Process Book 1

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EDUCATION MFA Candidate (2010 - present)SavannahCollegeofArtandDesignGraphicDesign,3.5GPA

BFA (2009) UniversityofSouthAlabama Primary-GraphicDesign,Secondary-Painting.3.98GPA,SummaCumLaude

WORK EXPERIENCE Graphic Designer (June 2009 - present) Crown Products Responsibilitiesincludethedesignofallelectronicmediaincludingwebbannersand

graphics,e-mailmarketingandsocialmediamanagement.Additionally,Icreatespecialtyitemsincludingcustomdirectmarketingpiecesandhigh-endcatalogs.Otherdutiesincludeproductphotographyandproductdevelopmentdesign.

Art Director (June 2007 - present)Negative Capability Press Responsibilitiesincludeinteriorandexteriordesignandtypesettingofbooks.Additionally,

Iamresponsibleformostofthecompany’smarketingduties.

Student Assistant (June 2006 - May 2009)University of South Alabama Responsibilitiesincludedassistingstudentsandtroubleshootinggraphicdesignsoft-wareandMachardware.IalsooperatedseverallargeformatEpsonprinters.

ACHIEVEMENTS Silver Addy® Award(2010) PrintCollateral CrownProducts,AAFMobileBay

Silver Addy® Award (2010) InteractiveWebDesign(w/B.Davis) CrownProducts,AAFMobileBay

Progress Through Ideas Award(2010) EbscoIndustries Employee of the Quarter(2010) CrownProducts

SCAD Honors Scholarship Recipient

AFFILIATIONSAIGAAAFMobileBayGoldenKeyHonourSocietyPhiKappaPhiHonorSociety

TECHNICAL SKILLSAdobePhotoshopCS5AdobeIllustratorCS5AdobeInDesignCS5AdobeDreamweaverCS5AdobeFlashCS5AdobeAcrobatCS5XHTML/CSS

ADDITIONAL SKILLSCatalog&bookproductionWebsiteproductionE-blastcreationDigitalillustrationProductphotography&designCompetitiveanalysisCopywritingSocialmediamanagementQRcodedesign&optimizationResearch

Referencesavailableuponrequest.//M

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6711 Overlook Road // Mobile, Alabama // 36618 // 251 454 7510 // [email protected]

Megan Cary | GRDS 705-OL | Design Methodology Book | Process BookDesign Methodology Book

PROCESS BOOK 01


PROCESS BOOK

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Assignment 4

Research & Brainstorming 5

Thumbnail Sketches 8

Rough Sketches 11

Digital Comps 13

Revised Comps 15

Analysis & Execution 21

Final Design Solution 24

CONTENTS


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ASSIGNMENT

Overview: Put together a book sharing your design definition and your methodol-ogy and supporting it with visual examples from your work. You will be writing all the content from scratch and adapting your essays to the format. Consider it a limited edition “how to” - the insiders view of your own creative world. The format will be up to you. Your audience - aspir-ing designers. ...start thinking about it.

Start thinking of formats that you may want to consider. There are some excellent tutorials available online on book making techniques. Since this is a one of a kind type book, you will get to select what would be the best in terms of materials and the best in terms of format to help communicate “your secret” to creativity.

As you are working on your book, you should be following your meth-odology to create the concept behind it. This is where you need to put your process through the test again. Don’t skip steps. Document ev-erything. Ultimately, you will be submitting the final book + the process book for it.

You need to approach this book as a one of a kind book - You are the author and the designer. The goal is to write a book where you share your views on graphic design (based on your essay or it could be your essay) and share your methodology with great examples to illustrate each step. You may use any of your projects from this class in the book or any work that you have created that would best illustrate the steps.

Your audienceYoung aspiring designers who are looking at you for guidance and in-spiration. Make it engaging and fun.

FormatYou decide. I have seen some great work come out of this project...from pop ups, sliders, to multiple volume sets.

Process BookIt is expected for you to spend significant amount of time developing concepts for this as well as researching formats, etc.


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RESEARCH & BRAINSTORMING

I began the research process refererencing my definition of design and design process essays. As I read through the essays I circled key words and phrases that I felt would become essential in the process of creating this book.

I then took those key words and phrases and began to form a list out of them. From there I started brain-storming more additional words and phrases that were associated with the first set. I then marked key words and phrases that I felt would be helpful.

