Major Project
Week 1 - Week 14
See Zi Yi
0340094
Major Project
INSTRUCTIONS
Week 1 | 30th Aug 2022
In our first class of Major Project, we were briefed about the tasks to be done throughout these 14 weeks. There are 3 pathways to be chosen from, namely:
- Dissertation Topic - To expand from our dissertation topic and create a project based on it.
- United Nations Sustainable Goals (UN SDG) - To achieve a UN SDG with our project.
- Client - To find a client and utilize our skillset to solve their problem.
For the following week, we were tasked to create a proposal consisting of the below points:
- Pathway option
- Problem Statement
- Target Audience (their accessibility to certain mediums)
- Proposed Solution
- Why this Solution? (Evidence & Research)
- References
Below are some tips:
- Do not make this feel like an assignment.
- Do not think too much about the execution method in the first few weeks.
- Do not make it feel too superficial and surface. Have some depth.
Reflection:
I feel excited to finally begin my major project journey. However, having to choose a pathway to fit our project is a real challenge.
Week 2 | 7th Sept 2022
Below is my initial proposal consisting of the following 3 ideas:
Idea 1: Where's Waldo-inspired Malaysia culture-themed Children's Book
Idea 2: When A is not for Apple Children's Book
Idea 3: Malaysian Children's Cookbook
Feedback:
1. Idea 1 stands out the most among all 3 ideas.
2. The proposed solution answers the goals, problems, and indicators.
3. I need to know how to showcase my character design skills.
4. Therefore, the illustrations must be very polished at the end of the project.
5. Why only 10 pages? Where's Waldo seems to have more than 10 pages. (My reply was that the timeline restriction). Do more research.
6. The three illustrations below seem to be a good reference for my project.
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Next Steps:
1. Determine the size of the book
2. Illustration style
3. Proof of concept such as illustration sketches
4. Determine the locations: doesn't necessarily need to be landmarks of Malaysia and can be beyond that
5. Production timeline & Gantt Chart
Others:
1. What message do you want to deliver from your project (The Big Idea)? What do you want people to do with the knowledge learned?
2. (D&AD) Design and New Blood Awards: Research how they resolve an issue with the design solution.
3. Research Where Waldo and its background.
4. Unique Selling Point of my outcome, what's so special about it?
5. Found an interesting motion graphic website: illo.tv
Reflection:
I am glad the first idea got accepted by the lecturer and that I am advised to proceed with it. Today's consultation made me realize that formulating a design solution requires many rounds of thought processes and consideration.
Week 3 | 13th Sept 2022
Below is my updated proposal:
This week I elaborated on my proposal and decided on my art direction, as well as its content.
Feedback:
Mr Asrizal didn't comment much about my updated proposal and told me that I will be notified about my lecturer soon. My topic was confirmed as well.
Reflection:
I feel relieved to have my topic confirmed so that I can begin my research.
Week 4 | 20th Sept 2022
I presented my updated proposal to Ms Anis, alongside some other contextual research I did on Miro.
Feedback:
1. Apart from interviewing a kindergarten principal, interview lecturers whose children are under my target audience's age range.
2. Check out more about the publication design from Mr Vinod.
3. Draft out the entire storyline for the book's content. Only proceed with the copywriting when this step is done.
4. For Character Design, keep it to a maximum of two (the main character and a side character who'll be seen at all wonderlands).
5. In between the fantasy lands, come up with a story to connect the main character from location 1 to location 2.
6. The assets to be illustrated in the fantasy lands can be decided by me. Or I can expand the target audience to foreigners, and think of how would I want to explain it to them.
Reflection:
Ms Anis said she has confidence in me to execute this project. Just that I have to take note of my tendency of wanting to achieve perfection which might hinder my progress. It's something I have been working on forever but hopefully, I will be able to prioritize progress over perfection this time around.
Week 5 | 27th Sept 2022
This week I mainly worked on the content generation for my book.
Feedback:
Ms Anis:
Good progress so far, I don't have to consult her next week as I can keep on progressing on my current work. The book name is better now as it can evoke curiosity in children to understand it better.
Mr Vinod:
I approached Mr Vinod on Friday and below are the advice he gave:
Details
1. Paper type: Art Card (300gsm for cover, consider matte art card with UV Coating); Art Paper 120gsm
2. Staple binding for an easier book flipping experience for kids.
3. French Fold for Book Cover to avoid dog ears. It should be half of the single page, or not 3/4 of the half of the single page to give some weight to the fold.
4. Foldout at the middle of the book to make it a more creative book reading experience. Both pages should be printed with the same details
5. Other details such as imprint, full page, and half page. Bar code can be generated using external software.
6. Colour scheme. Use CMYK, to begin with. Even when Where's waldo is very colorful, it has its own color scheme as well. E.G. striking colors, complementary colors, neutral colors.
7. Page numbers for kid's books can be selective in inserting. E.G. full spread pages wouldn't require page numbers while single spread might require.
