Evaluation

As part of my visual communication brief I was asked to create a piece of design work based on Andy Warhol’s ‘fifteen minutes of fame’ theory. This could be based on anything from a person to an object, to an experience or lifestyle. Once chosen, my idea had to be produced into an supplement found in wallpaper magazine. The idea was to give someone/something fame and recognition for their work for fifteen minutes.

To begin, it sought me produce a series of brainstorms which would lead onto finding a possible theme to base my supplement on. I came up with a range of ideas these included: a pole dancer, teenager, tattoo artist, model, my sister, football fan, photographer (paparazzi) and more. Eventually I rose upon the idea to use my sister as part of my brief. I thought this would be a good idea as I find my sister has a rather interesting personality and lifestyle. The reason being is due to the fact that she is an Aspergers sufferer who also has an upside down sleeping pattern and has a very strong interest for Japanese manga and anime.

To enable me to get a better idea on how my idea should look, I needed to do some research. I firstly looked into Wallpaper magazine to see what it entails and how I could fit my idea within the magazine. I also looked at the meaning behind the ‘fifteen minutes of fame’ theory.  An example I found that really stood out to me was the poster designs created for the tramlines festival in Sheffield this year. The design included images of different people with the slogan ‘free for (name)’. I found this worked really well as these were situated all over Sheffield and the surrounding areas giving each person used on the poster their own ‘fifteen minutes of fame’.

As my sister has a strong interest for Japanese manga and anime I felt it would be a good idea to research into these areas as well as the Japanese culture to give me a better understanding on what they are about. I noticed that manga and anime seems to be quite similar with how they use illustrations and colour. I also like how they give off a rather humorous look. If you watch an anime programme, you can see how the designer uses lines and expressions to give the viewer an example on how the character feels.  I also chose to research into Asperger’s syndrome to give me and the viewer and better understanding on what it involves.

Now that I have understood the brief given to me and the research I have looked into, it was then time to produce some concepts. These started out as thumbnail sketches for possible page layouts ideas that I could use for my final outcome. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to create a concertina effect and open up into a large poster. I decided that I wanted my idea to be at A3 when at full size and would fold down to the size of A5. The original idea I had would include an image of my sister then a title page highlighting what the spread is about. It would then open up to reveal a set of interview questions and answers that I aim to ask my sister. This would be continued onto the next page. I also plan on including a variety of different images that I feel would represent my sister well and also give the viewer a clearer insight into her life.

Once I had a rough guide on how I aim to produce my final and had interviewed my sister, I began choosing a variety of photos that I could use for my supplement. The problem I had however was that my sister doesn’t like having her photo taken so this proved to be quite difficult. Nevertheless, I found photos that my sister took herself which gave me the idea that this could provide the supplement with a more personal feel.

After gathering my photos and making changes to the interview, I started producing what would be my supplement. My first idea would open up to reveal an image of my sister and short bio about her life. It would then move onto the interview itself. Throughout the whole spread I have included a range of images to highlight sections of the interview. I also chose to include short captions under each image to explain what is happening in each. The design that I had come up with was looking well and its simple flowing design made it easier to look at. However, I needed to think of a title page that would be placed on the front of my supplement. I came to the conclusion of naming my insert ‘Manga, Anime & Aspergers Syndrome’, this I believe not only explains what the leaflet could be about but would give a rather emotional approach. After examining other pieces of work my peers has produced, I realised that my insert didn’t really give a professional or creative look that was being asked of me. So I chose to rethink my options and aimed on producing a modern and contemporary design.

Using the same images that I included in my original design, I decided to use these as a page background for my spread. These would then be produced underneath the interview. This change in design gave me a clearer idea on how I wanted my supplement to look. Yet I still wasn’t happy with how the design was coming together. It wasn’t until I saw an old Polaroid photo that I considered using this as part of my design. One issue I had however was that I don’t own a Polaroid camera, so this gave me the opportunity to experiment with my creativity and produce my own Polaroid image in Photoshop. I placed these into my original supplement design. After making a few changes to my layout of text and imagery, I finally decided that I wanted to use the Polaroid as my final design. I really liked the look of the images that I even decided to include this as part of the bio about my sister.

Originally I suggested my that supplement would open up to reveal an A3 poster, but the way in which the design had been produced, I decided that the poster would be folded away and fall out when the insert had opened to its full size.

Now that I have got my final idea for magazine insert. It meant that I could produce my poster. The idea I had was to produce and A3 poster with an image of my sister in the style on Japanese manga. After explaining the idea to my sister, she insisted to be part of this brief by providing me with a couple of manga drawings that she drew. I agreed and began creating my poster. I started by tracing the image in illustrator using the pen tool, then transferred it into Photoshop. When in Photoshop I would begin to fill my image. After creating the eyes and outline of the hair I was pleased with how the poster was coming along. However, it wasn’t until I began adding clothes to the design that I decided that I didn’t like the outcome. The reason being was that I felt it seemed too amateurish and wasn’t really how imagined my poster would look. This being the case, I decided to drop the image and focus on another example that my sister had created.

The example I did choose was a more recent piece that she drew of herself. I felt it represented her well with how she included the stripy socks, sleeveless jumper and artwork. I went through the same method to fill my poster with colour. After adding a background to the image, I noticed that the image seemed to be floating. It was then that I considered adding a shadow to give the idea of depth and also make it appear more 3D. When creating the shadow I decided to add a Gaussian blur with a soft light blending mode and with a 47% opacity.  However, I did feel that the shadow seemed too noticeable so I then gave it a 18% opacity. I thought it would be good idea to also include a title of some sort underneath the image to explain what the poster is about. I included the words, ‘my sister as a manga character’ but chose to use these in Japanese letters.

Overall I am pleased with how the whole outcome has turned out and feel that the design is how I hoped it would be. I also feel that I have met the brief well and have understood what was being asked of me. During a small critique with one of my tutors, he suggested I add some sort of image or text onto the plain area that was included on my supplement. I agree with what he was saying and if I was given more time, I do believe that I could have produced this.