Evaluation and Reflection:

Please find below three sets of evaluation questions to consider at the end of your project and write up in your blog.

You should also check on these throughout the process of your project as this will help you to develop ideas and problem-solve issues before it is too late (ie: the end of the project!)

1) Visual Communication:

In what ways does the visual communication/message of the piece meet the needs of the brief?

I think my designs link to the brief as it was all about making a change and linking it to either the NHS or to a service. Within the creative conscience brief they always state different sections and different scenarios and I believe that from my knowledge from previous years I knew what to do to enable to meet the visual communication and the message within the brief. I decided to make awareness and the entire cc brief is about making a difference and designing for good and I believe my final achieves that.

In what ways does the visual communication/message of the piece fail to meet the needs of the brief?

I personally do not think my design failed to meet the needs of the brief as it informs, educates and actually goes inside a fire fighter station which is another reason by my design fits the needs of the brief.

What are the strengths of the visual communication? Why?

I think going to the station and actually taking the photographs of my uncle and actually get to experience the life of a fire fighter (to an extend) really allowed the design to have that personal effect and that made the visual communication stand out. I believe that the design educates, informs and entertains the audience and the photos really are the strengths of the visual communications.

What are the weaknesses of the visual communication? Why?

the main weakness for me was losing the A5 designs I actually worked so hard on producing these and my Mac updated and got rid of them all. this would of tied it with it being a school pack but now it turned into just being a magazine to hand out to kids. I feel like some changes could be made to the magazine and I would of done a lot of things different if you handed me the brief now. I have developed a lot in my magazine style therefore thats the reason I think I can pick out a lot of issues. however its clean and simple and really does achieve its goal.

In what ways could the piece be mis-read or mis-understood by the audience? Be specific about who the audience is.

I personally do not think it could be misread, however I wish I could do more pages just to explain fire fighter life a little more and this could be said as a misread aspect because I feel like there isn’t so much information in the magazine that there could be.

In what practical ways could the pieces be developed or improved?

like I just said I wish I had made more pages, and when I lost the a5 just completely update the magazine. there is paragraph issues that are really angering me even to this day but I couldn’t change due to timing, I feel like the one reason I am picking up on elements that could be altered is purely because I develop in months after creating this and I feel like I ave achieved a lot more and understand more in magazines than I did when I made this if that makes sense.

In what ways did you consider Designing Backwards or application of Systems Thinking to your project?

I think with this project and linking it to project X the outcomes are always dedicated to the finals as you want to knowhow your design for good in the outcome. I personally think that with this design it was all about system thinking and really understanding the topic before designing it. I think mu approach to the design was well thought out and I planned everything including the trip at the beginning to make sure I was concluding to the correct final outcome.

In what other ways have you considered the sustainability of your project process
and outcomes?

Due to my love of magazines, I think I always consider sustainability aspects now more than I ever did. I always tried to make the designs really stand out and use a lot of imagery, but sometimes with. magazines test printing helps – however for this project I test printed a lot of pages onto scrap old A4 paper before actually printing it and this would be to check spelling and lineament issues and if everything was in the correct place. And I do continue this a lot through my projects.

In what ways have you considered the ethical implications of your project process
and outcomes?

ethics within design always seem to now come naturally to me when a few years ago they didn’t, I had to consider fire fighters and not be patronising as I am not a fire fighter myself, I always wanted to showcase some facts about women fire fighters and really let kids know the different nationalities and the other gender being involved in this job..

In sustainability and ethical terms in what ways was your work in this project an
improvement or a backward step for you as a socially conscious designer?

I think I am turning more and more into a conscious designer, I always create projects to design for good and to make people aware of situations, events or people and thats how I think I will continue.

What targets can you make at this point for your work in the future as a socially
conscious designer?

I personally want to design to make a difference, and I think thats my goal for my future and career in graphic design. I do not want to design to add to issues, I want to design to make a change and thats how I think I am a conscious designer.

3) Reflection of own working practices:

How was my time keeping?

I think my time keeping could n been better, I wish I had made a plan to finish this along side my dissertation but I just got so caught up in that , I felt like I had no time for this. I think I could done a really good magazine if I just planned it a bit more – but I did try my best all things considering.

How was my analysis of the brief?

I always think my analysis of the brief are good, I always highlight I always make sure I am designing for the correct outcome and I do not every really think I don’t meed the needs of the brief. I think it was quite a simple brief, and linking to the CC brief it almost allows you to be quite unique with your outcomes and explore it on your own.

How was my research?

I think going to a. fire station, having a tour was the main part of this entire design process and really enabling the outcomes to the the bets they were. I personally think if I did not go and visit the fire station I would not of achieved the outcomes and I would off certainty not had any of the photographs. I think I did a lot of research and really involved my uncle into the idea and the LFB.

How did I draw conslucisons from my research:

After visiting the station, I was able to educate myself, and develop further research into different aspects of LFB. Without the research none of the design would not be possible. from having the photographs and other elements allowed em to draw conclusions as I was able to understand themes, colours and layouts for my designs and understand a main focal point for the magazine.

