OUGD406 : Speaking From Experience : Primary Research

For my primary research I asked two questions to the current first years. The answers helped me to decide what content I should include in my pack.

Firstly I asked what equipment they thought was the most important to have everyday. The answers mainly consisted of Mac, Pen, pencil, ruler etc. This helped me to decide what I should be drawing and illustrating throughout my pack.

 I then asked for their favourite/most handy shortcuts which the first years will not know about. I hope that by supplying them with this information it will avoid any moments where they spend 1 hour doing something which a tool could do in 2 seconds.

The answers from these posts formed the content of a majority of my pack which proved very helpful primary research.

OUGD404 - Presentations and Studio Session

• What are grids, columns, gutters & margins?

Grid - 2 dimensional structure, serves as a guideline

Columns - vertical, used to align text

Gutter - inside margin or blank space in-between to facing pages. The gutter depends on the binding process. 

Margins - edge or the border 

• What is DPS and what does it do?

Printed collateral are usually created digitally then printed.

• What is golden section?

Also known as the golden ratio. Irrational number which means it cannot be whittled down to a simple fraction. 

• Explain why rulers, boxes, folio number, and drop caps are

Rulers - measurements within a document
Boxes - AKA Frames. Text, graphic and unassigned.
Folio numbers - another word for page numbers
Drop Caps - Enlarging the first capital and wrapping the text around it

• What are 'picas', points and pixels?

Picas are a unit of measurement for typography 
Pixel - square element to make up pictures. Created ideally for web design. Unit of resolution.
Dots - pixels

Last bit of stuff to research :

• Greeking
• Folio numbers
• Ligatures
• Measures
• Rulers and boxes

OUGD406 - Speaking from Experience : Concept Sheet

For our newest brief we have to produce a graphic response/graphic product/ piece of work which makes a statement, comment, observation or gives advice about your experience on our first year on this course. As this is a broad brief I had to brainstorm lots of different ideas until I came up with the idea of creating a survival kit. We were asked to fill in a sheet in which we describe our concept and responsibilities within the brief. 

Since filling in the sheet and presenting my idea to the course I have decided to make some alterations. As my initial idea was met with some criticisms (do I want to promote drinking etc) I have decided to make a general survival kit for the course. Instead of containing actual items the kit will consist of print based leaflets, flyers and flashcards which will help students with the course and sessions. I will also include some necessities such as a pen, pencil, ruler, magic tape etc which I will design the packaging for. 

OUGD401 : Alfred Hitchcock : Leading Ladies

Over his career Hitchcock became obsessed with his leading ladies. He gave them countless  commands and used inappropriate methods to try and control them.

Tippi Hedren was one of his leading ladies (Marnie and The Birds) In a TV interview she gave her account of the great Alfred Hitchcock.

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OUGD401 - Alfred Hitchcock : TV Interviews

As Hitchcock became more and more famous he appeared on many TV shows giving interviews about his life and his films. 

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Hitchcock appearing on the Dick Cavett show.

OUGD401 : Alfred Hitchcock : Famous Scenes

One of Hitchcock's most controversial scenes of his career came from Psycho. The shower scene became a one of the most talked about scenes in films history. In the scene Janet Leigh is taking a shower when she is suddenly stabbed to death. The nudity in this scene made production companies very nervous as they had to meet specific certification standards. Hitchcock fought against the cutting of the shower scene by saying they were suggesting nudity but not actually showing it.

The scene is shot with a series of different camera shots and with this comes suggestions of violence and nudity.

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OUGD406 - Speaking from Experience : Initial Research and Concept

Produce a graphic response/graphic product/ piece of work that makes a statement, comment, observation or gives advice about your experience on your first year of this course.

Initial ideas..

• Survival kit
• Money management advice
• Things you will need..
• Interactive game
• Map of college
• Map of Leeds
• Film
• Magazine

We were given the option to collaborate with people from our year. I am unsure at this moment whether this is something I would like to do. 

First Year brainstorm - 

• Expectations
• Feedback
• Exploring
• Fast Pace
• Attendance
• Ideas
• Independence
• Enthusiasm
• Learning
• Identity
• Skills
• Friends
• Preparation 
• Learning
• Maturity
• Discovery
• Signature

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I like the idea of creating a digital menu of the equipment which the first years should have. I found this example on Behance and thought it really encompassed the concept I had in mind. I think this idea could work on its own as well as a secondary menu for a box with the physical objects inside. 

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I want to create a pack with the physical object inside as I think it will appeal to the students and makes it interesting. When looking at survival kits on Behance I came across a wide variety of options. This one is probably one of my favourites as it includes both print based and physical content. I also think the two colour production would work well as it links to the briefs and limits which the first years will have.

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As I think that most of the group will be producing something like this I have another idea in mind. This idea is a different concept all together. I want to create a hangover kit which would be for students who stay out all night and come to uni in the same clothes. The content would be a pair of socks, mouthwash, toothbrush etc. This is probably a delicate subject as I shouldn't be promoting this kind of behaviour but I think it could be really interesting and engaging. 

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When searching for designers specific survival kits I came across this brightly coloured set of printed material. Possibly the most significant content in this is the stickers set which I think is a brilliant idea and would work really effectively for this brief. The idea I get from this is to create a set of stickers which can be taken into crits and when making mock ups etc. This will be a interactive way of making sure your work is at a professional standard. 

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This is possibly the closest to the idea which I started on, I think it could work really well and be successful but would not perhaps have much design to it. I think to make my idea look like a sufficient amount of work I will need to produce a publication to go alongside it.