Evaluation

My professional project strives to show a more meaningful and fun way to learn the alphabet. I would need to create a design that would not only make learning the alphabet fun for the children, but also appeal to the parents in order for them to want to buy the product. Originally my idea was based around using a list of exotic fruit and vegetables to represent each letter. This came about to target the yummy mummies out there who would want to buy this more unusual card set to teach their children the different foods of the world. It was soon apparent that it was difficult to find a list, which would both be exotic enough to be unique but not so exotic so it was too far-fetched for even the parents to understand.

After much contemplation I decided to take a different route. Nowadays teachers use a system called Jolly Phonics to teach primary school children. This is a thorough foundation for reading and writing; it teaches the letter sounds in an enjoyable, multisensory way and enables children to use them to read and write words. After researching this system, I found that the imagery used in the teaching materials was very dull and in my opinion wouldn’t appeal to children. This was mainly because of the lack of colour used and the style of the illustrations.

So from this I decided to redesign the look of the learning cards for home use, by altering the imagery and layout of the learning material. I figured if there was an existing system out there that already worked well, why digress from that? By redesigning the Jolly Phonics system, not only would I be able to teach children the alphabet in the most successful way known, but also I will be doing it to make it more enjoyable and interesting for them.

I went with a style, which was simple yet, bold, slightly abstract but still recognisable. I made sure that the layout would compliment everything on the page and ensured that the hierarchy was obvious to bring out the most important features. Text was included to anchor the meaning of the images and quite a lot of negative space was left so to make the cards were pleasing to the eye and not too intimidating.

On the back of the cards there is a page, which allows the child to practice writing the letters. First with faint outlines of the letters so tracing can be done then they are left to practice on their own. Jolly Phonics is taught in groups of letters depending on which letters are similar to each other. I assigned a colour to each of these groups so to make teaching and learning easier. Children relate to colour and their memory can be improved when they can put a colour to an object, or in this case, a letter.

In order to make the cards child proof, I laminated them to ensure that if they got dirty, they would be easy to clean. The plastic cover also allows for the child to use white board markers when practicing their writing and then rub it off for next time- thus the cards are reusable and long-lasting. For the packaging, I decided to go for something simple. A design that would be consistent with the colour system of the cards inside the box, but in a way that was attractive and not overpowered with information.

Overall I am very happy with my final product. It is a massive improvement from my previous ideas and shows great promise in potentially being something you would find in a store. I think my idea of using a colour system works well to bring all the learning materials together. Although, I think my greatest achievement in this project is the illustrations I created. These icons have a good balance of being informative as well as a consistent welcoming look to it; and I think children would enjoy learning the alphabet because of them. If I had more time I would design a leaflet to go with the cards and include suggestions for games that could be played while using the cards; maybe have encouraging words and advice for the parents when trying to teach their children. All in all I have enjoyed this project greatly.

Final Learning Cards

So after much development of my icons on Illustrator and fiddling around with the layout on InDesign I have finally found a graphic system that would work well with the Jolly Phonics system. This took an absolute age to make myself, printing it out, cutting them down to size, sticking them back to back, laminating them then cutting them to shape again and then curving the corners to make them child-friendly. Examples:

Because it took a long time to make the actual cards I didn't have much time to make my packaging so I felt like this was a tiny bit rushed. (Kite and CE mark) but still I think I managed to design a net that complimented the card set with the time I had.

Jolly Phonics

Nowadays teachers use a system called Jolly Phonics to teach primary school children. This is a thorough foundation for reading and writing; it teaches the letter sounds in an enjoyable, multisensory way and enables children to use them to read and write words. The only problem is, the learning materials are quite academic and boring.

So, I've decided to redesign the Jolly Phonics system. Nowadays teachers use this system called Jolly Phonics to teach primary school children. This is a thorough foundation for reading and writing; it teaches the letter sounds in an enjoyable, multisensory way and enables children to use them to read and write words. The only problem is, the learning materials are quite academic and boring.

