OUGD504: Design Production - What Is Design For Print? Final Critique

As our final critique for the 'What Is Design For Print?' before the studio deadline, the format was slightly different to last weeks web critique. 

Instead of us personally presenting out for to a group of our peers, this time we left our work to be critiqued by another group. I found this a particular useful format for a final crit, as it meant our design work was left to stand alone which would test whether our design actually communicated what we wanted it to.

As well as displaying a selection of the instructional leaflets I had designed for 'What Is Design For Print?' brief I also left a couple of questions which were areas I would most like to receive feedback on.

My Questions

• Would it be more appropriate for the format of instructional leaflet for the inside of the leaflet to be produced using hand-rendered or digital techniques?
• Is the information / content appropriate for an instructional leaflet? And is it clearly laid out / legible?

My Feedback

• Good concept and good use of colour and binding choice
• I think the leaflets are better suited to digital print because of the readability and clarity. It would also be easier to mass produce.
• Images / diagrams / sketches needed to make the booklets more unusually dynamic and interesting.

• Simplistic, readable and legible type choices and body copy.
• Type justification should be sorted to ensure correct alignment and structure, i.e. process leaflet  6-7.
• The instructional leaflet should be digitally rendered to correlate with the other booklets - continuity. 
• Nice use of mini fold-outs as examples, unusual, but good physical examples opposed to hand-rendered drawings.
• Not enough content for colour, finishes etc. but idea is strong.
• Thick, appropriate stock choices used with screen print / digital print.
• All layout are clean, readable and legible and allow for folding without too much interruption of the text.

• I think the inside should be digitally printed as this will ensure high readability.
• Physical samples are effective although maybe think about appropriate sizes as your prototypes seem quite small and fiddly.
• I'm missing some illustrations, step by step to clearly demonstrate how to do things. I don't personally respond well to instructions in written format only - although I can see sample.

• Digital print it, I don't see a reason why you should traditional print it. It won't add any additional qualities that digital will bring.
• The content is appropriate, but I don't think it really shows that when you open it without folding out the rest. Have the technical inside something to draw on the inside / yes it's legible.
• Adding onto that, I think some imagery would really help, the format is cool, but its a bit strange it being just text for something that it very practical and hands on. The room is there to fit it on.

Following the final crit for the 'What Is Design For Print?' brief in which it was suggested that the information would be more effectively communicated through a more engaging layout and more illustrations I decided to produce a range of illustrations which I would be able to scan into the mac and image trace on illustrator, which would still give the impression of a hand-rendered illustration.

Illustrations

Original inside designs

Developed inside designs

As the function of leaflets is to instruct the target of young Graphic Designers, it is imperative that the designs are engaging and can be clearly understood by the reader.

I therefore believe that the designs that I developed in response to the crit are much more appropriate for the purpose as the illustration makes the layout design seem much more engaging and less structured than the first design I produced. The illustrations also make the instructions much more easier to understand by illustrating clearly what they mean.