RESPONSES Be less specific in the introduction (reffering to the mention of El Lizzitskys work). Possibly look at another academic reading to support points made throughout the essay. Use Findley text to support points made in the second half of the essay (referring to points made about Hirst and Lizzitsky) . Revise structure
After finalizing our concept, each member of the group started to collect a body of visual research reflecting the ideas of the concept.
INITIAL VISUAL RESEARCH - SECONDARY
I started my research by collected images of calenders, I focused on the the balance between type and image, as the pages of our calender will need space for illustration and the dates. Moreover, I also looked at how the pages of the calender were fastened together and presented.
This hand printed calender shows a good use of layout as the print and text are well balanced.
Basemint Japan-inspired 2012 Year of the Dragon hand-screened calender
The composition of this calender leaves a large space for illustration, similar to what we want to achieve with our calender. When thinking about the design considerations I will suggest using similar dimensions.
The dimensions of this calender leave a large amount of room above the dates of the month. If we produced our calender with similar dimensions the tasks could fit within the space left.
In this calender the months are presented on one sheet of paper forming a striking detailed poster. Presenting our project in this way is not practical because of the tasks that would be set each day.
The calender uses a binding technique that you cannot see from the front. Moreover, it also leaves a loop in which the calender can be hung. A binding technique like this is practical for our target audience as they could pin it on their university notice board or hang it on the fridge.
This handmade calender uses paper clips and the mechanism from an old binder to hold the pages of the calender together. This would be cheap to do when binding our calender, and would also allow the audience to easily remove pages. However, if the product was to be reproduced, binding the calender this way would not be financially achievable.
I chose to feature this lunar calender in my research as it uses a limited amount of colour, a restriction set by the brief stated that we can only use two colours when printing our outcome.
While reviewing the calender research I collected I came across a problem. We want to create a product that provides the audience with five tasks to complete each day, in turn these tasks will build up the creative skills and knowledge of the reader. However, we cannot presented our tasks in this format if we choose to create a calender, as calenders are created in a monthly format.
To overcome this problem we need to either focus on creating a magazine, or create a calender that works on a daily format. If we created a calender which used a daily format it would have to be created on a monthly basis like a magazine.
I will discuss with the group if our outcome should take the form of a calender or magazine tomorrow.
Moreover, I also collected a body of visual research into magazines and publications.
These pictures of a magazine created by Martin Oberhauser is a good example of a publication balancing illustration and text. When designing the pages for our product I will make sure we use a grid system.
Although this image is only of a sketchbook page, it is a good example of what I think the magazine could achieve. Leaving blank pages in the magazine with a simple instruction such as 'Fill the page with hands' would achieve these results.
After collecting a body of visual research to present to my group, I started collecting focused research relevant to the concept of our idea.
I started by collecting primary research from venues and universities where the product could be displayed. I photographed places were flyers, leaflets and magazines were kept as these would be a prime position for our product. Moreover, I also photographed advertisement space, where posters were displayed. I looked at venues that attracted our target audience - creative students.
Nation Of Shopkeepers
Leeds College of Art - Vernon Street
Advertisement space
Around A6 in size, we need to consider what dimensions our publication will be.
Leeds City Museum
Moreover, I while documenting the venues I also collected flyers and leaflets. I collected some for aesthetic purposes and others because they had information in that is relevant to our project.
Flyer from Leeds College of Art - Vernon Street advertising Saturday art school, this is something that would be of interest to our target audience.
Leeds City Museum infomration
This flyer is advertising an event at the White Cloth Gallery. There are constantly exhibitions and shows on here that would be of interest to our target audience.
Up-coming exhibitions at Leeds College of Art - Blenheim walk gallery.
Leeds Art Gallery information.
I also collected information on other creative events, such as the 'Leeds Young Filmmakers Awards', our audience may be interested in multidisciplinary events such as this. Therefore in the events section the magazine will list creative events similar to this.
We could also consider advertising book stores and other creative outlets as this is also relevant to our target audience.
Henry Moore Institute - Events information. This can be included in the local events section of the magazine.
PUBLICATION RESEARCH - SECONDARY Moreover, after further discussions it was decided that the outcome will take the form of a magazine. I started gathering research on magazine design from a book called 'The Art Directors Handbook of Proffesional Magazine Design' published by Thames and Hudson.
Over-sized heading leaves negative space on the page, the grid system is apparent through the positioning of the text and vertical line created by the heading.
This double page spread achieves balance by opposing two columns of text against a full bleed image.
The grid system can clearly be seen on this double page spread. Two columns have been used to layout the type, leaving a nice amount of negative space to compensate for the lack of image.
Moreover, I also collected magazine layout research from Huck, a contemporary skateboard and surf culture magazine.
This spread opposes a composition of images across from two columns of bulk text. Due to the comoposition of the images your eye flows to the start of the article.
Moreover, I chose to feature this spread due to the placement of the heading. It has been placed at the bottom of the page, from there the eye reads up and across. When designing the outcome I need to think about how I will layout pages to guide the audiences eye, and how this can be adapted to make the spread more functional.
INTERVIEW RESEARCH - SECONDARY
This research was collected to help me develop my tone of voice, and help me generate a list of questions in preparation for my interview with Drew Millard on wednesday.
On Monday we divided up the work load, one of my tasks is to research into different ways designers and artists stay inspired and creative. We will use a selection of these techniques in the magazine to help people stay creative.
The digital book above shows a selection of images taken from a tumblr blog, the blog lists 365 different ways to stay creative, some of them are useful others are not, I have posted the useful techniques below and adapted them to suit the tasks we want to put in the magazine.