Exotic Fruit/Veg Idea

Exotic Fruit and Veg Presentation

So, after my crit today I now don't think this idea would work. I'm finding it too hard to come up with a list of fruit and veg that would be suitable enough, it's either too exotic or too normal. Didn't know what to do so I emailed my tutor with a new idea after wracking my brains to find a new route to creating my learning cards:

First Crit

So after deciding my typeface I moved onto the concept of how I would represent the abcs in the alphabet. The first thing that came to mind was using the animals, although this is quite a cliché, it is the easiest category to find an animal for each letter and one that everyone knows of.

Although in order to make my learning cards stand out compared to the rest of them already available I need to think of a good selling point. I began thinking of the technique of creating the imagery to make it unique. So I just randomly chose the word 'apple' and started drawing it in different ways to see if anything amazing would pop up.

PDF of presentation

From this I think I've decided I want to use found material to create my imagery because it is unique and would be something the children are familiar with and can relate to. Instead of just doing fruit, I think using exotic fruit and veg to represent the letters would be a good way to go because it targets yummy mummies as they would want to educate their children to eat a diverse range of fruit and veg and generally be healthy.

Sassoon as a typeface

So, after many trials of different typefaces that might work for my learning cards I finally decided to use Sassoon, a typeface researched to be well taken by children:

Why Sassoon?

Character Design Inspirations

Some really really nice vector illustrations that could work well with my idea. So simple but effective and gets the point through:

Genevieve Gauckler Website - inspiring work and good website

Random Tutorial

So, I had two random tutorials in the studio today. Probably just as well because I was a little stuck with where to go next with my project. It seemed like I had a ton of research done and I was getting a little bogged down with this part of the project and not actively going out and experimenting with my ideas.

Some things I was told to look at:

1) Maybe look at how the alphabet is taught in different countries.

2) Talk to classmates and 1st years because some of them have children or younger brothers and sisters.

3) Create a questionnaire asking people of their opinions of what works best when teaching children the alphabet for the first time.

4) Start thinking about stock, email printers and get quotes possibly?

The second tutorial which followed not long after took me by surprise a little because I was not expecting to have to explain where I was with my project twice but oh well, it still gave me some useful insights on how to develop my idea.

Feedback:

1) Research MONTESSORI which is a method of teaching (sand paper alphabet)

2) Go to bookshops to research the stock and format of children's books to get a feel for what works well. Also to see how they shelve the books.

3) Design a questionnaire for nursery- make it more exciting to fill in, target the audience.

4) Clarify your target audience, needs to be more simple if for young toddlers.

Leo Lionni

So some backstory before delving into Lionni's work. From 1931 to 1939 he was a well known and respected painter in Italy, where he worked in the Futurism and Avant-Garde styles. He then moved to the world of advertising design, became an art director and finally settled down in the 1960s to devote himself to becoming a children's book author and illustrator. He produced over 40 children's books. He experimented using a variety of mediums: paintings, sculptures, collages, drawings, mosaics, designs, posters and advertisements.

He became widely recognized as one of the most distinguished and innovative designers and artists of the twentieth century. His life, most especially his early, formative years, bears testimony to how his everyday experiences, his family, and his surroundings influenced him as an artist and creative thinker.

A very sweet story as to how Lionni discovered his love of creating children's books:

"In 1959, at the top of his career, he decided he would retire on his fiftieth birthday, move to Italy, and follow his own creative spirit.

I reached the conviction that all human acts have social and political consequences....You must feel responsible for every line you draw, for every decision you make.

Then, shortly after he made his momentous decision...

a little miracle happened.

He was taking his two young grandchildren, Pippo and Annie, from Grand Central Station to his home in Greenwich, Connecticut. When the two youngsters began acting up, he said, "I’ll tell you a story." He pulled out of his briefcase an advance copy of Life and began tearing out pages of the magazine, and from them, small round pieces of various colors.

I put my briefcase on my knees to make a table and in a deep voice said, "This is Little Blue, and this is Little Yellow," as I placed the round pieces of colored paper onto the leather stage.

His grandchildren were mesmerized by the story (as were the adult passengers sitting within hearing distance). When they got home, Leo showed the children how to make the story into a book. And it was a book they could “read,” even though they were too young to actually know how to read. They were thrilled with their accomplishment. The next night Fabio Coen, a friend who was a children’s book editor, came to dinner at the Lionnis’, saw the little book, and decided, right then and there, to publish it.

