Brief Template (task 3)

 How will these briefs build the experiential portfolio you want?

Tips:

• Create clear parameters for the brief 
• Keep the brief, brief. No long paragraphs.
• When transferring 'broad' briefs (D&AD), interpret the brief then narrow down into the format of these brief templates. 
• Research briefs start with a theme, then are guided by the research (more open to individual interpretation) - through found research // try not to project own idea of research 
• Focus on your process/area of focus  (i.e brand strategy, guerilla marketing, branding) and then focus on how you can operate within that area of focus and play around with those rules within that process. 
• Write the brief as if you're explaining the idea to a novice. Every basic detail, making the brief as clear as possible.  Keep the description brief though - two lines max
• Mandatory (mandatory to the course) requirements - as well as the needs of the outcome. academic requirements i.e. design boards, blogs.
• Deliverables (deciding on what you will change) - will there be any supporting work alongside the final outcome. - with collaborations - deliverable could consider the style of the person you're working with. - managing print 
• Module - 5th May 
• Studio deadline - deadline you set for each brief 
• I the project has multiple outcomes, have to decide whether the design boards have multiples sets of design boards (conflicting design approaches) 
• Know your target audience before write brief 
• Background considerations - how will corona influence the brief? 
• how can you communicate the same question in a more interesting way? 

Tips:

1. Write the brief as if you're explaining the idea to a novice. Every basic detail, making the brief as clear as possible.  Allows for a range of interpretations 
2. Writing from a point of personal interest - creates a clear understanding and interest in the 
3. Should be constructive (clear guidelines to the brief), but allow for a personal interpretation that's exciting. 
4. Have resounding and well-informed documentation of your process, and all the processes are related to one another 
5. Knowing where to direct your research i.e. background considerations - how does this influence your choices 

Introduction 

Grocery retail is a very busy environment with brands competing to attract shopper’s attention as they enter and navigate around the store. Research shows that shoppers make the majority of their purchasing decisions in store, which makes POS displays a key element of the marketing mix. Brands need to attract consumers and market products successfully by using POS displays that grab the attention of shoppers and differentiate from the competition, as well as being functional and easy to assemble. Many music festivals were cancelled in 2019 due to adverse weather and in 2020 due to Covid-19. Our fictional ‘Cardboard Masters’ Festival in 2021 aims to bring together arts, music and adventurous sports. 

For inspiration see: https://uk.pinterest.com/ metalpackuk/

Brief E - https://www.iom3.org/sites/default/files/Briefs%20students%202021%20FINAL_0.pdf

Tips for writing brief:

• “Clear question and time scale.”
• “Anyone can understand what is being asked.”
• “There is a clarity”.
• “It is interesting.”
• “You can tell what the aim is meant to be”.
• “The brief is written clearly”.
• “It is challenging, you have to think.”
• “It is written in bullet points rather than large paragraphs of information.”
• “It needs to be snappy.”
• “Allows room for development.”
• “There is a good amount of background information.”
• “You understand what needs to be completed.”

COP tutorial notes

1.  what is the core of the subject? - look at the psychology of it all - understand this impact (this will be the common thread to tie the essay together) 
2.  From here you can focus on the psychology of shopping and how experiential branding implements elements from this, and then its relationship to chosen theories
3. Looking at elements outside of consumer goods, look into the relationship between installation art and experiential branding (how do these artists focus on the interaction - using semiotic 'tricks' as replicas of consumer psychological 'tricks'. core ideas of why an interactive design works.
4. Come up with headings for essay. 

For practical: 

1. Could expose the subconscious tactics within consumer branding/marketing in a product/installation. deconstructing the elements presented in the essay. 
2. Comparison shopping experience to experiential distorted experience. 

ISSUES DISCUSSED AT THE TUTORIAL

Experiential design / branding – identity Pop up installations – tapping into senses  Experiential campaign  Multi disciplinary nature of experiential design  Events  Is experiential design used in normal shops? Shopping psychology – layout of space - positioning  What kinds of companies use it?  How effective is it?  What could other brands learn how do they benefit – is it always appropriate? Bompass & Parr – experimental design field

TUTOR ACTION

STUDENT ACTION

Mechanical authenticity Hyperreality  Novelty – memorable – connect experience with brand – gimmick  Shopping with Freud  Consider the focus - brand identity – experiential design within other fields as examples of success or how it can be used for other purposes. Installation art  How do installation artists create – Bruce Nauman  Claire Bishop participation  What are the key points? Chapter headings – sections – 3-5  What the core of the subject  Cinema – smell of popcorn  Design of IKEA Apple shops  Installation raises the cultural value of a product

