OUGD404 Studio Brief 01 - How do you read? - Overview

For this task I will need to design and produce a small publication (booklet, leaflet, etc.) that collates material which, in turn, can communicate key design principles to a reader. From the study tasks we have looked into design principles of image, layout, composition and colour. Within my publication I am going to explore colour theory further and highlight key points and facts to readers. I have chosen to take colour theory further because understanding the basics will aid a designer greatly with colour mixing and the impact certain colours have.

Colour Theory Research:
Because this is only a small publication I only have a small space to put the information on, therefore I need to pick out the most important and useful to the reader, so that I appropriately utilise the space. I need to be aware however of not overcrowding or putting too much information on, as it will be uninteresting and reduce readability.

Information I aim to include in my leaflet:

• How we view colour - physical, physiological and psychological.
• The colour wheel - primary, secondary, tertiary and complementary.
• Chromatic value - hue, chroma, saturation, tints, tones and shades.
• Colour modes - RGB and CMYK
• Colour context

Type of fold:

After experimenting with folds and having a look at different types of folds for leaflet and brochure designs I have decided to do a square tri fold. I think the square shape will be easier to work with layout better than a rectangle as it has an even surface area producing a more ordered design. It will also allow me to experiment with the overall design of the leaflet more. This design has 6 sides for me to work with however, I don't think I will have any important information on the front cover other than the title.

Paper Choice:

Coated or uncoated?

Coated paper comes in a variety of smoothness, like matte, semi-matte or silk and gloss. With these types of papers the ink doesn't get absorbed by the paper fibres but stays at the top giving brighter colours and gives the paper a somewhat glossy finish (EXCEPT MATTE). This would work well with my design because I really want to show the vibrancy of colour as that is what my leaflet is talking about and I think coated would reflect that well. However I need to be careful not too have long bodies of text because with a coated paper it reflects light and could make it difficult to read.

Uncoated paper has a rough, natural feel to it, the printer ink gets inside the top layer of the paper and sinks into the fibres beneath. This type of paper would create a nice texture and feel but wouldn't have as much vibrancy with colours.

Thickness and weight

Generally I want a sturdy paper that isn't flimsy in your hands as this would be handled often as it is a leaflet. However I don't want the paper too thick because it would be expensive and harder to fold.

Imagery:

Primarily I will probably be using colour swatches, a diagram of the colour wheel and possibly a diagram of how we view colour. Depending whether I can find the appropriate images I might do my own illustrations of the diagrams. Another thing that I could consider is real life images of contrasting colours as I think that would be visually interesting to see them used in different contexts.

Type:

I am more inclined to use a sans serif typeface as I feel it reflects a more clean, simple, modern look. Serifs would draw attention away from the colours, I don't want the typeface to be boastful or distracting as it is about the use of colour.

Layout:
I really want to give the publication a clean look, so I aim to really utilise the white space so that the colours really pop out on the page. I will probably have a system of about two columns as I think it will help organise and present the information effectively and clearly.

OUGD405 Studio Brief 02 - Design Process - Information Design - Summary Presentation

Summary Presentation:
I began by working from the public information video that I watched called 'Charley says don't talk to strangers'. The message was clear and easy to understand and it targeted small children in light/comic tone with a stark, serious message. The cartoon style will appeal to a young audience so that they engage with it more. The use of the cat character 'Charley' is a friendly and trustworthy figure which children are more likely to connect with. It has a very simple story line and it is explained in a way that children will understand and it won't scare them too much.

Research into this public information video helped inform my own stranger safety leaflet for kids. I moved on to look at online resources on how kids are taught to stay away from strangers and what to do in certain scenarios. I identified that it is important to give children possible scenarios and it is important to make them understand the difference between a 'good' stranger and a 'bad' stranger.

Considerations:

• Many children don't understand the concept of a stranger.
• Sometimes children need to turn to a stranger for help - lost children.
• Most children are abducted by someone they know.
• Children under 7 need constant adult supervision so target audience could be between 5 and 8?
• Target audience could also be adults on how to teach their children the dangers.
• Don't make it to scary but don't make the message too soft - need to find the right balance between the two.

