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NCRW Logofinal

reptile icons 2

Reptile Labels

 

Logo

Icons

Reptile labels (Final piece is bottom left image)

1) Visual Communication:

In what ways does the visual communication/message of the piece meet the needs of the brief?

I think that the visual communication/message of the piece meet the needs of the brief well although not all of the items on the brief were made, the ones that were are appropriate products.

The logo is both corporate yet approachable, it merges the letter R which represents ‘Reptile’ in the organisations name (National Centre for Reptile Welfare) along with the negative space of an iguana which is an allusion to Bruce the Green Iguana who the organisation wish to be their mascot.

The image of the the roof which represents the rehousing aspect and the ‘Welfare’ section of the organisation name also rounds out the rest of the logo and ties it all together and houses it under one roof.

The round, smooth shapes of the icons combines with the simplistic images and pale colours make them easier to look at and very approachable. I feel the imagery used is appropriate to communicate their intentions to the audience without the use of text which is the aim. Especially against a background of white, they pop out and are easily visible from a reading distance.

The labels for the reptiles are a different layout which allows it to stand out against other generic layouts for labels. By being in a different layout, it automatically stands out against any other label layout which leads the audiences eye towards its hierarchy. The colour scheme used is reflective of the reptile species as a whole and allows the audiences to make that association because the colours are not overpowering.

 

In what ways does the visual communication/message of the piece fail to meet the needs of the brief?

I think that the logo fails to explain what the acronym stands for which is why I could have included the actual title of the organisation for clarity sake because people would not be familiar with the name yet.

I think the venomous icon is a bit aggressive the with skull imagery on it which connotes too much of death so I think that could somehow be toned down a bit.

I think that the nameplate labels for the reptiles are not entirely centred but that can be immediately fixed at a later date if needed.

 

What are the strengths of the visual communication? Why?

See question 1

What are the weaknesses of the visual communication? Why?

See question 2

In what ways could the piece be mis-read or mis-understood by the audience? Be specific about who the audience is.

I think that people unfamiliar with iguanas or reptiles in general would see them in a negative light because there is the reality that some people are scared of them so I do not think the designs will entice them to approach the organisation in a personal positive light.

As said above the venomous imagery with the skull is too strong to connote death as venom does not necessarily kill and the whole notion as a whole is not very positive or approachable.

I think that the lack of detail or description for the reptile labels can lead to misunderstandings or misreadings about the reptiles as unfamiliar audiences interests will not be piqued without some sort of paragraphed descriptions.

In what practical ways could the piece be developed or improved?

I think more products from the brief could have been produced but due to my poor time management towards the end and my hard tunnel vision on the logo restricted me from doing that.

As previously stated the venomous icon could be toned down. A bit more detail and a description box for the reptile labels would provide more educational information for first time reptile adopters.

I could have included the full name of the organisation under the logo to increase clarification.

2) Good Design? Evaluation

 

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

I think that the intentions of the organisation as a whole is for a good cause in allowing these reptiles a second chance to be given away to a good home.

However, not everyone is nice and there is always the potential for those reptiles to be mistreated in their new homes from their new owners.

3) Reflection of own working practices:

How was my time keeping?

I thought I focused too hard on the logo because I always have wanted to create a clever logo filled with subtleties and focusing on this increased my time working on that and not any of the other products which is why I handed in the bare minimum amount in.

I think because I had other projects going on as well as other things I had to do within my personal life it was hard to balance especially in this moment in time but I managed to hand in which I am pleased with.

I did not realise that this is what it ACTUALLY would be like in the industry and I am not sure if I like it to be honest but I will have to learn to deal with it.

How was my analysis of the brief?

I thought the brief was very straightforward and did not really introduce anything new besides the amount of products needed to be submitted or anything which I thought I would have a problem with until I started developing my logo where I was not pleased with any of the outcomes. Otherwise I found it quite easy to analyse and decipher and therefore execute.

How was my research?

I had a lot of opportunities to collect and research materials for my products. Using the internet mainly I was able to have an abundant source of inspiration which I developed over the course of the project adding new ideas day to day. Especially researching reptile which I am a little familiar with so that helped me develop more intricate ideas. This lead me to develop my posters over the week pretty well but it could have been better with more time.

 

How did I draw conclusions from my research?/How did I use research to generate and develop ideas?

By studying the codes and conventions of my research, I was able to draw upon the aspects of research materials I liked best, and integrated those ideas into my pieces. I used the VTS technique to figure out, what I see, why I think this and what more I could find. This is a very solid technique I have been using since I learned about it in its basic form now in order to generate more ideas from research.

