Development diary fmp
- 1. Development Diary By Liberty Whitehorn
- 2. Research/Proposal Week One This week in our FMP, we began with our proposal and research. Whilst writing my proposal I found it hard to come up with a idea for my project. This is because I wasn’t sure what medium I wanted to specialise in. Eventually, I decided to do the medium in graphic design and typography because it felt like it was more relevant for the career path I am wanting to go down. This will allow me to gain more valuable skills in this specialist area. Writing the proposal was exciting because it was putting my idea for my project on paper. I feel like once I have done more research, I will be able to proceed with the project more in-depth. This will allow my work to become more effective in the long run. The research I have completed this week has been background information on three different designers/artists. These people are: Rupi Kaur, David Carson and Salvador Dali. My background information is vital with the whole process, this is because I discovered why Rupi Kaur structured her font for the poems the way she did. This is because she wants all the letters to be equal so that it represents equality. This is information I need to take aboard when it comes to production. I feel like I need to research more into existing products because it will help me decide what style would be best to approach Rupi Kaurs work with. It will also help see how she has placed her fonts in the poetry and why its significant to her. I will carry on researching into her target audience and existing products so that I can make my work effective when it comes to production. This is so I research into relevant content.
- 3. Research Week Two/Three The second week of my FMP, I carried on with my research. This week I concentrated on existing products and audience research. For existing product I looked into random illustrations for poetry and also looked into Rupi kaurs work. I discovered that a lot of the styles of illustration were hand drawn and delicate looking. This theme seems to be continuous, which shows me that the most effective way to present illustrations on poetry is to use delicate hand drawn designs. From researching into Rupi Kaur, i discovered she uses instagram to advertise her work a lot. This encouraged me to look into the target audience for this media platform. From this i discovered that people who use instagram tend to be female and millennials. This is the audience i need to be targeted. From knowing this and knowing the style Rupi Kaur and other poets go with, i need to have a more delicate style and approach to my work. One issue i may come across is keeping the style very similar through out. This is one thing i didn’t want to do because i am wanting to experiment with different styles that appeal to the same target audience. This is because i want to be more experimental with my work. I feel like my most successful aspect of my research so far is my background research. This is because i discovered information that will be vital when it comes to my production work. l also looked more into production techniques and how researching into tutorials would help make my production become more effective. From this i have began to learn how to use illustrator more as i will be experimenting with typography and different styles. I feel like i will have a few issues with creating different styles because it means i will have to learn so much and i have limited amount of time for production. However, i will try my best to achieve the best results i can by trying to use my time more effectively. I feel like by watching youtube tutorials, it has helped me learn new techniques which will help with my production.
- 4. Problem Solving/Experiments Week 4/5 Within week 4 and 5 of this FMP project I have been completing experiments and problem solving tasks. In week 4 I was absent for the majority of the week due to having the flu. However, I completed a mind map for potential issues that may occur through out production. From this I discovered I need to keep refreshed and hydrated to improve my productivity. After completing safety procedures I carried out experiments. To start with I concentrated on typography. For this I wanted to combined font and graphics together. As you can see from the image to your left I did this with a car illustration. For this, I inserted a text box over the graphics and erased any excess font around the graphics. This allowed me to have a crisp image that combines two skills. I feel like I could work on this by warping the text to fit the graphics rather than use it as a masque over it. Another experiment I carried out was an portrait from text. For this i found a photo of Rupi Kaur and darkened the photo so that when the font was inserted it didn’t look out of place. From here I placed a square over half her fact and inserted text over this. This allowed me to cut the font out of the shape which allowed the image to poke through. This was effective however, I feel like I could of used a better photo so that the font was made clearer. I have also been experimenting with the graphics tablet. This has allowed me to practice my drawing skills and to come to terms with how to use the tools. This is because I am wanting to do hand drawn style graphics for some of my poetry interpretations. This is so it keeps Rupi Kaurs original style in some of them which makes it easier to identify it as her work. From this I learnt how to add different colours and what patterns different brushes make. This allowed me to discover which brushes are chunky and thin. I feel like I could improve my drawing skills with the tablet as they are beginners level. However, I feel like the work I produced with the graphics tablet has allowed me to expand my knowledge and skills on the subject. Overall, I feel like this week has been productive. I feel like I have learnt and developed a lot of skills which will come useful in production for my FMP.
- 5. Planning Week 6 In week 5 of my final major project, I began to complete my planning. To begin with I researched into different poems that Rupi Kaur has done so I’ve selected 10 different poems. From this I began to describe what graphics I would do for each poem, so when it comes to production I have a clear idea of what graphics I need to create. From this i will work my typography around it. I’ve also began to look at what colours will be useful to include in my work. I’ve included a bunch of different colours because each poem either has a different theme or a similar tone. I’ve discussed that the dark colours will link more to the dark and depressive themes and the light pastel colours will link to love. These two are a common theme in the poems I have picked. Another thing I have covered is the page lay out for the front and back cover. I’ve explained next to the lay outs what graphics I will include in my work. This is so it gives me a clear picture of where to start my graphics from. I’ve also included information on what size each page will be. I’ve also looked into different font styles. I find this difficult due to the font needing to be simple. This is because Rupi Kaur uses simple fonts and lower case letters to create equality in the words. This is one thing I am wanting to explore. I have selected a few hand drawn fonts and simple fonts so that it links to Rupi Kaurs current work and links to my style that I am wanting to achieve. Overall, I think my planning is effective because it has helped plan what graphics I am using, which is the key part to my work.
- 6. Production/Corrections Week 7 This week for my final major project, I began to correct some of my previous work and began productions. I corrected my proposal, research and pre proposal. This is so I can make sure I am achieving the best grade I possible can. This will be a consistent aspect I concentrate on over the space of the project. This is because I will be editing and changing my project consistently. For the first piece of production I began on the back cover. To start with I began to construct the illustration of Rupi Kaur. I have done a hand drawn style to her face. This is because it was an aspect I experimented with in my fanzine and I found it interesting to work with. I also feel like this style goes with the style of hand drawn illustrations. I have work with the typography as well to make it look more interesting and link to David Carsons work. I tried to highlight key words which a audience would relate to. ‘You’ and ‘I’ is a direct term which makes people believe the text is speaking to them. This is why I highlighted these words, so that the audience is instantly intrigued with what the back cover is trying to say. This worked effectively. From this I began to fill in the background so that the back cover wasn’t basic and boring. I used the graphics tablet to draw some stars because I feel like it links into being inspired which Is what I want people to take from this book. I also wanted to make the illustrations modern but old fashioned which is why I included polaroid's. This is because it has recently come back in fashion again which makes it relevant to my target audience. The second piece of production I have began to complete Is my front cover for my book. This is the image on the left hand side. I have tried to stick to my planned idea but I ended up becoming inspired as I was illustrating. This lead for me to alter my design slightly. I have tried to portray peace and equality because that is Rupi Kaurs main focus in work. This applies for woman, men and religion. I have used the graphics tablet again for this to get a hand drawn style. How I managed to create this in more depth is by changing the brushes. This allowed me to explore a new hand drawn style which I have included in the peace symbols on the hands. For the typography on the front I have gone basic and hand drawn. This is because I am wanting the title of the book to be clear and effective. This is so the book is easily identified. I feel like to improve my front cover I need to add more colour so that it doesn’t look as basic. I also feel like I should include a few more illustrations but not many due to not wanting to make the front cover look more busy. These will be illustrations on women more. I feel like for the back cover I need to improve Rupi Kaurs illustration. This is because I feel like the hair is out of place which makes it a bit odd. It works well but I feel like the illustration could flow better. I feel like I should change the front cover idea as it isnt a consitent pattern with the poems I have changed. I will try make them link more to the themes, such as: feminism.
- 7. Production Week 8 This week in production, I have completed my front cover for my final major project and have began to make my first poem illustration. With the front cover, I began to create more symbols to place so that it represents themes that will be shown in the poetry book. This is why there is a lot of themes revolved around woman and peace. I have also used a lot of pinks to symbolise the theme of love too. All these themes are included inside the poetry book which is why I feel like the front cover has been achieved well. I have used a combined skills of the graphics tablet and Photoshop which has allowed different styles to be seen on the front cover. When I reflect back on my work I may consider making some of the graphics neater, but I do feel like these symbols and illustrations display my own individuality. In the second piece of production work, I began to complete my first poem for my book. I found creating the illustrations simple and effective for this poem, but I do feel like I could make the graphics look more unique and individual to my style. This is something I will work on. However, overall the graphics are neat and display what I am wanting to portray. I do feel like I need to include more colour in this poem. This is because I want my book to be colourful and vibrant because this will link the front cover into the whole book style and tone. I feel like I could change this in the footprint sections and I can play around with making the silhouettes colourful. This will help set a more upbeat tone which is what I am wanting for this poem. I have also began to experiment with typography. I have placed the footprints near the line ‘next generation’ because I feel like this is symbolic to a journey. This has allowed me to continue my inspiration with David Carsons work and incorporate it into my own.
- 8. Production Week 9 This week in production i have continued to create graphics for my final major project. I have also come across a few issues with changing a few poems because my ideas of illustrations didn’t go to plan. This has allowed me to change my order of poetry too. I have tried to stick with two different styles due to finding these are how i express my own interpretation in my own way. This included using nature and pastel colours as well as bold and dominate colours. These both portray a sensitive and aggressive interpretation which allows my opinion to get across better. However, it took me experimenting with failed illustrations to realise what my image is for the final product. This allowed me to explore using different tools like the brush tool more as you can see from the screenshots i have inserted. This helped me achieve hand drawn illustrations which also look professionally done. From this it has allowed me to adapt my own individual style. The photos I have inserted to the left are screenshots of the two styles I have gone for. As you can see I have created a delicate, nature illustrations. This helps achieve sensitivity. I have also achieved a more aggressive approach which has made the words written more powerful. I feel like these two styles work best. I feel like in future I need to experiment and plan more effective so that I will manage my time better, causing my work to be better.