readings / project 1

reading 4
politics: context, client, agendas

get a taste of your client's history: with designers, challenges, successes, & decision-making methods. find allies within their team, low and high on the totem pole. make sure you know who has the final say.

create a work plan: design & client roles, process, contact info, timeline (fixed and flexible)

determine the most important audience and prioritize. what response do you want them to have: motivation? emotional? inspiration? how will they interact with the piece? what physical requirements need to be met? type of interaction, demographic concerns.

+lots of information?
alphanumeric organization: A.1, B.2.3, C.17.11
& apply system to documentation to keep info straight

find/create clarity & refinement in the content. sift through loads of info to find the relevant: market research, strategic plans, previous versions, other client materials, competitor materials, client input, completeness, message, resolution.

plan for the long run: updates, management, new material, production, budget

form = function
don't try to fit content to output or format: work logically, the other way around.

process: structure, supporting documents, information flow

+sitemap:
all project components
flowchart
coherent diagrams
navigation flow
very successful website-making tool
team consensus
framework
differentiation
hierarchy

+blueprint
+wireframe
+schematic:
less design / more structure
least & most important
order
templates for later
catalog information
quick
less style / more conceptual

///

the order of order
"THE ALPHABET, NUMBERS, TYPEFACES, TYPE WEIGHTS, DESCENDING AND ASCENDING DEELEY-BOBS, BULLETS, STARS, INDENTS, AND ON AND ON AND ON..."

why do we order how we order? when i stack my piles of papers and books in attempts at "organization," do i ever stop to think about how somebody else could happen upon these piles and make any sense of the personal associations and categories i attach to these to-do lists?

it's an exciting possibility to take something once ordered in a default way and look instead at the content for reasoning behind the default. this article very much made me think of john cusack in "high tension," where he pulls out his entire record collection, originally ordered alphabetically, and begins placing it in the chronology of his own first experiences and memories with the music. nostalgia, attachment, impressions, time periods, phases; it makes so much sense as i (and many, as the movie notices) often end up thinking about my music's history with me in this way already.

///



latest render. getting closer, finally.

small group crit:
- add more color at beginning and take all but 1 or 2 at the end to make distinction between busy busy and calm.
- possibly add more noise
- remember the point IS busy vs. minimal
- general rule of leaving type on for 5 seconds
- over contrast vs. under
- turquoise on purple is hard to read
- use a background-y sound that doesn't distract from visuals

///

agi was lovely! i've missed chicago lots. took bunches of notes, got lots of inspiration, feeling motivated but overwhelmed because am now finding myself incredibly behind (and am going to chicago again this weekend, phew). i think that if i focus reallllly hard today and tomorrow i can make serious progress in all of my classes, and hopefully that will be enough to make it through the next week or so.

!!!

music + design

david byrne & brian eno recently released their first collaborative album since 1981, and stefan sagmeister did all the packaging design! and obvs had something to do with the title of the album. byrne's going on tour (sans eno, unfortunately) but i hope i buck up and get tickets this time around. i'm really enjoying the album so far.



http://www.everythingthathappens.com/

reading three

+ project's background and goals
+ have a GOOD PLAN : clarity & orderliness
+ 1–? pages : however many you & the client need
+ key reference in case members change, details are forgotten, client approval, etc.
+ perhaps for project teams' eyes only – client info : quirks, likes/dislikes, design team tips
+ creative brief writer should have first-hand experience with client & good writing sensibility
+ created for posterity : refer to as a basis for design decisions made

"there's simply no right or wrong way to do it."

TYPICAL OUTLINE>>

1. client information
• noteworthy bits, client background, competitor overviews, intended market segments, project context
  
2. project information
• one to two sentence overview, key info & hierarchy to be conveyed, tone, challenges to overcome
3. project goals & requirements
• problem to solve, opportunities, obstacles, technical details, guidelines, & what will be considered "successful"
  
4. project logistics
• deliverables (page count, document size, file types, etc.), project team's individual roles and responsibilities, schedule, budget

PERSONAS>>
"walk a mile in the shoes of your viewers"
+ use : research, common sense, and overall project know-how to form a sample target audience
+ save time & money by theorizing what the project will look like in the real world
+ sample elements : personality attributes, desires, needs, habits, capabilities, interests, lifestyles, attitudes, values
+ better to create with client & design teams together : creative input, team-building exercise
+ give a name, picture, scenario : dimension & character

///

not all of these parts are incorporated into our project, but this gave me a nice run-down on what i should strive for.

oh god

i've been sitting at the computer for two hours and just opened after effects. i am a fool! i have a feeling this week is the week i freak out and next week i either A) get fucked by going to chicago and am impossibly behind or B) feel so rejuvenated that i get all kinds of automatic A plusses.

time will tell.

in twenty minutes i'm going to bed, progress or no. my eyes need to not be open anymore.

hooliganship!

foolishly enough i didn't think to blog about this before it happened. hooliganship rolled through the wonder fair gallery downtown on tuesday and it was great! i missed it when they played at the spencer two years ago and finally i got to see them. they have a new show/finale that involves 3D glasses (see second video) and their animations are complex and nonsensical and ridiculously cheery as ever. hooray!





http://www.hooliganship.com/

lordy, i don't know after effects yet and the animation i'm trying to do is way over my head. hope it works, someday.

to suggest

the freedom of youth
activity
busy-ness
energy & excitement
expression
speed
vivid color & experience

& the break from it all, if just for a moment.