OFR LIBRAIRIE BOOKSHOP VISIT//PARIS//OUGD602

ofr.
20, rue Dupetit-Thouars (Carreau du Temple) 75003 Paris
Metro stations: Temple, République or Filles du Calvaire. 
Between République and rue de Bretagne

When discovering my favourite designer, Caroline Aufort, during second year I came across this bookshop/gallery based in Paris where they specialise in specific graphic design publications and magazines.  They also sell Auforts monthly magazine and have a gallery for exhibitions.  Whilst in Paris I took a trip to the store to have a look around and ask about the kind of events and exhibitions they put on.  All of the publications and books were exactly the type of design I would like to do after finishing.

exhibition space

Being able to have a more in depth talk about OFR was harder because of the language barrier but I did manage to have a quick chat with someone about a few events that were coming up, unfortunately none of them whilst I was still in Paris, however I would like to go back soon.

WEEKLY PLAN//SELF EVALUATION//OUGD602

evaluating last week: 10/02/2014 - 14/02/2014 plus weekend

weekly plan // 10th-14th feb
monday & tuesday

• prepare for manifesto presentation on tuesday
• unsung heroes poster
• museum of childhood design sheets - blog
• drinks club research
• drinks club design sheets - blog
• meantime tee shirt prep (for screen print)

wednesday - friday

• drinks club designing (blog development)
• museum of childhood designing (blog development)
• clean screen for friday
• screen print tee shirts
• 2 hours ppp

This is what I managed to complete last week off my weekly list.  Even though I managed to maintain my 9:00 - 9:30 starts each day I felt towards the end of the week my plan had lost its direction, hence the things listed for the second part of the week taking a back seat.  After having a tutorial with Amber, mid week I realised there were some things I needed to change and so made a new plan and also changed the direction of some of my briefs in terms of format to suit my portfolio.

over the weekend Emily and I did collaborate on a secret 7 submission which we plan to turn into a series of record sleeves, adding type where we were restricted before.

notes and changes in direction with my practice

weekly plan: 17/02/2014 -21/02/2014

big list:

secret 7

• blog research and design sheets - annotate
• blog development
• mock ups
• extend designs 
• boards
• printing

-

• blog all scanned pages
• write up collaboration brief with lisa
• write up new 'tea' brief 
• blog yoke brief 
• collect unsung heroes primary research for next week
• screen print meantime tee shirts
• clean screen for unsung heroes 

VISITING PROFESSIONAL//CASEROOM PRESS//OUGD602

caseroom press.
Today Barrie Tullet came in from Caseroom press which I found to be very interesting.  

'Barrie Tullett and Philippa Wood are part of a collective called The Caseroom Press; an independent publisher whose work explores the function and format of the book, from single limited editions to multiple copies; from poetry to prose; from the artist's book to traditional print; from stencils, to typewriters; from wood and metal type to litho to digital print processes. They collaborate with a number of illustrators, designers, painters, poets, sculptors, students and musicians.'

notes from the beginning of the talk // going over the basics of typography:

-what are you designing? simple things to get right..

• dont use optima
• san serif font preferred for screen based work
• helvetica of the 90s - meta
• airport signage - frutiga 
• courier - do not use - looks as if its gone wrong 
• 12-14 words, column width- best for eyes to travel and navigate across page
• leading should be at least 2pt more than body copy, example: 9pt text and 11pt leading
• turn auto-hyphenation off when using InDesign- control of your hyphens

• orphans- short lines at the beginning of the page

• prime marks not the same as an apostrophe

• learn to kern

• avoid centring big blocks of type

• never letterspace lowercase (hard to read)

• read text out loud to check

stationARy - refers to a cAR

stationEry - refers to an Envelope

I found the talk to be useful and interesting and enjoyed looking at the work.  Typography hasn't been a strong interest of mine since starting the course, however I really like working with type and seeing some of the caseroom press work made me realise I haven't been focusing with my practice as much as I should of in terms of creating formats that I would like to showcase in my portfolio.  When looking at the various books and feeling the stock, looking at the binding techniques and how interesting some of the relationships between type and image were it  made me realise my third year need to be more focused on publishing and editorial.  This is something I will look to change in the last couple of months, either editing the briefs deliverables or writing up new ones.

selection of books from caseroom press

VISITING PROFESSIONAL//DALTON MAAG//OUGD602

visiting professional: dalton maag.
Today we had a talk from a visiting professional at Dalton Maag, Stuart Brown.  I knew this was going to be all typography based, which is something within my own personal practice that I am not hugely keen on, however I was still interested to see how the technicalities of type in a professional environment.

