Dissertation Statement of Intent - Outline the subject area of my dissertation and what research I will carry out.
Dissertation Practical Element - Proposal
Friday, 17 January 2014
OUGD601 // Dissertation // Practical // Evaluation
This module has been really interesting for me, from the start I was nervous about writing the dissertation as this isn't my strongest point. In knowing this I started researching very earlier and started to write my dissertation early from the start. By doing this I felt that I could take my time in writing it and make sure that it was as good as it could be. It also helped that the subject area that I choose, I was really interesting in and by doing the research and looking into the subject further it made me more interested in it. This definitely surged me on to write the dissertation more and the further I got into writing it, the better it became.
I feel that the dissertation was managed well and by doing this it left me a lot of time in order to create the practical side of the module. Along with the dissertation I conducted many interviews, these were a mixture of emails and face to face. This was great for me to do and get professional designers thoughts on the subject which I could use within my dissertation as primary research and to make it a stronger argument.
By writing the dissertation on the subject that I choose, it was directly linked to my own practice and this has influenced my own practice from researching and developing techniques I have discussed throughout it. I feel that in doing this, it will improve the practical side of the module, but also improve my whole practice in future.
The practical side of the module was harder for me to start off with, getting an idea that opened the same inquiry that my dissertation did was key to creating a synthesised project. After finally coming up with the idea, I could get on with it and start to create the brief. I was pretty excited to get involved in this project as again it was focussed on the area of design that I most interested in - print and editorial design. Along with this, I also included web design, which is something that I enjoy doing, but felt that I needed to improve on it. By designing the website first and quite early on, again I could take more time over it and produce a website that I am happy with. Throughout designing this I focussed on creating the website in a manor so it could transferred to a publication and print design. This needed to happen as it was the main concept and communication of the whole project.
Once the website had been created, I was back into my comfort zone and creating the publication. To push this further I focussed on the design layout and how I could make it more interactive for the user, these were all topic that were covered within my dissertation and needed to be put into practice for this project. The final aesthetic of the publication is how I imagined it and what I wanted to achieve with it, by using high quality stock in different weights and colour the publication is much more engaging. The use of the trace throughout makes it more interesting when reading through, but also improves the communication of the product as this shows the design of the website, which overlays the coding on the page below. This shows the direct correlation of the website design and the print design showing how digital can be turned into a piece of print. This was the essence of the project and the publication delivers on this aspect well.
The publication was the main communication of the project and put everything discussed within my dissertation into practice. The only thing I could do, was print it in the way I wanted to. Originally I wanted to screen print the whole publication, as this would physically show the website as true print. As I choose to use a large format for the publication, this would of incurred a high cost to print the publication. As this was only a one off publication, it wasn't worth the amount of money and time it would of taken me to print it, in this way. As this was the way in which the project was being communicated as print and showing the idea of print vs digital, I still wanted to have some of printed product to show this. I needed to come up with another idea of what I could screen-print and still be of value to the project and work alongside the publication. Deciding on creating a book sleeve / poster was the best thing for this. The book sleeve slides over the front cover of publication and directly shows the difference between print and digital print of the publication. When this is removed from the publication and unfolded, it reveals a poster. The content of the poster is the same as the publication, so this is showing how the same content can be put into different contexts, but communicate the same idea. The poster works in way of advertising the publication and communicating the idea of what the publication is. The same colours and stock are used to create a consistent design throughout the two products and make them be seen as a set of products that work together.
Overall I am very happy with this module. By taking my time in both the written element and the practical I feel that I have produced high quality work that is presented well. I think the two elements to this project are directly synthesised and this was a result of researching early and being focussed on a subject matter that I was interested in. I think this module has shown me that I can write a piece of theorised work and also link it to a practical project, which is probably the strongest project I have designed so far this year. The concept, execution and communication of the practical element, I believe is the best I have achieved so far and this is because the idea was there from the beginning, it just took time to realise how to design it and communicate it in the right format.
I feel that the dissertation was managed well and by doing this it left me a lot of time in order to create the practical side of the module. Along with the dissertation I conducted many interviews, these were a mixture of emails and face to face. This was great for me to do and get professional designers thoughts on the subject which I could use within my dissertation as primary research and to make it a stronger argument.
