FMP Proposal

Clients:

Game developers, game publishers

Audience:

Video game enthusiasts of all ages, non-video gamers, general public

Purpose:

To produce a highly conceptual style presentation of the development of a new video game which communicates to audience through its themes, maps and characters

Introduction:

My Final Major Project will be focused on the development of a new video game and the end result will be presenting the development process of the concepts and ideas produced similar to the style exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Video Game exhibition. The video game may include underlying themes within it, displayed throughout the development process (sketches, concept art, idea maps) and perhaps include labels with explanations and descriptions of the ideas behind the design. Through genre, maps and characters I will design and develop a game which I would personally like to play and hopefully will appeal to others in order to produce more authentic connections and messages to communicate to audiences whilst still maintaining its entertainment factor which is required for standard video games.

Potential deliverables may include the following (subject to change):

• Concept sketches with sketches of ideas and notes

• Concept artwork (digital and paper based)

• Game logo

Design Volunteers Report

Section 1

Tonbridge Creates –

Tonbridge Creates is a small town pop up art shop with wares and products provided by local/independent artists. It is managed by The Wheels on Debussy (www.thewheelsondebussy.com) who devise, curate and present concerts and theatrical performances, foster and nurture creative communities, train musicians and commission writers to make and tour exceptional work to non-traditional spaces and is funded by Comic Relief and Tonbridge And Malling Borough Council.

It provides art workshops for all ages and creative abilities that range from techniques such as sewing, painting and knitting all of which can be participated freely or for a small fee in order to support the shop owner and the artists who teach such skills. They open and operate within the town of Tonbridge briefly during the closing months of the year. They believe it is important to have a creative community because “local creative activities help businesses and communities to thrive, make a place desirable to live and keep house prices buoyant”. It is important to well being; “participation in the arts promotes hope, positive feeling, up-liftment and social support. As well as promoting a community which comes together, leading to “friendship, empathy, cross-generational interaction and safer communities”.

The organisation communicates a friendly and casual approach to art and all things creative in order to increase their accessibility to the public as they do not turn away those with little or no creative talent and everyone is welcome to participate. This is advertised through the use of their warm aesthetic colours and cosy atmospheric aesthetic used within the shop. Fairy lights hang from the walls, the floor is carpeted and the wares are comfortably displayed on handmade wooden shelves. All these are located in a quaint little shop situated within the high street where passers by are welcome to take a look and participate if they wish. The organisation is very community oriented and relies on it not just for funds but for products. Artists and art enthusiasts equally contribute towards the shop as it acts as a proxy between buyer and seller which helps brings communities together. It affirms professionals and hobbyists that their work is in demand, that someone appreciates their work within the community and customers become aware of their local talent.

Everything is shuffled around and rotated in or out in regards to the displays. Artist’s creations are put up for sale or display for a certain amount of time before they are rotated out and make way for new wares. The main display window showcased work from the college I attend. When I arrived it was the work of the fashion students and when I completed my work with Tonbridge Creates the Graphic Design course were on display. This communicates that the shop is always changing and never stays the same, Much like art, new things are made and shared with audiences all the time and Tonbridge Creates achieves this brilliantly. The layout of the shop communicates to customers how liberating art and creativity is as the displays are not set and not uniform yet everything seems to be in their rightful place which leaves a hint of whimsy in the air. Because of this nonuniform presentation it could seem like colours and shapes are everywhere and that brings art back to what it is to the public – free and unchained.

Against the grey, whitewashed pastel colours of the high street the bright orange logo of Tonbridge Creates stands out amongst the crowd, adding little colours of joy during the coming winter months.

Sunny Art Centre – London Art Fair

Taken from their about page on their website (https://www.sunnyartcentre.co.uk/about/about-us/):

The Sunny Art Centre is an art institution located on the historically rich Gray’s Inn Road, in the heart of London. The history of this location is particularly important to the identity and standards that the gallery unwaveringly aspires to. The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn dates back to 1370 and was once home to Sir Francis Bacon, in addition to being the home of Shakespeare’s plays. The Centre has an important history of being at the forefront of contemporary art exhibitions, educational programs, and international art competitions.

Unlike Tonbridge Creates, Sunny Art Centre brings together the work of international (higher profile(?)) artists from all over the world and hold global exhibitions and cultural events. It provides the public with a plethora of international work in order to expose them to how art differentiates and is interpreted within a diverse range of different cultures. The exhibitions offer the public a insight into critical issues within human society which range from social, political or economic contexts.

Similar to Tonbridge Creates, Sunny Art Centre also offer people the opportunity to partake in their artistic courses or educational activities. However, because this organisation is more established, it is considered one of the distinguished destinations to study art. It’s activities and resources seem to be reserved for those with a higher degree of artistic and creative ability than Tonbridge Creates where anyone is welcome to try their hand at creativity. This is not the case however, as Sunny Art Centre’s art courses are “as art itself should be: open to everyone” which is encouraging and welcoming but not strongly advertised or easily implied for the casual art lover who may feel out of their depth to be amongst the more serious artists. At first glance it is not easily implied that there is no bar set in regards to the ability of those who wish to partake in the courses Sunny Art Centre provides.

Their prestigious reputation and distinguished position, supported by their professional and sleek aesthetic communicate a more serious atmosphere when compared to Tonbridge Creates. They opt for a more modern/futuristic presentation in regards to their gallery, where each piece gets its own space and the interiors are thoughtfully arranged and uniform. They offer a large range of displays split into sections (Painting/Drawing, Sculpture, Ceramic, Photography, Print/Collage, Jewellery and Antiques). Unsurprising as they have access to more funds which affords them more space permitting them to display piece which can use the space to communicate their messages uninhibited as well as allow them to host things such as the Sunny Art Prize.

