Test Your Fate: Pinball Machine Research

In order to start developing initial ideas/designs that would be featured within the pinball machine, I need to acquire a pinball machine or the dimensions. This is needed to develop the designs due to the different elements and unusual size of a pinball machine.

Initially when approaching this brief the idea was to develop graphics that could be stuck onto an existing pinball machine. However upon researching used pinball machines, buying a working pinball machine isn't economically possible as they range from £600 - £5000 (see figures 1-2). Therefore I've looked to see if it is possible to make one from scratch, using wood and limited materials. I discovered a number of tutorials ranging from small machines created using cardboard to more elaborate ones which use electronic systems to power lights and sound (see figures 3-5). For this project I need a working pinball machine however the engineering element to the more complex light and sound machines isn't necessary. This lead me to discover an existing startup that produces DIY pinball machine kits which don't require sound and light (see figure 6). Furthermore upon looking for existing pinball machines, I discovered multiple toy versions (see figures 7-8) which could be easily recreated on a larger scale. This more simplistic approach is the avenue I plan to further explore as I don't have the technical skills to wire and code an advanced pinball machine.

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Figure 7

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Test Your Fate: Eva Creamers Talk

Dutch designer, always enjoyed being creative but never thought about being a creative as studied international business after high school. Started to draw summaries out of the books, realising more creative so quite international business.

Art Academy Minerva Groningen to study graphic design.
University:
Happy Book - made by hand using pop-ups initially thought she'd be a print designer
Graduation show - first attempt at 3-d
Graphic portrait of yourself - wanted to use animation to describe, push, make, play.
Open day branding - more 3-d animation

Final year degree half-year internship, half graduation
Internship:
Dream company Snask, Stockholm
Took a risk - presented as new intern - turned client video around.
Sent huge pink box, filled with pink party stuff including a letter, hello i'm your new intern looking forward to video celebrating that.
Tagged in Instapost - when do you want to intern
5 month internship

Projects:
We've got you covered:
Got to work on project - Umberella  IT wanted a fresh identity

Graduation:
In News We Trust:
Dutch newspaper that supposed to report accurate stories however changed to bold headlines to sell the paper, printed research as a newspaper. Wasn't the newspaper wasn't the bad guy but the reader as doesn't want to take the time to read the news.
How can I imitate how news works?

Process:
set goals, sketching, testing, improving, testing, ask yourself why, making.
Realised simple poster wouldn't grab attention - animated, made sound, moved.

End Result:
Moving installation, wanted to focus on idea that reader doesn't focus on actual information. Next to wall newspaper containing information which didn't get read therefore showing that people don't fully pay attention. Only a few people read through the headlines.

Plan of Attack:
'You don't need the confidence, you just need the courage'
Boost Intagram
Think of a fun project
Learn new skills
Hope

Worked on Instagram/mad fun projects
Lead to Design Kids interview - boost confidence
Intern Magazine.
Collaboration - got in touch with superfreak, made 3-d illustrations out of his work.
New York Times - went to London office, created a piece for them.
Man vs Machine - email asking if wanted to do an internship, never did 3-d but thought why not? Started to learn Cinema 4D.

Things I've Learnt so far:
Throw your work online.
Use the positive side of Instagram - focus on yourself and what you could do.
Pinterest is training - can develop an eye or art direction and design.
Don't be afraid of big designers - read more to understand more.
Being insecure about your work is normal.
Not only your mum follows you.
It's normal to have no idea what you're doing or what your plans are - learn what you do and don't like.

Overall I found this talk very helpful as it highlights that not everyone knows what they want to do after graduation but if you experiment and explore you can find an avenue for yourself.

Test Your Fate: Life After Graduation - Case Studies

https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/kzyjaz/whats-life-after-graduating-from-art-school-really-like

'The first year after graduation os about deciding what things work for you and finding your 'direction', which should guide you for the rest of your carrier'

'Megan Rea...set up Mutual, an artist-run studio cooperative to provide affordable studio space for early-career artists. Then, after showing as part of the Royal Scottish Academy’s annual New Contemporaries exhibition, she headed to Bangkok to complete a gallery internship, travelled throughout south-east Asia, won a scholarship to draw architecture in Florence'

'Caroline... “I gave it all up, moved to Vancouver and now work as an interior designer, starting a furniture business on the side; possibly the biggest 180 you could imagine.”

'Nathaniel stresses, the path to true success never did run smooth, and you have to be prepared to take things at your own pace'

Jeni Allison:

'Nowadays the world of design is pretty fluid'

'I’ve also learned a lot through working, travelling and socialising, all of which is also relevant to my career'

Lindsey Mendick:

'The main problem in art is that emerging artists find it so difficult to make any money, for example they are often not paid for their time or paid severely under minimum wage. I worry that this means art will become even more elitist and inward-looking.”

Overall this article looks a multiple art student graduates many of whom are in completely different roles to their degree which have come about both through experimentation and chance. This highlights the elements of luck and chance associated with where you end up after graduation as often one project leads into another. 

