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Today we had a meeting with our mentor Alex, I have been incharge of organising meetings and communicating with the mentor in the group. So, this was our last meeting with him and we went through our presentations before the client presentations tomorrow. Alex listeened to each of us and gave us few feedbacks and few deetails he thought we could change or improve. With my outcomes, he said the presentation layout was really good especially using full scale images for some outcomes it was clear for the client. He suggested that I should work on the journey map, he said the text is too small and there’s a big paragraph so it’s hard to read but also looks text heavy. In addition, he said maybe add more of the shapes into the journey to blend it in with the project. You can see the final design on the post. I was much happier after changing few things Alex suggested I’m glad he was able to point things as those texts was for to help me during the presentation if I get stuck but soon I also realised it looks too much on the page. Overall, he was very happy with the branding and each of my outcomes.

CLIENT PRESENTATION DAY

Today we did our presentations to our clients, I was so nervous as this was my first time presenting to clients and it was through Microsoft teams so it was a few first times. The presentations went smoothly, i was nervous that I would miss key things out as i was nervous but at the end of the presentation i didn’t regret anything or felt unsure about things I said. I was so happy because I felt like I communicated my purpose, why have I done each thing and explained how it would be useful to our target audience. I hope the client understood my perspective and my respond to their brief. At the beginning of the project, I did struggle I was unsure on how to take this brief, I felt stuck kind of hit a wall but with the advice from Paul and Alex, I slowly brought everything together I used the things in the brief to guide me each step and tried to figure out what am I suppose to do, what am I trying to say to these parents. Overall, as the first live client project, I am very satisfied with my outcomes, I feel good about the things I created and I hope the client feels the same way. At the end of the presentation, they said how amazed they were with each of our responses and that we were able to take this brief way beyond their imagination. They were very pleased and satisfied. They mentioned they will be using parts of our works in there up coming projects which is so exciting to hear! You can find the link to the presentation and design document below.

This is the final design of the planner, as I was writing this post I realised on the design document the planner has few parts missing this is a stupid mistake as I didn’t realise when I was submitting which is very annoying. However, the planner design above is the final outcome and that is how it should look like.

For the fun packages I want to have game cards inside them as well as other items as the games cards will include short instructions on how to play these games. The images below show what client has sent us already existing posters and list of games. I can see that they have just focused on on on texting explaining the games rather than any visuals so for this is weak however it is easy to read and communicates it clearly. However, I think we need to create something that is bit more fun and playful, the posters have loads of text on them which makes it crowded and boring. I picked out three games and I will me making A5 game cards which is mainly aimed the families with online access. I will be using the instructions they used on the posters but creating it using my branding identity.

These are the games I created for the fun packages, there are three of them focused on short fun activities. I was struggling with the visuals as I thought I needed to do illustrations drawings of the games and I had a meeting with Paul as I was concerned. He gave me really positive feedback saying my branding is very consistent and it all works much better compared to few weeks ago. He suggested I should use the abstract shapes in the branding to create the visuals for the games. So with this idea, I went away and I was brain storming what to do , the first game is a Tea towel tag, I distorted the square box on the posters to make it look like towels hanging off, or sheets. I then layered it behind the text in low opacity to blend with the background. The body copy is short and easy to read for the readers using Roc Grotesk medium. The second game card is Call the Colour, this game is aimed at finding different colours around the house and collecting them in the middle. I thought the way to visualise is just use all the shapes in different colours which it works as it shows different colours and it’s eye catchy. Again the visuals are blended into the background with low opacity. The last game is Clear the Area, in this design I used the shapes and divided them in to two parts as the game is about throwing objects to the other side and whoever has the most objects on their side loses. The visual works and you could understand the game. I think the game cards work well and would be very beneficial for families with no online access. I used different variations of colour combinations to keep the tone exciting and playful. I added the logos on to the all the elements.

Mock ups

These are the A5 card mock ups for the games cards which will be in the Fun packages.

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

I wanted to create posts for their instagram page as social media is a huge platform where many people use to find out about activities or event that are going on around where they live. These posts will be both informative but also just persuading them to check the websites for more information about packages etc. This could be very easily created by the client as the branding is very set and they can replicate it through other social media platforms. The posts are seen below, I kept it very simple, clean layouts which give some information that can be seen shocking or intriguing if you are scrolling down your feed. The posts have playful elements of shapes around the corners to keep the branding consistent. I created total of 6 but so many can be made as there are loads of facts but even photographs can be shared of families if they give consent I just focused on information as that was the main. It has a potential such as instagram stories etc. I used a a project that was focused on importance of quality time in families so I used quotes that was used which is significant and intriguing. I also highlighted the it costs nothing to play games at home, this is a shook factor where it’s large in size so when a parent reads that they might be persuaded and change their mind.

The powerpoint I found is a campaign is again focuses on family quality time and they have given people so many facts and reasons why quality time is essential. They did a survey with a group of parents and asked them their perspective on family quality and most of them agreed family time is essential. They defined quality time in 3 ways such as structured planning, it should be child-centered and time available. I think this has supported my idea on how the campaign should have a deliverable which the parents can use to plan. The weekly planner would be beneficial for parents who always use planners in their daily life, when they are at work etc they can plan which days they have free and can have some family time. So the weekly planner would work really good.

I also read an article about how in the society we live today, children are being so exposed to social media, phones, Ipads, laptops all these tools most of us didn’t have when we were kids, because we didn’t have it we would play outside, go parks, play games with family. Due to the easy access to technology this has a positive but also negative effect on young children.They could find it hard to connect to people as they are so focused on playing games on phones, watching videos. Human interaction, communication is delayed or disrupted due to technology as some people argue.