Rewording Question

 

I felt that my question was too focused on the comparison between types of branding, which I felt didn't have much substance to it, so I have rephrased the question to, 'how valuable is an experiential design approach to the growth of an identity'. This allows for the focus of the question to shift to the topic solely to experiential branding, which I can draw examples of the use of the experiential design in other forms outside of the commercial needs, i.e. the use of experiential design within political demonstrations, healthcare, etc, creating a broader set influences experiential design has on its audience; and due to the multi-disciplinary nature of experiential design, the focus of the question can stay particular to experiential design but the nature of it can be implemented into sectors outside of the consumer goods sector, which I feel with only help me further justify my argument for the validity of experiential design as a form of branding/design. 

With the question being on how valuable experiential branding is, I feel that a timeline as the base structure through the essay, referring to how it has been used in the past and how this informs creative choices in the present day, will help me communicate the validity of experiential branding. Especially in the tough climate the art sector is in and will be for the foreseeable future; uses of experiential branding/design outside of the consumer goods sector would validate its value in a broader sense. 

Theories such as hyperreality and brand perception will be useful in communicating experiential branding within the consumer goods sector, but maybe the use of phenomenology with the aspect of providing a clear undistorted message could translate into the essay in the form of experiential branding/design within political demonstrations and within health care, further promoting the idea that experiential branding/design can create experiences that communicate the almost 'truth' of the reality (whether that be referencing consumer goods, political agenda or within healthcare)  that other forms of design/branding cannot, as they can't create that same multi-sensory experience which can communicate a clear message literally to a number of senses not just visually. 

Extra Notes:

• The ethics within experiential branding/design - businesses catering to new audiences - what they take into account when approaching design for different demographics i.e. women's kin care catered to different genders. + expense of it -not viable for small brands (unless simple pop up event)
• Key point - experiential design id multi-disciplinary 
• Secret Cinema - Picnic event - There were different levels to how involved you wantedto get 
• The switch to online experiential design (timeline)

 

Extended Practice - Task 2

Questions About You and Your Design Practice

(Set one)

When considering your design practice what have you learnt in the last seven days?

Since not being able to really experiment with the projection I usually would in the studio, I've found I've been more drawn to motion graphics and creating work that can be presented digitally. 

What practical skill do you envy in others?

I find in my practice I have the technical skills to use design software (adobe) to create outcomes, whether that's projection-based artwork, publication design, or logo design; but I find when it comes to analog processes like sketching/illustrating forms, I find it hard to conceptualize an idea, which I put down to a lack of practice in the area. I want to expand this area of the practice of my work as I find the mix of analog and digital processes creates a more compelling and interesting composition. 

What do you admire the most about yourself?

I find that I'm good at conceptualizing an idea through digital processes. I found since 2nd year I've got a lot more confident in my style/process of working, may it be through creating projection mapping based artworks or through designing publications as to communicate relevance to a theory that is present in research-led briefs. 

Do you think social media effects your mental health?

I take regular breaks from social media, as I feel you can easily fall into a depressive state of comparison, which I find is the demise of any sort of creativity 

Do you use humor improve your design practice?

I haven't really so far, but with wanting t use more of my own illustrations within my work I will try use some sort of satire within my work, as I find it more compelling in creating work which has an impact on people as it's instantly more recognizable and engaging. 

Questions About You and Your Design Practice

Set two

Is there anything your do differently to most people in relation to your design practice?

I find that in my practice I do use basic graphic design principles i.e. Emphasis, Balance and Alignment, Contrast, Repetition, Proportion, Movement, and White Space, to connect the information being present; but i very much really on physical objects/element (photography or scanning of materials/objects) first to create the basis of a composition, which i then transfer to a digital sense, which I will then decide what outcome I want to create/build my idea from. 

What makes you laugh?

What is your biggest strength?

Would you consider yourself introverted or extroverted when presenting your work?

Naturally, I am introverted and that does come across in the presenting of my work, but like anything else, it just takes practice to become more confident in that area. In 2 year I attempted to present our pitch for my groups Lifes a Pitch Brief, I wouldn't say it went well, the idea was fantastic and we weren't completely clear in the actual presenting of the pitch, but I came feeling that it was a stepping stone in becoming more confident in the present of my work to large groups.  

What is your worst habit when evaluating your work formatively?

I feel like i take on the advice from tutors and apply that to my next project, especially the transition between 1st and 2 year I felt that I engaged a lot more with the course and genuinely felt that my work was getting better as I was implementing the ongoing evaluation from tutors, which I was then able to comprehend and apply to myself throughout my working. 