By writing the dissertation on the subject that I choose, it was directly linked to my own practice and this has influenced my own practice from researching and developing techniques I have discussed throughout it. I feel that in doing this, it will improve the practical side of the module, but also improve my whole practice in future.
The practical side of the module was harder for me to start off with, getting an idea that opened the same inquiry that my dissertation did was key to creating a synthesised project. After finally coming up with the idea, I could get on with it and start to create the brief. I was pretty excited to get involved in this project as again it was focussed on the area of design that I most interested in - print and editorial design. Along with this, I also included web design, which is something that I enjoy doing, but felt that I needed to improve on it. By designing the website first and quite early on, again I could take more time over it and produce a website that I am happy with. Throughout designing this I focussed on creating the website in a manor so it could transferred to a publication and print design. This needed to happen as it was the main concept and communication of the whole project.
Once the website had been created, I was back into my comfort zone and creating the publication. To push this further I focussed on the design layout and how I could make it more interactive for the user, these were all topic that were covered within my dissertation and needed to be put into practice for this project. The final aesthetic of the publication is how I imagined it and what I wanted to achieve with it, by using high quality stock in different weights and colour the publication is much more engaging. The use of the trace throughout makes it more interesting when reading through, but also improves the communication of the product as this shows the design of the website, which overlays the coding on the page below. This shows the direct correlation of the website design and the print design showing how digital can be turned into a piece of print. This was the essence of the project and the publication delivers on this aspect well.
The publication was the main communication of the project and put everything discussed within my dissertation into practice. The only thing I could do, was print it in the way I wanted to. Originally I wanted to screen print the whole publication, as this would physically show the website as true print. As I choose to use a large format for the publication, this would of incurred a high cost to print the publication. As this was only a one off publication, it wasn't worth the amount of money and time it would of taken me to print it, in this way. As this was the way in which the project was being communicated as print and showing the idea of print vs digital, I still wanted to have some of printed product to show this. I needed to come up with another idea of what I could screen-print and still be of value to the project and work alongside the publication. Deciding on creating a book sleeve / poster was the best thing for this. The book sleeve slides over the front cover of publication and directly shows the difference between print and digital print of the publication. When this is removed from the publication and unfolded, it reveals a poster. The content of the poster is the same as the publication, so this is showing how the same content can be put into different contexts, but communicate the same idea. The poster works in way of advertising the publication and communicating the idea of what the publication is. The same colours and stock are used to create a consistent design throughout the two products and make them be seen as a set of products that work together.
Overall I am very happy with this module. By taking my time in both the written element and the practical I feel that I have produced high quality work that is presented well. I think the two elements to this project are directly synthesised and this was a result of researching early and being focussed on a subject matter that I was interested in. I think this module has shown me that I can write a piece of theorised work and also link it to a practical project, which is probably the strongest project I have designed so far this year. The concept, execution and communication of the practical element, I believe is the best I have achieved so far and this is because the idea was there from the beginning, it just took time to realise how to design it and communicate it in the right format.
Thursday, 16 January 2014
OUGD601 // Dissertation // Practical // Presentation Boards
To show how the practical element of my dissertation links to the written element, I have created some presentation that explain the brief, concept and rationale of this part of the dissertation module.
These presentation boards also include the designs of the website, which was the first designed component of the brief and the content of the publication. The website will be submitted on a CD alongside the publication.
These presentation boards also include the designs of the website, which was the first designed component of the brief and the content of the publication. The website will be submitted on a CD alongside the publication.
OUGD601 // Dissertation // Practical // Final Product Images
The final products for this project is the publication with the book sleeve. There is also the website, which I have burned onto a CD to submit.
I am really happy with the outcome of the publication and the screen printed book sleeve / poster. I think this does put into practice all the ideas and theory that was discussed throughout my dissertation. It has been a good opportunity to work on a project which is very self directed and working on a subject area that I am very interested in within the industry.
I think I achieved the bespoke / high quality publication that I set out to create, the final aesthetic and design of the publication is really good, the idea and concept of how the publication works by having the trace overlays within it make it a much stronger product and communicate the whole idea of it to the user. I am happy with the format and the stock used, which concludes with this very tactile, interactive publication that has a very intriguing aesthetic that makes you want to go and explore it.
