A box full of small, scrunched up pieces of paper was being shared around the room. Each student was asked to pick one. ‘What d’ya get?’ echoed around the room.
I looked down, and slowly unfolded my piece of paper. There was one word typed on it. ‘Bodoni’
The above event took place during a graphic design course at the Dublin Institute of Design. This assignment was to learn about a particular font or typeface, and to design a poster to showcase and promote the unique characteristics of that typeface. When I reflect on the work I undertook, I can see it really did follow a design process which in the end yielded an output I was proud of. Since the course, I have used this process across various initiatives, even outside of graphic design. Filled with reflection, creativity, feedback, action and experimentation, below you can see the flow of events in this particular example, as well as some images from the various stages to see the development (just click to enlarge any of the images).
Before I outline my process and examples from each stage, I wanted you to firstly realise you have already encountered the Bodoni font! Think of how ‘Nirvana’ appears on their albums, how ‘Vogue’ appears on the top of a magazine cover, or the ‘cK’ of Calvin Klein. Bodoni is a font used quite broadly, and familiar to many already.
Step 3 - Mindmap Generation
Step 4 - Initial Sketches
Step 5 - Exemplars
It’s good to be aware of the typeface ‘in action’, in society. Looking through examples and indeed the various typeface letters/alphabet in a bit more detail at this stage can assist when you are looking back over what came from your early creations.
Step 6 - Revisit Sketches, Concepts & Shortlist
Step 7 - Bring a Selection of Sketches to be Mocked Up Using Software
Step 8 - Get it Down to Final Designs - and Experiment
Step 9 - Feedback & Action
Step 10 - Final Version - Presentation & Reflection
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Complementing these activities and outputs, a series of 5-minute lightning talks were scheduled across a series of daily scholarship hours....26 talks in fact....to be delivered as GASTAs with each session chaired by Ireland's one and only GASTA master, Dr. Tom Farrelly. Why 26 talks? Well that's what was needed for Ireland's first ever 'GASTA marathon'! Now all we needed to do was get the message out to invite speakers to sign up and apply to present, and start promoting it.
The needs
Below are what was created to meet the need (click to enlarge):
When I reflect on all of the above, I'm grateful for a lot of things....
In the summer of 2018, I enrolled in a graphic design course at the 'Dublin Institute of Design'. Having always been interested in art, design, technology etc., and considering some of the work I had been doing while designing and developing my teaching materials, I felt it was a course I could learn a lot from. Great to be a student again too, seeing assessment briefs, using VLEs, engaging in peer learning and receiving feedback to enhance my work. My first day arrived....I commenced with my backpack full of the required materials, eager to get going. I met my new classmates, some of whom had degrees in fine art (very different from my molecular biology background!). I was immediately struck by just how much a scientist stood out in a room of talented creatives, designers and artists 😀 Having worked with a truly excellent graphic design team on a certain project in recent months, it brought back memories of my course and I reflected on considering ten things I learned from being a graphic design student back then.....
From my experience, it was incredible to work on ideas, iterations of ideas, new ideas, etc. and then you began to see an idea shine through. It's a real eureka moment. We learned in some cases, it can occur in minutes (like the 5-minute, napkin drawn, $1.5m design of the Citibank logo by the incredible Paula Scher) but this is extremely rare, and normally takes a considerable length of time. So even though tools such as 'Canva' can provide incredible tools for quick design tips for people to get by, a graphic designer and their incredible talent is creative, unique and should be treasured. From completing my graphic design course, I will never undervalue the contribution and skill of a graphic designer. |
Ronan BreeEducation Developer,Science Lecturer, Archives
March 2023
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Any opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer.
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