PROJECT EVALUATION
P1/M1 Understand how media, materials and processes are used in others’ work to convey ideas and meaning:
One of the main things I have learnt from developing these outcomes is that I tend to rush ahead with ideas and decide too quickly on an idea/any idea that I feel would work, and that sometimes I need to slow down and experiment and play around with ideas, because the best design could actually be unexpected. I have learned many things about the programs I have been using also, they are certain tools that I didn't know existed, that make Graphic Design a whole lot easier for the artist. For example, the master page tool makes it a lot easier to keep the main elements of a template in place, while being able to change or add to the text of it, without accidentally tweaking something without meaning to. In lieu of these new features I was introduced to, I have learned that while my theory in Graphic Design and my use of terminology is consistent and well communicated, my practical skills still need a lot of work if I want to do this professionally. I have also learnt quite a bit about the details of size, it's effect on printing, and different paper types. While printing my final outcome out, in the design studio where I study, I was also introduced to cutting tools such as a laser-guillotine and a cutting knife, and through using them I have learned of their properties, what they are best used for, and that sometimes just using scissors can give you a neater and more accurate cut, especially when working with curved images. The other things I have learned as part of this unit is the use of semiotics and hidden images within logos, which help to persuade or communicate certain things to a viewer, however, when researching said logos with hidden images, not many companies actually utilize them within their logos. Along the lines of these semiotics, I also focused on the importance of colour, and how certain colours can communicate certain things. Before these interesting subjects I focused on analysing art pieces from the Surrealism movement, and learned that this art movement used sub-concious imagery to fuel their artistic creations, and the element of psycology that was used to explain and expand upon artistic subjects. Other things I have learnt during these past units are things such as random association, and a way of refining ideas called the SCAMPER technique.
The influences within my work I think is obvious at this moment in time, halloween! Halloween related themes and movies/culture mostly inspired my work. Things like Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Ghostbusters and halloweens commercial identity. Candies like candy corn and iced cookies were also present in my mind when looking at colour schemes, pumpkins first and formost. I am/was more inspired by the kitschy side of halloween, rather than the scary or macabre side of things. Good examples are shopping isles in supermarkets dedacated to halloween around the time of halloween, and the general playfulness of the products stocked on the shelves. The focus was definitely more "fun" than scary. Halloween decorations were also present within my inspiration as these tend to be garish and fun, especially if aimed at younger audiences. I also took inspiration from my own experiences on halloween, such as dressing up, eating lots of sweets etc.
P2/M2 Be able to develop visual language:
In the beginning, my clear intention was to create a halloween themed restaurant that combined the classy simple structure of a restaurant, but retained the wacky and fun elements of commercial halloween themes. My intention was to create a restaurant that captured that essence in some way, and displayed it in a unique and interesting manner. My intention was never to create a scary, gross or gory visual brand identity in any way, as this would put diners off of their food, however, in order to enhance the halloween theme, some gross and gory menu items would be present, as when hosting a halloween party, such recipes are usually present to enhance the parties theme, otherwise, most of the food is usually coloured black and orange and left at that. As with most of my projects on this course, I had a very clear picture of what I wanted to produce, however, this hampered my progress in some ways, as I didn't really want to experiment with different ideas, as I already knew what I wanted. Now, in an actual workplace this could've worked to my advantage, as getting things done quickly and efficiently, and deciding on visual elements swiftly, is a good trait to have in any design team. However, as I was learning and being trained, this was in some ways a negative aspect, as experimenting is one of the most important processes within this environment, to show and provide evidence to tutors that you have considered alternatives.
My intial intention with the logo was to create a pumpkin themed (icon of a pumpkin) logo to match the original title of my proposed idea/restaurant "The Laughing Pumpkin", I chose this because it really speaks and communicates halloween/halloween themes efficiently, due to the very common and almost universal association between halloween, autumn, and orange coloured vegetables/fruits. I felt and still feel that this was a good brand, restaurant name and that this would be a realistic name for a halloween restaurant in real life. The name that I ended up changing it to (and thus changing the logo to compliment and relate to) "Devilish", seems a little detached from the halloween theme, even though satanic themes are prevalent in halloween movies, horror movies, tradition, halloween lore and such festivities. However, this detatchment gives the name mystery, and I felt that this could therefore intrigue passerbys to take a look at what the restaurant had to offer, thus utilizing a marketing strategy based on curiosity. Despite my preference for my first title, I also feel that "Devilish" can definitely work as a restaurant name, but maybe for something less related to halloween and more towards the devil himself.
Another aspect is also the naming of cafe's versus restaurants, most restaurants/pubs are usually named something along the lines of "The Queens..", "The__of__", or "The___" by using a sentence rather than just one word, restaurant names give off a classier and more upmarket vibe. Whereas one word names such as "Devilish", "Bakery", "Purple" or "Wetherspoons" have a more fun or unique feel to them.
