Witness the Future Final Outcome

Poster - This poster achieves a bold eye catching design through the contrast of a bright pink on a black background, bold typography which has a clear hierarchy (WTF appears largest and in white so its instantly noticeable and grabs peoples attention) and large geometric outlined shapes which add to the intricacy and theme of the design while still giving the composition that element of white space at the top. A Sci - Fi design theme is achieved through the use of a stylised typeface (Kallisto), a pink/purple on black colour scheme referencing Penguin Book’s sci-fi collection and geometric shapes reminiscent of monitor graphics in retro sci-fi movies which along with the pink/purple hue, also reinforce LAU as a brand. 

Flyers - The design for the flyers uses the same sci-fi style, structured grid and pink colour. On the first side, ‘WTF’ stands out big and bold in pink to grab attention, with ‘witness the future’ underneath to clarify the acronym. On the back the information and copy fits into a grid, with a small logo shape fit into a square of the grid to add that sci-fi complexity and to keep the continuity between the other touchpoint which use the shape. 

Signs - The signs abide by the same aesthetic, again using the ‘WTF’ as an attention grabbing tool. It was important to consider which panels are positioned where on the sign, for the main ‘WTF’ panel to have the most effect, it should be faced outward away from the college to maximise the amount if people that see it. The shapes overlap each other and edge onto the two panels with information on to create a fluid pattern that wraps around the whole display.

Witness the Future - Development

With a more developed idea picked for the poster, one of the first big developments was changing the pattern/imagery; instead of the wavy pattern, the irregular hexagonal shape of the LAU logo was used as an outline and random patterns of it were created. This felt more sci-fi, being reminiscent of retro graphics on monitors in movies such as Blade Runner or 2001: A Space Odyssey and the outlined shapes had more visual consistency with the grid on the poster. It also reinforces LAU as a brand more. 

From here, designs were created for the other two deliverables of the project; the a6 flyer and the 4 panels of the sign outside The design did not deviate too far from that of the poster, so that the visual identity had continuity. The a6 flyer was done in landscape specifically so that on the side with the ‘WTF’ on, it could be bigger, more noticeable and ultimately more impactful, designs were experimented with, with the hexagon pattern on this side but ultimately the larger impactful ‘WTF’ worked best. The other side replicates a similar grid to the poster and has the info on it as well as the Witness the Future block of copy used in previous designs. A few ideas were made for the 4 panels of the signage, but ultimately it was kept simple with the show name on the outward facing panel so that people see it the most when walking by, patterns on either side of that, and the block of copy on the other side. 

After meeting with the creative ad collaborators, they came up with a few little changes which were the final developments to the designs. The purple hue used was changed to more of a pink hue so that the designs were a bit more readable and contrasted the black background, pink is also the primary colour of the LAU logo and visual identity so that reinforced the brand more. The hexagons on the poster were shifted around and played with a bit more just to find a harmonious layout for them and this overlapping shape motif was reflected more in the 4 panel sign with he borders removed from panel and more shapes added so they overlap onto other panels, creating a more fluid and integrated piece of static advertising.

Witness the Future - Initial Ideas

These initial poster designs demonstrate the experimentation process that was undertaken in coming up with poster designs. Fig 1 and 2 show the initial process of mocking up the pattern with ‘WTF’ in a bold sans serif typeface, with the other information underneath. Blue and purple gradients and layers were experimented with for the pattern, however after trying this out, it was clear just once colour would look better, purple was chosen as the colour because it reminiscent of the style, and purple is the colour that penguin books used to categorise there sci fi series so it fit quite nicely. Another factor that was decided after these designs were made was that the main type needed to be a little more exciting, perhaps with a retro and/or sci fi aesthetic. Also the body type needed to be a bit more simple and readable. 

Fig. 3 shows the introduction of ‘Kalisto Lined’ being used as a main typeface, this turned out really well as its reminiscent of sci fi but not too stylised and also the lined quality gives it a bit of texture making sure it doesn’t stand out too much and seem out of place. A blue gradient was added to the black background to give it a more environmental sky like quality, this was interesting to try and didn’t look too bad but ultimately it wasn’t used because the poster looked better simply focusing on the pattern and form and not putting it in an environmental context. 

Fig.4 is where a grid/box was used to close in the pattern, allowing the type to go underneath, this definitely worked as a visual system and gave the poster a bit more structure. In fig. 5, a different pattern was tested out with higher frequency waves; its interaction with the type produced cool results, suggesting that it was winding around the letterforms, giving it a 3D quality, however they pattern was a bit too dense and took attention away from other elements of the poster. 

Fig. 6 shows experimentation with imagery, while the metallic arm is quite contemporary and fits well with the theme, compositionally it didn’t fit with simple pattern and type of the poster and stuck out a bit. Lastly in fig. 7, the purple was substituted for a bright green which also has a bit of a sci-fi feel, reminiscent of the matrix. Ultimately it was decided that the purple worked better as it didn’t contrast the black as much and was better rationalised in the concept. One thing that did work on this poster however was the bottom box, encircling the type and giving the poster more structure and order. 