Questions About You and Your Design Practice

Set three

What is the biggest waste of time in your day?

Being restricted to being in the house for the entirety of the day, it can be hard to differentiate between a productive working space and the space you eat, sleep and wallow in so yeah finding that balance can be hard. 

What brief are you looking forward to at the moment?

I'm really looking forward to my resonance brief as I want to see the label I'm doing the branding for grow and get recognition. 

What do you often complain about when you are researching?

The relevance of research I'm applying to my work, and if it actually is relevant or if im just building bridges which arent there, creating a kinda false identity. 

What new design process do you want to learn?

I want to get more experience within motion graphics. 

What is the biggest challenge you have had to overcome in last two years within your design process?

Coming into 1st year, I treated my practice as more of hbbby, as my background was from an engineering standpoint (previously studied), so finding my own style of working and changing my approach to work was defitniyly a challenge in 1st year, but i felt i started to come into my own by the midpoint of 2nd year; simply through pushing myself and continuously experimenting and creating work. 

EP Idea: Byker Wall

 (2017) - It’s been named the UK and Ireland’s best neighbourhood - it’s got top schools, friendly neighbours and community art classes - alongside high levels of poverty.

Byker is best known for Erskine’s Byker Wall, an 1,800-home estate of 9,500 people, which is among the best regarded of Britain’s postwar council estates. It provides a mile-and-a-half-long barrier to North Sea winds, creating a microclimate within the estate while protecting it from the noise of major roads outside. 

Ralph Erskine’s Grade II-listed council estate, built to replace the old Byker neighbourhood, is an examplar of design and public participation – and proof that it is rarely in the interests of people to demolish their original homes

Byker – a tight-knit, 17,000-strong, working-class community of Victorian back-to-back terraces – was demolished. It made way for a wholesale redevelopment of the area, the centrepiece of which was architect Ralph Erskine’s Byker Wall estate. 

Original Byker neighbourhood 

Though it has been long since razed, the original Byker community lives on through the work of Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, a Finnish photographer and film-maker who moved into the old Byker in 1969. Over a 12-year period, she catalogued the community as it faced the wrecking ball. In 2003, Konttinen returned to make a new film, documenting the lives of Byker Wall residents over a period of six years. The contrast with her previous film is immediate, not least because Erskine’s estate, now characterised by security doors and intercoms, is so different from the narrow streets and back-to-backs of the old Byker.

Today, Byker is best known for Erskine’s Byker Wall, an 1,800-home estate of 9,500 people, which is among the best regarded of Britain’s postwar council estates. It provides a mile-and-a-half-long barrier to North Sea winds, creating a microclimate within the estate while protecting it from the noise of major roads outside.

English Heritage awarded Byker a Grade II listing in 2007, defending it from the swathe of council-estate demolitions currently devastating communities across Britain

Erskine, a deeply committed socialist and Quaker that was heavily influenced by Swedish social democracy, made very considerable efforts to involve the original Byker community in the design of the new development. This was done through a pilot scheme involving 46 households working with architects in the design of their future homes and in the old Byker, where Erskine leased a former funeral parlour as an office and drop-in centre.

Design aspects to work from: 

• Byker Wall was an exemple of both design and an attempt to involve the community in the changes planned for them by those in power. That it failed in so many ways reveals that it is rarely in the interests of communities to demolish the homes they live in.
• Contrast between the old Byker neighbourhood in to now. (community) 
• The fierce resistance of the majority of residents, who desperately want to stay in their homes. (Esates all over UK being demolished - postwar slum clearance) 
• a mile-and-a-half-long barrier to North Sea winds - creates micro-climate within estate + noise cancelled from road

Extended Practice - Task 1 - Statement of Intent

Going into the creative industry, I want to keep my design skillset broad as possible as I want my style of working to be transferable to as many fields of working as possible. Saying this, most of my work has revolved around  installation art, creating interactive spaces where the audience directly influences the outcome. I enjoy using analogue processes, to create almost set pieces, in conjunction with digital projections in these installations but looking to the future I’d like to branch out from these installation styled works and move to the branding and/or designing within an experiential event agency. Over the summer i’ve been working on the branding of a local music label which has helped me gain more experience in creating a strong identity to a project, where in the past I have jumped between different aesthetics throughout my projects as I’ve found this sense of spontaneity helpful in creating outcomes that are fresh and different to my past works. 

Hyperreality Theory

The concepts most fundamental to hyperreality are those of simulation and the simulacrum, first conceptualized by Jean Baudrillard in his book Simulacra and Simulation.