“Ensure that you have at least one hour a day built up of real moments of connection between you and your child“

Mock ups

Facebook ads was something client was very keen as they do facebook lives for the workshops, I created a mock up tp show how easily the branding can be adapted if necessary and already it looks more positive and communicates the message.

References:

Click to access Project%2011%20Qaulity%20Family%20Time.pdf

The Importance of Spending Time Together

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/family-time/why-we-need-more-family-time/

Today we had a lecture from Wendy focused on mapping a journey focused on our target audience. We were told to think about our audience and create a map that shows different situations related to our outcomes as well. Wendy wanted us to identify our audience and in this case for this project it is parents and children. She showed us few examples and the one below has helped me understand the process. The map below focuses on a person having a stroke then it goes through different situations they can go through and how the produced outcomes can effect in positive or negative way. The map is easy to follow with the lines and short explanations above. The map shows the effect before receiving the outcomes and then whilst receiving outcomes. The situations are matched with the feelings either positive or negative as well. I think this would be helpful to think about how would the parent feel, what kind of issues or problems they could face about the campaign as then I can find a solutions.

The next stage was to create my own user map, I was noting down potential users and I thought about 2 different groups of parents and then I focused on children that goes to school. The user journey below is the first edition. The first journey is easy to follow the stops at each point. The first group of parent is they lack confidence, they don’t have much time for quality time. The website and social media presence is aimed at this target audience. The next stop is they are scrolling on facebook and they see the page for the your home is a playground, sport Cardiff. The click the post and go onto the website as it’s interesting. Then they can read about the games, read through the information. I also showed the negative with the dip as they could worry about the games as they lack motivation. They could brush it off thinking they can do it later. However, I could solve this problem with including and showing that they don’t need to buy extra equipment and then highlight the importance of quality time in family. I thought this could get them motivated but also they could have another dip where they are negative about the other things they need to do at home or they think they are so busy. However, the next stop could be on the website they see the page with photos and videos of families playing the games or planners people have completed. By seeing this, this could be a motivating and exciting thing. The last stop is them going home and sharing it with the family.

The second group of parents is individuals who have lack of income for gym membership or outdoor activities. They could also have no online access as that was an audience our clients wanted us to also focus. The first stop is when they take their kids to school they could see the posters and leaflet on the wall. They could pick one up and go through it. The first dip is when they could forget about the activities, lack of time or engagement. However, I think children could be a good way to get the parents motivated, if the children come from school they could tell their family about the packages they sign up to which has game cards and goodies. These things could get the parents excited as they can see their children are excited about it too. The next stage could be signing up for the packages, and they receive the goods. The finally they could start playing these games filling the weekly charts. The last journey is focused on the young audience that goes to school, as I think if schools can give information about this campaign then it could get more audience as they could take the letters home. The last journey again focuses on young audience letting their parents know about the project and motivating the family. The design system I think it works and it’s easy to follow, I’ve used the colours in the branding which fits the project. However, one of the feedbacks from Alex was that the text as too long and small so it was hard to read. I think I should shorten the text. Also, maybe I could add more shapes from the branding elements.

This is the improved version of the user journey. I shortened the text to key words and added other smaller shapes in different colours to represent negative and positive. I think this is much better design that it’s easy for readers to understand. I labelled how each outcome is focused on different target audiences. I think the design of the journey map could have been more experimental such as the length of the lines but I think it is easy to read this way and easy to follow through each shape, I have showed each negative thought with dips. I’m happy with the overall map and it made me realise few points I need to consider such as I think i need to highlight no cost more clearly as it is a way parents will be more motivated to be part of the activities. In addition, I need to do some research on importance of quality time, some facts and statistics which is always helpful to attract an audience and get them to engage. it will also tie in the whole project together I believe as I am emphasising the important of family time which has mental physical and social benefits.

I started creating visuals by firstly choosing the colour scheme. For this project, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and use a wide range of colours. I believe this would enhance the project especially targeting parents and children. The colour schemes I liked are below I wanted to use variety of vibrant playful colours ranging from light to dark. These colours are playful and they can be seen positive. I picked them out on random from some posters I liked. The colour palette I liked the most is the first set of palettes, there’s 6 colours I liked the dark blue and light pink. I added a yellow tone which is more orange and a dark green which can be contrast with pink and rich yellows. The grey and red is something that could work together. For the type face, I wanted to use bold heavy typefaces for titles, preferably sans serifs as for more informal and playful aesthetics. The fonts I liked the most were Roc Grotesk which is a very popular type face that has variety of variations from condensed to wide styles. It has small but effected features on on letters and I believe it could add a modern touch to the project. The regular type face is really nice for body copy very easy to use and it is very clear. I stayed away from illustrative script which is very common for family projects as it seems family friendly but I wanted to focus on a clear contemporary style which communicates the messages without using illustrations. I am still working on the imagery and the visual elements on this project. I believe finding the colours and type face would be a good start.

The next step I was experimenting with logo works using the ‘Family Fun’. I tried few variations but I think it needs more work. The ones I like are probably the bottom ones with blocks as they seem clear but I feel quiet lost at this point of the project. I believe the logo works can be left for now as I don’t know where I am going. Once I decide on the visual elements I can work on the logo on the side. However, I used the colour scheme and I was very happy with the outcomes. They have a soft tone and they work together.

