29.3.12
Misplaced
Misplaced manhole covers, a lovely project with examples from a range of different cities. I will continue taking photos of other industrial forms, and playing around with recreating them. I will make a selection of issue documents showing my computer based work and sketchbook to keep both on track. See more photos here
28.3.12
Industrial Stains
The focus of my project is now going to be the functional form of industrial patterns. This is the first related piece of context I have come across, they are recordings of stains on architectural materials. Unfortunately I couldn't read the whole article but taking a visual approach like this could result in some interesting images.
26.3.12
Articles
These are a few samples of what I have been reading up about the i paper giving me a better idea of what its all about and who it is aimed towards. All of the articles cover similar content but all have a positive tone about the paper describing it as a redelivery of quality journalism. Although initial thoughts that the cover price would be scrapped its had an extremely successful first year and has been extended to a Saturday edition.
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Article 4
Article 5
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Article 4
Article 5
More Adverts
Came across these adverts really emphasising the point that i has deliberately left content out which is what makes it clever. It is this point that I feel we really need to utilise in the campaign as I feel it will fit directly with a student audience. Essentially its about raising awareness about the newspaper, introducing a more visual campaign that draws students in to make them try it for the first time.
Damian Ortega
This project was a designers reactions to different articles in the Indepedent, using different approaches he has recreated and designed visuals for the story. Sticking with the approach of making the magazine more visual I feel this is a lovely set of imagery as inspiration. The brief was also about challenging the idea of a newspaper and simply taking everything the media deliver to us.
24.3.12
Anymade Studio
Defiantly the popular style at the moment but I think this result has some beautiful elements. Not particularly relevant to the brief but a nice piece of visual inspiration to keep the creative juices flowing. The design was by Anymade studio located in the Czech Republic.
23.3.12
Newspaper Advertisements
Need to think how we could utilise the Independent paper to broaden the student readership of the i paper. These are some particularly creative examples that I have come across during my exploration of advertising.
Ikea
I like the interaction between the different pages, another aspect to think about when applying our own campaign.
WWF
Click to enlarge the image, at the bottom of the page using the standard newspaper edge to represent a saw.
Flood Ruins everything
According to the case study, the newspaper agreed to have its morning edition ruined for subscribers in rich neighbourhoods.
I like the interaction between the different pages, another aspect to think about when applying our own campaign.
Click to enlarge the image, at the bottom of the page using the standard newspaper edge to represent a saw.
According to the case study, the newspaper agreed to have its morning edition ruined for subscribers in rich neighbourhoods.
Advertising Campaigns
Seeing as I know very little about advertising other than a few lectures / seminars last year I wanted to do a bit of personal research as the brief is advertising orientated. These are some of the projects that particularly grabbed my attention, because of the concept as well as inventive outcomes.
Kit Kat - Instant chair posters
Love this Kit Kat project with the obvious relation to their slogan 'have a break' fits perfectly with the brands playful campaigns. How could a more interactive approach to the campaign work, other than the 3D i's how can they be utilised in this sense.
Weight Watchers - Bus
Not quite as impressive or innovative as some of the others but a nice humorous approach. I don't think the content of the paper would constitute using such a humorous approach but again the interaction with the medium it is produced on works. We need to think about alternative deliverables - still thinking reasonably small.
Nike - Run
Don't know how much it would actually inspire people to run but its a nice concept, again utilising the surroundings to grab peoples attention.
Heinz - Tomato
Another campaign that really utilises the brand message, promoting the natural sources of their ingredients. Need to think about the brand ideas behind the paper - maybe something to do with media? How newspapers and the media spin stories - i paper gives it to the readers straight?? - Will brainstorm some more ideas
Love this Kit Kat project with the obvious relation to their slogan 'have a break' fits perfectly with the brands playful campaigns. How could a more interactive approach to the campaign work, other than the 3D i's how can they be utilised in this sense.
Not quite as impressive or innovative as some of the others but a nice humorous approach. I don't think the content of the paper would constitute using such a humorous approach but again the interaction with the medium it is produced on works. We need to think about alternative deliverables - still thinking reasonably small.
