Overall Comments
The first part of the course focuses on getting started by introducing you to the subject and exploring a brief history of graphic design. You have produced a set of four postcards that visually say a something about yourself that is important to you. Your overall presentation is very well considered and executed, so by addressing the points made in your feedback I have no doubt you will produce some exciting work. Develop your design skills through the next part of the course; most importantly enjoy the process of learning.
My respond to the feedback
Very happy with the overall feedback from my tutor. I enjoyed working on this exercise, since it was all about what I like in my life.
Exercise: Sending and Receiving
Understanding how visual communication works is crucial to graphic design, your first exercise asked you to explore this through playing visual charades. This exercise was not submitted for feedback. When starting a project it is good to practise new methods and apply when exploring and developing ideas, this will help you to generate a wide range of creative innovative ideas that you would not necessarily have otherwise considered. This exercise is not about quality of visuals made, its about a method of how to record ideas without overthinking. Use this method alongside mind-mapping and mood-boards in the future. Next time ensure you work through exercises before final assignment, as they are part of independent learning and are designed to develop your creative approaches to problem solving (save as evidence).
My respond to the feedback
I’ve uploaded my exercise on my blog and since I have sent my blog link at the beginning of the course to my tutor, I thought that should be enough and didn’t send my blog link again along with my assignment.
Feedback on assignment one: Introducing Yourself
Assignment one asked you to design a series of postcards that say something about yourself and your interests as a way of introducing yourself. It was good to see you started this assignment by producing a mood-board to consider and select key aspects of you and your life to focus on for the card designs. Next time use the exercises to help you develop a more thorough creative process when working through an assignment, such as mind-mapping your ideas, showing through research what styles of graphic design / illustration that inspires you. Your notation is very clear in rationalising ideas for each postcard developed, next time show how your arrived at your finished designs such as layout, composition, text font, colour content variations. You acknowledge you should have done this here, so I trust you understand the value of showing your complete process; for example, you may have thumbnail sketches of ideas dismissed that a tutor may see merit in developing. In addition its good to show that you can produce a broad range of ideas, especially as a client will always expect to see more than one.
Did you research postcard designs, styles, history? What size will you cards reproduce? Did you consider a design to work across all 4 postcards for example; all landscape or all portrait; white boarder on one card should it be applied to all? the last design works really well, so could they have all followed same layout ass a set?
You make an interesting point about typeface chosen for Yoga card as being ‘informal’ yet sans serif is considered very formal, however its good to read that type and typography is an area you’re looking forward to investigating.
My respond to the feedback
What I need to do next time:
- mind-mapping my ideas
- showing through research what styles of graphic design / illustration that inspires me
Sketchbooks
Keeping sketchbooks and a learning log is an integral part of this and every other OCA course, not only because they constitute 20% of your marks if you choose to have your work formally assessed but they are also an excellent way to document and reflect on your development. Use a sketch book to document your whole creative process. Research and critically analyse examples of professional designers/illustrators work stating how, what, why and how research has informed your own practice; consider materials, techniques, processes, colour, line, tone, content, layout, composition, hierarchy of examples you are analysing. A good way to do this is to trace key elements: positive and negative space within format; choice of font/s, size and scale; relationship between headline text and copy text, positioning; layout and composition; relationship between image and text, what leads; colour palette. Use your research to inform ideas generation shown through doodles, mind- maps, thumbnail sketches; next plan, making mood-boards and develop ideas; screen shot digital experiments to show process and refinement of outcomes; notation throughout should reflect on your learning that’s taken place.
Learning Logs or Blogs / Critical essays
Your learning log/blog is a good start to evidencing the approach taken so far for the assignment. Research professional designers, starting with those who inspire you. Use reliable resources such as journals and magazines Eye or Computer Arts or Wired; museums can be accessed online if not visited. Engage with research to learn about a broad range of graphic design disciplines. When analysing examples of others’ work consider and notate: what area of design for example print (book/ magazine), film titles, advertising (products/services/information), posters (events), packaging, games, digital media; what materials and processes were used in the original making, craft and technology; reproduction of work into multiples; who commissioned the work; who is the audience; function/purpose; what’s being communicated; social, political time-fame work was made and what impact this may have had; is there a particular style associated with country of origin; what do you think the brief was? Always say what, why, how, for whom, and when.
Visual research should either be printed and/or add appropriate Web-links. Harvard Reference all examples shown (guide on OCA learning resources), ensure you use reliable sources. Start to build your bibliography.
It would be a good idea to have a blog as it is a way of connecting with your peers on the course and getting your work seen in a professional context. Moving forward decide if you would prefer your blog to be all of your work or a summary, from Part 2 please send full body of your actual work to me so I can view alongside your blog.
Suggested viewing/reading
It would be advantageous to read books to help you further develop understanding of the process of graphic communication. Preferably see if you can access the following through library or online. Have a look at Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World’s Greatest Graphic Designers by Steven Heller because this book will not only help you become familiar with graphic design practitioners but will also give you an insight into how they work; Visual Research: An Introduction to Research Methodologies in Graphic Design by Ian Noble and Russell Bestley is a great book that will help you develop your methodology and one you will refer to throughout your studies; Design Diaries: Creative Process in Graphic Design by Lucienne Roberts for case studies. Also refer to suggested reading in your student handbook.
My respond to the feedback
Things to be done:
- Sketch book
- Research and critically analyse examples of professional designers/illustrators work, consider materials, techniques, processes, colour, line, tone, content, layout, composition, hierarchy of examples you are analysing.
- Mind mapping
- Thumbnails
- Doodles
- Reading magazines
- Visiting museums
- Always say what, why, how, for whom, and when
- Look WeAreOCA blog
- Introduction to studying HE course (read already)
Books to read:
- Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World’s Greatest Graphic Designers by Steven Heller
- Visual Research: An Introduction to Research Methodologies in Graphic Design by Ian Noble and Russell Bestley
- Design Diaries: Creative Process in Graphic Design by Lucienne Roberts
Maryam: OCA Graphic Design 