DEVELOPMENT 1

These are the first set of experiments on the visuals. The main elements are shapes I started the design by the first one on the left. The layering of shapes was something I saw on the mood board I liked the the way it looked on the poster and I tried it by using the slogan I decided to use from my 3 strong concepts. ‘Your home is a playground’ It is a cathy phrase which goes well with the aim of the project which I have explained in earlier posts. The typeface is Roc Grotesk and I used it in the Condensed Extrabold. The type is very heavy and covers most of the shapes. I liked the position on the page however I think it is the text that just feels too much. I believe it is too heavy it doesn’t create the positive playful message. Rather then fitting it into the shapes maybe I could visualise it in a different way. The second visuals in the middle i was playing with the rectangualr boxes and I thought why don’t I add more shapes as I looked back at my 3 concepts I used circles and other various shapes in those potential elements. The shapes I placed them on the top half once again kind of over lapping again still experimenting. I added some text on the bottom half which tells the reader parents to check out the Youtube channel. The slogan sits on the bottom with the small family fun logo. I believe the abstract shapes work nicely it’s playful but I think the bottom half needs some more experimenting. The slogan still sits at the bottom I think the logo just doesn’t work well. The third poster I worked on the shapes at the bottom of the page, still experimenting with the layout.

These are other experiments on posters. The design on the left is something I was playing on about the layout of the shapes and size variations. I thought maybe the scale could be bigger to cover the page and the shapes would be bolder and bigger. The text is also longer and I don’t think this poster works at all. As we had a meeting with Paul today he suggested I need to stick to one branding identity and carry it out consistently through out. The designs at the top and the one at the bottom doesn’t work well as they are different in many ways. I think I will stick to simpler and cleaner aesthetic and smaller shapes. The poster on the right is a developed version of the posters previously. The shapes have stayed the same but I changed few things I didn’t like previously. The slogan is in a moving shape I thought about thinking of slides at parks it reminded me of a children’s playground area and it was playful it adds the moving effect which works nicely as we are trying to get people to be active if we can show this my type and slogans then it would make the message clearer. The small paragraph works fine with the slogan and the logo is placed at the top right on its side. It kind of looks like a sticker that has just been placed I don’t feel so confident about the logo. I think it needs some work.

This is the other experiments on poster designs. The design on the left is for the scientific side which focused on facts. I used the shapes as a percentage to give the science imagery and the number is on colours. I think this needs some more work to create the balanced looked especially what am I trying to tell to the parents with this statistics. I am focused on how to visualise it at this moment. The second poster I was working on the science side of the project. Using statistics to draw parents in on general health concerns in Cardiff. This poster I used the similar shapes layered on the centre and then the text on top. The numbers are in bigger and bolder type compared to the rest. I think this style could be incorporated to the project very nicely and could work well together.

These posterd below are more developed versions, as thought somethiing was missing from the posters it needed a small visual to show drop off your phones. The main focus in this poster is to drop off your phones and have family quality time. The shapes are placed on the bottom of the page as if they have been thrown on to the page like dropped, layering. I thought this would add some movement to the page as we are encouraging being active. The title needed some extra detail to communicate so i added a small clock behind the playground. The clock shows around 8 o clock which is like family time. The main focus is to get parents to priorities family time and that once again their home is a playground. I didn’t use any images or visuals for the games as that will be included on the other elements. I’m thinking of doing game cards that could be in the fun package. I’m still working on the where to place the paragraph of text whether to layer on the shapes or above which would be easier to read.

FINAL POSTER / WELSH – Focused on Priority and Home activities

This is the final posters in welsh and english. I have made few changes as the colours I added more of the dark blue which makes the poster stand out more, I used orange on the areas which needed colour. The clock behind the title works with the main colour on the page which is the blue. I placed the paragraph on the left which doesn’t over lap the shape as readers to read is easier as Paul suggested the text would be harder to recognise if it’s on the shape. In addition, it creates more clarity and good structure. The hierarchy follows from the top title then eye moves downwards to read the text which is in a 13 point size. The type face for all the text is Roc Grotesk but in different styles. The title is Roc Grotesk Condensed ExtraBold and the body copy is Roc Grotesk Medium. I believe this poster is will work very well with the project, it communicates the message with small visuals and its eye catchy. It’s simple and playful which will attract parents. The tone of language is positive and welcoming. There’s no bold aggressive text which can put people off it highlights the game time which I will have a game card to explain how to play the games.

POSTER 2 – Family Bonding – Unity

The second set of posters I wanted to focus on family bonding and how essential it is as a family parents should spend quality time together. The imagery I wanted to use was again using the shapes from my visual elements but not layered different shapes but focusing on simple imagery. I though about unity and how families sit around a table I though if I could show the simple way of how families come together that could communicate my message. I used the circles as peoples in a way like heads. They two big circles symbolise the parents in ways there’s two but it could also work for other types of families as older siblings etc. I didn’t want to generalise drawing these families as there’s loads of types of families and I would be leaving them out. The other circles symbolise the children in different colours. Im experimenting with layouts to find the best one that fits the message. The second one seems to work better and I liked the colours on the blue background it makes it stand out. The stage is to develop this idea with slogans and body text by giving information.

I started to develop the imagery and carry on focusing on the family unity. The shapes create a circle which symbolises game time and the image on the left is the first edition. The title in the middle highlights that quality time is essential, I used a bold typeface to for emphasis. The circles do stand out on the page and I think it needs some development with the visual. The second image is with circles on the right being solid colours whereas the on the left it’s irregular shapes and they have outlines. The message for this is the solid colours symbolise the strong bonds in the family they are full whereas the irregular shape is the weaker bonds without family bonding and quality time. I was speaking to Paul for some advice and he said showing the contrast would be really good to show the reader the effects of no quality time. So the contrast between shapes could be a way to communicate the importance. In addition, it fits the branding identity and consistent with the rest of the posters. I also included a short text to highlight the importance of physical activity mentally and physically can have many benefits. It directs the readers to the youtube channel for videos. the design is simple and modern to fit all parents styles. The next stage is to add the logos and change few more things.

