Month: February 2025

eDecks Live Design Group Project In this assignment we were assigned groups from the class, which were then paired with groups from the business school, and our task was to meet with the company eDecks to re-design several different facets of their brand, to help increase the gap in winter sales, including their website and social media videos,as well as physical visuals such as van design, billboards, and posters;   I will be discussing several aspects of this assignment, including the subject, audience and purpose of the design materials, in addition to relevant design history and inspirations, the project’s development over time, and examples of our teamwork. Due to the nature of the assignment, I will also be discussing some of the shortcomings we experienced and what we learned from this design challenge. Subject, Audience, Purpose The subject of our group’s task was to redesign the eDecks website, which would include banner advertisements and offers on their homepage, the hero layout and button organisation, and the utilization of colour as a call to action element through hierarchy, as well as some other advertisements in the form of posters and videos for social media, at the request of the business group; However some of these were not fulfilled such as the videos due to the incongruent relationship and work ethic of the business group, whereby we were asked to create materials which where not achievable, or with incomplete marketing ideas that didn’t pertain to the winter sales goal, and with little to no notice.  The brief states that the audience for this project are homeowners and first time home buyers, from the ages of 28 upwards, however  according to Mojo Mortgages through the analysis of their internal datastating “The national average age of a first-time buyer in the UK is 33 years, 8 months.” (Aidan Darrall (2024) Mojo). Other target audiences include hobbyists, gardeners, builders and tradespeople, as well as small scale landscapers.  In terms of audience and how their budget is likely to dictate purchasing decisions, Mojo also states that  “This milestone age reflects the increasing difficulties young adults face in saving for a home. Furthermore, a recent report by Lloyds Banking revealed that in 2023, the average deposit for first-time buyers was a hefty £53,414, with the average mortgage amounting to £234,722.” Which means that the eDecks marketing campaign and website’s unique point of sale will need to focus on the reasonable pricing they can offer across all of their customer base. The purpose of this design brief is to redesign the Edecks website homepage layout, so that it is more accessible (easier to read, and navigate), through the organisation of content such as buttons, and how product categories are organised, as well as better banner advertisements to highlight potential offers on products, and the use of colour to establish a visual hierarchy, as well as to highlight key features without being overwhelming and confusing; Also in doing so, applying Jajob’s Design Law, with an NN Group article stating    “Jakob’s Law of the Web User Experience states that “users spend most of their time on other websites.”   This means that they form their expectations for your site based on what’s commonly done on most other sites. If you deviate, your site will be harder to use and users will leave.” (Jakob Nielsen (2011) NN Group)   All of which is important because the goal of the redesign is to get homeowners to want to purchase products from the website, and in order to do so, they need to be able to comfortably and confidently navigate the website, to find what they came for, and with the best case scenario of them purchasing something they didn’t come for, through the use of offers and advertising visuals. According to Laws of UX about Hick’s Law:    “the more stimuli to choose from, the longer it takes the user to make a decision on which one to interact with. Users bombarded with choices have to take time to interpret and decide, giving them work they don’t want.” (LawsofUX (N.D.) Hick’s Law Laws of UX) Following Hick’s Law can prevent users from being overwhelmed with options, and immediately leaving the website before they have even begun browsing.  Pop Ups, Light Coloured Small Text, Cluttered Hero, and Too Many Buttons eDecks (N.D.) Decking & Timber Supplies Home and Garden DIY edecks. Relevant Design History When we looked at our competitor research, we found certain features that we wanted to incorporate into the eDecks website to give it an established hierarchy, ”The page’s visual hierarchy controls the delivery of information from the system to the end user — it lets users know where to focus their attention.”; (Kelley Gordon 2021)    We also aimed to declutter some of the buttons in line with Fitt’s Law, to make it more quicker for users to navigate,  “Make sure that touch targets (such as buttons and menu items) are large enough for users to select them with ease, and that they’re positioned in a convenient, easily accessible location on the screen.”  (Emily Stevens.2024)     . I will also be discussing some inspirations for improved social media poster designs, as well as physical marketing such as billboards. It can be observed below the final wireframe layout we chose for the website; I will be discussing the reasoning behind our design choices below.    Wickes When looking at the header design of the Wickes website, it can be observed that it is much easier to navigate and is less cluttered, as well as having their delivery offers, (“click and collect”, “home delivery”) , placed beneath the top section, which makes the site feel more spacious, and re-establishes a visual hierarchy. We incorporated this into our wireframe design for eDecks to help alleviate some of its spacing issues, helping with incorporating Hick’s Law.  In addition to this, we kept the hero banner image in the same place, keeping true to some of the eDecks original design, as it is… Continue reading Project Three