Don't know how much it would actually inspire people to run but its a nice concept, again utilising the surroundings to grab peoples attention.
Another campaign that really utilises the brand message, promoting the natural sources of their ingredients. Need to think about the brand ideas behind the paper - maybe something to do with media? How newspapers and the media spin stories - i paper gives it to the readers straight?? - Will brainstorm some more ideas
Ergh McDonalds
As much as I hate to blog about Mc donalds or Nike after this years contextual studies, because of their budgets they really do produce some of the most interesting advertising campaigns. With a focus on their environment orientated campaigns these are a few of my favourites. We really need to think about how we can utilise the campus environment and how our ideas can work beyond this.
The way they have planned and utilised this environment defiantly takes this piece of advertising into another league. As evil as the brands are its these clever messages that get drilled into you from such a young age.
Nice reference when thinking about using the cover of the paper. I will think about how this can be developed to be more relevant to the i brief.
22.3.12
Vintage Design
Continuing my historical research into previous explorations of shape, starting to see an emerging pattern of evaluating communication. Thinking about how we use shape and its relation to visual communicating is a possible route to explore, I will start rounding up my ideas and making notes so I can clearly define each concept and decide on an appropriate path.
The Discovery of a Square
I have been looking into projects based around the exploration of shape and came across this 1960's publication by Bruno Muntari. I love the look of these old publications, particularly with the rules that existed within design at the time its amazing to see how it has progressed through forms of deconstruction. One idea for the brief could be to de-construct my own idea of a specific shape and produce some sort of publication but I need to continue my own visual experiments to make the necessary progressions.
Geometric Porn
"Something abstract existing in thought or as an idea but
not having a physical or concrete existence. Visual geometry containing
the non-explicit description of sexual organs or activity. Arising in
the mind it intends to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or
emotional feelings."
This is hilarious, strange to see how such simple connotations can be expressed through simple shapes and colour schemes. I have been thinking about using geometric shapes out of context was my initial though process, also keen on the interactive element. I will continue my research to find the most appropriate way of inappropriately using geometric shapes. Another note to take from this is the use of colour and build up of layers, this was an issue bought up in my own work during the tutorial (the use of bold black lines) I will bear this in mind during the rest of the design process.
This is hilarious, strange to see how such simple connotations can be expressed through simple shapes and colour schemes. I have been thinking about using geometric shapes out of context was my initial though process, also keen on the interactive element. I will continue my research to find the most appropriate way of inappropriately using geometric shapes. Another note to take from this is the use of colour and build up of layers, this was an issue bought up in my own work during the tutorial (the use of bold black lines) I will bear this in mind during the rest of the design process.
Surface Modulation
Similarly with the cymatics brief I want to take a reasonably scientific / mathamatical approach as I feel this will take me outside of my comfort zones and provide me with some interesting visuals to work with.
This work by Richard Sweeney entitled surface modulation was created by stretching canvas over wooden formers. The canvas was then painted with epoxy resin, thus solidifying the canvas into a three-dimensional form.Although this is a slightly more artistic approach than I was hoping to take undergoing my own experiments I could develop this into something more design orientated.
This work by Richard Sweeney entitled surface modulation was created by stretching canvas over wooden formers. The canvas was then painted with epoxy resin, thus solidifying the canvas into a three-dimensional form.Although this is a slightly more artistic approach than I was hoping to take undergoing my own experiments I could develop this into something more design orientated.
Geometric Shape
Been thinking about what direction to take my research and have decided to focus on geometric shapes, a concept should emerge from on going research. These are some of the initial visuals I have been looking at, I will need to get hold of some grid based paper so I can start my own studies.
some examples of 3D geometric shapes
some examples of 3D geometric shapes
20.3.12
In Context 2
After looking into the main distribution areas for newspapers we decided to take a trip into town and get photos of the i paper in some supermarkets - one of the main distributors.
Another aspect to think about is the sun promotion by the side of the papers, while thinking of deliverables this is defiantly something to take into account. Also while we were in the store 3/4 people walked straight over the paper showing it does already have an audience so we need to think about how this can be extended without jeopardising current readers.