FINAL POSTER – WELSH

These are the final posters for the family bonding aspect. I have created both welsh and english as that was a requirement on the brief. I have added the new logo as I will be explaining after this. I also created a new logo Sport Cardiff which wasn’t included on the outcomes listed by the client but I think it needed a rebrand. It is bold and works well on the poster as well. Overall, I’m very happy with the outcome of these posters it communicates the message in a motivating and informative way. It is simple and structured I also like the way colours work together. the next step is I want to create a website for the project. I want to do some research first ti give me ideas and inspirations.

FUN PACKAGE – PLANNERS

I also started working on the planners which it will come in the family fun package aimed at families with lack of income and who don not have access to internet. The planners I was searching for some ideas but there was nothing that I really liked so I was kind of experimenting. These are the designs I was playing around at the very beginning of the project. As you can see the logos as very different. But this was my starting point. I feel like now my branding is consistent I have decided on a style I just need to reflect this on all the other outcomes. I was struggling at the beginning as there are so many outcomes I want to create and they all need to have the consistent branding so it can work together. The main idea of the planner is that so families can write down the games they have played, which players won or any other notes. I decided on this after Wendys lecture, Nudge or Budge theory. To change peoples behavior or life style it needs to be incorporated into their daily life. A planner or chart seemed the best idea, as if families can do these activities everyday and fill in the planners it means it becomes a daily activity rather than playing games once a week or every month. If they haven’t played in ages they can see from the chart and this could motivate the parents to have some quality time. I think it would really work well with the purpose of the project to get parents motivated. The design needs more work and I will develop using the branding I have created on other posters.

I completely changed my approach and focused on grids rather than big boxes. I think it wasn’t easy to use and too crowded. the grid below is easy to use and it can be adapted to each game. It is simple and works well for the purpose. I created the design using elements from the branding. The grid has the days of the week on the top and the games listed on the side which comes in the pack. I chose 3 games as they were easy and fun to play from the youtube channel. I also left empty space for families to fill out themselves maybe they have games they enjoy playing already. the grid has enough space to stick stickers or write notes. The abstract shapes are placed in the middle layered on top of each other carrying on with the movement theme. I decreased the opacity to 80 as it was too bold the grid wasn’t easy to follow. This way the shapes blend in and creates a nicer effect.

I also added a small information part at the bottom left to let them know if they complete it the charts can be shared on the website and directing them towards the youtube channel if they have online access. Using Roc Grotesk medium and 12 point size. I also added the logos for both your home is a playground but also Sport Cardiff on the bottom right. I feel like the chart looks completed, I don’t think it needs more changes or any more features.

The last few changes that needs to be done is the final logo needs to be added to the chart, and the team name which would make the outcome more personalised for each family. It could be a nice feature to get the family discussing together.

This is the final design for the game chart created for the fun package. I am very happy with the design and how easy it is to use. The game charts will be renewed every week once the packages arrive to families. By this way, they can keep the charts and see their progress as family.

STICKERS –

I also created stickers for the planners for children as they get motivated from these kind of things. They can be seen as rewards once they win games etc. It’s a nice feature to add in to get them motivated and engaged. They are simple designs with words such as completed etc. I used the same colour scheme in different variations.

Sticker mock up

WEBSITE DESIGN

I did a small research into website designs. think it is essential for inspiration and ideas. The design system I am thinking is something simple and clean. Focused on the information and abstract shapes. The images below are inspiration designs I picked out which fits the design system in my head. They are all very clean but also bold. They are focused on the imagery and visuals and clean type structure on the side. I also used images which have shapes as there main element as that is my project as well. I really liked the black first design on the left. the shapes in large scale as light pink on black background work so well it is eye cathy and interesting. It’s so bold and vibrant you can see the shapes on the logo at the top left as well. I really liked the text layering on the shapes which is something I want to try out as well.

First design for the website using some features I liked from the moodboards using my branding visuals. This is the home page which the parents would see when they visit the website. The design system focuses on clarity and easy navigation. I used a simple approach to the menu bar, 4 headings and the logo on the left. The headings are About which will tell the readers about the campaign and the aim of the project. Games is a page to explain how to play these games and maybe include some images that parents could send. If the parents don’t sign up to the packages they can see the games on the website too. Your story focuses on images videos from parents to create a community. Creating a community will create a belonging feelings which is safety and motivation. Parents could be motivated when they see other families enjoying these activities. And lastly, Fun packages is the page parents can find information on how to sign up to the packages and the items included. I used the Roc Grostest consistently in all elements in medium. The overall design I wanted it to be playful and simple. I used title across the whole page to capture the reader. The title highlights the slogan with the underlining which emphasises the word. I also have small paragraphs under the titles to give more information about the project. I think this page needs some improvements as it is very text heavy.The title is too long and too big it makes the page very crowded. One of the feedbacks from Paul was maybe the text could be smaller so it’s easy to read and visually more clean.

I also created the About us but I thought about the feedbacks from the home page. I decided to separate the menu into two sections and have the logo in the middle. It’s an extra details and keeps the eye in the centre. I think it looks nice that way rather than the classic menu on right logo on left. The abstract shapes are placed on the left with the text on the right. It creates a good visual as it’s easy to read the information but it’s till in the same branding style. The page is very simple I think it can still experiment and change aspects however, I believe this is the style I have created all the other outcomes it fits in with the other elements.

logos.