I then did some brief research on what makes a good children's leaflet and I found that:

• Bright colours were used to engage
• High interaction - filling bits in, worsheets
• Pictures over text 
• Text kept short and to the point
• Friendly 

Inspiration taken from Do Good Advertising Agency 

The Little Book of Loss

Initial ideas:

After presenting my ideas to a small group the leaflet design idea they liked the most and thought could be made really effectively was number 3. They liked the doodle, hand drawn elements and the strong visual focus it would have for young children. After a discussion the best direction for the leaflet was to do 'The Do's and Don't of Stranger Safety' as the easy directions would be clear enough for a young child to understand. I was also told to consider a tear off section for parents containing facts and a guide on how to check their child has understood the information. I need to consider how it could form the rest of a campaign and how the children will receive the leaflet.

I began to look at different ways I could fold the leaflet. If my design is going to be very image focused then I want to have sides with a greater surface area to work with so that the image really stand out. I chose a square design rather than a rectangle as it is more compact and produces a more even looking design. I experimented with the 'Z' fold and the 'Accordion' fold. After drawing the net out for the 'Z' fold I noticed that to fit all of the necessary information on it would be quite cramped and that is not the effect that I want to go for. Therefore I am going to go for the accordion fold as it allows me more faces to apply my design.

I then decided to take the doodle idea forward as suggested as I believe it was one of the stronger concepts for the leaflet. This character approach is used frequently within children's information leaflets to help explain the message more clearly and so that children will engage with it more. Children are more likely to remember the information if it is done in a nice way rather than being 'told off' by a serious adult voice. A character will give the child a better connection with the message making them feel more comfortable. The doodle idea is an idea that I thought would work well because it looks like it was done by a child giving that sense of familiarity - children are more likely to listen to each other if they believe that is what other children are doing.

I kept the character designs rounded so that they are not as harsh and using simple shapes that they recognise to give that softer approach. I wanted to keep the idea of them being 'stick men' because that is how children start off drawing - it is relatable. I wanted the stranger character to not be defined by age or gender as the message is that a stranger can look like anyone and I think it is necessary to make that clear, as children associate a stranger to be men with beards and hats - scary looking characters.

Considerations:

• Message/Content - The Do's and Don't of Stranger Safety. What is a stranger? Possibly have a tear off info/facts for parents. Very simple language and strong image focus for children to understand.
• Purpose - To inform young children so that they can recognise what to do in certain situations regarding strangers.
• Delivery - Mailed letter to parents so that they give the leaflet to their children.
• Target Audience - Primary school children (5-8 years), if I have a tear off part it needs to be appealing to parents to make them want to give it to their child.
• Tone of voice - Direct but friendly with a serious undertone to express not to take the message too lightly.

Mock-up: 

Crayon / hand rendered style, enlarged 'DO' and 'DON'T' with smaller information.

Coloured in, sketchy, child like, with simple colours to relate.

Plain white background to give the image a strong focus.

I briefly did some colour research and found that blue and pink are calming colours for children which would make them feel more at ease with the characters. Red excites and would capture the child's attention as a warning.

As I am using doodles (illustrations) as the main focus within my leaflet I needed to sketch out what was going on the other pages within the leaflet. I also decided on the dimensions of my leaflet (10x10cm). I wanted it to be small so that it could fit into a pocket and would easily be held by a child.

I decided where each illustration would go on a mock up:

I researched typography when using it for children and found that it is better to pick a typeface which is clear and has a larger x-height. I tested out two different typefaces DK Cool Crayon Regular (top) and Sassoon Primary Roman Italics (bottom).

After testing the type sizes within the 10x10cm dimensions I found that a 34pt type worked better for the titles and a 12pt type worked for the body text, this is due to the small nature of the leaflet. Overall I am going to go with DK Cool Crayon Regular as I think it will appeal more to a younger audience, also as its a bolder type it will provide a higher contrast. 

Final designs:

After a consideration of stock I tested out 4 different papers and chose Antalis Olin Digital Regular High White 200gsm. This had a nice feel to it that wasn't too heavy and would be easy to fold yet it is still durable enough to be handled by children. The white also provided a high contrast with the image and text.

OUGD405 Studio Brief 02 - Design Process - Information Design - Feedback and Self Evaluation

Feedback from others:
I asked my boyfriends mum for feedback on my leaflet as she has 6 year old daughter. She expressed that as soon as she saw the leaflet the design was very obviously for young children. It is easily understandable and something that they would clearly engage with. As a parent she would give this to her child as it's done in an informative non scary way which will get the message across to children clearly. She also liked the interactiveness, how children could colour in or draw on the leaflet. 
Feedback from my peers was very similar, they thought that the doodle idea had turned out really effectively and they could see children engaging with it, as from the typography to the illustrations it all mimics a child's style. However they said that the body of text might be better in a clearer typeface as it will improve readability and legibility for children. The concise information also makes it easier for a child to remember and characters help to put the message across without 'telling them off'. Overall they believed it to be a friendly design approach that appeals accurately to the target audience and portrays the message in the best way for a child to learn.

Self Evaluation:
I really enjoyed this project as designing for kids is quite fun! It allowed me to be childish in my designs and not worry about it looking perfect. I think I have developed an appropriate tone of voice for my target audience, something children will easily engage with. I think I should have done a bit more research into children's leaflets and books so that I have everything covered when designing for children. I think in the feedback it was right to say that the typeface for the body of text should have been clearer to improve readability and legibility, although it does fit in with the rest of the design. I think the accordion fold is easy for a young child to follow although there is no particular order to reading the leaflet. The design just makes it a bit more engaging to follow rather than opening one page and reading a ton of info, it allows the necessary breaks for children to process the information. When doing my colour research I feel I chose the appropriate colours although I wish I could have tried to incorporate yellow into the design as that is linked to a child's memory, which would increase the chance of them remembering the information. Overall I am happy with design although I was worried it looked too childish like I hadn't put much effort into it but I was just trying to get a style children could associate with.

OUGD405 Studio Brief 02 - Design Process - Information Design - Stock Considerations & Printing

After creating the designs in photoshop I needed to create the leaflet in InDesign which I had never used before. From the tutorials I was able to set up my leaflet correctly and get it ready for a double sided print. Unfortunately after first testing the design out on normal A3 printing paper I had already spotted a problem. The fold marks did not match up on both sides of the design when printed. This would make it difficult to fold my leaflet up accurately. However when speaking to the computer resource guys they said it could mean that there printers need realigning and that it would be fine when I go down to digital print.

Stock considerations:

• Antalis Olin Digital Regular High White 200gsm
• Antalis Olin Digital Regular Cream 200gsm
• Antalis Olin Digital Regular High White 300gsm
• Iprint Digital Silk 300gsm

After testing out these four different paper stocks I again ran into the same problem on two of them. Antalis Olin Digital Regular High White 300gsm and Iprint Digital Silk 300gsm printed with the fold marks heavily misaligned. I am unsure whether that is due to the thickness of the paper, but the technician said that sometimes this can happen when printing double sided. That left Antalis Olin Digital Regular 200gsm in High White and Cream which had both printed out with more accurate fold marks. After cutting down and folding them both up I found the high white to be more appealing as it gave a higher contrast and didn't make the other colours look a bit off. I think 200gsm was the appropriate paper thickness as it was easy to fold, isn't as heavy and its cheaper.

Final printed design:

OUGD405 Studio Brief 02 - Design Process - Information Design - Print Process

Print Processes:
Litho:
Litho printing is a very common type of printing. It relies on the transfer of ink from plates (made digitally from the design artwork) to the paper via a rubber blanket or roller. It protects the plate by giving a consistent surface to transfer the ink too.

• Advantages – extremely flexible and cost effective for most jobs and will print on a wide range of stock.
•  Disadvantages – higher set up costs than digital.

Screenprint:
Used for short run work and can be used for printing on a variety of materials. It is the simple and direct was of delivering ink through a stencil, which is mounted on a screen that protects the stencil and maintains registration.

• Advantages – non impact and prints on any kind of substrate and can be used to print brilliant saturated colours.
• Disadvantages – small print runs only and not recommended for four colour work and small type.

Digital:
There is a number of different techniques but they are all produced direct from a computer design file. No print plates or stencils are used the print is made directly.

• Advantages – cost effective for short runs, print can be personalised and very quick turn around.
• Disadvantages – expensive compared to litho on long runs, a more limited range of recycled content papers.

Overall the best method of printing appears to be litho as I need a high volume of leaflets to be produced to go to all of the schools in the country. Because of the high volume it will be cheaper overall than digital print.

OUGD405 Studio Brief 02 - Design Process - Information Design - Final Designs

After scanning in my drawings I added the type and colour in photoshop.

 To colour in the characters I changed the effect of the pencil tool to match the same crayon effect as the type. I used pink (f49ac1) and blue (00bff3) as I felt the pale colours reflected a calming friendly presence. I also used red (ff0000) as this is an alarming warning colour. I kept all of my designs in RGB colour mode while designing. The reason I have chosen to design it in RGB rather than CMYK is because I have had another idea to further aid my campaign of doing a cartoon using the illustrations, therefore to match the colours it is beneficial to keep it in RGB mode.

I added the text at different angles around the illustrations I had created, I felt this gave it a less ordered more relaxed approach and something that a child would engage with more. Generally I left quite a lot of white space I had the idea in mind of children colouring and drawing on the leaflets which create's a deeper interaction.

OUGD405 Studio Brief 02 - Design Process - Information Design - Typeface

Consideration of typeface is really important especially as I am targeting a younger audience who are still learning. It needs to be inviting, easy-to-read typefaces, set in the most readable way. When selecting a typeface for a children’s text, I need to look for a warm, friendly design with simple, generous letter shapes. The counters (the enclosed shapes within characters) should be rounded and open, not angular or rectangular. I should try to avoid non-traditional letterforms. A good example of a typeface with these attributes is Sassoon Primary, designed specifically for children.

Typefaces with larger x-heights are generally easier to read than those with short x-heights, and this is especially true for children. For very young readers, designs with one-story ‘a’s and ‘g’s (also called infant characters), is more appropriate as they are the lowercase shapes preschool and school-age children learn to write.

Considerations:

•  Don’t use condensed or expanded typefaces, which make character recognition more difficult.
• Select a book or medium weight; stay away from hairline or very bold weights.
• If using italics, make sure they are easy-to-read, and not overly condensed or stylised.

Text Size:

I need to make the text size large enough so that children would not struggle to read it. New readers have to learn to follow words from left to right and “jump” their eyes from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. The text should be set between 14-24 point.

Line lengths should be short and there shouldn't be too much text on the page. Dense blocks of text can be intimidating to young readers and avoid using all caps. I need to also make sure there is enough contrast between the background and the text, this makes it clearer and easier to read.

Headline or title type gives allows a more playful style, colour and layout, since there are fewer words to read. Decorated typestyles, lots of colour, and curved and jumping baselines can all be used to attract and entertain a young reader. Keeping it light and fun is the key to keeping a young reader interested and turning pages.

I tested out two different typefaces DK Cool Crayon Regular (top) and Sassoon Primary Roman Italics (bottom).

After testing the type sizes within the 10x10cm dimensions I found that a 34pt type worked better for the titles and a 12pt type worked for the body text, this is due to the small nature of the leaflet. I am worried however that 12pt is too small as it generally is better to go for larger type size to make it clearer for younger viewers however I am going to stick with these sizes. Generally I think that DK Cool Crayon Regular is more appealing and attractive it mimics the style of a crayon which would fit in well with the hand drawn and child-like design. However, Sassoon Primary Roman Italics is more legible and a lot clearer to read which is ideal for younger readers. Overall I am going to go with DK Cool Crayon Regular as I think it will appeal more to a younger audience, also as its a bolder type it will provide a higher contrast. 

OUGD405 Studio Brief 02 - Design Process - Information Design - Story Board

As I am using doodles (illustrations) as the main focus within my leaflet I needed to sketch out what was going on the other pages within the leaflet. I also decided on the dimensions of my leaflet (10x10cm). I wanted it to be small so that it could fit into a pocket and would easily be held by a child.

I then used an app called iScanner so that I could scan them in easily and modify them in photoshop this made the production a lot quicker then going and trying to scan in each one.

I decided where each illustration would go on a mock up: