OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Product Range Distribution Initial Product Ideas

Presenting the concept of encouraging communities to engage with traditionally Northern dialects to a peer critique group provided a range of feedback. 

The group were asked a series of questions in order to evaluate what might be the most effective product. The group were asked whether they considered digital or print material to be the most engaging format, whether

Evaluating the feedback given, it was concluded that printed material would provide the most effective product to allow individuals to engage with a new language. Amongst the feedback for a physical product, it was suggested that a range of printed posters could be produced, or an advertising campaign that would include posters, billboards and leaflets, that would highlight key Northern words. It was also suggested that a publication could be made to provide translations and definitions to a range of Northern phrases. However, considering the initial feedback given in the presentation, both of these possible ideas would again risk trivialising or de-contextualising the language.

However, misreading a section of peer feedback led to the idea of creating an alternative product that would allow Northern languages to be integrated back into communities in a more subtle way. After mistaking the word 'prints' for 'fruits', I began to investigate the idea of creating a series of small stickers, similar to those that are used to brand fruit and vegetables. A series of stickers could feature a range of Northern words and phrases, and would allow individuals to collect and swap them, as well as use them in a practical sense to label or brand items. Stickers have a distinctive property in that they are both at once highly disposable but also charmingly collectable, and would therefore provide a unique format for this project.

Feedback on the concept of stickers was positive, and it was noted that they would provide a fresh and engaging format for an audience of all ages that could be easily distributed through small of large companies.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 01 - Leeds Public Spaces Final Posters

The final print of the Astbury Centre:

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 01 - Leeds Public Spaces Printing

As the brief states that the poster must be printed exclusively by traditional printing methods, the options for production are limited to screenprinting, monoprinting and letterpress. As the detail in the design for the poster is relatively complex, the most viable option for production is screenprinting.

When the design was created it was intended that the print would use white ink on black paper. In the first printing session the design was printed using white ink, however there were a few complications. White screenprinting ink is the fastest drying ink because it has much larger molecules of pigment than other colours, and as the detail in the design contains many fine lines, the screen clogged quickly and prevented the print from being pulled through cleanly every time.

Despite pulling the prints through at a faster speed and washing the screen between pulls, the prints were still patchy. To resolve this, a new colour scheme of black ink on red and black papers was trialled. These colours were still appropriate for the brief as traditionally when x-rays are depicted in a scientific context, the colour red is used to indicate the waves. The print on red card also created a high impact design. X-rays are also invisible to the eye and so a black on black print created a unique 'invisible' effect. This could also be enhanced by printing an extra layer of glow-in-the-dark ink over the top of the original design to create a second hidden layer.

These alternative prints pulled through far easier, however after gaining feedback from peers it was concluded that the white ink on black paper created the most visually striking and appropriate print. It was also noted that the slight misprint around the edges of the poster enhanced the traditionally printed nature of the poster, creating an additionally worn and aged aesthetic.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Product Range Distribution Interpretation of the Brief

From the feedback given in the formal presentation, the original brief was rewritten to ensure that the research and design work would be led by a precise and cohesive concept.

Considering the decline in use of Northern dialects, create a product or service to encourage individuals and communities to engage with and learn about these traditional dialects and words. Primary and secondary research should aim to investigate a range of Northern dialects and their uses. The project should ideally be community based and community led, and should therefore be accessible to a range of different audiences. Distribution could be physical, digital, or both. 

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Product Range Distribution Presentation

Research presentation outlining a proposed direction for studio brief 02:

Starting with communication as a general theme for this project, I wanted to explore further how communication has evolved and adapted through generations - how different social groups communicate and how communication has evolved. Within this broad theme there were several possibilities that could be explored.

Looking generally at different types of communication and language, one area of interest was the existence of local dialect, and how language varies from community to community. Further research into the many different colloquial languages that exist revealed a range of unique options, including Polari, a slang language used in Britain by some actors, circus and fairground showmen, merchant navy sailors, criminals, prostitutes, and the gay subculture. Beyond this there are also many different languages that have appeared through the evolution of technology. One such example is Leet, sometimes written 1337, which is An alternative alphabet used primarily on the internet which uses some characters to replace others, for example using numbers in the place of letters. Another examples is emojis, which can be defined as a range of symbols in a variety of genres used to express emotions and sentiments in electronic messages and webpages.