 

How did I use evaluations to help with my ideas generation and development?

By analysing my evaluations within my blogs, I was able to identify what I learned from my research. Using this knowledge, I was able to incorporate the positive aspects of the research pieces I conducted and include them into my sketchbook to visually see my ideas piecing together and thus helping me generate my final ideas.

 

How did I use experimentation during the project? How can I make this more effective?

I used experimentation thoroughly during the project. I would produce an initial idea and then analyse what the positive and negative aspects of that idea possesses and then implement the positive aspects into a new idea which would continue until I was satisfied with the product outcome.

Sometimes I would come up with an entirely new idea inspired by something completely new or different and start all over again using what I learned previously and applying it to the new idea.

In what ways did I show that I had achieved the Learning Outcomes? How can I improve this next time?

I have developed my ability to solve design problems within the structure of a design brief by identifying the main and required criteria of a brief and by using research I can go on to see how other designers tackled similar problems and apply those methods to my project.

I have learned to work with a client who does not communicate as well as he should have but I understand that some clients in real life will be like that and perhaps consider that they also have other priorities to attend to so I can sympathise with that especially around this time.

I have undertaken and applied thorough and relevant research. By conducting thorough research, I have managed to be inspired by multiple ideas and then apply those ideas to my own work whilst not directly copying them.

 

What parts of the project did I enjoy most? Why was this the case?

I enjoyed working for an organisation in the real world which is what I will be doing hopefully after I graduate. I also enjoyed the amount of ideas I ended up having which showed my development as a graphic designer.

What parts of the project did I enjoy least? Why was this the case?

I did not enjoy the lack of communication between myself and the client which I understand can happen but it was hard to know exactly what they would like because of the lack of feedback.

At what times did I work best? Why might this be the case? How can I ensure that I work well at all times?

I always work best under stress which always occurs the closer it gets to the deadline. My ideas flood my head and I work through them at a fast rate. Working on more projects I feel very strongly about will cause me to always give it my best efforts.

What areas inspired me? Why was this the case? How could I follow these up?

I really was inspired by the ideas of using negative space because of the cleverness of its uses and the amount of potential it . can have within design. I was also inspired by the reptiles themselves as I was trying to ensure that my designs helped them in being adopted and granted a new home.

 

What areas were challenging or difficult? Why was this the case?

Definitely coming up with ideas that I was pleased with was difficult. This is a flaw I have as a designer is that I am never truly satisfied with the ideas that I have as I always believe they can be better but done is better than perfect.

 

Do I need to develop certain skills? Do I need these now? Or later?

I need to develop my creative process and especially my skill in working with strict restrictions and also working with a real world client. I will probably need to practice this over the time I work with my design volunteer module and with short personal projects to refine my skills.

These are my final results for the reptile labels with the final final one being the on with the chameleon. The font on these are just placeholders and can be replaced but I had bad time management towards the end of the project so I did not have time and I did not think it was a huge issue to stress about.

I also selected a colour palette which the rest of my other designs except my icons will follow in order to keep consistency within the project. It includes one strong primary green colour with four paler supporting colours which will emphasise it.

I centred the image of the reptiles to draw in the initial attention of the audience, from there on, the design follows a hierarchy where the next thing to be noticed will be the icons and then the text which is contained within the green area.

I framed the reptile in a rounded square that was tilted on its corner which moves away from the circles because I did not want to have too many circles within the design of the labels. Instead it highlights and leads the eye towards them because they are fundamentally different shapes. The icons are just placeholders and demonstrations of what they would look like placed on the labels. They seem to scale well and the images are still clear when shrunk.

 

 

The top two images are progress pictures of my final logo design and the larger one is the final design.

After trying to make the negative space of the house work and it eventually failing I tried to think of another clever way to include it within my design. It felt like I was brute forcing it to be put into the W so I opted to make the roof shape above the letters. Whilst not being as subtle as I would have liked, it think it still looks natural within the design and it scales very well compared to the negative space idea.

I also extended the shape of the tail to the C which to give it a bit more character. Originally, iguanas usually have more spines but I needed to cut them out of the design otherwise the R looked too jagged and unfriendly which I felt like I had already compromised by including a reptile with noticeable spines.

I like the pose used here because it originates from my research and it gives off a hopeful connotation where the reptiles can look onward and upwards towards a brighter future and the roof emphasises their safety and shelter they will be provided with when given to a loving home.

In hindsight, I should have included the words Nation Centre for Reptile Welfare for the sake of clarity as audiences unfamiliar with the organisation will not know what the acronym stands for and what their mission is.