How did I use experimentation during the project? How can I make this more effective?

I think a clear example of experimentation through this project is actually designing to a5 designs then losing them and having to work from what I had and I think that show cases elements of experimentation to fit the main purpose of the design and alternating the main outcome. I also with magazines always experiment with different layout and designs and images before concluding, and I do the same with mock ups as I was not happy with the first mock up so I changed it to develop it further.

In what ways did I show that I had achieved the Learning Outcomes? How can I improve this next time?

I always look at the learning outcomes it’s the first thing I always look at therefore I knew I achieved them  and I think I will always do this – I don’t think I did that much for this project as I would of liked to but I know I would do for FMP and over all in the future. Due to doing the same as last year I already sort of knew the learning outcomes.

What parts of the project did I enjoy most? Why was this the case?

I think what I have learnt is visiting places your resining about and really getting into the design makes me enjoy it more because I have a reason to design for. I did find it a bit boring due to the style I went for but I did enjoy designing magazines as its my favourite thing to within graphic design.

What parts of the project did I enjoy least? Why was this the case?

I wish I picked better topic not that I have anything against the fire fighter service, but because we already did so much not the NHS I think I should of linked it to that in some way or another as I felt like I made more work for myself and then couldn’t keep up – and due to not having an interest being a fire fighter I couldn’t really connect to the research so much.

At what times did I work best? Why might this be the case? How can I ensure that I work well at al times?

on my own I worked my best, but I defiantly worked a lot harder at university due to the fact I was getting inspired by others and allowing ideas to flow a bit more.

What areas inspired me? Why was this the case? How could I follow these up?

my uncle inspired me. He has mental health and get through amazing jobs he does and the horrific things he visualises on a daily basis, the fact he puts that aside an helps others I just think its incredible, and I also think the fire service don’t get enough credit they are amazing, and learning about them and visiting the station made me really understand them more.

What areas were challenging or difficult?  Why was this the case?

I found researching for this hard, after the trip I thought I had it all, but then I felt like I had to research more and I just couldn’t get into it. I find it hard to research. topic im not interested in and this showed by having to add more time and I think personally I need to work on that because I won’t always get to pick the topics I design for.

How can I go about developing and improving the parts I found difficult?

not focus on the topic, focus on the design for good aspects and the outcome and I believe I could get through it. I also think do all my research at once do not leave it to the last minute.

Do I need to develop certain skills? Do I need these now? Or later?

always research first before designing. it helps.

The only issue with the A5 design was simply the fact I lost them. I had no intention of not using them until my Mac decided to update and I had to work around it. Therefore the main point was to create a school pack this school pack would be involving a magazine and some cards for the kids to take away but due to loosing that I wanted to create this blog in order to explain that. I could off re made them however due the timing I had lost them in I decided not too. Therefore the focal point has changed slightly only meaning that instead of a school pack it is just a magazine the fire fighters can give out after assembly’s.

The back cover was needed just to make it all come to an end. I did alter this quite a bit because I wanted to make sure I was ending it on the right message.

this below was the first design and I didn’t actually have a link to the LFB website and thats pretty much where I gathered all my information from and collected the research and I wanted the kids to be able to connect to this quickly and find out more information if needed be. so for a while this was the front cover but I altered it to end on the right message.

final design:

Due to there being a minimalistic theme throughout this design I felt like I had to continue that throughout. So I decided to start the back of the magazine of with the link to the LFB website and to continue the theme – on each page below the number I added the yellow and red lines to link with the idea of fire and their service and I think people associate these colours with them quite well. Therefore to showcase the continuation throughout I decided to add the two lines underneath this to make it stand out and show a connection through the designs – this also allowed the type to have a bit more structure otherwise it was very randomly placed. I then thought because this entire thing is for LFB I wanted to showcase their logo like I did at the beginning to show its all part of same design. Underneath I then added what was on their website for when people want to communicate with them – or how to reach them and they sit in black and red type. I could of just left it like that but I wanted to add an image due to the target audience I felt without an image it was such a boring design and too simple, by adding this image of a fire fighter (jack) in the gear near a fire truck to me represented them well as an overall and great way to end the magazine.

the mock up for this is slightly different purely because its the end of the book so no double page spread needs to be displayed.

here is the simple mock up:

I decided to create a mock up like this just to show what it would look like if they were stacked and handed out like this to schools.

Now I decided for this magazine not to be that long – in fact it was more of a educational catalog that fire fighters could give to school children after finishing the assemblies to educate them not only about fire fighters themselves but also LFB and if these kids would want to be a fire fighter here is how and everything you need to know.

I wanted to end this magazine quite quickly and not go on forever due to the target audience and after a while they wouldn’t continue reading. So we continue the title theme again with a red box with the title fire trucks and equipment and this is the category for the next DPS. I used a lot of negative space in this design and wanted to almost mix it up a bit in style of placing images. So on the left hand page I started with rescue and fire trucks and gave a brief explanation and then underneath equipment. The issue with this topic is that fire fighter information and truck information could generally go on forever and its really complex therefore knowing the audience would be schools kids (secondary school kids) I just wanted a brief explanation then I would add links elsewhere to find out more.

