Boomer's PPD Blog

As part of the personal project i'm working on with a couple of friends for the t-shirt company Fallen Heart Clothing I re-worked a logo that had been sketched out originally and then printed onto vinyl a set of stickers for use as promotional material. I've also set up an online shop with some very basic designs on that can be bought should you wish!Basically what you do is create your designs (in RGB format) and upload them as PNG's onto your online shop. Then you choose your products and where you want your design. Simples. It's quite limited in that you only have a 10" by 10" square on the front or back (or a 4" by 4" pocket) but they print anything you want and there's a whole host of products from t-shirts to hoodies to hats, bags, clocks and even video cameras.

Stickers:



Now i've rushed a few of these designs but for me this is definately the easiest way for me to see how my product might look online and on t-shirts, and its a great tool for me to correspond with my friends in business about new ideas and possible directions.
And so if you go on my online shop you'll be greeted by this wonderful sight...



And then if you fancy a particular shirt, this is how the t-shirts look on the cafepress website to order...




And that, my friends, is the bomb.

For me, business cards seem to be where the most interesting leeway lies in design terms, and I think they can be really interesting and unique, something quite special. So I want to put a bit more focus into mine when it comes to identity design and stuff.

Business cards don't have to be flat and boring - they can have some unique properties that relate to the subject matter. I want mine to have something interactive with it.

Simple logo design and layout.


Interactivity.




Contextual link

The main skills i have developed this module are my software skills with after effects and dvd studio. I really think that i have come to grips with the software and its uses, and its seems to come really easily to me. I've spent a lot of time working within the software, and although my final idents are fairly simple, i hope that comes through. This software is definately something i would like to explore more and use in future projects.

I've really enjoyed working with motion graphics, and if ever on this course i were to find a subject to look further into and further my work in it would be this. Film and moving image is a big part of my personal and now professional life/work and it comes naturally to me.

Also i have been much better at uploading and using my blog in the way it's meant to be used than in any other project i have done, to an extent that for once i don't feel like it'll be a hinderance to my final grade. This might be due to the digital nature of the work (both practice and context) and that it is then simpler to upload etc, but whatever the reason i have definately improved greatly in this area.

In a similar respect i've been much better at dedicating time and efforts consistently throughout the brief to the work at hand and not getting distracted. There's still room for improvement in the first, say, 2 weeks, but generally my organisation has been much better.

Because of the digital work, and because i already have a great affinity for film, research has been much easier. I have been able to draw on past/prior knowledge of film/film media and not necessarily have to research new items, which has been a big help. A lot of the pacing, sound and general aesthetic in what i did has been drawn from/inspired by stuff i'd already seen. It makes me realise that i need to been constantly 'updating' my own knowledge of graphic design so in future i won't have to go searching new items.

One problem with my work has been (again?) the 'design for' aspect. I still struggle to get out all my ideas on paper before selecting which to continue with. I tend to have a few ideas and sift through them in my head, developing them on the way, and when they get onto paper, they then get taken forward. The silent movie brief is a case in point - i couldn't help myself developing all the storyboards i drew, and similarily those i didnt do for the idents brief i still want to develop. I think the answer to this is obvious, however i'm not convinced that my way of working is necessarily 'wrong'.

5 things i would do differently next time -
1) get more ideas on paper before setting about developing them
2) not be scared of changing half way through. Fortunately this time i followed my instincts and continued to develop, where previously i have just got stuck then forged on with something i wasnt happy with.
3) my dvd packaging suffered as being left to last, and while not the main focus of the brief, could still have been much done a lot better. In future i'll need to give thought to the 'small' things in good time to do them as much justice as the main brief itself.
4) make sure everything is up on the blog. Even now, knowing i have done better in this than in the past, it still feels like there is work done that i've not put up.
5) continually going back to the module/brief criteria to make sure i'm fullfilling them correctly. i think its fair to say i didn't do this really at all during the last brief, which could help me get a better mark.

attendance - 5
punctuality - 5
motivation - 4
commitment -4
quantity of work - 4
quality of work - 3
contribution to the group - 3