OUGD601 - Protest Press Workshop

Protest Press are a collective running hands-on workshops using creative methods to engage conversation, evoke positive change, and inspire powerful activism. The workshop aimed to get us thinking about different issues of protest which we felt passionate about, and to produce a collaborative, typographic poster using off-cuts of paper based on this.

In order to get us thinking, we started the workshop with a word association task, writing a statement then passing it on for someone else to respond and continue this way responding only to the statement above until the paper was filled. Issues which came up included sustainability, climate change, sexual consent, politics and student welfare.

The topic my group decided to focus on was student welfare, since we thought mental health is a big issue at the moment and that it is important to look at how stigmas behind this can be changed or thought about differently. We therefore began brainstorming ideas for quotes surrounding this topic, but in the end chose to focus on the statement 'I'm ok' which tends to be the general answer to the question 'how are you' when it is clear the person is not but don't feel comfortable talking about their issues.

In the design of our poster, we decided to focus on the juxtaposition between the two meanings of the statement 'I'm ok' by folding the paper in half and on one side placing the words 'I'm ok', but on the other side placing the word 'not' as a continuation of the statement. The type style we created used outlines made from off-cuts of paper in order to create more of an impact.

Placing the poster out of the studio, we experimented with folding the poster around corners and various shapes so that from a certain position only one side is visible, but when walking back in the opposite direction, the other side is then also visible.

We felt this worked better when situated on the corner of a wall. The poster was then kept up on the corner of the notice board in the university's cafeteria since it was thought that here it would grasp a large amount of attention and get our message across more effectively to a mass amount of people who fit our target audience of students. At the bottom of the poster we also added the email address of student welfare in suggesting that it is okay not to be okay and that there are people here who are willing to listen to your problems and help you get the appropriate support if and when needed.

Experience:

Protest Press take a hands-on approach to these workshops, working with raw materials to produce original posters which aim to engage the public with important issues of protest. They believed that this hands-on approach meant that the posters seem more personal and allows for an experience which gets people to engage more with not only the message, but also the process.

OUGD601 - Tutorial Feedback (27/11)

OUGD601 - Practical - Designing A Grid System

Based on some research into different grid systems, it has been decided that a column grid would work most appropriately for my poster designs, since this type of grid system is generally used as a tool by Swiss graphic designers producing more typographic designs.

This grid system allows for more layout possibilities than others, especially when working with type, which can be determined through the number of columns created. Additionally, the grid also allows for you to incorporate rows into the layout, creating what is known as 'modules'. This will be a good addition for my designs in particular in allowing me to clearly separate out smaller pieces of information into header and footer style pieces of text.

It is suggested that multiples of 4 should be used to create columns, however, the larger the size, the more columns should be used and vice versa.
It is decided that my posters will be A2 in size and use 12 columns.

Working out measurements for the column grid/ quick ideas sketch for poster design developments. It was thought that this size would not be compatible with handmade processes like letterpress since the lead type blocks would not be big enough, so the screen-print process should be used instead (more compatible). Experiments with series number and overlaying colour and text.

Measurements:

• 420 mm width x 594 mm high.
• 20 mm margins on each side (40 mm total).
• 4 mm gutters between columns.
• 12 columns = 11 gutters.

Final grid system:

The use of this grid system will allow both of my poster designs to have some element of underlying consistency without compromising the aesthetic contrast I am aiming to produce. The columns will also allow me to place additional content such as colour blocks around the type more effectively and structurally, without compromising the typography and its message.

OUGD601 - Practical - Group Crit Session (22/11)

Questions:
1. How can I produce some element of consistency between the two posters without them looking exactly the same?
2. What poster size would work best with these ideas?

Feedback:
- Working to the same grid system would produce some form of underlying consistency, which you know is there but won't make the layouts look too similar.
- Don't worry too much about the posters looking too similar, the contrast will already be obvious through the use of typography.
- Experiment with using colours which may compliment the words.
- The footer containing the tagline works.
- Think about what context these posters are going to be put it - for instance, perhaps they could be seen on tube station billboards, etc? Once context is given then working out sizes appropriate to this will be easier. However, A3 could also work nicely.

Actions:
1. Figure out what grid system to use in the posters.
2. Think about and decide a context for the posters to be used in.
3. Start designing digital developments of ideas.

Additional feedback:
- Size - think about how this could create an experience in itself - billboard size, could it be pasted around Leeds centre (context)?
- How could the posters be used as one rather than individually - use a possible 2-in-1 format and the idea of perspective where the viewer has to move and engage physically with the posters to be able to see both sides.
- However, could this potentially shift focus away from the message trying to be produced through the posters based on process - shifts it more towards curation and display? - viewers may engage with this idea of perspective more than the intended meaning behind the posters.

