Evaluation

The outcome to my ‘Sustainable Nature’ project consists of a book aimed at children of the age of 6, it contains texture, activities and fun illustrations to engage and educate my audience. My aim for the book design is to educate children about the importance of bees and how they can help protect and save the winged insect. I also created postcards and bookmarks to accompany the book design as I felt my target audience would enjoy these collectables and it would remind them about the importance whilst sharing their knowledge with others. I feel my outcomes relate to my project title as bees do so much for humans and we go about our everyday lives without even realising; they pollinate 70 of the crops we eat, a third of our food chain would not be available without bees and they contribute £400million to the economy. However, bees are slowly disappearing from our environment;farming practises continue to disturb the naturals habitats. The bees are also under attack from varroa and it is only the treatment and care provided by bee keepers that is keeping colonies alive.

My final outcome is different to what I predicted at the begin as I started the project looking at sustainable nature as a whole, but I soon discovered this subject was so large and wide it would be physically impossible to narrow it down into one final design. This is where my design focus turned to bees as I did not realise how important they were to the human species, this also made me question how many others do not realise about the importance of bees. I decided to choose a young target audience as I felt this would reinforce the ‘sustainable’ aspect of my project aim - If you teach young children about the importance of bees and how they can help they will grow up with the knowledge and will make a difference, they will then be able to pass their knowledge onto their children and so the cycle continues. 

Throughout my project I have been able to record my ideas, successful outcomes, design references and anything else which I felt was relevant and helpful to my project in sketchbooks; I found this extremely helpful as I was continuously able to refer back to it throughout my project as it progressed.  My online blog has also been helpful to my development and the success of my final outcome as I was able to record my thoughts and be reflective on the development and work I was creating; I feel this really helped me push my idea’s and designs as I could identify if I was going off track or my outcomes were unsuccessful.

The weekly group reviews played a major role in pushing my ideas and pace at which I worked at forward; the range of opinions in my group was helpful in sparking new idea’s and inspiration for my final outcome. This was also reinforced with the mid-point review as it highlighted my weaker errors and ones which I needed to stop neglecting and focus on, for example I did not focus on the ‘Draw It’ page as much as I did the ‘What are bees’ page.

I feel my FMP plan helped to organise my time efficiently between important factors including research, experimenting, developing and reflecting. Although my subject focus slightly changed the plan still gave me a rough guide with timing; I feel I could have improved this by creating a new plan.

The range of experiments and explorations in my work contributed to my final outcomes as it highlighted successful techniques and materials I could use in the outcome. I feel my development process was continuously strong throughout my project as I pushed an idea until I was completely satisfied with my outcome; I feel this was a helpful process when deciding on typography, composition, materials and images as I was able to explore all the ideas I had to identify the most successful and audience appropriate. I feel my most successful development was the development of my stitched bee illustration and crop page, the experiments pushed all possibilities for these pages and the final outcomes exceeded my expectations as they were visually interesting whilst being fun and engaging for my target audience.

I received a range of feedback through one-on-one tutorials and group discussions, the main point which was continuously repeated throughout each stage consisted of creating an impact on my target audience by shocking them with the reality that if bees die we would die as well. However, I did not feel comfortable with this idea as I felt my target audience were to young and they may find it frightening and overwhelming. But I eventually came to terms with creating an impact and decided on the simple sentence ‘If Bees Die, We Die’ - I positioned this in the centre of the last page with small typography. I did not use any images asI felt the space increased your focus on the typography which would help you absorb the sentence; I chose to use this on the last page as I felt it would stick in the audiences mind and encourage them to make a chafe and help save the bees.

The mid-point review also contributed to my progress as it highlighted successful aspects of my project so far and also weaker ones which needed improving. The feedback I received focused on 4 main topics : Research, Experiments, Problem Solving and Contextual referencing. I received very positive feedback which helped with my confidence towards my project whilst encouraging me to push myself and ideas further. The main suggestion I received was again creating an impact and shocking my audience.

Overall this project highlighted my stronger and weaker aspects of my idea’s, processes and development skills. I have learnt that I need to be more time efficient as I get carried away with one aspect of my design, for example I put a lot of energy into the double bee page and realised I had less time to focus on other pages such as the ‘Draw It’ page. I would improve this in future projects by balancing all aspects  and ensuring I am giving an equal amount of time and energy into each piece. I would also improve my reflective analysis skills as I feel I did not stay on top of my blog and discovered when I sat down to reflect on what I had done I had actually forgotten as I did the process a week ago; to improve this I would ensure I reflected as I went along to ensure the critic I was giving was accurate and helpful towards me progressing and improving.

I feel the main skill I developed throughout this project is to always try new idea’s and processes no matter how weird and bizarre you may think they are because it is always the unexpected outcomes which become the most successful - I experienced this when printing on acetate and discovering the ink would not dry on the silky surface but would create beautiful textured prints which became a huge factor in my final outcomes.

