ADVANCED TYPOGRAPHY - PROJECT 2

Week 8 - Week 10 (02/06/2020 - 16/06/2020)
See Zi Yi 0340094
Advanced Typography
Project 2

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INSTRUCTIONS


Project 2 - Collaterals

Students are tasked to design a poster and two other collateral items of their choosing, using the key artwork developed in the task before this. Students will work on the poster first and finetune the outcomes before going on to complete the other collateral material. The graphic output must result from in-depth exploration and must communicate both visually and textually the desired message and mood.

Below is the information that should be included in the poster:

"The Design School,

Taylor's University

All Ripped Up: Punk Influences on Design

or

The ABCs of Bahaus Design Theory

or

Russian Constructivism and Graphic Design

Open Public Lectures:

November 24, 2020

Lew Pik Svonn, 9AM-10AM

Ezrena Mohd., 10AM-11AM

Suzy Sulaiman, 11AM-12PM

November 25, 2020

Muthu Neduraman, 9AM-10AM

Fahmi Reza, 10AM-11AM

Fahmi Fadzil, 11AM-12PM

Lecture Theatre 12"

I realised that my key artwork is more of a simplistic and grided style, hence I started to research on possible references for my first collateral, which is a poster. Below are the references.

Fig. 1.0 Poster reference #1

Fig. 1.1 Poster reference #2

Fig. 1.2 Poster reference #3

For a recap, below is my key artwork from Project 1:

Fig. 1.3  Final Key Artwork from Project 1

Here are my first attempts on the poster based on my key artwork: 

Fig, 1.4 Poster design #1

Fig, 1.5 Poster design #2

Fig, 1.6 Poster design #3

However, Mr Vinod mentioned that my designs are too similar to my reference, which is considered as plagiarism. Hence, I changed my layout design and below are my second attempts.

Fig, 1.7 Poster design #4

Fig, 1.8 Poster design #5

I was advised to go with Fig. 1.7 and also to amend the text alignment for my second and third row of text. Below is my attempt.

Fig, 1.9 Poster design #6

Wanting to know how would my poster look like with colours, I attempted two more layout designs with colour. Below are my attempts. However, I still prefer Fig. 1.8, which is my poster without any colour as it has a stronger visual impact on the viewers hence I went to consult with Mr Vinod on this matter.

Fig, 1.10 Poster design #7

Fig, 1.11 Poster design #8

With the feedback given, I decided to go with the below poster as my final submission.

Fig. 1.12 Collateral #1: Poster (FINAL Project 2: JPEG)

Fig. 1.13 Collateral #1: Poster (FINAL Project 2: PDF)

Then, we moved on to creating our animation collateral. Below is my first attempt.

Fig. 1.14 Social Media Invitation First Attempt 

I was advised to enlarge my point size and below is my final submission.

Fig. 1.15 Collateral #2: Social Media Invitation (FINAL Project 2: GIF)

We were told to work on two more items as our collaterals and I have come up with a shirt and a string bag.

Fig. 1.16 Collateral #3: Drawstring bag front (FINAL Project 2: JPEG)

Fig. 1.17 Collateral #3: Drawstring bag back (FINAL Project 2: JPEG)

In the above attempt, I transformed the vertical boxes to horizontal ones to give more variety to my key artwork. Below is my attempt on the shirt collateral.

Fig. 1.18 Collateral #4: T-shirt front (FINAL Project 2: JPEG)

Fig. 1.19 Collateral #4: T-shirt back (FINAL Project 2: JPEG)

FINAL SUBMISSION:

Fig. 1.20 Collateral #1: Poster (FINAL Project 2: JPEG)

Fig. 1.21 Collateral #2: Social Media Invitation (FINAL Project 2: GIF)

Fig. 1.22 Collateral #3: Drawstring bag front (FINAL Project 2: JPEG)

Fig. 1.23 Collateral #3: Drawstring bag back (FINAL Project 2: JPEG)

Fig. 1.24 Collateral #4: T-shirt front (FINAL Project 2: JPEG)

Fig. 1.25 Collateral #4: T-shirt back (FINAL Project 2: JPEG)

Fig. 1.26 Flatlay (FINAL Project 2: JPEG)

Fig. 1.27 Compilation of all collaterals and the flat lay
(except for Social Media Invitation GIF) (FINAL Project 2: PDF)

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FEEDBACK

Week 8 (02/06/2020):

General Feedback:

1. Only minor variations should be introduced for our Project 2: Collaterals.

2. Breaking down the information into bits for the microsite is not advisable.

3. Look into the variations, and how it has changed from the original key artwork to different variations.

4. The poster sets the tone of the key artwork and should be in A2. The larger the poster, the more impactful it is. A2 = 16pt.

