Project 2: Working with the music course- creating a logo, animation, forms of advertising and merchandise mock-ups:​​​​​​​

I made sure to outline what exactly what my project was about. In my annotation I mentioned creating four outcomes. This is wrong. At this time I wasn't too sure if I would be making a brochure page, which I did. I also didn't know I had to create merchandise mock-ups. Despite this, the rest of this page is correct.

I outlined what an audience, target market and branding was as I knew I was going to design some forms of advertising. I tried to pair it with visuals to make it more clear. 

The second mind-map I designed was created around projection art (or animation). This was a very important mind map as it outlined two very important experiences that I would research later on- the Van Gogh experience and Hatsune Miku Expo. I then used images from Google to create a projection art mood board.

I used the Hatsune Miku Expo as a form of secondary research. I learnt that the singer for the expo is a fully digitised character- projected onto the stage along with background visuals. This really influenced me going forward when it came to my storyboards. I9 sourced my images from the Hatsune website, 'www.mikuexpo.com'. 

I also looked at the Van Gogh Experience (as my first primary research). The experience follows Van Gogh himself and goes through his story with flowing animation. This was very fun to experience and it inspired me to ultimately to use Procreate Dreams to achieve a smooth and effective animation style.

The first artist I looked at was Su Blackwell. She is well known for her book sculptures, something I would have further researched into if the decade and genre I had received related to stop motion. I believe it could have been a really creative and fun idea to create paper animals or people out of books and slowly move them around. If I could redo this project I would have made more time to do this I sourced the pictures on this page from the book 'Su Blackwell Book sculptures'.

This is my third and final mind-map. I created this as soon as I found out what my decade would be. I started by collecting 16 different popular songs from the early 2000s. I sourced these from the website 'www.rollingstone.com'. I also looked at different major events (which I would focus on later on) and different fashion and music trends throughout the 2000s. This was, of course, accompanied with a 2000s mood board- with the images being sourced from Google.

When starting my research I began by looking at the top 5 songs from the 2000s (considered today). I did this by studying the website 'www.pitchfork.com' and collecting the five most popular. One thing in noticed about each of these songs is the edgy and dark themes connected to them- for example: Kid A by Radiohead is an alternative rock song with strong dark themes and lyrics like, "we've got heads on sticks" and "standing in the shadows at the end of my bed". This pattern of edgy themes would be useful to know because later, when I received my genre and ideas from my clients, this is what they would want to focus on.

I thought it would be very important to understand some events within the 2000's that could have influenced the music industry. Because of this, I decided to study both 'www.britannica.com' and 'www.dohnutmedia.com'. One thing I noticed was the massive influence the growth of the internet and social media had (now used for marketing purposes and for influencers to connect with others anywhere around the world). Music, trends and fashion became more accessible than ever, helping artists like Beyoncé and Eminem gain successes within the industry. 

I decided to experiment with mark making because I wanted to look at different forms of media. I used: acrylic paint, water colour and alcoholic markers (one page with hot colours and another with cold). Starting with my paint ones, I used small pieces of cardboard and paper to scrape the paint onto the pages. I feel like this worked better with my water colour paint. I should have used harmonious colour for my acrylic instead of complimentary. The colours just created a dark mess, compared to my water colour page where the colours work together to make something effective. When it came to my alcohol markers I just tried to have fun, using spirals, shapes and quick dashes. I think this works well for both but I personally like the cooler colours more, as it feel it works the best.

I then decided to develop these digitally. The first outcome uses mainly blacks, blues and purples and used my acrylic and cold marker pages. I wanted it to contain a lot of cold and dark colours because, in my previous research I realised that a 2000s music's themes and lyrics were dark and edgy. For my second outcome I tried to go for the opposite so, using all of my pages (except from my hot alcohol markers), I made a bright and colourful development. This is my favourite development as I love the texture I've been able to achieve and the layering used. Edited, it could have worked well for other work but alone it really doesn't fit the 2000's theme.

To ensure I used my colour pallets efficiently on my final outcomes, I decided to create a page on colour theory. I chose to use a simple 12-part colour wheel as it helped me describe primary, secondary and tertiary colours easily. I explored cold and warm colours, hues, tints and tones as well as what a CMYK and RGB format was. 