OUGD601 - Practical - Developed Layout and Ideas Sketches

Based on visual research into the Bauhaus and Swiss design, as well as poster design styles using traditional production methods, a series of updated layout sketches were drawn out in response to this research which can help the layout of my designs seem more considered.

Against handmade:

One of the things found from research into Bauhaus and Swiss design was that the style tends to have a strong focus on simplicity and typography, through the effective use of negative space and, typically, san-serif fonts. All these updated designs therefore use sans-serif typefaces, experimenting with the size of type in order to show rationality - another of the Bauhaus' principles - in that the larger type allows these select pieces of information stand out in the eye of the viewer, displaying them as something of potential importance.

A set grid system will be used in the final design in order to show structure and clarity, something the Bauhaus and Swiss design is in favour of. Sketches show how the grid could potentially be used in highlighting a hierarchy of information, most containing the tagline 'Experience Things Differently' which was suggested in feedback works well to get the viewer thinking more closely as to what this means in terms of the design.

Colour blocks could also be used to create small consistencies within the design or separate out information, as well as, again, highlighting the use of a grid system.

Against digital:

Developed ideas for the posters against digital design focus on combining different design elements of various traditional type styles, such as letterpress and letraset, using these to represent different words and their meaning. Other ideas look at attempting to mimic the screen-printing process in overlapping type in different colours to show how type can potentially be made more expressive. A contrast in the type sizes could also be used to highlight words of importance.

In order to produce consistency between the two different posters, it was thought that the same grid system could be used for both and, perhaps, placing the tagline in the same area on each.

OUGD601 - Practical - Visual Research Mood Boards

Bauhaus and Swiss Style (digital):
Digital styles which can be mimicked through traditional methods.

Traditional Style (handmade):
Traditional styles which can be mimicked through digital methods.

OUGD601 - Practical - Bauhaus and Swiss Poster Design Research

The Bauhaus Style:

The Bauhaus School was founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius. In this era, the movement sought to embrace 20th Century machine culture in a way that allowed basic necessities like buildings, furniture and design, to be completed in a utilitarian but effective way.
The school encouraged the embrace of modern technologies in order to succeed in a modern environment. The most basic tenet of the Bauhaus was 'form follows function'.
The school followed a regimented syllabus, which focused on the connection between theory and practice.
With their theory of form follows function, the school emphasised a strong understanding of basic design, especially the principles of composition, colour theory and craftsmanship, in a wide array of disciplines. Their courses taught students to eliminate the ideas of the individual and instead focus on the productivity of the design.

https://99designs.co.uk/blog/design-history-movements/know-your-design-history-the-bauhaus-movement/

The Bauhaus movement is said to have revolutionised design with it's key tenets of simplicity, functionality and rationality.

How can I incorporate elements of the Bauhaus style into my designs?

- The Universal Type font developed by Herbert Bayer was praised by Bauhaus designers for its 'visual clarity stressed above all' - use of san-serif fonts.
- Geometric designs, clean, clear construction.
- Remember the object's function and enhance it without need for decorative elements.
- Use of a grid system - consistency.
- Rationality - the larger something is, the more attention it will attract, etc.
- If you want to draw someone's eye to an element, 'tear' it away from the alignment everything else falls upon according to your grid.

https://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/typography/5-ways-incorporate-bauhaus-graphic-design-in-your-work/

The Swiss Style:

This style became famous through the art of Swiss graphic designers, however it originally emerged in Russia, Germany and the Netherlands in the 1920's, which also became known as 'international style' after the 1950's.

The style emerged from the modernist and constructivist ideals (of which I can incorporate into my designs):

- Attention to detail, precision, craft skills, clear refined and inventive lettering and typography.
- Concerned with simplicity and the idea that 'form follows function' - the beauty in the underlines of a purpose, not beauty as a purpose in itself.
- Minimal elements of typography and content.
- White space - for visual impact and readability.
- Grid systems.

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to remove" - Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

There is also a direct influence from the constructivism, elementarism and minimalism movements in the Swiss style artists. Minimal design is about removing the unnecessary and emphasising the necessary; it's about a functional and simple use of fundamental elements of style for the purpose of the artist's objectives.
This principle is one of the core reasons why Swiss style graphic designers pay so much attention to type. Typography is one of the most fundamental elements of visual communication that is able to deliver the message in a very precise, clear way. According to the Swiss movement, adding more elements without fully exploring the potential of the fundamentals can be considered a 'waste'. As these basic elements, like typography, have so much aesthetic potential, there's rarely a need for other visual graphics elements.