For logo for this project, as first I was working with Family Fun as the logo but the clients really liked ‘your home is a playground’ slogan which captured the project in my opinion. I decided to use it as the campaign name. The idea behind the logo is that I was thinking about play areas and parks. I wanted a playful logo so the flag effect reminded of a slides at kids parks. It captures the moving, being active aspect of the brief. The playground is the main focus in larger font. I think it’s simple and clean works in all different types of outcomes. There are different colour versions to fit all elements.

THE FINAL LOGOS IN WELSH AND ENGLISH

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT #2

I focused on other pages on the website, this is the Games page which explains how parents can play the games with visuals using the shapes. The information is again centered on the page, I explained the game in short sentences, they’ re all straught forard games anyway. I used few shapes on the right but the main focus is on the instructions. The visual I used foe the game is i used the box shape and distorted to give the towel effect. I used the branding elements to make the visuals as that was one of the struggles or set backs in the priject. I thought about doing illustrations to show the games but illustration is not my strength but also it wouldn’t fit in with the shapes and the overall branding. it was two different styles visuals. I had a short meeting with Paul to discuss my struggle and he gave me very positive and motivating feedback that my branding is more consistent compared to the earlier stages of the project. He suggested i should use these abstract shapes to create the visuals. Overall, I liked the way this page looks, it works well and maybe I could add some images in future or animations. That would be something to work on towards the end.

This is the part they scroll down, they can see the second game, the visual works with the game as it’s about finding different colours in your house. I just created a block of different colours using the wide colour palette.

MOCK UPS.

After the showing presenting our 3 strong concepts, I had positive feedback and some suggestion to take my project to the next level. With the feedback I decided to focus on the second concept which was aimed at home activities with the slogan Your home is your playground. I started to research more visuals which I thought that would be appropriate for the project. The mood board below is mixture of all the different styles of visual elements I liked which I think that will work with the aim of the project. The mood-board consists of visuals which are heavy typography and organic playful shapes. There are over lapping but also clean structured styles. I annotated each poster with the things I liked about it. These visuals are vibrant and energetic, they can capture parents mostly as it’s not so aimed at young children. It is contemporary style which will fit in with the rest of the campaigns already in the market. The colours are vibrant and bold, I think this project I want to use a wide set of colours as this is out of my comfort zone too. Usually I like clean limited colours which makes the branding so strong but as we are aiming at families, the language needs to be friendly and motivating we can achieve this with wide range of warm colours. The use of shapes and bold heavy text seems retro but it’s modern, it’s eye catchy and I can see this working with this type of project.

Climatology

Climatology is a brand that develops a small range of Day and Technical packs -but also looking to grow and expand into other categories such as jackets, tents and outdoor hardware. The visual identity is warm and playful, I think it captures the earthy feeling with abstract organic shapes. It is modern and classic but it communicates the brand very well. I think this was an example of you don’t need drawings, illustrations of literally to communicate the message. Colours, shapes if used effectively can also be a strong visual. They have used editorial style using photographs and combining the organic shapes to create a modern clean branding identity. This was a good inspiration and I want to carry on searching for the aesthetic I want to create for this project.

VISUAL ELEMENTS

I started off with the colour palette, mixing matching to get a palette that works well together. The final 6 colours is below, I really liked the way blue would look with light pink, the orange is also a pop off warmth and energy. The dark rich green would work with pinks and also greens. I’m really happy with the colours, I think it would make the audience feel positive. Then I decided on the the typeface, again I wanted something contemporary, clean, easy to read and simple. I liked Roc Grotesk as it’s simple but it has few details on each letter which makes it unique. The sans serif is a good font which has variety of different styles which is good for titles and also body copy. The next step is working on visual elements.

From the 3 concept review, Paul said those shapes reminded him off sports like grid was like tennis nets, the circles were balls etc. I was searching looking for things that would reflect children and parents. Earlier as I said, playground is like a fun place for children, I searched into kids play areas, one thing in common is the shapes in those play areas. They always have blocks of shapes which kids can play with. The visuals I want to use in this project is seen below. These are the shapes I want to use on the posters and other elements. However, it will not look this structured the main idea behind is these shapes will look like they’ve been thrown on to the page, layered on top in some cases to show movement and being active. I think this way I can capture the movement that is needed in the visuals and it would fit the purpose. The colours will change frequently between each shape depending on the outcome as there are many outcomes I want to create for this project.

The movement will be created like this, as seen below. The shapes are layering on top in some cases. It looks much better when it is not structured as it then fits the playground theme. In a playground nothing is static, it’s always been thrown objects balls. I also used solid colours and outlines as it can look too similar, having few different features can enhance the visuals. I’m gonna have several variations on each element but the branding will be consistent through out. I think the next step is to start designing the some posters and other elements for next week.

For this project I will be creating several outcomes: Print & Digital

Posters – English/ Welsh

Website

Fun Package- Planners, Tote bags, Stickers, Game Cards

Instagram – Posts and mock ups

Facebook – Mockups

Maybe an animation of moving logo if I have time.

What I need to do next:

Research some layout inspirations for my posters, slogans.

