Week 5: August 17th.
During the initial planning stages of the End of Year Graduates Exhibition we were asked to generate research of online design/art exhibitions and discuss what makes them functional, user friendly and aesthetically pleasing. From this first research task I was able to gather 5 specific portfolios and gallery websites that present their work in unique, fluid and innovative ways. This research allowed me to begin critically exploring ideas and inspiration for the exhibition.
In our first student team meeting I unfortunately was unable to attend due to work commitments but caught up swiftly. Within this meeting we each detailed our proposed role for the project. Below is a summary of my role:
My proposed role: Visual Communication & Interactive Design
- Experience within graphic design, digital illustration and content creation
- Aid in the overall aesthetic of the website and content
- Work with stakeholders to organise online presence
- Plan and create website content (illustration, imagery, graphics)
- Aid in the creation of social media / marketing assets
- Work collaboratively with creative team to produce overall online presence
Week 7: August 31st.
During this week's meeting we began exploring how we could split our team into smaller groups that each have a specific role to focus on throughout the rest of the semester. This will allow us to work more efficiently with significant time constraints as the focus is now directed to what are main skills revolve around.
Due to my background in interactive and visual design I believe I was best fit for the web design team and so did Jane, so I was allocated the Web Design mini group. Myself and Sophie will be working together to alongside Rafael to mean the relevant deliverables. This will include regular meetings with industry professionals and also working on the overall online presence with regards to aesthetics, usability and functionality. Sophie and I will also be working collaboratively with Jasmin and Roxy who are a part of the Social Media mini team. As a group we believed that web design / visual communication will work hand in hand with social media and will ensure each of us have plenty of areas to focus on to ensure the roles are evenly allocated.
- Organising team meetings
- Predicting / listing team tasks
- Prepare questions and list of needs
- Sketch and ideate some design ideas and
- Create a project timeline of tasks in our Trello board
From this to do list we were able to begin writing down some questions which Rafael answered for us once. We wrapped up the remainder of the meeting with a relevant list of needs. These included:
- Appeal to a large demographic
- Align well with each disciplines ideas
- Advertise QUTs Design School in an appealing and innovative way
- Express each project in a relevant format (Image, text, video etc.)
- Remain cohesive throughout
It was exciting meeting with my group via Zoom, but we all agreed that for future meetings we would love to meet face to face as we believe it will allow us to work more efficiently and collaboratively.
Week 8: September 7th.
During our weekly meeting we discussed as a team that all groups need to work together over the next week to design the overall plan for the website / magazine. Sophie and I have also been tasked to integrate our web design process via the Trello board to allow for a visual outline for all groups to access.
Our Trello board list includes:
- Keep in the loop with Raf regarding website companies
- Liaise with company - refined sitemap
- Liaise with company - website quote
- Contact each discipline for content collection
- Liaise with website company and student (disciplines) - best method of content management and upload
- Liaise with web company and students - refined concept for "people's choice awards"
This week Sophie and I also attended two meetings with Rafael and industry professional web designers. Our first meeting was with Pixel Palace, a digital marketing and web design company based in Brisbane. We met with Jen, the agency director who oversees all aspects including design & creative direction, user experience and project management. It was so exciting meeting with an industry professional and to see how the behind the scenes work gets carried out for a designer and their client. Throughout the zoom meeting I took a range of notes specifically surrounding any actions we need to carry out, as well as relevant questions and follow ups. As well as this I commented on how the meeting was conducted and how a client and a designer interacts professionally.
The second meeting was in person with Paul, the creator director of Autumn Studios. It was so nice to finally have a meeting that was face to face. I definitely felt more present in the meeting and more engaged. Paul was very well organised and seemed very keen to take on the web design for the exhibition.
To summarise the two meetings we had with Pixel Palace and Autumn Studios (Graphic Design companies) we came to the conclusion that the website will be best kept simple and will include a set landing page which then leads off to the 6 design disciplines and their own pages where each output will be different. Our main concerns are time constraints, the large number of graduate works that will be displayed across the webpages and the overall budget. We discussed that there will be a set uniform structure which may include fonts to allow for cohesion and from there each discipline will have the chance to form their own individual aesthetic (they all need to complement each other in some way). Each style is in the works for each discipline. Sophie and I know that for our discipline (IVD) a logo has been created so far (by Sophie)!
