END OF SEMESTER ONE

I think the best way to end my first Semester on a quote which really did inspire by Damian..

"When I was young I was told that God made the world in 6 days....What can you do in 3 weeks!!!"

Really gets you thinking does not it.

Quote by Damian Chapman, 2011

These past few months have been a fantastic experience.  I have learnt a lot about myself, my creativity, working alongside others and developing more as a designer and designing for designers as well as non designers.

I am to head in to Semester Two the way I have successfully ended semester one, and look forward to collaborating with MA Management.

WE WON!!!!

Our time won the presentation, and this was fantastic.  We put so much hard work, time and effort into this.  Taking into hand all the feedback which both Damian and Inje had given to us over the course of the weeks from our first presentation as a creative team through to the final for this semester. 

Whittard - Brand Manual fo Presentation

Below is the link to the brand manual that I made along side the presentation and the boards

http://issuu.com/nbrown88/docs/brand_manual_evolution1a12?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

Presentation Boards

To view Presentation boards please view link below:
http://issuu.com/nbrown88/docs/boards1a2?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

A few bits for REVOLUTION

The alternative to evolution was revolution, and similar to the previous posts I am not going to show all processes, documentations and execution this can be viewed at:


http://issuu.com/nbrown88/docs/presentation_week_31ac?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222



But the idea for revolution was basically looking into the idea that Britain is very much a multi cultural society now, and wanted to bring this through.

Whittard Revolution Identity

Stencil Designs 

Revolution Packaging

EVOLUTION - Whittard

I am not actually going to put everything up, but to view more from the evolution section of rebranding Whittard, please see link below 
http://issuu.com/nbrown88/docs/presentation_week_31ac?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

Whittard - Sketches, Print and Packaging (evolution)

Sketch 

Print 

The idea of using iconic British people and symbols, works so much better than expected, especially in print, and keeping in with the idea of British Humor and icons. 

Whittard - Breakdown of our idea & Identity - sketches and print (evolution)

Evolution - Setting our own specification 

So we had set our own specification for the evolution route, and already felt that this was a very strong ideas.....loads of ideas and developments began extremely early on with the brief...

Our main aim for this was "BRINGING BACK THE BEST OF BRITISH" this was the easiest line I could think of at the start, and we carried this through right through to the final production. 

IDENTITY - We used the typical old English gentlemen's beard to replicate the "W" for Whittard, which firstly would be iconic and secondly add a sense of humour. 

Sketch of Whittard identity

We made several styles for this and even asked the public whilst we were in Costa and Starbucks, and every person that we had asked all understood throughly what we were doing, and started stating their own opinions on which one was better and why..and so as we wanted HUMAN TRUTH, EXPERIENCE and get the target audience INVOLVED, we listen to their advice and went with the majority. 

Whittard - Idea Generation

The brand that we choose was Whittard (a coffee and tea specialist) that has been around for 125 years. 

In 2009 they went into administration, but recently at the start of 2011 the have re-opened stores. 

Not much has been changed to their identity, their values, packaging etc.....and most of all they still have NO campaigns or print based recognition.  

The only new thing to Whittard is that they now have a website where you can purchase products...BUT once again no one knows this as it has not been advertised....even to those that religiously shop at Whittard. 

I am going to condense as much as I can...by highlighting the most relevant bits to what I have done over the first 2 weeks of a three week brief. If you want to view the full PDF presentations please view at:

Creating a SWOT analysis on Whittard was a key element to rebranding Whittard for both Evolution and Revolution, so that we cant understand the brand internally and externally.

Whittard SWOT analysis

Because Whittard is originally a British Brand, we wanted to bring this through via experience through its  Identity, Store Experience, Packaging, Direct Mail, Print, etc....and so we made a brainstorm of words, and iconic people and places in London:

Iconic Britain Brainstorm 

This opened our eyes to routes we could take, and enabled us to think about a list of themes that we could endeavor in: 

Possible themes to pursue

So after looking and listing theme ideas, we opted to go with British Humor, which was something that straight away as a team we connected ideas ever so quickly, and already had a vision of what we wanted to do.  

CHANGE A REPUTATION

Once receiving this particular brief, the first thing done was breaking down and deconstructing what exactly is being asked. So below a simple version (very basic) of a info graphic - (a more detailed one will be viewed later)

Quick Info graphic detailing the basic expectations for the brief - By Nadine Brown 

Sooooo

I have not actually up dated for a very long time BUT I promise its been worth it. 

After the Epsom and Ewell brief..Team Azide had a reflection period - with regards to how strong we are in making decisions..such as allowing others into the group, etc...as we were faced with a difficult situation within the last brief. 

Anyway, we have over come it and we now know what is what.

We were given a FANTASTIC BRIEF...which at the time of it being given I was actually SUPER EXCITED, as for the other two members they were ever so weary about it....but I won them round, that this brief is going to be tough BUT fun!!

So the next few posts literally show our journey and processes to full filling the last brief of Semester One (Change A Reputation)

BRIEF THREE: EPSOM & EWELL

We have a new brief, which is to redesign Epsom and Ewell's identity.

This is a one week brief, which I am thoroughly going to enjoy, as identity generation is something I feel I am strong at, and as a team we sure work well...which has been observed in our identity.

FEEDBACK & FINAL (video form)

Our presentation and final execution went extremely well.  The three people who judged it gave fantastic critical feedback, which luckily we could take on board and redo for the next day.

They loved the idea of:

1. The zine being double opened (either can start at the front or the back

2. The two stories meet in the middle

3. The reader has to decipher who is the killer

4. With the use of a cipher - provided (designed by us and including the goosey type that was not legible as actual typeface)

5. There was two tubes of evidence (nail and hair)

6. The imagery and text was brilliant - good sense of it all

The only thing that let us down was the actual formation of the zine in terms of how it had been cut and binded

So we took this in straight away  Below is a link to the zine 

The link: http://issuu.com/nbrown88/docs/azidezine?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

Here is the the presentation slightly changed (took a few slides out)

http://issuu.com/nbrown88/docs/000finalazide1511_execution_presentation_?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

WEEK 4 (FINAL EXECUTION)

After an intense several weeks we finally produced our zine

To view the presentation fully as a PDF please follow the link:
http://issuu.com/nbrown88/docs/finalazide1511_execution_presentation_?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

To view the zine online please follow the link:

Here is a few slides from our presentation which basically outlines method, our concept, and final design.

The route we took at the start to deconstruct the brief

Characters Background: -and links to theorists

CONCEPT: and mock up covers of the zine

RECAP - Weeks 1-3

So...just a quick recap really to what I have been up to recently, and why I have not updated on a weekly basis. 

My creative team was a 4 week brief, which was titled "Nursery Crimes," and the final outcome was to be a zine...of which the target audience was targeted at a mature audience.

WEEK ONE

As we were all from different back ground we had to take our research right from the very start...answering questions within the team

1. What is a Nursery Rhyme?

2. What is the aim of Nursery Rhymes?

3. Why are there hidden meanings?

4 What is a Zine?

We outlines this in our first presentation, and previous posts will take you to the link to view the full PDF. 

WEEK TWO 

We re-created our selves in terms of continuing our brand identity through the slides visually....as well as trying to bring through to our presentation our aim as a group " explosive creations"

This particular week was mainly idea generation and zine forms and experimentations. 

We narrowed down on themes of crimes and developing on the idea of serial killers...which was  influenced via the cut out type...

Along with looking into hidden messages, symbols and codes...such a cipher and zodiacs

This particular presentation can also be viewed via the previous post and there is also a PDF link 

WEEK THREE

It was at this point where my weekly posting became non existence.

As a group we had homed in on one idea and developed various prototypes to which we explored for our final.

Our reconstructed rhymes of "Lizzie Borden: and "Goosey Goosey Gander" was in the final processes, and we had  mocked up character concepts, and a Kit Of Part to which we felt was relevant for our particular Zine and its concept. 

Draft Lizze Rhyme "and 3rd verse is the original rhyme"
Illustration of Lizze (contemporary styled idea)

Typeface: Influenced by a scythe .... did not work due to it not being legible

Draft "Peter Rhyme" Influnced by Goosey Goosey Gander Rhyme
First three lines of the first verse originates from original rhyme.
Sketched idea of Peters and his shadow. 

We revised our ideas and rhyme...for the final presentation, as once we gave this presentation we realise that the rhyme needed to be in sync and run much more smoother.  We came to a decision that we did not want out characters identity (face wise) to be known...so we striped back a lot of our ideas and also looked back at our precious presentations and ideas we had looked into, as well as feedback from others to reach our final

To view week threes presentation as a PDF please go to:
http://issuu.com/nbrown88/docs/1the08finalnursery_crimes_week_3_presentation?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

Hmmmm

Its been almost two weeks since I lasted updated my blog, and showing  what i have been getting up to.

The past two weeks have been extremely hectic!!

Intense work within my creative team AZIDE http://azide3creatives.wordpress.com/

But by the end of the week I promise to have more work uploaded and several in-depth posts and the Final Production of our "Nursery Crime" Zine posted....and also a digital link so you can view page by page.

BOOKS: INFLUENCES FOR THIS BRIEF

Books which have influenced so far this brief

Above are a few books that have been a major influence to me through out this brief, especially being the early stages of the brief too.  I personally purchased "Fanzines", by Teal Triggs, which a tutor of mine last year personally advised be a book that should be purchased.  This book is a personal favourite of mine, in terms of layout and various zine themes that it has chronologically gone through over the years. 

The other book which I have personally purchased is "How to Make Books", by Esther K Smith.  This book I originally purchased on the front cover and its typography and sharp contrast of red and yellow.  this particular book is fantastic though in the simple diagrams and step by step processes of how to make various book designs, which will definitely benefit for this particular zine project. 

BRIEF 2: Week Two Presentation

Time Line from start of project to present

We had our 2nd presentation for the Brief "Nursery Crimes" and this went very well. 

As a group we came together and worked on our weaknesses from previous weeks and constructive criticism and applied it to the presentation as a whole. 

We created a new layout regarding our presentation in terms of taking our identity logo and using it as a window to which the viewer will see images, illustrations, photographs etc, that are of high importance.

Below are a few images of the slides, and the link to view the presentation fully is

http://issuu.com/nbrown88/docs/the_final_nursery_crime_presentation_week_2

Team SWOT Analysis

Influences (digital)

Influence (Typographically)

Cipher (Cut out) interaction with audience

Our next step is to narrow our story down and keep the audience interested with the type of visual representation we are going. 

So over the next coupe days I will be posting several experimentations. 

BRITISH MUSEUM

Went to the British Museum mainly for the "Manga at the British Museum, by Hoshino Yukinobu".  The drawings were amazing, and the layouts he had produced were very influential.

                       Manga at the British Museum 

drawings by Hoshino Yukinobu

Professor Munakata poses in front of the British Museum © Hoshino Yukinobu, Hokkaido Shimbun

BRIEF TWO: ZINES (PRESENTATION)

We had our first presentation for the first week of this project. There was a lot of mixed requests, such as taking on all the advise given over the past 4 weeks,  and being more experimental in the visuals within our presentation...and lastly sticking to what we know.

I was not particularly happy with the last request made...but this was the route we opted to take as a group.

Feed back on our presentation was positive, and similar requests, such as coming out of our comfort zones, experiment etc were once again advised.

After the presentation we had a group discussion regarding our identity, reminding each other what wr stand for, and what we want to achieve throughout this project.

A lot of ideas have been put forward, and taken on board, and we look forward to showing these over the next few weeks.

Below is a link to our presentation of Nursery Crimes "Zines".

http://issuu.com/nbrown88/docs/nursery_crime_week_1a_presentation_final2

BRIEF ONE: SCREEN - DEVELOPMENTS (FURTHER)

All though this unit has been completed, we felt we still want to work on this as a group, and hopefully get it running properly.

On our outing to the V&A on Friday, we walked past the Science Museum, and saw that they have opened a new darwin section.

New Darwin Centre, at Natural History Museum

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/darwin-centre-visitors/index.html

So myself and Jason are going to have a look at it and see if we can develop our site further, so we can become an actual fully functional creative team, with a form of digital contact.

ZINES!!!

Images of Zines. 

What is a zine?

A fanzine (portmanteau of fan and magazine or -zine) is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomonon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 Science fiction fanzine by Russ Chaveut and first popularized within science fiction fandom, from whom it was adopted by others.

Typically, publishers , editors  and contributors of articles or illustration fanzines receive no financial compensation. Fanzines are traditionally circulated free of charge, or for a nominal cost to defray postage or production expenses. Copies are often offered in exchange for similar publications, or for contributions of art, articles, or letters of comment (LoCs), which are then published.

A few fanzines have evolved into professional publications (sometimes known as "prozines"), and many professional writers were first published in fanzines; some continue to contribute to them after establishing a professional reputation.

Types of zines...

- Underground Press: One could argue that in their loosest form zines exist since people began to write, copy and self-publish. Zines stand in this long tradition of self-publication. Historically, they could even be traced back to 1517 when Martin Luther published his "zine", the "Ninety-five Theses," a time when Johannes Gutenberg had just invented the printing press and self-publication began to spread. Self-publication has always been a political medium and frequently used to express resistance, for example during the French Revolution.

- Art, Artists' Books, and Mail Art: Self-publishing has been a method closely associated with several art movements in the 20th century. In journals, magazines, leaflets, and mail-art, Dadaist, Surrealist, Fluxus and Situationist artists employed techniques such as collages, bricolages, and detournment of magazine images and had a strong influence on zine editors later on. Since the 1990s, many young artists use zines to create their own creative spaces, distribution networks and audiences independent of the established gallery and exhibit system. - Science Fiction Fanzines (1930-1960). As a distinct form, zines originated in the 1930's in the United States when fans of science fiction began to publish and trade their own stories. The term "fanzine" became recognized as the abbreviation of "fan magazine" and later on was shortened to "zine."  - Punk Zines: In the 1970s, when punk rock music emerged, the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) ethos found a fertile ground in zines. This ethos combined with the increasing accessibility of photocopy technology fueled an explosion of zines. 

- (Riot) Grrrl Zines: When in 1991 the riot grrrl movement emerged out of the alternative and punk music scene in the United States, thousands of young women began to produce personal and political zines with explicitly feminist themes. Bikini Kill called in their manifesto upon young women to form bands, to mutually learn and teach instruments and to publish zines. Nowadays, some women ("grrrls") who grew out of the riot grrrl movement have chosen to reclaim the title and call themselves "ladies." Their politics remain devoted to assertive feminism and activism.

- E-Zines: During the 1990s the zine network expanded enormously into the realm of e-zines. In addition to the typical objectives, these online zines serve often as resource and network sites. But although the Internet makes e-zines available worldwide and allows geographically isolated people to correspond, one should not forget that it is still a privilege to have access to computer-technology.

V&A - ILLUSTRATION AWARDS 2011

 As a group we went down to the museum to view this, the idea of looking at illustrations and typographic styles was the first thing which came to mind with regards to producing a zine(s)

DISPLAY: The V&A Illustration Awards celebrates the best illustration published over the last year. Original artwork from the best illustrated book, book cover, magazine and student illustrator of the year will be on display, together with a selection of all competition entries.

This year’s panel of judges include the writer Bel Mooney, the artist Rob Ryan, the photographer Robin Allison-Smith and the author Francesca Gavin. The competition offers the most substantial prizes in this field.

Although this exhibition was not as big as we thought it might be, we still came away with fantastic forms of illustrations. 

I took a few pictures of the work and the way it had been presented to the viewers, as seen below. 

Boxer Beetle

Illustration Lorenzo Peteantoni

Author Ned Beuman

Publisher Hodder and Stoughton

Editorial Oliver kugler

Ullustratord Journal XXI - Vingt et un

Publisher Rollin Publications

UNTITLED

Iron Man Illustrations

Each of the illustration styles are fantastic, and each have their unique and individual form.  This is something I would like azide to have, a style that is memorable and has impact visually. 

DECONSTRUCTION OF THE BRIEF

As the two members in my team where unsure on the brief, and they had a lot of questions, such as 

1. What is a Zine

2. What is the point of a zine

3. What are Nursery Rhymes

4. What is the aim of a Nursery Rhyme

So we took it back to the start, forming visual and analytical brainstorms, breaking down meanings and definitions of the both NURSERY and RHYME, and took the project on from there. 

I had originally purchased a book a few years back for a previous project which I knew would aid them both in terms of visuals and what a fanzine looks like and does. 

Fanzines, Teal Triggs

This book is fantastic as it shows the developments of fanzines over the years, and the different styles and techniques that where used.

Our first call of research was to look at different illustration styles, designs, book making/paper folding, typographic forms and styles, and so with this we headed to the V&A, Foyles Bookstore, and spoke to people in both of these companies on where else we could go to view and see Zines. 

I purchased a book whilst at Foyles, that I hope we could use in terms of final production as the book has fascinating forms of book making. 

How to Make Books, Esther K Smith

BRIEF 2: NURSERY CRIMES

Brief 2

This brief is very exciting and as a group we will be able to bring in our own personlaities into it.  Last brief we was told that we played it safe as a team, design wise (and that this was a good thing) but to now take risks, and have FUN

FINAL PRESENTATION (interactive website)

Nadine, Yolanda and Jason - Creative Team "Azide" BRIEF ONE: SCREEN (Final Presentation)
Tuesday 18th October 2011

As a group we took the initiative to simplify our website down further, which was a major risk we felt for us, but thought it was the right move. 

We had a lot of interactive and full on designs which did not relate to our identity, and because we had so much ideas we went back to the basics, an the idea of the solution, being the key element of our group. 

Feedback given was advice that I would continue to take on, and use it to its fullest potential within all presentations from this week onwards.

1. Good design and presentation 

2. Practice on narrative and telling a story

3. Think about experience

4. Sketches, 3D Modelling and Presentation style (Very strong)

5. Experiment outside of digital (e.g clay, paper, ........) 

6. Create own font

7. NASAR colour theory

8. Colour and vision perception 

9. Good design practice

10. esp. wire frame great

11. Think about user journey

12.  Website experience

AZIDEs' Homepage

We sat down together as a team to reflect on how our presentation went, and we felt it went really well. We had answered the brief fully, and our down fall on this was purely the fact that we did not fully explain our processes, and that we were very safe we our design (although we felt we went past our boundaries) especially not ever working with each other before.
The fact that we are very open with our thoughts as a group and happy to talk through things when we are not happy, is definitely a fantastic start for a creative team....and we are 100% sure that the next brief is going to show how far we can excel. 

Model head (moves 360 with mouse)

When click on the solutions it takes you to 1 of 3 options.
1. Portfolio
2. Blog
3. Contact Info

The viewer is taken down the tube and into the brain of AZIDE model

Solution is then seen entering the particular section which is connected
to the brain e.g.
Portfolio = Vision, Blog = Memory and Contact = Auditory