Everything Goes Soirée- Designs

The 'Everything Goes Soirée' is an end of summer party that me and my family are throwing at the start of September. The theme 'Everything Goes' means that the guests can dress up in any fancy dress they like or even mix several themes together , bring any food and drinks they like, and any entertainment, everything goes!

The party required a poster/flyer which would be sent out to family and friends that don't use Facebook (as they aren't be able to see the event page), the poster up will also be up at the party in a larger scale. Furthermore, the Facebook event also needed a banner photo which uses the same design.

The poster/flyer must include all the key information:

• Date
• Time
• Address
• Name of the party
• Small description 'Food, music, fun, party tricks, dressing up, anything you want... everything goes!'

I started with looking at some event posters which I found interesting and relevant. I liked the first two posters below because of the way they use a main piece of imagery to dominate most of the page, with the information at the bottom quarter. I also found the use of bold colours really eye-catching which relates well with party events, poster number 3 also uses an interesting limited colour palette which I enjoyed.

Furthermore, Poster 3 and 4 were my favourites due to their funky and fresh aesthetic. I particularly loved the image used in Poster 4. Poster 3 is also successful as it clearly communicates that it is for a summer festival through using appropriate imagery.

For my poster, I considered layout of the text and imagery in similar ways to these 4 posters, as well as using one strong piece of imagery to dominate most of the page and give the overall poster a funky, eye-catching aesthetic.

Poster 3

Poster 4

Below shows the initial designs which I created for the poster. For the image, I created a collage which relates to summer through collaging a selection of random summer images together, the randomness relates with the 'Everything Goes' theme. I also love collage as a technique as it gives everything a fun, quirky feel.

Below shows the main initial designs. I felt that a Sans Serif typeface was most appropriate so that all of the information is legible as the main aim is to provide the key information about the party, with the image being the main focus. Furthermore, I felt that the design which used the typeface Impact was more successful as it looks more eye catching and poster appropriate.

The design below experiments with scale of the image, as I felt that the yellow background wasn't really working and I wanted the overall poster to look busier.

The designs were then developed through experimenting further with colour, scale and layout. Below shows a few colour variations, I wanted the colours to represent summer and fun so I focused on brights and neons.

The final poster uses the collaged image in two different scales and colour in order to look more experimental and exciting, a busier and bolder design is more appropriate for a party event as it is more upbeat. I also chose this colour palette as most of my friends and family liked it is most, I agreed. Furthermore, the key information is in a larger, bolder text with the other information alongside it in smaller scales to fit the page layout and imagery.

Final Poster

Section of the poster used for the Facebook event page banner:

iPhone

Laptop

Day 1

Today was my first day at placement with Cohorted. I found the day really fun as the studio had a great environment as everyone was really friendly and happy to answer any questions I had regarding the tasks that I was working on or general questions about the company and my placement with them. I also enjoyed working on the small tasks I was set later in the day.

The day started with Anthony (head of Graphic Design, same person that interviewed me) adding me to all of the company sites and emails as a new intern employee. After that he spoke through each platform that the company uses to stay up to date on tasks and other important information.

Later throughout the day I was set some small tasks to get me started, this involved creating promotional collateral material for up coming beauty boxes and products that Cohorted are selling for other brands.

Today I worked on the sneak peek material that will be coming out in September for October's 'sneak peek' product. Anthony explained that at Cohorted the Graphic Design collateral material for upcoming months is created a few months in advance as there is so much that goes into it and a lot needs to be created, which definitely makes sense. Deadlines are also set so that everything is ready for when it needs to go out by. Each piece of promotional Graphic Design usually has a template which is used every month, which helps to give the branding an overall consistency and professionalism. The information, gifs, logo and additional imagery is changed for each month/beauty box collection to be appropriate to the product/products that are being sold.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first day and am looking forward to learning and creating more throughout the next couple of months. I also found working in a Studio with a team to be fun like I expected, as I've always imaged myself in a big studio team. However, this was only my first day so things could change but I'm really looking forward to learning and designing more work for Cohorted. My placement days were also changed to Tuesdays and Wednesdays as there is more staff to assist me on these days.

Don Norman: 3 Ways Good Design Makes You Happy

Today I watched the talk '3 Ways Good Design Makes You Happy' by Don Norman. The talk was interesting in being able to understand how our behaviour and emotions have an impact on what we design and what we see as 'good' design, I think considering your emotions and other peoples emotions is extremely important as a designer in order to create successful design.

Whilst watching the talk, I made notes on points which  I found important and useful towards me as a designer:

Emotional:

If you type into google ‘Emotion and design’ google has taken the logo and spread it out so it fits the 10 pages instead of saying ‘you got 73,000 results’ they made it more fun instead by giving you as many O’s as there are pages. This is how clever design catches the audiences eye.

Pleasant things work better.

A psychologist did an experiment where she brought students in to solve problems with objects. None of the students could solve the problem, she then brought in a different group where she offered them a box of sweets first which initially put them in a happier mood which somehow meant that they were able to solve the problem. ‘When you’re happy you squirt dopamine...which makes you better at solving problems, you do out of the box thinking’ which relates to what brainstorming is about, your mind is free with no criticism which is how you get all your neat ideas.

However, with these ideas and to get work done you have to set yourself deadlines and be anxious. Happiness=creativity

Behavioural:

Most of what we do is subconscious, relating to behavioural design. It’s all about feeling in control which includes usability and understanding.

Reflective:

The little part of the brain which has no control over anything, it’s that little voice in your head that is a state of consciousness. For example you'll buy an expensive branded watch so that you can impress people instead of an older digital watch which probably keeps better time than the expensive watch, but it’s ugly. ‘You pick the fear of falling against the reflective state which says it’s okay and it’s safe’ it’s picking one against the other.