Next I created a simple and small diagram to explain what typography was. I would use this image to understand how to format and edit fonts. 

When it came to fonts I started with sourcing some digital from the website 'www.dafont.com'. I chose very unique fonts to look at, each with their own strengths and drawbacks. My favourite out of all of these fonts were 'Got Heroin' because I felt it really fit the vibes and aesthetic I was looking at. I also really liked '04Font' and 'Nightcore Demo', which is why (later on) they were used for my brochure. 

I also decided to design a few fonts of my own. I mostly used numbers and words that related to my decade (to keep it on theme). I made sure to describe what the different types of text I could create. Looking back, I wish I spent more time on this page as I believe I could have created some really cool and edgy fonts.

The next thing I worked on was playing around with logos. This was nothing serious, as I just wanted to generate some ideas so I started by collecting some that were floating around within the 2000's- sourced from Google. I chose a wide verity, one of the logos from Newgrounds- a website that was used to upload flash games, animation and concept art. Today it's not well known but back in the 2000's it was responsible for influencing internet culture. I also included logos from Myspace, Frank Turner, Xbox, CITV and more. 

I then decided to redraw these logos in a simple sketch style. I did this so I could fully understand how to build and create my own 2000s logo. My favourite out of all of these is the Newgrounds one as I feel (even in a rough style) it stands out well but still stays simple- something I want to aim for for my own outcomes.

After this, I designed a few rough logo ideas. Again I used words and numbers that related to the year 2000. I finally met with the band shortly after designing these and they pointed out a few that they liked. To start they liked the redesign of the Newgrounds logo- they thought it was 'cool looking'. They also really liked the Dr Who logo (which I find to be way too detailed and I do not agree with but, as its not up to me, I have to listen to) as well as the GTA styled logo from my own designs. 

After talking to my band I decided to create a 'group criticism page'. I use these pages to document both peer and client feedback. I think this is important because I believe collecting and reflecting on this feedback can help to create an effective final products- and help outline the flaws in a final outcome that I cant see. 

A lot of the feedback I received was positive- especially when it came to my initial research. One thing I had to take note of and work on from this page was my clients feedback. They told me exactly what they wanted for their logo- eyes and spiky text. Because of this, this is what I would work on soon after. 

I thought it was important to start researching into logos and successful designs.  I started with the book 'Album Art: New Music Graphics'. I looked at this book because it contained a lot of unique and eye catching designs. The images I chose from the book were very unique and they stuck out the most to me the most. One thing I noticed was that colour was used very intelligently. Either harmonious colours or complimentary. And they were placed very well. This influenced me later on with my animation- as I would use complimentary colours to enhance the reds and make them pop.

The other books I looked at were: 'What Logos Do and How They Do It' and 'Logo Modernism'. I used these books to study successful logos, as this was the first outcome I wished to complete. From the first book I looked at I isolated three main logos- Jamba Juice, Muse Technologies and M.O.E'. Compared to this, from the second book I studied lots of random modern logos- each meant to be as simple as possible. I studied these books together and I came to a few conclusions.

-Logos must be simple and work without colour.

-Logos work best when you can see the meaning behind them.

-My logo should contain text and imagery, to make it interesting.

This is something I tired to implement into my work but, seen later on, it didn't go to plan.

During this project I visited Sheffield's Video Game Museum. I chose to use this museum as primary research because of its links to decades and the changes between generational consoles (I planned to visit this shop before I met my clients or knew my decade). When I visited I found the arrangements really interesting. Usually they would be lined up, newest to oldest, with similar games. This really showed how graphics changed over time. I believe if I had been studying an older decade this trip would have been more useful.

After the trip I decided to make use of the images I had collected by practicing some observational drawings. I only chose to draw things that related to my decade, like the Wii, GameCube controller and DS. I did a couple of normal drawings but also chose to include some negative space and continuous line drawings- to add variety.

Finally I chose to finish off by developing these drawings. I used a range of media- digital, water colour, colouring pencil and acrylic paint. I wanted to experiment with these different media so I could see how the different textures affected the final products. Overviewing everything, I think this trip was fun but I don't believe it really added to my project-n despite giving me chance to play around with media.

