Research.Design

As mentioned in the previous post, I am continuing my research for a project I am doing in the Chattanooga area with my Professional Practice class. This is my first time at real-life client experience, and I am enjoying it to the fullest. I have found that I really get excited about the research part of process. In order to get a feel of what a client needs, deadlines, objectives, and etcetera a creative brief is designed and then additional research is done on top of a Creative Brief. I have been assigned to do Competitive Research. The first day I got assigned to this, I was off to work. I realized all the research that needed to be done in order to assess the project. The research was very intriguing and eye opening because I found out a lot that I would not have if I had not done this process. I can understand now why the brief/research is crucial in developing a design. I still highly enjoy creating designs/logos, which is the next step in the project, but I am now a firm believer in laying a firm foundation in research. I can see through the research that everyone else is doing in the class that we are all excited about this project…Which accounts for a lot. I am interested in seeing how the class completes the project but also very thankful for this real life experience.

Wonderfull.PhotoShop.

 

I am still working with Photoshop and learning different techniques with pictures. This week I am fascinated with the filter tool. This tool can quickly destroy the picture but if done right it comes out beautiful. A few years ago when I was introduced to Photoshop I was overwhelmed and did not know what to do first in Photoshop. The program can be very confusing for someone who has never worked with it before. However, this class Process and Materials for Graphic Design has heightened my interest in Photoshop. Now I am excited to learn more in techniques and tricks. There are so many undiscovered tools I have not uncovered yet. Every time I sit down to edit a photo I learn something new. For instance, yesterday, I learned how to use more filter options and how to make the picture look right and not horrible by using the filters. My favorite filter option is the Find Edges command. I can control the width of the edges and the colors. I wish I could meet the person who created this program because I admire there hard work and genius ideas. I know by learning all the techniques in Photoshop are going to help me the remainder of my career. Even though new editions will be introduced, the same underlining concept will still be present.

 

 

 

Photoshop Wonders

 

Photoshop is an amazing tool once I realized how to work the system. This semester has been the first time I have been able to walk through different ways to manipulate an image. The project was to use images and do over 50 different filters, adjustments and manipulate to the image and then do the whole process over again with more images. The goal is to get acquainted with the tools in Photoshop. This allowed me to learn the tools available and use them in a resourceful way. One of my favorite new designs is using two pictures and using the mask tool to manipulate how the two images relate to one another. I have seen pictures and wondered how the artist produced such as beautiful image by combining two images and now I know how to develop a picture using a mask. I worked with two main images and went through eight different mask settings which were the following:

-color adjusting one mask image with keeping one picture untouched

-creating a graphic feel to one image while keeping one picture untouched

-graining one image while keeping one picture untouched

-solarising one image

-grayscale one image

-mosaic one image

-color halftone one image

-find edges one image

Then that is just the first step, I can change levels, layers, and so on to achieve the right amount of light and color. Photoshop is an amazing tool but I have to watch out because one filter or step can throw the picture into something not expected.

First Experience

 

To be honest, I never heard of creating a design brief for a project before now. During my time at school or outside of school I had not heard talk of this process until this semester. It has been eye opening and very intriguing. I was assigned to read “Creating the Perfect Design Brief” by Peter Phillips in order to get prepared for writing my first design brief for our first real-life project. For this project, we are designing an identity, logo, overall feel, for Chattanooga’s Buy Fresh Buy Local awareness project. We will be designing a guide, window decal, doing press releases, web-site, and anything else which will benefit awareness. During the process of creating the design brief for the project, it became clear why developing a brief is so imperative. I was apart of creating the first and second sections of the design brief which were Project Overview/Background and Category Review. By preparing these two sections, a clear objective was formed and my mind began racing with ideas for logo/identity designs. In the first section of the design brief, a clear problem is stated and a possible solution to the problem is presented. As stated by Peter Phillips, some people only read the first section or two of the brief so it is imperative to get the overall information in that section.

 

I am now becoming a believer in creating a design brief for my projects because I have seen how successful and beneficial they are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

History of Printing.The man who started it all…

Johannes Guttenberg is the man who we should be in aw of. He is the man who created movable type and revolutionized the way one could print. The process and time is took Guttenberg to come up with a solution is mind boggling. Today the process is so simple and we take it for granted, but back then the resources were not available. First, he had to come up with a game plan and think through the whole process to make sure he was doing it accurately and successfully. For the process he had to create every single letter by and for that he produced a mold for casting blocks of type. Next, he had to make an oil based printing ink, position the letters, get paper made for the book, make the printing press, and pray the machine would work properly.

 

I recently watch a movie that recreated the building and production of Guttenberg’s printing press. It was two main guys re-building the whole process. They made the mold to create letters, positioned the letters to be printed, made the printing press, and made the paper. The process was excruciatingly hard and took patience and practice. The hard work paid off for the gentlemen and once they were done it was like kids on Christmas morning. They were elated and wanted to print more copies because it was so satisfying. Can you image Johannes excitement if these men were excited?

The Brand Gap

Gut feeling = A brand

 

The Brand Gap is one of the most extraordinary books I have read in a while. I am not one to pick up a book and read, but this one caught my attention and kept it. I have never thought about brands in this much thought before and its amazing. One of the astonishing discoveries that came across while I was reading was a section mentioning that we base our choices more on symbolic attributes. Such attributes like what kind of people are purchasing this brand…who makes it…and when those questions came up I instantly thought of the company Apple. It is the top dog in the computer world and once Apple goes public with a new concept the rest of the world follows. Ipods emerged and soon to follow were cheaper MP3s that would not always work as perfectly as an Ipod. It’s the ‘thing’ to have among teenagers and adults and more and more individuals seem to be switching from Microsoft to apple. Another spectacular thing Apple is doing is sticking with a product. The company is not trying to add a car line because they are successful in one area. “The Brand Gap” mentions this point… to focus on a product. Some companies are successful at this and some are not.