Typographic Poster - A case study

As our second years grapple with their first project back after the long summer break we thought it would be timely to lead by example and help them along with this instructive post.

They have all been given just over 2 weeks to produce an appropriate typographic poster for a range of UK festivals with topics such as cheese, kites and horror to name but a few .

The sketches, development and design concepts below are for the UK Dry Stone Walling Championships.

This solution focuses mainly on a short bold title ‘The Uk Drystone Walling Championships’ rendered in an appropriate typographic style.

Sketches and experiments with a free style interlocking typeface which is designed to reflect the basics of the art of dry stone walling.

This project is all about choosing and creating an appropriate typeface and the technique you choose can be the idea. In this case once the style was developed, through a series of drawings and sketches, the finalised render was spray mounted to black paper and carefully cut out by hand with a scalpel. This hands on analogue approach was also a nice reflection of the subject matter itself

This was then digitised, re drawn out and refined.

Once the composition was finalised in black & white colour could be considered. In this case a pallet of greys was explored to reflect a stone like quality.

Further colour iterations with a small amount of typeset text added, with dates times and location of the event. Plus an appropriate sponsors logotype.

We hope this post helps everyone along a little in their own particular subject areas. So in summary; 1. Keep it simple. 2. Remember to keep the typography appropriate. 3. Sketch and draw your idea down before going to the computer and 4. Understand that the technique can be the idea.

5. Please do not over think and complicate your poster…that is not the aim of this project.

Rev J. Whitehead (Esq)

Lizzie Harris - Illustration

Here we’d like to share a project worked on this summer by recent illustration graduate Lizzie Harris for Wash Studio, based here in Preston. As part of a brand refresh for The Northern Dough Co (and their products I can highly recommend!), Lizzie’s illustrations are super fun and sit perfectly with the new look.

Check it out in full here.

One week project: Research

Yesterday we had our first crit for Year 1 graphics students, in room VB201 – the pseudo reincarnation of 217 (for our older readers). Having the crit outside of the studio results in a more focused environment, and all the staff were pleased to see the first pin-up go largely without hitch or hiccup.

Below are a couple of examples of the first project, research. Starting with a dictionary definition and then exploring the subject, students presented six images to convey their given word. The visual excerpt below either got us thinking, or were well cropped, or well researched, or a mixture.

vertical

stripes

spot (the difference)

tree

queen

stripes

eye

ring

water

bridge

A Guide to Mounting

Part 2 in a guide of practical skills covers off trimming out, spray mount, layout and presentation of ideas specific to the first one week project based on research. It covers everything to get you crit ready. Please watch in full, and in the meantime we hope to uncover Part 1.

Indignant of Preston!

yes you are!

This week we welcomed our newest cohort of designers and advertisers to Victoria Building. And what an incensed group of irked irascible individuals they are! To get to know each other, we spent the day in the studio creating protest placards of behalf of causes which would easily instigate ire in anyone.

Check out our six protest groups below:

LITTERACTION

plastic attack

no cctvno cctv

plain english campaignplain english campaign

action on sugar

plane stupid

A great day, and it didn’t even rain. A group of firey designers back in VB204 is something we’re very much looking forward to this semester, may the ideas commence!

Plaster Packaging

Here we feature Dom Parson’s extra strong plaster packaging concepts. A visually sophisticated and clean solution that uses the product as appropriate on pack illustrations.

Give It Five Minutes

This is a re-post of an article published here in 2012 by software designer Jason Fried. Its message is pertinent within the discipline of design, as ours is a discipline which requires thought and opinion in equal measure. ‘Giving it five minutes’ is something we can all add to our everyday practice.

Enjoy.

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A few years ago I used to be a hothead. Whenever anyone said anything, I’d think of a way to disagree. I’d push back hard if something didn’t fit my world-view.

It’s like I had to be first with an opinion – as if being first meant something. But what it really meant was that I wasn’t thinking hard enough about the problem. The faster you react, the less you think. Not always, but often.

It’s easy to talk about knee jerk reactions as if they are things that only other people have. You have them too. If your neighbor isn’t immune, neither are you.

This came to a head back in 2007. I was speaking at the Business Innovation Factory conference in Providence, RI. So was Richard Saul Wurman. After my talk Richard came up to introduce himself and compliment my talk. That was very generous of him. He certainly didn’t have to do that.

And what did I do? I pushed back at him about the talk he gave. While he was making his points on stage, I was taking an inventory of the things I didn’t agree with. And when presented with an opportunity to speak with him, I quickly pushed back at some of his ideas. I must have seemed like such an asshole.

His response changed my life. It was a simple thing. He said “Man, give it five minutes.” I asked him what he meant by that? He said, it’s fine to disagree, it’s fine to push back, it’s great to have strong opinions and beliefs, but give my ideas some time to set in before you’re sure you want to argue against them. “Five minutes” represented “think”, not react. He was totally right. I came into the discussion looking to prove something, not learn something.

This was a big moment for me.

Richard has spent his career thinking about these problems. He’s given it 30 years. And I gave it just a few minutes. Now, certainly he can be wrong and I could be right, but it’s better to think deeply about something first before being so certain you’re right.