2D Animation Project In this project i am going to be discussing my ethical subject of choice for my created 2D animation, its purpose,  as well as providing background research into my chosen topic, discussing the target audience, followed by storyboard analysis, a visual treatment of the animation (Tufte’s Principles) , and animation history that has influenced this project. Ethical Or Sustainable Subject “Habitat loss – development can cause the loss of wildlife habitats like woodland, grasslands or ponds.    Note that wildlife can use different habitats for feeding, breeding and rest, and can use different habitats at different times of year, or for different parts of their life cycle. Just because a habitat isn’t used all the time doesn’t mean it isn’t important for wildlife.” (Wildlife Trust Wales (N.D.) How Wildlife Can Be Harmed By Development)   The chosen subject for my 2D animation is the negative effects of overdevelopment on animals and the environment and planning permission objection awareness. I will be painting my own background scenery for the animation due to inspirations such as Studio Ghibli and Kazuo Oga.     Wildlife Trust states that development leads to loss of wildlife habitats such as woodland, grassland, or ponds, which forces animals out of their natural homes.    Overdevelopment is rapidly reducing the natural environment, replacing it with man made structures such as houses and shops, and doesn’t consider the needs of animals who already live there.  Background Research According to a paper by Wayne C. Zipperer, Robert Northrop, Michael Andreu, on Urban Development and Environmental Degradation, the overdevelopment of land and habitat loss is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity,  forcing animals to go from “urban avoiders” to “urban dwellers”, as well as stating:    “roads and other urban features isolate populations causing local extinctions, limit dispersal among populations, increase mortality rates, and aid in the movement of invasive species.” (Wayne C. Zipperer, et al. 2020)   It can be seen that the effects of overdevelopment on nature and animals is obtusely negative, and is especially relevant the the area which i live, which i grew up in, which is being rapidly overdeveloped. Due to this, we are seeing the loss of more and more countryside each year. Audience Due to the style of the animation, and my inspirations from Studio Ghibli, which was founded in 1985 , and artist Kazuo Oga, the target audience is millennials and Gen Z, who grew up with these famous animations praised for their stunning portrayal of the natural world, such as My Neighbour Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), The Cat Returns (2002), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). (The Studio Ghibli Collection Presented By GKIDS) Purpose The purpose of this animation will be to bring awareness to the 2011 Localism Act (YWT (N.D.) Addressing Wildlife In Neighbourhood Plans pdf) , which allows communities to create a neighbourhood plan, which gives them some power to shape development in their area, as well as bringing attention to how overdevelopment is damaging the earth,the animals, and to challenge the misguided view that nature is disposable, and solely there to serve people, rather than the symbiotic relationship we are all a part of. I will convey this using beauty through hand painted backgrounds, and provoke people to think a bit more about buildings being put up around them, and the effects they have on wildlife. Conceptual Transition Planning In this eight panel storyboard, I had the idea to have a hand painted background, with the journey of a squirrel within a woodland scene. Panel one shows the woodland scene in harmony, with panel two introducing the squirrel onto the scene from the side; i then wanted the squirrel to go up a tree so that i could have a treetop landscape view, where the trees hit a clearing showing a building site, and newly built houses, as well as diggers moving along being destructive. Following this, the squirrel becomes spooked by the sounds of the machinery, and it then comes back down onto the woodland floor, only to be further disturbed by sawing sounds of trees being cut down, and leaves falling around it, causing it to flee the scene. The last panel shows a slide with text on it protesting overdevelopment.    I decided to do away with having a tree falling at the end because I had put in a lot of work already into the painting and I needed to be savvy with my time.  The Artistic Process This painting took me around 43 hours in total to do, and I used a gouache brush and Procreate software to create a forest floor scene, using bright greens to show abundance of life and lush moss and foliage. I also painted a tree top scene for the squirrel to sit amongst and watch the destruction from, creating a juxtaposition of peace and machinery/building. The reference images I used will be within my Harvard references.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-ERfDQysMQ Visual Design Treatment Chart Junk Chart Junk, as defined by Tufte is “Chartjunk consists of all visual elements in charts and graphs that are not necessary to comprehend the information represented on the graph, or that distract the viewer from this information” Tufte, Edward R. (1983). The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.   The animation will reduce any chart junk by only having the one necessary background per corresponding scene, so that users can focus on the 2D animation at hand, and its message, without getting distracted by lots of transitions into backgrounds and scenes. In this way, it allows me to hand paint the majority of the backgrounds, which will take more time than using royalty free images; which allows me to tailor the style, colour, and scenery, without opting for quantity over quality.  Use Of Colour Tufte also states on the use of colour: “The fundamental uses of color in information design (are): to label, to measure, to represent or imitate reality, to enliven or decorate.” (deadprogram (2010) Edward Tufte On Use… Continue reading Project Two

