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As the submission deadline is getting closer, and I’m in the final stages of finalizing my first MA project, I’d like to reflect on how this blog has been helpful. It should be said that I initially hoped that I would be more active with posting more project development centred posts. But as time went by and I found myself focusing purely on the project development only, the regular postings on this blog started lacking. I supposed this adherence to my own plan and consistency, is something that needs to be improved. With that being said, the idea of having a blog in which I could continue exploring certain topics or express my thought process without being limited by word count etc, was very enjoyable. I do however think that the most helpful factor of having this blog is to practice my analytical and writing skills. I still think that there are much room to improve on still (as mentioned in my first blog post), however the more I write, the better I become at expressing my work academically.

In the early stages of creating this blog, I expressed to my tutor my wish to continue this blog even after the semester is finished. I am still aiming on doing so, as my plan is to conduct some further research in relation to my second project. I noted several areas of which I explored in this blog, to be of interest and thus I’d like to continue investigating these, but in a different context. I wonder if I’ll end up becoming more active this time around compared to during the semester. There is a possibility that the blog (even though I wrote notes on what topics to discuss each week as my project progressed) could have felt almost like a chore, as I was struggling with time management and the overall priority being towards the completion of my project.

This weight of responsibility to post regularly may have resulted in me not fulfilling this expectation I had of myself. I found myself struggling to write any sort of informative posts at times, as well as making sure that I didn’t repeat myself across assignments of different modules.

As a conclusion, I had expectations of this blog that I felt I didn’t meet, however, there are aspects of this blog that I consider having been of help in order to further reflect its relevancy for my own project. This has been a place for me to write as much as I felt was necessary for me, about anything from a design solution of which I particularly liked, to small decisions such as whether to include borders in the packaging solution I was working on, in other words, topics of interests that were less important than others.

As it’s near the end of Project 1, I have naturally started to think about how this project has inspired me to explore other sectors and themes. Throughout the different module activities, I found myself leaning towards advertising and poster formats for the creative making of these briefs. I come from a background in fine art, hence why I’ve had to expand my understanding of the way in which type is used, and the power of typography. By working on my project, I have come to understand how certain typographic styles can draw in specific associations from the audience. The use of sans serif typefaces in order to convey a sense of contemporary awareness and more natural typefaces such as script and its associations with reassurance and aesthetically pleasing quality. (Henderson, Giese and Cote, 2004)

This made me realise how a deeper knowledge in the use of type and structure would be incredibly useful for my own practice. My current project proposal for project #2 is currently very slim, however, an area of which I plan to look further into is editorial design. We live in a digital world, and physical magazines have become more of an aesthetic addition to the living room rather than a world of which one can escape to and collect information. Instead, magazines and newspapers are migrating to the world wide web, where the added element of touch and interactivity is minimal. An exploration into experimental ways one can engage the audience with creative and effective editorial designs could be of consideration. How about the inclusion of interactive elements in physical magazines? What type of editorial content could be appropriate for this type of design? Will this take in form of a possible rebranding of an existing magazine or newspaper? Local, national, or global?

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

This post is a conclusion of the previous post where one of the module activities was to create a project proposal to a brief in which the themes is ‘movement’. As mentioned in the previous post, the use of methodologies when solving a design solution is dependent on the factors of which needs to be covered in other to create an effective solution. As a result, I have added a few digital sketches of examples of how I imagine the outcome would look like in terms of structure, colour and style, if I were to follow this through on a professional level.

The chosen theme is World Cleanup Day- A large civic movement uniting countries across the world for a cleaner planet by collecting waste for 1 day. (World Cleanup Day, 2020)

The aim of the proposal would be to raise awareness of this civic movement and to encourage as many people as possible to join for the upcoming cleanup day in September 2020. This will be carried through mostly via online promotional material, but also street posters.

The target audience are people of all ages. Previous years have shown elders, mothers carrying babies, schools and companies participating in the cleanup. The event emphasizes the diversity and collaborative nature of this movement.