Some of the key words and phrases that I circled during this process included “execution, research, brainstorm, bind, sew, gather, pattern, blue print, guide, architecture, and strength.”


brainstorming for this assignment

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RESEARCH & BRAINSTORMING


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RESEARCH AND BRAINSTORMING

After completing the brainstorming process I began my visual research. I started searching the internet for interesting book design and binding techniques.

During my research I learned about Japanese stab binding techniques, which I found to be both unique and beautiful. I found several different methods of creating this technique and booked marked the tu-torials for later reference.

Additionally, I began searching for images associ-ated with the keywords that I had marked earlier. On the previous page are images that I found vi-sually interesting in my research. On the right are examples of japanese binding techniques.


examples of Japanese stab binding

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THUMBNAIL SKETCHES


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THUMBNAIL SKETCHES


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THUMBNAIL SKETCHES


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ROUGH SKETCHES


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ROUGH SKETCHES


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DIGITAL COMPS

The first digital comps I posted to the discussion forum.


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process schematic plan form practice techniqueaction operation routine mode system procedureprocess schematic plan form practice techniqueaction operation routine mode system procedureprocess schematic plan form practice techniqueaction operation routine mode system procedureprocess schematic plan form practice techniqueaction operation routine mode system procedureprocess schematic plan form practice techniqueaction operation routine mode system procedureprocess schematic plan form practice techniqueaction operation routine mode system procedureprocess schematic plan form practice technique

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DIGITAL COMPS


methodologymegan cary

Studying graphic design has always been challenging, insightful, creative and, at times, frustrating. But after many years, I have found that the act of designing is not nearly as frustrating as the act of explaining to those around me exactly what graphic design is. Graphic design is a profession and a practice, but it is also a technical skill and a form of art. In today’s society, graphic design can be one thing or many things. To me, all of these things – profession, practice, technical skill, and art form that define graphic design.

If you look in the dictionary you will find a simple definition of graphic design. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary graphic design is “the art or profession of using design elements (as typography and images) to convey information or create an effect; also : a product of this art.” This is true, graphic design is a profession. I am employed at a company with the title of “Graphic Designer” (as are thousands of people around the world.) I do use design elements (type and image) to convey information to my company’s customers. But while this definition is true, it is limited.

It is limited because graphic design is also a practice. One definition of a practice is “to be profes-sionally engaged in” a profession. Graphic designers practice by physically and mentally participate in the act of designing, an activity. Picture a football player (also a profession) – they participate in the act of playing football, by mentally coming up with a plan of action and then physically running with a ball. A graphic designer mentally comes up with a design plan and then creates it physically, either by hand or with a computer.

The physical practice of graphic design requires technical skill, most commonly computer skill. Frequently jobs are posted for graphic designers with the only requirement being computer skills – the ability to use Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and other programs. At my company, there

The first digital comps I posted to the discussion forum.

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REVISED COMPS

After posting my intial digital comps for feedback to the discussion forum several issues were pointed out to me. Primarily the color choices.

The design of my initial comps is based off the idea of a blue print mixed with the process of pattern making (sewing). However, I had been concerned that using a blue color scheme would be too liter-al of a translation and decided on a warmer color scheme of browns, oranges and reds.

Feedback on my layout was generally positive, but overwhelmingly my peers felt I should go back to a blue color palette that reflected the inspiration. They also felt that the cover design needed to re-flect the overall design pattern as well.

On the next few pages are additional versions of my digital comps that I posted, revised and repost-ed for additional feedback.


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technique practice form plan schematic processprocedure system mode routine operation actiontechnique practice form plan schematic processprocedure system mode routine operation actiontechnique practice form plan schematic processprocedure system mode routine operation actiontechnique practice form plan schematic processprocedure system mode routine operation actiontechnique practice form plan schematic processprocedure system mode routine operation actiontechnique practice form plan schematic processprocedure system mode routine operation actiontechnique practice form plan schematic process

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REVISED COMPS


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Studying graphic design has always been verychallenging, insightful, creative and, at times, frustrating. But after many years, I have found that the act of designing is not nearly as frustrating as the act of explaining to those around me exactly what graphic design is. Graphic design is a profession and a practice, but it is also a technical skill and a form of art. In today’s society, graphic design can be one thing or many things. To me, all of these things – profession, practice, technical skill, and art form that define graphic design.