The second artist I chose to study was Jamie Hewlett- the visual artist behind the Gorillaz. I did this by visiting his personal website, 'www.jamiehewlett.com'. This artist would influence me the most throughout my work. Both me and the clients believed his style would work for their brand so, because of this, I started to study how he constructed his characters. I redrew one of his pieces- which I actually found from Google instead of his website- and this helped me to replicate him later on.

To expand on my processes, I decided to experiment with letter press. I wanted something simple, to present something different to what my client wants (to add variety). I believe these two outcomes turned out well. I would actually use one of them later on for one of my outcomes.

As I've mentioned, the band I was working with described wanting eyes in the final outcomes. Because of this, I started drawing eyes- using reference photos I found on Google. A lot of these ideas were using Jamie Hewlett's art style. The design brought forward was the bottom one (without the banner).

After this I focused on creating three different spiky texts, each very different from each other. The one I believe would have worked the best is number 3. I believe this because, out of the three, its the most unique and its the most professional. I find it the easiest to read as it still keeps that edge. Unfortunately these ideas weren't fully realised. The clients I am working with knew exactly what they wanted and, as I wasn't the only one who was working for them, I had collaborate some of my ideas with another peers.

This is my second group crit page. One thing I was asked to do is develop my ideas further, which I would do next, and I will expand on then. My band told me they loved the eyes I created on my eye design page. If I could have gone back I would have experimented even more with the eyes. I would have liked to tried looking at them from different angles and used different media to colour (or shade) them- but, with how much time I had spent researching, I didn't have time to experiment further. Next project I will try to better divide my time as I spent too much time researching towards the beginning of the project and not enough time developing. 

This is my logo development and finalisation. 

I started by creating six different ideas- two using the eyes from my eyes drawing page and all of them either using the first or second spiky text I created. I then developed one of these further. I did this in a vector scale (to get the best possible quality). With how much time was left in this project I knew the development would have to be fast so, after receiving feedback from the clients, I started immediately working on the next part.

My clients asked me and one of my peers (Taylor) to combine her text and my face and hands. Personally, I don't think this was a good decision. My and Taylors art style are very different and the eyes she had developed were very realistic whilst the style I was leaning towards was very reminiscent of Jamie Hewlett's. To solve this I came up with another set of eyes to go with her text, and presented them alongside my peers eyes, in both red and black. 

Despite this, the band had chosen to stay with Taylor's eyes- so I started with finalising. I showed them two ideas, with and without pupils. They chose to have the pupils. Again, I don't agree with this. Adding the pupils makes the logo feel too busy and whats the point of having seeing eyes above and inside the text.

After they decided on a final shape I worked on the colour- each sticking to the red and black theme. They chose number 8. Honestly, I would have chosen number 7. The one I would have chosen helps elevate the red colours in such a simple way- really making it pop. Number 8 however, feels too red. The black on the realistic eyes really don't do well with the red colours and, from far away, it can be hard to make out. 

Their final logo isn't awful, despite what I've said. I think Taylor's logo alone would have worked and one of my other ideas would have worked too. The reds used are a nice dull and toned down version, and where the reds get brighter help to draw the eye. The final product however, is just too much. For this logo to work in this style I believe they should have at least had black in another location.

Next, it was time to create an animation to be projected behind them. 

If I had more time during this project, I would have explored more types of animation but, since I was already half way through the project (I only got 8 weeks to complete this), I decided it would be best to start storyboarding. I came up with two ideas. One very much more complicated than the other. Since I didn't want to rush a bad product out to my clients we both agreed the second animation would be best. 

First I designed my assets. I got each of them to pose for their Gorillaz styled portrait. I started with their side so I could use the 'Demon Days' album cover as a reference. I created a sketch of each of them and sent it to them via a WhatsApp message. They gave some feedback and asked me to make a few changes. The most notable of them all being the changes to Benjamin's hair and Sage's clothing. 

I made a few alters to the colour pallet. To start I used a range of greens and blues for their faces, hair and clothing. I then used reds to highlight them. This worked amazing. I believe it really helped make each of them stand out, and the reds really help to contrast the greens- it pops. For their base, I used dulled and bland colours. I then highlighted them with high saturated colours. This helped the light to look more authentic. 