In terms of methodology, Case studies on previous marketing techniques and campaigns (such as campaign materials for Earth Day, Earth Hour) and examine how they communicate their message.

Qualitative research where previous/frequent participants are asked questions regarding their passion and their own experience would be appropriate as well. The information collected could be directly used as quotes for the promotional material to achieve a sense of community and evoke emotions of the audience.

I would begin by collecting the necessary information about the organisation (LDIW- Let’s Do It World) and their message. The next step would be to interview the ‘leaders’ i.e. the people responsible of organising the volunteers in their country, in order to obtain a deeper understanding of why they consider this to be of importance for them on a personal and collective level. I would then start piecing the materials together using editing software, making sure to keep a consistent theme so to increase the audience’s recognition of the campaign.

The final outcome would consist of street posters and web banners for social media. I suspect that because this topic is quite common, a short and concise statement would be needed in order to get the audience attention. This would also be the most effective solution in terms of online campaigns as ads that require sustained engagement are less likely to be effective.

The organisation has a visual branding that is heavily illustrative, colourful and playful in order to attract as many people as possible.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

We all have different ways to approach a brief. Mostly it is dependent on the nature of the design problem. The type of methodology applied to the research process can differ as well. In this post I’d like to present my methodology in relation to my project.

The majority of my projects and works created to date have been in the form of practice-led and research-led outputs. The way in which I initiate projects is normally through theoretical research and questions that arise through such investigations. I believe this approach is especially appropriate for what I am involved in now, and in relation to exploring different design problems. However, from previous experience in Fine Art where painting was my primary medium, my practice would more often than not become the main focus of my research whereby I would question the creative choices made. This was significantly more demanding, and I frequently found my research process to be very iterative.

My understanding of the ‘iterative cyclic web’ as presented by Smith and Dean (2009: 19-15) is that all research methods are connected and depending on which direction the project is brought through; the form of outcome can differ. The model also tells me that one might go through a repetitive process, i.e. touch upon several of the different stages (the smaller circles within the web) as a project develops. A research project in which a large scope of ideas and theories are to be explored, might end up visiting all of the different stages as seen in the model.

Through investigating the themes of natural/organic visual representations, effective package designs, and representation of national identity, the methodologies I found most relevant is those of a qualitative nature. My project requires me to investigate current themes and trends as the primary objective is to improve a brands recognition and visual characteristics.

In my opinion, including several methodologies rather than just focusing on one is dependent on the scope of research on is conducting. I believe that the amount of methodologies in a research project is inconsequential if used without considering the relevance and effect it has on the research. In general, I’d imagine applying a variety of different methodologies can affect the outcome positively, but one should consider how each can improve and inform the research.

In relation to my own project, there are quite a lot of research papers that deals with quantitative research (not entirely surprising considering the sector in which my project is based in), but I found that despite the overall relevance of the results, I still had to evaluate the findings with a critical mind. The nature of these types of research methods result in large amounts of data, hence why many factors (that could possibly influence the outcome) tends to be left out for practical reasons. This is understandable, and it leaves room for further investigation to be made. But because of this; although the results might correlate with the hypothesis created from strong theoretical frameworks, the results will evidently miss some level of accuracy.

Besides sources of quantitative methods, I have found that case studies on subjects functions as a way of examining the theoretical framework already discussed in the quantitative research while taking into account historical and contemporary factors.

Bibliography:

When I began creating the new logo for the organic skincare brand in which my project revolves around, I instinctively started looking around for different typefaces and fonts to see which one would convey the essence of the brand most effectively and accurately. The brand currently has its name written in a Sans Serif typeface. Quite straight forward to say the least, much like the rest of their visual branding. However, I found the brand’s philosophy to be quite fascinating, and I saw potential in how they could more effectively present themselves in the international market. Being a Scandinavian brand does justify their minimal approach to their visual branding to a certain extent, but I was certain that there were other, more inventive ways to convey their Scandinavian roots.

