Bound to be Binding

Finally my little game book is printed and bound. I used a Japanese stab stitch binding technique which worked rather well. I chose a thick string to compliment the cover design. This is the 1st time I have ever used japanese binding and I was rather worried about the binding of the final piece despite successful prototype attempts, however I ended up rather enjoying the process as it was a welcome break from my macbook (who I'm pretty certain is on its last legs, or at least is putting up a noisy protest.)

Illustrating-Illustrating-Illustrating

This week I have been busy creating illustrations, compositions and layouts for the book aspect of my learning aid game. I wished to make the book (and game) as tactile and visually interesting as possible and so inspired by the work of Sara Fenelli and Oliver Jeffers, I have decided to incorporate scanned textures alongside my digital illustrations, to further create depth and tactile qualities. I feel this technique has been working successfully so far. Bellow are some of illustration spreads I have been working on.

Character development

Following up from my previous post I have now got some images of my final character design outcomes. These were created through a combination of adobe illustrator and adobe photoshop. 

Character development sketches

This week I have been concentrating on character development as I wish to create characters that young children could identify with. The characters names are going to be Ben and Dotti spelt in lowercase and emblazoned with a lower case b & d on the characters respective t-shirts. I have decided upon this as the most frequently confused letters associated with dyslexia are the lower case 'b' and 'd'. By giving these letterforms identities I hope to aid letterform recognition.

Conceptualising

I have been working on finalising my concept, I have identified a problem with existing educational toys aimed at dyslexic children, as the vast majority I have encountered are unappealing and  not engaging for young children. Many of the flash cards are printed on bright white paper stock which can cause difficulties for dyslexic people who are sensitive to the white/black contrast found in most books which hinders their ability to recognise written text. Another issue which i am aware of an wish to address is the negative attitudes young children develop towards books as a result of negative reading experiences. Whilst many dyslexic children can read relatively fluently (although at an impaired rate) and do enjoy stories, negative attitudes towards books develop due to classroom experiences and also through misguided parents who fail to understand the dyslexic child's slow reading rate. Children as a result grow to dread reading time or being asked to read out loud and therefore never venture to read books by themselves due to these negative associations.

It is my aim therefore to create a game which accommodates the dyslexic child's reading and learning style, which will aid their comprehension and reading skills and which will forge positive associations with books and reading. 

Buns for Sale

Phew its been a busy week! On tuesday myself, Danni, Tara and Ashliegh manned the bun sale stall and tempted/hassled/bullied passers by into buying the delicious baked goods which kind volunteers from our class had baked. The event was a huge success and we raised £216.60 which will go towards our final year show. I created some little baked good illustrations which we used for the signage and product labeling. 

Tick tock

Feeling a little bit behind schedule this week. The clock is a ticking therefore I must endeavor to increase my working pace. I have been researching my target audience (which hasn't just been an excuse to watch children's t.v shows and read children's magazines..although it has been a part the process.) To create a product which is appealing to a child, I must think like a child (according to some of my friends, this shouldn't be difficult for me.)

Drawing Unlimited

Today I spent a whole afternoon drawing plastic animals using toothpicks and scraps of card, long armed paintbrushes and charcoal. There was a very good reason for this separation from my beloved macbook and wacom pen, I was participating at the wonderful drawing unlimited workshop. I found this event to be very useful, as not only did it allow me to experiment with different illustrative styles and techniques but I also gained inspiration from the examples of illustrative work which rebecca and Christine displayed. It afforded me the opportunity to interact with my peers from 1st to 3rd year, which was a nice change as I have found that viscom can become quite insular between the year groups. 

Project Two : an overview

The second project has officially begun. For this project I have decided to develop a brief of my own division. I intend to create a 'device' or 'learning aid' which will help a young child suffering with dyslexia develop reading skills which will enable them to become competent readers as adults. This brief has been prompted by my own experiences of growing up with two dyslexic siblings and a dyslexic best friend through primary to secondary school so I have witnessed first hand many of the problems dyslexic people encounter within education and with reading in general. This brief will have an illustrative focus as not only is this appropriate for my portfolio but dyslexic people are primarily visual learners and are very influenced by colour and form rather than written text. I intend to create an outcome which is functional and also appropriate in aiding the development of reading and comprehension skills. I have spent the last week researching information on dyslexic learning styles, dyslexia strategies within education and have also begun research into learning aids currently available. A lot of information to sift through and analyse! 

Finishing Touches

Publish Post

After a weekend of recovery from the sleeplessness that was the D&AD deadline, I have spent the last week developing additional promotional material such as my wristband and badge designs as well as creating a mini model of what the pop-up venue could look like. For my promotional material I have been developing vector based graphics to recreate the boldness of the way finding illustrations. 

One down.

D&Ad project finally submitted wooohoo! I am happy with my submission, however unfortunately I did not get the mini model of the event venue finished as I had planned, so I submitted a technical sketch of what the venue could look like instead. I intend to spend the next week finishing up this project for my May submission, creating wristbands and badges for the event. Upon reflection I feel that this project has allowed me to develop my illustrative technique and has enabled me to be quite experimental with media and style. I have also gained some further photoshop and illustrator knowledge through practise which will no doubt come in handy for future illustrative projects. But for the moment I believe it is time for sleep. 