Witness the Future - Sci-Fi Idea

After generating some concepts and visual links to this idea, I started generating some imagery. I really liked the idea of giving the visual identity a bit of a sci-fi aesthetic, linking with this idea of witnessing the future. I did some visual research into Penguin Book covers, specifically some of the retro sci-fi ones which have a very distinct style. Some of them had a lot of imagery and illustration, but I found a few which had more figurative abstract shapes which were really nice, still imparting this sci-fi style, but not using any specific imagery. After looking at the postage stamp and its wave pattern, and this idea of ‘witness the future’ being a direct message to the industry, I decided to use that wave pattern and generate some imagery, by manipulating some lines in the photocopier. In my head I had a distinct image of ‘WTF’ in. The bottom right corner, with waves emanating outwards from it, drawing the eye to it and giving it this idea of communication with the waves almost giving the idea of phone signal/cellular communication waves.  

Idea Change

Believe it or not, due to feedback from the creative ad tutor, the idea has changed again. This time it’s reverted back to ‘Witness the Future’. Having already come up with some ideas for this, it’s not too bad, but this module has certainly taught me a lot about the collaboration process, especially with advertisers.

The idea was on the right tracks with the last set of initial ideas but it needed more to conceptually link with the design:

• The phrase witness the future is directly talking to the creative industry, how can this be conveyed, is the copy separated in the poster? or does look different? 
• Postage stamp - like a message being sent.
• Type saying ‘witness the future’ is very intricate or unusual, demonstrating how that type is meant specifically for the industry.

• The phrase witness the future is saying the lau students work is the future because it’s so good, how can the poster convey this idea of the future?
• Futuristic type?
• Retro sci fi aesthetic 
• Dystopian 

Home Is Where the Art is Designs

Research - Design Projects and Architecture

Pavillion Studios - U-P

Melbourne based design studio U-P push the boundaries about applying design and take on a wide range of projects, from publications to environment design and instillations. They recently took on a project to create the visual identity for Pavilion Studios who act as a home for “local artists, designers and other great thinkers in Canberra. They decided to focus on environment, specifically Studio Pavillion’s building and created an integrated campaign, illustrating and emphasising the buildings architectural quirks. 

44 Low-Resolution Houses - Studio Lin

New York based design studio; Studio Lin recently put on an exhibition called 44 LowResolution Houses which investigates the architectural and social nature of housing by displaying 44 scale models of houses next to 44 scale models of architecture offices. The show explores the cultural phenomenon around the idea of a house, both as an existentially significant symbol and an increasingly desirable design object and how the house forms an element of someones identity. The simple monochrome promotional material and publication show architectural sketches, simple floor plans and photos of the models. 

I like the idea of looking at the concept of a home in a more architectural sense and the way that Studio Lin represents it as a part of someones identity, because for all students, what uni they go to is a big part of their identity. I want to move away from traditional sense of looking at a house because it’s just clichéd and won’t look good just putting a picture of a house on posters. Below you can see images of what my creative ad collaborators sent me, this is exactly what I’m not going to do. Focusing on architecture and identity, I am going to generate some ideas on how I can create a bold visual identity. 

Home is Where the Art is

Yet again the idea for the creative ad collaboration has been changed. ‘Home is where the art is’ is now the line of copy, it suggests that LAU is the home of art and refers back to it being the only specialist arts uni in the north of England. Obviously being a bold graphic design campaign is still part of the brief, so the research and ideas to that degree can still be applied, but now it’s about applying ideas of it being a home. 

My creative ad collaborators had the idea to have framed pictures on the poster, maybe on a mantel piece, which could have students work in or maybe type/copy for the ad. While this idea doesn’t really scream bold contemporary design, it could be tried out with a fresher more modern twist. When thinking about the idea of a house, and trying to make the idea look good, I’m tempted to look more fundamentally at shape and form, using geometric shapes to suggest the building blocks of a house. I could use architecture as contextual research and a way to generate ideas. I also think a very structured grid system would support this idea.  

Witness the Future - Copy Variants

After completing the initial designs, there was then some discussion about the final copy and whether it needed to be changed, again. Despite this, the initial designs don’t need to be completely changed, just the copy. The question over the copy was that it was too long, also one of the creative ad collaborators was keen to do a visual device where ‘WTF’ is displayed which is an acronym for ‘witness the future’. The options at this point are:

• Shorten the copy
• Split the copy in two, and do two different posters as variants
• Do the ‘WTF’ acronym
• Just put ‘Witness the Future’

I did some designs with some of these changes to the copy to show my creative ad collaborators. At this point its not really ideal to be having to keep changing the copy so close to when it needs to be finished, but I will keep developing the poster designs because the theme and idea will still be the same.