(The current brand logo. Image source)

With Scandinavian design and Swiss design in mind, I began searching for different fonts within the same typeface, in hope that a few of them would spark some inspiration for a specific alteration or type structure. I never wanted to just choose 1 font and stick with that, hence why I simultaneously worked on some form of symbol that had natural/organic connotations to it.

While conducting research into typefaces, logos, and brand perception, I discovered some interesting points regarding the natural associations of certain typefaces and what constituted to be a natural logo. I terms of logos; According to Henderson and Cote (1998) ‘Organic designs are those that are made up of natural shapes such as irregular curves,’ and that natural logos of both representative and organic means improves affect and tends to be more meaningful to the consumer. Geometric shapes however, were more associated with synthetic-looking objects. Although this research paper was pointing towards logos specifically, I could not help but to reconsider the use of Sans Serif, as typefaces are technically based of off shapes as well.

Adding onto this, Henderson, Giese and Cote (2004) presented logos in script typefaces as eliciting a pleasing, reassuring and prominent response from the audience. However, as I already was aware of, script typefaces can result in an ineffective response due to the level of elaborateness, hence my decision in not using script.

I then realised how while experimenting with different typefaces- I had also created quite a few lowercase examples of the brand name. It got to the point where I began to favour the lower-case ones over the original uppercase brand name. This naturally made me question what effect this change possibly would have to the brand perception, and whether it was a path worth considering.

Through research into brand perceptions on upper-case and lowercase brand names, I stumbled upon a research paper by Wen and Lurie (2018) whereby they study the product attitudes and purchase intentions for upper versus lowercase brand names. The study found that lowercase brand names had feminine attributes, whereas uppercase brand names had masculine attributes.

I came to the conclusion that natural logos alike, also contain a certain level of feminine quality. This was slightly concerning to me as my aim was to create an overall neutral design that would appeal to both genders. However, upon considering the uppercase brand name, I came to the conclusion that for a brand like ELDE, a more approachable and creative presence would suit the brand better, hence the choice of using lowercase letters. Lowercase brand names also resemble a modern and fresh outlook, hence why it might appeal to a broad range of client demographics. (Designbeep, 2020)

Bibliography:

HENDERSON, P. W. AND COTE, J. A. (1998), ‘Guidelines for Selecting or Modifying Logos.’  Journal of Marketing. [Online] Vol. 62 (April) pp.14-3. Available from- https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/stable/1252158 [Accessed: 24th July 2020]

HENDERSON, P. W. AND GIESE, L. AND COTE, J. A. (2004), ‘Impression Management Using Typeface Design.’ Journal of Marketing. [Online] Vol. 68 (October) pp. 60-72. Available from- https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/stable/30162016 [Accessed: 24th July]

WEN N. AND LURIE N. H. (2018), ‘The Case for Compatibility: Product Attitudes and Purchase Intentions for Upper versus Lowercase Brand Names.’ Journal of Retailing. [Online] Vol. 94 (December) pp. 393-407. Available from- https://doi-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1016/j.jretai.2018.10.002 [Accessed: 8th August]

Designbleep. (2020). Uppercase vs. Lowercase: How to Send the Right Message Across When Choosing a Logo Font. [Online] Available at: http://designbeep.com/2017/08/03/uppercase-vs-lowercase-how-to-send-the-right-message-across-when-choosing-a-logo-font/ [Accessed: 8th August]

The creative brief was not only a one-off activity related to my MA but also an opportunity to see how I would interpret a given theme creatively. Appropriate to my discipline, I decided to venture into a different sector- brand design within mobile applications. The given theme was “Bridging Distance”. We were free to interpret this however we wanted. This activity was quite exciting for me as I was in the need for a temporary shift in focus from my project (continuously staring at a brand name while working on a logo apparently results in the name losing all its meaning and sense…)

“Bridging Distance” can be interpreted in many different ways, and unsurprisingly I immediately thought of a physical bridge connecting cities. This however did not make any sense for a creative brief, so I had to interpret it in the mind of a prospective project. With the current state of social distancing and being unable to connect with people the same way as half a year ago, prompted me to create an app where the premise would be to connect with friends and family through music and video streaming as well as chat and video calls.

