concept development pages

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CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

This book contains projects which exposed one to a varied set of techniques, approaches, formats and outputs to explore concept development in graphic design.

Module Code - AD60032E

2 Concept Development

Contents

99 Luftballoons

Infographics

Psychogeography

Conditional Design

Project

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4 - 9

10 - 25

26 - 47

48 - 61

Page No.


Where the ideas pop up

BRIEFThis task is designed to get you thinking quickly while exploring and developing scamping techniques.

You are required to visualize on post it notes 99 different creative concepts of how to rescue a helium filled balloon that has got out of reach. Each post it should represent 1 idea.

The aim is to have a vast array of concepts, ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime, but also to experiment visualizing quickly.

Once complete we will sort and organise the ideas into their broader concepts.

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• Transport

• Surreal

• Time

• Emotion

• Other

This was a fun, but challenging task to generate ideas around a subject. Your able to explore pass the boundaries of the common, and come up with an array of things to go from. We first got the task of coming up with various reason on ‘why you would be late’. We produced a variety of ideas on the sticky notes, however real or unreal they may be.

Then the class got given the challenge to come up with ideas to retrieve a balloon filled with helium from the school ceiling. People came up with a mixture of words and image to communicate their ideas. After roughly half an hour we stuck them on the wall, analyzing and categorizing them.

From here your able to question the ideas, allowing you to create and develop them more.


Class Task

Retrieve a balloon filled with helium from the school ceiling

Why you would be late

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How To Be Happy


Ways How Someone Could Die

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How To Get From A To B

As time passed I started to get stuck, and what was easy turned into something more difficult. For inspiration I started watching videos on youtube, movies and tv programs. These sources gave me a break from the project but also helped me think of more diverse and interesting ideas.


Simplicity is key

BRIEFResearch infographics and what the subject is. Analyze other infograpics, so your comfortable with the subject.

Collect various types of data, and use that data to construct an infographic. The data can be personally generated or already existing.

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Develop ideas enough to get the best possible outcome. Never rest on your first idea. Be original, clever and think about what an infographic is.

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An info graphic is a representation of information in a graphic format designed to make the data easily understandable at a glance. Communication and simplicity are two important aspects,

RESEARCH METHOD• Research

• Create/Collect pieces of data

• Experiment a variety of ways how to present them

• Think about how to develop them

Data visualizationBar graphs, Line charts, Pie charts, Gantt charts, Tree diagrams, Histograms, Mind maps, Network diagrams.

Books • Information is beautiful by David McCandless

• Information Graphics by Sandra Rendgen

• Super Graphic by Tim Leong


I thought about using a simple piece of my own data, and how I am able to construct that into an info graphic.

I started by drawing generic cups and mugs to create this first infographic. The idea was to design visual icon(s) that would have the data inside or surrounding it.

My Favorite Hot Drink

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This first idea had 4 elements with information in them, the idea of having more than one element Placed out like this was too much on the eyes.

I used the feedback from the first idea and produced this idea. Only using one element meant it was much easier on the eyes and made the overall idea simpler.


The elements I was working with were not as clean as they could be, so I designed something with the same idea but with a different perspective. Playing around with decorations and placement, the final outcome was clean, understandable and to the point.


Here is my second infographic development, based off of the apple company’s I-Phone. I thought that this was a good idea because many people use the product and know of it.

I then decided to focus on my own I-phone and what pieces of data that it contains. I looked at the Memory, power supply, apps,emails and battery life. I then singled out my phone model among the illustrations, and surrounded it with the data. The final design communicates what I-Phone it is, what it has on it, how much battery life it had at the time and what power supply it uses.

I-phone

My first idea was to illustrate all the I-Phones up to previous date,in order of release. Then I started playing around with the composition finding a better way for my information to read.

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Memory Data

Apps

Charger Supply

E-mail’s

Battery Life


Gaming InfoMy interest in gaming lead me to create so infographics on the subject. I gathered information on history, statistics and facts and used this information to create these simple visuals. People who have memories of or share the same passion in gaming instantly understood what was being communicated.

