Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed towards influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position by presenting only one side of the argument. In order to create the chosen result in audience attitudes Propaganda is usually repeated and dispersed over a wide variety of media.
Propaganda is known for presenting facts selectively - therefore lying by omission - and using loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than a rational response from the audience to the information presented.
I believe the aesthetic of Propaganda would be particularly appropriate for my outcomes which aim to prevent procrastination within students as the bold imagery such as the 'eye' and simplistic compositions which are synonymous with the style would be grab the audiences attention which is an imperative for my concept.
In response to the crit in which we attended and where asked to present out initial ideas for the concept, method of delivery and production I decided to change the method of delivery for my concept.
Despite my concept of procrastination was well received by the group, there was some confusion over the method of delivery I had chose which was a 'procrastinate proof your computer' and how it would actually work.
Although, I felt preventing procrastination within first year students in itself would be quite hard to achieve, the crit made me begin to think about a possible solution for the problem which would perhaps have more of a purpose and would be less of a 'novelty' item.
From the initial research I gathered on the subject, I found that procrastination tends to exist over a period of time, as people tend to put off tasks or jobs until 'tomorrow' which could go on for weeks. I therefore felt that a appropriate method of delivery would be to design and produce a diary - similar to the one we were given at the beginning of the year - which would help the new students to manage the time for each project effectively, therefore avoiding procrastinating.
Initial Ideas
From my own personal experience of the course, I found that being able to organise the workload by assigning task for each day of the week useful and made the briefs we were set - particularly when they were only a week long - seem less daunting.
I therefore decided that the diary I would produce would focus on the more practical and intense modules such as Design Skills, Design Process and Design Practice 1, which would enable me to create a more personalised design based on my own approach to these modules.
Although I could not be certain on that specific dates and briefs given to the new first year's would be the same as the ones given to us, I was assured that they would be roughly the same and therefore decided that the design I would produce would be more generalised to accommodate this.
To begin my designs for the personalised diary, I started by breaking down the 'design process' in terms of a one week brief and a two week brief by assigning tasks to each day of the week and therefore giving the new students an idea of where they should be up to, to keep on top of the workload.
Using this information, I began producing initial thumbnail sketches of possible double page spreads for the diary I am producing.
A particular aim I wanted to achieve with the design was 'inter-activity' as I felt this would encourage the new first year students to use the diary of a means of preventing procrastination. I therefore liked the idea of comparing a brief to a 'race' in which there is a 'start' 'finish' and 'pitt-stop' in which the student would re-read the brief to ensure they are meeting all the outcomes.
Due to amount of printing that would be required in order to produce a diary, I decided give myself a simplistic one colour plus stock restriction which would keep the cost down.
As the success of my final outcome relied on the audience interacting with it, it is imperative that the design is engaging and eye-catching.
I therefore - using a vague digital mockup of my final design - experimented with different coloured stock, rather than the black on white to achieve this.
I particularly like the idea of using red stock for my design which was a colour commonly used within propaganda as it is quite attention grabbing, particularly when used with black.
Within my work I particularly enjoy using hand-rendered techniques and therefore I began to produce the final design using these techniques which I believe give it a more engaging feel. However practically, I believe I will be unable to do this due to the amount of double page spreads and the time available, I will therefore like to achieve a middle ground within my final design.
For our first progress crit of this brief we were asked to present all of our work so far and explain our current position in the brief to a group of ten students and two tutors.
Up to this point, I was happy with what I had produced for the speaking from experience brief and was as I decided on a concept, appropriate method of delivery and had began to mock-up what the final design would look like.
With the final deadline for the speaking from experience being two weeks away I found the feedback from the crit extremely useful in order to make any final developments before I began producing the final outcome.
Although the method of delivery was well received, it was suggested that it could still be improved upon and developed, perhaps by making it more by using my own personal experience as inspiration for tips on booking print slots etc.
Developed Ideas
Taking on feedback which I received in the crit, I began by breaking the first year into the three practical modules we were given OUGD403, 0UGD405 & OUGD406, and then broke down these modules further to give the students an idea of the briefs they would be given.
Throughout the course year there are 34 weeks, and therefore I would be designing 34 double page spreads for the diary. As this would be a lot of content and practically would be difficult to bind, I decided to create one diary for each of the modules.
It was also suggested in the crit, that in order to develop my concept that I should use my own personal experience on the course throughout the first year to incorporate my own tips into the diary design.
For example, on the date if the first day of uni I have encouraged the students to not be nervous or late.
Possible Stock choices
As I planned to create one diary for each of the three more practical, intense modules it was suggested within a progress crit that I could perhaps assign a different colour stock for each of the modules and therefore almost creating an 'identity' in which the new first years could associate with each.
For my final outcomes I decided to use the three primary colours as the stock choice for each of the three diaries as I personally felt this colour combination would be the most appropriate for a Graphic Design however I also believe the bright colours would attract attention and hopefully prevent the diaries from being lost or forgotten.
Binding Process
In order to bind the double page spreads of my diary together I chose to use the 'thread' binding process. I chose this binding process as it would still ensure spine flexibility which is essential to the function of the diary. The thread binding process is also a process I have never used before and was eager to try.
I began the binding process by creating holes along the seam of the diary at 2cm apart in order to aid the thread binding.
I was then able to use these holes as a guide to thread and bind each of the three diaries.
Although I found the thread binding process difficult in terms of ensuring that all the pages of the diary were aligned and in order, I am happy with the final outcome and the binding as I believe it gives it a professional finish.
Final Outcomes
Overall, I am happy with the final outcomes I have produced for the 'Speaking From Experience' as I believe will be of use to the new first year students in terms of organising the the practical modules which consist of a quite intense workload which they may not have been used to on their previous course(s).
However, If I were to approach the brief again I would definitely give more consideration to production of the diaries. Although I am pleased that I was able to produce the design using the digital software which I eager to improve my skills in, I would have liked to use the brief as an opportunity to explore the traditional production techniques which I am particularly interested in.