Here are images of the publication:
I am really happy with the outcome of the publication and the screen printed book sleeve / poster. I think this does put into practice all the ideas and theory that was discussed throughout my dissertation. It has been a good opportunity to work on a project which is very self directed and working on a subject area that I am very interested in within the industry.
I think I achieved the bespoke / high quality publication that I set out to create, the final aesthetic and design of the publication is really good, the idea and concept of how the publication works by having the trace overlays within it make it a much stronger product and communicate the whole idea of it to the user. I am happy with the format and the stock used, which concludes with this very tactile, interactive publication that has a very intriguing aesthetic that makes you want to go and explore it.
Here are images of the publication:
Here are images of the book sleeve / poster:
These images show how the poster folds up to create the book sleeve for the front cover:
The following images are all the images taken of the final products:
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
OUGD601 // Dissertation // Practical // Rationale
My dissertation looks at the effect that digital design is having on print and discusses wether the medium of print is still relevant within our digital age. By researching throughout the time of doing my dissertation, I was able to create a balanced argument for both sides, I found that print is still relevant within the industry and that at the moment it is making a come back as printing techniques such as letterpress and screen printing have become a lot more popular and being used again. A second finding was that companies that focus on publishing are using both print and digital design together in order to create a strong business plan and in essence create a product that is much more effective and one that can reach more people within the world.
Taking this factor into account, I wanted my practical element to open the same enquiry as my dissertation has. In order to achieve this I have focussed on the idea of print and web working together.
One subject that I have discussed within my dissertation is that print has seen a decline in the large print runs and it is now much more focussed on the quality of the product. This has created a surge in high quality and bespoke designed publications, this has also lead to more independent publications being released.
Within the design industry technology has changed publishing and recently magazines and publication have turned digital. This has taken the original printed publication and replicated it to create a digital product. On the other hand, you don't often see a digital product being translated and created into a printed product. I found this idea really interesting and thinking how a website could basically be printed and still communicate the same idea really intrigued me. This was the direction and creation of my practical element.
The basis of the project will be a website - the digital product. I will design, create and code a website that is for myself, this will carry my own branding and showcase my work. The website will be a simple design so that the focus is on the imagery of my work. By doing this it will hopefully make it easier to translate the design of the website to the printed page.
The publication will be directly influenced by the website, the layout of each page within it will create the layout of the pages within the publication. In order to communicate the translation of the website to the publication, I will include the website pages on a translucent stock to over lay the pages that corresponds to it. This will show how the website design has influenced the layout of the printed publication.
Taking this factor into account, I wanted my practical element to open the same enquiry as my dissertation has. In order to achieve this I have focussed on the idea of print and web working together.
One subject that I have discussed within my dissertation is that print has seen a decline in the large print runs and it is now much more focussed on the quality of the product. This has created a surge in high quality and bespoke designed publications, this has also lead to more independent publications being released.
Within the design industry technology has changed publishing and recently magazines and publication have turned digital. This has taken the original printed publication and replicated it to create a digital product. On the other hand, you don't often see a digital product being translated and created into a printed product. I found this idea really interesting and thinking how a website could basically be printed and still communicate the same idea really intrigued me. This was the direction and creation of my practical element.
The basis of the project will be a website - the digital product. I will design, create and code a website that is for myself, this will carry my own branding and showcase my work. The website will be a simple design so that the focus is on the imagery of my work. By doing this it will hopefully make it easier to translate the design of the website to the printed page.
The publication will be directly influenced by the website, the layout of each page within it will create the layout of the pages within the publication. In order to communicate the translation of the website to the publication, I will include the website pages on a translucent stock to over lay the pages that corresponds to it. This will show how the website design has influenced the layout of the printed publication.
Elements within the publication such as the typeface will take representation of a digital nature and how the coding of a website aesthetically looks. This will carry through to the page formatting. The format of the publication is going to be A2. I have choose to use a large format as the tactility of a publication is the essence of it, making it large format, physically means the user is interacting with it. The stock of the publication will be GFSmith stock, the stock colours are that of my branding, orange, grey and off white, these will be used in various weights to represent the importance of pages of the websites.
