~ Paper folding - design process - OUGD504 ~

For this task we had to create an interesting leaflet fold that we hadn't previously come across. 

I wanted to look for something completely different that would instantly catch your eye. I came across this design by Khyati Trehan for Artistes Unlimited. It was really interesting as when laid flat it appeared to look like a rather standard fold square format leaflet. But when opened up its a geometrical maze of different sections perfect for grabbing attention and separating different elements and paragraphs of information effectively with each fold. Unfortunately no matter how much I searched the internet and looked in books on leaflet folding I couldn't find a tutorial on how to create this fold.

I decided to guess on what I thought the net of the origami style leaflet would look like by joining 4 squares together and folding along each line. 

And luckily I was successful!

I then made a second prototype out of a thick card stock. I found that the thicker stock meant the leaflet didn't fold as flat as I would like so during final production I will have to select a thin stock to reduce this if I choose this folding style.

I then did a prototype of of a trouser fold. This fold allows you to have a large amount pages from just one sheet with no binding needed. But I think in comparison to the last prototype it's not as complex and therefore less striking to an audience.

I played around with the paper and came out with this interesting triangle format leaflet fold. I like that it gives you a large amount of sections I could use for each piece of content.

~ Leaflet design research - design process - OUDG504 ~

I started my research browsing Google, Pinterest, Tumblr and a few design sites for leaflet inspiration. Most of the examples that came up used standard one sheet with one or two folds or just added staples and multiple sheets (pretty simple). But I wanted to enhance my design by creating something a little different about it. Considering the content is on the design process and is to help and possibly inspire the audience I felt the production should be more inspirational and outgoing. But more ambitious projects always throw up more problems along the way that I will need to consider.

http://www.creativebloq.com/print-design/make-your-brochure-design-stand-out-11135166

I came across this article on ways to make your leaflet and brochure designs stand out more. One of the suggestions was to fold your leaflet in an interesting and unusual way to grab people's attention. This is a simple choice that would be too over costly as other methods such as gloss and foil finishing on leaflets. This idea may throw up issues with which print company you could use though, most commercial printers offer standard folding but the more tricky folds are not available. But luckily art specific print houses offer much more intricate folding projects so pretty much anything can be possible.

Another suggestion is tabs; tabs make navigation really easy and as shown above can enhance the interesting range of stock possible massively. The only downside is they need to be bound which would increase production costs. Despite the downside this approach could fit well with the content considering its split up into around 5-7 specific steps that would be effectively split up with the use of tabs.

~ Leaflet research - design process - OUGD504 ~

http://www.printaholic.com/15-brochure-fold-types/

When researching folding techniques I found a brilliant link showing 15 simple leaflet folding methods. 

Die-cut Z fold - I think this fold is really interesting yet simple to produce and design for. It would be an easy way to incorporate tabs whilst using just one sheet of stock. 

Half and half fold - I also think this fold would be one to consider for my design. You can add more folds for more pages creating clear sections to divide up the information. The inside of the leaflet can then be opened up to create a poster. I think if my leaflet is going to be aimed at students this would be a good element as it would encourage them to keep it rather than just throw it away.

I found this design really inspiring. It's so simple but the different sections and use of bold bright colour make it instantly really striking. I think for my design I need to consider colour carefully, I want to create something bold and instantly eye catching and colour is a simple and effective way of doing this.

This design uses angles and triangular cuts/folds to transform it from being just a simple printed leaflet into more like an architectural sculpture. Considering my leaflet will be aimed at designers, people within the creative industry or clients I want it to have a structural and considered fold rather than something simple to show an example of the ambitious and unusual way I choose to work.

More examples of angular & 3D folding styles.

~ Others design process' - design production - OUDG504 ~

My personal design process is still developing, I rely on caffeine, ted talks and shouting at the computer screen when the wheel of death shows its face. So I decided to look into others design process' and their opinions on what works best. 

I started my research by looking at Stefan Sagmeister's book 'Things I have learned'. The book is not directly about his design process but instead tells people things he has leant in life so far that can be applied to his process and are helpful. Examples such as...

~ Having guts always works out for me

~ Everything I do always comes back to me

~ Material luxuries are best enjoyed in small doses

~ Everybody who is honest is interesting

~ Everybody always thinks they're right

~ Trying to look good limits my life

Each of these points can be applied to the design process. For example 'trying to look good limits my life', you could say this shows the importance of following a certain style or aesthetic rather than being conceptual and creating an informed design could really limit your work. 

Looking at this book has made me consider how previous issues in briefs have affected my design process now. I want my leaflet to encourage experimentation and not to stress as much as they're things I personally need to improve on in my work. 'Having guts always works out for me' is a very bold statement and inspires me to think further than the standard vector work and instead be more daring with work. I think this is an important part of the design process a lot of people forget about.

I next briefly looked into a book specifically on the design process. It broke down each part of the design process that is important.