Another area we discussed that will be imperative to ensure the overall exhibition is consistent and clear is how each student will be uploading their work (395 students from all disciplines). We brainstormed possibly having a form that has a structured template (dimensions of images, text etc) for each student to follow so that it’s not just one person trying to upload each work.
The launch of the grad show is November 23rd, but we are hoping to have the everything ready and organised before then as most students will be submitting their final assessments for the grad show early November. Both companies articulated to us that it's a very exciting project that they are keen to be a part of but concerns are definitely surrounding time frame and the abundance of work required.
It was very exciting seeing how prepared and educated Jen and Paul were. Each of their responses were straight forward and organised. I could definitely tell that they are both very talented designers. I also loved having these meetings as it was a great opportunity to network and be on a first name bases with two head designers. This opportunity made me very excited for what's to come in my creative future and within the WIL Project.
Week 9 / 10: September 14th.
This week has allowed a range of questions to be answered so we could finally begin to get things rolling for the grad show. Raf informed us that Pixel Palace will be the web design company assisting us on the overall website - this is an exciting opportunity and I am hoping I will get to work alongside industry professionals when creating the overall exhibition. Raf also sent through a detailed plan of how the website structure is hoping to be created. This allowed me to get a better visual as to what the universities visions are for the EOYE and also helped Pixel Palace understand our ideas better. From the plan I was able to understand that each site will showcase all students in their respective discipline as well has having 3-4 different stylised templates for each discipline to choose from.
- What do they plan to do with photography/video of student content
- Are they planning to do this with professional / experienced photographer? (They should for quality purposes)
- Will they need help sourcing photographer?
- When do they propose to do this? (Need to do this prior to Nov 9th so need planning)
Sophie and I have been in contact with Panda and are hoping to start reaching out to each of the disciplines ASAP to ensure we have everything running smoothly. This will be a good opportunity for Sophie and I to interact with the other team members and hopefully get a better understanding of what each discipline is hoping to achieve with their individual pages.
Week 11: October 6th.
After this week's meeting with Jane and Raf the project has taken a turn as we've all realised that the actual grad show website has too many people working on it and is becoming quite hard to organise. Instead, as a group we decided to create a project we could have more control over. This being a behind the scenes project showcasing the 2020 graduates works from all the design disciplines. The project is entitled "Glimpse" and its main objective it to provide a glimpse into how QUTs design students are working towards their graduating projects. Sophie and I volunteered to be mostly in charge of the design aspects of the project. Together we have created a style guide for "Glimpse" consisting of a mood-board, colour palette and chosen typography.
Above portrays our style guide and our visions for the creative minds insider project. Sophie and I wanted to create a minimalist vibe through using 4 pastel hues and pairing this with three modern typefaces. Through creating a style guide we were able to send it to the rest of the team so that when creating social media posts and assets everything appears consistent and clear. Creating a style guide is an imperative component to any design brief and allows a group of designers to each follow a set aesthetic and vision for their brand. This is why I felt it was one of the key steps to forming the visual branding for Glimpse and was also why it was the first step I took to tackling this project.
Sophie and I also did some research into what we felt would be the best platform to create the website for "Glimpse". We compared both Wix and WordPress - these were our findings.
Wix:
- User-friendly (we know the interface very well and have lots of experience using it)
- Themes are free and align well with our aesthetic / visions for the "Glimpse"
- The plan for Wix includes a free domain, yearly subscription (we feel one year is suitable for the site to live on), 10GB storage, 1 video hour (we believe most videos will be displayed via our Instagram though)
- The plan is approx. $234.76 for 1 year (there is a 50% off sale which ends on the 8th October, making it $117.38)
- We know Wix will be a time efficient way of executing the zine
WordPress:
- We don't know the interface as well and so far, feel it isn't very user-friendly
- The themes seem very limited and cost money to use
- We understand WordPress would be the cheaper option through Jane's server
- Due to relevant time constraints and our uni workload we feel WordPress may be more time consuming to learn and work with
After discussing these findings with Raf and Jane we were able to come to the conclusion that Wix would be the most functional website creator to use. We are currently in the process of prototyping ideas and waiting on the purchase of the chosen domain name "glimpsedesigns.com".
