Mark Howe

Notes from presentation.

Notes from portfolio feedback. This was a really useful talk with Mark. Specific things that I took away from it was how I approach a brief which is so research driven. Particularly the idea of listing things I already know so I can refer back to it. Also the idea of setting rules for pictograms etc was really useful. There's probably too much feedback to write really, which is why I've scanned in my notes instead but it was good to sit and pull apart the briefs, and in the cases where it might not be realistic to go back and change things on this timescale it's given me food for thought for future briefs.

A3 drawing using fine liners for a friend. The type reads; 'And no matter what the day is, with you here it's better.' which are lyrics from Tom Baxter's 'Better'. The drawing is a wedding present for my friend and the lyrics are taken from the song she had playing at her wedding. I actually enjoyed doing this, as it gave me a chance to just draw and think visually. It was a process with much more freedom than I have worked with for a while.

Business Card Development

Developing my business cards. This was a really difficult task for me, but I think I now have a starting point that can be worked on.

Open publication - Free publishing - More draft

Open publication - Free publishing - More ideas

Open publication - Free publishing - More ideas

Open publication - Free publishing - More drafts

Open publication - Free publishing - More sept 2010

Holmes Wood

PDF of the work I did during the 2 weeks at Holmes Wood. Including concepts/ideas/sketches/audits/floorplans/sign family proposals. The work placement there was really useful. I learnt a lot about the way a design studio operates. How workload is divided and deadlines managed. It was pretty interesting when listening to the conversations between other studios and clients as well.

Open publication - Free publishing - More wayfinding

Initial Statement of Intent/Rationale (to be reviewed)

During the last module of the second year it became apparent to me that my design practice was taking influence from the desire to help people. As a designer I don’t feel particularly comfortable with trying to persuade people to do things, to change, to buy into things. But rather, use my skills to help people do something that they already have an interest in.

This module is a chance for me to explore information design, for a range of audiences and contexts. I want to investigate further into designing for specific places, as well as design which can be used in a variety of different contexts without losing its meaning.

In the attempt to learn more about type and layout I have neglected image more than I would have liked to. I want to look more at image and how image can be used to inform.

As well as wanting to help people learn, I want to learn new things too. Portfolio feedback I received suggested that I use this year to show what my own interests are, and so subject wise I want to base briefs around my own interests or things that I want to know about.

I am also interested in developing my skills in design for digital/screen. I want to investigate the possibilities that technology allows in design, with considerations into movement, sound, interactivity and timing.

The briefs I intend on designing for should be diverse in how information is communicated. Rather than be specific to one area of information design, it’s important to me that they span across different formats and are used by different audiences.

At least one of the briefs will be based on way finding and environmental graphics, looking at signs and mapping for a specific place and thinking about how people move around an area and interact with the information within the place.

As well as environmental I want to produce work across both print and screen, and examine how each can be used in the delivery of information. Image in particular is important for me to investigate and so the briefs I do should consider how image is used as both still image and as moving image.

I want to become confident in web design, and so where suitable web should be considered for deliverables. I intend to use the workshops available to develop these skills, as I feel it will make me more employable.

At the moment I think the four briefs I will continue with are; Scuba Guide, EES, Film Info graphics and Chance. Each of these briefs offers a chance to improve on particular skills, which will prepare me for my FMP. The scuba diving brief is a chance for me to try putting a guide together and touch on mapping information, EES will help me develop my web skills and encourage me to look at layouts and how to increase usability. Film infographics and the Chance brief will both be good opportunities to experiment visually. The main purpose of all these briefs is to improve my production skills, which is my weaker area within design. If I can use these briefs to try and improve those skills I will feel more prepared for the bigger briefs (BSL, Tropical World and YSP) that I currently intend on looking at for my FMP