Of these possibilities, the form of communication that interested me the most was local dialect, and particularly dialects that are specific to the North, such as Geordie, Mackem, Scouse, Teeside and Cumbrian. A dialect that is also highly unique to Northern culture is Pitmatic, which is q dialect developed from the specialised terms used by mineworkers in the pits. Researching briefly into Northern languages revealed a range of interesting uses and origins, and many of the traditionally Northern words have roots with Danish and Norwegian words.

When looking into existing creative projects that revolve around or use local dialect language, a similar graphical response to this topic is a project called Local Characters by a designer and illustrator called Jimmy Turrell. Turrell created a bespoke typeface influenced by the architecture of the famous Byker Wall housing estate in Byker, Newcastle. He used the shapes and colours as a basis of each letterform to represent one of the most recognisable local Northern communities, and then created a series of typographical works to reflect the local language.

From my exploration into my chosen topic, possible ideas for physical deliverables could include a poster or print series, or publication, depicting key Northern words or phrases, their definitions and their origins. The aim of the project could be to preserve these unique language so that they may be more accessible to younger generations all over the country.

After formally presenting this research to a tutor and peer critique group, there was positive feedback towards the idea. Simon Jones gave feedback that indicated that the focus of the project should maybe not be on the preservation of northern languages, as preservation has the tendency to decontextualise the content and make it seem artificial. He also mentioned exploring a series of cartoons that were produced around Newcastle and Sunderland that specifically communicated situations and humour using local languages.

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 02 - Royal Opera House Submission

After the completion of our defined deliverables, I helped the group to design a series of submission boards to submit to the YCN competition. The boards showcase the designs of the posters and stickers to highlight the concept behind our work, and also feature additional deliverables including the snapchat filters, app and the new branding digitally imposed onto a possible range of merchandise.

Presenting this project in a final group critique produced positive responses to the work. It was discussed that the bold colours were highly appropriate for an audience of either gender and would be effective in attracting a new audience to the Royal Opera House. The type treatment, designed by Shell Kaur, was also commended for being modern and on-trend, yet still retaining a sense of traditional production, reflecting the values of the Royal Opera House company. The vector illustrations, designed by Megan Swan and Sophia Watts, received postive feedback as they were also agreed to be appropriate for the target audience, and also audiences both younger and older. The concept of creating a map and a package in order to allow an audience to understand the accessibility of attending a ballet show was commended as it provided a clear and strong message that directly solved the problems identified within our research.

The publication was critiqued and found to be successful in it's use of cohesive colour and type treatment. It was also noted that the use of social media, particularly the Snapchat filters,  and the app were highly appropriate for the intended target market and would allowed the Royal Opera House to connect with their audience on many new levels, expanding the reach of the brand and the opportunities that it presents for young people.

As a group we worked cohesively to create an effective response to the brief. Communication between individual members was organised through weekly group meetings and social media. Minutes were taken at each meeting to ensure that all members were informed as to the decisions and discussions that had taken place. The work for the project was divided evenly between members and was assigned based on individual strengths - Shelly, Sophia and Meg directed the illustration design and I directed the editorial design with additional app and social media designs. All decisions were critiqued by the group and through regular peer critique sessions with tutors and members from Illustration, Animation and Graphic Design courses.

This proposal was submitted to the YCN competition, was accepted, and is awaiting a reply.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Product Range Distribution Initial Research

Research was undertaken into dialects across the country, their usage in different areas and their history.

A study conducted by the University of Cambridge using a mobile app called The English Dialects App aimed to show the diversity and usage of different dialects across the UK. Over the course of the study the app was downloaded more that 70,000 times and has generated data from from 30,000 users across 4,000 locations. 

The app attempts to guess where in England users are from, based on a series of 26 multiple-choice questions. The app then compares the occurrence and usage of certain words and phrases today to information from the 1950's. Results from this data have concluded that English regional dialects are slowly but steadily dying out.

There are many possible reasons why these dialects are falling into disuse. The most common theory is that a steady migration of the population from Southern regions into the North. In the last 100 years there has been a much greater geographical mobility. More generations of people have migrated for education, work and lifestyle, and there has been a significant shift of population out of the cities and into the countryside. As populations move, they retain their dialects. Some researchers are even suggesting that TV shows like Eastenders are partly to blame for the homogenisation of accents across the UK.

For example, the word “splinter” is now used in almost every part of England. However there were at least 10 variations on the word in 1950, from “shiver” to “spile”. The word “backend” to refer to the season after summer, once common in the north, has now been replaced almost entirely by “autumn”.

