Project ideas / Draft concepts
Project briefing
(The project brief merges ideas that were proposed within both project idea 1 and 2)
Research:
Style inspiration and Mood boards:
Artist inspiration:
I gain inspiration for street artists such as Peter Drew, Blek le Rat, Shepard Fairey, André Saraiva and Randy Laybourne. This is due to their rough aesthetic, use of stencils, thick/sharp black lines, as well as their use of impactful text elements. These artists also incorporate personal characters or 'mascots' within their works in order to express messages or the artist's opinions to the public. These individuals also show that the incorporation of a simple colour palette, as well as black and white shades, can have great impact on the viewerss.
Some examples of these artists work can be seen below...
My initial mood board:
This mood board represents the general design style that I will follow throughout the final project. I want to include impactful linework / illustrations and colourful lino-print designs. Within my final design deliverables, I also want to include strong textual features, for example, graffiti-style lettering and hand-written elements. The 'hand drawn' / 'hand-printed' design style will form a sense of relatability throughout the deliverables.
Software Experiment #1 : Adobe Illustrator
Within the first stage of my software experimentation, I decided to practice converting my physical sketches and lino-prints into vectors, through the use of Adobe Illustrator (AI). After digitising my design pieces, I used the features within the program to add colour, and to adjust the thickness and weights of the lines within the designs.
As I am relatively new to using Adobe illustrator, experimenting with this software has allowed me to broaden my knowledge and experience when designing within digital programs. By creating a variety of digital images through Adobe Illustrator, I believe that I can use this new found experience to positively impact my final project pieces.
Below my first Adobe Illustrator experimentation attempt can be seen...
Software Experiment #2 : Adobe Illustrator
When participating in further Adobe Illustrator experimentation, I wanted to broaden my design style and focus on delivering a collage / poster / stencil-style design asset. During my second attempt at AI experimentation, I utilised a lino-print that I have produced recently.
Through experimenting with my physical art works, and producing digital variations , I have come to a realisation that I enjoy stencil-like and rough looking aesthetics. By incorporating rough edges and sharp lines / textures within my digital works, I am able to portray a more natural and 'hand-crafted' looking aesthetic.
Further Adobe Illustrator experimentation can be seen below...
Software Experiment #3 : Adobe Illustrator
Within this experiment, I used the image trace tool within Adobe Illustrator to digitally manipulate one of my sketches. I experimented using different colour techniques and brush tools in order to create a sticker mockup. This simple use of colour and line has the ability to effectively catch the viewers attention.
Further Adobe Illustrator experimentation can be seen below...
Positives:
A positive feature that I explored within Adobe Illustrator ( AI ) are the time effective tools which sllow the user to quickly edit and adjust line thicknesses. Another positive aspect which I discovered was the easy to use image colouring features. Once again this software allowed me to quickly and effectively edit colours within my design assets and create impactful assets. By using AI I am also able to create pieces in a variety of different artistic styles.
Negatives:
A negative feature I discoverd through experimentation is the steep learning curve. when using AI I noticed that plenty of research and practice will be needed in order to use this software effectively. This is due to the software's abundance of tools and effects that are included within the program.
Software Experiment #4 : Figma
I decided to practice using Figma as part of my software exploration phase. I have never used Figma before although I do believe it could be a helpful skill to use when designing a website/ app interface. This is precisely what I experimented with. I decided to mockup a fishing app which could let fellow anglers to interact with one another and also save their fishing locations via a digital platform. I spent a couple hours familiarising myself with the software and as a result I was able to create a 3-page app mockup.
Within the designs I incorporated inviting, pastel colours, playful illustrations and also used a bold text choice in order to keep the user engaged. (The illustrations used were gathered from the Figma asset hub)
My three-paged app interface design can be seen below...
Positives:
It is great being able to form a usable and effective Iphone user interface. The tools community asset page is easy to navigate and the design outcomes can look quite professional when done well. I do believe that this software will be helpful when creating my final design pieces.
Negatives:
When using the in-app pen tool, editing can be quite difficult. This may be because the software is not mainly designed for creating illustrations but instead for using pre-fabricted design assets/jpeg's/png's etc. to create presentations and document layouts.
A digital sticker mockup for the fishing-fashion label "Pish Angler", is created as part of this design experiment stage.
During the prototyping experimentation stage, I wanted to explore the process in which it takes to design and mockup a sticker. The design process was lengthy as I Individually sketched each letter within the design, I then used Adobe illustrator to touch up, and recolour the work. Within this deliverable I wanted to incorporate bold and abstract text, as well as an interesting colour palette in order to create an eye-catching design piece. Image layout was also explored within this experiment.
The colour palette can be seen below...
I spent an extensive amount of time scanning my sketches and vectorising them. I also wanted to ensure that I removed any unnecessary paths within the design document.
The beginning of my design process within Adobe Illustrator can be seen below...
After introducing colour to the original design piece, I noticed that there were a large amount of uneven lines and edges that I wanted to remove. I also decided that I would later rearrange the positioning of the letters, as well as create a more coherent type design in order to create balance.
Further iteration of the type design can be see below. During this iteration phase I used reference images in order to digitally sketch each letter. This process formed sharper lines and a more coherent textual piece.
After forming the final characters, I rearranged them to create balance within the design. I then introduced colour and shading within the final work.
A series of digital sticker mockups and be seen below...
Positives:
By participating in this design experience I was able to visualise what a physical version of my design may look look like. This experimentation has also allowed me to gain further experience when utilising mockup pieces.
Negatives:
Depending upon the software that is being used when forming the mockup pieces, this process can be tedious. Finding impactful mockup layouts can also be tedious, but when found results can be great.
This experiment was an extension upon the digital prototyping stage. The design process stayed the same, although I incorporated multiple new designs/ sticker variations within the physical production stage.
The designs can be seen below...
Positives:
This is a great process which has allowed me to recognise how my designs can be improved and iterated upon. Learning the printing and physical production process was also interesting and a great educational experience. It experiment also gave me an insight into how the use of RGB and HMYK colours can have an impact on the physical printing process.
Negatives:
The time it takes to get designs completed and printed can be lengthy. In order for this process to be effective, individuals must be organised and efficient when going to print the designs. I believe this is why creating digital mockups instead can be more effective when working under time constraints.
I created my final artificial intelligence, experimental image within Adobe Photoshop. I incorporated realistic and illustrative/painted styles within this image and I also explored prompting images with text. Every image created within this experiment was produced via text prompts.
An image sequence of the image development can be seen below...
I first began by forming a forest background in a painted style.
I then introduced each individual asset through the generative text feature within Photoshop. The text prompts used were...
- A rainforest in the style of a classical painting although show brush strokes
- Introduce more blue and yellow colours to the image
- A small train in a lino-print style
- A small train in a realistic style
- Realistic man wearing a brown coat
- Large stones in a illustrative style
- Large realistic wooden fence
- Realistic plane hanging in the trees
- Painting style flower bush
- Painting style train
- Hanging brown sheet
- Pipe
- Cartoon sun
The final image result can be seen below...
Positives:
Ai image creation allows for quick and time effective image editing and creation. I can see where editing images with Ai could be quite useful.
Negatives:
In order to create an image with Ai, the prompt has to be quite specific. It is also hard to create an image by using only Ai prompting, the design style can also vary which can make designing with Ai hard to navigate. Another negative that I discovered was that in order to use better quality, and responsive artificial intelligence software, it can be quite expensive.
Reflection:
During the past five weeks I have been able to participate in experiments which allowed me to use a variety of different design styles, as well as design software. This opportunity has allowed me to expand upon my design knowledge and also improve upon some of my current skills. By completing a variety of design experiments, I have also been able to understand what my strengths and weaknesses are when producing design deliverables. I believe that through forming my visual journal, I have improved and enhanced my visual communication skills since the beginning of the semester.
During week one I discovered my visual communication design passions. Taking part in the exercises helped me ideate potential client briefs as well as deliverables.
I was able to experiment with design software (Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Figma). By utilising these design software applications, I was able to produce design prototypes, digital mock-ups and ai images (artificial intelligence). By experimenting with software, I also learned how to swiftly and effectively convert physical design pieces into vectorized images and digital design assets.
During the prototype experiment I created digital sticker mock-ups. I believe that this style of design deliverable will be utilised when presenting designs in the future. It was a great skill to learn, as mock-ups can be produced quite quickly and they can also be quite cost-effective. During this experimentation phase I also created physical sticker prototypes.
I experienced the most struggle when experimenting with artificial intelligence image generation tools. I believe that this is due to the current state of development that the software is currently in. Although generating images with ai was difficult for me personally, I do believe that ai image retouching and editing could be quite useful to me when producing deliverables in the near future.
By looking at research, I have determined that the project brief will cater towards a 15–30-year-old male fishermen. The main deliverables that will be produced are bumper- stickers, t-shirt designs and online project branding. The research showed that that these individuals are likely to engage with a streetwear-style fashion market, via social media and digital platforms.
Overall, I believe that by experimenting with new design software and techniques, my concepts for future and potential design deliverables have been broadened. Further experimentation and design ideations will be utilised in order to progress my design style as well as design outcomes in response to my current project brief.
Reference List:
Blek Le Rat. (2017). Artist Interview: Blek Le Rat. Retrieved from streetartnew: https://streetartnews.net/
Bock, A. (n.d.). Modern Art Print - Le Sardine.
Drew, P. (2024). Retrieved from peterdrewarts: https://www.peterdrewarts.com/
Dust, U. (n.d.). The Catch | Fisherman Illustration.
Fairey, S. (1989). Andre the Giant Has a Posse.
Figma. (n.d.). Retrieved from Figma: https://www.figma.com
Gabi. (n.d.). Shark lino print.
Gascoigne, R. (n.d.). orange signs.
L, E. (n.d.). cooktop lino print.
Laybourne, R. (n.d.). Design and art of Randy Laybourne. Retrieved from www.randylaybourne: https://www.randylaybourne.com/
Lindner, J. (2024, 07 17). Streetwear Industry Statistics: Global Market Projected to Exceed Expectations. Retrieved from Gitnux: https://gitnux.org/streetwear-industry-statistics/
Made & Marked Goods. (n.d.). Asset design mockups. Retrieved from https://mademarkedgoods.gumroad.com/?recommended_by=library&_gl=1*w3cbyl*_ga*MjMzODQ4NzEuMTcxNTIxNjA1NA..*_ga_6LJN6D94N6*MTcyMzcwNjcyNS4xNS4xLjE3MjM3MDcyODguMC4wLjA.
Saraiva, A. (n.d.). untitled. Paris.
Stepp, A. (2023, 05 24). What age group wears streetwear? 4 Detailed Insights. Retrieved from Clothme: https://clothme.io/what-age-group-wears-streetwear-4-detailed-insights/
Unknown. (1983). Wild Style.
Woshe. (2019). Alphabeatz: Graffiti Alphabets from A to Z.