An app store advertisement would be the most efficient way of presenting a solution to this activity, however a logo/app icon would also be necessary. And so, I began to list the what would theoretically be the essence and message of this imaginary brand. Name, function, target audience were all obvious aspects I had to prepare before starting the design process, as these would create the design problem in which I had to solve.

I went through many logos, feeling a strong necessity to somehow visualise an actual bridge in some way or form. The primary shapes were symbols of the 4 functions of the app, with each of them given a specific colour (similar to what we would normally associate these types of app functions with; YouTube, Netflix = Red, Text apps = Green etc) in order to differentiate them.

Even before doing the initial research on the app market, I knew from my own previous observations that I wanted to steer away from using words or text in the logo. The more complex, the less impact and recognition it would have. For this reason, I chose to focus on neon colour of each symbol. I played with transparency and solid colours as it expressed a very contemporary and forward-thinking quality.

The globe in the centre represent the world and the gradients of the same colours as each individual symbol would function as a representation of said functions, but also the diversity of the app and the world. As a result of using neon colours, the symbols appeared too thin and slightly too disoriented to be used by itself, hence why I put a bold ‘B’ in a sans-serif typeface in the centre of the icon to function as a unifying element.

The advertisement would have to be very simple and to the point, so I was almost dependent on just using imagery to visually express this ‘bridging in distance’ that one could achieve by using this app. The initial research that I did by scrolling through the app store gave me a thorough idea of the current trends, and use of illustration over photorealistic elements were favoured. From working on my primary branding project, I learned the value of keeping the visual aspects consistent in order to obtain the user recognition needed for a new product. For that reason, I decided to use the same colour scheme as in the app icon.

The global aspect and distance between the users were something I wanted to visualise; however, I was struggling to technically visualise these ideas properly. By a simple mistake connected to the scaling and form, I ended up with a very abstract shape that gave me the opportunity to toy with the text’s perspective. The ‘punchline’ ended up being the very theme itself, but I didn’t see any problem with the direct approach as it was suitable for the app and the subtle type effects along with the gradients of colours would be effective in attracting young audiences.

While writing case studies as part of my research on current cosmetics brands and analysing their brand guidelines, I came across a Korean organic brand called Innisfree. It was very invigorating to dig deeper into their brand message and how their visual presentation mirrors the essence of their products. While evaluating their success and their design related choices in correspondence with their rising popularity within the Asian cosmetics industry- I came to the conclusion that because of their strong and unified visual branding, they’ve managed to create a user-friendly experience for the customers. The brand has a vast collection of products, ranging from all kinds of makeup to skincare, directed towards specific skin care needs.

While having as many products as Innisfree can cause confusion and become overwhelming to customers, Innisfree has implemented a recognisable visual system that differentiates each product while keeping characteristics such as logo consistent, and rather using colour associations and illustrations (in which functions as icons that correlates with the main ingredient used within the product) and the differentiating element within the packaging.

(Image source)

This made me wonder as to how powerful a unified design concept can actually be. Indeed, Innisfree has incorporated nearly every element synonymous with a natural design; according to Orth & Malkewitz (2008) and Henderson & Cote (1998), natural colour scheme, organic typography, images of nature such as plants, can be seen as a representative for their products. These factors generate impressions of sophistication and competence, hence why it is considered ideal for logo recognition.

Their way of conveying the legitimacy and organic aspect of each product is comparable to the growing trend of raw ingredients in transparent bottles within skincare; while Innisfree may not show the formulation of their products (except for makeup products)- placing large images of the ingredients in its pure form through a transparent and minimalist presentation creates the same effect. Strong, positive connotations to the purity of the products are created, thus they are more likely to be deemed authentic.