This week Sophie and I also attended a meeting with Pixel Palace, Raf and Brett. Within this meeting we were able to get an idea of the prototyping for the grad show website and also got to put our feedback in which was really exciting knowing that our opinion mattered for the website. The website so far is looking super minimal and clean which is exactly what I had envisioned. Each discipline page will be similar in style and have grid of imagery to showcase the students work. As well as this we decided it would be best not to include the discipline logos as we wanted each page to be uniform. This meeting was very productive and allowed us to understand how a web design company interacts with a client. As I am in my final semester of university, seeing how the grad show would be carried out online and being a representative for the design students was a really rewarding feeling and made me feel quite proud of how far I have come over my time at QUT.
Week 12: October 12th.
During week 12 Sophie and I created an Instagram account for Glimpse and started posting images and teaser posts relating to the projects visions. Below is a few screenshots from our Instagram feed. We thought it would be best to start posting about what Glimpse is before we begin posting any students work. We wanted the posts to act as teaser posts, to engage our followers and to also get Glimpse up and running. Seeing instant engagement and reach for our Glimpse page was a very exciting feeling for me as a visual designer.
As well as getting the Instagram up and running, Sophie and I started designing the website for Glimpse. After discussing with Raf and Jane we decided Wix.com would be the most suitable website builder for the project. We drew out a few wireframes before commencing to get a feel for what we were looking for. These wireframes allowed myself and Sophie to understand how we wanted users to interact with the website.
Once Sophie and I planned the website in-depth we began working in Wix. We were both really confident working with this platform and were able to produce a draft version of the website quite fast to show the rest of the team. We got their approval and since have been working on the website here and there. At the moment we are still waiting on student works to start posting proper content. Originally we were going to have a day where students come to us and we take photos of their work / interview them, but we decided because of COVID this plan might not be as effective as we hoped. Instead, Panda created a form which she emailed out to each of the disciplines where students are invited to complete the form and attach their grad show work in progress so we can begin sharing it via Glimpse. So far we haven't gotten many responses which is quite stressful, but as I team I am hoping next weeks meeting will be productive and we will find some solutions so we can officially start posting and making the website usable.
I wanted to ensure the website was minimalist and clean and wanted the branding / students work to be the focal part of the website. As well as this I wanted to ensure the content was readable, which is why we chose to have an abundance of negative space. The chosen typefaces were used consistently throughout the website as well as colours and pairing icons. Above portrays a range of screenshots of what we have so far. I believe the website is some what user-friendly and pairs well with the Instagram and Facebook Glimpse accounts. User testing will be an important component to ensure the website does meet our goals as a team.
Week 13: October 20th.
This week we began focusing on engagement for Glimpse as we were all finding it quite hard to get responses from students. We decided to message each of the disciplines Instagram pages individually to hopefully get better reach for the form. As well as this we continued to inform Jane and she was able to reach out to the disciplines more personally, which helped immensely. As well as this we decided to have an extra meeting on Friday to try and allocate roles for the project as I personally was feeling quite stressed due to the workload and the little time we had to complete everything. During this meeting we were able to get a better sense of where everyone was at and where we needed to go from here. We allocated a range of roles for content posting over the next few weeks.
Roles:
- Jasmin and Roxy: edit photos of students
- Sophie and Tatjana: teaser posts + text based graphics / filler posts
- Emma and Phoebe: videos for website and Instagram
- Panda and Lorien: getting content / reaching out to more students
This allowed Sophie and I to have a better plan on what we needed to work on next. We got in contact with each other and felt we both had a good amount of time to start working on everything next Tuesday. In the mean time I wanted to create a template of how we wanted each of the posts to appear on our platform. This would allow for better engagement and promotional aspects for the grad show.
Week 14: October 27th.