I looked at different graphs, charts and ways that people communicate with in infographics, and came up with the idea to have them all in one composition. This gives a sense of excitement because there is more than one element that your looking at.

The Nintendo gaming controllers (Dates)

This was my most favorite out of all the infographis simply because I enjoyed the process of learning more about something I enjoy.

If you don’t enjoy what your doing then why are you doing it?

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The Nintendo gaming controllers Female gamers compared to male gamers in the UK

Female gamers compared to male gamers in the UKUK’s favorite video game genre


After producing all of these different infographics, the idea of the concept is more clear to me. The part that is challenging is producing the visual. Overall it was one of the more enjoyable projects and one where I was able to experiment using elements that have interest to me. I look forward to creating more in my own time, to broaden my skills and understanding about the subject.

As a designer one should be able to design with the thought of the target audience and be able to cut away elements that make the idea complicated. Nomar Bar is a designer / illustrator that uses simple design in an interesting form. He explores negative and positive space for most of his work, closely related to the Gestalt theory. I hope to apply some of his techniques to my work next time to explore the idea of simplicity even more.

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SIMPLICITY

IS

KEY

FOR

A

QUICK

AND

BETTER

UNDERSTANDING

OF

AN

INFOGRAPHIC


Playfulness and “drifting” around urban environments.

BRIEFYou are to challenge the normal and to collect through experiencing and observing what is around you. Capturing serendipitous observations.

You are to conduct 2 Derive’s of your own at any location of your choosing and to collect the evidence for mediating into an editorial piece of work.

You can work with:

Icons, Symbols & Indexical images, but don’t limit yourself to visual only – there are also sounds and words you may hear and capture.

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Psychogeography is an approach to geography that emphasizes playfulness and “drifting” around urban environments. It has links to the Situationist International. Psychogeography was defined in 1955 by Guy Debord as “the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals.”

Books

Will Self - Psychogeography

Merlin Coverley - Psychogeography

RESEARCH METHOD• Collect • Record • Note • Draw• Photograph• Observe• Experience

Then use the data to construct designs that show development in various stages.

AnUnplanned

Journey


I collected images from various magazines and created a collage based off the most interesting shapes and colours there was. Then I made various edits creating a range of outcomes, provoking questions like.

EXPERIMENTS

• What works?

• What’s interesting

• How can I use this?

• What Doesn’t work?

This is a useful task because you can gather ideas and inspiration, quick and easy.


Original Photo Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 1

Step 2

Step3

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Original Photo

Step 1

Step 2

Step3

Here are a variety of photo experiments to see how far I can edit an image in a number of steps. Close to the idea of the collage edits, it takes you through a series of photos each changing one after the other. Played around with triangular shapes,each photo slightly differs from the one before. This was intended, so when looking at the photos your able to follow the change from the first to the last.

All of these images were generated in a photo editing app on my phone. I then put them through photoshop making slight edits to give a better effect.

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This picture was taken with no intention of what I was going to do with it at first, and put it to one side. A couple days passed after taking this photo and the though came to me that I wanted to create my own font. I didn’t want it perfect, but I did want it to be unique and that lead me back to this banana photo.

• Selected parts of the banana to create the letters (tried not to be picky and let the idea just naturally flow)

• Grayed the image out and placed a colour (yellow) over the letters.


Selection of colours picked for images


Derive no.2

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Because subject of psychogeography is an unplanned journey your able to do almost anything with the data that is collected. Because of this there is no right or wrong way to what you produce. The only thing that really matters, is how well your able to develop the ideas that you have. For these reasons this project was where I was able to show the most development in. Getting from a to b and showing the in between.

I enjoyed collecting a range of photos, videos, audio sounds and sketches. Even though half of them were not use in this project, its always good to save them for later.


“The process is the product.”

BRIEFSelect a game from the Conditional Design Workbook

Play game(s) in small groups of no more than 4.

Follow the rules of each game precisely and record the play using cameras or phones. This can then mediated onto your blogs.

Use the equipment as listed in the book.

You are to develop up to three of your own “Conditional Design” games.

You are not limited to using pens and paper, check conditional design

website for alternative approaches

Play these games with your peers and bring back the results.

