Latest Project 10 - Refelction piece

Part B – Reflection Piece

This is based upon the feedback given by my fellow students via the course forum, as well as from my sister via Facebook (see appendixes L and M for more details).

I made two reflection pieces – one of these is a blog: http://sedgieart.blogspot.com.au/ documenting what I did. Though other projects I had done in the past are posted up there, this assessment is the main purpose.

Looking at various websites on fitness and health, I was able to compare my sister's blog with them, and get some ideas as to what I could do.

Judging by the mark given for the previous assignment, I have decided to steer clear away from the visually 'busy' background which I used, though (in this assignment) I was experimenting and trying out some techniques using Photoshop®, Illustrator®, and InDesign®, courtesy of the Adobe Creative Suite®. Someone on the course forum had pointed out to me that the background used was visually busy (much like the background I used for the previous assignment) and the text 'got lost' against it. Hence, I decided to 'scrap' those designs.

However, the most popular banners amongst my classmates have been the ones with the footprints (i.e. the shoeprints) because they depicted action and moving for ard. By contrast, I was told the first batch of images (with the bare feet) reminded the viewer of standing still and/or weighing oneself, rather than moving forwards (however, these images are not unlike the one my sister is currently using as a banner for her blog, where she photographed her own bare feet on the scales). The preferences of my classmates for some of my designs differed from hers.

Many of the respondents also said they preferred the natural colours used for some of those examples, and that they made a 'refreshing change' to the bright colours used on many fitness websites.

I also made a few banners where the images were placed inside the text, one being without the shoeprints, another being with them (this is also based on my sister's preference for the two shoeprints amongst my thumbnails).  I have also done some banners based on my sister's liking for the 'Running figures' in the thumbnails. I was also proud of that effort, though one person on the course forum said they thought I should try and refine the figures, so they look less cartoonish and more mature. Another person on the forum stated that I should get rid of the sun and clouds to make the image more mature, and to make the figures bigger. I nevertheless retained this design as I was very proud of it. For some reason, it reminded me of the Fuzzy Felts I used to play with as a child11.

11 Wikipedia (2014): Fuzzy Felt in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzy_Felt; see also Adams, J (2014): Fuzzy Felt in John Adams Leisure, http://www.johnadams.co.uk/Art,_Craft_AND_Activity/Fuzzy_Felt/;

Page 9 of 44

Finally, for the communication piece, I did a few web mockups, with screenshots of my sister's blog, placing my banners over the top of hers (to see what they looked like). I found the banners with the warmer hues (red and orange) went best with the pre-existing colour scheme of her site.

My sister had wanted mostly photos (of herself) and text for the designs but I had different ideas as to what was appropriate: firstly, I was unsure as to what images I was (or wasn't) allowed to use, and she had said exactly which images I could use. There is also the issue of copyright and 'stealing' images for my own designs (though I did use an image of the city of Canberra, which I pasted into the text). Secondly, she might not be too happy if I were to use an image of her which she might not be too proud of. Hence, I mostly stuck to my illustrations, both hand-drawn and using Illustrator®. In the end, I was able to come up with something we could both be happy with.

Hence, the reflection piece enables me to understand how the design process, like a fitness or weight loss program, is a process, a set of steps one takes towards a goal. The 'One-Foot-In-Front-Of-The-Other' blog my sister has up online documents how she has taken the steps towards this goal.

Though the purpose of this assignment, my blog, and my goals are different, I was also able to document the processes involved, the steps taken and the result achieved through my writing, as well as visually. In fact, I have always demonstrated this step-by-step process since starting with Open Colleges, both written and visually.

Blogging is a form of storytelling, a series of written statements, a journal and a website all in one, which is why I chose it. I am able to basically demonstrate to the world (well, anyone who wishes to read the blog) the step-by-step process involved in designing a banner (or any other composition for that matter). This in turn enables me to gain feedback on how my designs are going, develop and refine my ideas.

However, should I make an infographic, this would tell a story in a different way, with more emphasis on the visual elements rather than the verbal, since I need to encompass a lot more information into a smaller space.  Hence, I also did an infographic showing the steps taken from choosing who do to the assignment on, the thumbnails, the digital images and the finished item. The pictures were grouped together according to what stage they were done at, and there are footsteps between each group, showing what direction(s) the ideas took.

In short, then, the design process is basically 'one foot in front of the other', where there are several steps involved, and how you have to take another step before you can move onto the next; and I am hoping the infographic shows this without having to use a lot of words to explain how this takes place.

My infographics can be found in my next blog entry.