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/lessons-from-swiss-style-graphic-design/

OUGD601 - Practical - Peer-led Crit (19/11)

- The word 'discipline' in the quote against handmade design is perhaps more associated with handmade design rather than against it - consider changing quote? - however, once explained reasons behind choosing the quote this becomes clearer - a focus on structure.
- Question: Should the layouts be the same/consistent? - do not use the same layout on both posters, since this perhaps isn't experimental enough, especially in terms of mimicking handmade design aesthetics. However, have some small elements of consistency between the two, for instance, use the same grid system.
- Tagline "experience things differently" works, however this doesn't have to be big - will still make people think about the meaning of the posters when they see it - perhaps present this in the same typeface across the posters (consistency).
- Look at Milton Glaser poster - wow poster.
- Use a san-serif typeface for the poster which is meant to mimic digital aesthetics and a serif typeface for the poster which is meant to look handmade - having the same typeface throughout both posters might counteract the contrast I am trying to present.
- Look at Swiss design - Bauhaus posters.
- Experiment with using light paper - expose digital type onto this.
- Block colour works well in the posters - do not use image - colour adds an additional element which does not detract away from the purpose of the posters, good use of negative space.
- The way the tagline is placed in some layout ideas may not be appropriate to use in both posters - too structured?
- A found flaw in using the process of screen-print is that generally the designs have to be worked on and printed digitally first - the process should be presented as fully handmade.
- Use collage to rework digital type to be put into a screen-print?
- Use letraset - can be applied to acetate to expose a screen out of, however if being used as the process for against handmade quote, mimicking digital, the letters would have to be transferred perfectly to be able to appropriately mimic this, however letraset can be challenging and slightly temperamental in the process of doing so.
- Mimicking digital aesthetics works fine in the use of the grid as structure.

OUGD601 - Practical - Type Research and Considerations

Digital type:

Vignelli is famous among designers for sticking to a handful of typefaces and disregarding new type which was produced later on, arguing in his Vignelli Canon that "the computer allowed anybody to design new typefaces and that became one of the biggest visual pollutions of all times". He believed that there are only six basic typefaces we should use for design and "trash the rest". These typefaces include:

- Garamond,
- Bodoni,
- Century Expanded,
- Futura,
- Times New Roman, and
- Helvetica.

The aim of publishing this book was to better inform young designers of typographic principles in the hope of improving their design skills, as he believed that "creativity needs the support of knowledge to be able to perform at it's best".

https://fontsinuse.com/uses/14164/massimo-vignelli-s-a-few-basic-typefaces

One idea based on Vignelli's beliefs on digital design is to use Helvetica as the main typeface, keeping the type rigid and not expressive. This could be paired with the use of a serif font from his list of six basic typefaces for the smaller bits of information within the poster, which could then also help present a hierarchy of information through the use of type rather than layout presented in initial idea sketches.

Or, select words of importance could be highlighted through the use of a different typeface?

Handmade type:

LETRASET: One idea for mimicking handmade, traditional methods of type is to reflect the style of letraset, which transfers type onto a chosen material. In the poster designs, to show clearly that the type is meant to reflect letraset, the type could be crumbled and deconstructed slightly. This would also present slight imperfections, which are sometimes present in handmade methods of design, something from research which was found to be liked about the process because it reflect how we are as human beings in that we all have our imperfections. This aesthetic could therefore potentially resonate with the viewer and create some form of personal experience between the viewer and the work.

LETTERPRESS: Another idea for this process was to look at the style of letterpressed type. Ex-Pentagram partner Michael Bierut suggests that "to understand how type got to be that way and use it well in that tradition, or to flout convention and release type from the form to develop it in new ways, the start point is an understanding of the process and history of letterpress", meaning that computer programs are based on this traditional method of setting type, using terms such as 'baseline' and 'leading'. It is also believed that the tactility of traditional printing methods is something which people are attracted to - relates to experience - the physical involvement with the process produces work with distinctive experiential qualities of weight, texture and smell.

The New Handmade Graphics: Beyond Digital Design, Anne Odling-Smee.

Could the use of this aesthetic then create an experience in itself if used within one of the poster designs? The type would also be more expressive than the other poster, creating part of the contrast wanted between the two posters, which also goes against Vignelli's belief that type should not be expressive.

