OUGD301 - Evaluation

OUGD301 - Module submission form & bibliography

Brief 4 - Warrington Museum

Brief 4 - App / Mobile website

I based the structure of the app on the website layout but in a more simplified format. Due to the size, I couldn't replicate the site completely as the text would be too small at 100%. I reduced the amount of navigation links and removed the grey background entirely. I enlarged the search engine to fit the width of the app so users could tap inside.

The discovery sliding concept translates much better through touch screen gestures. The users can really slide the image to reveal the content underneath making the gesture more interactive.

Brief 4 - Website

I wanted to extend my discovery concept and the overarching brand identity to an online presence. I began with the general web design using a geometric aesthetic to reference the brand mark and iconography. I used flat graphics and the same colour scheme featured throughout all of the promotional materials.

This was my original idea, quickly mocked up for one of the crits, using the Ethnology discovery concept. It was boring and didn't convey the concept as effectively as I hoped.

Another idea I had was to replicate the proposed signage for the interior of the museum within the layout of the website. As the concept is based on discovery, I thought I could use the interactivity for the navigation to reinforce this. I used a towered aesthetic with a grey background to keep it consistent with the look of the brand signage (here)

I changed the header to a charcoal grey as the yellow seemed too prominent. The gif below shows the sliding concept in progress — I wanted the user to 'discover' the content by clicking the arrow to reveal.  I incorporated a search engine at the top of the design so users could also discover content manually, by searching whatever they wish and seeing whether it would be displayed in the museum

Brief 4 - Icon development

After emailing Warrington Museum and chatting to Phil, it was clear that I should alter a couple of the icons for the museum rebrand project. I also proposed some alternate signage in a square format — these would be displayed next to the corresponding area of the museum, hanging from the ceiling.

OUGD301 - Final crit & feedback

Received a bunch of feedback on my work in the final crit, particularly notifying spelling and grammar issues which is spot on as I'm a quick reader (too quick) and tend to skip words / lines. It was great to see everyones work, especially those that I've never seen before and some of the boards gave me inspiration for my own. These were the presentation boards I took along with some physical material:

Crit Boards Old

Brief 4 - Mock ups

Due to financial reasons, I thought it would be better to showcase how my posters would be seen as opposed to printing a large scale poster design and then subsequently photographing it. I found a couple of images online in which I could map my designs onto (double checked with Phil and Andy to make sure this was okay, as long as it's internal - within submission - it will be fine).

I also looked at a couple of signage formats:

Brief 4 - Reply from Warrington Museum

I sent Warrington Museum an email as suggested by others to hear their reviews on the rebrand project and hopefully get some feedback from the source itself. Really pleased to get an email back with some extremely helpful advice and feedback.

They liked the discovery concept and thought despite their limited budget, they could use something like this within their brand. I need to show the icons in conjunction with the signage as the message gets lost when on their own. Once the project is completed, I will send another email with the full proposal and see what they think of the project as a whole.

Brief 4 - Presentation boards

Speaking to Andy, he suggested contacting Warrington Museum as it would be useful to hear their views. Amber said the same thing during my progress tutorial and during my visit to Raw in Manchester, they also suggested presenting my designs to them — even if to get some feedback. I mocked up two presentation boards based on the portfolio boards I showed at Raw and sent them an email today, hopefully I will get a reply soon.

As I only have a rough copy of the exhibition guide printed, I thought it would be useful to mock this up in Photoshop to envision and showcase the concept behind the design — same goes for the poster designs.

Brief 4 - Signage & Wayfinding

One of the fundamental aspects of the branding project is the signage. Although I had these on my crit boards, I haven't fully documented them. Currently, Warrington Museum has no signage aside from boards that are placed next to the lift. However, there is no signage that identifies where each exhibition is until you are inside the room itself.

I reversed out the iconography and created a simple composition to reference the structured and geometric nature of the brand mark and icons. The typeface is the one used in my logo and the arrow is created simply by using the same stroke width as the iconography.

 

 

I also looked at the signage for the exhibitions themselves. I wanted the colours featured on the posters / exhibition guides to be consistent inside the museum, too. I purposely kept the other signage systems black and white so the colour and imagery of the exhibition signs immediately stand out.

 

However, someone suggested in the crit that the type should be at the same point size throughout to ensure consistency. Although I originally decided to have the exhibition signage larger, with a stronger weight, having them all consistent seems like the most logical decision — they seem to work more like a set now.

7/11 Crit boards & feedback

Brief 4 - Iconography development

For the signage inside the museum, I will use an iconography set that I could then apply to a range of material — including the exhibition guides (and maps). I decided to use my logo as a basis for the structure of the icon designs, focusing primarily on geometric shapes and one colour.

Toilets

I initially focused on the toilet icons, figuring out a way of stripping back the aesthetic to simple line work in order to keep it consistent with the logo design. Although I ended up at the final design through a process, it was the same as the first idea I devised, just with a circular head and a frame below.

I began to add framing / podiums to reinforce the relationship with the brand mark. Galleries and museums frame and present work which is what I tried to achieve through this application — I think the floating podium is more reflective of the museum logo.

I then developed a full (almost) icon set based on the cafe, gift shop, library as well as a 'no photography' sign. I think I will go on to create an icon set for each exhibition / collection and another for the gallery.

Brief 4 - Poster designs

I decided to apply my concept to a range of poster designs which would be situated outside the museum. These will give passersby insight into what exhibitions are on to ultimately engage them into 'discovering' more. (hopefully I can source my own photographs).





Went to go print a couple of test posters and saw this on the print dialog box — the white border adds a nice frame to the design. Not sure whether to go with this though but I'll keep testing and printing. As opposed to adding a white border, maybe I could put the posters behind a classic, ornate frame, similar to what you'd find in a gallery?

Brief 4 - Concept & application

I started to experiment with manipulating imagery in and around the mark and looked at various conceptual ideas for advertising campaigns. My primary focus was to center a campaign on the idea of discovery in order to engage a younger audience and increase brand awareness. I will apply this concept to the following:

- Events guide / 'Discover' what's going on
- Exhibition information guides (die cut logo?)
- 'Mythopoeia' flyer (current art exhibition)
- Iconography for toilets, cafe, library, shop and potentially the collections on show
- Signage outside (logo banners, opening times)
- Signage inside (gallery descriptions, exhibition entrances)

Ideas / Words for tagline —

Recover / discover
Uncover / discover

"We display. You discover"

To reinforce the idea of discovery, I moved the subject towards the bottom of the frame and added a tagline in the centre - as if it was 'peeking' into the poster / design.

I then picked out a colour from the sarcophagus to add a bit more vibrancy to the design as I ultimately want to keep it engaging for a younger audience — plus this same process could be applied to each of the different collections (this in particular was for the 'ethnology' exhibitions). I looked at various compositions and different type treatments using the font I used in the logo.