BAGD Exhibition, Poster Promotion

This brief was only a week long, and because of its timing and introduction into the module, I gave myself the best part of two days to complete the brief, from start to finish. I'd planned to develop a concept and solid idea on the first day, and then develop and complete the design on the second day.

Because of the frame and format of the poster, I didn't want to use multiple layers because the effect wouldn't have enough depth in my opinion, I took into consideration the lighting of the space and thought it would've been a good idea to incorporate vinyl, which would hopefully catch the light in its frame.

To start off, Myself and some peers did some word association (mainly because the brief was....brief in its requirements) 

The word association was prompted by three topics that were

-The space itself

-Changes/ Rotates

-Bi-monthly

For an initial starting point this was a good task, however most of the words often strayed onto things that were less relevant. For this reason alone I decided to keep my approach strongly suited to the brief. Choosing ROTATION as my development.

Because of where it was situated and its purpose (to be presented to graphic design students), I decided to keep the design minimal in its layout and create something that would appeal to a broad audience.

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Out of all 3 developments I'm most pleased with the one shown below. This is because it clearly shows the characteristic of rotation both through its type and image. The green also compliments the poster, giving its purpose a positive review.

In terms of vinyl, I initially wanted to incorporate this onto the swirling 'posters', however, I've incorporated gradients to give it that 3D feel, therefore I think it might be more suitable to vinyl cut the black text, reading 'rotating'

Final Design

Due to the timing of my hand in, I wasn't able to print this poster in the correct format, simply because the Print room wasn't fully functional and couldn't turn on computers or print any documents. As a secondary plan, I printed my poster in an A3 format just to give viewers an idea of the final document.

What is Good? Evaluation

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them: 

Choosing to design an exhibition opened up various opportunities to better my skills because it was looking at all aspects of an event which needed graphic design injecting into it. This made it a very exciting experience because I was challenging my design capabilities, taking on numerous deliverables that would ultimately make one overall.

I improved my planning and measurements through the build of my 'resource box'. This was because I had to revisit the measurements multiple times to make sure everything would fit together perfectly especially as I was combining both perspex and wood. It was a tedious task that needed my attention, I'd worked with wood in the past, but never in this way before, I'd designed the box, so that when you took the last A4 document out of the box, you would be fronted with a hive under perspex. 

I also got to revisit my screen printing abilities, except this time, I was experimenting with two colours, something I'd not done before, I had to keep everything cleaner, neater and in order. Especially due to the fact that I was using one screen for these two colours.

Researching. Something that was always daunting, had I done enough? should I of started designing earlier? should I of undertook more primary? these were all questions I'd usually ask myself, however this time I knew I'd done enough, and I knew it had influenced my design direction. I think this was all down to the way the module was structured, it allowed us to  concentrate on research separately then undergo designing. I'd say the collation of my research during this module was excellent, I'd done everything I could really do and find myself knowing nearly too much about the honeybee.

Commercial Printing. Because I'd been experiencing a lot of difficulties and challenges in my path there was literally no way I could get my publications printed within university (due to extended deadlines & time constraints) therefore I needed to contrast and compare printing agencies, I decided to get my publications printed with Blurb which was an American Company but the quality of their prints seemed appropriate for my use. During this process, Blurb had messed up my order and after a string of conversations with one of their workers, they were happy to reduce the price of my shipping costs. Communicating appropriately showed me that it has its benefits rather than going off in a blind rage.

2. What approaches to methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process 

I've learnt to try and source products, materials & printed materials from other locations apart from university, the university is quite restricted in what you can achieve in a product range. My methods of design production have developed so that I want to try and push my product range as far as possible. For this module I sourced my books externally as well as finding certain products to complete the identity of my exhibition.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

Experimentation… I've turned my hand to almost every printing and design procedure, including; woodwork, craft, screen printing, vinyl cutting, embossing, debossing etc. I believe this was a strength when it came to delivering my finals because I had a much more refined outcome, rather than some processes that didn't really work amongst it all.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future ?

In my personal opinion there was only small weaknesses during this module, such as the positioning of the 'B' on the frontside of my staff uniform, or the centre placement of the logo on the publication. Apart from these I can only say that I could've done more… but then again I could've done less. I'd say the only key weakness to this module is the fact that I just designed interfaces, rather than challenging myself to produce an actual working web component.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

Investigate and create a more eye catching format for my publications - the confidence to experiment with my formats in a 3D sense.

Don't make plans that are too rigid that they don't allow room for scope - using Blurb meant my publications had to be sized and drawn in the size & format that they'd suggest.

Not be so serious - Have fun with it - although this doesn't sound academic, if I love what I'm doing, it'll show through to my outcomes, I've recently learnt not to take life too serious in general, you don't know what's around the corner so play and invent.

Not put too much time and emphasis into one area of my outcomes, that the other ones suffer.

Don't let the stress get to you, I work slower, I work sloppier, I work longer when I'm in such a state of mind.

Attendance - 4

Punctuality  - 5 

Motivation - 5

Commitment - 5

Quantity of work produced  - 5

Quality of work produced - 4

Contribution to the group -4

What is Good? 5 Presentational Boards

What is good? Photography

The purpose of the resource box - not only does it present all aspects of the exhibition in a professional manner, it encourages and gives people all of the information they need to start their own hives while also showcasing the amazing little lives of the honeybee.

Research booklet & Publication/

The enclosed Hive/ 

Staff uniform/

What is good? Web Presence

To make the whole thing work as an exhibition, it needed a website to function, a website allows viewers to find out more/ combat the issue of the honeybee. It would allow them to purchase a resource box following on after the exhibitions taken place.

If the QR code scanner (found on outdoor promotions and publications) was scanned...this is where they would end up...

Aligning elements and improving functionality...

Demonstrating how the web presence would alter amongst other devices...

All of the photography is sourced primarily, including everything used in my publications.

What is good? Branding / Deliverables

Final Deliverables / 

/ Final Logo... The logo for me was a success, not only could it be instantly recognised, it also worked across various aspects of the exhibition. It looked quite minimalist from a distance... but as you study the logo closer, you can see the detail involved. Coinciding with the type of exhibition I was hosting, clean cut, minimalist but at the same time detailed and professional.

/ Secondary Logo... Taking influence and inspiration from the packaging of honey I developed a secondary logo which would be used within the publications and act as decoration for the identity. To keep a consistent theme, I used the same title which combines both of the words.... 'Plight' & 'Flight' relating to the devastating issue facing the honeybee's & our hope that they take flight once again.

Deliverables

- Ticket

- Wristband

- Invitation

- Lanyard

- Outdoor promotions

- Newspaper 'hype'

- Resource box

- Publication

- Research booklet

- Staff uniform

You can see the concept of my logo working effectively on the staff's lanyard. 'B' Professional, signifies that they're an expert in bee's and that they're also acting professionally.

Outdoor/ Exterior promotions

Applying a QR code scanner in contemporary times is quite a valuable tool, it will allow viewers who are waiting for buses/ passing by to scan the code using their smart phones. This will directly link them to the website which will fill them in on what the 'B' is really about.

Using a date under the title also raises peoples interests because they're intrigued as to whats happening on that particular date.

Using a page in the newspaper to exploit the exhibition seems like a very good approach, working in synergy with the bus stop promotion, it gives people that sense of mystery and idea to find out what it's all about. The newspaper approach was more of a 'hype' approach, that would hopefully spread over social networking sites as people try and find out what its about.

What is good? Resource box development

I struck gold when I came across this interior of a table, I showed peers just to make sure it wasn't just me that thought there was a resemblance to honeycomb. After salvaging it, I found that not only could it be cut down to fit within my container, but it was the perfect height. The reason I've spent so much time developing this area of my box is because I believe it provides the wow factor the resource box/ containments deserve.

Step 1: Using spray paint, coat the structure in a dark yellow

Step 2: Apply a large amount of honey (In the hope that this would eventually dry and add a sense of realism)

Step 3: Using Pure set honey, try and create varying levels of depth by covering the sides and outlines of the structure, providing it with a less uniform appearance.

Showcasing the developmental stages of the lid - ready to be drilled with specified positions.

The final hive - In my opinion I think I've managed to create a very well balanced hive that fits snugly with all of its contents - although I wish the pure set honey would've set more rigidly, as over time it has began to drop into the holes leaving quite a uniform structure.