But it would take more than one evening with Fabio before I could fully understand how much the simple little tale of two blobs of color would affect my soul, my mind, and my way of life."

Lionni's work has a sense of innocence to it, it uses basic shapes to map out the figure of the animals he's illustrating. Sometimes his typography is made up of found paper which links and collaborates the text with the image. His innovative use of collage, white spaces, and clean, modern design was a major influence on Eric Carle, Ezra Jack Keats, and other children's book artists.

Rob Ryan

Possibly the most romantic designer in the UK due to his wistful screen-and laser-cut prints. Rob Ryan's work is special. It is special in the sense that it is something unique, something especially beautiful, something that manages to be contemporary while carrying a strong hint of timelessness, a big gust of excitement combined with a familiar waft of nostalgia, and finally, and most importantly his work always seems to appear out of the blue, spontaneous, romantic as it always seems to address itself directly to you.

In a papercut, all the elements have to be connected, human figures have to hold hands or touch, and as result of this technique and precision the sense of connection has become a defining element in Rob Ryan's work, both as technique and as subject matter too.

Rob Ryan's technique of hand-crafted backgrounds could well be something I could use for the backgrounds of my card designs. Depending on the theme I go for I can always use it as a developing point or spring board to try out something new.

Sara Fanelli

So, after researching different alphabet designs I realised that mixed media styled designs work quite well to make learning the alphabet more interesting and engaging. I feel like when books use just realistic illustrations they become quite boring because it's too similar to real life. It doesn't leave room for your own imagination to fill in the gaps and thus the children don't get the chance to learn about creativity which is something they really enjoy.

When thinking of mixed media, Sara Fanelli's work comes to mind as a first port of call:

I think her work is very creative but sometimes it's a bit too over the top and I don't know where to look because there's too much going on within one page. I like how all her work is so surreal but it still conveys the message well. It's a much more interesting way of representing the stories.

I like the use of different patterns to create the background, it gives a feel of having different textures which is more engaging for the viewer. In addition, the typography is always very interesting, not sure whether there's too much variation within each piece but it seems to work quite well as a combination.

Article On Sara Fanelli

Interview With Primary School Teacher

This was actually very pleasant, I got a few bits and bobs from the interview and it gave me a clearer idea of what works well when teaching children the alphabet. Although I think I need to interview nursery school teachers or parents rather than primary school teachers because my learning cards are going to be for toddlers, not children that may already know the alphabet and attending primary school.

Having said that, this was still a worthwhile experience. Reminded me of some of the child-hood learning techniques I endured during my years of being a child which was interesting. The interviewee was getting all flustered about teaching children because it is such a hard thing to do, especially the age group she is teaching (reception). She was telling me how they taught the alphabet using Jolly Phonics which meant teaching combinations of letters as well as individual letters using sound and motion:

"It's a nightmare teaching phonics! How can you teach a child how to pronounce 'knee!' with the silent 'k'?! You can teach rules to a certain extent but they just have to learn."

It was amazing hearing a teacher talk passionately about her job and not just hearing the positive experiences she's had but also the honest not so glamorous side which I want to address and help out with.

Typography Research

So, recently I've been looking at type in children's toys and books and I must say, a lot of them are really boring; but with good reason. The type tends to be sans serif and quite angular so it's clear to read and write. I want to experiment with the type I use in my design but I need to find a good balance of it being good design as well as being suitable for my target audience.

Boring sans serif examples, too angular

Not so boring serif examples, friendly and child-like

Need to start experimenting with type and choose some initial typefaces that might work. More Typography designs to come!

Bad Week For Professional Project!

Oh dear, so I've had a lot of deadlines this week and haven't been able to do a lot for the professional project. Feel a bit bad for slacking slightly but I've literally had no time to develop my ideas for this project because my attention has been turned to things like Theory Poster, D&AD and PPRD.

I will get back on it next week, I have to. I definitely need a tiny break from work this weekend though and then it's back to the drawing board for me.

