Module Evaluation

Going through all the work for this module for the submission has highlighted how much I could of pushed most of these briefs. I've realised I have a great tendency to think of one idea and go with it, without experimenting. I know this because in my head I thought I had too much work. 10 briefs is a lot of work to be faced with. However, now looking back I could of done a  lot. It's frustrating because I feel I may have let myself down a lot. I tend to think about how much time I don't have rather than just doing it. I think it's been good to go through all the briefs like this, so I can see what I think of my own work. I have seen how I work and hope that in the future I can get a job where the creativity and ideas don't stop. I really don't want to go into a corporate business, my placement taught me that if I did that, I could completely forget the idea of, initial idea, development and a good final piece. 

Goat Collective Evaluation

This brief was a fun quick one for me. Being able to make anything you wanted, with any message that's appropriate to the brief was refreshing. That's why I desinged something that was easy and enjoyable for me. The brief didn't take me long and I think it could of gone a lot further. I really need to work on my presentation for submitting designs for briefs like this. I didn't put it in sitchu or anything which would of helped Goat understand what the design is about. I should have pushed this more but it was a fun, quick brief.

TopDogs Evaluation

This brief was an idea my friend Rena and I had over a year ago. So I thought I'd use it in this module and create something for it. I really enjoyed this brief because I like giving identities to brands and with this one I was totally in control. It was incredibly useful showing my work to Ian from my placement at Everything.Different. This is because he reminded me all about designing for the general public. I think I've been stuck in a design vacuum and forgotten sometimes designs can't be subtle. I relearned the importance of type hierarchy and making sure the necessary information is on the appropriate things. I feel like I pushed this brief as far as I could for the time being and I'm happy with all the outcomes.

Charlotte Connerty Logo Evaluation

This was the second branding brief I worked on for a student. It was a bit difficult to work on because Charlotte wasn't explaining her idea very well and I was a bit confused for a while. I also don't really like the logo she went with very much. The idea with the circle being empty and the text being on the outside so she could write a message or personalise it in a way when handing her business card over wasn't picked up but I think it was a better design. It gave her a business card that would be memorable or at least someone might of thought 'that's different'. It was a good learning curve to work with a client, give them a lot of options and get have a happy client. She came back to me for a poster which I really enjoyed doing, because that was when I was at placement relearning the importance of type hierarchy. I feel like the poster benefitted because of this.

Create a letter Evaluation

I think with this brief I really could of pushed it further. I didn't really experiment with a lot of styles, colour or even different letters. I could of made some good posters from the design, created a series of letters or even try to properly submit it to the website. I didn't submit it because I wasn't sure how to and wasn't confident it was good enough. I think the reason I didn't push this brief any further than I did was because I've lost interest in typography. I don't really enjoy drawing letters much anymore. I really enjoy looking at hand written typography and calligraphy but I don't enjoy trying to do it myself. I lost interest in the brief overall and was more interested in other briefs.

TopDogs Finals

Social media and having an online presence is really important to TopDogs. This is because the van isn't at a fixed location. It will be in one location, in Newcastle, every Saturday to ensure we're known and we've made a good impression. 

I've mocked up the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. One of the posters says how to hashtag TopDogs and post a picture, which ensures publicity and customers.

We want to move around a lot and by using the hashtag, the social media pages we can advertise where we are easily.

I designed the website to be a continuous scroll and responsive. This allows for someone to use it anywhere and on anything. The online resources probably will be used by people on their phones, so it is vital it works on all screens. 

The website has an intro about TopDogs, who we are what we do etc. 

The menu is on their for anyone wanting to look at it before hand or use it for online delivery. 

There's a blog that will keep people up to date on the business, new creations and locations etc. It will link up to Social Media to enhance the company's coverage.

The colour coding which is on the posters and flyers won't be on the website. This is because the continuous scroll and we want to keep it looking clean, fresh and easy to read.

TopDogs Typefaces

Headings font

Subheadings font 

Body copy font 

TopDog New Van

I really like the use of illustration and visualising the van. It's one of the main features of the brand so it was really important to have that somewhere. The first van I drew was very flat and not interesting so I found a more interesting van to draw. I have used this on the posters and flyers in order to give a visual reference to the words.

A branded van to demonstrate how it could look

TopDogs New Menu

After changing the colour of the brand, redesigning the menu wasn't too difficult. I swapped out the colour and added prices. I then changed the type to brown so it would work with the brand identity and work better with the watermark logo. On the front of the meny is na image of one of the hotdogs, so the customer can visualise the menu. I've used the darker brown on the front because it suited the image more and matched the £4 offer on the back. At this point the menu is A4, with all the information on one side and the logo on the back. 

I thought about how this menu is being distributed. I want to be able to hand out menus around town like flyers, so using a tri fold format. This works a lot better because when it is folded up, it is hand sized making it easier to receive. 

The tri fold also allows to separate the information. On the inside is all the food we offer, all the different types of hotdogs, extra and sides. On the outside is a cover photo, a special deal, and drinks. The watermark makes a lot more sense now because the logo is on the front and subtly on the back.

TopDogs Photos

I wanted to use my own photos in the posters and flyers so all the work was original. It also meant i was able to actually make the pizza topped hotdogs and they were amazing. I printed the pattern off onto tracing paper and took photos outside my house. The photos needed to be outside because TopDogs serves you from a van, it's street food. I made 4 different types so the posters would showcase the range we have.

TopDogs Greaseproof Wrap Pattern

I redesigned the wrap that will go round the hot dogs to match the new identity. I used the illustration from the logo, because this would create a nice repeat pattern. 

Final

I chose to go with this pattern because the logo is evenly distributed and looks good. Using colour on an item that will be covered in grease and thrown in the bin is too expensive. Making it black makes it a lot cheaper to print and use.