From my research i had few concepts and key areas I wanted to focus on. One of them was Family bonding, I thought rather than using sports and physical activity if I could use another word parents would be more dedicated. Under family bonding, they can do physical activities, mind games, talking, just getting involved with each other which was one of the things our client said the purpose of him starting this project. He wanted parents to be more connected with their family. Family bonding idea focused on changing parents behaviours towards their children, I thought about outcomes which focuses on parents to priotise their kids as a way to strengthen their relationship and a way to do this would be home activities. By strengthening the family bonds, this would have a positive effect on all individuals and it can effect their social relationships too. The outcomes will include slogans such as ‘Phone’s off, tea towel tag time!”, these kinds of phrases are trying to get them to do things, get out and gather all the family together. it is motivating without making the reader feel bad or aggressive. One of the main ideas is the family fun package, this is the fre package parents in low income households will get, the package will include a planner, stickers, game cards. The game cards will have instructions on how to play the games in short sentences. This concept focuses mainly on families who have no online access. I believe this was the main aim of the project, there are loads of other campaigns which have zoom lessons, youtube lives for people who have internet but what about the people who don’t have these means. The package they can sign up and it will be delivered to their door. I thought we could locate 4 deprived areas like they did with workshops and deliver them these goods. The potential deliverables would be packages, posters for supermarkets, schools as these are the locations parents visit the most. Maybe a booklet to give information about importance of physical health and other things they can do to stay active with list of games.

I quickly did a visual which could be potential but I don’t think this is the style I will be using. But it was good to think about different things, the visual I focused on was the time, and communicate it through clean block colours. It’s simple and bold with the colours.

This is the second concept solely focuses on home activities and quality time. The slogan is Your home is a playground. The idea behind this is as I mentioned earlier home is a safety net for many people especially if they have confidence issues or don’t have the money to go out instantly it will grip that target audience and then the playground is aimed at children all these games they will be playing at home turns the space into a playground. It’s like the play area but in their house. It’s an engaging bold slogan focuses on both home and being active. In addition, it focuses on home activities parents can do at home with the tools they have. Again, this focuses on lack of income, but the visual language is completely different. I want to highlight at they don’t need to spend loads of money on outdoor activities, they can easily have fun at home. Underlining the issue that doing small activities at home won’t cost much as if parents are worried about this and it’s a reason why they don’t do much my campaign can solve that issue. The target audience is families with lack of income and parents who lack confidence they don’t want to go to workshops outside their house. Potential outcomes would be engaging posters, booklets, website as well for families who do have online access as they might still not do much exercise.

These are the visuals I was thinking, very vibrant, bold capturing colours with shapes. Paul said the first visual with grid reminds him of tennis nets, then the circles like footballs and its energetic. I like these visuals they are playful, I can see the second visual of circles in animation moving around for instagram or facebook. I was playing with these shapes then the third visual I was layering the boxes like Jenga it looked organic and active. I think there is a potential in these visuals and the concept. I could expand and create a strong campaign.

This is an other idea which is a different visual concept, it captures everything from the other two concepts but the visual language is more illustrative and soft. I think I can see my second concept is the strongest and has the most potential to be expanded. The tutorial from Paul was very positive and he liked the slogan your home is a playground he said it’s more capturing and engaging then family fun. It would motivate the audience and children as well.

For the visuals, I was thinking about small illustrations of the games for the booklets and posters. The colours are much softer and more family friendly. It’s mainly aimed at the children but i think this is not my main focus I want to focus on parents as if there actions change they can change their kids life style as well. I want to have a contemporary clean aesthetic which both parents and children will engage with.

Mentor Feedback

Today we had a meeting with our mentor he gave some good advice and positive feedback. He also liked the slogan your home is a playground and he said I should merge all ideas together as they all seem to work together in some way. He suggested I could do animations to show movement. He also said I need a strong branding which is consistent through out. I feel positive and motivated at this point. I think the next stage is to create the visual process and development. I also need to do some research into existing campaings for some inspiration.

Today we had a lecture with Wendy about Nudge or Budge Theory. This theory tries to explain and understand how people think to make a decision or behave. Also, identifying and modifying existing unhelpful influences on people. I believe understanding this will be very useful for this project as our brief is focused on trying to change peoples life style choices so I was looking forward to this lecture. If we could understand how people think and how they make a decision we could relate it to parents and find solutions to get them to change their behaviour and thoughts on being active. There are 6 nudges:

System thinking – Fast & Slow

Behavioral insights show that people have two systems of thinking for processing information and decision making: automatic and reflective. The automatic system is typically fast to process, intuitive, unconscious, effortless and reactive. The reflective is slower to process, conscious, rational, more effortful, time consuming, responsive .

Behaviour change is best understood as a consequence of both systems.

Information design – Visual language

Text and language which is focused on typography and words to address to the audience.

Visual appearance is the colour, visual, images may all influence how engaging or persuasive information is. As a graphic designer this is the one we usually focus on the most. Visually the message should be communicated clearly so that it can have an impact on the audience. I’m staring to think about what kinds of visuals I want to do for my project already as they can be really important.

There could be numerous forms of information that might be designed for behaviour change, including cues, guidelines, plans, checklists and decision aids.

Information actions – Planning

Cues and reminders, cues can covey important information or trigger an emotional, affective reaction. Responses to cues conditioned by peoples relationship to the information.

Planning

Planning prompts that make actions simple, (ie tear off strip) can be effective to reduce procrastination and forgetfulness. They relate to organizational factors in actions, what are they logistical challenges that need to be planned and overcome?

Framing – Loses and gains

Social comparison – Descriptive social normals, injunctive norms, a command or order.

Choice and Incentive – Default systems are already in place, little action or planning needed. Salient clear signs that limit choice, feedback.

Gains and Loses – Attribution gains and loses: the chance of survival with cancer is 2/3 or the chance of mortality with cancer is 1/3. Descriptive of the consequences of performing an action as a gain or loss.

MINDSPACE

Messenger– we are heavily influenced by who communicates information

Incentives– Our responses to incentives are shaped by predictable mental shortcuts such as strongly avoiding losses.

Norms– Strongly influenced by what others do

Defaults– we “fo with the flow” of pre-set options.

Salience – our attention is drawn to what is novel and seems relevant to us.

Priming– our acts are often influenced by sub-conscious cues

Affect– our emotional associations can powerfully shape our actions

Commitments– we seek to be consistent with our public promises, and reciprocate acts.

Ego– we act ways that make us feel better about ourselves

The lecture was very beneficial and it gave me few key points to focus on how to change parents behaviors, I thought about using check lists and planners as a very good way to help parents make time for their children’s and family quality time. I could have planners for each week so they could tick off after playing games. I think this is an idea that I will go forward with and incorporate it into the deliverables. In addition, the client mentioned they give out goodie bags after workshops so I thought about making a fun package where they can have few items such as stickers, badges but also a planner for the family. This is an idea I will be showing clients to see their feedback on our next meeting. Small features in the campaign can benefit the target audience as posters leaflets do some have impact but the practical things which get the individuals’ to do things physical is more persuasive and engaging.

I created a mind map of all the key things I thought that was useful from the lecture. I just wanted to visualise and kind of circle aspects I thought I could use in my project and that i need to consider when designing. I know I wanted to focus on visual appearance and planning. These two if used effectively can make the parents want to change their life style and way of thinking.

Client meeting – 19/10/2020

These are my notes from the meeting on Teams:

Focus on the right families – not patronizing

Focus on online-zoom, facebook live

Outcomes / Physical – posters, flyers, leaflets, facebook ads – just advertising materials.

Accessibility is very important.

Bilingual – need welsh designs too

Design styles:

Focus on FUN, enjoying themselves, this is not a sport campaign this is for familiies ro spend quality time and have fun, relax. Fun is the main aim.

Try to be representative – demographic

Activity – movement on basic activities, not hard core sport routines or workouts.

Purpose:

Behaviour change -Physical change to get parents to be more involved with their kids. Parents can get angry with their kids when they have a lot of energy or they’re too loud, rather than them shouting at them or sending them to sleep. Parents should be doing activities so the kids can release the energy and also spend time with their parents.

Making parents feel comfortable, confidence.

ideation

I think this meeting was very beneficial from the things our client has said I think a few paths I could take this project. I know I want to focus on home activities, but I need 3 different concepts which focus on three different actions.

This mind map I focused on how to change parents behaviours and i think this was my big ideation process. As I was struggling with ideation, as next week we have a 3 strong concept tutorial. So I started to think about what is the purpose of this project, what is is my concept what am i aiming at the end of this project. How can I get parents to realise they need to do physical activities with their children. In addition, the brief has few things as a group we were feeling confused about. As the workshops, focus on low income families who live in deprived areas, this would mean parents who have no access to internet but they also want online presence. So we would need to think about both print and digital. I was thinking about why aren’t parents already doing these activities, if I could find answers to this question then i could think about solutions, create a campaign which will solve the problems or issues they are having. An example, in the brief it is said that lack of income is a reason why parents don’t do much exercise which results the family to be inactive too. So to solve this problem I can create posters that show that these home activities are so easy and simple to do at home. If I highlight this visually this could change their attitude to doing these activities as they will think I won’t need to spend much money. I can also highlight home activities you can use the tools you have at home which is the main focus of this project. They want parents to do home games as due to Covid-19 they can’t do face to face activities. Also, I thought about confidence as a big issue which is also highlighted in the brief, home activities would be so beneficial and good people who are struggling socially as home is safety, it’s our safety zone where we are isolated from the outside world. It has several meanings to many people but mostly it’s safety, comfort, love, togetherness, belonging and family. Parents who deal with lack of self confidence they might feel at ease if they’re at home then once things go back to normal they might build their confidence and actually want to join in to face to face workshops. For the visuals, I was thinking about slogans, catch phrases which will be engaging such as ‘phones off, it’s game time‘, a way to gets parent drop whatever that they are doing and focus on quality time. This slogan encouraging, it’s short and simple straight to the point of what parents should be doing. I also want to research on importance of quality time, include some facts and scientific outcomes to how beneficial quality time is for children. As we need to include some science in this brief, but it would also help communicate the message and support the purpose of the project. I think I have few paths and concepts I could show next week. I’m starting to feel more connected to the project. My next step is to refine all my ideas and create small visuals as ideas for next week.

Some key words that will help me with the concepts:

Confidence

Lack of income

Lack of time

Accessible

The next step was to create a creative brief for our clients to show the approach we will take and things we will consider as the designers. I believe creative briefs are helpful especially to designers as the client briefs sometimes can be full of information like the Sport Cardiff brief which was full of facts on statistics about families living in poor locations then health facts and a diagram to show how many people do exercise, smoke, eat healthy etc. All these informations are very useful for the 6 frames workshop we did with Wendy. The creative brief refines the purpose, the target audience and what is expected from us. So, in the project the step was create a brief to send it to our clients.

I designed the brief is a simple modern approach, focused on the important information which the client will understand my point of view. There are 6 elements which I focused on. The background gives an overview of the brief of what Family Fun aims to do and my perception of their purpose. I also used my knowledge from the Infographic workshop. The objective is what I am aiming for this brief and my goals. I want the project to focus on the trying to get parents to engage in these activities that lack of income shouldn’t be a reason for them to not do activities together. I highlighted that I will be focusing on both parents who have access to internet but also target the families living in deprived area who don’t have access to youtube or social media. The target audience I mentioned the the parents living in deprived areas which is my main focus. However, I do know clients also want social media presence. I will have few things I need to consider I think I need to make sure my language should be motivating and friendly. Rather than making the user feel bad about the lack of exercise they’re doing as one of the aims of the project is also focus on motivation and confidence. Lack of confidence is a barrier for many people, it can stop them from going to workshops or joining events. I also used important information in the brief to show I have read the brief and I picked out information and statistics which will help me shape the project. I believe this creative brief kind of shows the client a little about the path I want to take.

This was the images I added on to the brief for some inspiration, the kind of style I am thinking for the visuals. The mood board consists of both visuals using photographs but also abstract shapes focused on typography. There is a strong consistency of bold vibrant colour palette which is what I want to have in the project. The vibrant colours will be good for motivation and welcoming purpose.

Today we had a great lecture on Information design, we were taught about the history of Information design and the ket things we need to consider when designing. Information design is the skill and practice of preparing information so people can use it with an efficiency and effectiveness. One of the first uses was in London Graphic Design Consultancy Pentagram and then it was used within the industry since then. However, it was used before Pentagram one of the example is London Underground Map in 1931 by Harry Beck. The iconic design is gives us a clear information design on how to use the tube in London. The aims of Information design is to have clarity, understanding and effectiveness. The final deliverable should provide the greatest possible degree of understand. It was must be open to any and every discipline of field of throughout.

Information design must also encourage and participate in research that it creates our understanding of information and the effect that it has on the audience.

Infographics– Infographics guides the audience to the conclusions with the information it gives to the audience.

Data Visualisation – Data visualisation allows the audience to draw their own conclusion.

Infographics– The visual representation of facts, numbers and events that reflect patterns and align to a story. It is best for letting a premeditated story and offer a subjectivity. It is also great got guiding the audience to a conclusion and point out a relationship. It is also created manually by one set a data.

Data Visualisation – A visual representation of data abstracted into a schematic form so that the audience can more easily process the information and get a clear idea about the data at glance. It is best for allowing the audience make their won conclusion about the information. It’s also for some people more interesting to look at as they are using imagery symbols to create the information. Visuals are really important as it should represent the fact or the data.

I think the lecture allowed me to understand the importance of information and how you visualise is also very important. Especially in example David gave us in the lecture about voting ballots, because the design of the papers was very poorly people were voting for the wrong person. This changed the result of the voting which can have very serious implications and also shows how important the design systems for users.

The next step is to create a infographics myself for the 6 frame workshop using the Family Fun brief. The first step I will be doing it analysing the brief, highlighting areas which the brief is answering the questions on purpose. Once I have the facts I will be designing it into a infographics.

Analysing the brief

As my job in the team was to focus on Purpose frame I went through the brief to look for the answers. I created a key which I highlighted parts of the brief I thought that was answering the key questions. The brief was full of information that will be useful to us to understand what are we trying to communicate and who are we doing it for. I think through out the brief it is very useful to understand the how much less people living in poor areas so less exercise, there are some shocking facts such as majority of the adults who do lowest activity levels are living in poverty. Some households have as little as £2.55 to spend on recreational activities. Only 15% of population in Cardiff meet all four healthy behaviours. Those figures are really low and especially for people living in poverty which don’t have extra money to spend on gym memberships or other activities are doing less activity. I think understanding the information is very important to connect to the brief and understanding the reason for this campaign. As if you connect, you will be able to answer the brief and create outcomes which will fit and be useful to the people. The second question I highlighted was why do we need this information.

In the brief, it tells us clearly that there are few reasons why some people can’t exercise as much as other people in society. The reasons could be the very obvious lack of income but also maybe social isolation, maybe they don’t feel comfortable to exercise at a gym or lack confidence. In addition, mental health is also a key factor when it comes to doing things and being productive can also be very challenging. In the brief, it says physically active parents have physically active children. I believe this is very true, the main focus of the brief should be focusing on parents to try and encourage them to do some exercise which then they will bring their kids along and do these activities with them. The other question was what information do people need?. I answered this question as what information do we need as a designer reading the brief. I believe one of the way the brief lacks the perspective of people they are targeting at. We don’t have information from people living in poverty or people who do less exercise what kind of things they would want to do or what do they think would help their community. There are a lot of information about them but it was very vague and kind of only focuses on lack of income. We also don’t have much personal information of people we are targeting.

Infographic

To create the infographic I wanted to keep it simple and easy to understand. I used a heart warming colour scheme to keep it light and bright. I didn’t want to have so much information on the page as it would be very crowded. The brief was full of information regarding many key things however I didn’t want to add everything on it to so in some designs too much information is just confusing. I think I found it hard to visualise the diagram including the general health behaviors in the brief. As it is very early in the brief I believe this is an area I should research more and develop my skills. I still gave it a go and tried to design something which people can understand easily. As I was struggling I used typography to create hierarchy and statistics to the eye catchy. I used three questions in the frame and used key information as possible. As some information is repeated few times. I think this workshop helped me more than I thought as to understand the brief anf why they are doing this campaign.

The feedback

Today we had to go into the studio to present our work. We realised we were all suppose to do 6 frames each but we all focused on one frame.However, David was happy with our outcomes and it was all positive feedback. He also gave me few ideas on things we should consider when answering this brief. He suggested we should also consider social and political side of these issues as well and have a language which doesn’t blame these individuals but encourage and motivate. The language should be friendly and welcoming. David suggested we should look more at community in the brief and research agencies which work on social issues in society such as Think Public in London. Participatory campaigns are also something he said we should research on which will give us ideas for the next stage in the project.