Skip to main content

Production Log (Regularly Updated)

Introduction 

As part of informing ideas, I have decided to create a production log to show the development of my skills and to keep everyone up to date on the progress of my work.

January 21st

  • I made a questionnaire on Survey Monkey about culture so that I can get an understanding of how much the target audience knows about their own culture. I found Survey Monkey difficult to use as it had a complicated interface but I managed to find my feet in the end (click here to read).

January 22nd

  • I've ended up not sending out the questionnaire because it contained several errors from spelling mistakes to poor grammar. However, this is a great opportunity to learn from my mistakes and to try again with a new and improved questionnaire.

January 26th 

  • Today I researched and created a mind-map on different kinds of culture, from pop culture, counterculture, tribal culture, gang culture, and youth culture. This has developed my knowledge of the many cultures people might have and I have discovered an app that allows you to create mind-maps with ease (click here to read).

February 05th  

  • Learning from my mistakes, I created another questionnaire which I will be put on my social media for people to answer (click here to read).
  • I'm also trying to make my work look more attractive by making infographics rather than just having blocked text in a post. I've found an app (Vectornator) that is easy to control since I am not yet fluent with Adobe Illustrators tools.

February 06th 

  • Today, I started to watch online tutorials on how Illustrator works so I can develop my understanding of how it works. The videos I watched: 

  • Both videos were very helpful and I learned a lot by watching them. I now know the basics from setting up the correct document to drawing with shapes and lines. The second link was especially helpful as it has links embedded in the video so you can quickly skip to a part you need a refresher on.

February 10th 

  • Today I collected my results from the culture survey and I analysed them in this post (click here to read). I learned a lot by doing this questionnaire such as how I need to make my questions a bit more accessible for the audience. 
  • I also picked what culture I would be focusing on for the entire project. I have chosen LGBTQ culture because not only am I part of it myself, but I thought it would be an intriguing subject for the target audience. I made a mind map explaining the culture (click here to read).

February 16th

  • Today, I carried on with my research of culture, this time with British culture (click here to read) and my development of getting used to Adobe Illustrator.

February 19th 

  • To add to my graphic design research, I decided to look up the top trending design trends of this year. I found this really interesting as I got to learn more about certain trends and what makes them stand out on their own. This will be helpful when I'm brainstorming ideas (click here to read).

February 21st 

  • Today, I started my research on graphic design practitioners starting with Paul Rand. I found it really interesting to study other designers work and it has opened my mind to potential ideas for my own project (click here to read).

February 23rd 

  • I started my idea generation today by creating a mind map on LGBTQ products I could design. Making mind-maps really benefits my thinking process as I can put everything down on one page and then pick the ones that will be satisfactory to carry on with (click here to read).

February 24th 

  • As part of my idea generation, I decided to do some sketches of how the products could look. I decided to do this because as an inspiring graphic designer, it's important to visualise your thoughts and ideas and I need to develop my drawing skills for future projects (click here to read).

February 26th 

  • Following on from my research of design trends, I have decided to analyse them so I can delve further into what makes them so appealing (click here to read).

March 01st

  • Extending on my graphic designer practitioner research, I decided to delve into Paul Rand more by learning about some of the principles he goes by. This will help me because I can think back to these principles and implement them in my own work (click here to read).

March 05th 

  • Today, I started my research into typography to remind myself of its uses and its states how I will implement it in my own work (click here to read). 
  • I also did some research on the importance of colour within the design and spoke about my next steps (click here to read).

March 08th 

  • Today I looked at the art of logo and print design from a queer perspective. I found this really interesting because there is a lot of history behind the iconic LGBTQ designs and it's inspired me to create my own unique designs (click here to read).

March 09th

  • Moving on from my typography research, I have created a mind map of several fonts which I could use within my own designs. This will be helpful as I can look back at this post and pick a font that is suitable for the design (click here to read).
  • I have also finalised my idea for the project and will be moving on creating mock-ups of logos and posters in different design style for the target audience to pick and then I'll move on with the chosen design style (click here to read).

March 15th

I've created my first logo mock-up which is in a retro style. From the beginning of this project, I have been developing my Illustrator skills and I feel I have really gotten used to its tools (click here to read). 
  • Along with the retro-style logo, I have created a psychedelic one which has helped me develop my photoshop skills as I was using the liquify tool which I've never used before. Overall, making these mock-ups has developed my skills across photoshop and illustrator and it's gotten me looking forward to creating the final products (click here to read).