The research did, however, find some pockets of resistance. The line that divides northerners using a short “a” in “last” from those in the south using the long vowel has moved south of Birmingham since 1950, and the inhabitants of Sunderland and Newcastle still tend to say “spelk” instead of “splinter”.

The general movements and social mobility across the country will eventually mean regional accents will become obsolete. By 2066, the study says that the Brummie, Glaswegian, Liverpudlian, Cockney, Manchunian, and Geordie accents will be significantly toned down.

It's predicted that over the next half a century, regional dialects will become more alike and technology will have a profound impact on how words are pronounced. Voice recognition technology, which often struggles to recognise regional dialects and slang, will further contribute to the variation decline.

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 02 - Royal Opera House Studio Photography

In preparation for the submission the group booked a photography studio and arranged to take a selection of professional portfolio photographs of the physical deliverables:

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 01 - Leeds Public Space Poster Designs

Initial designs as a response to this brief:

It was discussed in a critque before the design process that as the poster would be based around scientific diagrams and images from the process of x-ray crystallography, the most appropriate designs should be minimal and light on typography in order to make the concept clear and accessible. Each of the following designs features simple line drawings and only essential text information.

As a response to this feedback two initial designs were created. Both feature multiple scientific elements from the x-ray crystallography experiment, including a grid that depicts the angels of the molecules inside a crystalline material, the pattern of dots that is formed after a crystalline material has been tested, and a series of concentric rings that elude to to movement of electrons around the elements that make up the crystalline material.

The first variation of this design depicts a sort of flow chart that allows the eye to travel down the page and read the poster as though it might be instructions for the experiment. The second variation features the same elements but overlapping each other and the edge of the poster so as to give the illusions that the experiment is much larger and far more complex than can be depicted on one poster.

It was also suggested that one possible design could be based around a single element of the x-ray crystallography process, such the pattern of dots shown below. However it was concluded that the design (below) appeared too basic and did fully explore the concept behind the poster.

Another suggestion was to create an entirely type based poster to reflect the academic nature of the content. An experimental type design was created as a starting point for this idea, but within a critique group the majority of peers concluded that an illustrative poster was clearer for communicating complicated subject matter.

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 02 - Royal Opera House App Design

During a tutor critique it was mentioned that in addition to incorporating social media into the advertising campaigns, it might be of benefit to the project to further investigate the use of smart phones in the process of planning a trip to the Royal Opera House.

There is already an existing app for the Royal Opera House, but it's only function is to allow customers to pre-buy their interval drinks for intermission in shows.

When considering the group's designs for the posters, there are many elements of a journey that need to be planned, including train tickets, hotel bookings, restaurants, taxis, and tickets for the ballet itself. As a way to keep all of these elements manageable the group investigated the option of creating a smart phone app.

The app could be a self-contained unit in which an individual might plan their journey - links to train companies and hotels through the app would allow a user to find a ballet show they would like to see and then book travel and accommodation around the show itself, reducing the need to leave the Royal Opera House website and risk losing a potential customer.

A basic sketch of an app design was created, and included a simple menu displaying the showings at the Royal Opera House, links to assist with the organisation of travel, and a personal account.

A digital mock-up was also created for the purpose of the submission. The app would use the same colours, hand-lettering and digital typeface as the leaflet to create consistency between branding and provide a recognisable interface for new users.

OUGD505 - Studio Brief 01 - Leeds Public Spaces Research

To form a basis for the concept of the poster research was undertaken into the discovery and process of x-ray crystallography.

Sir William Henry Bragg was a British physicist, chemist and mathematician, who alongside his son William Lawrence Bragg, was instrumental in the discovery of the technique of x-ray crystallography. In 1915 they jointly shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays.

X-ray crystallography is an imaging technique used to determine the composition of crystalline proteins. Within a crystal structure, the atoms, ions or molecules within the material are arranged in a rigid crystal lattice formation:

A crystal lattice structure

A digram demonstrating the angels within a crystal lattice structure

To determine the composition of the material, x-rays are fired through the crystal and are scattered. This scatter pattern is recorded and the data collected gives scientists clues as to which elements make up the structure. The spaces between points of data correlate to certain elements and an accurate picture can then be formed.

An example of the image formed as a crystal structure is x-rayed and analysed

This discovery was made at the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology within the University of Leeds campus. Many areas of the University of Leeds campus are considered public spaces within Leeds and the Astbury Centre hosts a £17 million facility that is available to students and scientists all over the country.

Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Chemistry, University of Leeds

This scientific information and imagery will be used to form a basis of the design for the poster.