Next areas to look at:

- Typography

- Character Design (Illustrations)

- Stock

Poster Presentation Critique

We had to design a poster stating the research we had completed so far for the project. I thought for some reason this had to be quite wordy to be able to get my point through as to what it was I had been researching so this is what I came up with:

It became apparent that this was way too busy and didn't really show the qualities of a 'good poster'. So the day before our critique, I literally started the poster from scratch and used the old poster for reference as to what I would say during the presentation.

So, here's a poster that I did for the presentation which seemed more fitting for the theme I was going for, still include some of the research material I had gathered but more in a visual way rather than text text text:

Feedback for my presentation:

1) Need to test designs on children- more interaction with target audience.

2) Well thought out project, well-rounded. Just need to test things out.

Researching Target Audience

So begins the research of my target audience for this project. I never thought I'd be researching about children and parents; I must say it was little bit weird at first but then I realised that everything was applicable and useful if I wanted to make a product to best suit the toddlers I'll be teaching the alphabet to.

After much research over the internet about the type of children I would have to deal with I knew that I had to actually start getting in contact with teachers and interact with children. So I had an interview with a teacher about how she teaches the children the alphabet etc. When I get to the stage of designing the cards I will then go to schools and ask the children their opinion as to which design is the most appealing.

Website Research:

Children Behaviour

Mothercare Toys

Mothercare Advice

Jolly Learning

Parents Advice

Learning Agreement (Ideas)

1) Promotional items using character design:

- notebooks, t-shirts etc. (The Pop Shop, Haze).

2) Vinyl Alphabet Characters appealing to children as well as adults:

- 26 collectables characters--> playing/learning cards with characters instead of 3D vinyl toys for children- these made as key-rings collectables for adults as well.

- limited edition punctuation marks.

- educational purpose?

- for children and adults--> like lego so can attach and detach letters to each other (magnets?)

- Key-rings of letter for people's first letter of names.

3) Animal hat designs:

- personalised and can customise.

- attach and detach parts.

- sew parts yourself.

Overall I didn't feel writing the learning agreement was a difficult task, it was just the thought of it that was off-putting. I was afraid that if I wasn't broad enough I wouldn't leave enough space for myself in the future if I wanted to alter any parts of my project. I didn't want to be vague but instead have a clear idea of the direction I was going in, although I had to be careful with the content I included so I could go back any time I wanted.

I was pretty set with designing alphabet characters on learning cards for children and then turning them into collectable vinyl toys for adults. Something that would bring back childhood memories when the child was older, a class toy. Like Lego which has now become a collectables.

Although after talk to one of my tutors about the idea, they reckoned I had set myself too big of a task to complete in just 12 weeks. I had suspicions that this was the case before my tutorial and decided it was time to put behind my obsession of creating collectable toys. Maybe just use that as research material for when I'm looking at character design.

Synopsis of Study

For my professional project I will be looking to design a set of learning cards for children to help them learn the alphabet. I will be looking to brand the product, package it as well as research how it would be displayed in a shop.

Initial research will include looking at how children absorb the surroundings around them, how they best take things in and how to maintain their interest and attention when teaching them. Visiting nurseries and primary schools or simply asking the teachers and looking at phonetics alphabets may be a good starting point for this area of the project. For the design of the learning cards I will need to research into the toys and learning materials that are suitable for young children, visually as well as physically (health and safety wise). I will visit shops like Mothercare and the Early Learning Centre to get a feel for the colours and typefaces used on their products. Other toyshops like The Entertainer will be visited to see the range of toys, the cartoon characters used to motivate the children to learn and what works well for different ages. From this I will t­hen look at learning cards that are already available for children and find out which style of cards are most successful and get the most customers.

The cards will either have a specific character to help and guide the children through the learning process or each letter in the alphabet will be a cartoon character designed to fit a graphic system. In order to do this I will need to look at character design from different cultures and decide which style would appeal to my target audience. I hope to dedicate some of my time to research Japanese character design because it has been an interest of mine since I was little but I have never had the chance look into it during previous projects. In addition a lot of Japanese characters appeal to both children and adults, so this would be a perfect opportunity to research why this is.

