Studio Brief 04 - Augmented Design

''Your task is to produce a print-based advertising campaign across at least 3 print-based advertising deliverables (e.g. poster, flyer, billboard, etc.) to accompany your 'A brief history of...' website that features an (or some) element(s) of interactivity. There are several methods, platforms and technologies available that can be exploited in providing interactive elements to print media therefore it is important that you research these thoroughly in order to develop an effective augmented design.''

Since my website is about craft ales and alehouses, I need to think about my target audience. I think 18 and 19 year olds are too young to care about craft ales, and are still in the 'drinking is new' phase where you drink whatever you can. I also think craft ales are quite a trendy thing to drink so I'm going to cap by target audience at 35. I also need to consider where my promotional material with be displayed. This will not only inform how I design my work, but also what I could design.

Materials wise, I would need to use the cheapest possible, as things will need to be mass produced and thus would become extremely expensive with the use of special printing techniques or materials.

What could I design?
Beermats
Rubber Bar Mats
Bottle Openers
Bottle Neck Tags
Posters
T-Shirts
Coasters
Stamps

I don't want to produce flyers or brochures as I feel like they're just too boring and irrelevant to my concept.

Design Research

 I really like how balanced this magazine cover is and how the type is laid out. The neutral earthy tones in the photograph balance well with the dark grey background, which creates a sophisticated feel that i'd like to project onto my own work.

 A much more fun design than the previous, I love this style of illustration which utilizes a refined colour palette.

 Although the production methods involved in producing these amazing bookmarks would be far too expensive, I love the patterns used which were inspired by different geological features.

Although this poster could be perceived as boring, it communicates it's message extremely effectively, which my poster will need to do if it will compete with the huge amount of other posters everywhere.

Coasters are the most obvious media type for this task. Being in every pub/bar on every table their influence is unparalleled in this industry. I will probably stay away from using colour as I find that people overuse it currently, and the most noticeable pieces of design are black and white due to their contrast with the surroundings.

 Looking into other media I could design that is found around pubs such as coasters, spill mats and barblades.

 Poster ideas. I didn't like these because I felt that the imagery was too cliche.

 Bottleneck designs in a flag style. I liked the idea of having a piece of advertising going on bottles although this design wasn't very versatile and the dimensions didn't give much room.

 This style of bottleneck ad works much better giving more room to design. I used a shield shape which is often used on ale pump designs to keep to the ale theme.

Coaster ideas which focused on typography. Due to a lot of the imagery being cliche I decided that type based coasters would be best.

 First bottleneck idea, didn't give enough room for the type which i wanted a certain size, plus definitely no room for imagery.

 Minimal poster. Imagery was too cliche although I liked the typeface, Baron Neue.

 First coaster which inspired the whole barley/yellow type theme. I liked this but I wanted a coaster that was up market enough to be used anywhere.

 Experimenting with colour and type, I didn't like this at all. I need to learn more about typography and how it can be played with.

 Original shield style bottleneck design. I liked this but it was too boring in black and white.

 Again trying different colour combos, this time orange. i liked this, but many people found it difficult to read so I scrapped the idea.

9 Basic Principles of Responsive Web Design - by Sandijs Ruluks

Responsive vs Adaptive web design

It might seem the same but it isn't. Both approaches complement each other, so there is no right or wrong way to do it. Let the content decide.

The flow

As screen sizes become smaller, content starts to take up more vertical space and anything below will be pushed down, it's called the flow. That might be tricky to grasp if you are used to design with pixels and points, but makes total sense when you get used to it.

Relative units

The canvas can be a desktop, mobile screen or anything in between. Pixel density can also vary, so we need units that are flexible and work everywhere. That's where relative units like percents come in handy. So making something 50% wide means it will always take half of the screen (or viewport, which is the size of the opened browser window).

Breakpoints

Breakpoints allow the layout to change at predefined points, i.e. having 3 columns on a desktop, but only 1 column on a mobile device. Most CSS properties can be changed from one breakpoint to another. Usually where you put one depends on the content. If a sentence breaks, you might need to add a breakpoint. But use them with caution – it can get messy quickly when it's difficult to understand what is influencing what.