Hyperreality, in semiotics and postmodernism, is an inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced postmodern societies.

Hyperreality is seen as a condition in which what is real and what is fiction are seamlessly blended together so that there is no clear distinction between where one ends and the other begins. It allows the co-mingling of physical reality with virtual reality (VR) and human intelligence with artificial intelligence (AI).

(CONSUMERISM) Hyperreality is significant as a paradigm to explain current cultural conditions. Consumerism, because of its reliance on sign exchange value (e.g. brand X shows that one is fashionable, car Y indicates one's wealth), could be seen as a contributing factor in the creation of hyperreality or the hyperreal condition. Hyperreality tricks consciousness into detaching from any real emotional engagement, instead opting for artificial simulation, and endless reproductions of fundamentally empty appearance.

Estudio link for Articles

Link

https://estudio.leeds-art.ac.uk/mod/folder/view.php?id=47052 

Co-experience: user experience as interaction KATJA BATTARBEE* and ILPO KOSKINEN

This paper reviews various existing approaches to understanding user experience and describes three main approaches and their differences. A missing perspective is noted in all three: their focus is on only the individual having the experience and neglects the kinds of experiences that are created together with others. To address this, a new elaboration called co-experience is presented. It builds on an existing approach but borrows from symbolic interactionism to create a more inclusive interactionist framework for thinking about user experiences. Data from a study on mobile multimedia messaging are used to illustrate and discuss the framework. 

PDF: file:///Users/tomhomans/Downloads/co-experience.pdf  

The Graphic Thing Ambiguity, Dysfunction, and Excess in Designed Objects

In what ways do we experience “thingness” in graphic design objects, and how does this relate to issues of materiality and transparency in graphic communication? In this article, I mobilize concepts from cognitive linguistics to explain how our apperception of objects can be subverted through design strategies such as exaggerating the physical qualities of artifacts or contravening conventions. I will use examples of graphic design to illustrate how these strategies can, at some level, disrupt our understanding of graphic objects by evoking experiences of things that demand additional cognitive processing before being fully assimilated into our existing understanding.

PDF: file:///Users/tomhomans/Downloads/The%20graphic%20thing.pdf

The Influence of Designers’ Cultural Differences on the Empathic Accuracy of User Understanding

Given the global market and the resulting ubiquity of cross-cultural design, to improve user experience, designers should accurately understand users from different cultures. The extent to which designers can empathize and understand users from different cultures is an under researched topic. This paper combines Empathic Accuracy Rating with a user experience survey to measure the empathic accuracy of 12 designers trying to understand the experience of users from different cultural backgrounds. 

PDF: file:///Users/tomhomans/Downloads/The%20Influence%20of%20Designers%20Cultural%20Differences%20on%20the%20Empathic%20Accuracy%20of%20User%20Understanding%20(1).pdf

COP 3 Presentation/Proposal

Extended Practice Task (NOT FINISHED)

Briefs so far: 

(previous blogs describe in more detail)

1. (Resonance) Live Brief: Creating a dynamic and interesting multi-platform record label branding,  for a new record label in the Bristol/Bath area. 

2. (Noise vs Noise) Live Brief: idea based on a jazz collective in Denmark who has played out of tune bad music at far-right rallies

3. (News posters) Research-led brief: 1 news article a week, presented in a poster format, could be presented on a website or Instagram page; covering the topic of politics, extremism, climate, COVID, BLM, drugs, Brexit, Hong Kong

4. (Animated Vinyl Stickers) Collaborative brief: With there being a huge spectrum of amazing album covers across all different genres of music. A platform that presents them in a form that uses motion to present the unique aspects of the design in a motion graphic.

5. (Getting active in COVID app) Research led Brief: an experiential navigational app that locates these wild swimming points

6. (Perfume Adverts) Live Brief: Re-branding 'new perfume' campaign in an ironic way. 

7. (Mental Health Awareness within Sport) Research led Brief: Blog presenting relevant stories (good + bad?), self-help guides, helplines 

8. (Plant Directory app) Collaborative Brief: 'Help to grow' plant app

9. (2-minute beach clean app) Research led Brief: The aim of this project would be to create an app that would enable the user to keep on top of their daily 2 minutes of cleaning.

10. (Satirical Advert Magazine) Live Brief: Re-branding advertising campaigns with imagery of the real products from the store. Could be presented in a magazine/lookbook with a satirical sort of agenda.

11. (Re-branding Business magazine) Live Brief: Reinterpreting very factually based magazines and/or newspapers visual qualities.