This image shows the impact that a more visual cover can have, immediately drawing us towards the paper. This relates well to my previous research into magazine distribution, and whether people choose the paper while they are at the store or if it was predetermined.
Another aspect to think about is the sun promotion by the side of the papers, while thinking of deliverables this is defiantly something to take into account. Also while we were in the store 3/4 people walked straight over the paper showing it does already have an audience so we need to think about how this can be extended without jeopardising current readers.
19.3.12
Jordan Clarke
Thinking about what different approaches we could take to the alternative cover designs, I started looking into photomontage and came across this work by Jordan Clarke. The photos simply consist of mashed up elements of the existing photo reproduced into distorted, geometric shapes and patterns. I feel this may more a more appropriate approach than illustration given the subject areas we have broken the paper down to - most suitable to film / arts sector of the paper.
17.3.12
A Creative Review
Came across this review of the i magazine while browsing through the CR website, it is another summary of what the magazine has to offer that the likes of metro etc don't. I have included a few quotes of which I think are the most important in our progression towards the promotional campaign / problems that need solving
- "But does i really offer a quick-fix version of The Independent? There are opinion pieces for sure, but with news pages that segue a story on whether Bert from Sesame Street is actually gay with a smaller piece on the re-examination of the Nazi foreign ministry, it's much nearer Metro territory than it thinks."
- "The most successful sections are, unsurprisingly, the ones that devoid boisterous advertising"
- "A Health spread, despite some ugly pull quotes, at least gives the impression that there's a more in-depth feature to be read, whereas the tiny reviews in the "i arts" section offer little of substance, no matter how rushed your commute might be."
- "The Business section seems to offer the most coherence design-wise, however, perhaps because it only features two ads over its five pages."
"But in trying to create a reading experience that fits in with the pace of contemporary life, it seems that i, for now, merely adds more confusion to it."
This last quote is the one that I think sums up the problem perfectly, although they want to market the newspaper towards students it already has an unclear audience and trying to expand it would only compromise this more. Another element to them problem that needs an appropriate solution.
Read the full review here
- "But does i really offer a quick-fix version of The Independent? There are opinion pieces for sure, but with news pages that segue a story on whether Bert from Sesame Street is actually gay with a smaller piece on the re-examination of the Nazi foreign ministry, it's much nearer Metro territory than it thinks."
- "The most successful sections are, unsurprisingly, the ones that devoid boisterous advertising"
- "A Health spread, despite some ugly pull quotes, at least gives the impression that there's a more in-depth feature to be read, whereas the tiny reviews in the "i arts" section offer little of substance, no matter how rushed your commute might be."
- "The Business section seems to offer the most coherence design-wise, however, perhaps because it only features two ads over its five pages."
"But in trying to create a reading experience that fits in with the pace of contemporary life, it seems that i, for now, merely adds more confusion to it."
This last quote is the one that I think sums up the problem perfectly, although they want to market the newspaper towards students it already has an unclear audience and trying to expand it would only compromise this more. Another element to them problem that needs an appropriate solution.
Read the full review here
Newspaper Dispenser
Dom was also looking into the distribution of newspapers and started thinking of less commonly used methods in the UK. The dispenser is a wonderful way of circulating the newspaper as it doesn't affect the average commuters journey to work because there is no interaction time. We were thinking about using this in a more temporary form in student environments, it would be in the form of the i logo. Also posted this because I love the bold text on the side, a wonderful piece of sustainable graphic design with a retro feel.
See a full analysis of this form of distribution on Doms blog post here
See a full analysis of this form of distribution on Doms blog post here
Student Environment
Been thinking about how to directly target students and with recent progression into the idea of temporary newspaper stands on campus etc I thought it would make sense to analyse these environments.
With a focus on Leeds Student Union as I have been able to go down there and analyse the space, it is an overall evaluation of the student campus environment but focusing on what I have seen from Leeds Uni.
The main focus points that could be utilised for the campaign are
- Interactive environment - ongoing events / protests
- Vending Machines - how could a newspaper vending machine by utilised to affect the campaign?