Conceptual Design Idea And Research In this assignment, I will be creating an animation that creates an established brand for an energy drink for people of 60 and above, as well as implementing Tufte’s design principles to create an animation that conveys information that people can process and understand easily.    My first ideas for conceptual design where; Could it be a metaphor for a physical state? One state into another? Tired into energized? Which followed into thoughts of; What branding should the drink have/ what semantic visual language should be used? What is the product’s unique selling point?    After doing some competitor research and creating a Figjam board of ideas, and looking at user research, which was very limited due to energy drinks not being particularly healthy, especially for people over 60, i found a comment from an older lady as follows:    Joseph Natti (N.D.) What is an energy drink for women above 50 years old? Qurora. Therefore I decided to go with a similar ginger flavour like red bull has in order to create comfortability through familiarity with my brand for its demographic. I also decided to go with a pun “Sun Shine” which is a play on words using “Moon Shine”, which would allow me to use a ceramic jug as the logo which I think is a visual that resonates with the older generation, and is tongue in cheek.    Its function and use is to be a replacement for coffee during the hotter months for over 60’s.    The aesthetics include a colour scheme used for MoonShine ceramic jugs, coffee style browns and creams, combined with a ginger tone to represent the flavour.  My research for my metamorphosis came from youtube video tutorials, and several failed storyboards which I made, and ideas I had which I did not have the skillset to execute, of which will be discussed in detail next. My final idea was to create a scene where the camera does a 360 view of the drinks can, traveling underneath the ice cubes beneath it, and coming back around to reveal a drink in a glass. I did some competitor product research also on the Figjam board, and found some MoonShine companies who had aesthetics that paid homage to the Appalachian mountains, where it was introduced by Irish and Scottish immigrants: “Brought to America in the 18th century primarily by Irish and Scottish immigrants, moonshine was often homemade, and is often associated with Southern culture.” (Ozark Moonshine Fest Website. 2023-2025) This use of colour was connotative of copper pipes, aged wood and stone, and lots of warm brown tones, which helped me develop the colour scheme for my drink. Competitor research for natural energy drinks Looking at Moon Shine companies and their branding, as well as colours and textures associated with Moon Shine’s history Looking at colour and aesthetics for ginger drinks Looking at Moon Shine jugs for colour and aesthetic inspiration Competitor Research Figjam Board  With Notes Animation Storyboards Idea One- The Egg Machine   I initially chose the option to create an animated machine of some kind, and wanted to create a steampunk egg cracking machine, in which I was inspired by several niche and unique soviet animations, in one of which, i saw an egg rolling down a metal machine and being cracked. The conceptual design for this animation was going to be the egg being cracked, and the yolk turning into the sun, or an egg showing mitosis division, representing the circle of life.    Above is the storyboard idea i drew for this animation concept, but i realised that it was going to be too complex for me to create in blender, as i am new to the software and therefore could not execute this idea well enough to do it justice, and therefore decided to ask my peers for some constructive criticism and advice, and they advised that i  try something different to keep things simple as possible. Idea Two- The Liquid Transition The secondary idea consisted of creating a moonshine jug in blender that slowly rotates, during which the drink liquid would pour down over it and temporarily abstract the view of it, in which the jug would then turn into the can, and having it revealed, still spinning, once the liquid had landed; however this presented issues with considering how well my PC would handle using liquid in this way on the software, and a peer had advised me it is very intensive, and so at this advice i wanted to try a different idea. Since i have never rendered before, i wasn’t sure how long it would take, and didn’t want the liquid to make the process much longer, and therefore being unreasonable.    Idea Three- The Sun Transition In this third idea, i drew a storyboard which shows a downward camera view onto an orange ball which would have texturing on it to make it resemble the sun, with the concept of the video being that this energy drink would be drank on hot days to replace coffee, which was inspired by the comment i had found on Quora where a lady stated she only drinks energy drinks when it’s too hot for coffee. The drink would be marketed with this as its unique selling point, and the sun would rotate and turn into the downward angle of the top of the can, to come down and show off the product, however i couldn’t get textures to work that looked like the sun and so decided to try a fourth and final idea.  Final Idea- The Cowboy Can The final storyboard is what can be observed in the video, and is the idea I went with and executed on blender. It shows a can laying on ice cubes, and then standing up right, and rotating to display the typography and details on the can, as well as the micros/macros of ingredients and bullet points at the top, for flavour and… Continue reading Project One