Visual Communication and Design

1 Visual Communication and Design Unit 2: Communication in context AREA OF STUDY 3 Developing visual communication solutions This area of study focuses on applying the design process in the development of visual communication solutions to set tasks. The tasks may vary in their purpose, context, target audience, materials to be trialed, media and design elements and principles to be explored. Freehand and instrumental drawing together with information and communications technology and, where appropriate, other methods of electronic image generation such as photography and photocopying are used to express varied concepts and to develop solutions. Following the analysis of material and research related to the set task, the proposal of solutions and refinement of ideas occur during the application of the design process. In this area of study the terms solution and task can be understood either as one or more solutions or tasks. Outcome 3 On completion of this unit you should be able to apply a design process to develop a visual communication solution to a set task. To achieve this outcome you will: research and analyse information relevant to the set task; apply a design process using manual freehand drawing and information and communications technology to develop possible visual communication solutions; use materials, methods, media, design elements and design principles to explore possible visual communication solutions; refine ideas for the visual communication solutions through the application of a design process; develop visual communication solutions appropriate to the set task. To satisfy the requirements of Outcome 3 you will use the design process to organise visual responses to a communication need. Assessment criteria for Unit 2 Outcome 3 Ability to collect, analyse and interpret research material Ability to generate and annotate a range of ideas Ability to develop and annotate a range of solutions Ability to select, refine and annotate a best solution Ability to produce and evaluate a mock-up(s) Ability to apply materials, methods, media, design elements and principles Level of proficiency using information and communications technology Quality and effectiveness of final presentation

2 The following information provides a detailed description of each of the four main components in the design process. Definition of the communication need The communication need is often also referred to as the design brief. This is a written statement that defines who you are designing for; what it is they want you to design; what purpose(s) the final design has to fulfil; who your design is aimed at and how you will present your final design. The communication need contains four sections, namely: the client need(s); the purpose(s); the audience(s) and the context(s). Research - for information and ideas The collection of research material or information will help give you ideas for and knowledge about what it is you re designing. The information you collect doesn t necessarily have to relate specifically to what it is you re designing e.g., a style of letterform used on a clothing label could be incorporated into the title of the poster. Always analyse what it is you like and don t like about the information you ve collected and describe how you ll incorporate part of it into your own designs. Use annotations when you analyse other peoples work and your own. Collecting research material allows you the opportunity to interpret the way professional designers have used design elements and principles to effectively communicate information and ideas. Use annotations to record your observations regarding design elements and principles. Generation, development and refinement of ideas Generating ideas is a brainstorming exercise and usually requires referring to the research you ve collected and using it to help inspire you to draw as many original ideas as you can think of. Your drawings should be quick but neat freehand sketches. Your ideas should be annotated to help communicate what you re trying to achieve in your designs. Developing ideas means improving the design and quality of some of your key initial ideas. This may mean finding new research material to give you new ideas to add to your key initial ideas. Or, you could decide to combine different parts of your key initial ideas to form new and better ideas. Experimentation with a range of materials, methods, media, design elements and principles is desirable at this stage of the design process so your ideas become more detailed and polished. Where appropriate use annotations to describe the effect you want design elements and principles to achieve in your designs.

3 After generating and developing ideas, some possible solutions are selected. The most likely solutions must be chosen because they addresses the client s need(s), fulfil their purpose(s) and are suitable for the audience(s) to whom they re directed. Use annotations to justify why your ideas are answering the requirements of the communication need. Eventually you must decide which of your possible solutions best answers your communication need and refine this one solution using materials, methods, media, design elements and principles. The shape, size, colour, material etc of presentation formats needs to be carefully considered at this stage of the design process. Presentation formats, sometimes called information carriers, include such things as a: business card; sticker; brochure; fridge magnet, calendar, poster, etc. Production and evaluation A mock-up of presentation formats is a practice run of what your final presentation will look like. Sometimes it s necessary to do more than one mock-up. For example, if you re designing a poster there are different components to consider such as imagery, letterform, composition, balance, positive and negative space, colour, etc. and you may not have a satisfactory knowledge of how all these components work in relation to one another. Therefore you must produce a mock-up to help you realise what your final presentation will look like in its entirety. A mock-up usually has the same dimensions as the final presentation and shows exactly how you intend to apply materials, methods, media, design elements and principles in your final presentation. However, having seen all the components together in a mock-up you may realise that things are still not working. This is where you may have to evaluate your work one last time and decide upon any last minute changes before doing the final presentation. Annotations around or on your mock-up should describe the improvements you intend to make and why you re making them. Another mock-up should be produced showing these improvements. All that remains is for you to produce your final presentation.