(Image source)

The contrasting colours of the image itself and the correlating typeface colours below the image, create a strong aesthetic impression that the product is in its purest and most beneficial form.

Some other examples of their use of colour palettes- unifying a line of products and their stage-specific usage through different shades of the same colour:

(Image source)

The holistic and near clinical-looking aspects of their products creates associations of a brand who is trusted and sophisticated.

I believe there is a satisfaction involved with owning products in which contains a design whose elements carries similarities or a unified sense throughout. When placed on a shelf, it creates a sense of having purchased an exclusive set, which bring a luxurious element to the experience of using the products. There are many visual components of Innisfree’s package designs that I wish to incorporate in my own project, as I see this particular factor as being a crucial part in brand recognition- something ELDE is lacking at the moment.

Bibliography:

ORTH, U. R. & MALKEWITZ, K. (2008) ‘Holistic Package Design and Consumer Brand Impressions.’ [Online] Vol. 72 (Part. 3/May) pp. 64-81. Available from - https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/stable/30162212 [Accessed: 10th July]

As I’m in the process of creating the logo for my project, I’ve had to make several important choices in regards to the visual elements surrounding the presentation of my chosen brand. One of which revolves around the usage of borders within the logo (and overall package design). It’s an element often seen within logos and packaging, hence why I’m questioning it within my own project.

During the research process, I looked up a few luxury brands and their products in search for inspiration and to get a grasp of what the current ’trend’ was in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the numerous different aesthetical choices, and how they would work in relation to the brand I’m working on.

(The brand Rose Mira has a fairly subtle appearance yet contrasting with the black bottle and the black square in which the logo is placed inside. Source)

(This sleek and simple design for the brand Alitura, exudes a clean and luxurious feel. The gold text corresponds with the name of the serum, and the gold borders add a sense of exclusivity. Source)

This made me question the relevance of having borders within design, and the associations it has. Why do so many luxury brands include this element in their packaging? Are the borders contributing to the overall luxurious appearance of the products?

First of all, my final conclusion was to not implement the borders when creating mock-ups of the logo. The reason being that my chosen brand aims at appealing to as much of the audience as possible i.e. luxury that’s accessible to everyone. The founder of the brand expressed how frustrated he was with intimidating luxury products that were hiding behind excessive amount of words and ingredients- in which half of them were harmful for the body (ELDE, 2020)

The brand currently lacks personality in its visual presentation, but there’s obviously a sense of simplicity that needs to be upheld in order to comply with the brand’s message, and its Scandinavian heritage. Factors like ‘borders’ play a role in the interpretation of the brand’s aim of inclusivity.

I believe the luxury-aimed connotation we have of borders stem from Art Nouveau. This style concerned with ornamental elements were heavily associated with luxury, such as the long, organic lines often found in architecture, interior design, posters and illustrations.

The borders function as a way to unify the elements within; resulting in the design appearing more ‘put together’. However, there are connotations of exclusivity behind it where the borders act as a barrier where “only a limited amount of people can enter”. I deemed this particular association to be the reason for why it might not suit the brand I’m currently working on.

Bibliography

As my first post concerning my own project, I'd like to share my progress so far along with any thoughts regarding a few of the journal articles I've read recently. As a practicing graphic designer, the topics in which I felt obligated to discuss in my own research- was minimalism. It has in fact been a running theme in my previous blog posts, and the reason for that being to form my own understanding of the style and its effectiveness, as well as any concerns surrounding its usage. Through my own research, I have come in terms with the fact that this is an approach in which I have to explore and later on implement into my own project, seeing as it's an obvious fit to the brand in which I'm creating a new visual identity for. The brand is of Scandinavian origin, specialising in skincare- inspired by the Norwegian nature and lifestyle. Scandinavian design has its roots in minimalism and Swiss style, hence why my choice of stylistic direction is the only appropriate direction. However effective minimalism might be- my main point of interest is to implement a creative solution to the logo that helps identify the brand. Seeing as it's a natural skincare brand, a leaf was the first thing that came to mind. Although I intend on testing these out digitally, I'm not entirely set on using a leaf as a symbol of organic ingredients as I feel its too general and not to mention overused.