Type made with love at Dalton Maag (London)

International typeface designers, international offices, international clients.  Hong Kong design team, Brazil design team, London design team.

Four categories:

library fonts

logo refinement

font modification 

custom fonts

library typefaces have to work in different languages!

process of creating a typeface

custom fonts - draw pen to paper - get your ideas down! then scan in and work digitally

italics - removing the distortions of a slant - when you start the curves will distort

when you're completely happy with the spacing you can move onto kerning 

kerning - very much part of the design process 

-hinting - controls how your font will behave on screen 

type: 200 core shapes that solve most of the problems

Dalton Maag design team in Brazil are currently working on the Rio 2016 Olympic games logo

I found the talk to be interesting in terms of getting an insight into the way a typeface would be created professionally, however this is something that if I was unsure about now, it has definitely confirmed that I have no interest in working with type in this way.  I don't think I would be patient enough for the whole process of creating a typeface and have no real interest in trying to do so.  Type is something I've struggled to completely understand since starting the course.  Even though I love working with type and text and read a lot to influence my work, I have no interest in the technical ability to design a typeface or be so heavily involved in a typographic project.

placement

FEREF WORK PLACEMENT:

This was the agency that I did a one week work placement at, in London.  I thought it was a really beneficial and exciting experience where I now feel more knowledgable about working in the industry.  This placement has taught me valuable lessons that I could of only learnt whilst engaging with the Feref team and experiencing two weeks in a professional studio.

I was able to get a feel for the professional environment, look at various briefs the agency were working on, complete research tasks and learn about members of the Ferefs team journey after graduating.

REFLECTING ON THE PLACEMENT IN RELATION TO MY PRACTICE NOW

 When I applied for a placement I was more interested in branding than I am now.  I feel my practice has become a lot more focused this year, especially in the last two terms, after we handed in COP.  Although I have always been interested in editorial and publishing it has become a lot more focused, which is why my next step would be to apply for a placement with a stronger link to the general direction of my practice.  At the time, however, this was part of what I was interested in and so still see the whole experience as a great opportunity to gain a clearer understanding of graphic design outside of education.

Whilst being on placement I spoke to the team at Feref and they told me about how they got to work for the agency and the journey they took, either after graduating or going straight into work.  For most of the time I was there I was part of the design team upstairs, I was given past briefs to work on to see what kind of approach I would of taken and also involved in current briefs that were yet to be released.  It was good to see the similarities and contrasts between working on a brief on the course and working on a brief in the industry.  I also learnt quite a lot of technical skills as most things were digital as opposed to anything print based.  

I think at the time doing the placement was really beneficial as I was more interested in branding than I currently am, as my direction in practice hasn't changed but has become more focused, I now feel like if I would of done a placement this summer at the same place it wouldn't of been as suited.  I will now look to find a placement a little more focused on what I have done this year, I think it was really important to have done one in second year but now that I am more focused I think the next placement will be more suited and hopefully lead to another opportunity.

TASKS:

I was set some tasks throughout the week, giving examples of successful advertising campaigns, coming up with ideas for PR stunts and researching topics to help inform the brief and clients.  We also had to pitch various ideas and receive feedback on what we'd done and how it could possibly be improved.  I found getting feedback from people in the industry really encouraging and a good experience as its giving you a feel for what the industries actually like.