Taking photos in the rain can be a pain.

Phew! After dodging the rain, hauling huge boards around city centre, copious amounts of duct taping and dedicated photographing, my final images are complete and ready for the final photoshop editing. The photoshoot itself was a lot more arduous than I had anticipated and took a solid day. It was worth the work as the shots turned out great. Starting to feel the pressure of the deadline approaching, and this is where time management skills really come into play and late nights suddenly become bountiful. The life of a viscom student is primarily a sleep deprived one. 

Final Comp sketch-a-roo.

I have finished developing my sketched outcomes (above are a selection of a few of my development sketches) and have begun creating my final large scale illustrations which I will place around Belfast for the purposes of my way finding strategy. The illustrations are going well, they are being created through a combination on cassette tape, vinyl, markers and lots and lots of paint. Tiring yet enjoyable work! I'll post the finished outcomes soon!

R.I.P cassette tape. Hello illustration.

Experimentation has been going well! I'm using defunct formats as a medium through which to create my illustrations to allude to the link between illustration, music and evolving technology. This is a main problem which is outlined by the diesel brief and therefore I think it is appropriate method to incorporate my modern utilisation of illustration for the purposes of music promotion. I have been developing using old cassette tape and vinyl procured from a combination of charity shop trawling and pilfering from the parents! The cassette tape in particular works well i feel as it encapsulates the loose feel of Florence's melody, and the illustrative design reflects the more sinister undertones of the lyrics. 

Sketching against the clock!

This past week has been all about concept development, I'm feeling slightly behind schedule, but feedback from my seminars has encouraged me to develop my way finding concept further and I hope to catch up on all my lovely development work in the coming week! I have begun some initial sketches of key imagery found within my chosen tracks (rabbit heart and bird song by florence and the machine). My concept promotes fan engagement with the music artist through the use of tangible illustration placed around a chosen town or city. The illustration will be used as a way finding method to a secret music event location, where fans who have followed the clues will get to experience an intimate music experience with their musical idols. 

Research research research!

Lots of researching has been undertaken since I last updated, particularly on the plight of the digitalisation of music format and the pixels pictures which are the vestigaes of illustation within the music industry. I have found a few interesting examples of alternative methods which Bands and artists are employing to incorporate illustrative form into their brand idenity. Such as Florence and the Machine who's fan site sells limited edition products such as a jewlery box which epitomises the 'feel' of the albulm lungs. I've also gained a lot of inspiration from examples of Berlin street art and also from researching pop-up events (the latest craze to hit cities across the U.k). I am mostly on track with my research and now need to concentrate on developing my illustrative style through plenty of experimentation work. 

Pecha Kucha Night!

Yesturday, taking a break from research I attented Pecha kucha night at the Black Box with a Miss Tara Jamison. I have never been to a pecha kucha night before and was unsure of what to expect, but a chilled night, of quiet pints and inspirational words from local creatives talking about their personal journeys against the clock, awaited me and I was very glad I attended. Lots to think about with regards to my own future journey and defiantly worth going to the next one if you haven't been before!

Refreshed and ready for some designing!

Its Monday, and after a week of recovering from the sleeplessness that was the January submission, I'm ready to start a new project. It is our appointed duty this semester to complete at least one competition brief, so after reading more design briefs than barrel of monkeys, I believe I have settled upon the Diesel:u:music brief. I have settled upon this brief as I believe it will give me most scope for creating interesting illustrative outcomes which could be an asset to my portfolio. This states that the designer undertaking this project must look upon the plight of illustration within the music industry and try and find a new solution that can once again incorporate this medium into the music world. The task is to create a concept which encapsulates this, chose a band or artist, select two of their tracks and illustrate them accordingly. The deadline is the 4th of march...so good time management, and swift research, conceptulising and developing is a skill which i must now employ inorder to meet my target. Off I go! P.s read the brief in full below.

Brief set by: The Diesel Creative Team

Sponsored by: Diesel

Creative Challenge:

Over the past decade the world of music has undergone a revolution. Just as the ways people consume and experience music have been turned upside down, so the role of illustration in the world of music has changed too.

From the decline of the 12” album cover as a ‘creative canvas’, to the rise of downloadable tracks with artwork reduced to the size of a screen based icon. This situation has pushed people creatively to explore new opportunities that include street art, online video, experimental performances and interactive applications.

Your challenge is to choose a band or artist and create an illustrated response inspired by two of their tracks. In doing so, you’ll be facing this issue head on and demonstrating your vision of a brave new world for illustration in music.

Target Audience:

The target audience intended for the illustration will be the fan base of the musician/band/artist you select as part of answering the brief.

Considerations:

• Successful entries will demonstrate how illustration can reinvent itself as a powerful tool for promotion and expression within the world of music.

• We are looking for work that explores new ways that illustration can be integrated into the music experience.

• You should consider how musicians are reinventing the way that they interact with their fans and the increased importance of building intimate relationships and new experiences between fans and bands.

Mandatory Requirements:

• Produce a minimum of two illustrations, each based on a different track from any band or artist who’s music inspires you. While your solution maybe 2D, 3D or even time based, they must be documented and presented in A3 format as per the Formatting Guidelines PDF. The choice of band is unimportant – they maybe well known or equally unheard of.