I recently wrote a case study on the rebranding of the Munch museum here in Oslo. In the past 10 years or so, the discussion about the relocation of the museum has been quite intense, seeing as it is one of the most important attractions that we have in our capital.

I, myself have been eager as to how the new museum would look, and how it would present itself to the public.

I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon an article on Creative Review- reviewing the new visual identity for the new museum, and thus I decided to conduct a case study on it.

(Brand logo - source)

The field in which the brand is in, is quite far from the field of which I’m currently exploring for my research project. However, I was intruigued by how the design agency (UK’s London-based agency ‘North’) approached this project- seeing as I initially found the design solution to be slightly dissociated from the artist himself and what he was known for. The only element of which i thought was relevant was the vibrant red background, as that colour was a prominent part of his colour palette.

The reverse- italic, bold sans serif typeface was inspired by the slant of the museum itself - the top part of the building structure leaning towards Oslo’s waterfront. I thought it was a very direct response to the brief. It was without a doubt striking, but with Edvard Munch in mind - I would’ve thought of a more wavy, dreamlike/nightmarish-abstract typeface, and judging by the comment section of the article, I was not alone.

But as I’ve read up on the museums future aims and what they strive for; becoming a space of which to not only honour the artist in question, but also host concerts, performances, artist talks- a place to bring people together through the means of art, and immersing them into this project.

This explained further to me, the reasons for the design choices that they’ve made. All of the elements of the logo (and the rest of the visual branding) are strongly rooted in contemporary design principles- bold and simple/minimalistic. Scandinavian design is also recognised to revolve around simple shapes in order to invite to further experiences of the product (SKOU & MUNCH, 2016), in which I believe the agency has managed to do. This design is so contemporary that it could easily be misunderstood as being a trendy sportswear brand of some sorts, i.e. chances are it would attract younger audiences.

As I’ve been researching the means of minimalism and maximalism in relation to my own project; and essentially tried to divert from the generic cosmetic designs (in which in general are all in the same typeface), It was inspiring to- in fact- see a more or less generic typeface, but subtly added with an element (the slant) in which becomes quite memorable against the jarring red background. It is definitely something I aspire to create with my own rebranding project.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

A few days ago, I came across this fun and elegant solution to a design brief surrounding the visual identity of a modern manicure studio in New York. I was specifically looking for any type of beauty related design solutions in order to: 1) find any source of inspiration as well as forming an understanding of possible trends within this specific sector, 2) discover other practitioners whose main practice revolved around visual identity design.

This sparked a debate within me that I’ve been trying to understand for the past couple of months.

(Image source)

(Image source)

As stated by the designer herself, Lotta Nieminen: “The visual identity was kept simple to let the nails shine. The logo was designed to work as a frame, hinting to the showcase aspect of nail art, but also doubling as a box, a nod to the name of the company.” (Lotta Nieminen, 2020)

I am for the most part, someone who naturally gravitates towards bold and somewhat unexpected and quirky designs, where experimental use of colours plays a big role. But as an avid consumer of beauty products myself, I’ve noticed an increase in brands who’s opted for a more ‘minimalist’ approach for the visual representation of their brand. Recently- during the last 4 months or so- I began to reflect on this ‘trend’ and how it might affect the consumer’s impression of these brands in the long term.

Personally- when I find the overall exterior design of a product and the presentation of the brand to be rather aesthetic or playful- this new level of enjoyment of using the product presents itself. I believe this is what brands should strive for. Whatever the product or brand stands for should reflect on the designs, whether it is packaging or brand identity.

