OUGD501 - Writing a Brief

Context of practice 2: Practical brief template

Name

Megan Keighley.

Brief title

- A Designer’s Guide to The Debate: The Legendary Contest of Two Giants of Graphic Design OR - Needle and Thread.

Brief (outline the general aims of the project)

- To produce a body of practical work which aims to compare the use of objective and subjective methods of graphic design and how well they communicate an intended message. - Inspired by David Carson’s Ray Gun Magazine, analysed within the essay, produce a zine which contrasts objective and subjective methods of design. - Aim to communicate the debate on objectivity and subjectivity by Wim Crouwel and Jan Van Toorn. - Design the zine and communicate their individual arguments based on the arguments themselves, for instance use objective layouts and methods for Crouwel’s arguments, subjective ones for Van Toorn’s arguments, make and break the grid, etc. (A Designer’s Guide to The Debate: The Legendary Contest of Two Giants of Graphic Design).

Background / considerations

- Constantly consider and refer back to the initial research question to ensure this and the presented arguments are being communicated through the practical work. - Consider counter-arguments presented by Wim Crouwel and Jan Van Toorn through their debate and how these would also be communicated – the intention of the practical work is to support the initial research question and conclusion, try not to critique this too much – aim to show that design does not have to be purely objective to be functional and that objectivity and subjectivity work hand-in-hand. - ‘Good design is a thorough merging of form and function’, (Kaufmann, date unknown) ‘Idea and form are the needle and thread, and I have never heard of a guild of tailors that recommend the use of thread without the needle, or the needle without the thread. Good design satisfies both idea and form, the needle and the thread’ (Rand, 1987). - (Needle and Thread).

Deliverables

- A significant body of research, documented through blog posts. - Ideas generation and prototypes. - A finished outcome in the form of a zine, communicating the intended message and research question. - 5 – 6 design boards documenting the process.

Mandatory requirements (essential requirements that must be followed)

- Must be related and respond to the research question (does design, in particular, layout and type design, have to be objective to be functional?). - Must demonstrate you are able to make sense of and use theoretical research in the development of graphic design work. - Must be embedded within some kind of graphic design practice (type and layout design, objectivity vs. subjectivity). - Must demonstrate design process – brief analysis – research (visual, contextual, theoretical) – ideas generation – ideas development – prototypes – further developments – outcomes. - Develop contextual and critical awareness in the development of graphic design work/practice – demonstrate your process, criticality and creatively.

Research: references to reading (essay)

- The Debate: The Legendary Contest of Two Giants of Graphic Design by Wim Crouwel and Jan Van Toorn. - Ray Gun Magazine by David Carson. - Kaufmann and Paul Rand, 1987, analogy of form and function as needle and thread. ‘Good design satisfies both the idea and form, the needle and the thread’.