I started my research by using internet resources to research into some basic facts about the cheetah, I used reliable sources such as 'National Geographic' to ensure that these facts were accurate.
Moreover, I also collected information and images from a book called the 'National Geographic Book Of Mammals', inside the book was a collection of pages with educational cheetah information and images.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
This article by Roff Smith talks about the seriousness of the problem and factors that effect it, such as young rich Saudi men buying cheetah cubs as pets. The article is written in a journalistic way, I want to achieve a similar tone of voice when writing my article.
SPEED
The cheetah is most famous because of its speed, and holds the prestigious title of fastest land mammal. The nimble cat can explode into a sprint that reaches up to 63mph to catch its prey. As I researched further into the cheeta and its running capabilities, I discovered that every part of the cheetahs sleek body is designed so that it can run at high speeds.
Below is a selection of research material relating to the cheetahs speed.
This image is taken from a magazine spread informing people about the speed of the cat. The designers used 3d imaging programs to create the x-ray image of the cheetah, follow the link to see the interesting design process.
This informative gif was created by Jacob O'Neal, it educates the audience about all aspects of the Cheetahs anatomy, using infographics to engage the audience. The piece has inspired me to look at infographics as a way of presenting my information.
I also collected a series of images that could be used in my article should I do it on the cheetahs athletic capability. Unfortunately, I do not have the access or resources to collect my own cheetah imagery for the spread. So instead I will collect images from the internet, note the photographers name under the images and reference them on my blog.
Moreover, I also reviewed some informative videos about the cheeta, watching these made it apparent that every feature of the cheetahs body has been designed to help it run faster. It is clear that the most definitive aspect of the animal is its speed, and how its body is perfectly adapted to reach these high speeds.
Finally, I have listed a collection of informative websites regarding the speed of a cheetah.
The cheetah is famous for its speed and agility, however people often over look the fact that the cat is almost extinct. "In 1900, there were over 100,000 cheetahs across their historic range. Today, an estimated 9,000 to 12,000 cheetahs remain in the wild in Africa. In Iran, there are around 200 cheetahs living in small isolated populations." http://www.defenders.org/cheetah/basic-facts
In their prime the cheetah could be found throughout most of Africa and India (as shown in the example below) they now only reside in parts of central and southwestern Africa and a small part of Iran.
The cheetahs survival is balanced on a knifes edge, it is hard enough surviving the harsh conditions of the wilderness, but cheetahs are also faced with poachers who hunt them for their fur and farmers who shoot them in fear for their livestock.
Hunting cheetahs used to be a common practice in India and Africa.
Moreover, in India around the 1930's tame cheetahs were used by Indian Royalty to hunt gazelle.
Moreover, there are also reports that there is a big trade for cheetah in Saudi Arabia, where wealthy men but cheetah cubs for $10 000 as a statement of their wealth and to attract girls. "Cheetahs remain highly fashionable in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, where a cub can fetch upwards of $10,000. “A rich, young man buys himself a cheetah to go with his sports car,” says Mordecai Ogada, a Kenyan wildlife biologist who has studied cheetah-human relationships and wildlife trafficking. “It’s typically a new-money thing nowadays.” http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/11/cheetahs/smith-text
MAGAZINES Furthermore, as the outcome will be taking the form of a magazine spread I have briefly researched into some magazine spreads. I have focused on wildlife magazines as they are relevant to the content of my outcome. Moreover, I also want to examine what design choices the designers have made to make the spread relevant to the content, focusing on typography and the use of imagery and illustration.
The brief states that we have to include three images, so creating a simple spread with one background image is not possible. I could place images on top of the large background image, but this would make the composition look too busy and unbalanced.
Therefore, I also researched into magazine layouts that use more than one background image, I tried to look for spreads that had a good balanced of text and image. I used a book called 'The Art Directors' Handbook of Professional Magazine Design - Classic Techniques and Inspirational Approaches' and is published by Thames and Hudson.
Two collum grid used for the text, two small images have been placed above the text leaving space for large image.
Two collum grid used for the text, two small images have been placed above the text leaving space for large image.
Here, the pictures form the background of the article, due to the dark tones of the images the white text is legible.
This double page spread mirrors the text and image on opposing pages to create balance.
Moreover, in the double page spread the images and text are presented on opposing pages. I think that this takes the audiences focus away from the text.
Finally, these double page spreads focus is on the imagery as it dominates most of the composition. The text is composed using singular columns that have been sized so they are square with the edge of the image.
IMAGES
Last summer I went on a trip to Chester Zoo with a few friends. While there one image was taken of the cheetahs lounging in the shade.
However, I will undoubtably be using my own photographic imagery within my design. As I have no access, time or money to travel to the zoo to collect primary imagers, I will have to collect a range of internet based images.
Unfortunately, I don't have the resources to collect my own cheetah imagery therefore I will have to find some on the internet.
When selecting images from the internet I will change the search settings so that it only brings up pictures that are 4MP, if I decide to use a background image that spans the whole page this will ensure that the image is high enough quality.
When selecting images I will double check to ensure that they are high quality, and are relevant to the content of my article.
Moreover, the brief states that a minimum of three images must be used, so I also collected a range of smaller images to be used within the article. I will find pictures that showed the majestic animal at its prime, showing the audience its beauty. This will cause people to feel empathetic when reading the shocking content of the article.
Additionally, it is important to have a wide range of quality images. As a designer I will be focusing on the layout, type and image. The images used will need to be relevant to the context of the article.
Moreover, after reviewing these images I realized most of them were useless due to their resolution. Therefore, I had to find three new images. Unfortunately, I couldn't find images that worked as a set, so instead I collected a set of images that showed
I used this image to represent what the Cheetahs would look like being trained.
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