OUGD602 - Brief 06 - Shy Bairns x Intern x Napapijiri

Brief

Shy Bairns was approached by Intern Magazine to create a limited edition poster to be sold at their Out of Nowhere event, a series of talks and workshops taking place in the ACE Corner Shop in Shoreditch, London, in collaboration with clothing brand Napapijiri.

The brief was to create a three colour riso print based around 'an imagined positive future for the creative industries'. The design was to be formatted to A3 and submitted as black and white jpegs ready for printing, and the turn-around for the design was two days.

The riso colours that were available are shown below:

Concept

The concepts and design for the poster were generated in collaboration with the other three members of Shy Bairns, located across Manchester and London.

The concept for the design found inspiration in the name of the collective and the slogan that is often used across our work and merchandise - shy bairns get nowt. The phrase in essence means 'if you don't ask you don't get', and is an ethos that drives the collective to create platforms and communities in the face of elitist creative institutions. As a result it was decided that the poster should remain entirely type-based.

The type treatment was created with a conscious awareness of the largely south-London audience that would interact with the poster, and layout was inspired by the style of design that is often found in areas of London such as Pop Brixton. The colour palette was deliberately limited to black, red and white to reflect elements of Northern culture, with the addition of a metallic gold to highlight the definition.

Evaluation

The production time for this project was the shortest of the module, at only two days, and therefore required strict time management and communication. However the design successfully fulfils the original brief. The typography creates a visually striking design that incorporates subtle tongue-in-cheek humour to strengthen the message behind the concept. Design decisions for the type treatment and colour scheme were consciously made in regards to the London-based target audience, and how the aesthetic of the Shy Bairns collective could be translated and remain accessible. The resulting design remains true to the brand and brief, while simultaneously creating new avenues within the Shy Bairns aesthetic.

OUGD603 - Brief 05 - Penguin - A Brief History of Time Secondary Designs

Secondary Designs

Taking into consideration the feedback from the primary designs, the two selected concepts were then re-worked. The secondary designs are shown below.


Design 1

First, working further with the concept of the box motif, this was expanded to introduce the idea that the book itself would provide a window into a world that is unknown to the majority of readers, and incorporating a box into the cover design would provide a visual metaphor for this. Creating a texture reminiscent of stars within the box creates a sense of depth, and something beyond, which draws the viewers eyes further into the design. A mix of modern and retro typefaces creates a link between the significant history of the book and its inevitable future to remain one of the most important books of our time. The addition of curved text creates a sense of motion, progression, a journey that the reader must take to discover this new universe.


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Feedback for these designs indicated that a purely black and white colour scheme created a bigger visual impact for the viewer. Coloured sections of text drew were deemed unsuccessful the eye almost erratically around the cover rather than allowing the viewing to take in all of the information at once. Each variation of the black and white designs uses a different combination of typefaces and stroke/fill. When asked which type treatment was the most successful it was agreed that version 5 created the most legibility, however it was noted that the design would be stronger if Hawking's surname was a solid colour rather than just a stroke.

Design 2

Expanding on the concept of a retro-futuristic aesthetic, multiple variations of the second design were created. The final variant incorporates an additional background grid pattern and a more subtle treatment of the metallic effect type.

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Feedback on these designs concluded that the third variation was the most appealing. The patterns created by the silver metallic type provide a good reference to the interpretation of the material of the universe, as well as being reminiscent of the kinds of materials used for rockets. Some noted that it reminded them of old-school NASA aesthetics, which gave them a sense of exploration, and appealed to them as a potential new reader.

When asked to select the most appropriate design for the competition, the majority of peers felt that design 1 would have the most success. However many also stated that being able to critique the design of the full jacket, rather than just the front cover, would help them form a more accurate idea.

OUGD603 - Brief 05 - Penguin A Brief History of Time Primary Designs

Primary Designs

Drawing on the research, a selection of primary designs were created. I have a personal nostalgic connection to the book, as my Dad is a scientist and the book was always present throughout my childhood, and for this reason, these primary designs convey a retro aesthetic so as to be reminiscent of the groundbreaking period when the book was first published. Colour schemes were kept simple, primarily using black and white to represent the idea of space and depth. Reds and yellows were also used to add definition to the designs, as these are colours commonly used across science-fiction design.

Because of the iconic and highly recognisable nature of the book's title, these primary cover designs are all typography based. Also due to the nature of the subject matter, an decorative cover that attempts to illustrate key concepts of the book could reduce accessibility for new readers and individuals who are not yet comfortable with scientific concepts - minimalistic designs create an 'even playing field' for potential readers.

Three concepts using a box motif to symbolise the key idea that this book breaks down the science into 11 simple chapters that anyone can understand.

Two designs that continue the use of a noise pattern to simply replicate that imagery of stars in deep space

 Three designs the represent one of Stephen Hawking's biggest achievements - helping to give a solid mathematical backing to the concept of black holes

Two concepts that play with the idea of space in design

A concept that utilises the aesthetic of an academic textbook

A heavily typographic concept that incorporates multiple typefaces, some modern and some retro, creating an integration of the past and the present

A more modern concept that incorporates the use of gradients to symbolise the expanding universe and the concept of time waves. Also an introduction to the colour red to ensure maximum impact in a book shop.