After their side portraits I worked on their front. I lined them up together to get the correct proportions and I believe I did a good job. I made sure to alter the light, so it hit their faces differently. This became a lot easier after studying Jamie Hewlett and his drawing of one of the Gorillaz members- as that piece contained a lot of shadows and highlights. 

Finally, I worked on making a logo more simple, so it was easier to animate. I, of course, asked for permission from my clients before doing this. I went for a simple eye shape- more cartoony but not too removed from the actual logo's eyes. 

To crate this animation I chose to use an application called 'Procreate Dreams'. I chose this because it allowed me to animate frame by frame and actually draw into the application itself, compared to After Effects where I would have to import most of my assets. Like I mentioned, I chose to animate in three parts: first the logo disappearing and reappearing closer, then the text melting away and the eyes closing, and finally the clients glitching around and turning. 

One thing I didn't mention was how I used After Effects to compile these videos together and how I exported it. The reason I used After Effects to export my animation was because it allowed me to keep the quality of the animation whilst i compiled the different videos together and it allowed me to export it in an MP4 format. 

This is my final animation. I love how smooth it turned out, and I believe the assets worked out really well. One thing I would have liked to do is add something to the background, as I believe it can come off bare- and you can't really see the eyelashes. The reason I chose not to experiment more with it was the limited time I had left for this project. However, whilst it's playing you wont be able to see the background as its going to be projected onto a black wall- so I still believe it's effective. I chose to use the 'Got Heroin' font as I believe this was the most effective for their genre. 

This is my third group crit page. My peers raised some good points, which I have already talked about before in my own self reflection. During this project I have been preoccupied with: my university application, portfolio, other clients work as well as personal issues. I believe if this had been my first project this year, it would have given me lots of time to explore and expand but, due to the situation I have been found in (and the short amount of time I was given to complete this project) this hasn't been the case.

Despite this, I believe I have created something that represents my clients well. I have stuck to the style they asked for, taken colour theory and their colour pallet into consideration, and communicated with them regularly. I believe it's just a shame that I didn't have time to explore more ideas. 

During this project, I was informed I would have to create a brochure. I knew I wanted it to contain the logo somehow so I decided to create a pattern. I used the more simplified version the logo- from my animation- to do this. I used this because I believe it helps to identify the logo even when recoloured. 

I started by creating a tile. To keep it simple, i just rotated the logo 180 degrees and placed it diagonally to the other logo. I then added a simple spiral emanating from the centre. This helped fill out the tile. If I had more time I would have liked to explore some more ideas but I felt like with the time left, this simple design worked best. 

i then arranged the pattern using the tiles. I laid them all out before playing around with colour- I have five different colour combinations (each matching my given colour pallet). I have my first colour, the off white and red one. I believe this works well but I felt like it was too bright. Because of this, I decided to dull and darken it. This works well and makes the pattern flow better, but also makes it boring. 

Next I tried a simple greyscale pattern. This is the worst one in my opinion. Its really boring and way too light. Because of this, I never used it- even for my merchandise ideas. For the next pattern I inverted the colours and adjusted it until it was close to red. I like this pattern. Though I feel the logo and spirals are too bright, the black adds good contrast and I feel like it matches my bands theme and vibe. 

This last pattern is my favourite, and the one I'd end up using the most. I decided to up the saturation and, surprisingly, I believes this works well. It's hard to describe, but the red and white remind me of a floral pattern- the same floral pattern I had on my walls back in the early 2000's (so it's very nostalgic for me). I asked my band and they seemed to love this pattern the most too. Due to this, this is the pattern I would bring forward into my brochure.

This is my final brochure page. I asked them to send me the details they wanted to include and they gave me their official genre (hard rock), which instrument they're each playing and their newest fully updated song list. Ironically, one of the songs they decided to take off the list was 'Feel Good Inc' by the Gorillaz. This is the theme I have heavily leaned into throughout this whole project. They told me they wanted to keep the Gorillaz inspiration but honestly, this was the worst song they could have taken off the list as now non of my work actually links to their song list. Despite this, they're still happy with their outcomes. 