If you look in the dictionary you will find a simple definition of graphic design. According to the Mer-riam-Webster Online Dictionary graphic design is “the art or profession of using design elements (as typography and images) to convey information or create an effect; also : a product of this art.” This is true, graphic design is a profession. I am employed at a company with the title of “Graphic Designer” (as are thousands of people around the world.) I do use design elements (type and image) to convey information to my company’s customers. But while this definition is true, it is limited.

It is limited because graphic design is also a practice. One definition of a practice is “to be profession-ally engaged in” a profession. Graphic designers practice by physically and mentally participate in the act of designing, an activity. Picture a football player (also a profession) – they participate in the act of playing football, by mentally coming up with a plan of action and then physically running with a ball. A graphic designer mentally comes up with a design plan and then creates it physically, either by hand or with a computer.

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REVISED COMPS


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REVISED COMPS


After brainstorming Iusually take my ideas and begin to sketch. Sometimes finding visual references first may be appropriate, but that step will be discussed later. For now, I will move on to the all-important sketching process.

The sketching process can begin with doo-dles of random ideas and/or thumbnail sketches that have more structure. Often my sketches include notes or collaged vi-sual references. The important part is to work through all ideas, so that a very solid foundation has been laid.

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When I feel I have sufficiently worked through initial ideas, I move on to larger concept sketches. These concept sketch-es are larger and more detailed than the thumbnail designs. They often include notes, color, and visual references.

Concept sketches play a very important part in the final creation of a design. They are what digital designs are built from and what makes the execution of a design more efficient and the design itself thoughtful.

On the right are some examples of thumbnail sketches and large, hand made concept sketches.

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REVISED COMPS


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Studying graphic designchallenging, insightful, creative and, at times, frustrating. But after many years, I have found that the act of designing is not nearly as frus-trating as the act of explaining to those around me exactly what graphic design is. Graphic de-sign is a profession and a practice, but it is also a technical skill and a form of art. In today’s so-ciety, graphic design can be one thing or many things. To me, all of these things – profession, practice, technical skill, and art form that define graphic design.

If you look in the dictionary you will find a sim-ple definition of graphic design. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary graphic design is “the art or profession of using design elements (as typography and images) to convey information or create an effect; also : a product

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of this art.” This is true, graphic design is a pro-fession. I am employed at a company with the title of “Graphic Designer” (as are thousands of people around the world.) I do use design ele-ments (type and image) to convey information to my company’s customers. But while this defi-nition is true, it is limited.

It is limited because graphic design is also a practice. One definition of a practice is “to be professionally engaged in” a profession. Graph-ic designers practice by physically and mentally participating in the act of designing. Picture a football player (also a profession) – they partici-pate in the act of playing football, by mentally coming up with a plan of action and then physi-cally running with a ball. A graphic designer mentally comes up with a design plan and then creates it by hand or with a computer.

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REVISED COMPS


research

The physical practice of graphic design requires technical skill. Frequently jobs are posted for graphic designers with the only requirement being computer skills. At my company, there is a graphic design position where the definition of graphic designer is to be able to use these pro-grams. The interviewing employee is told that they will not be using their creativity at all, only their ability to create.

Finally, graphic design is also a form of artistic expression. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines an artist as a “one skilled in or versed in learned arts…one who professes and practices an imaginative art…one who is adept at some-thing.” As designers we do profess and practice an imaginative art, we are adept at technical skills, and we are learned artists. Museums are also beginning to acknowledge graphic design as art, for example the Museum of Modern Art’s

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website lists 3,040 results for the search term “graphic design” in their collection.

Jessica Helfand, co-founder of Winterhouse and editor of Design Observer explained “graphic de-sign is everywhere, touching everything we do, everything we see, everything we buy: we see it on billboards and in Bibles, on taxi receipts and on websites, on birth certificates and on gift cer-tificates, on the folded circulars inside jars of as-pirin and on the thick pages of children’s chubby board books.” To some graphic design is just a job; to some it is a creative process that results in amazing works of art. To me graphic design everything. It is my profession, my practice, my skill, and my art. I’ve always thought Paul Rand said it best, “Design is the method of putting form and content together. Design, just as art, has mul-tiple definitions; there is no single definition. De-sign can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.”