I would imagine the sleek and modern presentations of the gallery could be seen as a form of art in itself as well as act as a platform to accentuate the artwork displayed within. Audiences would come from all backgrounds as it is again, open to the public similar to Tonbridge Creates. These audiences would range from casual art enthusiasts to international art curators because of the quality of the displays. It definitely could be considered more ‘hardcore’ in terms of art.

Affordable Art Fair

Paraphrased from their Website (https://affordableartfair.com/about)

The first Affordable Art Fair was held in London at Battersea Park on October 1999. 10,000 art lovers attended the fair to buy 1000s of original contemporary paintings, sculptures, photographs and prints in a relaxed and friendly environment. It now welcomes over 185,000 art enthusiasts to their fairs each year globally and provide a range of local, national and international pieces and a wide range of affordable works by established artists and rising stars.

Similarly to Sunny Art Centre, the Affordable Art Fair seem to be comparable in the fact that it is an internationally recognised organisation which focuses on art. They have artists and art enthusiast from all over the world and their galleries are set up globally. The style of presentation seem to vary from gallery to gallery but in general, their presentation seems professional since most of what is on display is for sale to the public.

They have live demonstrations/performances from artists, innovative talks, tours and hands on workshops not to mention kids activities, live music and bars and restaurants. The fair is meant to be enjoyed as a day out with friends and family. This organisation seem to be a good middle ground when comparing Tonbridge Creates and the Sunny Art Centre. I believe it is what Tonbridge Creates could be if given the funding as it is about having fun with and amongst art. The playful nature of the Affordable Art Fair make it seem more approachable to the public and open to those with any range of artistic ability. Though they provide a professional appearance and aesthetic, they are not ones to overwhelm newcomers or casual art enthusiasts.

The pricing of the artworks are a few pounds about what Tonbridge Create would charge but again, it is what Tonbridge Creates could be if funded similarly.

Section 2 Section 3 Report

Research

When working with Tonbridge Creates I had the opportunity to be invited to the location of their pop up shop in order to get to know the business on a more personal as well as professional level. Most of the products were not set up at the time yet but I got a general grasp and understanding of the manner I would need to design in order to communicate to their audiences effectively. The shop was a small and modest location with large windows they wanted to use for displaying works from the community and students from the artistic courses from West Kent College.

The focus of the pop up shop was to expose artists and creative minds to within the community. These works would not be considered temporary or revolutionary by any means which meant the tone of the communication had to be less serious and more approachable for the public. My tasks with Tonbridge Creates involved designing a sign on their chalk board and then designing and illustration for their large display window reserved for the college.

My usual research method is looking at ideas throughout the real world and taking inspirations from actual shop windows of the large retail firms such as GAP or TOPSHOP. However, I decided that the themes these retail stores presented were not suitable to the theme and aesthetic that Tonbridge Creates sought to provide its customers and clients so I needed more creative ideas and approaches. I usually like to draw ideas from my mind into my sketch book as I look for initial ideas that strike me within the moment. I like to use this technique when working on tasks which require me to capture the theme of a location because I look at them as instinctive reactions and interpretations towards a place.

To refine my divergent ideas I like to look at professional complete ideas to inspire my own ideas. I would then show these sketches to my client by either sending the sketches over email or physically going to the shop and showing them whilst having a discussion about them and ways the client wishes to proceed. For the chalk board sign and window display, I went on image hosting websites and loosely copied the images I liked on paper and then I took the elements and things I liked about those pictures and incorporate them into my own designs which I would always discuss with the client before proceeding with implementation.

The audience

I found it to be fairly straightforward with designing and communicating keeping the audience in mind. In the case of Tonbridge Creates, their audience is not only the customers who dabble and/or practice art professionally, but range from local artists to children. I also had to consider the clients of the client, which are the artist who provide their pieces for sale. I had to think about what would be attractive to not only customers but potential business partners for Tonbridge Creates.

It was easy to think about and design for the audience because I had the best example of one readily available; myself. Thinking about what factors would interest someone who is interested in art, I thought about what I would personally find visually engaging from a customer’s point of view. Of course, using this method of considering the audience can easily lead one to create bias so I needed opinions of other people from different walks of life. I would ask my peers who do not have artistic background to give me feedback on the ideas and drawings I had conceptualised in order to come to balanced and fair conclusions. It also gave me insight on how audiences with less interest in artistic products would react and respond to my designs.

I would also use the regular meetings I had with my client in order to ask her relevant questions and specifically the audience. I enquired about what kind of audiences they would like to reach out to and describe what the usual customer/visitor would look/be like in their opinion. Using this method, I was able to write helpful notes down and create a primitive version of a persona profile. It would just be a simple mind map with ‘audience’ in the middle and the branches would be attributes these audiences would be assumed to have based on who came through the door.

Ideas Generation and Development

For generating ideas and developing them for this project, I heavily consulted the client and always asked them what they would like and what manner of designs they would want. I would look online for some examples of displays and chalk board designs I personally liked and felt fit within the aesthetic of the pop up shop. I would then bring or email the designs to my client so we could have engaging discussions about the ideas put forward. I found that I was very lucky with my client as she was very responsive for the majority of the project and also had a genuine interest in art and creativity so it was easy to talk to her and for her to provide meaningful feedback.