TIME MANAGEMENT//PLANNING AND ORGANISING//OUGD602

planning//getting structured
After having the tutorial it really helped me to reevaluate what briefs I still wanted to do as I had written them up towards the end of summer.  At the moment I feel like ive started quite a few briefs but don't really know where Im going with them and also, I think at this stage its important to get some briefs ticked off, in terms of numbers as I aim to have 12 briefs done before Easter.

new plan, although some of the briefs haven't been added to the list yet as these are the ones I'm unsure about and so need to rethink, rewrite and start.

all briefs

specific briefs:

TRIP TO THE TATE MODERN//RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONARY POSTERS//OUGD602

tate modern - russian revolutionary posters
I took a trip to the tate modern the other day and came across the Russian Revolutionary poster designs room which really caught my eye.  I've always thought the propaganda posters from the russian revolution were impressive and inspired me with photo montage techniques on foundation where I designed some anti-conservative posters whilst the university riots were going on.  I thought they looked quite impressive on a large scale framed and displayed.

tate modern - russian revolutionary posters
The ideals and illusions of the Russian Revolution and the Soviet Union are reflected in this display of street posters.  'Ten Days that Shook the World’ was how the American journalist John Reed described the 1917 October Revolution. The disasters of the First World War had led to the collapse of the Tsar’s autocracy. Promising peace and the re-distribution of land, Lenin’s Bolshevik Party seized power. Supported by militant soldiers, workers and peasants, they declared the world’s first Communist state.  To win support for their ideas, the Bolsheviks took control of the printing presses. Despite a shortage of supplies and equipment, they rapidly produced newspapers, leaflets and posters. This proliferation of colourful propaganda posters transformed towns and cities, creating a street art available to all. The continual renewal of images, as well as multiple copies pasted up together, reinforced the fundamental messages of communal power and solidarity. Lenin and the Bolshevik leaders were portrayed as heroically unifying, while their enemies in the Civil War were reviled.

After Stalin became leader in 1927, the propaganda machine promoted the collectivisation of land and the drive for industrialisation, oblivious to the terrible hardships caused by these policies. Stalin’s benevolent image was everywhere, but it barely masked the terror of the show trials and executions that blighted the 1930s. The revolutionary fervour conveyed through the early posters now enforced a repressive dictatorship.

The ideas and illusions conveyed in these posters were far from reality. However, the posters themselves became part of the texture of everyday life in the Soviet Union, and reflect the officially approved history as it was experienced by its citizens.

MANIFESTO PRESENTATION//OUGD602

manifesto presentation

I approached the presentation by looking at and reflecting upon what I had done so far this year, then taking everything into account I started to compile a list of things that I feel should be in my manifesto - it is yet to be finished.

slide one: talk about what I enjoy and what area of graphics I am specifically interested in, editorial, photography and print.  Mention progress from first to third year.

slide two: talk about what I would like to do after uni, design job in Paris for six months to a year or more, learn language etc.  Been in contact with a few graphic design studios in Paris

slide three: Visiting the Parisian book shop that opens into a gallery, create work like publications and photography zines (the kind of work I like) talk about emailing Caroline Aufort - one of my favourite designers.

slide four: COP module giving me more confidence to get in touch with designers, research to a higher level - this is the work produced for the practical element which allowed me to use my own photography and work with layout.

slide five: talk about the development of unsung heroes - past istd brief - looking into concepts and the meaning of memory, photography wall display, like working with text.

slide six: contemporary culture brief, contacting designers in order to get a selection of contrasting images - allows me to be broad with the final outcome of the brief - encouraging to talk to designers - my favourite brief - photography and editorial.

slide seven: manifesto, this is the starting point of my manifesto - based on what i've learnt from the year so far, will add to it as the year goes on...keep inspired: if you're inspired you're motivated, you can be producing the best work. 
travel: go to as many places as you can, experience different cultures, get inspired 
read: really like working with text - read for inspiration, read to learn more etc.
document: always have a camera on you, always capture, not just for work but for personal reasons, create images for memories

TUTORIAL//SELF EVALUATION//OUGD602

tutorial
I had a really helpful and positive tutorial today with Amber which allowed me to get a bit more organised with my plan and helped with possible ideas for brief outcomes.  I feel a lot more motivated after having received the COP result and becoming disheartened, I've now structured my weeks and have been getting into uni between 9:00 - 9:30 which has proved to be productive.