The main difference between the two names I came up with is that one of them describes an object, whereas another describes a feeling or trait. In terms of my logos, I definitely feel that my final logo was the most successful as I was able to fully realize it digitally, and also able to add elements of potential traditional wood-work to it as well (the backboard for my final logo) even though all of my work, apart from my sketches, was created digitally. I do also feel that most of my designs I came up with and experimented with digitally could have potential in reality and actually work as brand logos with a lot of refining, but with the skills I have now, I could not realize their full potential. In future I will definitely refer back to these ideas as they are good standalone ideas, but due to my lack of practice using the programs I used (Indesign and Illustrator) at this moment in time, the final outcome was the most efficient solution design-wise.
P3/M3 Know how art and design is used to communicate ideas and meaning:
Now it's time to look at why or how my other logo ideas could've worked, and why they didn't! My first logo idea was pretty basic, and was the most obvious symbol associated with halloween in my opinion, my first idea was that of a pumpkin, with either the restaurants name carved into it, or a laughing expression carved into it. My idea was to utilize the black or orange space (the logo was going to use the very common black and orange halloween colour theme) to create a glowing effect. I did feel that this idea had a lot of potential, and this was actually the design idea I spent the most time on throughout the process. The most succesful part of this design was the sheer obvious-ness of it in some ways, pumpkins are typically associated with halloween, along with a black and orange colour scheme, to mimic the colours of a carved and lit pumpkin, most people, including kids, would be able to relate the two things together, the pumpkin shape, and halloween. The issue we ran into, however, was just that, the sheer obvious-ness and the lack of imagination. It was too obvious, and in no way unique. Throughout the process of experimenting, despite the potential of the logo, the lack of unique-ness and lack of creative ways to expand upon the idea ultimately became it's downfall. Now, in real life, if you were going to create a halloween themed cafe' this would've been the best choice, because it was easy to understand and was obviously related to the theme, however, due to the requirement of this project, for me to specifically create a unique and interesting logo and corporate identity, this logo idea was much to obvious and much to common, for it to even be considered "unique". It broke no rules, and therefore, did not stand out. Now, this idea could've been expanded on more creatively, say for example, if the logo was meant to also be gorey or scary, by making the pumpkin rotten, scary looking, or attaching the pumpkin theme to something dark and sinister, such as monsters or murder. I could've also based a logo that featured a mascot, on the pumpkin theme, creating a character that utilized and retained pumpkin-esque characteristics, but wasn't an actual pumpkin. If I had come up with these ideas at the beginning and come up with them while applying the scamper technique, this logo could've been a lot better elaborated upon and could've worked as a creative, and unique logo while relating to the theme efficiently.
Now lets look at another one of my designs, the mirror logo. This logo was based on an idea I formulated while researching halloween actually, one of the traditional halloween festivities was to look into a mirror on the stroke of midnight holding a candle in pitch black darkness, the idea was that mirrors communicated and acted as portals to the spirit realm or hell, and in this festivity, you would either see the face of your soulmate in the mirror, or a skull, which meant death to someone around you. Halloween festivities have some roots in divination, and this festivity follows those roots. My idea was to create a logo in which the name of the restaurant, "The Laughing Pumpkin" was appearing or reflected in the mirror, drawing inspiration and referencing to the above described activity/festivity. A unique idea, but not one that could be easily portrayed or understood, a person would have to know about this halloween festivity and the mirorrs connection with divination and the relation between divination and halloween. Meaning that this logo idea was really, really limited in terms of relatability. Another issue was that I wasn't skilled enough with Illustrators tools to make the reflective effect, or even give the mirror the depth it needed to visualise and communicate the effect I was looking for. Plus, even with the effect, my tutor thought that it might be too detailed for a logo, which could negatively effect the communication of the logo.
P4/M4 Be able to communicate by using the language of art and design:
I feel that I did well when it came to coming up with unique ideas and creating thumbnail sketches. I also feel that I did well in working within my current skills and realizing when an idea wasn't going to work. I also feel that throughout this unit, and most of my other units in the past, researching and collecting information has been and is something I excel at. I also feel that writing essays and analysing artistic pieces is something I have done efficiently and well. I also feel that my use of interesting color schemes was something I did well, my graphic designs are certainly unique and really depict my preferences aesthetically. I also felt that my ability to take references and symbols, figures and subject related activities and interpret them through design was also something I did relatively well. I always find that my research is usually influencial and definitely helps me make design choices, it also inspires my design aesthetic too. My tutors were very helpful in pointing me towards sources and articles for information, in areas that I wasn't already versed in. I find that it's best to look at many different articles and sources before deciding which facts to include or base design choices upon as wikipedia isn't always accurate, and other sites, especially when it comes to art related things, may actually give you more accurate and truthful facts, looking at the most recent articles on a subject is alwasy a good idea as this makes sure that your research it up to date with the latest information on certain subjects.