Research - 

gathering information

target audience

samples and feedback

Idea generation -

sketches

themes

inspiration

brainstorming

informed

Refinement -

appropriation

feedback (crits)

humour

personification

colour theory

typefaces

proportion

production

Prototyping -

materials

solving issues

budget

ease of production

finance (budget)

Implementation - 

format

materials

finish

media

scale

series 

The book helped underline the professional requirements to a design process that everyone should follow. If one stage is missed for example prototyping it could bring up a lot of issues when briefing the client with the final design.

After looking at these points i've decided to add some personal attributes to ease the stress of such a harsh sounding process, as your design process can be fun if you know how to make it!

Personal additions (some humourous and light hearted ideas) - 

caffeine

naps

music

socialising

change of environment

& the joys of the final product and money at the end!

Next I wanted to look into the design process of one of the designers I personally find most inspiring, Kate Moross. Her work inspires me because of the instant feeling of fun and experimentation so I felt it would be valuable to see how she manages to create this feeling throughout her work whilst creating a wide range of design outcomes.

~ https://vimeo.com/74275116 ~

I watched one of Kate's talks on her work and design process for Its Nice That which gave me an insight in her unique process. Part of her process includes being inspired by her past, environment and pretty much anything quite spontaneously rather than limiting herself to the internet and libraries.

DIY- do it yourself, Kate uses this to describe her design process following the punk movement ethos she grew up being inspired by. The ethos follows a few basic rules that help the design process run fluidly and keeps her work consistent...

~ fix what is broken

~ grow or make your own

~ repair don't replace 

~ reclaim, recycle and teach

~ you can do anything

These core values can then be applied to graphic design.

The talk made it clear her work process is really laid back and this is a large part of her success. ''If you can't fuckin' do it, learn how'', watching this speech makes me think the strict guidelines I previously read in the Design Thinking book might actually limit people's personal design process and fluidity and improvisation should be encouraged as part of the leaflet.

She actually stated during the talk that she doesn't usually make too much time for research as she prefers to work at a fast pace, improvising at every opportunity. 

''Simple is cool''

''Fast is good'' as much as research can create strong ideas, a lot of ideas can come to you fast and the development stage is the most appropriate time to tweak your design to be more informed by the brief without it taking a lot of time spent in a library. ''Often my best ideas are on the phone when the client gives me the pitch''

The last thing I got from the talk was that she uses the materials directly around her to reduce costs and time. 

Kate's laidback process is really inspiring and shows design can be incredibly fun when you take life a little less seriously. I think for my leaflet telling people to care less about research might be a little too much, but I want to make it clear to be more laid back with your process and that improvisation doesn't have to mean sloppy.

~ design process - study task 1 - OUGD504 ~

Study task 1 

This study task was to get into groups and write down the elements we thought were influential parts of the design process.

We split ours into 5 sections. 

Brief - We included preparation to receiving the brief, being calm and in a good place ready to be creative and inspired (coffee, food). Then actually receiving the brief and highlighting certain words to help really understand the requirements, make notes and identify the problems that need to be solved.

Research - Once again we considered preparation for doing research, its something most people find quite tedious so we said clear your environment, maybe put on some music and get comfy beforehand. Explore internet, books, go out and explore and watch videos. Research content but don't forget to look into researching production methods and budget. 

Initial ideas - Looking at the problems identified when analysing the brief begin to think of design outcomes to solve it. Figure out which way of getting initial ideas down is most effective to you. Whether that's mind mapping, lists, sketches or all 3. Getting ideas on paper is the best way to develop them as you begin to visualise the elements more physically rather than conceptually. Discuss with other people to see if your ideas are viable. Ask why? why? why? Only informed ideas are worth developing.

Development - Decide on the materials and methods you want to use, experiment by creating mock ups. Create variations of your designs in order to get feedback from others on why some are more successful than others and why. After many mock ups and feedback on them you can neaten out any problems and prepare for final production. If in industry contact your client for their opinion, any changes and to discuss budget further. 

Production - Print/produce, present to client and enjoy that happy feeling of finishing the brief and getting paid.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think there are 2 issues with our groups design process idea. 

1. It's not entirely realistic, usually around the initial ideas/development stage there's a certain amount of chaos and madness. I think in my leaflet I will show this and suggest this is a good point to TAKE A BREAK. Sometimes as much as just getting out the house to see a new environment can clear your mind and inspire you much more than desperately searching Pinterest for inspiration.

2. It doesn't encourage asking WHY? enough, I think after each section you should ask yourself why each design decision has been made. As I personally think the more informed a design is the more effectively it meets the brief.

~ Design process - studio brief 1 - OUGD504 ~

This is a one week brief, the aim is to produce a leaflet that explains 'the design process'. The leaflet must be applicable to graphic design process but also relatable and relevant to other forms of design (furniture, fashion etc.). Essentially the leaflet should help others and myself in creating an effective step by step process to creating the most informed and effective design for future briefs.

My initial thoughts
~ target audience, 1st years and useful as a personal guide in the future
~ consider stock, folding methods and design production 
~ presentation on friday 
~ personal production and commercial production 
~ financial restraints
~ practicality of production
~ size range 
~ look at others design processes as well as my own