Looking at successful vinyl toys will further my character design research, these may include Munny, King Ken and Smorkin’ Labbits etc. I will then look to find out more about packaging to aid me with packaging my learning cards. In order to do this I will need to visit a number of toyshops and take a note of the materials and style of packaging found as well as photograph their shop displays.

After having a firm idea of what my designs will look like, I will show my work to my specified target audience and receive feedback in which I will use to further my developments.

The reasons behind doing this project is because I believe it is important that parents have an understanding as to what toys are appropriate and should be introduced to their children. It is also necessary for them to have an interest in the toys themselves so they would want to buy it and spend quality time with their children. I need to research the relationship between parent and child when interacting with learning materials and find out what of a product attracts a parent to buy it for their child and what’s appropriate in terms of the packaging and information provided on the packaging.

Munny and Smorkin Labbit

These are so cool! Munnyworld are soft, super smooth vinyl figures that each have a blank canvas all ready for scribbling, piercing, posing, dressing up, sculpting into forms straight from your imagination. Some amazing examples can be found here and here.

Smorkin Labbits on the other hand is a collectables for all ages. It was created by Frank Kozik and produced by Kidrobot. It has been created in many sizes and guises, with several popular mini series as well as larger figures. Special editions include a rabbit made of metal. Kidrobot created many other vinyl figures to promote the nation from stopping smoking. Success occurred because of the product's quirkiness, originality and collectables idea.

Learning Agreement Presentation

Notes for Presentation:

1) I am doing a branding/packaging project (and selling it, i.e. advertising).

2) Going to create a design product which makes a daily problem easier/encourage people to do something (they don't normally want to do). Much like the magnetic cup idea of some kind of kitchenware product to make cooking easier (like chopping board by Joseph Joseph that folds slightly to make it easier to tip chopped up vegetables into saucepan)

3) Something to simply inspire through creativity.

4) Something you might find in Magma.

5) Maybe have a collection and incorporate a graphic system.

6) Need to find a reason to create this product.

7) Think of an old product that hasn't been seen in a long time- bring back and rebrand. Maybe an old toy?

Ok, so maybe I wasn't 100% prepared for this presentation. I had no idea how far we had to have gotten with our project and what exactly it was we had to present. The presentation style was very varied within the class, some people showed images that would inspire them in their project, some had already pin-pointed what their final piece would look like(which I'm sure is mental seeing as we've only had this brief for a week) and some just spoke out to the class without any projected supporting material.

I was one of those people, I just stood there and made my point without any supporting imagery; which at the time I regretted because at least if I had a pdf projected onto the wall the class would be busy staring at that rather than glaring me down throughout my whole presentation. Oh well, positive pressure is good I guess (I want to think I'm good with public speaking but sometimes I stutter a little, part of the charm maybe? Well let's hope that's how it comes across).

Overall I didn't feel like the tutors liked my idea, well part of it was alright but I think it was down to me not preparing properly for the presentation, I don't think they completely got what I was on about. The main point though was that I wouldn't be able come up with an idea, brand it as well as package it. Thanks for the confidence in me guys...but seriously, I wouldn't have been able to do all that. So yes, back to the drawing board.

Packaging Research

At this point I had decided that I wanted to brand and package an innovative product I would come up with to sell in a shop like Magma. So begins my research on packaging as a starting point. While many people consider packaging to be a byword for 'waste', it's value is actually beyond money and materials.

We don't know it but sometimes it is the packaging that encourages us to by the product, that little push that helps us decide. For example, the other day I was looking for a nice white wine to go with my curry dish. Note: I am the worst person at picking wines, I have very little knowledge within this field and don't think I will ever be able to distinguish all the variety of flavours in different wines, that's just not how my tongue works. If it tastes good it tastes good and it goes in my good book. Anyway, back to my story; so I was in Sainsbury's and was utterly confused on which wine to pick. One bottle stood out amongst the rest, not only because of the name Black Tower(which is just plain cool and reminds me of dragons, yes I'm a bit of a nerd) but more so because of the packaging. It was original and clean-cut, I just couldn't say no. You'll see what I mean if you follow this link

Of course, packaging wise, practically it has to look good, but also it needs to protect the contents, stack neatly in multiples and on standard pallets, and not fall off the shelves at point of sale. Packaging that is innovative is only innovative because people have either:

a) genuinely never seen it before.

b) or come across something that is strangely familiar but which has not been seen for a long time.