A retro concept that uses a metallic effect typeface that was often used in design throughout the 1980-90's, and again simulates the aesthetic of an academic textbook.

Feedback

Peer feedback for these primary designs concluded that although many felt drawn the retro aesthetics, as specified in the brief Penguin were particularly looking for a design that would appeal to a whole new generation of readers, and a design that could appear dated to a younger generation would not be as appealing. However there was positive feedback for the heavy use of typography. It as concluded that two of the concepts had potential to be expanded further (shown below).

The box motif received much positive feedback as it was felt that it portrayed the idea of simplicity and accessibility well. It was also found that the simple colour scheme and type treatment would appeal to readers both young and old.

Although retro, this design also received positive feedback and many found that it played off the recent re-emergence of retro-futuristic design

OUGD603 - Brief 05 - Penguin - A Brief History of Time Research

Research

Research was undertaken into the book itself, and its significant impact in both the scientific and publishing worlds.

A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes was first published in 1988, and was written specifically for nonspecialist readers with no prior knowledge of scientific theories. Split into 11 chapters, Hawking writes in non-technical terms about the structure, origin, development and eventual fate of the universe, which is the object of study of astronomy and modern physics. He talks about basic concepts like space and time, basic building blocks that make up the universe (such as quarks) and the fundamental forces that govern it (such as gravity). He writes about cosmological phenomena such as the Big Bang and black holes. He discusses two major theories, general relativity and quantum mechanics, that modern scientists use to describe the universe. Finally, he talks about the search for a unifying theory that describes everything in the universe in a coherent manner.

The book became a bestseller and sold more than 10 million copies in 20 years. It was also on the London Sunday Times bestseller list for more than five years and was translated into 35 languages by 2001.


Previous Cover Designs

Research was also undertaken into previous cover designs for the book:

The early covers designs all utilised the same basic layout, featuring simple text and photography of Professor Stephen Hawking. Later versions feature generalised diagrams of the solar system, or abstract shapes and imagery meant to represent ideas within the book or allude to the complex mysterious of the universe. Analysis of these designs with a peer group found that many of these covers did not appeal to a young audience. Some noted that they felt drawn to the older designs as they connected with the retro aesthetic and the history that it portrayed. It was suggested that this retro aesthetic could be again be used in new designs, as this would follow recent design trends and would also tie in with recent aspects of popular culture (Stranger Things etc).

OUGD603 - Brief 05 - Penguin Student Design Award Brief

Brief

The Penguin Random House Student Design Award is an opportunity for students interested in pursuing a career in design to experience real cover design briefs first-hand.

The competition is open to anyone studying on a Further Education or Higher Education course (part time or full time) in any subject and at any level at the time of the deadline for entries (6 March 2018). The competition is not open to graphic design professionals. Students may enter a maximum of one design in each of the three categories.

This year the briefs are:

Adult Fiction - Animal Farm, George Orwell

Adult Non-Fiction - A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking

Children's - Naughts and Crosses, Malorie Blackman

Brief Selection

After reading each brief, I opted to create a design for the Adult Non-Fiction book, A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. This book aligned the most with my personal interest in science and space, and also to the style of design I am most interested in. The full brief is below:

In A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking attempts to explain a range of subjects in cosmology, including the Big Bang, black holes and light cones, to the non-specialist reader. The book became a bestseller and sold more than 10 million copies. It was also on the London Sunday Times bestseller list for more than five years and was translated into more than 35 languages.

We are looking for a cover design that breaks boundaries in the way that the book did when it was published 30 years ago, in 1988. It should not look like a textbook you read at school! This is a revolutionary science book with popular appeal. If you can get your hands on a copy of the book in order to get a sense of the narrative and concepts this will only help to inspire your design. The cover should feel timeless, confident and appeal to a whole new generation of readers.

Your cover design needs to include all the cover copy supplied and be designed to the specified design template – B format, 198mm high x 127mm wide, spine width 17mm.

What the judges are looking for:

We are looking for a striking cover design that is well executed, has an imaginative concept and clearly places the book for its market. While all elements of the jacket need to work together as a cohesive whole, remember that the front cover must be effective on its own and be eye-catching within a crowded bookshop setting. It also needs to be able to work onscreen for digital retailers such as Amazon.

The winning design will need to:

• have an imaginative concept and original interpretation of the brief
• be competently executed with strong use of typography
• appeal to a contemporary readership
• show a good understanding of the marketplace
• have a point of difference from the many other book covers it is competing against

Copyright must be cleared for all images used in your cover design and you must include a credit line on the back cover of your design for any third party images used.

OUGD603 - Brief 08 - YCN KFC Brief

The brief for this project was supplied in full by YCN and included specification on branding, tone, target audience and and colour palettes. Annotation of the brief revealed a selection of key words and phrases that will be central to the ideas and concepts producing during the ideas generation stage.

The main emphasis is on making the already iconic KFC chicken bucket more contemporary in the context of today. The packaging should be a celebration of families (whatever form they come in), community, and sharing. The tone should be energetic and bold, appropriate for UK adults sharing in groups of two or more - ideally between the ages of 18-34. Colour palettes at their core should be consistent with the existing branding, utilising white, black and red.

The artwork itself is not part of a larger rebrand, but instead should be approached as a limited edition or special seasonal design