This week we were meant to have a meeting on Tuesday, but everyone was being quite unresponsive so Sophie and I decided to try and tackle everything on our own. I was starting to feel as though if we didn't approach all the content it wouldn't get done. I was definitely starting to feel quite frustrated due to the fact that I had sent multiple messages via slack and wasn't getting many responses. To respond to this problem, I did not let this get in the way of my work and decided to create the content so that the Instagram could get up and running. This was successful and also encouraged the rest of the group to begin scheduling posts and editing captions.
During my meet up with Sophie this week we got a lot of content completed. I created a range of filler posts for the Instagram which can be seen below. Sophie editing teaser images for the Instagram as well, using the Lightroom presets which turned out looking great. I began uploading all the content we created to Planoly (content calendar / automatic posting app). Using the created style guide I was able to create each of the text based graphics in Illustrator by using the chosen typefaces, colours and relevant supporting graphics. This allowed for each of the assets to have the envisioned branding as well as functionality that we wanted to emit. I decided to schedule a weeks worth of content and put all the images in a desired ordered so that the feed was both aesthetically pleasing and provides the user with an array of information about the grad show. I used the above template to allow for a consistent and appealing feed for the page. Below are some screen captures of my work in progress for the text based graphics as well as the posts I scheduled in Planoly. As well as scheduling posts to our Instagram, Planoly is able to schedule to the the Facebook page which has allowed for consistency with regards to posting times and the relevant content being posted.
After speaking to Jasmin briefly she was saying she was under a lot of stress with other subjects. Due to this, I decided to take over her role for the week as I felt it was extremely important that we started posting content ASAP considering relevant time constraints. Below portrays my visions for the creation of student imagery. My ideation process allowed me to jump into Illustrator having a clear idea of how I wanted the images to be portrayed. Sophie also edited these images to the black and white preset she had using Lightroom. For each of the posts I wanted to keep our aesthetic consistent, using the 4 main colours as well as relevant shapes and typography to keep the Instagram as engaging as possible.
Week 15: November 2nd.
This week I began finishing touches for the website so it would be able to be published and presented in our Instagram bio. This involved ensuring the interface would be accessible and functioning for mobile. To do this I had to ensure each of the elements incorporated into the site appeared in the best format to be visualised via a mobile interface. I wanted to ensure this interface was user friendly and functional for mobile as we agreed that majority of users would access our website via Instagram - most likely being done on their smart phones.
During our meeting this week we presented our ideas, finalised Instagram page and website to Hilde via Zoom. This quick interaction with Hilde was very rewarding as she gave us an abundance of positive feedback. I know this project has had it ups and downs and has been quite hard to navigate everything due to the current issues surrounding covid, but having such positive feedback from a tutor was a great feeling and made me feel a lot more motivated to persevere. I think it was also really rewarding knowing this positive feedback was towards my designs and visions for Glimpse. As well as presenting our work to Hilde, Jane was able to conduct some constructive criticism which was really beneficial, specifically for the website. From her feedback I was able to gather a few areas that needed to be better established for the website which included the about page as well as the user experience when going through each page on the website. I completely agreed with her feedback and knew these were some things that the site were lacking. Ultimately I feel as though these areas were lacking due to the rest of the team not contributing as much as I had hoped. I felt this definitely made it hard on Sophie and I to produce content, edit captions and create the overall website. I do unfortunately feel as though if everyone contributed more our platforms and content would be more up to standard and actually look like a team of 8 had be working together. I do believe that these issues can be reflected on the overall setup of the project as I have felt it has been quite unorganised, with meetings being scattered and not always being able to meet in person. Understanding the constraints, I do feel I have been working to the best of my ability and am eager to see what our team can produce in the remaining few weeks.