Some ideas would naturally make it through and some ideas were rejected as is the nature of development. I would then come away from the meetings and discussions with a clearer idea to focus on which left little room for distractions and tangents. The ideas from the websites which made it through the meetings would then be drawn in one of my sketchbooks with elements from other approved designs incorporated appropriately within them to create something unique to the shop.

Sometimes, I would be struck with moments of inspiration and clarity and have an original idea at random moments of the day either when I was at the shop working on the window/chalk board or when I was away from the shop and outside observing graphic design in the world. Other times I would browse the internet’s image hosting websites and conduct a tried and tested method of idea generation where I would perform a brain dump of as many ideas as I could onto paper in order to clean out the first initial ideas from my head and then used convergent thinking to really think about the designs that had not been thought of yet and I found those to be very unique and conform to my artistic style.

Evaluation methods.

I like to use a variety of different evaluation methods when working on design projects and luckily I had a client who was able to provide thoughtful and relevant feedback. One method I often use is the Visual Thinking Skills method or shortened to VTS. It is a method where the designer critically observes their work and asks themselves these questions: What am I looking at? What do I see that makes me think that? And what more can I find? I find this method very helpful and self-reflective because I can detach myself from my design easily and analyse things objectively in order to form a balanced opinion of the piece which enables me to improve the work further by modifying elements that do not work or are not appropriate for the client.

I would also involve the opinions and feedback of classmates with design experience as well as those within my friendship group who have no background in design again in order to acquire a balanced opinion and adjust my designs according to their opinions. I would ask them the same questions to allow the feedback to be fair and unbiased using the three questions asked when conducting VTS.

The VTS technique has a more primitive procedure which is the PMI method or Plus Minus Interesting, what are the positive, negative and interesting aspects of the design. I like to use this method in combination with VTS to really refine a design and I wanted to use it for this project especially because I did not need to design for strictly myself but for a client this time so I needed to ensure that my design was as airtight as possible whilst meeting the needs of the brief provided by the client.

A simpler method I sometimes included was simply asking the client her thoughts and opinions about the designs I would put forward and even in the middle of designing I was able to ask for thoughts and opinions of the work as I worked inside the shop during business hours. This was an appropriate method to use because the client comes first and it is their vision that I am tasked to make a reality so I make every effort to see that I can do just that for them.

Why designs are appropriate

During my time at Tonbridge Creates I produced for them two main designs, the chalk board to advertise and draw the public in and the large display window.

For the chalk board, I conducted research which led me to many designs which involved a lot of flourish decorations, banners with a vintage aesthetic and theme and so I based my final design for the Tonbridge Creates chalkboard on those elements. I thought the design was appropriate because it communicated a vintage hand-made feel which fit well with the atmosphere of the Tonbridge Creates pop up shop. This was because all the products within the shop were also hand-made and created ‘the old fashioned way’ and the chalkboard itself was a traditional method of attracting and advertising businesses in the past. I felt that the design I provided would then be suitable to not only the older generation because of the reference but also to the younger generation due to the design that hopefully piqued their interest.

The next objective to complete was the display window for the students at West Kent College to display their work. This one was a little more difficult to nail down a design for because the design had to be appropriate but I also had to think of the practical issues that would be involved in creating it. Because it had to be designed on to the window I would need special pens that allowed me to accomplish this. I needed a design which allowed for use of the pens as well as something that was not time consuming.

In the end the client and I decided that a canvas frame similar to those seen in art galleries was the most appropriate design because it allowed for an elaborate design as well as enough space for the student’s work to be displayed without being obstructed by any designs, enabling the public to view not only the work but also the shop inside. I liked the canvas frame idea because it communicated the idea of art and looking at paintings in a real gallery only this one would have its ‘painting’ change from time to time making the shop feel not only like a gallery but also alive which art should aim to be. I would have liked to try another method of applying this idea to the window however as I was not fond of using the window surface pens. They were fine to use but not my preferred choice as I found them to be inconsistent in terms of producing ink and colouring the entire frame was out of the question with the amount of time I had to work on it combined with the limited amount of ink. I saw the pens as a limitation to what the work could have been like. I also found it difficult to replicate the Tonbridge Creates logo because it involved a perfect circle which is hard to replicate normally but made even harder with the pens, the surface as well as the angle. In hindsight, I think it would have been better to stick materials like coloured paper onto the window as it would be faster but it could lead to the design looking tacky which I wanted to avoid. Nevertheless, my client was very pleased with the result.

Client relationship and development of client management skills

I considered myself very lucky with my client as it was someone who was genuinely into art and creativity which allowed us to be compatible in terms of vision and ideas. Communication between us was also very good. Whenever I had a question or wanted to send ideas off for feedback she would usually respond to me within two days and this was useful because it saved time and prevented the project stagnating.

At the start of the project, I was admittedly hesitant to interact on the level expect with my client because I consider myself a shy person who likes to do things by myself but luckily my client was very welcoming and put me at ease which improved communication between us and ultimately made the project a success.

I suggested at the beginning of our partnership that we arrange days where we could meet regularly and conduct meetings in order to make sure everything was on track and also to act as feedback and suggestion sessions we were both very flexible so it worked out very well for us. I like to be prepared for anything so planning ahead with these meetings ensured that we were both prepared and no time would be wasted and our productivity rate would be good as well.

