Today, we are going to be put into small groups in order to run some peer feedback sessions. This will allow us the chance to present our Design For Print briefs, Design For Web briefs, or both. I decided that I would initially talk about my Design For Print project, as this is the project that I am most involved with and think is most important for me to receive feedback on. After having presented all of the printing research I have been doing, as well as talking through my concept and ideas for my final outcome, this is the feedback that I received:
- Maybe focus on one category of print
- Try using multiple print processes within one design, show how each of them could work together. I could then talk about how it has been done, the advantages and disadvantages of the combinations of processes. This could also include brief information about each of the print processes that I have used.
- Think about audience - Are they well educated? Think about tone of voice and language. In terms of my concept, who are the explorers?
- Book of complete black pages, all heat sensitive
Within this critique, I received a lot of information that I think I need to start to consider a lot more in order to successfully progress with this project. I am currently stuck on my audience, which is preventing me from being able to understand what content will be appropriate. When I was discussing one of my ideas for my book, covering each page with an image of space made from heat sensitive ink, I got a piece of feedback that is very useful.
If I was to have a different image of space, each screen printed, over every page in my book it would be very problematic. Each image would require a different screen and if my book has a lot of information and pages, this would not be a viable option. However, if each of my pages was the same, completely black for example, I could just use the same screen for each page. This would still convey the idea of exploration and discovery whilst being a much more reasonable and realistic idea. I found this gif online which demonstrates how my book could look:
Obviously, with it being heat sensitive ink there would be finger prints on the edges of the pages as they were being turned. This would be the indication to the reader that they need to physically explore the page in order to briefly reveal the information. I would also leave a border around the edge, perhaps with page numbers, so that it was more obvious that the box was meant to be there. However, although I really like this idea, I first need to figure out my audience and content. My audience:
- People interested more in print, as opposed to being about space
- People interested in learning about print, perhaps already educated slightly?
What I need to remember is I am making an info-pack of 'things to know, consider or remember in order to produce successful design for print'. With this in mind, who is my audience?
- People who attend print fairs and shop in places that my book would be found: Village Book store, design studios, zine shops, Manchester Northern Quarter etc.
- People who shop in these places but don't have much knowledge of print processes
If this was the case, my book would need to contain information about the print processes and design for print in general.
As we had time left, I then got to briefly go through my concept and ideas for my Design For Web brief. Once I had shown my initial scamps and explained my basic ideas and concept, this is the feedback that I received:
- Who is the audience?
- What decide's a 'trend'?
- How many images will you have/need?
- What is the purpose of the website?
- Should the website be organised and structured, or more aesthetically similar to style of work?
- What design problem is it solving: Promote, Educate, Inform, Sell etc.
When thinking about my concept, I initially thought that my audience was people, most likely designers, that have similar taste to me. They would look at tumblr, most likely own one, and appreciate the current trend within graphic design. However, when I think about this one word springs to mind: Hipster. This is the definition of the word Hipster, 'a person who follows the latest trends and fashions'. By this definition, surely the people that I am aiming my website at could be considered as hipsters?
To me if something, a style or characteristic, is repeated enough so much so that it is noticeable, then it is a trend. However, as I often only look on websites that have similar style content, I am wondering now if what I consider to be trends is only apparent within the style of design that I look at.
As I want my website to be more of an archive, a collection of art and design, I think that I will need to have a rather large database in order for it to be successful. As this is work that I have a keen interest in I already have many examples that I can use; this frequently being added to and stored on Pinterest.
The purpose of the website is to serve as a database of inspiration for any designers and 'hipsters' that want to find or look at work they maybe haven't already seen, but is still the type of design they love. It will also have some basic information about each of the trends or characteristics, along with further websites that they would appreciate knowing about.
I think that in order to let the design work speak for itself, the website that I create should be organised and structured. It should obviously also be very aesthetically pleasing and appropriate to the design that I am showing. It needs to be very simple and easy to navigate to optimise the viewers experience.
The main aim of the website is to entertain and educate, whilst informing the viewer about other designers and sources of information.