8. Point size is 8-12 pt. Can opt for 11-12 pt for the kid's book.
Steps
1. Create a newspaper book mock-up, showing the desired page size and binding
2. Show it to various printing shops and see if they can make it
3. If not, ask what would be the maximum size they can go to achieve a staple binding
4. Request for them to create a mock-up with the size, paper type, french fold, and fold out.
5. Get the exact printing details.
6. Start illustrating and confirming the content generation (text).
7. Upon completion of one chapter (rough sketches), place the text and illustration in a rough layout. 2 pages by 2 pages and zoom out to see the overall composition.
8. Finalize the composition, then continue to work on the rest.
9. Can try to test print a few pages before final printing.
Others
1. Focus on the book. Then only work on the art book, followed by social media promotion (as it's not my specialization). The art book can be in an e-book format.
2. Booth decoration should highlight my final outcome and not overwhelm my final outcome. It can be worked on later on.
Reflection:
I was pretty sick this week due to food poisoning hence I didn't have much progress. But I am already slowly recovering from it to continue my execution. I am super thankful for the guidance given by Mr Vinod. He has given me a lot of professional suggestions regarding the book despite him being super occupied.
Week 6 | 4th October 2022
This week, I worked on my content generation and completed my interview with 5 different parents with children aged 4 to 6 years old. I also reworked my proposal as shown below.
Feedback:
I so happened to bump into Ms Anis on Wednesday so I updated her on my book printing survey. She agreed with me that I should go for Mummy Design as the price is relatively cheaper there. Mr Shamsul also suggested trying to ask if Mummy Design can sponsor me if I were to print a standee display of my character design.
Reflection:
I started to feel like I have to rush my progression as we are already almost halfway into the semester and I am still in the beginning stage of my development. Aside from that, I also learned a lot about printing this week during my visit to printing shops.
Week 7 | 11th October 2022
This week, I completed my content generation and have Ms Anis review it. I have also started working on the character designs of my character.
Feedback:
Slides:
1. Preferable language for the book: Can justify by saying will look into this during the future development of the project.
2. Preferable book material: Can justify by saying in order to perform staple binding, a paperback book is much more suitable.
3. Other suggestions: Can justify by saying the need to bring back the habit of reading instead of using more interactive items.
4. Book mock-up: Include a video of flipping through the mock-up.
Content Generation:
1. Interactive Paper Game's content can be based on the content of the search and find.
2. Don't have to add new content, but just rearrange the content of the book and make the paper game to be in the middle.
Character Designs:
1. the main character - Girl no.1 seems to look the most interesting. Girl no.4 is too Japanese-ish.
2. the side character: Brainstorm other elements which can represent Malaysia other than the hibiscus.
3. Side character is accepted and can move on to developing it.
Book Binding:
1. Staple binding - focus on the idea and proceed with it as my purpose is to encourage more interaction of the kids with the book. Plus, the final outcome can just be a prototype I have for my project. Further improvements that can still be made during the improvised version of the project.
Reflection:
Counter rationalizing is a vital skill to learn as in the end it's gonna be our project, hence we can have control over our project execution. Receiving feedback is important, but we have to learn how to complete it within our ability is equally important as well.
Week 8 | 18th October 2022
This week, we attended PDW by listening to talks from industrial speakers. In the meantime, I worked on the character designs, book layout, and seek-and-find spread 1.
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| Book Layout |
Here's my first version of the book layout which has a total of 52 pages. However, I personally think that it should be lesser as kids might not have the patience and attention span to read the entire book.
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| Main character |
As for Soya, the main character above, I have attempted several versions of its color palette to find for the best one. I have tentatively decided to go with no 3 as it's not so saturated, or neither too fair.
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| Side character |
As for the side character, I was inspired by a type of Malaysian snack named ice gem cookie. The rationale behind creating this character is to have a cute and fun personality that kids would find interesting.
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| Food |
I also began sketching out my first seek-and-find sketch as shown above.
Feedback:
Book Layout:
1. Eliminate the pages saying "Wahhh..." as it is redundant and repetitive to have them.
2. Add instructions for the first and last page for parents and kids to understand the context of the book.
Others:
1. Main character: good to proceed.
2. Side character: good to proceed.
3. Food seek-and-find: take note of the ratio of characters when they are on the pages.
Reflection:
Work is beginning to pile up bit by bit this week. This is also the week where I started to understand how challenging illustrating a book is. They are many complicated steps to consider before executing my ideas.
Week 9 | 25th October 2022
This week, I started working on the cover page of the book, as well as the main visual for our graduation booklet.
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| First Attempt for Main Visual |
Above was the first attempt where I used blue and orange to create contrasting visuals, but I feel it doesn't have much of a digital-ish vibe to it. Hence, I experimented with different shades of purple in my following attempts.