Packaging has to be:

1) Recognisable- memorable because of maybe the innovative design.

2) Informative- user should know how to open it without instructions.

3) Immediate- inform the user what the product is straight away.

4) Textural- budget permitted, this can be used to raise your packaging higher than competitors.

5) Functional- should have all the features required by a piece of basic packaging.

6) Dependable- especially important in food packaging, user should have confidence in it.

Magma

The first time I stepped into this tiny wonder of a shop I remember thinking 'where do I look first?! There's so many amazing little gadgets and cute things in this place!' I scanned the shop at least 3 times to make sure I hadn't missed anything that had been tucked away behind something else. It was one of those shops where you instantly know you want to buy everything, or even the whole shop. Like Muji or Paperchase. Even the layout and furniture for the shop was specially designed to make browsing easier for the customers.

So what exactly is Magma? Well, it is a shop which sells clever, tasteful, original, not kitsch, reasonably priced products. Just nice simples ideas. It is a product shop, or design shop, or concept shop, or strange multi-purpose shop. Stock ranges from stationery and cards to home and fashion accessories, jewellery, games and toy, eco-products and all manner of design objects- basically, anything that bears the stamp of creativity and intelligence upon it. Products with creative ideas, that make simple things seem new again. Fresh spontaneous, at times surreal, or disarmingly simple, these are products conceived (rather than preconceived) by artists, designers and all kinds of creative people.

"We think that there is something extremely rich and dynamic in the notion that people. all kinds of people, from all kinds of backgrounds, are walking through our doors on a daily basis, looking for something, not always sure as to what they are looking for."

I instantly knew that I wanted to design something that would be sold in Magma. A product so innovative that it would attract the type of people who would go to Magma to buy it.

I think most of the people who go to Magma are design-driven people approximately age 14-35:

-either teenager who find the product cute.

-students looking for inspiration.

-designers looking for inspiration.

Getting Our Brief

I remember thinking that the idea of writing my own brief would be a scary one, especially when I am the worst person when it comes down to making decisions. Our tutor advised us that 'if you don't have a fixed idea, broaden it because it's best not to change your learning agreement after you handed it in'. Oh yes, learning agreements, those things. I never understood how one would go about writing a one, as if you could predict the future and know exactly what it is you're going to produce as a final piece. It always boggled my mind.

The first step to success seemed to be research, not only to find out about the different practices within visual communication out there, but also to discover what really intrigued me. I needed a topic that I would be motivated to work for in the next 12 weeks of my life. There's not much that would keep a hold of my attention for that long a period. But if it was to be anything it would have to be a something that involved layouts; I could go for hours adjusting the most minor elements of a simple layout, even if it was something as trivial as moving an image two pixels to the left.

Initial ideas that popped into my mind during our briefing include the following:

1) Recipe book- book design, photography/illustration.

2) Exploring different cultures- no idea what form this would take.

3) Children's book- illustration and book design.

4) Inventing a product- branding and packaging.

5) Branding for food- or maybe rebranding an existing product.

Ok, maybe I'm thinking too much about the form my final piece would take. I don't think I'm thinking in the right order...let's start again. So I've established that my project would involve messing around with layouts. Some illustrative work here and there maybe? Yes, that does sound appealing. Although inventing my own product does somewhat tickle my fancy too. O dear, so many decisions to make already, my brain can't cope. Anyway, back to the more important business. Things which were stressed about this project during the briefing:

1) Research throughout the project- look at existing work, seek inspiration, test your experiments and talk to people in the industry.

2) It's all about the target audience this project, approach them and seek their advice, bettering your concept to create the ultimate product.

3) It would be a genius idea to link the theory unit to this unit to get a thorough and better understanding of my practice (in other words, kill two birds with one stone).

4) Don't use this project to learn a new piece of software but rather build on the skills you already have.

5) Think about who you are and what hobbies or interests you might have that can contribute to this project.

6) Use this project to research the career path you might want to take in the near future.

Right, with that said, I think it's time to gather some useful research material.