Overall, the client was very helpful and cooperative during the project and even paid for the materials I needed such as the chalk for the chalk board and the window pens for the display window. Although towards the end of the window design the work dried up and there was nothing left for me to do even though I sent a few emails asking about the lack of tasks set but I understood that she must be a busy woman with other things to worry about than a design volunteer so it did not bother me too much and just waited patiently for a reply.

FMP – Concept Art Research and Development

Research

VTS

illustrations of silhouettes of characters from a high fantasy setting – This can be assumed by the unorthodox items being held by the figures such as marital weapons like a sword or spear, (The attire that the characters appear to wear are also highly unconventional. They resemble a medieval aesthetic like robes and armour which further highlights and adheres to the fantasy genre)
multiple variations of characters – in order to explore and develop ideas, concept art often displays multiple instances of the same character with modifications and adjustments in order to provide variety but also to further achieve the objectives of a brief/description (the shapes are very basic and very rough, indicating that they are a very rough draft of potential appearances of ideas and concepts)
Multiple poses of characters – some characters in the reference images are displayed to be in various poses, these are attempts to capture the dynamic poses and the potential personality that could be conveyed through gesture. (entire themes and backstories can be generated just from a character’s pose. It conveys their personality and attitude visually towards audiences and potentially say a thousand words with a pose/gesture)
Rough sketches – the application of using rough sketches to to come up and communicate a lot of ideas in a short amount of time which is why concept artists do not spend a great deal of time worrying about unnecessary details. They must churn out various ideas in a short amount of time in order for efficient production within design studios. (the use of values and using less than three tones of colour effectively conveys the appearance of the character profile against the white background, increasing its clarity to audiences)

illustrations of various background elements – as stated above with the character poses, there are a various amount of trees and rocks in the above image as it clarifies the theme of the universe it is situated in (and also can communicate the theme/atmosphere in a game as novels often use the environment as a metaphor to describe the scene)
some of the concept drawings conform to reality in that they are of similar colour and mimic the real world – this is used to familiarise and communicate to the audience by referencing objects they are familiar with possibly due to their somewhat unnatural shapes. (again there is a lot of variety within these concept drawings and they are made more lifelike by being copied from references of organic entities such as trees and rocks)
these drawings are more refined than character ones – with these concept pieces, the quality of illustration is more refined than character ones because it is very difficult to capture a dynamic gesture of an inanimate object because they are not assumed to have back stories or behaviours in a human sense. (They are stationary object in the world and are used to paint a scene, not dominate it)
contrasting colours – the colourful illustrations strike a stark contrast against the background. The colours are allowed to pop out towards the audience which immediately catches their eye and makes them hard to miss yet pleasant to look at. (These are in a similar manner to the character silhouette profiles yet in colour which suggests that they are are further along the development process as they have had colour added to them)
Simple shapes – The shapes of the trees and rocks above are simple and do not include a lot of detail, detail would waste a lot of time during the conceptual stage of development as studios would require a general idea of what they want the piece to look like and leave the details to the final renditions. (The shapes are blocky and easy to distinguish through the talent of the artist)

Three tone colour palette – Because environment art is on a larger scale in terms of elements on the page, it is important for artists to create a general shape of the environment (Artists use a maximum of three tones in order to convey shape light and shadow to provide the illusion of depth and detail in order to five a clearer image of space within the environment)
against a white background – similarly to the character concepts, there thumbnails are drawn against a white background in order to contrast between the darker ink to make the vision of the environment look clearer to the audience (Shapes are able to convey a lot of things with the right skills and using them they are able to create a sense of space and atmosphere within the thumbnail environments)
Variations of locations – not one location is the same or looks similar whilst keep keeping with the themes and styles of the illustrations. (the variety and clarity of the pieces are consistent which display the style of the artist making each set unique)
Composition leads the eye towards the middle – using the environment and terrain like the mountains and architecture, the composition is able to lead the audience’s eye towards the middle of the illustration. (This could indicate that the composition is well balanced and pleasing to look at but symmetry is not always strictly required)

swords and shields which are similar to those used during the medieval period – the absence of firearms will be appropriate to my concept art because it is based within the genre of high fantasy. (martial weapons such as swords and shields are an absolute stable in this genre and hypothetical combat with them will seem more tactile than using firearms)
based on western design – within the genre of fantasy, it is usually common for weaponry and armour to be inspired by medieval Europe as shown by the above images. It could be due to that time period giving rise to folk lore and legends involving aspects that would be considered fantasy within the modern age, such as dragons, fairies and magic. (medieval equipment usually offered little room for decoration and accessories which where unnecessary for combat, however the fantasy genre turn these features up to 11 sometimes with sword hilts and shoulder armour being noticeably more prominent.
equipment accompanies a gritty and worn aesthetic – the bottom three swords are displayed against a natural environment with dark and dull colours like stone or rock. This emphasises its fantasy flavour as the genre usually focuses on exploring the world and having their audiences roam the open world or have the majority of zones take place outdoors amongst nature. (the gritty and worn aesthetic also highlight the medieval influences and inspirations because audiences are provided a glimpse of what the times where like during that period of history)
the use of metal in equipment – during the medieval period, metal armour was usually reserved for knights and common folk would find it difficult to access armour made from metal at all. This would often indicate that the knights came from distinguished background or where people of importance/skill who are able to prove themselves in combat.
shields are relatively large – the function of a shield is to protect its user so in that case it must be able to protect a large surface area which naturally results in their size. At the same time, they are required to be useable and carried with one arm so the shield smith must strike a balance between function and form. (shields were also used as blunt weapons as well as protective barriers if they were small enough and shields like the buckler were made for such purposes)
different materials and shapes depending on the geography – other than metal, other materials were used as shields depending on the location. African tribes would construct shields made of animal hide as they did not have the means to craft with metals, the vikings favoured circular shields and kite shields where also prominent within medieval Europe. (Decorations would also differ depending on the origin of the shield, knights would have crests adorned on their shield, vikings mythical creatures such as dragons and animal patterns in the example of the animal hide shield from Africa).

