DF Assessment 1.0
Title of assessment: Quick Brief Set
Weighting: 20%
Date issued: Week 1
Due date: Week 16
Learning Outcomes/competencies being assessed:
• CUVDSP02A Develop self as designer
Description of assessment:
Over the next 16 weeks we are going to be doing mini briefs I’ve named ‘Quick-Shots’ normally at the end of the day – these briefs last only a short time (between an hour or two) and will require you to work fast to complete them.
Each Quick-Shots will test a certain design technique or program that you have learnt about over your time here. They will require research and some thought so you’ll need to plan your time effectively in the time you’ve been given.
The Quick-Shots briefs will help you start working faster and also give you more to choose from for your portfolio. The time limit applies in class but if you want to keep working on them out of class feel free. The better it ends up looking, the better your portfolio will end up looking.
Instructions:
After each Quick-Shots we will have a presentation of our work to the rest of the class, you should follow these steps:
Part 1: Listen to brief and download required file from lecturers server. Take note of time limit.
Part 2: Research details on web and conceptualise an appropriate answer.
Part 3: Create answer using requested program.
Part 4: Finish in required time.
Part 5: Create 1 page PDF and place into lecturer's drop box.
Part 6: Present PDF to the rest of the class explaining idea and production.
Marking criteria:
• Plan strategies to ensure the development of appropriate technical skills in design practice.
• Plan and use opportunities to develop and assess technical skills.
• Identify and use practice, feedback, discussion and evaluation opportunities to continuously improve technical skills.
• Test the capabilities of materials, tools and equipment to develop technical skills.
Submission instruction:
One PDF is to be made and presented after each Quick-Shot. Each QS will then be marked as completed. A PDF containing all completed QS should also be handed in during week 16.
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DF Assessment 2.0
Title of assessment: Project Revisit
Weighting: 20%
Date issued: Week 1
Due date: Week 5
Learning Outcomes/competencies being assessed:
• CUVCOR03A Develop, refine and communicate concept for own work
• CUVDSP02A Develop self as designer
• CUVDSP07A Research and apply techniques for graphic design
Description of assessment:
For this brief we will look at a number of designers/studios/artists that we find in the link sections of the Design Bridge blog. In this assessment we are going to design a book cover to promote one of these people/groups.
The book cover will include a front cover, a spine and a back cover. You’ll also need to include a small bio on the back describing the designer and their work. You might want to show some of their work or give a more symbolic interpretation of who they are. The size of the book is up to you.
The Rockport book company has agreed to publish it so you will also need to add their logo to the spine and the back of the book. You’ll be able to find their logo on the web but it will be too small to use. You’ll need to reproduce it in Illustrator.
Instructions:
Using Adobe Illustrator as your base-program you are to construct a book cover detailing the work of your chosen designer/studio/artist. This is broken down like this:
Part 1: Research a number of designers and choose the one you relate to the most. Study their website and do some comprehensive searches on them and their work in order to write your own 2 paragraph synopsis - this will appear on the back of the book. This should be in your own words.
Part 2: Write synopsis and locate (or write your own) 2 quotes about the designers/studios/artists. One of these quotes will appear on the front of the book and one on the back. They should credit who said them.
Part 3: Create a suitable name for the book. The name of the book is up to you but it should have something to do with the chosen subject, as should the visual style of the title. This will go on the front and spine of the book. You'll also need to write a little tag-line to interest the casual shopper. This will appear on the front.
Part 4: Design visual style for the cover. It should be your own work based heavily on the designers/studios/artist's style. It should wrap around covering both front and back of book. You should also include 3 pieces of the artist's work on the back.
Part 5: Include Rockport logo on spine and back at 1.5cm square. Download the Rockport logo and redraw in Illustrator. Make sure you get the Rockport Publishing Company, not something else. You’ll need to do a bit of digging to make sure you have the right one.
Part 6: Include barcode and pricing on back of book.
Part 7: Print out using supplied A3 template and hand in.
Marking criteria:
• Identify relevant source material for concept development according to nature and direction of work.
• Source and extract key information to inform concept development.
• Evaluate information and ideas to develop possible approaches to work.
• Select final option for the concept based on evaluation and refinement of approaches and the desired outcome for the work.
• Identify which aspects of the concept and concept development should be communicated, based on nature and purpose of work.
• Seek feedback on concept and provide clarification when required.
• Identify and use relevant journals, magazines, catalogues and other media to stimulate technical and professional development.
• Study the work of others to stimulate conceptual and technical skills development.
• Correctly identify sources of information relating to work opportunities.
• Correctly interpret the specifications of the brief.
• Determine the user or client for the graphic design to inform design decisions.
• Clarify specifications, parameters or constraints of the brief in consultation with relevant colleagues.
• Source and evaluate information pertinent to the brief.
• Produce a preliminary visual representation of the brief.
• Identify possible approaches to the design and establish criteria for the selection of the final approach.
• Select appropriate materials, tools and equipment for the testing of approaches and techniques.
• Present the work in accordance with the brief specifications.
Submission instruction:
One A3 print out handed in by end of class week 5. Make sure it has your name on it.