5. Remember that it's an event, hence anything related to an event can be considered as your collateral.

6. Analyze good layout design. What is the text aligning to? Where's the balance of it? Learn from it but don't copy it entirely.

Specific Feedback:

1. This is fine.

Week 9 (09/06/2020):
General Feedback:
1. Key artwork shouldn't be changed at this stage. Don't separate or amend it in any way.
2. Key artwork must be finalized before we can work on the poster.
3. Alignment is very important when it comes to placing the body text in our poster hence we should always look for alignment point.

Specific Feedback:
1. It's good that I have a suitable reference.
2. But I can't rely on it too much and should go beyond it.
3. The second attempt looks interesting and please introduce off-set left alignment to my second and third row of body text.
4. Try out colours and start working on my animation invitation.

Specific Feedback:
1. See, I did not mean you should change it... I was just providing you with points for you to consider for you to eventually make a decision instead of me making it for you. For me now, fundamentally the design is sound... I leave the rest to you (choosing a colour or not).
2. You can introduce colour in a minimal way and then later using more widely in your collateral.
3. So many solutions ... think. If you like the BW, but realise you need colour... then use it minimally, so that it looks predominantly BW.
4. What la.

Week 10 (16/06/2020):
General Feedback:
1. The point size for social media invite should be bigger.
2. Use your key artwork to generate a pattern for your collaterals.

Specific Feedback:
1. Fix the point size to make it bigger.

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REFLECTION

Experience

Week 8 (02/06/2020): We tried out a new way to receive feedback which is through posting our work under the lecturer's Facebook post. This is way more efficient and time-saving as compared to having everyone to share their screens; Week 9 (09/06/2020): It was quite stressful this week as we need to complete our poster on that day, but I am glad I did manage to do it; Week 10 (16/06/2020): The workload was so heavy I couldn't finish designing my other two collaterals before Week 10's class as I was still working on my animation. I think my progress is a little slow, hence I have to speed up. I am so stressed out, to be honest. But I guess I have to push myself through till the end of this semester.

Observation

Week 8 (02/06/2020): Some of the key artwork ideas tend to be repetitive and it seems that people are running out of ideas. Mr Vinod also mentioned that it's tiring to look at similar artwork over and over again. I guess more exploration is required to come up with a unique piece of an idea; Week 9 (09/06/2020): Everyone was working on their work as quickly as possible so they can show the lecturers and get feedback before the class ends. Some of them even stayed after the class for a feedback session; Week 10 (16/06/2020): I noticed barely anyone finished up the other two collaterals before the class ends. I believe it's because designing collaterals isn't as easy as we think it is.

Findings

Week 8 (02/06/2020): Experimenting with poster layout can be very fun and frustrating, as we will need to go through a lot of trial and errors to get a nice and interesting layout, but it's fun when we get to implement what we have learnt in the previous exercises; Week 9 (09/06/2020): I realised I tend to rely on my references too much till the point where I unconsciously plagiarized it. Reference should merely serve as a reference; Week 10 (16/06/2020): Experimenting with collateral designing is interesting only if you know how to do it. It might seem fun at first, but it can be quite frustrating when you can't it "right" due to the time constraint.

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FURTHER READING

Week 10 (16/06/2020)
Book title - Amazing Layout Design
Author - Dopress Books

Fig. 5.0 Book cover

In this book, the author discusses the design elements such as font, colour and graph to deliver visual aesthetic perception without comprising proper content layout. Layout design in the information age has demonstrated more and more diversified forms and features based on traditional aesthetic principles. Design work showcased in Amazing Layout Design, organized in accordance with different graphic mediums such as albums, publications, commercial brochures, flyers, posters, advertisements, newspaper and periodicals, embodies amazing layout designs devised by outstanding design teams from across the globe.