The whole idea and communication of the practical element is to show that digital design can take on the characteristics of a printed publication. We see digital design as a external product, because it lives on a screen, you never to get physically hold the product or own it. The use of printing techniques, page formats and stock will show the user how texture, ink and stock can influence how you interact and understand a product. This is making a digital product be as tactile as print and essentially hold the same aura that print does.
OUGD601 // Dissertation // Practical // Final Publication
This is the final publication, which includes all the pages. This doesn't represent the what the finished publication will look like because pages within it are printed onto different stocks. Also the book doesn't run as a double sided publication. But here you can see the full design of it and see how it is consistent throughout and displays the aesthetic of digital web coding.
Below are some closer views of the different sections within the publication.
Front cover. Displaying the title and showing the first incline of the web coding throughout the publication.
Introduction. This uses part of the introduction form my dissertation to explain the idea behind the concept of the publication. It explains what the publication is there to achieve.
Stylesheet. Displaying the stylesheet at the beginning of the publication because this is applicable to all pages within the publication. It is the style for them all.
The header is also something that is present on all pages of the website, so having this at the beginning of the publication displays it for every page.
Navigation page, this is taken from the website, the aesthetic is that of a link on a webpage. By highlighting one of the 'buttons' in black this shows which pages/chapter is next in the publication.
Main pages of the website, these will be printed on trace, so it shows through the coding that is printed beneath. The idea is that this design will line up with the coding of each section below, to show how the printed version relates to the digital version.
Coding from the website. This relates directly to the layout of the website.
Project pages. These are slightly different to the main pages as there is more information on the page, which means the layout of the code is different. Again printing on trace will allow the design to be seen through and display the code printed below.
Coding for the page above.
The about page, shows how the four column layout is put to use.
This is evident in the coding of the page also. Which by having the page above printed on trace, this will be seen by the user that they both relate to each other.
Again the contact page uses the same four column layout which is clearly seen within the design.
Transferring this to a printed page, shows that digital can be turned into print and be laid out in a legible fashion.
The final section is the website archive. As a website is all collected into one folder, which holds all the files, I thought it would be necessary to show this within the publication. This links to all the pages within the publication as they all use the files within this archive.
OUGD601 // Dissertation // Practical // Paper stock
Within my dissertation I have spoke how the use of stock within a publication can create a better product and create a better experience for the user of the product. In order to do this, I have used GFSmith stock in various weights and colours.
As the website is for myself, I have used my own branding throughout it. To show the translation of digital to print, I have therefore used stock colours that are of my own branding. These include Mandarin, Pale Grey and Mist ( off white ).
Along with using stock colours I have also decided on uses different weights of stock. This is to replicate the idea of how the pages of the website are within a hierarchy. With the website the main pages are the home page and project pages, these are the ones which I believe will be viewed the most, because of the content of these. But along with these the about and contact page are pretty important too, so I have decided that these pages should be a stock a heavier stock weight and have chosen 175gsm. The pale grey will be used within the publication for the pages that include content, but the content that isnt as important e.g. contents, introduction etc. These will again be in 175gsm. The final stock Mist will be used for the navigation pages. These pages replicate the idea of the navigation within a website, by using the aesthetics of 'buttons' this communicates the idea of a website throughout the printed publication.
Mandarin Stock
Pale Grey Stock
Mist Stock
As the website is for myself, I have used my own branding throughout it. To show the translation of digital to print, I have therefore used stock colours that are of my own branding. These include Mandarin, Pale Grey and Mist ( off white ).
Along with using stock colours I have also decided on uses different weights of stock. This is to replicate the idea of how the pages of the website are within a hierarchy. With the website the main pages are the home page and project pages, these are the ones which I believe will be viewed the most, because of the content of these. But along with these the about and contact page are pretty important too, so I have decided that these pages should be a stock a heavier stock weight and have chosen 175gsm. The pale grey will be used within the publication for the pages that include content, but the content that isnt as important e.g. contents, introduction etc. These will again be in 175gsm. The final stock Mist will be used for the navigation pages. These pages replicate the idea of the navigation within a website, by using the aesthetics of 'buttons' this communicates the idea of a website throughout the printed publication.
Mandarin Stock
Pale Grey Stock
Mist Stock
All Stock
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