various sheets of video game characters showcasing their abilities – characters are conceptualised so they are roughly drawn yet easily distinguishable and their abilities are usually highlighted using large shapes to indicate a swing or casting a spell. (These abilities also fit the theme of the characters so the top left set of abilities belong to a wizard who specialises in ice magic because the colours the illustrator uses is communicate as being ice)
gestures are more exaggerated to give life – unlike the static drawings of characters mentioned at the top, the illustrated sets of characters directly above are not static and display the character in motion, giving audiences further insight on how they would move and so communicate more personality and attitude to them. (The ability colours also reflect that character’s personality, for example: fire could reflect their temper or black may signify their sinister nature).
variety of potential skills – although not final, these sets open doorways for game developers to see what kind of skills they will like to finalise within the game. (The image on the bottom left is Illaoi from League of Legends; a MOBA game. None of her illustrated abilities here are in the actual game but it is possible to see where the final implementations came from by looking at these images).
sometimes environments are needed to supplement the image sets – Within some of the images, environments are loosely depicted in order to allow the audience to visualise how these concept move sets would interact with an environment in order to increase clarity and also allows for game developers to see if it can be done and adjust accordingly.

Video Research

During my time on the project, I had to consult various video research on learning how to draw and create concept art. I learned from various Youtube channels and practiced their methods and applied them to my drawings.

Concept Art Bootcamp – Kienan Lafferty

Concept Art Bootcamp 5 – Kienan Lafferty

The Fundamentals of Landscapes – Team Bradley

Development

I have uploaded some of the concept art I was able to capture a recording of to Youtube displaying my design process. Because concept art falls under development and these pieces are my final pieces the sections have been grouped together.

For the drawings, I studied references similar to the research images above and copied their style/layout. The background colour was whitewashed and strong silhouettes were drawn in order to convey the figures and shapes audiences would see. By studying and learning from various resources, pieced together works which conformed to the practices seen within the concept art industry by providing strong shapes, gestures and compositions.

Rock and Stone Concept Process

Skill Set Concept Process

Axe Concept Process

Sword Concept Process

Screenshot 2019-06-07 at 10.16.51 Screenshot 2019-06-07 at 10.17.01 Screenshot 2019-06-07 at 10.18.00

As with modern games in the industry and from what I found within my research, games and their titles which are currently in development are given code names. In this case, I chose the name “Defender Noir” as a work in progress name. My general, non fleshed out idea for the premise of the game was about a detective in a high fantasy setting. In this fantasy world detectives are only permitted shields as issued equipment which is where the theme and heavy inclusion of shields came in.

My thought process was that detectives were employed to ‘defend’ the truth and were not aggressive or ones to attack so giving them weapons like a sword would feel too aggressive. However, they would require a means to defend themselves should the need arise, hence the shield.

Screenshot 2019-06-07 at 10.19.00

From my research and video tutorials, I learned about the concept of 3 being the magic number. To create and evolve a concept, artists would begin with a standard item, in this case and axe and make it as realistic and as practical as possible. Then they would duplicate the item and make over the top modifications to it with regards to the theme of the universe they create. To then finally find a mid point between the two extremes to display a form of progression or increase the variety of items.

Screenshot 2019-06-07 at 10.19.20

Evaluations and Improvements

From the feedback I received there were a few improvements and adjustments that could have been made to the project.

I could have compiled all the elements within the drawings together into a final composition to show how things such as character, clothing and environment would look within the hypothetical confines of the game. I could have had a character dressed in armour holding a weapon within the environment performing some skill set. I did not think to do this as I did not come across such drawings in the research I conducted but I agree that it would have been a good idea to tie everything together to make it complete.

A personal improvement I thought I could have implemented was to not worry about figure drawing which I consider my weak point in drawing. It was suggested to me by my tutor to trace over a figure reference instead of spending hours trying to draw a human. I agreed with this because I forgot that the most important part of concept art was speed and time as industry professionals would not spend long amounts of time like I did drawing one character from memory.

I set out to capture a game through the lens of concept art. In this case, it appeared to me that quantity was more important that quality which is a different approach from what I would normally take towards previous projects I have conducted. I have to the best of my ability, conformed to the forms and conventions of the industry with the help of the research I have conducted. It was a very interesting project for me to work on because I would usually conduct and write a development stage section yet the project itself was development throughout which was very convenient.

JDO Research Analysis and Development

VTS analysis

What’s going on? – What do you see that makes you think that? (What more can you find?)