notes from tutorial
routine - organising time 
5 briefs completed 
COMPETITION BRIEF 
primary research

D&AD/ YCN/ DR.ME /DITTO

all briefs extend products // exhibition range - tickets, distribution, adverts, digital 

student action:
graduation briefs
practical skills 
more tutorials


SCANNED SHEET HERE


evaluation:
From looking over the briefs with Amber and having reflected so far on how the years gone I've realised some of the briefs that have been written up don't exactly reflect on the areas of graphic design that I would like to be linked to.  My areas of interest are editorial, photography and print.  Photography has been included in a few of the briefs so far and Spectrum part two should involve a lot of printing techniques and final prints.  However apart from the contemporary culture zines I haven't got a lot of outcomes that involve editorial, which is something I want to include in my portfolio.  Therefore I need to think about re-writting some briefs in order to get more specific outcomes.

WEEKLY PLAN:TIME MANAGEMENT//MID WEEK EVALUATION//OUGD602

12/02/2014 mid week evaluation:
As it is coming up to the final couple of months left before the deadlines I have decided to start writing daily plans that I have to stick to in order to get everything done on time.  After handing in COP, I felt a bit lost with extended practice as I hadn't touched it in a while.  This week I've started feeling more organised and productive and have been in from 9-6 which I feel really helps to structure my week and is definitely beneficial in terms of quantity of work being produced.

weekly plan // 10th-14th feb
monday & tuesday

• prepare for manifesto presentation on tuesday
• unsung heroes poster
• museum of childhood design sheets - blog
• drinks club research
• drinks club design sheets - blog
• meantime tee shirt prep (for screen print)

wednesday - friday

• drinks club designing (blog development)
• museum of childhood designing (blog development)
• clean screen for friday
• screen print tee shirts
• 2 hours ppp

This is whats been achieved so far, I feel like i've fallen behind with a day as I didn't achieve much on tuesday due to the presentation, however I still feel I can reach my target by the end of the week and then evaluate over the weekend what needs to be done for the week following.

WEEKLY PLAN//TIME MANAGEMENT//OUGD602

weekly plan // 10th-14th feb
As of monday we have seven weeks left until the easter holidays begin, I thought making a weekly plan with targets that need to be met at the end of the week would be crucial to helping me achieve what I need to with the little time we have left.  Every week on the friday I will assess whether I have completed the set goals and make new goals for the following week on sunday.  Time is vital at this stage and I feel without a new organised way to structure my work load I will find it hard to complete everything to the best standard it could be.

monday & tuesday

• prepare for manifesto presentation on tuesday
• unsung heroes poster
• museum of childhood design sheets - blog
• drinks club research
• drinks club design sheets - blog
• meantime tee shirt prep (for screen print)

wednesday - friday

• drinks club designing (blog development)
• museum of childhood designing (blog development)
• clean screen for friday
• screen print tee shirts
• 2 hours ppp

PLANNING AND ORGANISING//TIME MANAGEMENT//OUGD602

Summary so far of what needs doing, what has been finished and what needs to be planned in order to move forward
briefs finished:

• brief 10: Dr. ME says make a flag
• brief 06: promoting interrail 
• brief 08: spectrum part one

briefs underway:

• brief 01: contemporary culture
• brief 04: museum of childhood
• brief 05: unsung heroes and heroines 
• brief 09: meantime

briefs still to start:

• brief 02: zanzibar spice tour 
• brief 03: la langue francis 
• brief 07: pen pals

• brief 11: spectrum part two
• brief 12: drinks club branding
• brief 13: film poster 
• brief 14: london stories 
• brief 15: competition brief 
• brief 16: secret 7?

things to do

brief one

• extend research
• primary zine research
• email contacts

brief four

• collect primary research drawings 
• design sheets - further development 
• initial designs

brief five

• blog wall display
• collect primary research 
• poster design
• exhibition research

brief eleven

• more research into techniques 
• design is...survey

brief nine

• sort print format/print
• screen print tee shirts