March 16th 

  • As part of my retro-style mock-ups, I have created mock-ups of t-shirts, bags and face masks with my logo on them. This will give me a realistic idea of how it will look on products. This has also developed my photoshop skills even further as I've never tried displacement mapping before but now I can move further with my idea generation and create realistic mock-ups.
  1. T-shirt mock-up: (click here to read)
  2. Bag mock-up: (click here to read)
  3. Face mask mock-up:  (click here to read)

March 18th 

  • To develop my Illustrator skills, I decided to watch a tutorial on how to create an 80s aesthetic design pattern. This has introduced me to new tools such as the 3D and bevel effects and the gradient tools. 
  1. The tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aG040pilNE&t=49s

March 21st 

  • Today, I carried on with my mock-ups and development of my skills and created a logo with a long shadow effect. I've learned more about the effect toolbar and they distort and transform options and how to transform text (click here to read). 
  • I watched another tutorial on how to use gradients on next and it taught me how to create a visually pleasing, 80s inspired poster (click here to read). 
  1. The tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdF23OWM33k 

March 22nd

  • I carried with my logo mock-ups but this time I created a symbol and abstract variant. At this point, I realised it was time to pick a style and go with it because even though it was helping me develop my skills, I was wasting time creating them. 
  1. Symbol logo: (click here to read)
  2. Abstract logo: (click here to read)

April 4th

  • After deciding to pick a style, it resulted in me coming up with the idea to ask the target audience which logo they prefer, so I created a document and put them all together and asked around which one they preferred (click here to read). 
  • Doing this survey made me realise the importance of audience feedback and opinion, and I will definitely be implementing this in my work further on.

April 9th 

  • Today, I have decided to analyse the retro-style logo since it won in the survey (click here to read).

April 12th

  • Now having finalised the logo, I have moved onto researching posters. I wanted to know how I could make mine stand out from others (click here to read).

April 20th

  • As part of my practitioner research, I decided to create pride posters but in the style of Paul Rands. Experimenting with this design has really opened my eyes to different ways I could make my own designs (click here to read).
  • I decided to create another survey but with LGBTQ prints and I asked the audience which style they preferred but the results didn't satisfy me because hardly anyone voted and I feel like I haven't got a direction to go in (click here to read).

April 25th

  • After hitting a bit of a brick wall, I have decided to create a questionnaire asking the audience to pick a design style that appeals to them the most and I have put a link to it on my social media since all my followers are part of Gen Z. I am hoping this will give me a definite answer this time. 
  • I didn't use Survey Monkey this time because I found its interface too complicated and stressful and it caused me to start over multiple times. But luckily, I found Google Forms which is a more simple and affectionate (and free) way to create surveys and send them out (click here to read). 

April 26th

  • I gave the survey all yesterday night and this morning to stay open for people and I have now collected my results and I am happy to say that I have gotten a suitable outcome (click here to read). 
  • Following on my results, I have started researching A.M Cassandre which will be part of my practitioner research and will help me develop my own designs when I experiment with his style (click here to read).

April 27th

  • After knowing what design style to go with I have started researching the characteristics of the style so that I can implement them in my own design (click here to read). 

May 2nd

  • Today I went back and looked through the brief and decide to make a checklist of what I needed to do and simplify the steps so that it would be easier for me to interpret it. This definitely has made it easier for me to follow and now I know what needs to be done.

May 7th

  • I decided to create another survey but this time showcasing several logos with different fonts for the Huddersfield text. These fonts were in the style of 'art deco' because the audience chose that as the design style which appealed to them the most. I've done this because the retro logo I made doesn't go with the 'art deco' style and it's another chance to get the audience involved in the creation of my products.

May 9th 

  • After finally getting the logo right, I have started the critical analysis and will begin the reflection shortly.

May 10th

  • Today, I started production on my poster and again, I got the audience involved in the making of it. I wasn't expecting the amount of feedback I got given but it really benefitted my work and me as a designer. 

May 11th 

  • Today, I created the tote bag and unisex t-shirt. The creation of these items involved displacement mapping because unfortunately, I wasn't able to get them printed onto actual items because of time constraints, so instead, I used photoshop to create a realistic mock-up of what the final product would look like. 




 




Comments

Post a Comment