I chose to use 'Got heroin' again for the brochure as I love it's edge, but to make it easy to read I gave the text underneath a simple font. I didn't have much time so I leaned into as many of my already created assets as I could- like the bands side portraits. I decided to place them underneath the text (with white shadows behind them) because I wanted to show how this was their band. I think this works really well and helps to fill up space.

To ensure the logo was incorporated in some way I used my created pattern. I dulled it down quite a bit so it didn't become overstimulating. This worked well. If I could go back, I would have explored more ideas and documented my developments more, but I'm happy with what I've accomplished. 

InDesign was the application used to compile all of brochure pages together- for each band in the decades project. This application was used because it offers an easy way to create booklets. I made this page to describe how it works. 

For my last two forms of advertising I looked at print and digital forms of advertising. I chose to look at 'www.indesignskills.com' as I didn't know the proper difference between the two. Print based design is basically anything physical- packaging, zines, physical posters, billboards, business cards and more. Compared to this, digital is more harder to define. It can involve anything from social media posts, pop up ads, websites and more. I decided I would create a social media post (on Instagram) as well as a business card.

To start, I chose to make the social media post advertise the decades show. I highlighted three points- where is was based, which days it was playing and at what times it was playing. This is all accurate information as I asked my band before noting it down. I decided to use '04Font' for the points (as well as the top text) and presented it in an off white. I wanted it to stand out against the dark background, and I think it was a good choice. I decided to use the font 'Nightcore Demo' for the band name as I wanted to present something different from 'Got Heroin'. I didn't want to overuse the font and I felt this fit as the best alternative. Moreover, the font's colour I chose was red- to fit with the theme. This may be hard to notice but I layered the bright red over a very dark red. I feel like this added dimension and helped it pop. 

 I wanted to try adding a background in (a simple one) so I placed in my favourite mark making outcome and lowered the opacity. I didn't like this. It makes the post feel too crowded and colourful. The main focus of the post has to be the band and their name, after that the information. Adding this in distracted away from these main focal points- which is why I chose to remove it. I did add something into the background later, but I'll expand on that soon. 

I added my groups side portraits into the post too- with smaller white shadows than my brochure. I did this, not only to fill up empty space but, to add some sort of imagery. I didn't want the whole post to be text so I feel like adding them underneath helped separate it up. Looking back I wish I had made a page about my process.

The background I did add into the final post were these lines. This was inspired by a recent commission I had been given by one of my clients- he owns a rave company and he had asked me to construct a poster to promote his socials. The background represents the strobe lights that are commonly used at concerts, parties and (of course) raves. I felt this not only fit the theme of hard rock but also fit the Instagram post- as its promoting the Sounds For The Blind playing live. 

After this I made a quick mock-up of what the post would look like. I did this by screenshotting another randoms post, editing out the name (and replacing it) and the original post, blacking out the profile picture and finally editing in the post. I think this turned out well but, if I had to point out any negatives, I believe I could have found a font that better suit the Instagram's. I did look through all of my preinstalled (and I also searched around DaFont's library) but this was the best that I could do. 

This is the quickest outcome I've made this project- as it's entirely made out of assets already (previously) created. I sourced these business card images from www.graphicburger.com. To start, I wanted my business card simple so I used my letterpress for the text. This worked as, even small, it was easy and clear to read- I also love the texture it gave to the card. Moreover, I wanted an outcome with mixed media and this was one of the only ways I could imagine myself using it. Overall, its effective. 

I included the side portraits again. Because, as I was using my letterpress, I believed it didn't matter if I included my logo or not. I'm not so sure about this decision looking back. I don't think the business cards look bad (and my band likes them), I just wish I explored the ideas further. I believe it could have been beneficial to create some business card templates- I could have come to the conclusion of not using my logo and using letterpress that way. 

I decided to create the business cards in both black and white. I like the black cards more as I believe they work the best with the red and black colour pallet I've stuck to this whole project. One thing I didn't explore (which I believe could've worked well if I did) is backgrounds. I could have done something similar to my social media post- with the strobe lights. I feel very disappointed with this outcome, despite liking it. It feels like a last minute thought which (in all honesty) it is. Due to time restraints I wasn't able to spend much time on this. 

