OUGD301 - Evaluation

OUGD301 - Module submission form & bibliography

Brief 1 - Creative Networks

Brief 2 - Reel film magazine

Brief 3 - Form and writing

Brief 4 - Warrington Museum

Brief 5 - Food perception

Brief 1 - The event

The event was a great success and it was brilliant to see all our work in context. I asked my friend, Nicole Holcroft-Emmess who is studying Photography to photograph the entire signage system to keep a record but to also use within our portfolio.

Brief 1 - Web media

Along with the identity and signage & way finding, Rebecca also required us to update their social media presence an provide a logo slide for her presentation. For the social media layouts, we suggested focusing on the idea of community and network and ensuring this is put across through the cover / header photos. We all agreed to use the logo on a white background for the presentation to avoid any loss in colour on screen (last image).

Brief 1 - Tying loose ends

Luke came up with the following floor sticker which Rebecca got printed and delivered just in time for the event. Again, it featured the brand colour palette and font to ensure consistency. We were really chuffed to see everything come together and were looking forward to how it all looked on the night. We then got the signage printed — you never realise how large the scale of the signage is until it is printed, was great to see our work in such a large format.

Brief 1 - Signage development

Through the signage, we wanted to reflect the clean and simple aesthetic of the brand mark and logo. The way finding needed to be clear and to-the-point to avoid any confusion. We ensured brand consistency by using the same colour palette alongside using Apercu Bold. 

As discussed in the meetings, we were free to come up with any ideas. Luke had an idea of displaying tongue-in-cheek messages within the signage simply to create a light-hearted tone of voice to further the Creative Networks brand from a more corporate feel. Although these were proposals, they were well received and the latter ended up going to print! Great result.

We also had the idea of having an elongated signage pointing to the floor stickers that guided the visitor round. To further enhance the lighthearted tone of voice, we proposed a 5ft, A4 width banner to be featured on the pillar near the lift. It was well liked so we went ahead with it!

When experimenting with type setting for the stall banners, I came up with the idea of having the brand name (or the main phrase) in a larger point size with the other copy in the alternate colour at a smaller size. In turn, we believed it created a nice, balanced visual and we decided to use this format throughout the stall signage.

Brief 1 - Signage

For the signage, we went through the route a visitor will take and noted down areas we could feature way finding in order to aid them find their way through the college. We needed an indication as to where to sign in, for example, and signage for the stalls that would be selling products at the event.

Rebecca allowed free reign as to what we included within the signage but we needed to ensure it fit with the branding and had a consistent tone of voice. I took several photos to envision where the signage will be situated.

Brief 1 - Brand

Based on the proposed second set of mark ideas, Rebecca and the marketing team identified a colour scheme they wanted to take forward. The colours were initially experiments based on the contextual references we collated (below). We also spoke to Rebecca about how the mark and brand will translate to the signage and way finding in the big event.

We were required to create an identity that was contemporary, fresh and modern aesthetic and the colours needed to reflect this. They also suggested a more masculine colour scheme of rich blues and deep reds / oranges. We chose a colour palette that felt balanced and could be manipulated in various ways depending on its application.

Rebecca required a beer mat design in a quick turnaround so they could be sent and delivered in time for the event. Luke created the following — simply our mark on the chosen blue / grey background.

Brief 1 - Logo development

We further developed our chosen marks and presented a new set of logos and word marks in the next interim meeting which were very well received. They decided to go with the the top design with a simple Cn monogram mark and the type set in Apercu Bold (which is currently being used in their existing brand material).






We also showcased how the marks would appear as a stamp —

This happened to be a last minute design decision but instantly became my favourite mark of the ones I designed. It feels well-rounded and balanced but also appears strong in its form. They were after a modern and contemporary identity so I tried to keep the mark clean and minimal.

Brief 1 - Mark development

With a quick turnaround (25th October) after starting back in September, we set several interim deadlines to present our ongoing design development with Rebecca and the marketing department for feedback that constantly informed our designs.

Me and Luke each generated our own set of brand marks and type selection to which we would later combine when presenting our initial ideas. I looked at several "Cn" / "CN" / "cn" monograms, focusing primarily on community (encompassing a letterform within another, for example) or speech (signals etc).

We presented the following in our first interim meeting but we realised our first pitch was too refined and later came back to them with more ideas. They liked the marks and the typeface we chose but felt it needed pushing and developed.

Brief 1 - Creative Networks

Me and Luke had originally planned on using the branding for our upcoming studio practice as one of the 4 substantial briefs. Once we realised this could be done for our PPD module, this was later substituted to the National Rail brief (here). However, a brief by the marketing department for the Creative Networks brief was where most of our time was put towards. We decided to then substitute the National Rail brief in favour of this and leave the other to FMP.

We had a meeting with Rebecca from marketing who is heading up a new set of Creative Networks events as of the start of this academic year. We were given a brief to rebrand and update the existing identity to ensure it coincides with its new redevelopment. This is the outline they provided:

The key aspects we took away from the meeting was that the new identity needed to be...

— Contemporary
— Fresh / current
— Engaging
— reflective of the college
— reflective of the current brand materials

Brief 5 - Poster designs

To extend the range, I decided to create a set of abstract but informative poster designs informed by the layouts within the publication. I already had a few ideas which originated from the colour publication but created another for the 'Appearance' section with the Delboeuf illusion, as featured below. I then mocked these up for module submission: