After spending the majority of the day researching proverbs and also realising how many other people are going down a similar route to myself I decided to combine two of the previous briefs that I have worked on, in order to create a new one that meets the requirements of 'Your Choice'. 


I still hope to create a series of prints, using screen print as a process for productions. I became really inspired by the proverb: 


'Every person's life is a fairytale written by God's fingers'


This proverb was initially inspired by my original given proverb during the 'Proverbally yours' brief, 'Out of sight, out of mind' as people often associate this with Children and children like fairytales. To meet the requirements of my original 'Proverbally Yours 1' brief I will create one type based, one image based and one image and type based print in each series.


I then decided to take my theme for my hotdog booklet from OUGD404 Design Principles, as I was really disappointed with the route I went down for this brief. My given word at the time was 'three' and taking this along with my inspiration proverb above I have decided to create a series of prints for young children that represent fairytales; 'The three little pigs', 'Three billy goats gruff', and 'Goldilocks and the three bears'. 

Here I have undertaken some research into English proverbs that inspire me, I hope to conduct extensive research into proverbs and find a selection that I feel strongly about and that relate and would work well with my chosen brief.

A bad penny always turns up. 

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 

A fool and his money are soon parted. 

A friend in need is a friend indeed. 

A man is known by the company he keeps. 

A man's home is his castle. 

A stitch in time saves nine. 

Actions speak louder than words. 

After a storm comes a calm. 

All good things must come to an end. 

It never rains, but it pours. 

Justice delayed is justice denied. 

Keep your mouth shut and your ears open. 

Laughter is the best medicine. 

Let sleeping dogs lie. 

Life is just a bowl of cherries. 

Lightning never strikes twice in the same place. 

Like father, like son. 

Love is blind. 

Love sees no faults. 

One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.

English Proverb (17th century) 

One good turn deserves another. 

One of these day is none of these days.

Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches

Opportunity seldom knocks twice. 

Poor men seek meat for their stomach, rich men stomach for their meat.

Practice makes perfect.

Prevention is better than cure. 

Rats desert a sinking ship.

The early bird catches the worm.

The first step is the hardest. 

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. 

The last straw breaks the camel's back. 

The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune.

The pot calls the kettle black. 

There's a black sheep in every flock. 

There's no fool like an old fool. 

There's no place like home. 

Things are not always what they seem.


Further proverb research...

A hero is a man who is afraid to run away.

The first faults are theirs that commit them, the second theirs that permit them.

As you make your bed, so you must lie in it.

If you want a thing done, go. If not, send. The shortest answer is doing.

A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.

A stumble may prevent a fall.

Be not deceived with the first appearance of things, for show is not substance.

Better a snotty child than his nose wiped off.

Children suck the mother when they are young and the father when they are old.

Use soft words and hard arguments.

A poor beauty finds more lovers than husbands.

A good beginning makes a good end.

A blind man will not thank you for a looking-glass.

An idle brain is the devil's workshop.

Cheat me in the price, but not in the goods.

While the doctors consult, the patient dies.

'Tis money that begets money.

Death always comes too early or too late.

Death is a shadow that always follows the body.

Speak not of my debts unless you mean to pay them.

The difference is wide that sheets will not decide.

He that seeks trouble never misses.

Never step over one duty to perform another.

A burnt child dreads the fire.

A small family is soon provided for.

Don't dig your grave with your knife and fork.

Fools build houses, and wise men buy them.

He is a fool that kisseth the maid when he may kiss the mistress.

Friends are like fiddle strings, they must not be screwed too tight.

You may poke a man's fire after you've known him for seven years.

The best throw of the dice is to throw them away.

Education begins a gentleman, conversation completes him.

Take heed you do not find what you do not seek.

Gray hairs are death's blossoms.

If you want to be happy for a year, plant a garden; If you want to be happy for life, plant a tree.

We are usually the best men when in the worst health.

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

The calmest husbands make the stormiest wives.

Many a true word is spoken in jest.

Sometimes you must be cruel to be kind.

A young man idle, an old man needy.

Learning makes a man fit company for himself as well as for others.

He that plants trees loves others besides himself.

The mob has many heads but no brains.

He that would the daughter win must with the mother first begin.

Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.

Foul water will quench fire.

Love your neighbor, yet pull not down your hedge.

The ship that will not obey the helm will have to obey the rocks.

Who is so deaf or so blind as he that willfully will neither hear nor see?

Some men go through a forest and see no firewood.

You must not expect old heads upon young shoulders.

No barber shaves so close but another finds his work.

Don't halt before you are lame.

Poverty is not a shame, but the being ashamed of it is.

Ask God for what man can give, and you may get it.

A full cup must be carried steadily.

A proverb is the child of experience.

When the sword of rebellion is drawn, the sheath should be thrown away.

Still waters run deep.

Six hours for a man, seven for a woman, and eight for a fool.

To talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming.

There is but an hour a day between a good housewife and a bad one.

Time is the soul of business.

It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust nobody.

It takes all sorts to make a world.

Sell not virtue to purchase wealth.

Sorrow for a husband is like a pain in the elbow, sharp and short.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Two wrongs do not make a right.

A proverb is the child of experience.

Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A roller or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink past the threads of the woven mesh in the open areas.

Screen printing is also a stencil method of print making in which a design is imposed on a screen of silk or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance, and ink is forced through the mesh onto the printing surface. It is also known as silkscreen, serigraphy, and serigraph printing.

I have had the opportunity to screen print once before in a large group, however I have never included this into one of my designs. I hope that this experimentation will be an enjoyable learning curve, and give my designs a strong visual finish. 

Here is some research I have collected from http://www.becausestudio.co.uk/project/optimismpessimism

The simplicity of these posters is really effective and I hope to reflect this in my own proverb prints for my new brief.

 

What are you going to do?
I will take my initial brief 'Proverbally yours' and research further into different proverbs finding 10 that inspire me personally. I want to experiment with different techniques that I haven't had to opportunity to explore fully yet. I hope to produce a series of 10 simple screen prints using the 2 colour limitations from the original 'Proverbally Yours' brief. I have decided to keep this brief as simple as possible, as changing my idea so late on has only allowed me 2 weeks to produce an entire brief before the deadline. I hope to experiment with both time and image and work with the two together, effectively.


My audience will be young professionals who find inspiring proverbs and quotes interesting and motivational. I will be producing a series that will suit the theme of similar designs on websites like 'notonthehighstreet.com'. If I was to take my brief live and sell my prints I could sell them on this website and similar ones also. 


Why are you going to do it?
I am choosing to create a series of 10 prints inspired by different proverbs because I found working with proverbs really inspiring myself, and I feel that I would have liked to have more flexibility with the 'Proverbally Yours' brief working with different proverbs rather than the one proverb given to us by the randomiser. I also wish to experiment with screen printing and feel that this would be the perfect opportunity to do so.

How will you improve it?
I am hoping to improve the brief by giving myself the opportunity to experiment further, and to gain greater knowledge of proverbs. I will be able to relate this to an audience of my choice and also choose a different colour theme, that suits each chosen proverb respectively. 

For the 'your choice' brief I have been looking at revisiting the 'Stamp It' brief and experimenting with foiling. However, after the briefing with Fred this morning I realised that submitting a brief that was included in the same module was a risky route to take and so decided to go back and revisit the brief 'Proverbally Yours' from the OUGD403 module. I have decided that for the current 'Your Choice' brief, I will work with the proverb aspect of the 'Proverbally Yours' brief. I really enjoy proverbs and have always found an interest in them and so working with this aspect allows me to experiment with something I feel passionately about. I also feel that I regularly say how I have ran out of time on a brief and never gained the full opportunity to experiment with my work. This time I have decided that I will produce a series of 10 screen prints that each express a different proverb. 

On Monday, Fred briefed the group for the OUGD402 'Speaking from experience' brief. We were then asked to produce 3 messages that we would want to deliver in response to the brief. For each of these three we then had to give five reasons why that message needs delivering and 5 ways in which is could be delivered. Our second task was to then identify three problems that could be addressed in response to the brief, for each of these three we must give five reasons that they need to be addressed and five ways in which it could be delivered.


My three main problems are:


- Coping with time management
- Moving away from home and being independent
- Budgeting Money


Coping with Time Management


5 reasons why it needs addressing:


- The course has a lot of work from all different modules and it's easy to lose track when you are used to working on one brief at a time on previous courses
- More time to socialise at the weekends if your priorities are set right
- Grades will improve if you focus your time better and prioritise key tasks
- Plan your time better in the studios to make better use of the facilities there
- You wont have to suffer from late nights before deadlines, helping you get lots of sleep and be healthy


5 ways in which it could be addressed:


- A time management diary which breaks down the day specifically aimed at GD Students  at LCA
- A Humorous calendar that breaks down module deadlines and key dates throughout the year (365 pages in a small square pad)
- A booklet of advice that includes a pack of sticky notes with key facts and funny quotes for you to help decorate your room in halls in first year
- A link on the moodle site that helps plan time and tells your exactly how many days it is to each deadline and what work to prioritise first (could also come in the form of an app)
- A calendar that comes in booklet form - one one side you can plan your own time, on the other side is a list of key tasks that need completing that month in order to manage your time effectively


Moving away from home and being independent


5 reasons why it needs addressing:


- Moving away for the first time can be daunting and terrifying
- Some daily tasks you may never have had to complete before (laundry, food shopping)
- It will help to avoid home sickness
- You'll be able to enjoy your time away from home better with new friends and feel independent
- It will help you to plan your time wisely and effectively


5 ways in which it could be addressed:


- A leaflet guide that runs through how to manage key facts like the laundry, washing up and cooking etc.
- A booklet that shows what deals you can get on food and helps to budget the food shop and be money effective
- A series of posters that have a visual guide of these tasks whilst not looking too patronising and having a nice visual finish at the end.
- A course diary that includes advice pages at the back on how to cope with key tasks that link to independence.
- A start pack that includes all of the above plus a series of stickers with visual qualities that remind us to do essential task like washing and cleaning


Budgeting Money


5 reasons why it needs addressing:


- Living in such a big city and so close to the city can mean that it is easy to spend money and not budget
- Student loans can make you feel like you have lots of money to spend when actually you don't even get enough to live off
- It's so easy to overspend on food shopping and essentials that you have no money left for socialising
- GD is an expensive course and so you need to allow for things like printing and essentials like pens and paper
- Having a part-time job might provide more money but you need to make sure it doesn't affect your course work


5 ways in which is could be addressed:


- Infographic posters that show money visuals and where it all goes
- A money box that shows hows much your should put away each month so you can treat yourself at the end of the month
- A booklet which runs through different ways we spend our money and how to save
- A hotdog book which has tips of each pages and opens up in to a visual poster for freshers
- A welcome pack which includes guides and flyers as well as posters and create-yourself money boxes that you cut out and stick together.

What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? 

Throughout this module I have developed a range of skills. We began by looking at the anatomy of type. Although I previously had a basic understanding of this I have been able to expand and develop my skills through timetabled session with Fred looking at key elements including ascenders, descenders, line spacing etc. 

I have found this really useful and enjoyable as I now appreciate type more because of my greater understanding of how it works and functions. As well as this, my understanding of colour theory has developed and pantone colours are now easily recognisable and I have developed my skills working with complimentary colours and other variations etc. 

Another aspect which I have developed is time management, as this was a long thin module I feel I coped reasonably well and managed to blog as I went along. However, despite this, If I was to rework I would spend a lot more time focusing on 'What it a line'. I think the difficulty that I had with this brief was that I couldn't decide on an idea that inspired me until very late on and so as a result my designs and development of this brief has suffered.

My most enjoyable aspect of this brief was type and grid and as a result I decided to incorporate this into my 'What is a line' brief. I enjoyed measuring type in detail and looking specifically at line measurements and grid layouts. I learnt a lot in these sessions with Lorenzo and hadn't realised previously how exact and precise these things have to be.

What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? 

I have learnt a lot about InDesign through the sessions held in the mac suite with mike. This has allowed me to understand and develop my skills in this module. So far I had very little understanding of this programme having only used it a couple of time over my A-level courses. This understanding allowed us to incorporate other skills learnt over this module including Grid and layout with Lorenzo as well as the photography skills that we picked up in our inductions down there and the photography sessions ran by Amber. 

I was already previously fairly confident with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. This module allowed me to develop skills in these areas. I developed skills editing photographs in Adobe Photoshop as well as key design skills in Adobe Illustrator when I used this for my designs for 'What is a line'. 

What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? 

I have found using Indesign within my work has been one of my strengths that I have developed throughout OUGD404. I now have a stronger understanding of the programme and will feel comfortable using it again in the future. This was a new skill to me as i've never experienced this in detail before. 

Another strength this time was round time management, although there is definitely room for improvement here and I hope to continue working on this, my time management is slowly getting better over time and despite feeling as though 'What is a line' was slightly rushed and more time would have allowed me to further develop each of the tasks.

What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future? 

One of my weaknesses has to be photography as I feel I have gotten out of using a camera and the functions, and so to get back into this I hope to experiment with a mini project over the summer when I will have more time. By then I will also have my new camera as my current one is broken so this will allow me to learn new skills for second year.

Another area that I would like to develop is Type and Grid, because I enjoyed this aspect of the module so much I would like to further develop this as I don't feel I spent enough time developing my skills throughout the duration of OUGD404. I hope that I have the opportunity to further these skills over the coming months.

Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these? 

1. Experiment further with photography. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it back at A-level. 

2. Plan my time better over the Easter break and further develop idea's with more creativity (screen print etc)

3. Research further into each of the topics studied, gaining a greater understanding.

4. Produce more development work and design sheets, this could improve the quality of my final designs.

5. Be more confident with my own work. I don't feel I have really had chance to experiment with having such a high demand course. However over the coming weeks we have much more free time and some very open briefs for other module. I hope to use this to my advantage and experiment further with aspects like book binding etc.

5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					x
Punctuality					x
Motivation				x
Commitment				x
Quantity of work produced				x
Quality of work produced				x
Contribution to the group				x