I then decided to add a little information in red that read that if you want to find out in detail about all the equipment contact them as there is so much to discuss and if the kids are interested they can find it out further.

starting on the left hand page I have started a collection of images that then fall over the gutter and into the right hand page. I felt like because I was discussing a lot I felt like a variety of images were needed – but to engage the audience I decided to make them sit with one another and create this collage effect. I think this lay out not only interest the audience its different but it allows the audience to visualise in a unique way different parts fo the equipment used.

I think this page is a great way to end this sort magazine as I feel like its a teaser for becoming a fire fighter allowing the audience to connect with it and want to find out more. its a perfect way to end due to the colours and the layout as it displays a more unique look in comparison to other pages.

thesis the final mock up for this design and when added to the mock up I decided to make a few alternations such as moving the images over so it wasn’t so close to the gutter other wise you couldn’t visualise them therefore now there sits a white line where the gutter is. I also forgot to mention that there is another did you know fact that I added the bottom of the right hand page to allow the audience to walk away with some sort of knowledge.

This page is all about drills. Fire fighters do this regularly and is part of their everyday routine and I feel its important to educate that.

This was the first page and the first mock up I created BUT I changed it. I am not sure if its my eyes or its actually seen like this but t he big image on the left hand side looks wonky and when adding it to my new mock up it appeared wonky and it was driving me insane therefore I re did the photograph and went from there.

I started the left hand page again with an introduction bar indicating this was about drills and training. I then added a bit more a clear photograph – this was given to me bye my uncle and it clearly shows what its like and the location that drills take place. I wanted to showcase just one image to engage the audience and then the next page showcase the type. I made the image centre in line with the end of the block title. I made it large but not to fill up the entire room leaving negative space to allow the design to breathe and also fit in with the rest of the other pages – then I wanted to showcase where they went for their training and drills and thats located at the bottom of this page acting like an image caption. We then move onto the right hand page. I could go into a lot of detail about drills and training but I felt like it wasn’t needed – this information was taken my own knowledge and therefore I was able to choose how it was wrote. I could of made an entire page because there is a lot – but I wanted to keep it short and sweet for my audience. I then decided to break them up the top paragraph being dedicated towards drills and the next about training – we then have images down the side.

Due to changing all my other designs I felt like I had to change the mock up for this design as then they all come together really nicely and efficiently. SO after alternating the image and adding the features that made this design the design it needs to be – I made a new mock up.

I had to re download the mock up therefore some elements were slightly different to other mock ups but I tried my hardest to make them the same.

The annoying thing about this mock up is the fact the colour background is a different colours to the other mock ups but I do not think that matters so much as its not part of the design. Below sits the mock up for this design: Having this mock up really allows you to see if the double page spread meets the theme and the connection to the front design and I feel like it does and portrays the same style and message we want. The one thing I wish I could change is the type I would off changed it on this one however then I would have to change the entire magazine which I just don’t have time for but now I have learnt that type in a magazine needs to have a certain paragraph edit to make sure all the type is in line with one another.

The first thing I created was the magazine therefore the first thing I looked into was the magazine layout that I wanted to use for the front cover and the inside of the designs:

I find layout plays a big role within magazine design as it gives the overall message not only on the topic but also you as a designer.

First magazine front cover inspiration

The first one I loved was this one below, the colours linked well with my topic however for me it was not the outcome I was after. However the reason I am putting this here is to show I did not just go for the first design layout I found – I found this one first experimented with this (but lost the screenshots) and then took elements from that experimentation which would feature in my design meaning the blog ‘icon’ title was something I wanted to include within my design.

INSPIRATION FOR FRONT COVER / LOGO DESIGN

This design was one of my all time favourite designs as its so simple and so effective in the way in which they have displayed their message. The biggest inspiration for me was the type in the corner, ‘rite’ it was so simple but caught my eye right away – which inspired my logo. The positioning of the page worked so well which also inspired me and the little details either side. I personally love having white surrounding the design as it lets the image breathe and the type and title breath a lot more.

Double page spread layout inspiration:

Now I did not stick with one design layout throughout the making it was more of a case of being inspired by a variety of a designs. Now I wanted to make sure there was colours within the design as it is aimed at kids, therefore I picked up designs that had colour. I always aim there to be some elements of white within the designs, as for me it makes the design look clean and simple, but adding colour I felt had to be done right and work well with the topic.

If you look at all these designs, you’ll notice every single one has an element of colour within them. I actually did experiemnt with the first layout, but it did not work at all, I did the exact same layout but changed it to red and added fire fighter colours however it was so cluttered and from that I knew not to just stick with colour just adding elements of colour would allow the design to come together.

• 

• 

This one was the biggest inspiration for my designs, reason being, that the designs feature a ‘pop’ of colour that goes over white backgrounds. The yellow stands out but also allows the white areas to shine through.