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

Design Decisions:
Folds:

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 think I will chose a square design rather than a rectangle as it is more compact and produces a more even looking design. I want to go with either the 'Z' fold or the 'Accordion' fold, but I think the accordion fold has too many surfaces and I don't think i'll have enough information to fill them.

Paper test of z fold:

Paper test of 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 moved on to look at ideas for the front cover of the leaflet to determine the type of style with 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.

Feedback:

I had another critique group to see if my idea was heading in the right direction. They believed the delivery should be done as a hand out in school rather than posted to the parents as this would likely be more engaging. They don't think I necessarily need a parent section as they think it is easy enough for children to understand and not to distract away from who it's targeted at. They like the white background and the generic colours for the characters as they are easy for children to recognise and it provides a strong image focus. They liked the strong doodle as it provided a cohesive style that children could relate too making it appropriate for the target audience.