OUGD601 - Practical - Layout and Ideas Sketches

Based on ideas brainstorming around the quotes, it was decided that in order to help produce an effective aesthetic contrast that the poster against handmade design will be produced using handmade processes (the exact process it is against), however, whilst mimicking digital processes (the process it is in favour of) and vice versa. It was considered that this process will induce more engagement between the viewer and the posters, as well as showing that handmade processes can be disciplined if they want to be, and that digital design does not having to be 'boringly slow' or 'banal', which the quotes suggest. It suggests that both approaches should be appreciated equally since they have different things to offer in terms of design; one is not necessarily better than the other.

These posters will be kept mainly typographic, since it was thought that too much content, in terms of image especially, would take some of the aesthetic appreciation away from the process of the posters and therefore limit the meaning I am trying to get across through these.

Against handmade:

One of the ideas which has informed some of these layout sketches was to name the poster series as 'Experience Things Differently'. This is shown as headers and footers in some sketches as a way to potentially create a hierarchy of information. The addition of this title also means that viewers can look at it and realise that there is something different about the way they have been designed, therefore invoking an engagement between the viewer and the work, which would hopefully end in an appreciation of the aesthetic contrast and production process.

Alongside this hierarchy of information, another idea was to use a clear grid system, something which Vignelli was in favour of, however used in this sense to show how handmade methods of design, such as screen-print and letterpress, can be disciplined if they want to or should need to be through such use of a grid system. Within these grids, layouts were formulated incorporating additional content in the form of simple imagery or colour blocks. It was considered this could give the posters more substance, and use ideas found from research into the psychology of colour to stimulate more of an experience within the viewer.

Against digital:

One consideration when formulating layout ideas for both posters was whether or not the layout between the two should be consistent, since this could either help enhance the contrast between the quotes and their production methods, or make them look too similar and end up losing the engagement which I am trying to invoke.

However, a solution to this, presented through another idea, could be to mimic handmade processes through slight imperfections in the type, which could specifically be done in mimicking the aesthetics of crumbling letraset type. Both posters could therefore use a set layout and typeface, but these subtle differences would help in producing the contrast I am looking for.

Other ideas were to reflect the meaning of the words used within this specific quote through their type design, for instance, using a variety of different letterpress-style typefaces and sizes that show technology as being 'clumsy'. This would make the type more expressive, something which Vignelli was specifically against.

Through this set of sketches, it was decided that this quote against digital design was perhaps too long, and therefore should be shortened to "The technology is boringly slow, the interfaces clumsy, [and] the mainstream product banal" since this then is a similar length to the other quote and allows for more negative, breathing space on the poster.

OUGD601 - Practical - Quick Ideas Brainstorm

OUGD601 - Practical - Chosen Quotes

Brainstorming potential quotes.

After some brainstorming, it was decided to choose quotes which were against the two different processes. It was thought that this selection, when used in the posters, can produce a better contrast when using the same process which the quotes are against, and therefore hopefully producing more engagement between viewers, the work, understanding of the message and, finally, an appreciation of the process and aesthetic contrast presented through the two posters.

Against digital:

"The technology is boringly slow, the interfaces clumsy, the mainstream product banal, and who wants to spend large chunks of their leisure time gawping at computer screens?" 
- Rick Poyner, design critic, 1998.

Against handmade:

"There is no design without discipline. There is no discipline without intelligence".
- Massimo Vignelli, designer, (date?)

It was challenging to find a quote which was explicitly against handmade design, however this Vignelli quote was chosen as an argument against handmade since as a designer he was very much in favour of digital design, rules and classic typography, and so the quote can be seen as suggesting that experimental methods of design, like handmade, have no discipline, since they tend to be more expressive.

Both quotes have been taken from those used within my accompanying essay in order to show clear links between my essay and practical, and demonstrates an understanding of and use of theoretical research in the development of graphic design work.

OUGD601 - RESEARCH - Philosophy of The Arts: Kant

- Kant's The Critique of Judgement, work on aesthetics published in 1790.
- Earlier in his philosophical career, he had thought that aesthetic appreciation was purely subjective, simply a matter of pleasure.
- Appreciating the beautiful is an act of mind ad well as a matter of sensuous feeling, and that is why it is correct to speak of aesthetic judgement.
- The Critique of Judgement - Kant places aesthetic judgement between the logically necessary and the purely subjective. Though the proposition 'this is beautiful' does indeed have the appearance of a cognitive judgement, that is a judgement of how things are, Kant agrees with Hume that expressing such a judgement 'cannot be other than subjective'; that is, arising from a feeling of approval.
- But in contrast to Hume, he rejects the view that the experience of beauty is merely subjective. This is because, although Hume thinks that the attribution of 'beauty' to an object reflects a sentiment or feeling within us, Kant is aware that this is not how it seems to us.

"[the person who declares something to be beautiful] can find as reason for his delight no personal conditions to which his own subjective self might alone be party...[and therefore]...must believe that he has reason for demanding a similar delight from everyone. Accordingly he will speak of the beautiful as if beauty were a quality of the object and the judgement logical...although it is only aesthetic and contains merely a reference of the representation of the object to the subject".

- In plainer language, the idea is this: while it is true that beauty needs to be appreciated subjectively, when we see beautiful things we are aware that the pleasure we derive from them is not a function of something peculiar to us. Beauty is subjective, but it is not merely personal, as the expression of a preference is when we refer to something of which we happen to be especially fond.

REFERENCE: Graham, G. (2005) Philosophy Of The Arts: An Introduction To Aesthetics. London and New York: Routledge.

OUGD601 - Practical - Written Brief

OUGD601 - Structure, Argument, Framework - Tutorial Feedback

- Clear structure - links to theory/research.
- Title needs reworking - 'how does the experience of a handmade or digitally produced poster design affect the appreciation of the aesthetics?' OR 'how does the experience of a handmade or digitally produced poster affect our aesthetic appreciation of the design?'
- Practical - clear links with content and context of essay.
- Keeping it simple works well/effectively in relation to the essay.
- Ideas work well in the sense of appreciation of design.
- Think about stock choices - coated/uncoated, handmade, sustainable papers and dyes - look into the company Fenner.
- Define how far is meant by handmade and digital - important to make this clear.
- Document all decisions and reasons for choices - start to produce visuals for practical outcomes, decide on quotes and formulate a format/layout for the posters.

In order to present another side to the arguments within the structure of my essay, it was decided based on this tutorial to add an extra paragraph discussing a combination of the two techniques (both digital and handmade). This was based on research which showed that many designers are now taking on a more cross-discipline approach to design in response to problems associated with other methods.

OUGD601 - Structure, Argument, Framework

Developments of Essay Structure:

In order to help start the writing process, an initial draft essay structure was produced to form a basis of how and where I placed arguments within my essay. This draft splits into six separate paragraphs, each on a different aspect in relation to the research question "How does the experience of a handmade or digitally produced poster design affect our aesthetic appreciation of the design?"

The structure initially starts with paragraphs defining phenomenology and aesthetics, then goes on to explain their links and how these relate to design, with a separate paragraph analysing examples of existing work just before concluding the essay.

However, it was felt this initial structure did not allow the arguments to flow or link up as well as they could. Therefore, my final essay structure uses image analysis throughout in order to use examples in support of the arguments that are presented. The structure has also been simplified much more, and structured in a way which allows me to compare and contrast handmade vs. digital design processes in more detail, as it's an important part of the essay.

The structure also places arguments into simpler, clearer paragraphs which, again, will allow me to go into more detail, and balances word count appropriately throughout the essay.
- Does it need an ABSTRACT?

OUGD601 - Practical - Ideas Peer-led Crit (12/11)

* Initial idea: to produce two posters, one made using traditional, handmade processes and one made using contemporary, digital processes.
* Questions: what content do I use for the poster design itself? - same content / design needs to be reiterated using both processes - process is the more important aspect.

- Look at when digital processes were introduced into design - 1960's Swiss design, Bauhaus.
- Produce a large body of experiments using different processes - potentially pair these experiments with two main posters as a product of the experiments themselves.
- Represent the processes in the content provided on the posters.
- Create a celebration of method.
- Letraset / letterpress.
- Message? - think about what message you want to communicate through the designs - could produce a campaign to get people to experiment with process more.
- PURPOSE.
- Use quotes from essay as a centre point.
- Focus on type / typesetting, e.g. traditional type like letterpress, etc, as well as digital type - CONTRAST - use quotes on handmade design designed digitally and vice versa.
- Mimic handmade type through digital techniques and mimic digital type through handmade techniques.
- Needs to be SIMPLE - more about how it is created.
* Use quotes taken from essay - create obvious links between essay and practical.

OUGD601 - Time Management Plan (09/11)

Hourly plan for next week:

- Work on a day-to-day basis, plan and make a list each morning of what I want to achieve that day, work on ticking off everything or at least the majority of this list.

Productivity tools:
- Use 52/17 or Pomodoro app - work in 25 minute bursts with 5 minute breaks - help to break the habit of taking a break every 5 minutes from work, keeps my focus on the work and not get as distracted if I am able to take regular breaks after a certain amount of work.