FMP (BA): DPS - Feedback & Reactions

I went into university today to print all of the DPS that I had done so far and asked my classmates and my lecturer for some feedback. All in all, the feedback I got was really good and there aren't many changes that I needed to make.

Below I have included all of the spreads that I showed to them and wrote beneath them what they said and what versions they chose. Those that are blank are ones that didn't require any adjustments. 

Feedback

Nelson Mandela

I got really positive feedback for this design, and the only thing that I would have to adapt (if I have the time) was to redo the type on the banner just to neaten it up a little bit.

J: I really like this as I think it's a strong design.

The Raven

My classmates really liked this design but they felt that they preferred the feathered background, so I am going to make the writing white and take out the white box as it detracted the attention away from the main illustration.

One of my close friends pointed out that some of the feathers in the patterned background were cut off at the top so I would have to go back to my original file to adjust it slightly.

APP Words: Colour Scheme Feedback

I decided to ask my peers and lecturers on what colour scheme really catches their attention by printing out all of the different versions onto one page, and having them tick their preferences. [7] These were my results:

I also asked a few of my peers what design they prefer, and also showed them my teapot and cup version. I was surprised once more when I learnt that they actually preferred that one!

Conclusion: [5]

I was quite surprised at the outcome as I thought they'd prefer the blue version, and although it was a strong choice it was overtaken by the green/yellow/orange version. Just shows how important it is to get feedback from both my target market and fellow designers! [4]

My next step is to carry on and design all of the little illustrations (the tea leaves pattern, teapot and teacup), put them all together and then change all of the colours. [8] Can't wait!

[n] - learning outcome

APP Words: Feedback - Base Colours

I posted what I had so far on Behance and got some feedback off another graphic design student.

Image shown:

Feedback:

[4]

This confirmed my idea of installing some sort of old paper texture - maybe a similar texture to watercolour paper - and to include my more sketchier side for the shading. I don't know how I'm going to do this just yet so I'll be looking around for some tutorials. If all else fails, I'll just use my graphics tablet and do it in Photoshop. 

APP Words: Feedback - Plain vs. Busy

[4]

I managed to some feedback when I presented my designs - the plain vs the "busy" design - but only two of them from an online source, the other pieces of feedback were verbal yet they all said the same thing; they much preferred the plain version because there was too much going on in the other design.

Images:

Feedback:

My next step is to then carry on with this 'plain' version and start putting everything together on the computer. I might even take a break for a bit to see what other ideas I can think of!

APP Words: Feedback

[1] [3] [4]

I have decided to do a series of small posts on the feedback I've gathered from my target audience and other graphic design students to help me with my design process.

Taking their feedback into account is very important as a design because I want my design to be as successful as can be with my target audience. I would also need to consider adapting my design to suit their requirements if needed.

Here I told them that I was going to produce a unisex design for students (17-21 year olds) and that it would be displayed on the front of the travel mug.

Image:

Feedback:

FMP: Gathering Feedback

Today I sat down with my lecturers and classmates to have a crit meeting on where we were so far in our projects, so I was able to present the designs that I had to see if I could get any feedback from them. I am pleased to say that the crit went extremely well and that most liked my designs – especially my typeface choices – and there wasn’t really anything that I needed to desperately change about it.

I showed them two versions: one set of designs I had printed off at Staples, and the other from uni. All had agreed that the Staples designs were a lot more pristine and the black really stood out from the page, and this only confirmed my thoughts so I decided to stick with those.

They mentioned I should try out is to cut down the white border around the invitations or get rid of it altogether, so I printed out several versions and cut them down to different sizes.

I first cut the border so that it was 5mm away from the illustration, and then another where it was 8mm away, and then another without the border at all. I then cut down some black card that I was hoping would be inserted between the back and front design to see how it would look as a final piece.

(please zoom to see more detail!)

The thin border (5mm) looked quite good without the card but as soon as I placed it in front of it, it looked as if I was mounting my design onto a portfolio rather than creating an invitation. This was the same for all of my other designs that had borders, and the one without any borders at all just looked a bit out of place.

I then put my original design in front of the black card and it looked perfectly fine; although the black card didn’t create a border, it was a subtle feature as when I turned it to the side you could see the black card sandwiched between the front and back.

Conclusion:

After taking notes on the feedback I gathered I was able to do some experimentation, and this allowed me to try something that I never thought of before. Even though I am going back to my original design it was nice to try out the idea of thinning out the borders.