Similar Artefact Type

Objective
To research the variety of typography used on your chosen artefact.
To select a possible typeface for your product.

Task 1:

Gather together 6 or more examples of similar artefacts. (If you are making a console game cover, then you will collect lots of game covers.)

Crop them so that it only shows the type of the title.

Print them off and stick them in your sketchbook

• Describe the fonts used.
• Are there any similarities that appear in many examples?
• Why do you think they are suitable for the artefacts?
• Analyse using the Style & Personality section of these type terms

Task 2:

Look on Dafont to select a typeface that could be used on your own artefact.

• Try a few
• Present them using the name of your artefact
• Describe why the examples you have chosen is good for your design.

Task 3:
Choose your favourite example.
How has the designer arrived at the type design? What is it made of or look like? (scuffed metal, swords, wooden branches, cloud etc)
Use images and swatches to explain. 

Expected time

2 hr +

Deadline

Start of the lesson - Tues 17 March

Creative Statement

When you have completed writing, delete ALL of my notes - but keep the headings.

Explain the MAIN IDEA for this assignment

Explain that you chose from the range of starting points from the exam paper, explored the theme in a broad manner and then wrote and developed your own brief.

What personally attracted you to the theme in the first place?

Describe the CONTEXT of your work

Discuss a couple of the techniques or means of communicating that you first researched.

"My original research lead you to consider a range of techniques, media and means of communicating my ideas for (album cover, magazine, book cover)."
 

What is the purpose of your design? Who is it appealing to? Where might it be seen?
 

"The purpose of my design is two-fold. I have to ensure that the design communicates ....... to the audience and that

What important genre or formal conventions did you take into consideration?

Whose work REALLY inspired you? What was it about their work that gave you such a creative spark? Most importantly, how did you take this inspiration and develop it? 

What meaning do you want your audience to get from your piece? This could be just a general poetic feeling or maybe definite literal information. Possibly a mixture of them both?

REFLECT on your work critically as it progresses and on its completion

You began with a stage of research into similar artefacts, formal conventions, similar typography.

How did this initial stage help guide your ideas?

You looked at artists and designers that work in a related way, analysed their work and produced a creative response. How did the artist inspire you and give you new ideas?

Next, you gathered primary resources. You took photographs and made a series of initial thumbnails in order to begin the design process. You made a set of drawings and refined your ideas further. You also gathered typography and made your own examples. How did the primary research stage help further develop your work?

Next was a stage of exploring media. You looked at another artist and allowed their ideas to influence you. You didn’t copy them, you gained a ‘new creative direction’ from them. You tried your refined idea out by exploring different media. 

You then explored how colour could be used for your artefact. You used a ‘colour gamut’ to see how the different colour schemes communicated. Why did you choose your final colour scheme? What is it communicating? 

Finally, be critical about your final piece. Does it effectively communicate your idea? What are you pleased with? What and how could you improve it?

Refining Drafts - Homework

Objective
To further develop your layout ideas

Task
Take one of your favourite scamps and draw it neater at an A5-ish size.

Do this 3 times with the same design, refining each time as you go. After each drawing, annotate to describe what elements you can change and refine. This could be typography size/placement, character size/placement,
You don't have to include colour at this stage.

AO2 Refine their
ideas through experimenting and selecting appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes

Presentation
Photograph and post to presentation.

Checklist for assessment
3 refined drafts with annotations.

Deadline
Monday 2 March

Exploring Media

Exploring media
(6 weeks left until exam) Deadline: March 2nd

In a nutshell, make your design. Just see how it goes.

It is very important that you are influenced by the artist you have just studied in SOME way. You may wish to incorporate another - linked! - artist / designer / photographer and do another small investigation.

For this task, you will have time to develop your ideas by exploring different media. You should attempt to choose a technique or medium that is similar to one that you have mainly been using. For example, if you have begun to create a photography-based artefact, choose more photography developments that show that you can move an idea along, that you are playful and creative.

Look in my books and on Pinterest for ideas.

By the end of this section, your idea should have moved along considerably and you should be breaking new ground.

Please have fun, work hard, and be playful. Honestly, you will get marks for being courageous as well as skilful.

Thumbnails

Deadline February 10, 2020

Objective
To work through your initial ideas in an uninhibited fashion. Working in pen means that you can work quickly and not worry about making mistakes. Consider the fact that one of the ideas that you make will eventually make it through to be a final design. Get all of your ideas no paper now, however strange.
For those who consider themselves not able to draw... think of these as diagrams rather than drawings.
The work at the bottom of the post is not A grade standard, but they have a lovely looseness to the drawing.

Task
Using a pen, draw out your ideas over a couple of sketchbook spreads or more.
Firstly, pour all of your ideas out. 

Then, if you like one, in particular, develop that one for a few scamps until you have a better, more refined version.

By refining, you are looking at improving the placement of the title, or the direction of an image. 

Presentation
Sketchbook.
You may colour them if you wish, but do it loosely and don't spend too much time on it.

Checklist for assessment
Loads and loads of different ideas being explored and refined.

Time needed
3 hrs

Artists research / visual response

Deadline  Feb 3 2020

Objectives
To further your understanding of graphic communication practitioners

Task
Using the web and my books, research and present a contextual investigation of a relevant artist, illustrator, photographer or designer.
List of some artists and illustrators here
Use THIS instruction sheet.

Conventions of the form - Home Learning Task

Objective 
To increase your understanding of the elements needed to create a successful artefact. The 'form' relates to the artefact that you are making for component 1. Graphics products come in various 'forms': game covers, packaging, magazines boo covers etc.

Task 
Annotate a few examples of artefacts to indicate the elements that are typically included.
If you find that there is not much on a single digipak or book cover, use a few different examples - especially if you are aiming for a 7 or 8.

Tip
Those looking at children's' picture books, you will find that once you have noted down things such as title, author, image etc, you will wish to examine some ina little more detail. Notice general things about the use of type, is it straight? what sort of typefaces? Maybe look at the size and shape of characters, how big are their heads? what expression do they have? You are after generalisations, not specifics for these tasks.

Those looking at album cover design, once you have completed stating that most albums have a title, image and barcode, you will want to look a little deeper. Try gathering some example from different genres (metal, country, indie, Blues, EDM etc) and noting the similarities or differences that they have. As an example, you may wish to spot at how Blues albums mainly feature musicians holding or playing their main instrument - probably guitar. This is due to the audience's fondness for seeing blues artists and being able to actually play rather than mime. There is an authenticity.

Time needed 
2 hrs over at least a double page spread. 

Deadline 
Jan 27th