As a team we decided to go over our roles for the remaining two weeks to ensure we were each on task. This included understanding our individual goals, tasks and deadlines. From the team that were present in the meeting we were able to gather these results:
Tatjana / Sophie:
- Website is finalised
- Arrange of posts ready to be posted
- Design content for Instagram
- Created designs cohesive and suitable for the audience
- Edit images to put on edited photos folder
- Edit and release a total of 10 IGTV videos
Phoebe / Emma:
- Clear out all ready posted
- Sort folders
- Add more favourite content - add captions
- Continue editing videos
Jasmin / Roxy:
- Add more contents on IG feed, increase reach, consistent theme and design throughout
- Competition Campaign edit images for Instagram post
- Edit caption for Instagram posts
- Schedule Instagram posts, collect more data for content.
- Create more Instagram contents
Panda:
- Account Reached: 500
- Total Site Session: 100
- Rewrite the About webpage
I believe this week's meeting was a lot more productive and we were all able to achieve more from the 2 hours we were together. It was really beneficial understanding where we were all at, and I definitely believe this will enable us to find the next week a lot less stressful now that we have a set plan on what needs to be achieved.
Week 16: November 9th.
In the lead up to the grad show website being released, I wanted to make sure there was a wide range of posts ready to be scheduled. I felt we were running low on content, and I unfortunately was struggling to get responses from the rest of the team. To tackle this issue I decided to create another 9 text-based graphics and added them to Planoly and asked the team to let me know there thoughts. I have found throughout this project things have gotten done more efficiently if I just try my best to complete work and then ask for the teams feedback rather than waiting for the approval before I complete something. I used the style guide once again to create 9 text-based graphics. I love exploring different ways to pair typography with colour and shape and found creating these posts really rewarding and great practice for my own visions as a graphic designer.
This week we have been wrapping up all the content for A2 and A3. As well as this Jasmin and Roxy have been scheduling each of the new posts I created in Planoly to ensure we had content being posted up until the grad show release. For A2, Phoebe created a portfolio document for Glimpse that well could all edit and submit. After looking over her work Sophie and I felt the portfolio would look best if it appeared more minimal due to the abundance of work that needed to be added to each portfolio page. Due to this Sophie re-designed the document to allow for better readability and clarity. Moreover, I am pleased that all the remaining work is almost finalised and I am nearly ready to submit both assessments. Reflection on my time management throughout the semester definitely shows I was very organised with my allocated role which has permitted a smooth final week of university.
Final work I produced for Instagram.
Overall Reflection:
As a team of 8 transdisciplinary students, we each have been collaboratively working together to produce Glimpse. The main objective of this project has been to create insight into the behind the scenes work of QUT design graduate students. This has consisted of web design, content creation, copywriting, liaising, interviewing and scheduling posts. As a visual communication student, I have a strong skillset in graphic design, web design and content creation prompting these to be my main roles. My team member Sophie Coombes has a similar skillset to mine, therefore we have been working alongside each other throughout the semester. We have paired well as we both have a similar design style and have worked on previous group assessments together.
Donald Schön defines reflective practice by the act of a designer becoming aware of their own skillset, and from their learning from their individual and peer experiences (Schön, 1983). During the project I have worked on an array of areas to form the final platforms for Glimpse and have reflected on my experiences as a designer. The creation of a style guide to be used throughout each individuals creative process, content creation for each social platform and finally the overall design of the website, were each components I ideated, designed and reflected upon. Schön articulates that reflection in action and reflection on action are two imperative reflective practices for any practitioner (Schön, 1983). Both these theories were used frequently throughout the design process for Glimpse, specifically reflection on action.
“Complex problems require transdisciplinary approaches” (Zafeirakopoulos, 2018). Working with a range of disciplines allowed me to form deeper understandings. As a designer I constantly find myself reflecting in the moment, on my surroundings, my work and my peers, which has been a very helpful skill during this project. I thoroughly enjoy group work as I love exploring other people’s design philosophy’s and their approach on life. This semester I found it particularly hard to get to know my peers due to current circumstances surrounding COVID. This was a challenging project to undertake online as I am such a people person and thrive off interaction. I commonly find myself inspired by my peers which often allows me to undertake any design problem, but of course this has been challenging to work from home. Although this was a constant struggle, I believe my team and I worked exceptionally well considering the circumstances. By creating each of the platforms in an engaging way and utilising Slack to work virtually as a team, my individual goals for the project were met to a high standard.
