Monochrome prints and mind maps from Unit 1

Unit 1 Evaluation (Public Information)

I started this unit by looking at different advertising campaigns. I did research on different charities, ones that support important issues. I looked at bullying,  death penalty, alcohol abuse. Research was a strong point for me as I found it interesting; looking into different charities and their backgrounds. I grouped all of this research and put into a blogger post. 

Eventually, I chose to do a poster for alcohol abuse. I researched further into this particular topic to see what campaigns for alcohol were the most hard hitting. I eventually thought about using newspapers. I could take words from newspaper headlines and incorporate them into the design of my poster as newspapers are always about important issues. The ideas linked. I think that in this design process my ideas developed well, however I could have developed the final design for the poster a little more and maybe made it a bit more interesting and creative. 

I decided I wanted a wine glass to be my main feature, whilst including the newspaper clippings. I put the clippings in the wine glass. The clippings were words associated with binge drinking, and it was as if every time a person took a sip they were becoming the words. Im happy with this poster as it includes all the different things I was trying to convey.

We then had to choose "causes for concern". We were given different ideas to start out with, I chose the death penalty as it is something that interests me. I began with collecting some images about the death penalty. I started with 3 initial ideas. Such as the noose, a grim reapers axe and the letters "DP".

I chose the noose as my final design. This was to be printed in a banksy style. We did a workshop where we experimented with graffiti on different background materials such as newspapers or tracing papers. I used different colour graffiti cans and different colour paints. This went very well. 

We also used celebrities and mono printed them. I did iggy azalea and did hers on a green and pink background. It was interesting to see the different techniques and how they worked.

Next we had to choose a current topic or issue that was in the media. I chose to do the floods that occurred around Christmas. I ripped up different types of magazines all in different shades of blue or a greeny. I also got a picture of a mermaid and stuck it in the middle of my collaged background. I then used the words "dripping, flood and weapon". 

After doing all these exercises, I had to focus on my final piece. I had to choose another idea to focus on. I chose bullying. I began finding images and mindmaping ideas for bullying. I started to think about posters, film and ad campaigns. My ideas began to develop after the research. I came up with a logo, after doing different designs to test out which one I wanted to use. I then used that logo and tried creating it differently, e.g.: ink, paint, etc. Then I came up with a TV advertisement. I sketched out some initial ideas and eventually developed it into one I was pleased with. My poster design had to be powerful but simple as that was my aim- to keep the campaign simple. It involved the use of text from newspapers (the idea taken from my first poster campaign with alcohol awareness) and I used the slogan "words are weapons". I then sketched out charity freebies. I wanted to do something that no one had done before, but keep it as something that people could still use.

I decided to do socks, with my logo on. The socks were white, keeping it simple, but with the red logo to create a powerful image that would be remembered. I uploaded all of my mind maps and ideas onto a design board. 

Evaluation for Bullying Campaign

Throughout the process of construction for my campaign I have exhibited many different qualities, some of which include: doing research, making initial designs, developing my designs further, taking those designs onto photoshop and manipulating them, to finally create end pieces for my my design board.

To begin our advertising campaigns we started doing research on the topic we chose. I chose to do bullying as it is a subject close to heart. After choosing this subject I began researching it to find out a little bit more about what I wanted to make my charity on.
I then decided on doing a charity and campaign specifically for bullies themselves. I realised that there are plenty of charities to help victims but none to help bullies to stop themselves from bullying. From there my ideas and designs took place.

I began with the logo. I made a mind map of different ideas until I found one that suited the purpose. After playing around with it I realised my campaign name would be "beat bullying", and that my logo should be red. I picked red as it is a dangerous and bold colour, I believe it will catch eyes and therefore reach more people overall. I made my logo on photoshop and started with typing two "Bs". From what started out as a simple two letters became something a little more creative and I decided I wanted to stick with a simple design that still got it's purpose across. I coloured the two letters red and put them next to each other, ensuring that I lowered the opacity of one of them and overlapped it- creating a shadow effect. Although my work on photoshop hasn't been as advanced as it could have, I definitely feel I have extended my photoshop knowledge and learnt new things in the process. I manipulated my logo by changing the angles and formations of the image.

