OUGD603 Design Publication

Part of our module submission requires us to design a publication that reflects our practice and the process in which we work. I was finding this difficult to pin down to one process as my methodology varies dependent on the brief.

Because of this I decided to break my publication up, perhaps into three individual booklets, explaining my methodology and design process for each of the fields I have chosen to specialise in; typography, promotional design and branding.

I was to exhibit a few key steps that remain consistent to my practice in these fields.

These would take the form of A5 booklets, all following the same layout. I was keen to feature a quote that reflects the way I approach these areas in context, and I was also keen to contact some agencies to find out a bit about their methodologies.

I started by sending out some emails to a few Leeds based agencies to see what they had to offer.

I sent emails to Duke Studios, Duo, Analogue and D.S. Emotion:



I am a third year in BA (Hons) Graphic Design at Leeds College of Art, and corresponding with a project I am working on about mine and other peoples methodologies, I was hoping you would be able to send me a couple of key points to your design process.

Thanks for your help,

Sarah Butler




After about a week I had only received a response back from Duo:



Hi Sarah,

I have asked around the studio a lot of the processes are all very similar so here are a few of my consistent steps when designing:

1. Think - if I have the time, I always spend a good couple of days just thinking about my research and doodling down ideas
2. Experiment - never settle on one idea immediately, you may not realise the potential in others
3. Bare in mind where your design will be exhibited, who will see it, will they stop or will they walk past.

I hope this helps, and good luck with the remainder of your degree.

Best,
Melissa



While these were all helpful points, I didn't want to show examples from just one studio as I didn't think it would be appropriate, as these were now only three points to cover three booklets. I decided to forgo this idea as I don't have the time to wait for responses when I should be designing.

Brief 5: Miel Handmade Photos

The outcome of the jar labels was the one aspect that I was not pleased with at the end of this brief. If I have the time before hand in, I would like to reprint the labels with a lower opacity in order to show more of the illustrations in the background. Otherwise, after changing the business cards, I was happy with the outcome to this brief.

** I have now been able to change the labels on the jars, which work much better.

Brief 5: Miel Menu

I had decided to include a cafe serving breakfast and lunch in the store, all based around the items sold in Miel. I constructed a menu based on recipes I found using honey and jam, or the assortment of oils that Miel would sell, alongside some basic breakfast favourites used the same items.

I carried on the 'honey' idea, and used both of the honey illustrations that i felt worked really well on the letterhead. Each meal has been priced at slightly below what the average I found for the same meals were in other cafe's around London.

I continued to use Nexa Light and Nexa Bold for the body of the text, as I also found it to be readable over the top of the illustration.

I decided to print these on off-white paper and mount them on black, which would keep up with the black border that feature on much of the other designs.

Brief 5: Miel Business Card Redesign

After printing the business card I found that the combination of the illustration and typeface made them appear far too busy. Somehow both these elements were getting lost within each other, and they didn't have the sort of impact I wanted them to have.

I decided to redesign and reprint the business cards. I was really pleased with how the letterheads turned out and, given that the translation of the brand name is 'honey' I thought I would make the honey illustration the focal image for the brand.

I didn't change much on the reverse side of the business card as I really liked the central design and I felt that it balanced the illustration on the other page.

I felt the second version was a vast improvement from the first, and made them appear calmer, and consequently more authentic.

Brief 5: Miel Business Cards/Letterhead

I wanted to use the illustrations Izzy had done as much as possible because I think they perfectly depict the nature of the brand, so I was keen to use them in the business cards and letterhead too, in a much more simplified manner than with the labels.

I also decided I wanted to base the shop/cafe in central London, amongst the shops around Regents Street of a similar nature, eg. Whittards, and Godiva. I found a spot in a small alcove off Regents Street which is currently a cafe, which I thought would work perfectly in terms of location and surrounding shops.

I found that the honey illustration down the side of the letterhead balanced the page well, allowing for the content to be pushed along the page. This illustration was the only portrait image and so fitted well down the side of the page.