s styles and haircuts to make the character and tried to adapt it as I moved along.

The next step is to gain feedback from the client then watercolour and digitally edit the design.

Lady Livid, Character Design Research - OUGD603

Jake was helpful enough to send some ideas and inspiration over for his character design. I had already looked into some pin up girl styles on my pinterest to keep a mood board together but this helped further the idea. The designs on the right are a bit more comic and fantasy looking which is right up my street in terms of interests. Maybe the look is a bit more demonic than what I usually look into but it definitely fits Jake's and Lady Livid's style so hopefully I can portray this in my own illustrations. 

Lady Livid, Photoshoot 2 - OUGD603

I decided it would be best to print the record sleeve and CD cover to photograph and have a physical submission. This would also give the client a better understanding of the design to see it come to life in more of a professional manor than a digital mock-up.

It was suggested by a staff member in the print room to use a thick matte stock and then laminate the cover making it nearly indestructible. This would mean folding was not an issue with no cracks on the print and it would be very difficult to damage the final design with barely any extra cost.

Creative Networks, All printed - OUGD603

This post has been backdated to incorporate all designs in one post and keep the posts together.

Creative Networks, Evaluation - OUGD603

Evaluation - Creative Networks

It was hard to create a time plan for this brief as the first submission was created in a few days then the next events weren't given to me for months at a time due to the careers department having to book the speakers. I did have some sort of deadline set by careers in the form of the date of the event, each of the briefs were to be printed ready to be advertised a week prior to the event so this was helpful when I received the new event details. Using techniques I already picked up from past experience made starting this task easier than some. I had hoped to create some quick designs to get the ball rolling on extended practice to make it easier to start more briefs for the rest of the year. In winning the brief it meant a much bigger project had started. New skills were now needed to complete the task and old skills were needed to be refined to make sure everything ran smoothly. I had never created an invoice before or relayed costings such as printing. The staff from careers were so helpful in this area that it meant I was not left with a problem I didn’t know how to solve. Printing staff were also helpful in deciding what stock would best be suited to the designs and to the final product. After all this had been established the process became a bit easier, other than having to wait for the printing to finish and cutting out the designs there wasn’t much of the project that was time consuming. All in all the time management and time frames used were achievable and meant everything ran smoothly. There was never an issue with printing or costings and therefore the whole process was a really good entrance into more of a real world brief. Designs used the same layout each time to save time and keep consistency. Images were provided from the speakers via careers and same goes for the blurb about the event. Elli (from careers) was always on hand via email to help out when needed and inform of the dates and times everything had to be in for. All in all the project ran smoothly and although this may not be the case for future projects it has given me a confidence boost that I can now go out and communicate in the professional world in a manor suited to it. 

Lady Livid, Printing Prep - OUGD603

Before printing the designs templates had to be made to make sure that designs would fit together as planned and would hold. Some nets were made above following specifications from standard Vinyl and CD cases.

These are the designs used for the CD case. It will need no tabs to glue together as the case will fold shut. There is a small 1cm margin in the middle of the design to fold around the plastic CD holder which will be glued inside the case on the right hand side. 

As for the design below it can be used for either the vinyl or the CD case as the sizing is the only thing that will need to be altered. Both will function in the same way and will be the easiest and cheapest method to create as no extra materials will need to be purchased after printing. 

The name of the band and the song names on the back have been added onto the design to finish it off. Song names are not yet finalised and these are taken from the EPs already released. Using the name on the front just helped to make sure the viewer could tell which band this is. 

Creative networks, Sustainable Fashion - OUGD603

I have backdated this post to make it coincide with previous ones for this project although it was not actually created until February 2018.

Below are the final flyer, poster and loop designs for the Sustainable fashion event. The colours were created based off the artwork provided, this really helped it pop and tie together the event as it had two speakers. Out of all the events designing the advertising for this one was probably a personal favourite because of how easy the imagery worked in the layout and how bright and fun the colour styles were.

Below are the original images that were sent over placed on flyers and posters. The whole feel of the event just was not as vibrant at all. The posters seemed dreary and dull, the same went for the flyers. This was soon changed when the new brightly coloured images were sent over. Once an idea had been established for the red designs above it did not make sense to revert back to the less eye catching design. Elli had suggested we used the blue poster on left below with the red flyers as originally the designs above were not as zoomed in and the images were covered by too much text. The size of the images were adjusted and Elli agreed the above designs worked better.

(Original red poster)

Creative Networks, Costings - OUGD603

No budget was planned for the print costs but each after the first set was printed a price was agreed. The prints cost slightly more than what the department were used to but, they much prefered the quality and therefore it outweighed the costings. I had to get an invoice/receipt written up from the print room and hand that in with each set of prints so that CN could pay for it.

I was paid the same amount for each event with no issues. Elli was very helpful in showing me how to invoice and even sent over some examples. This was something new to me as I had never had to send off an invoice in the past.

Lady Livid, Mockups - OUGD603

Above are some mockups for the vinyl and CD covers. I kept the designs the same for the front of the case but decided to change up the design for the inside and the back as well as adding designs to the CD/Vinyl itself.

For the inside of the CD case I spread out the hands with options to add in text or just to be left as they are. The plastic holder for the cd will sit on the right hand side covering the right hand and the left can either be kept as it is or a slot to hold in a book can be added. The book could be something to add to the project as a little addition with artwork and photos inside or song lyrics.

This print really stood out as a final cover piece but it was a little too simple. This is why it was chosen to be used on the actual CD itself. This will carry on the design from the outside of the case whilst not making it too busy. As it is a relief of the hands as well it makes the design sort of flow more going from 3D on the exterior to 2D inside.

The model was asked to just go crazy to create some patterns that could be used further down the line of the design. This piece was made which would help to cover the back of the case and not make it too simplistic. 

Creative Networks, Final Designs - OUGD603

Below are the final designs for two events within Creative Networks. This will be an ongoing project throughout the year as and when an event is on so more work will be posted but will use this similar style. 

Posters:

The posters will feature a piece or something that the visiting professional is known for and then centered on top will be the main body of text featuring the information for the event.

Flyers:

The flyers background colour will change and some of the positioning will too but will stick to the same grid system. Shapes will be added to fill negative space and a bio will be added for each artist. 

Loop:

The loop will be changed whenever it is needed for different colours but for now the black and white and purple and turquoise will be the only ones used.