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| Second Attempt for Main Visual |
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| Third Attempt for Main Visual |
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| Fourth Attempt for Main Visual |
Above is my fourth and final attempt for my main visual. I added some line art of Malaysia-related items behind to refer it as a seek-and-find book.
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| Book Cover Experiment |
In the meanwhile, I also experimented a few colours for my book cover. To align with my main visual, I decided to pick B3 and continue experimenting.
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| Book Cover WIP |
Above is a work in progress for my book cover.
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| Food Paradise |
I have also completed the line art for my food spread as seen above.
Feedback:
Good progress, continue working.
Reflection:
Illustrating the character in different angles really took a toll on me. But it's satisfying seeing everything slowly coming together.
Week 10 | 1st November 2022
I continued working on the seek-and-find spread for the food paradise, especially for the colouring.
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| Seek-and-Find for Food Paradise |
Below are also some of my progression for my character design, where I placed all of them in their respective artboard with their names.
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| Soya - Main character |
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| Icie - Side character 1 |
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| Kool - Side character 2 |
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| Bogo - Side character 3 |
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| Yoyo - Side character 4 |
Feedback:
Did not consult this week as Ms Anis said I can continue on my own.
Reflection:
At this point, I need to learn how to work smart so I would be able to continue working on the rest of the work.
Week 11 | 8th November 2022
I completed the colouring for the food spread as shown below.
%20Food_Finall.png) |
| Seek-and-Find 1: Food Paradise (before) |
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| Seek-and-Find 1: Food Paradise (after) |
With that, I began the next spread, which is a animal wonderland in Malaysia. In the meantime, I also started with the storyline of the book as seen below.
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| Page 2-3 |
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| Page 4-5 |
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| Page 6-7 |
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| Page 8-9 |
Feedback:
Ms Anis advised me to work and refine on these two themes instead of doing all 4 spreads due to time limit.
Reflection:
Sometimes one has to make some sarcrifices in order to achieve a proper overall results.
Week 12 | 15th November 2022
I continued with the book spread this week, as well as the in-book board game.
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| Page 10-11 |
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| Page 12-13 |
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| Extra Page |
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| Page 14-15 |
Not forgetting the standee characters for the board game as show below.
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| Front |
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| Back |
Feedback:
Did not consult this week as Ms Anis said I can continue on my own.
Reflection:
I struggled with setting the game rules and kept on refining it after I have played it on my own. User testing definitely is crucial to ensure the game makes sense, but unfortunately I didn't get to do it this time due to time constraint.
Week 13 | 22nd November 2022
I completed the animal wonderland spread as seen below.
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| Seek-and-Find 2: Animal Wonderland |
I have also refined the book cover to this one below as it looks more interesting and engaging at the first glance.
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| Book Cover |
I have also utlized the illustration to be made into the postcard below.
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| Postcard |
Feedback:
Did not consult this week as Ms Anis said I can continue on my own.
Reflection:
I think I have made a right decision to change my book cover despite I have spent a lot of time with the previous one. This current one definitely feels more appropriate and interesting to attract kids.
Week 14 | 29th November 2022
This week, I worked on finishing the rest of the story as well as compiling items to be printed.
Page 16-17
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| Page 18-19 |
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| Page 20-21 |
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| Page 22-23 |
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| Page 24-25 |
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| Page 26-27 |
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| Booth Signs |
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| Stickers |
I have also illustrated a standee of my main character below.
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| Standee of Main Character Soya |
Below is the Final Attempt at my book named A Wahhh Rectangle: A Seek-and-Find in Malaysia
Feedback:
Ms Anis commented they look good and I have to compile everything nicely before printing.
Reflection:
I noticed my illustration is now really graphic haha.
Week 15 | 9th - 11th December 2022
Below are some images taken during my Final Year Exhibition.
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| A Wahhh Rectangle: A Seek-and-Find in Malaysia |
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| Postcards |
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| Ice gem cookies for visitors who found all 12 items |
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| Table display |
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| Booth display 1 |
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| Booth display 2 |
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| Me with my booth display 3 |
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| Booth display 4 |
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| Mini character standees for board game |
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| Visitors playing with board game |
Reflection
In essence, I really enjoyed myself throughout my Final Year Project as I have finally found my preferred art style after all this while. Even though designing a book is a huge challenge for me, I have learnt so much with the guidance of Mr Vinod. If it wasn't for the huge spread idea he suggested, I wouldn't have thought about creating an in-book board game, which turned out to be one of the most WAHHH spreads of my children's book. I would also like to thank Ms Anis for allowing me to express my creativity by being supportive of my ideas. If it wasn't for her, my imagination would have been very much limited. And lastly, Mr Asrizal, for approving my idea in the very first place, even though the outcome I want to create isn't entirely about entertaintment design, but with a touch of graphic design. During the exhibition, I was given a very good spot to interact with as many visitors as possible, and I am forever grateful for that. I have polised my public speaking and self-promotion skill, which allow me to receive positive feedback about my project. But I will not stop here. Let's see how far I can bring this project to in the future!
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