4 Topic: The following communication need has been prepared for you and outlines what you re required to do for Unit 2 Outcome 3. The communication need The client need(s): The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an iconic and acclaimed annual film festival. It was founded in 1951 making it Australia s oldest film festival and one of the oldest in the World. MIFF shows over 400 films from more than 50 different countries for nineteen days each winter. In addition, MIFF is the largest showcase of new Australian cinema. MIFF is conducted across various locations in the Melbourne CBD, which include the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square, Forum Theatre, Melbourne Town Hall, Victorian Arts Centre and various cinema complexes. The films shown are unlike anything made in Hollywood and include feature films, short films and documentaries. Some of the films are considered offbeat and avant-garde (modern and experimental). MIFF requires an A3 teaser poster to help promote this event to Melbournians. The purpose(s): The poster must clearly promote The Melbourne International Film Festival. It must inform people that the festival is on between July 25 and August 12. MIFF requests that the poster captures in some way the worldwide participation in the festival and that its imagery has something to do with film making in general. The poster might also contain some imagery that represents Melbourne. Importantly, this is a teaser poster it doesn t need to be too detailed or specific - it s a sample of what s to come. It must be eye catching and intriguing and maintain peoples attention long enough for them to get interested in the idea of attending MIFF and seeing international and home-grown films. The audience(s): The Melbourne International Film Festival is Australia s most attended film festival with well over 180,000 admissions last year contributing 8 million to Melbourne s economy and making it a significant city event. In general, the poster is targeted at Melbournians. Specifically, film enthusiasts and people interested in the Arts would appreciate a rare opportunity to see films from all over the world on the big screen. Also, the worldwide participation in this festival means a multicultural audience would certainly be attracted to its content. The audience would more than likely have a disposable income to spend on entertainment and would probably, but not exclusively, be over 30 since people under 30 are targeted by and more interested in conventional Hollywood-type movies. Context(s): The posters will be displayed at least one month in advance outside and inside the above mentioned locations where MIFF is going to be conducted - which should attract the attention of film enthusiasts. Posters will also be seen inside the glass advertising spaces at selected tram stops within the CBD where they can be viewed by

5 thousands of Melbournians daily. The posters will also be seen (at reduced scale) on websites of festival sponsors such as Film Victoria and Screen Australia where they will be seen by people interested in film news/events and in The Age - a major sponsor whose readers are mostly appreciative of and partial to the Arts. The following example is a poster for a Canadian Film Festival and gives you one idea as to how abstract and inventive you can be with this topic.

6 Overleaf is information taken from the Visual Communication and Design Study Design outlining the Components of a design process and about Producing visual communications. The former shows the various stages you need to cover to successfully complete Unit 2 Outcome 3. The later shows what s classified as: Materials; Methods; Media; Design elements; Design principles and Final presentations.

VISUAL COMMUNICATION AND DESIGN Advice for teachers Components of a design process The production of a piece of visual communication involves definition of the communication need, research and use of examples for the inspiration, generation, development and refinement of ideas, ongoing evaluation and the production of final presentations. The table below identifies the components of a design process. Definition of the Research for Generation, development Production and communication need information and ideas and refinement of ideas evaluation Establish: client needs purpose/s audience/s context/s Requires Research skills including: collection analysis interpretation of information Requires Application of researched information and inspiration through: the exploration of a range of ideas annotated and critical appraisal. Requires: mock-ups of presentation formats evaluation of mockups production of final presentations Implementation of a variety of trialled: materials methods media design elements design principles presentation formats. Selection, refinement and implementation of best solutions according to established: client needs purpose/s audience/s. and application of selected: materials methods media design elements design principles presentation formats. VCE STUDY DESIGN 35

Advice for teachers VISUAL COMMUNICATION AND DESIGN Producing visual communications In the production of a visual communication, materials are modified by methods and media, according to design elements and design principles, to create final presentations. The table below identifies materials, methods, media, design elements, design principles and presentations that could be used in the production of a piece of visual communication. Materials Methods Media Design Design Final elements principles presentations paper card wood glass metal clay stone plastic textile DRAWING freehand orthogonal paraline perspective PRINTING monoprint relief intaglio offset silk screen PHOTOGRAPHY black and white colour positive reversal pencil, paint, ink, dye marker, pastel, crayon, airbrush ink, dye dye, emulsion film digital point line shape form tone texture colour letterform figure ground balance contrast cropping hierarchy scale proportion pattern repetition alternation map graph symbol diagram chart illustration instrumental drawing architectural drawing 3-D model/ form poster flyer/brochure package PHOTOCOPY black and white colour COMPUTER image type toner digital information logo/ corporate identity signage 2-D layout multimedia 3-D PROCESS construction moulding knife, glue, scissors 36 VCE STUDY DESIGN