Evaluation of the briefs you have written, can you answer these questions? 

What is the problem? 

1. A new techno/house record label (Resonance) needs a clear identity for their online (social media) presence, along with physical posters and vinyl covers. 
What area are you focusing on? 

1. Branding of the music label 
Is there a bigger context? 

1. At the moment the label is simply producing tracks and uploading them onln, but once it is possible for them to host events in public spaces, then there will be more promotional design work needed and potentially projected visuals for the individual artists at the live events. 
What is the form and amount of research to date? 

1. Mostly contextual research into other record label designs, especially those that promote techno and/or house music
What is your timescale? 

1. To have Instagram and the clear branded identity for the label to be set up for the end of October. 
What is achievable with the time you have available?

1.  Set up an Instagram page and any relevant promotional work for the label for when they went their mixes promoted. 

Areas of focus

Specific areas of research? 

Specific practical methods? 

Specific contexts? 

Specific audiences?

Methodologies 

Methods of research? 

Methods to evaluate outcome? 

Methods to evaluate progress? 

Methods of production?

EP Idea: Rebranding dull business magazne(s)

Design that takes the importance out of things

Reinterpreting very factually based magazines and/or newspapers visual qualities. 

How could I take say a business magazine like, 'Entrepreneur' or 'Inc' and redefine their steady indistinguishable cover design and layout, so that it's still recognizable to their customers but has a different composition and visual message, to attract new customers/subscribers to the magazine?

This could potentially allow for a new younger, more design orientated demographic to start buying the magazine.  

EP Idea: Satirical Advert Magazine

 Can Advertising win back our trust? 

A 2019 report from Advertising Association stated public trust has been in decline since the '90s, with advertising now considered below the trust levels of energy suppliers and banking. 

We're only ever shown the most polished version of a product through advertising, i.e. The burger you see in the adverts vs the burger you get in-store.

Could present some of the tricks used within the 'staging' of food in commercial food photography 

Outcomes: Re-branding advertising campaigns with imagery of the real products from the store. Could be presented in a magazine/lookbook with a satirical sort of agenda. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuEyrLbJ25w&ab_channel=Vox

EP Idea: Plant Directory App

With more people buying indoor plants during covid; an app telling you where to place them in your house, how much sunlight, how much water when to prune; which could be identified through taking a photo of the plant. 

Outcome: 'Help to grow' plant app

Herb growing app 

EP something more brief (logo designs)

HEART OF THE SEA (impact of littering on marine life) 

A system that presents the damage of plastic in the ocean. The aim of this log would be to present sealife to plastic ratio, the number of fish in the sea, and the rate of pollution.

Initial logo design 

Incorporating a beer can holder into the shell of a turtle as a signifier to the plastic littering the topic of our question. Rings could be used as the signifiers for the tracking of the severity of the issue in question. The colors here are too relevant. Would change colors to fit a more pressing/intense theme. 

Putting the turtle inside the center of a set of rings to accentuate the logo, colors again not the final choice. 

Coral Colourway 

Choosing a 'coral' colorway to draw a stronger reference to the issue the logo is trying to address. The colors bring the form of the turtle out more clearly here.

Removing the black outline on the turtle makes it a more clear image. 

Slightly less cluttered. Half-cut rings here create a more fish-like 'scaley' aesthetic here. Free's up space in the center of the logo, 

Again without the coral colored rings. 

Rings connected in a figure of 8 

The rings connected again but through a line from the center of the circles instead. 

Logo Design (Bobby Whaler)

The shape of the fish was based on the form of a plastic bottle as to tie to the plastic litter. The heart measures the life of the fish, growing/decreasing in size as fish numbers are impacted by plastic littering. Bones connotate death. The fins represent the growing rate of plastic pollution. The eyes present the fish to the plastic ratio (i.e. Great Pacific garbage patch is 60/40 plastic to seas life) reef inspired colorway for the fish's body, with complementary colors used alongside. 

In Context  

We chose to use Futura as the typeface to accompany our logo as we felt the geometric typeface communicated a sense of urgency through the clarity of the lacking of any ligatures between the type; as well as the future being used extensively throughout advertisements and logos, possibly making the whole aesthetic of the branded logo more recognizable to our audience. Also, the closed counter in the 'O' in Futura typeface is a perfectly round circle, creating a subtle visual tie to the eye of the fish we used for the logo. 

Here is an example of where we'd expect the logo to be presented in context. We figured the logo would be most effective on branded packaging, handouts (i.e. cards/brochures), and on billboards, as to communicate the message to as large an audience as possible. Below are some videos and images of the logo in context.