Next year I am moving onto to a BA Hons Degree in graphic design; I chose Nottingham Trent as my place to study as I was overwhelmed with their facilities, especially their old printing techniques like screen printing and typography printing. I feel this final project has reinforced this choice as it has highlighted I enjoy the handmade process in my work and like creating unique prints with unusual techniques. Overall I feel this project has pushed my motivation and passion about graphic design and I am determined to continue developing my own skills and style within this subject until I make my own way in this competitive industry. 

Postcard Designs

Authors own image

As I have completed my final book design a week ahead of schedule I am considering creating a series of postcards to accompany the book. I aim to continue them in a similar style to the book and could consider having them as collectables for the children. My initial idea consists of using the children's illustrations as the main image - This will allow the children to feel involved and encourage my target audience to create their own illustrations. My initial idea for the back of the postcards involves having a stitched edge and felt all over - However this may be unsuccessful as it would defeat the intension of it being a postcard. To solve this idea I could consider using a traditional postcard design on the back; to make it unique I could do this with the acetate printing technique. I feel by using this printing technique it will make each postcard slightly different and unique which will contribute to the designs being more personal to each person.
I could also use other sentences alongside the ‘Bee Aware’ on to add variety to my design. My idea consists of having a series of postcards 1. Bee illustrations 2. Crops 3. If bees die, We die. I aim for my visuals to be simple to ensure they relate to my book design. I aim to stick to the pastel colour scheme to ensure there is a visual connection between the postcards and book design; I also want to use the same typography as I feel the handwritten style feels welcoming and not overpowering for my target audience of young children.  Although I intend for the postcard designs to be simple with minimum images on each one I feel it would be exciting if I introduced limited edition designs containing chaotic visuals. For example one design could consist of all the children's illustrations I collected in comparison to other postcards only containing one of the illustrations. 

I also explored texture on the postcards design and feel it adds a unique style to my work whilst also linking the visuals to my book outcome.

I wanted to look at existing illustrated postcards to understand what makes them unique and stand out. I discovered a wide variety and feel the way in which my typography is printed and the use of material on my postcards will make them stand out from existing ones. I also feel the range in colours that my postcards are available also contributes to them being different and unique.

I really enjoy my final crop postcard designs and feel they are successful because the visuals are interesting and stand out whilst advertising the message an creating awareness. I also really enjoy the unique print of typography as it contributes to the texture and is interesting as each print is slightly different.

No Typography?

Here are my final ‘limited edition’ postcard designs, I really enjoy the simple composition of the crops cutting through the empty space. I feel the visual is strong and did not need typography as this conflicted with the illustrations and made the surrounding space feel unbalanced.

I also feel the acetate printed backs of the postcards are successful and although some smudge and appear rough and messy I feel this contributes to the hand made style and

Authors own image

makes my work more personal for my audience.

Final Bee Postcard Designs

I really enjoy my final bee postcard outcomes as I was able to use each child’s bee illustration as the main image; I feel the range in illustrations and the children's style of drawing makes my design unique and eye-catching - I feel as each one is different my audience will feel a personal touch from the child and myself.

I feel the postcard design consisting of the sentence ‘If Bees Die, We Die’ sentence creates an impact because although simple and based around typography the

Authors own image

message is clear and true which will hopefully make my audience take the subject of bees serious and consider why creating awareness of them is so vital to our future.  

Final Outcome

Authors own image

My final outcome is  successful because it has met my  expectation, I really enjoy  the simple front cover because although only one image has been used the printing  technique with the acetate contributes to the texture and interesting visual. Alongside the textured image and typography the bright yellow background is really eye-catching and would draw my target audience in, the colour also helps the simple silhouette stand out. I decided to add green material along the spine, the main reason for this was to reinforce the card and binding technique I have used. However, I also feel it is visually pleasing and the colour harmonises with the yellow whilst the pattern contributes to the texture. When printing my pages I found it extremely difficult to line the front and back up perfectly, to overcome this problem I had to print each page several times until I was able to understand where to position the paper - although this process was time consuming I feel the outcome is successful and made the time worth it. I really enjoy the double bee page as the textured wings stand out and really pull you into the page, I also feel the composition on this page works well as each part of information leads you onto another which ensures you absorb all aspects of the page. 

Authors own image

I also really enjoy the crop page as the textured parts harmonise with the illustrations to work as one, I was unable to stitch along the centre of the leaves to add more detail as I had previously explored and planned because the small scale made it impossible. To overcome this I hand stitched some leaves and feel they worked out well but not as visually pleasing or accurate as the sewing machine. I feel the background colour works really well as it helps each aspect on the page stand out and the crops to become the main focus. 

Authors own image

The following two pages I feel are my least successful, they consist of a simple illustrated border surrounding the information and although it is visually pleasing I do not feel it creates the same excitement and engagement as the other pages. I feel I could have improved these pages by adding texture or reconsidering my colour choices. My ‘Draw It’ double page works well as it has plenty of space for my audience to create and explore their own illustrated ideas; I feel the two small illustrations in the corners of each page work well as the audience are able to colour them in. The two following activity pages are successful as they immediately engage the audience by asking them to get involved, the scale and composition of each activity page is clear and easy for my target audience to understand. I also feel the background colours work well as the pastel tones are friendly and feel welcoming to the audience. The final following page intends to shock my audience with the sentence ‘If Bees Die, We Die’ as my target audience is young I did not want this page to be to overwhelming therefore used the typography that has been present throughout the entire book. I also ensured the typography was of small scale and the background continued the pastel colour scheme; I feel this page is successful and creates an impact in a simple way - I also feel as it is the final page it will stick in my audience’s minds and will encourage them to take action in saving the bees.

I have lined the front and back cover with yellow felt as it continues the textured theme and will engage the children's senses as they hold the book. Overall I feel my outcome is successful and has met my intension, I feel I could improve it by exploring more child proof materials as I feel my chosen card could easily be damaged by water and children’s heavy hands. However, as a prototype of my design I feel it works well to express my ideas and the awareness I want to create.

Draw It

Authors own image

I had previously planned to have one single page as the drawing page where my audience would be able to draw their own idea’s of bees or illustrations of what they have learnt from the book. However, as the acetate window transfer was unsuccessful I have decided to extend the drawing page across two pages, this will give my audience more freedom to explore their own idea’s without restricting them in a small space. I have also included two illustrations of my own which will inspire the children to get started, it will also allow them to colour them in. I feel the composition and scale of these illustrations are successful because they do not distract from the main aim of encouraging children to draw and be creative. I plan to leave the background of these pages white to ensure the children can have as much fun with their own colours as possible. 

Dot to Dot

Image source : Google images

Image source: Google images

I felt I needed to research existing dot to dot designs to ensure mine would contain all the elements needed and be appropriate for my target audience. I feel the examples without no lines would be difficult for my target audience as the visual is quite chaotic and confusing. I really enjoy the examples which hint towards the image and feel this would draw in my audience and their attention. 

Final Dot To Dot Design

Authors own image

Here is my final dot to dot design I used Illustrator to simply create circular forms - I chose to use larger scale dots as my audience is younger and need to understand the activity. I have also given a short description beneath the title to ensure my audience will understand and engage with the page. I chose the form of a bee hive as my image as I felt it would involve another important aspect of a bee -their habitat. I also used lines which was inspired by the research I previously did, I feel this hints at the image and will encourage my target audience to get involved with the activity. I also enjoy the background colour as this helps the black dots stand out and become eye caching. 

The Word Search

Authors own image

To ensure my book engages my target audience I am going to create activity pages to make them feel involved and encourage them to learn more. Here I have created a word search plan; the letters need to be bold and stand out. 

Authors own image

Before creating the word search I researched into the layout and typography of existing designs. I learnt the colour of the grid and font is usually black as it is easier to read and identify each letter. I also discovered some designs have grids and some do not.
I started my word search on Illustrator and created a grid using the line tool to ensure my letters would be straight I and balanced. I decided to use the typography I have used on every page to ensure I keep consistency. However, I am considering removing the grid for my final design to make it appear more welcoming for my target audience. 

Authors own image

Final Word Search
Here is my final word search design, I did not need to explore the colour of my typography or background as I have learnt what is appropriate and works well with my existing pages. The word search is appropriate for my target audience because the letters are big and bold and easy to read - they also stand out well on the pastel background. My next intention will consist of designing as dot to dot page and then creating a mock up of my final book. 

Exploring Silhouettes for Acetate

Authors own image

Here I have started exploring silhouette’s for acetate window transfer, to create these I simply used existing images and used Photoshop to them into silhouettes. I feel I could have used my own previous photograph’s of bees, although it would have been difficult making them as accurate as these outcomes. - I could consider having different silhouettes in each book. 

Unexpected Print Technique

Authors own image

When using a inkjet printer to transfer my silhouettes onto acetate I did not consider the not being able to dry on the glossy surface. When the print did not dry I placed paper on top where I discovered the paper soaks up the inkjet to create an interesting and textured print. I really enjoy this technique and will be exploring it further, I may consider using a laser printer to understand if it will print on acetate. If not I will try to understand how I can use these unique prints.
 

Authors own image

Here I have continued to explore the acetate printing technique on a range of papers- I really enjoy the outcomes and feel they would be successful on my front cover. I feel the use of yellow helps the black stand out and would be eye-catching on my front cover. As I would have to print each front cover by hand it would make each one unique and individual.

Considering New Front Cover 

Authors own image

I have started to consider using the acetate printing technique for my front cover. I really enjoy the texture created and the aspect of each front cover being unique. I feel this works better than the cut out as it stands out and is recognisable as a bee. I also feel the cut out wings are fragile and would get damaged by my target audience.