A lot of the feedback I was given on this project I agree with- especially on this fourth group feedback page. When it came to my print based advertisement I wish I experimented more with different processes. It could have been really effective to experiment with lino or monotype. I also believe I could have documented my processes a lot more effectively. This is something I will aim to improve on my next project. 

To start off creating merchandise I created a mood board. I sourced all of these images from Google. One thing I tired to do was make all of the merchandise very diverse. I found images of: keychains, hoodies, shirts, hats, shoes, banners, album covers, watches and more. I also ensured all of these images linked back to a band. 

Moving onto studying a specific store, I looked some items from 'www.store.gorillaz.com'. Despite the band no longer singing any Gorillaz songs, it would be weird if their: logo, animation and advertisements were so closely linked to the groups aesthetic and their merchandise weren't. Because of this, I decided to still use them as my main source of inspiration. The Gorillaz use a lot of bright colours in their designs. This is something I ignored (to an extent) but one thing I didn't ignore were the central designs. A lot of their merchandise involve their logo or one of their characters in the centre of the clothing. This is something I would take forward into my final design ideas. 

I also looked at the book- 'Studying Branding and Identity' and sourced some images. I chose this book because it contained successful ways on how to brand your merchandise. One of the pages I looked at really inspired me- the 'Integrity' page. I loved the way they used the moustache as a simple pattern here. Since I already had a pattern ready, I decided here that I would use it on some of my ideas. 

My last form of research (and source of images) is a book called: Designs of Our Time: Beazly Designs of the year'. I only sourced images that interested me the most within the 2000's decade. One image contained a lady wearing a green patterned dress. I loved the subtleness of this dress. but also how the colour worked along side the dress. This inspired me when it came to my final outcomes. 

These are my final outcomes for my merchandise ideas. Starting with the shirts, I tried to use a mix of pattern and my central logo design. One thing I regret not trying is adding my front facing band member portraits- as I believe this could have worked well as an alternative to the logo. Despite this, the logo I have used works well. I like how central the design can be but also how it can work small on the chest. As much as I believe the band went with the wrong logo I believe it works okay on shirts. I also believe the pattern is effective too. I much prefer the duller version of this pattern for the shirt as I believe the full vibrancy of the red can be too much. I could imagine the dull version on a young adult where the bright version feels too childish- not what I'm aiming for. 

When it comes to other merchandise I decided to mock up a note book and an iPhone case. I chose these items because many young adults own them and I imagine it would sell well. When it comes to the phone I actually prefer the brighter pattern. It gives me the same feeling as before, when I first created the pattern. I think the red works really well against the black and I don't feel like it's too much. If I had added the pattern any larger or smaller it wouldn't have looked good, but the way it has been used is perfect. For the notebooks, I don't have much to say. I enjoy their designs both equally as much. I think they both work well on their own and would look effective as a physical copy. 

This is the fifth and final group feedback page I created this project. I wanted to make this page so I could better understand what I could aim to improve for my next project. I received a lot of positive comments but also some really important points for development- that really helped me to gain perspective. I agree with these comments. I did create outcomes that fit my theme, genre and decade and my clients were highly satisfied with them. But I believe if I had better organised my time and spent more time developing than rushing to perfect my final outcomes I could have had a lot more to show and a lot more processes and experimentation to explore and play around with. This would have generated a lot more ideas and I could have created something much more effective than I finished with. 

However, there is one big problem. The timing of this project that I was assigned wasn't at all thought out properly. This project was started in November, just before Christmas- so not only did I waste a week at home (without the proper facilities to gather book research) but I also had trouble getting a hold of my clients because they were with family. Moreover, the deadline for university applications this year was the 31st of January (so many of my peers, including me, were busy trying to balance everything out). Lastly I only got 8 weeks to complete this project. That sounds like enough time but it's not. I had to communicate back and fourth with students from the music course this project, and answers wasn't the easiest to get- as they were busy with their own project. This meant it could take up to a week until they made a decision- in some cases longer.  

Overall, I'm satisfied with this project. I learnt how to clearly communicate with clients, how to collaborate effectively with others and how to use Procreate Dreams to create a detailed animation. However, I realise there is a lot I could work to improve on.