Screenshot 2019-06-05 at 17.33.45

Midaus Nektaras

vintage style type – conveys a classy and sophisticated brand identity. Comparable to visual styles used within the last 200 years. (Also implies a certain high quality of the product)
decorated with flourishes – emphasises and extenuates the type used on the letter M. Again calling back to the last 200 years of alcohol design. (Use of lighter pastel colours so not to over power the image of the M and leads the audience’s eyes towards it)
Company brand at the top – highlighted in a brighter colour but not so bright as to take away from the main focus of the label which is the M. (used to create a familiarity with the audiences and also acts as a quality assurance guarantee stamp).
raised patterns on the label – possibly to show off quality of the product and also emphasise the quality vintage aesthetic of the product. (shadows that the raised patterns make allow for the label to be more eye catching and unusual which can effectively pique interest)

Screenshot 2019-06-05 at 17.34.08

heavily decorated bottle design – it is unclear from the angle of the image whether or not the illustrations are on the back of the label or is itself the label. (complimentary colours of the blue and orange used make the bottle more eye catching)
seems to be Asian inspired – the architecture and the dragons in the background are a tell tale sign as well as the boats. (not strictly an assumed to be an Asian drink however as there is a western man garbed in gentlemanly clothing)
foil wrap around the lid – foil often implies a higher quality on bottles as there is more of an effort involved to unscrew the lid to get to the liquid. (it can be assumed that the company logo is hanging off the piece of string which conveys a degree of confidence from then that they do not feel the need to display their brand as much as others do)

clear bottle – from my research Gin bottles are usually clear or green although I am unsure to why this is. Possibly to emphasise its purity like vodka? (they are also very angular as opposed to beer or vodka bottles as well)
angular bottles – from my research I discovered that bottles had flat surfaces in order to be packed together efficiently. (they would not roll if placed on their sides either which could assist in preventing bottle breakages)
wooden cap to seal the bottle – possibly a traditional aesthetic choice from the gin manufacturers of the past. Gives the bottle an authentic feel and therefore a perceived increase of quality. (nicely contrasts against a clear transparent bottle and therefore stands out amongst other bottles more effectively)
white or green thematic – although there are some unique colour usages for Gin that exist such as Pink or purple, most gin bottles are either white or green thematically. This is possibly a reference to its natural roots and distilling process making it a more ‘of the earth’ spirit. (I came across in my research that the use of green and brown bottles was to improve the preservation of the alcohol by protecting it from UV rays)
Flower and botanical themes – gin bottles have a distinct botanical theme surrounding them which further emphasises their connection to a more natural resource which results in a comforting and homey atmosphere which may suggestively put their consumers as ease. (also to literally show the ingredients the gin is made from without the possible need to included it in text form which industries now hold to standard)
labels located around or within the area of the bottle neck – again this could be a marketing strategy to instil a projected quality within the product because it communicates that the manufacturers put in extra effort to make their gin feel special (also compliments the design on the bottle as it leads the audience’s eye towards the main attraction of the logo/label)

Development

From my research, I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to present to the client because I did not fee comfortable using 3D graphics software with such a short amount of time I had to hand in to the Company themselves.

Luckily with the guidance of my tutors, I realised that it is only ‘conceptual’ and does not have to look like a finished product, it only has to be ideas and so I took to illustration to present my work.

I looked up online of bottle illustrations and concepts and the technical drawings that I found were what inspired me to continue with the style I went with in the form of sketches and digital paintings as I feel like that is the style I have personally developed as a graphic designer. The sketches I found displayed the shapes of the bottles and by using values to provide the audience with the shape and lighting of the bottle which makes them slightly more tangible and clear.

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I sketched a few ideas on my ipad similar to the same style as the researched images in that I just sketched a few rough shapes with inspiration from my research and then I would further develop the previous bottle shape by adding on or taking elements away. I also tried to sketch out bottles and resemble them as close as possible in order to trigger some divergent thinking.

Whilst developing my bottle idea it occurred to me that because gin bottles seem so angular most of the time with their rectangular bottles, I discovered that a of of my sketches resembled a jewel of some kind. I am an avid video game fan, interested in the high fantasy genre where gems and magical crystals are commonplace. I sought out material which resembled such items in order to proceed with the convergent ideas process.

First of all, I looked around for bottles with crystal like designs because that would be the foundation of what I would base my bottle and my brand off. I did not use strictly Gin bottles as there was a wide range of spirits which had jewel/crystal like shapes. A noticeable advantage of having a crystal shaped bottle is that, in my opinion it shoots the special factor sky high and the bottle will definitely be noticeable and stand out from any other generic design it is next to on shelves. The reflection of the light because of the shapes of the glass will produce a sparkling effect and audiences may assume that there is not question on the quality of the gin as well as the manufacturer.

However, if the bottle is overly shaped like a crystal such as the bottle in the top left, packaging and transporting as well as stacking on shelves would be difficult. I will need to find a good middle ground so as to make sure the design does not go overboard.

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Below is the first bottle concept I came up with and it was heavily inspired by the slideshow images above. The images above are ‘mana potions’ and they are very prominent in high fantasy games which involve magic and it is used as a means to replenish a character’s magic capabilities. I was really drawn to these designs because they are very unorthodox compared to conventional bottles in the real world and I thought that basing my bottle design off these would help make it stand out.

There is a lot of decoration and ornaments involved with the bottles and this could be seen as impractical and unnecessary, however I see it as an opportunity to project the products uniqueness and specialness. I also like the fact that the design compliments the air of magic which surrounds the potions and I like the way it reflects generation Z as a generation who live in an age where everything in daily life would be considered magical or fantasy centuries ago.

Untitled_Artwork 2 A4 Feedback I received from this design was positive and my peers felt like I successfully captured the essence of the mana potion and an image of a crystal. However, my friends who voiced their opinions also understood what the context was behind the design and are familiar with such games they are involved in. People who were not so familiar commented that it looked like a candle with a purple flame and since I am trying to mostly appeal to the entirety of Generation Z I would not want them thinking they are drinking from a candle.