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Welcome to your 1st class of DF Portfolio Skills, today we will be looking at some Adobe Illustrator and starting the first of our assessments. All your assessments can be found to the left of this page, alternatively you can click here. For the moment though, let's consider this famous quote:
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
This quote could quite possibly be said about the design industry. Skills are hugely important, but so is knowing who your competitors/contemporaries are and what they’re doing.
This is where research starts to play a big role in design. Research is hugely important to any designer/studio and has become a profession in itself in recent years.
It’s important for a number of reasons, most significantly; making sure you’re not doing something that’s already been done, current market trends of clients and buying public and… inspiration. Seeing great stuff done by others is a great motivation tool for creating great stuff yourself.
In this brief we are going to look at some of the top graphic designers/studios of the world and research them, understand them and finally design for them. It breaks down like this:
1// Research the designer/studio.
Look up the website provided, do a google search, read their 'about' page, look at their work and make up your mind what you think about them. You'll be required to write a 2 paragraph synopsis about them (in your own words, no copying from the web) that will be due next lesson.
2// Create some hype.
You'll need to locate (or write your own) quotes about the designers/studios/artists. One of these quotes will appear on the front of the book and one on the back - that's two in total. You should credit who said them.
3// Develop a name.
What name would sum up the designer/studio? What sums up their work, style and reputation? We are going develop a wordmark based on this name so we want it to be attention getting, visually, in meaning and not too long. We will also create a tag line that will accompany the name on the front of the book. More about this later.
4// Design a book cover.
Here we will design a book cover for the designer/studio in a style that works with or matches their style. You'll be given a template with the size and format of the book. As mentioned above you'll also name the book and write the synopsis on the back. You should include; some pictures of their work (3), maybe a picture of them, the 2 quotes, the tag-line and whatever else you think is necessary. We will be working in Illustrator but you can build images in PhotoShop or by hand.
To the left are the designer/studios that I’ve chosen. Each student should choose one, some are harder to work out than others, some have less info and require more research on the web, some have more work, some don’t show any. It should all even out, just be resourceful and use the web to it’s full potential.
If you have a your own idea of someone to do let me know, but have a wander through some of the sites I've listed so you can expand your knowledge of what's out there.
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WHAT DOES THE
COVER REALLY SAY?
This is quite a nice example by Michael Dorrian and Liz Farrelly for their book about Business Card Design. Firstly the name works really well - Designs on Saying Hello - because that's basically what a business card does. Secondly their grid sets up a nice graphic visual that shows the diversity available. Book available from Laurence King Publishing.
Back and front of Daniel Eatock's book Imprint. The cover consists of a thumbprint made up of all his reasons for designing and the spine carries an actual inked thumbprint of his. Yep, he did every single spine by inking up his thumb and then placing it on the spine. Check out the video here (or below) for proof. That's dedication, I don't know what the print run was but you've got to assume, for a worldwide book, it's at least 5000...probably more. Check out his site he has some amazing art projects he's started.
Okay now lets have a quick look at a bunch of titles from Laurence King Publishing (really I'm not working for them - they just have some good examples that help explain cover concept - books are linked via clicking on the pictures). Look at how all these cover images link directly to the books content - this is what we need to try and do with our book covers.
These are all pretty obvious examples. What about ones that are not so easy. What do these ones say about the artist/designer/studio?
Front cover for FUEL, Back and front cover for Phunk Studio and front cover for Misprinted Type.
Every image you put onto the cover will be instantly associated with what's inside. It's up to you as the designer to make sure that the image message and the inside message marry or make sense. Fuel creates a sense of being well read and learned by showing themselves made from books. Phunk Studio create a very different feel about their work inside just by having such a suggestive cover. What does Eduardo Recife (Misprinted Type) suggest with his cover?
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HOMEWORK Class 01
After doing your research, write a 2 paragraph synopsis on the designer/group/studio you have chosen to do. This is to be presented to the class next week and handed in on a printed A4 sheet. 10pt type will be great and don't worry about formatting or doing anything special - I'm only interested in your words at the moment.
Focus on their design style rather than your own.
Your synopsis should include where the designer/group is based, how long they've been around for, what style they are known for (if any) and any other interesting facts that would make people keen to hear/see more about them. Eventually we will use this as the synopsis on the back of our books, so make it exciting. Look at other book backs and see what they have written on them. Don't worry about quotes at the moment, we'll get to that later.
You might also want to show a few pieces of the designers work that you particularly like. You can just show this on the projector while you read out your synopsis.
Make sure it is in your own words, no copying from the web.
Don't forget to put your name and class on the page as well.
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INSPIRATION & EXTRAS
Each week I throw up things I find that relate to what we've been discussing or working on that week. Sometimes it might be things that relate to your major assessment and sometimes just stuff I thought was worth seeing. If you find something you think we should be showing or something we just have to see let us know in class or throw an email over to me at matt@billyblue.com.au and I'll get it up here or on the Bluni inspiration site.
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This dude: Rhett Dashwood spent several months searching on Google Maps and has come up with something quite remarkable - a font based on arial shots. Check his web-site, he has links to all the shots., so you can see the country side around it. I reckon ‘O’ was too easy. ‘Q’ is pretty good.