There’s also a difference between asking questions and pushing back. Pushing back means you already think you know. Asking questions means you want to know. Ask more questions.

Learning to think first rather than react quick is a life long pursuit. It’s tough. I still get hot sometimes when I shouldn’t. But I’m really enjoying all the benefits of getting better.

If you aren’t sure why this is important, think about this quote from Jonathan Ive regarding Steve Jobs’ reverence for ideas:

“And just as Steve loved ideas, and loved making stuff, he treated the process of creativity with a rare and a wonderful reverence. You see, I think he better than anyone understood that while ideas ultimately can be so powerful, they begin as fragile, barely formed thoughts, so easily missed, so easily compromised, so easily just squished.”

That’s deep. Ideas are fragile. They often start powerless. They’re barely there, so easy to ignore or skip or miss.

There are two things in this world that take no skill: 1. Spending other people’s money and 2. Dismissing an idea.

Dismissing an idea is so easy because it doesn’t involve any work. You can scoff at it. You can ignore it. You can puff some smoke at it. That’s easy. The hard thing to do is protect it, think about it, let it marinate, explore it, riff on it, and try it. The right idea could start out life as the wrong idea.

So next time you hear something, or someone, talk about an idea, pitch an idea, or suggest an idea, give it five minutes. Think about it a little bit before pushing back, before saying it’s too hard or it’s too much work. Those things may be true, but there may be another truth in there too: It may be worth it.

Year 2 Brand Extension Solutions

Here we feature a selection of solutions to the second year brand extension brief. Students were presented with a list of well known brands and had to somehow come up with a way of extending them. This was achieved by partnerships, special dates, occasions in the calendar or by finding out an interesting fact from the brand’s history. All the examples shown here made it into their respective students placement folders.

Mexican flag and skull motif made out of the iconic Tabasco diamond label

Poster concepts

Bottle design plus coasters

Mexican moustache coaster concept

Social

Highland Spring Water brand extension. This concept was based around the highland games and the heritage of the Scottish clans.

The seven clans

Lift the label to reveal each individual clan history

Individual posters featuring famous clansmen

Brand partnership concept between Twinings Tea and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

Box designs based on traditional golf attire.

History on the reverse

Statistically children consume more sweets at Halloween than at any other time of the year. This design concept for the Colgate toothpaste brand is based around this fact. Fun, engaging and appropriate pack designs that would be timed to be on supermarket shelves for the the Halloween celebrations.

Set of 3 designs: The wolf, The Vampire & The Witch

Each pack has a short, fun poem on the reverse highlighting the importance of brushing your teeth.

Art directed shot showing the 3 sides

A scarily cool idea!

This brand partnership concept between the Woodland Trust & Graham & Brown Wallpapers utilises a series of appropriate pattern designs on ecofriendly wallpaper. As well as being aesthetically pleasing, the idea also informs the consumer about the work of the Woodland Trust.

Typographic detail from the wallpaper box packaging

Raise & reveal the mission statement on each wallpaper roll pack design

Box and contents shot

The 4 seasonal patterns available.

Please click the above image to play the film.

Another Twinings tea brand extension with a visual twist. The core of this brand extension concept stems from research into the birth of the suffrage movement and the fact that much of the direct action was often planned and formulated in the tea rooms of Edwardian England.

Front & Back of the tin packaging

The sides of the tin tell the story of the suffrage movement and its connection to tea.

Each tea bag is individually wrapped and the packaging has a reproduction of a political cartoon from the time with a short poem about the suffrage movement.

A selection of some of the poems and cartoons applied to the teabag packaging.

This brand extension is based around America’s annual 4th of July Independence Day celebrations. Taking a classic American brand with an explosive flavour, this student produced a limited edition set of fireworks based on American landmarks, inventions and achievements.

Copywriting

McVitie’s supplied biscuits to the troops in the trenches during the 1st World War. This fact coupled with the centenary celebrations provided an obvious route to extending the brand. This student created a limited edition tin of biscuits. The design and pattern on the box contained a variety of military motifs…can you spot them all?

The main label design was based on a medal, with various military insignia providing the background pattern.

A great selection of solutions that demonstrate not only a high standard of design aesthetic but also some clear thinking and some simple effective ideas based on good solid research. It’s all about making those connections and building on a brand story that is believable.

SENSATIONAL! - YBA Poster Project

Here we feature a selection of posters designed by our second year Graphics students, as part of their type & image brief back in 2018. Each student was given a fine artist from the now infamous 1997 Sensation Exhibition, and had to research and then design a poster based on their work. These posters then became part of a special 30 year coffee table artefact in the form of a limited edition box set of posters. Retailing at £400.

Posters from the ephemeral archive

It’s that time of year again. As we get ready for the next intake of visual communications students, we have been rummaging through the plan chests and hidden crevices of the store rooms and come across some more 1970’s & 80’s posters. A visual feast of a not too distant past.

Could they live without it now?

Always a good idea

Nice poster design…balance & restraint!

Jacob Reece-Mogg’s vision of Britain post Brexit foretold in this English Tourist Board poster.

Only a snapshot of what we have in our archive, but I think you’ll be the first to admit that these rare survivors provide us with a valuable visual vignette of social history.