And so I designed a bottle like this. A kind of inverted diamond shape to conform to normal bottle designs although not as clear as I hoped the bottle is transparent as well as in the shape of a jewel as well as containing a jewel inside which will act like a extended chilling ice pack after taking the bottle out of the fridge to keep the liquid cool for as long as possible. There is a wrapping label at the top reserved for the logo in isolation against a white background. Feedback pointed out that it was more crystal like than the last one and although it lot its sense of magic it still looked like a quality product because crystal are often associated with cost and class.

Screenshot 2019-06-06 at 14.44.39

For the logo design, I wanted to stick to the crystal theme and so I looked around for logos and designs with crystals in them. I wanted the crystal to be the centrepiece of the logo but I also needed it to be simple because I would not want something complicated as a silhouette. Below is a slideshow of the research images I took a interest in and wanted to base a design off of.

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Below is the first rendition of a final logo concept after some variations of the logo I attempted to make the whole thing gold including the line work in the centre of the laurels however the outcome was not very good against the light background because the line work was too thin and hard to see. I had to redesign the whole thing to make it more noticeable.

Screenshot 2019-06-06 at 14.41.53

Below is the final rendition of the logo. As you can see it has evolved into a full on label which will wrap around the front of the crystal shaped bottle and the emblem is similar to that of classic Gin brewers like a stamp or their seal of approval (a guarantee that the quality is top notch) and I think the laurel helps improve this notion .

I chose the name Crystalline because it fit the theme of the crystal shaped bottle and crystal shaped design. I chose to keep the rest of the label as simple as possible because I did not want to take away from the stamp or the bottle and I feel like it matches the wholesome nature of the gin industry which includes the use of botanical ingredients.

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Final bottle concept

As you can see, I have made a label to wrap around the crystal shaped bottle and have put the laurel logo at the neck of the bottle whilst leaving the rest of the original drawings intact. Conforming to the industry standard of placing the brand or company seal on the label located at the neck of the bottle allows audience’s eyes to be led from top down to the design of the bottle as well as the label and its design. I chose a contrasting darker colour for the label in order to make the bottle and label compliment each other and stand out in their own element.

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Live Brief Evaluation

In what ways did you consider Designing backwards or application of systems thinking to your project

I thought about who the client was and who their customers were. I imagined what kind of design they would expect for a company that sells open air canopies so I tried to mimic this effect within the brochure.

In what ways have you considered the sustainability of your project process and outcomes

I had not given this thought because this was not an independent project as it was designed to meet the needs of a brief provided to me by a client. I would be concerned with the products they use to produce the final results and the materials the company uses to create their products and how sustainable they are.

In what ways have you considered the ethical implications of your project process and outcomes?

I had to think about designing the product responsibly. Because this is a real client, I had to make sure to adhere to the guidelines they provided and not go off on my own tangent (as much as I wanted to). I had to make sure to represent them in a positive light in order for them to sell and market their products and services to their customers.

What targets can you make at this point for your work in the future as a socially conscious designer

Practice working under pressure
Practice working towards a deadline which is very close from the start date
Try not go get frustrated by the limitations of live briefs
Understand that not every project I will work on will be something I will enjoy or agree with
Try to adapt to the limitations and guide lines of the clients requirements

Live Brief Finals

Screenshot 2019-03-03 at 13.38.32 Screenshot 2019-03-03 at 13.35.34 Screenshot 2019-03-03 at 13.36.14

Live Brief Development

To start off with, I based my designs off the image below, or reasons stated in the previous blog entry. I first arranged the shapes around the canvas and added drop shadows in order to duplicate the effect of the image below and to communicate the notion of a canvas similar to the one used to cover the Shade product. I found it difficult and unenjoyable to work with the company logo because it was such an awkward design to place in the centre of things or anywhere on the page, it really threw me off and the colours I had to work with did not help either as I found them dull and boring to look at.

Working within such restricted parameters is very hard for me, coupled with the extremely limited time given I struggled a lot of not only design the brochure and insert, but also found that I was never satisfied with anything I came up with.

Screenshot 2019-02-26 at 10.47.04

Next I tried to switch up some ideas and came up with a few experimental ideas off the top of my head because I was really struggling to be pleased with anything I came up with. The larger image is based off a more curved canvas design to attempt to connote shade and the idea of covering something. I liked the colour combination I used but the purple at the bottom and the faded effect on the photograph did not look right to me so I changed it.

Another problem I had was that after designing the shapes I did not have any good places to put the text because it would not show up well against the colours provided and the photographs which frustrated me even more. I think part of my frustration was due to having a more limited space than I am used to whilst trying to incorporate my ideas to the canvas.

Finally I came up with something like this which combines the canvas Idea I had initially with a more consistent colour scheme and design whilst also leaving a good amount of space for the tag line and company logo. I just applied the same concept to the back cover but I am not pleased with how the text is laid out. I probably need to use a narrower text box instead.

The double page spread is based on the image below for reasons stated in my research. Screenshot 2019-03-03 at 13.19.19

The brief stated that the spread needed to have a central image with callouts provided in the brief folder and I thought this would be the most appropriate layout for the task.

Screenshot 2019-03-03 at 13.35.34

This is my final design of the spread. I went with this design because of its futuristic aesthetic and technical style in order to convey the notion of progression in a bid to display to audiences how reliable the product and company are. I went with the green and whit theme to convey the sustainable message as well to emphasise how trustworthy the company and product are.