Max and Min values

Sometimes it's great that content takes up the whole width of a screen, like on a mobile device, but having the same content stretching to the whole width of your TV screen often makes less sense. This is why Min/Max values help. For example having width of 100% and Max width of 1000px would mean that content will fill the screen, but don't go over 1000px.

Nested objects

Remember the relative position? Having a lot of elements depending on each other would be difficult to control, therefore wrapping elements in a container keeps it way more understandable, clean and tidy. This is where static units like pixels can help. They are useful for content that you don't want to scale, like logos and buttons.

Mobile or Desktop first

Technically there isn't much of a difference if a project is started from a smaller screen to a bigger (mobile first) or vice versa (desktop first). Yet it adds extra limitations and helps you make decisions if you start with mobile first. Often people start from both ends at once, so really, go and see what works better for you.

Webfonts vs System fonts

Wanna have a cool looking Futura or Didot on your website? Use webfonts! Although they will look stunning, remember that each will be downloaded and the more you'll have, the longer it will take to load the page. System fonts on the other hand are lightning fast, except when the user doesn't have it locally, it will fall back to a default font.

Bitmap images vs Vectors

Does your icon have lot of details and some fancy effects applied? If yes, use a bitmap. If not, consider using a vector image. For bitmaps use a jpg, png or a gif, for vectors the best choice would be a SVG or an icon font. Each has some benefits and some drawbacks. However keep in mind the size -- no pictures should go online without optimization. Vectors on the other hand often are tiny, but some older browsers won't support it. Also, if it has lots of curves, it might be heavier than a bitmap, so choose wisely.

Oranges are not the only fruit - Penguin Publications Competition - Responsive

As one of the Responsive tasks, I have chosen to enter the Penguin Publications Competitions. The book is about an orphan who is adopted by devout Christians who bring the girl up with a strict religious education. As the girl grows up she discovers she is a lesbian and explores her sexuality, leaving her christian roots behind; much to the dismay of her family and peers.
I've found it very difficult to come up with designs that aren't cliche's that are also visually interesting and relevant.

 Oranges with a single strawberry, the idea being that the unique object is outnumbered and trapped.

More sketches which explore the fruit imagery. incorporating the X (xx female sex chromosomes), and a cross which is obviously religious.

Image as type replacing letters with fruits. I like the aesthetic of this idea but the concept behind it isn't strong.

I really liked the concept behind this idea, however I feel like it may be too complex. The orange representing her original way of life, once religion was cut out (in a literal sense here), her feminism and sexuality can be explored (shown by the ♀ symbol).

Inspiration / Typography research

I really like the typographic hierarchy on this book, as well as the readability of the typefaces. The broken lines are also aesthetically pleasing and conceptual.

I like the typography here but am unsure about the use of a typewriter font. Although it's conceptual I don't like it being used with the bold typeface.

Basic typographic layout but it works well. The colour choices are also interesting.

I bought some watercolours and wanted to experiment with different illustration styles. I knew I would have to keep things simple for two reasons, because of my skill level, and because of the time I had allocated to do this project. I tried crosshatch, simple lines, fineliner, brushes and inks.

I photoshopped them to enhance the saturation and levels making them stand out more. The vivid colours are much more exciting and eyecatching. 

 

I originally planned on using multiple fruits on the frontcover, however after talking with peers I decided on just using one large illustration. I chose this one because of the connotations behind the X, as well as the pleasing contrast that the brush pen gave the orange. 

Adjusting type and taking a few steps back. I was experimenting with different positions for the text because I didn't want to go for the standard centered layout. I thought the blue was working until I change it to white whilst experimenting with different colours. This just goes to show how experimentation is incredibly important. I also made huge changes after printing it for the first time and seeing it in it's usual format and media type.

Final blue design. After critting this, I realised I needed to change the colour scheme and center the text

Finished design in situe. I prefer the white as it makes the book less garish and much cleaner.