OUGD504. Design Production. Design for Print/Web. Brief Choice StudioSession.

today we had a studio session with phil and loraine about our brief choice for the print/web brief. we were asked to bring our 3 chosen briefs from the istd brief selection. with these we were going to evaluate them and consider which one we wanted to do. we began by reading over our briefs and highlighting any words we thought were important or that stood out to us. we then discussed why we chose the words and whether the words were useful to us or relevant to the brief. words like 'interesting', 'cool', 'good', are useless to us because they are subjective and have no meaning or give any indication as to a particular request or direction from the brief. having considered these words we then chose one brief we were confident would be the one we did.

i chose the 'not just fleurons' type based botanics brief.

from this we were asked to think about and write down:

• 5 facts about the subject that i already know
• 5 descriptive points about the target audience
• 5 considerations for what the brief is asking me to do
• 5 things that i dont know about the brief
• 5 problems i want to solve from the brief and why

from this we were asked to reread thr brief and consider the progression we made in the session in order to rewrite the brief into a more specified and self proposed brief

because of the theme of sustainable living and environmental consciousness the brief i rewrote is heavily based around the pursuasion of the audience and actively informing them about how and why they should help the environment and themselves through sustainable development. 

having done some research on what this might entail i came across a project on behance that had basically answered what i was proposing but in such an in depth and successful way that i cant do better and so i decided that i would alter my brief more-so in order for it to be more specifically aimed and more appropriate to my design concerns.

link to behance project:

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Window-Farms-Information-Design-Book/8243003

from my decision to rewrite the brief i decided to consider what we had gone over in the session to get the best consideration for the most appropriately tailored brief.

- the brief-

the uk is a fast paced, first world economy that consumes substantially on a daily basis. this is especially true in major cities and other urban environments. it is often the case that people, while generally aware of, do not often consider the importance of plants and the produce of farming. plants allow for the world to exist; but we dont see the entire process of grown food getting to the supermarket, nor do we see the process of photosynthesis providing breathable air. people often loose sight of this while immersed in the urban, consumer environment.

design and produce a typographically based (but not limited to) campaign targeting people living in cities who might not currently recognise or utilise the benefits of plants and gardening. aim to inform and educate them of these benefits and promote the idea of self sustained gardening. make the focus on creating awareness about plants and their benefits.

consider government and publicly targeted campaigns when developing your ideas. the campaign, while not aimed at every group in the uk, should target an appropriately considered audience who are unlikely to, and would gain from knowledge about plants and gardening. think about what people need to know about plants and how best to communicate it to them in a way that will be successfully received. 

- target audience - 

the audience is based in an urban environment, most likely a major city. they are generally aware of how plants reduce co2 and provide o2 but not all are and many do not consider it. they understand that vegetation is grown and harvested and sent to the supplier where it is bought but mostly only recognise the end product for sale. this is no fault of their own, more the social and economic setting they live in. 

- tone of voice - 

it is important to recognise that preachy, dictatorial communication is rarely well received. remember that you have an a-symmetrically informed stance on the subject and should be understanding and patient. similarly do not assume that the audience is stupid or slow because overly a patronising tone will likely be ignored. instead present the information and message in an understandable but informative way that enthuses and encourages the audience to learn more and possibly pursue a more sustainable lifestyle. 

- mandatory requirements - 

gather research on biology and botany in order to inform your understanding of the topic and what should be made aware of. consider what methods of sustainable living might be available and appropriate to the audience. 

develop your research into a fully considered and appropriate campaign proposal that will reach the audience. consider what materials to use and what ephemera to design and produce to achieve this. consider the aesthetic, layout, tone, and message 

produce a typographically considered, governmental style campaign that aims to inform and educate the audience about plants in order for them to pursue a more sustainable lifestyle and consider their impact on the environment more-so. 

- deliverables -

evidence of extensive and focussed research from varied sources.

design boards showing the progression of your response to the brief.

a range of relevant and competently designed printed ephemera supporting the campaign. 

a range of proposed and visually explored digital media concepts and designs.

a strong and recognisable brand design with the brief in mind and appropriate to the audience.


i think reconsidering the brief has really helped me to focus my ideas and aims for my concept. from this i will go on to research and develop my design proposals to form my project.