Visual/Graphic Design

The first 3/8 pages of Scratch Radio’s submission to the SRA Awards for Best Student Station. This document was made in InDesign with Photoshop being used to crop/edit some of the photos used. It was the first big task I had to complete after being made Head of Visual Branding for Scratch Radio in the April 2016 committee election. I had to make sure it was in a leaflet/brochure style but suitable for being viewed on a screen, and had to follow the branding guidelines I had created shortly beforehand (i.e. using the correct Scratch Radio colours and the fonts). Each of the pages (excluding page 1 as it was the title/front page) had a different heading that outlined briefly what the page would be talking about content-wise; for instance ‘more than just a studio’ sets out our aim to become a real part of life and the community at BCU.

I made this treasure map-inspired poster in Photoshop for a competition on Scratch Radio. The accompanying social media posts explained that to win the £75 vouchers, participants would need to go to the bull statue (pictured) outside the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham. I helped the Head of Marketing arrange the competition, and came up with the idea and question (“name 4 of the 8 things that Rick Astley will never do” - this coincidentally linked to a talking point in the show the competition was being broadcast during). This was a good exercise for me as I’m less confident in Photoshop than InDesign, so only using the former helped build my skills and made me feel able to use the software more competently.

This is a gig poster, Facebook cover photo banner, and profile picture I made in InDesign (with help from Photoshop) as part of my work placement with a freelance events and PR specialist. I took inspiration from a poster for Kasabian (see inspiration here). The Facebook banner has some empty spaces on it that make it look strange by itself, but these are filled by text or the profile picture due to Facebook’s layout. See the organisation (Come Together) page here and the event page here.

This is a listings poster I made as part of my work experience with a freelance events and PR specialist who works with The Night Owl club. I used the skills I had learnt in Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator from the Visual Design module.

For the final pert of the Trashion! project, we had to create marketing materials for the promotion of the magazine. I imagined that there would be people wearing the t-shirts on the streets of a city or in/near a university, handing out goodie bags with pen, notebook and a business card in it letting people know about the brand. Posters, as seen on the bus shelter mock-up, would also be put up around the city.

Following from last week, we had to design a website and app for the magazine. I made a website homepage, 2 article pages, an iPhone and an iPad app. One thing I would change is putting a comments section on the article pages.

We were given the brief to make a vintage fashion magazine using articles and pictures from an ex-student’s 3rd year project. We had to create a front cover and 4 articles; I also designed a contents page, and used a PSD mock-up template to see what the magazine would look like if it was printed. I looked at magazines with similar topics and target audiences (such as Allure, Elle, and Marie Clarie) for inspiration to make my magazine as authentic as possible.

This week, were were introduced to the ‘grid,’ which helps magazine editors put together articles and pages. We produced a sample magazine, experimenting with sticking to the grid and breaking it. This magazine spread has parts that stick to the grid (the body text), and parts that break it (the photos and header).

Presentation on colours and images (specifically photographs) and how they can be used to create meaning.

Overall I am very happy with my design. If I were to change one thing, it would be to spend more time to perfect the dunce cap image on the front cover, as I am still not 100% happy with it. I also had the idea to put ‘grades’ in the column next to the track lengths to make it look more like a report card. I would have used a handwritten font in a red colour to look like a teacher had written it (red pens are often used for marking work).

A brief look at the use of colour, shapes, and fonts in logos, focussing on the logos of Rooster Teeth, Achievement Hunter, and Red vs Blue.

The brief asked us to create a logo for a ‘modern design company’ called Bright Ideas without using a lightbulb image. I chose to create a thought bubble with the word ‘bright’ in a bright yellow-orange colour, and the word ‘ideas’ forms the stem of the thought bubble. I included the green flower/leaf-looking shapes to add another bright, fresh colour to the card and make it ‘friendlier’.

A (very) brief presentation on the decorative font Arnold Böcklin.

Business card made in InDesign using only fonts/text to make patterns.

The last 3 photos are an example of expletives used, again as a way for people to go against social norms/that which is socially acceptable. The last two were on a wall side-by-side, divided by a drainpipe. It could be argued that the phrases are showing the opposing sides that a person has: one side that is ‘socially accepted’ and how one would normally behave in front of figures of authority (such as one’s parents); and one side that is a far more vicious and aggressive, which would  not be shown in polite social situations - this particular expletive is especially frowned upon, emphasising the gravitas. The colours used (white for ‘hi mom’ and black for ‘cunt’) also link to this, as the connotations of the colour white include purity and innocence, whereas black connotes negative ideas such as evil, misery, and death.

The second and third photos are of the outside of a building which is home to a fine arts printing company. They are likely to have commissioned the decorating (by a Brazilian artist they may have brought over especially) to stand out and show they’re part of the creative arts industry that is so abundant in Digbeth.

These are all examples of official signs found in the Birmingham city centre and Digbeth areas. They are used to communicate a variety of messages to audiences, often using symbols to do this in a more concise, easy-to-understand-quickly manner, for instance the road signs as divers may only have a few moments to take in the message. Some signs also have instructions on them, such as the top one, found on the side of a bin. Images are used in conjunction with text to convey the instructions more clearly.