Screenshot 2019-03-03 at 13.36.14

This is the insert. I came up with this idea for the layout off the top of my head because I was struggling with time and ideas at this point. The project had really frustrated me and after going through the whole thing not being satisfied with the outcomes, I feel like this inserts quality in terms of design and ideas is very low and absent of passion.

I scraped together basic ideas and concepts I had learned through my time in graphics and just mashed them together to create this.

Live Brief – Research 2

These are the brochures provided in a file from the client. They were included because they evidently liked some of the design concepts and ideas incorporated in these brochures. I personally thought that these brochures were not that good. My favourite one of the bunch is the third row down to the left. It conforms to the corporate image with its clean layout and geometric design, I also liked its use of layered effect through the subtle drop shadows and vivd colour combinations the themes are consistent which emphasises the business like nature of the company so I made the decision to follow the design philosophies of this brochure out of all of them.

Live Brief – research

I did some very basic and quick research for this project as I only had a very small amount of time to produce essentially three outcomes.

I went to look at images of brochure designs on Pinterest and found some geometric designs which looked corporate as well as stylish and similar to the brochure examples that we were provided in the classrooms/folders.

I really liked the subtle use of layers that are applied to the geometric shapes which I am fond of. The small hint of shadows connotes the notion of shade because it provides the suggestion of light from the ‘sun’ and the shapes are similar to the canvas cover provided by the products.

I gravitated towards this concept of design because I was drawn by the exotic way the shapes and images were arranged that made it look clean and professional. I was having difficulty working with the colours and how to make them look interesting and pop towards the audience. I had a feeling that this approach would provide that result.

Screenshot 2019-03-03 at 13.19.11

For the double page spread, I looked for something which had a central image and also adhered to the brief in a similar way and this was the image I found to be my favourite, I did not have time or luxury to be picky with the layout so I had to decide on one based on an initial gut reaction so the above image is what I based my design in. I like the way it uses a range of colours to connote different subjects/aspects of a company or product and the call out design looks clean and corporate/futuristic in order to signify progression and futurism.

Creative Conscience: Evaluation

I will be evaluating my work with different questions this time to see if I can be more reflective and think more about what I am learning.

In what ways did you consider Designing backwards or application of systems thinking to your project

In this project, at the start with the group work, I could only consider working backwards because I was confused with the first task of making a persona and then thinking about what manner of product/outcome I would have to design or make for this persona.

My group decided to work backwards during this task because it felt like the easier thing to do and was more within our comfort zone.

In terms of systems thinking for my personal project X, I acquired ideas from my peers because I will admit that I am not the best at coming up with initial ideas so I would ask around my classmates and just throw my personal ideas at them and ask for their feedback. I come to rely a lot on my classmates because I respect their input as fellow student designers and sometimes I find that I swallow my pride and have to ask for their help when it comes to ideas.

This would continue on throughout the design process but I am not limited to just my classmates for inputs as I would ask my family and friends for their outside input as well as I know I will always get some insightful ideas from those with not artistic background and that is displayed in my work.

In what ways have you considered the sustainability of your project process and outcomes

I have not really considered the sustainability of my project process and outcomes until today (Monday 11th February 2019). I find myself not thinking about these things and to be honest I do feel like I ever do enough. All I focus on is the outcome and how I personally feel about it. I usually feel proud of what I achieve but I think it is time I started considering how my outcomes and processes affect those around me directly and indirectly which I feel is quite difficult to do.

In what ways have you considered the ethical implications of your project process and outcomes?

It is my full intention for my designs to be beneficial, to be a design for good. My aim is to always be able to help others in anyway I can through design. I had been designing in the past to be more commercial for the sole purpose of trying to be good enough for companies to hire me based on my skills but I feel like my calling lies in designing for good.

I had not considered the ethical implications of my project until today but I am learning to think about the bigger picture. It may be impossible right now for me to cater to every ethical standard but hopefully in time I will grow to consider them more.

Also I feel like my statistics are misleading because it include the numbers 96 and 30 which do not add up to 100 and are part of different statistics so it was not ethical of me to mislead audiences like that by including them in that way. However, it was my intention to hail and communicate a more urgent message but I can see how the inclusion of the statistics could be discrediting.

In sustainability and ethical terms in what ways was your work in this project an improvement or a backwards step for you as a socially conscious designer

I feel like ethically, this was an improvement for me because I designed something I really feel strongly about and used those feelings to design my posters the way I would want others to feel about the importance of blood and organ donation. I tried my best to not guilt the audience into donating and I want them to donate of their own free will but there could be messages in my projects that say otherwise.

I do feel like I am designing for a plaster to the actual problem which is the poor health of others which could mostly be avoided through change of lifestyle where they could be healthier but as of now I do not have the means to address these issues for I did the best I could do with the time and resources at my disposal.

What targets can you make at this point for your work in the future as a socially conscious designer

Think about the systemic problems and realise that sometimes I am designing a plaster to the problem instead of fixing it.
And that is okay right now because I am still a student and I am still learning. What is important is that I carry these feelings I have on to design for good in the future.
I need to consider and think about the ethical and sustainable implications my designs and their processes will have on the world around me – the people I may affect or the resources I may have to use in order to bring my products into existence.
It is hard to make sure everyone is happy with your designs, I think that as long as the intention of good is there the design will reflect that.
Design what I believe in.
Think more critically of what and for whom I am designing for.