After my logo it was time to create my poster. Again I wanted something simple yet effective. I outlined the words "words are weapons" onto card and drew the outline of a gun. I went over this in black and it looked very effective over white card. I then decided to make a collage using newspaper clippings. This collage would consist of words associated with bullying, particularly cyber bullying as it is the most common and easy form. I stuck them around the edges of the main slogan and this made for a very powerful poster. I then made it on photoshop. Using a plain black background I began my poster. I typed out the slogan I wanted to use and coloured the words white. This was dramatic and gave the point across straight away. On google I found a website that generates newspaper clippings, and from there I typed in the words I wanted and stuck them on to photoshop. It was all relatively straightforward but the process itself definitely made my photoshop skills improve and after a while I got the hang of it.

Through comparing previous work on Photoshop to this piece of work it's made a significant improvement. My design board contains my storyboard for an advert, my freebie, my logo and
my final poster design. To create this design board I had to piece together the different elements of my campaign. They all fit in nicely.

For my freebie I decided to make socks. The reason I chose this is because no one ever gives socks away as freebies, and I didn't want to make a pencil or USB or something that is common. Giving out socks for people to wear represents the charity and promotes it- it's also a constant reminder about the charity. The socks themselves are rather plain, I created them on Photoshop. By editing in my logo onto the top of the socks, I then changed the opacity and formation of it to make them look more realistic. It was quite a simple process.

My storyboard for my TV advert was made by hand. I thought this would be better as I could draw and write more accurately than I could on Photoshop, in order make it clear. The advert itself is aimed more towards bullies than victims; it's showing the effect that their words and actions have on other people- it's quite dramatic.

Once creating all of these individual parts, I pieced them together and put them onto an A3 sheet on Photoshop. I placed them in order of significance and tried to make it look simple but creative. The entire process of creating things to go onto my storyboard was long and took me a while, however through it I have learnt many new skills which will be useful in future exams.

My Storyboard for my Beat Bullying advert.

Beat Bullying Freebie (Socks)

For my freebie to convince people to donate or support the campaign I have decided to give away socks. Socks are an everyday essential and so I feel that they are a good thing to give away. The top of the socks present the red logo which supports the elimination of bullying.

Here are my socks. Again I'm focusing on the "simple but effective" technique. They are plain white with the logo printed on the sides and front. The logo is less bright than usual to create a blending technique.

Beat Bullying Logo

This is the start to my Beat Bullying logo. I have taken two B's and changed them to the colour red.

I have here changed the opacity of both the letters and overlapped them. This looks simple yet effective- like my campaign is aimed to be.

Final Poster Design for Bullying Charity

Here I have begun my final poster design by opening a new page in Photoshop. I chose to change the color of the page to black, ensuring that my words will be bold and stand out against this black background. I then selected the 'Text' tool and typed 'WORDS'. I selected a text that was fitting to the subject at matter and chose white as my colour as it is bright and noticeable.

I finished typing my text. The phrase "words are weapons" is a metaphor to indicate that cyber bullying or simply name calling is hurtful and a form of bullying too. I used a picture of a gun too. This adds effect to the whole 'weapon' metaphor and gives a physical element to the poster. 

Here I have began adding 'newspaper clippings' of words that are associated with bullying. This is so that it is similar to my initial design that was drawn up in my sketch book. The fact that the words are newspaper clippings shows the importance of bullying as it is implying they are from headlines in the newspaper. I think this is quite powerful. 

This is my final design. The newspaper text clippings are surrounding the main slogan and the image of the gun remains. I think this is simple but effective way of getting my message across. It's straightforward and easy to identify the main message.