However, with the majority of brands (especially within cosmetics) choosing- what I call- a clinical appearance: subdued colours, very neutral, sans serif fonts with maximum or minimal spacing between the letters. This minimalist approach expresses how the brand is “moving towards a more modern and confident brand image” with their products resembling pharmaceutical products in order to convey their legitimacy.

It’s very unoriginal. Nevertheless, it’s to the point. 

As I’m experimenting with different logo designs for my project, I’ve noticed the influence this trend has had on me. The brand in which I’m creating a new visual identity for, is a natural, luxury skincare brand originating from Norway. With my knowledge of Scandinavian design being rooted in minimalism, simplicity and functionality- this raised many questions as to how this design problem should be approached.

The designer for Paintbox, took this trend very trend and still managed to create something that is enticing, playful and expresses a sense of luxury. By playing with the placement of the brand logo on various products, they’ve given this impression of being at the forefront of nail design, which actually ties in with the brand’s aim: to offer “a curated selection of nail art that changes seasonally in response to runway and editorial trends...Paintbox transcends and transforms every aspect of the traditional manicure experience.“ (Painbox, LinkedIn, 2020)

(Image source)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

NIEMINEN, L. (2020). Paintbox. [Online] Available at -  https://www.lottanieminen.com/graphicdesign/paintbox [Accessed: 6 July 2020]

To give some context: The above image is my response to activity whereby I had to define what the word research meant and its relationship to me.

To be honest, my perception of research is both casual and intimidating, depending on the circumstances. Research is essentially what I do on a daily basis- whether it is getting more information about a certain public figure I came across while reading the news or gaining in-depth knowledge on a song that I like. The key here being “extracting information” and “gaining knowledge”.

However, when executing this particular type of research, I don’t necessarily take into account how reliable the source is or undertake any form of deep reflection or evaluation of the information. It’s more or less ‘accept and move on’.

During the process of this activity, I got the sudden realization that I have a completely different connection to the more academically tied definition of research, whereby critically evaluating the information I receive is incredibly important. Nonetheless, I believe that this very blog can be of useful practice in terms of this.

I had a few ideas regarding how I wanted to respond to this activity visually. From a graphic designer point of view- a poster seemed to be the most obvious solution to me. It would give me the opportunity to explore communication through type as well as applying appropriate compositional principles.

After reading and compiling endless amounts of technical definitions of the word 'research', I came to the conclusion that it was simply 'an extraction' of past information in order to form a new undertanding/solution (the change of colours represent the process of generating a new understanding). I also wanted to toy with the idea of research being repetitive, in the sense that new solutions are formed and then utilized at a later period in order to again form a new solution.

(close ups of the text I wanted to incorporate)

But I found myself struggling with the overall layout. At this point, I realised that I was trying to implement two separate ideas into one, and it was not working out the way I envisioned. However, I preferred one over the other (the left part of the above image) so I decided to focus and further build on that.

I still felt that the overall poster was slightly unbalanced and lacking context. So, I decided to use a single definition- formed by a mix of several definitions, to ‘frame’ the poster. Choosing an academically standard font, like Times New Roman was the only suitable option, not only because it is the standard for academic papers, but also because I believe most people associate research with being an academic or science related process.

First of all, hello and welcome to my first blog post.

As it will be a blog dedicated to showing you the progress of my first MA project, it will also be dedicated to showing you my thought process regarding the research that I undertake simultanieously. The latter being the main focus of this blog post.

As a postgraduate student, I am expected to practice critical thinking. From my understanding this is a particularly crucial part of the research process and it affects the overall outcome. From my perspective, critical thinking can be as simple as a process I go through in order to organise the information I collect. And by that, I mean thinking clearly and rationally about the credibility of the sources and developing a logical understanding between different ideas and concepts.

This is nothing new to me, but certainly something I’ve had to practice throughout the years and are still improving.

To be sceptical to one’s beliefs, statements, theories etc, and rather objectively analyse, reflect and evaluate, than to simply accept. Critical thinking varies depending on the purpose and motivation behind it.