Summer Brief: What Interests Me?

In preparation for the second year of the Graphic Design Degree programme, we have been asked to collect and prepare a body of research which we will ultimately present to the class.

We were asked to initially research into three separate subjects which interest us and are appropriate to Graphic Design, these could be a hobby/interest, a invention/discovery or a person/place. Using the broad amount of research we have collected for each of the three subjects we were then asked to focus down onto one particular subject which demonstrates our interests and will be the subject of our five minute presentation.

The presentation should aim to cover everything about our chosen subject matter; facts, history, why we personally find the subject interesting and what other target audience exist for it whilst being visually interesting.

I began the brief by brainstorming the various ideas I had for the three subjects I have been asked to research into, using the three topics - hobby/interest, invention/discovery and person/place - suggested by the brief as a guide.

Initially I did struggle when producing possible ideas for the three research topics which the brief states must be appropriate to Graphic Design, I therefore began by thinking about general interests and hobbies which could perhaps be relatable to Graphic Design.

From this initial brainstorm of ideas I selected four which I felt were most appropriate for the brief as they had the most potential in terms of the collection of research and also highlighted my personal and professional interests.

To aide the research process, for each these for ideas I had chosen I made a further list of possible areas of research relating to this subject and the possible sources of this research.

From these four ideas the three final research subjects I chose were; The Berlin Wall, Promotion and Children's Books. Although I felt that the subject of 'humour' would have the potential for a vast amount of research I didn't think the subject could be classed as a 'hobby' or 'interest' and therefore I decided to explore the use of humour within promotion which is a particular interest of mine.

Summer Brief: To Do List

In addition to the body of research we were asked to collect over the summer break which demonstrates three interests within the field of Graphic Design we were also asked to write a 'To Do' list of skills and processes we want to try, things we would would like to improve upon and what we want to learn for the upcoming year.

TO DO LIST

What skills and processes do you want try?

1. After having inductions to the print facilities at Vernon Street and Blenheim Walk, I would like to advantage of the facilities of these facilities by using them, when appropriate to create the final outcome for a brief. I am particularly interested in using the screen printing and letter press processes.

2. Rather than relying solely on digital or hand-rendered techniques when producing a final outcome , I would like to experiment with mixed media by combining both processes which is something I was particularly interested prior to starting the course.

What you like to improve upon?

3. One of the skills I would like improve upon in my confidence in presenting to a group and my confidence in my design work itself as I believe these are key skills needed to succeed in the industry.

4. I would like to improve my confidence in the digital software we were introduced to last year such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign as I believe this will encourage me to experiment more when using this software

5. When collecting research for briefs I would like to improve on the collection technique by collecting from a broad range of sources, both primary and secondary as this will improve the final outcome by giving me an more informed opinion on the subject.

6. Last year I believe I put a particular emphasis on the idea generation aspect of the design process and therefore the final outcome lacked a professional finish which I would like to achieve this year.

What interests you as a Graphic Designer, that you want to learn?

7. As a student on a Graphic Design course, I would like learn more about the history and context of the field as I believe this will give me more informed opinions when producing practical design work and contextual work.

8. As I am particularly interested in Typography, this year I would like to learn more about the fundamental principles of type which we were introduced to in the Design Principles sessions last year.

9. Ultimately once I have completed the Graphic Design course I would like to get a job within the industry, I would therefore like to learn more about the different areas of the Graphic Design industry and the job opportunities available to me.