it's all over!

so after spending the last two weeks working like a dog to get everything completed, mounted and and put into a presentation for today's assessment, it's finally all over and done with! so, as promised, here is what i've created for my digital graphic communication university module.

i'll start off by briefly outlining my campaign's ethos and aims. my campaign was to get children between the ages of 4 and 9 cycling for fun while staying safe and improving their fitness, but because my target audience is so young, i also took into account that parents would become part of my target audience, too. because my campaign aims to bring everyone together, both children and parents, i called it 'pedal pals' as it suggests a friendly community and sense of support, but also because the alliteration makes the name memorable and punchy and would so appeal to children.

this is my logo. i wanted to create a mascot for my campaign that would represent its ethos, so i chose to use a monkey because they live within large groups and support one another within them, but also because monkeys are easily recognisable, easy to anthropomorphise and closely linked to humans, meaning they could perhaps be easy to relate to. i suggested cycling safety subtly within my logo through the inclusion of the helmet.

these are my three posters. i wanted to create a campaign that would be promoted through primary schools, so my posters will be on display around schools in classrooms, dining halls, gyms etc. my idea was to make my posters somewhat interactive so that my audience would get involved with them rather than walking past them and dismissing them, so i chose to directly address my audience by asking them to look for something within the posters. i thought this may be a fun idea for a child as they like to interact with their environment, so while keeping my poster entertaining for them, i once again made sure to subtly enforce safety while cycling, so the items my TA will be looking for are linked to cycling safety within different situations. the use of rhyme also makes the posters sound more fun and entertaining for a young audience while the font looks quite childlike and welcoming, giving the posters an overall friendly, inviting look.

this is my animated web banner. the web banner was always hinted at being the least important aspect of the whole project, so i only left myself with a measly three days to plan and complete it. i initially wanted to work with image on my banner like i had done within my posters, however i discovered the dimensions weren't large enough to include images successfully, so i looked at using a typographic solution. i figured that there wouldn't be many 4 - 9 year olds online, so my banner is mainly aimed at parents. my idea was to present them with a cycling fact that they may not know, so i chose the one above to highlight how easily accessible cycling is and how popular it actually is worldwide as it may open a parent's eyes to the different possibilities when thinking about travel, finance and fitness. i kept my campaign's consistency through the use of my font and the textures which i used throughout my three posters.

so, everything's over and done with and i'm fairly happy with the overall outcome (and a lot happier with my work for this project than i have been my last two,) so i'm crossing my fingers that i get a grade that i'll be happy with. only time will tell!

poster draft #2

just a quick update to show you what i've been working on today! in my feedback session i realised that from afar the white title text sunk into the green background so it wasn't really legible, and also the monkey sunk into the floor because the two colours were too similar. other feedback was that the monkey and the table looked too 'static' and that the image and text had equal prominence on the page and perhaps one needed to take dominance over the other.

so, in response to my feedback, i've worked on the title text and composed a text arrangement which i think is more effective than the previous one, changed up the colours that were sinking into one another and i've given the monkey and the table a slightly more dynamic angle. i don't think i've quite tackled the image/text hierarchy issue yet, but i'm still unsure about which i want to take precedence.

that's all for now!

poster draft #1

i began working today around 11.30am, and didn't stop until around 8pm, and this is what i have to show for it! i slaved over scraps of card, paper, magazine cuttings and various tools such as paints, markers and pencils to achieve an illustrative monkey style that i was finally happy with (the amount of hand drawn and collaged monkeys in my sketchbook is something of a joke), then moved onto assembling a background (and i've still to try out a digital style just to see how i feel about it) before finally attempting to tackle the type on my poster.

type's something i don't really get along too well with. there are a handful of fonts that i'm comfortable with because they're just good all rounders, however, when it comes to combining fonts with my illustrations i feel as though the two just don't mix. recently i made a set of font brushes from my own handwriting, and when i've needed to include text on any of my illustrations, i've used those as the style fits in with my illustrative style. the text on my poster was no exception to this rule; i feel as though my font's somewhat childlike and playful, as is the imagery on my poster, so i tried the two together and i think they work pretty well! of course, i'll mention in my sketchbook that i made the font brushes for the purpose of this project, but that'll be our little secret.

the basic idea behind my poster is to promote cycling safety by subtly enforcing the idea that helmets, high vis jackets and waterbottles (there will be three posters in total) are essential items to take with you when cycling, depending upon the conditions, while also getting my audience involved with the poster by directly addressing them and asking them to interact with the poster, keeping it entertaining for them while also educating them.

tomorrow we're having a feedback session at uni so i can get some advice on where to go next with my design as it's obvious it's not quite as strong as it could be, but if any of you had any suggestions, i'd love to hear from you!