Select one of your games to play in a fully recorded environment to create an image that can be converted into a variety of final outputs e.g. posters or postcards.

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“Conditional Design is a design method and term coined by a group of graphic designers based in the Netherlands. It employs a system of rules, like a game, which enable multiple players to collaboratively create graphic pieces. It is a design process used to create work where the final outcome is a vague idea with the details unpredictable at the start. Even thought the rules don’t change, each time a ‘game’ is played the outcome is unique because of the variables in the process.”

Book

Conditional Design

RESEARCH METHOD• Experimented with a range of shapes colours and tools to see what fit best for a game

• Looked at restrictions that the human body may encounter such as not being able to see or hear. This was good to build the rules for each idea

• Tried not to be restricted to pen and paper, using different mediums to build the world of each game stronger

• Have fun!


CLASS TASK

Conditional DesignIn class we started by playing one of the games from the conditional design book. We followed the rules as best as we could to create our own visual based off of the ‘how to play’ and the rules of the game.

Whilst playing we stumbled in to a few problems like getting stuck or not fully sticking to the rules the whole way through.

Overall the process was enjoyable and we all were happy with the final outcome.

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Here are a few more examples of conditional design games.

52 Concept Development52 Concept Development

Colour Blind (no.1)• 3 - 4 Players

• Colour Pens

• Doodle Printed on Tracing Paper

• x2 Sheets of Tracing Paper

• Masking Tape

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• Place a clear sheet of tracing paper on top of the doodle and number each character 1-3 or 1-4

• Place the second sheet of tracing paper on top of the others and tape it down securely in place

• Each player will choose a colour and number e.g. 1.Red 2.Green...

• Each Player will colour their numbered characters in turn until the whole sheet is complete

• Fold the character illustration sheet over the coloured sheet for result

Rule(s)When colouring in a characters you must have your eyes closed


Jumble (no.2)• 3 Players

• Glue

• Dice

• Stop Watch

• Monster Parts (eyes, nose, mouth...) x3

• Monster Bodies

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Overlapping parts is not allowed

All parts placed down must connect to the body

The game must not last any longer than 9 minutes

Rule(s)

• Each player will roll the dice to determine the order of the players. The highest roller will pick the monster parts they want and will go first in the game. (Same applies to second and third)

• All monster features should be placed face down in front of their player. Each will contain a number from one to six

• In turn the players will roll the dice, stick the matching body part number anywhere on the body

• Each player will have two turns on each body

• If you roll the same number roll again until you match


Line Maze (no.3)• 2 Players

• A Black Pen

• A Dice

• An A4 or A3 sheet of paper

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• Each player will roll the dice to determine who will go first or second

• First player will roll the dice and make a 3 sided line on the paper. You will repeat your line depending on the number rolled

• Second player will roll the dice and follow the sequence of the first player. When they draw their line it has to lead off any of the first player’s outside lines

• The game will continue like this until someone gets stuck or there is no more room for more solutions

• The number of turn played is your score so make a record of it

RulesEvery third turn must cross over another line (no other turns can do this)

If a player rolls a one the next player has to start their next turn from another new set of line(s)

Every three sided line has to equal more than 3cm

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Out of the three games I’m most pleased with this one because its easily playable, and the end product will always have an abstract line pattern effect. To project the look of the pattern I inverted the color from black to white, and masked them on to some everyday objects that people use.

Starting this project was a little difficult to begin with, I couldn’t come up with an idea that was interesting or original. After revisiting the conditional design book and playing more of their rule based games, I developed an understanding for myself about the subject. Instead of thinking about the end product, I thought more about how the idea will work. Leading me to these three fun rule based games.

This module has helped me evolve my design thinking. I’m able to develop a project from one source leading to many others, creating good visuals on the way.

Planning a project from the beginning is still a weakness of mine, because I tend to sometimes stick to the first idea leading me nowhere. I hope to get over this by continuing to develop ideas exhausting all possibilities.

Any idea can keep developing wether good or bad results Exploration and experimenting is the right thing to do.


Videos and other extended work on concept development can be found on my blog page.

http://lucciano.mographic.co.uk/luccigdblog/

concept development pages

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