Outdoor
- A busy / interactive environment
- Students from other Universities can visit - LCA / met etc
- Space to sit down / eat
- On going events
- Students from all subject areas
- Protests
Indoor
- Busy / interactive student environment
- Restaurants / cafe
- Social events
- Internet access
- Bar / club
- Vending machines
With a focus on Leeds Student Union as I have been able to go down there and analyse the space, it is an overall evaluation of the student campus environment but focusing on what I have seen from Leeds Uni.
The main focus points that could be utilised for the campaign are
- Interactive environment - ongoing events / protests
- Vending Machines - how could a newspaper vending machine by utilised to affect the campaign?
- A busy / interactive environment
- Students from other Universities can visit - LCA / met etc
- Space to sit down / eat
- On going events
- Students from all subject areas
- Protests
- Busy / interactive student environment
- Restaurants / cafe
- Social events
- Internet access
- Bar / club
- Vending machines
Newspaper / Magazine Distribution
This PDF is my summarised version of this Document by the Office of Fair Trading
The document covers magazine and newspaper distribution across the UK and covers areas such as whole sale etc. It was this bit of information below that I feel was the most significant piece of information that we could work towards -
- The key differences between newspapers and magazines in terms of the types of retail outlet where copies are sold are likely to be driven by the nature of the products. The timing of newspaper purchases (with 70 per cent occurring before 10:00,53 including the home delivery of approximately 25 per cent of copies)54 means that there is likely to be relatively limited flexibility regarding where consumers purchase their newspapers.
- In contrast, it is likely to be much easier for magazine customers to alter the timing of their purchases (for example, purchasing from a supermarket at the same time as a weekly shop), given the less perishable nature of the product. Research commissioned by the PPA indicates that consumers often purchase magazines on impulse. In addition, the PPA's research indicates that on average only 50 per cent of consumers knew which magazine they were going to purchase before entering a store, indicating that some consumers do not display brand or title-based loyalty
In summary the information tells us that newspapers are bought because of brand loyalty / content where as magazines are more of an impulse buy. I want to see how we could apply this impulse buy factor into the campaign somehow, again going back to the idea of magazine covers and what draws them away from the rest - how can this be applied to a newspaper??
Where and why the
newspapers are distributed and how this could affect the campaign?
- Which of these environments applies to students?
The other influential pieces of information are summarised in the PDF file.
The document covers magazine and newspaper distribution across the UK and covers areas such as whole sale etc. It was this bit of information below that I feel was the most significant piece of information that we could work towards -
- The key differences between newspapers and magazines in terms of the types of retail outlet where copies are sold are likely to be driven by the nature of the products. The timing of newspaper purchases (with 70 per cent occurring before 10:00,53 including the home delivery of approximately 25 per cent of copies)54 means that there is likely to be relatively limited flexibility regarding where consumers purchase their newspapers.
- In contrast, it is likely to be much easier for magazine customers to alter the timing of their purchases (for example, purchasing from a supermarket at the same time as a weekly shop), given the less perishable nature of the product. Research commissioned by the PPA indicates that consumers often purchase magazines on impulse. In addition, the PPA's research indicates that on average only 50 per cent of consumers knew which magazine they were going to purchase before entering a store, indicating that some consumers do not display brand or title-based loyalty
In summary the information tells us that newspapers are bought because of brand loyalty / content where as magazines are more of an impulse buy. I want to see how we could apply this impulse buy factor into the campaign somehow, again going back to the idea of magazine covers and what draws them away from the rest - how can this be applied to a newspaper??
- Which of these environments applies to students?
The other influential pieces of information are summarised in the PDF file.
Colour Book
Design by -
Lovely to see designers exploiting colour in print to the fullest, still trying to avoid blogging purely about pieces of design but this was an exception. Could also think about including some sort of concertina fold in the front cover to hold the disk.
Lovely to see designers exploiting colour in print to the fullest, still trying to avoid blogging purely about pieces of design but this was an exception. Could also think about including some sort of concertina fold in the front cover to hold the disk.
Andy Gilmore
Continuing my research into shape and came across the work of Andy Gilmore and wonderful shapes/ compositions. I think for the next few days I will avoid blogging and just continue my own visual experiments, as not to focus to much on one persons work. Also I feel having a break from blogging I will hopefully gain some more originality in my own work.
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