D1 Have you created an imaginative and independent portfolio that meets the client brief? Is your idea unique yet connected to a range of visual stimulus with ideas and meaning that demonstrates an independent, original and visually pleasing Restaurant Branding. If so, how have you achieved this?
Overall, I feel that while some of my work and progress within and throughout this project may have been sluggish, or even mediocre, I definitely feel content with my outcomes, and feel that while my work could definitely be refined in future or even expanded upon, at this moment in time it works well and fulfills it's purpose as a brand identity, and a unique and aesthetically pleasing one at that.
When it comes to why certain logo ideas could've been and or/are successful, I feel that my final choice for my outcome is successful in it's unique take on the halloween theme, and successful in its aesthetic rebellion against commonly associated halloween colour schemes, and is fresh due to that uniqueness. Most halloween themes feature black or purple, or any other deep, dark colours somewhere in the theme and layout, even if only used in one place and not repeated throughout a colour scheme. My logo completely rebels against this convention as I have only used bright colours, colours that are probably associated with positivity and happiness as opposed to creepy, satanic themes. However, this also works in my favour marketing-wise, as I would want my customers to enjoy the experience, rather than being scared or frightened by it, the bright colours also give my logo a more family-friendly and fun feel, meaning that my audience is widened, as the theme could also appeal to people who aren't neccesarily looking for a scary or creepy halloween themed event. However, some target audiences might specifically avoid the restaurant due to its lack of scary or gorey-ness.
But, despite all of these differences and unique choices, the logo still remains related and associable with halloween and satanic themes due to it's shape, and expression, the eyes are a devious shape, and with the addition of devil horns and a spiked tail, it has a mischevious mood to it. The addition of a wooden backboard also adds a surprising element of homely-ness and warmth to the use of the logo and the overall presentation, as wooden backboards are popular in grill-themed family-restaurants, that usually have friendly and warm atmospheres, it is also a unique and unexpected addition to the presentation, considering that the restaurant is vegan/vegettarian in it's recipes (something that I believe I proposed in my proposal). Overall, this logo is definitely the most succesful due to the combination of interesting and stimulating factors. The design is clean cut, professional but fun and breaks away from tradition, thus making it an interesting logo that intriques viewers.
I do feel that my final outcome, at this moment in time, is to a high standard, it could definitely be taken to a more refined and more improved standard, but in order to do that certain things would have to be done, and those things would use resources not directly linked to graphic design. For example, if I were to create this outcome from scratch again, I would spend some time creating a real wooden backboard for it, as opposed to just having a wooden effect added to some hard card. Or I could even experiment with 3-D printers to generate something similar. When it came to the cutting out of my backboard, it proved difficult, and I definitely feel that a laser cutting technology of somesort (that could cut out intricate shapes in paper) could've done a better job at this, than me doing it by hand. I definitely feel that this design has the potential to go even further, but it does work as a final outcome in it's most recent form. If it as going to actually be used in a cafe, I would recommend having the menu printed in even rigider card or plastic even, and having the backboard made out of wood or plastic.
I would have definitely liked to try working with real wood for my menu's backboard, and maybe I would have liked to try creating a menu traditionally instead of digitally. So I guess in terms of different materials, traditional as opposed to digital creation. I think that maybe I would've liked to work in 3D and maybe utilised this option. I can't really think of any other mediums I would've liked to use, especially in the area of graphic design.
I'd have to say that overall my weaknesses are mostly the practical things, remembering program shortcuts, using programs, getting measurements correct, creating curved paths, remembering to take screenshots etc. I also feel that my precipitation with designs (knowing what will work and what won't work) could also improve a lot. Another weakness of mine is my lack of organisation sometimes, especially when it comes to finding the final versions of things or the most up to date versions, and finding work I have already completed. Time management is also one of my weaknesses, I am usually late with deadlines and I am quite a slow worker, so I can't say that my time managment was particularly strong throughout this unit and this course.
When it comes to my computing skills, generally I'm satisfied with them, I definitely feel that there could be some improvements, especially when working with programs and utilising their features correctly. I definitely feel that my "deeper" understanding could use some work, as there is still a lot more to computers than what I have learned on this course. I really enjoyed learning about the history of computing earlier on in this course and would be interested in pursuing that further, as research and history is something excel in and enjoy. In future I will definitely focus on improvement in this area, but as of now I am relatively satisfied.
I do feel that I have progressed as a designer and I definitely feel that I have improved on evaluating and recognizing my own strengths and weaknesses. I feel that I have come to understand my preferences in design quite well and that I tend to lean towards incredibly minimalistic designs as opposed to busy ones. I feel that something I have learned throughout this course is that somethings still need a lot of practise, and that I'd be better doing that in my free time, without deadlines etc. I feel that I have progressed very efficiently in my learning and understanding of Graphic Design and certain aesthetics. My practical skills have improved slightly, although I still feel that I need to improve on combining the theoretical with the practical, a the creative and artistic with those two things.