Content creation was a focal component of this project as it permitted us to showcase our ideas and visions for Glimpse as well as our fellow graduates. Using my knowledge from a previous internship where I was in charge of creating and scheduling content for their socials, allowed for an abundance of content to be created in a swift manner for this project. Past skills gained also permitted me to suggest we use the program Planoly so that the content we created could be scheduled with ease. The program prides itself for ease of use, a clean workspace and the interface being user-friendly (Planoly, 2020). Each of these elements were extremely beneficial for the creation of Glimpse, and by using this application we were all able to work collaboratively and efficiently. I would have loved to see more variety of content being produced, but I think our main issues surrounding this was gaining responses from students. For future group work focusing on the issues at stake would be advantageous to ensure all areas of the project are met.
David Cleden quotes “thus, uncertainty becomes the sworn enemy of the project manager. Wherever we try to analyse, quantify, plan and act, uncertainty lies in wait to surprise us with its ambiguity and unpredictability” (Cleden, 2009, p.30). Cleden expresses that uncertainty is unpredictable and through any project there will always be issues surrounding project management. This particularly came to my attention when the projects goals took a turn when the creation of Glimpse was carried out. Although it was unpredictable as a group we took it upon us to get the new project on the way. Working with the material that we had, I believe I made a great contribution to the creation of the assets. Upon reflection, it would have been beneficial if the team were more responsive towards the end of the semester, as I felt I was sending important information and ideas and was not getting feedback. Communication was definitely more effective when we met in person rather than online, as I could sense the lack of engagement towards the project while messaging. After trying to reach out to the group quite a few times and making online meeting times and not getting responses, Sophie and I took it upon us to get the online presence for Glimpse up and running. Once the online presence was defined more thoroughly, the rest of the group began taking initiative again. I am proud of myself for using my strong organisation and project management skills to take hold of the project, and again can relate this back to group work always being unpredictable yet rewarding.
“Effective visual communication design relies on the processes involved in visual perception and the cognitive organisation of incoming visual information” (O’Connor, Z. 2013, p.85). O’Connor enunciates the importance of elements and principles of design and how they allow design to form effective communication. Text based graphics and edits of students were designed to support the feed for Glimpse. Strong visual communication is apparent throughout each of these graphics and helps support their engagement and appeal. This included, balance, negative space, unity, vibrancy in colour and unique shapes. Each can be depicted through the overall branding for Glimpse which was first formed through the style guide Sophie and I designed.
Transdisciplinary design is of high importance in any design brief. Working alongside different individuals permitted me to learn and explore new avenues and approaches. My role was heavily design based and I feel each of my designs provided Glimpse with strong visual engagement, authenticity and clarity. My proposed role was met to the best of my ability as I prioritised my time, used previous knowledge from other group assessment and internships and created the online presence to a high standard. I am truly grateful for this experience and found working on Glimpse as a graduating student very rewarding. I’m excited to use the new skills I gained from this project when I embark on the next chapter of my design journey.
References:
Cleden, D. (2009). Managing Project Uncertainty. Routledge.
Donald A, Shön. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner. Basic Books Inc.
Goel, S. (2010). Design is a Reflective Practice: A Summary of Shön’s views. Goelsan.
N.A. (2010). KKB345: Creative Industries Project 1. The 4Rs Model of Reflective Thinking. https://blackboard.qut.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-8498582-dt-content-rid-30421815_1/courses/KKB345_20se2/4Rs-for-students-page1-v1.5%20%281%29.pdf
O’Connor Zena. (2013). Colour, Contrast and Gestalt Theories of Perception: The Impact in Contemporary Visual Communication Design. Collage of Fine Art, University of NSW, Sydney, Australia.
Planoly. (2020). About Planoly. Planoly. https://pages.planoly.com/about#:~:text=PLANOLY%20was%20founded%20in%202016,plan%20and%20schedule%20Instagram%20posts.
Zafeirakopoulos, M. Van D B, M. (2018). Exploring the Transdiscipinary Learning Experiences of Innovation Professionals. TIM Review. https://timreview.ca/article/1178