To me the design processhas always been similar to the act of putting together a puzzle. As designers we take small, random pieces of information – colors, type-faces, images, emotions, paper, ink, varnishes, die-cuts, illustrations, etc. – and figure out how they fit together to create a complete and thoughtful design. The process that we use as designers that helps us figure out how to fit those pieces together is our design methodol-ogy or design process.

My design process begins with research and background information. Before I begin a de-sign, I try to learn about the problem as much as possible. This can mean utilizing internet

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searches, books, and dictionaries to find infor-mation or it can simply mean asking questions of clients – their likes and dislikes, motivations, purpose, and intended usage. I collect this in-formation in the form of notes that I keep for future reference.

On the right are some examples of my research pro-cess. The first example, top left, shows me writing down the problem. This helps me focus on the process ahead. Moving clockwise, you begin to see the natural progression of research as I start with internet search engines like google, and move through books, and ask-ing questions of clients.

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ANALYSIS & EXECUTION

After finalizing my design, I printed out my book on 70# text weight white Neenah paper and the front cover overlays on white vellum. I also printed a bind-ing support on Neenah 80# white cover stock.

The first step in my execution was to cut out all of the pages with my x-acto knife. The pages were printed double-sided on a large format laser printer so no ad-hesives were required.

I then arranged the pages in the proper order and clipped them together with several binder clips in preparation for binding. This was done very carefully to avoid creasing of the pages or vellum.

I then drilled holes, according to the guide I printed, on the heavy outer binding shell with an awl. This was the one of the most time consuming processes just because of the thickness of the book.

Next I threaded the binding needle with light blue heavy duty embroidery thread and began to bind the book in a modified japanese stab binding technique.


Execution of the final book in progress

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The binding process was not easy. To achieve this binding look, with no thread wrapping around the outer edge of the book, extensive intricate stitching techniques must be made on the inside of the binding shell. I had to stop and start over again several times, but ultimately I was able to achieve the look I wanted.

Overall I am very pleased with the outcome of this book, for my first major project as a graduate student I feel that it is an accurate representation of my per-sonal aesthetic and process. I am also pleased that I did not give up on the binding technique I chose. I think that this technique really elevated my book to the next level.

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FINAL DESIGN SOLUTION


Final Design (portions of the final PDF)

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designdesign

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Studying graphic designis challenging, insightful, creative and, at times, frustrating. But after many years, I have found that the act of designing is not nearly as frus-trating as the act of explaining to those around me exactly what graphic design is. Graphic de-sign is a profession and a practice, but it is also a technical skill and a form of art. In today’s so-ciety, graphic design can be one thing or many things. To me, all of these things – profession, practice, technical skill, and art form that define graphic design.

If you look in the dictionary you will find a sim-ple definition of graphic design. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary graphic design is “the art or profession of using design elements (as typography and images) to convey information or create an effect; also : a product

02

of this art.” This is true, graphic design is a pro-fession. I am employed at a company with the title of “Graphic Designer.” I do use design ele-ments (type and image) to convey information to my company’s customers. But while this defi-nition is true, it is limited.

One definition of a practice is “to be profession-ally engaged in” a profession. Graphic design-ers practice by physically and mentally partici-pating in the act of designing. Picture a football player – they participate in the act of playing football, by mentally coming up with a plan of action and physically running with a ball. A graphic designer mentally comes up with a de-sign plan and then creates it.

It is limited because graphic design is also a practice.

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The final step of the designprocess is to take the chosen concept or con-cepts and recreate them with a computer. Important decisions are made with final im-agery, typography, and materials. Because of my preparation, I have solid ideas and concept sketches to support this part of the process.

Often however, a design may change at this stage because of a new idea or inspiration found when a new medium (the computer) comes into play. But in general the creation of the final computer rendered design follows the initial design process set forth from research and sketching. The goal of this step is to cre-ate a finished image, which has unity, balance, contrast, and rhythm.

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Vincent Van Gogh said, “Great things are not done by impulse, but a series of small things brought together.”

To take words, imagery, restrictions (if they exist), and even pre-existing ideas and form a unified and complete design that is a thought-ful and effective piece of visual communica-tion.

On the right are some examples of execution, creating the final design in the computer from a concept.

The ultimate goal of my design methodology is to fit together those small things, the pieces of my design puzzle.

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Photographs of the final design

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Process Book 1

Documents

Transcript of Process Book 1