Test Your Fate: Life After Graduation

In order to develop ideas for test your fate, I've researched typical routes design graduates take after graduating, based on workshops and sessions run by Alec from Intern during PPP.

Typical Jobs:

• Freelance 
• Design Agency 
• Set up studio 
• Junior Designer 
• Art Direction 
• Motion Design 
• Artworker 
• Packaging Design 
• Editor 
• Content Strategist 
• Creative Advertiser 
• Set Design
• Intern 
• UX/UI design 
• Event Production 
• Producer 
• Other Avenues:
• Teaching 
• Traveling 
• Year out 
• Setting up own business - clothing etc

Based on looking at typical jobs, I've used peers to gain an idea of what those graduating this year have planned. Although a few students had a strong idea of what they wanted to do after graduation a lot more where unsure due to the wide range of roles/jobs available to designers. Furthermore a lot of students wanted a complete break from education/design due to the intensity of the course and that many had been in education for so long. 

• Setting up own studio - The Mannequin Collective, The Club 
• Own business - The Prawn Shop 
• Traveling intern 
• Junior Designer in small studio 
• Junior Designer 
• Designer in editorial 
• Designer in ad agency 
• Teacher 
• Traveling
• Year out 
• Motion graphics - freelance 
• Freelance 
• Art direction 
• Set design
• Masters 

Test Your Fate: Brief/ inspiration

Test Your Fate was born out of workshop with Eva Creamer who proposed we consider how to create something more interesting than your standard poster for the end of year show. Therefore I've decided to explore the idea of taking away the fear of the unknown associated with graduation (see figures 1-7). 

The Brief:

Highlight the fact that after graduation a lot of what happens to designers in up to luck or by chance through developing graphic elements for a pinball machine. The pinball machine has been chosen due to the element of chance naturally associated with the game and the ability to showcase multiple roots after university within one outcome. Furthermore using a pinball machine creates an interactive element, allowing people to test their fate, proposing roots they may have not thought about. This allows the conversation about life after graduation to be less intimidating and scary as the game acts as a light-hearted conversation starter. Furthermore the ability to try again highlights the idea that making mistakes is alright and the job you go into straight after graduation doesn't have to be the role you stage in forever. 

Outcomes:

Working pinball machine inspired by life after graduation, highlighting the different roots people can take after graduation.

Considerations:

A lighthearted approach to a serious topic, fun, engaging, humours.

Figure 1 

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EOYS: Collaboration Evaluation

This collaboration worked well as each member of the group got on well with limited conflict. The collective development process worked really well as it meant each member could explore their ideas for the branding and then collectively we took successful elements working them within the final branding. The only downside to this process was it took longer than if we had decided on a solid concept/aesthetic initially and then developed ideas surrounding. However, we decided on an approach/concept of exploring how to use shapes found within alumni's work to showcase that today's graduates are tomorrows notable alumni. Due to each member developing their own ideas we had multiple aesthetics to choose from which made the development process difficult as it was hard to combine designs and colours successfully as not all elements matched immediately. However, the introduction of black within the designs added a neutral element which aided the design process allowing different elements to compliment each other. Once the development process has been finalised each deliverable was divided between the group, alowing the collateral to be developed quickly as the poster was used as a basis for the rest of the elements, using the lines in different ways. Due to the short turnaround (2 weeks) for this brief I think we spent too long on initial ideas and development, resulting in limited time to develop the design into collateral. This meant the required collateral was made but no additional material such as social media, physical invites, wayfinding could be explored as too much time was spent on initial ideas and development. However, the overall outcome works well as an eye-catching and engaging identity has been created. 

EOYS: Final Designs

Overall the final branding works well as it the lines inspired by alumni's work alongside the circle which represents the community of graduates showcases the strong links between graduates and alumi, showcasing that today's graduates are tomorrows notable alumni. Furthermore, the pattern creates an eye-catching and engaging design that draws peoples attention to the information within the posters. This is enhanced by the use of the circle which adds a bold element to the design breaking up the lines which would have less of an impact if used on their own. The colours used throughout the designs allow the collateral to stand out without being garish or overpowering, furthermore the use of black adds definition to the lines enhancing the fluid movement. Alterning the use of the lines across the collateral creates a more interesting identity as the same image isn't regurgitated across different outcomes. The use of zooming in and overlaying sections adds a collectable nature to the collateral as different elements used across the branding and within the end of year show would appeal to different people which could have been extended to the physical invites if the branding had been selected. In relation to the typeface used DIN Alternative Bold has been used as the tall, structured nature of the typeface contrasts the smooth fluid lines, allowing the information to stand out against the lines used. If more time had been available more collateral could have been developed such as social media posts and physical invites. However, due to the lengthy development process, we chose to produce the collateral specified within the brief in order to finish the outcomes to a high standard. 

Poster

Poster

External Signage 

A6 Flyer 

Publication Ad

Publication Ad

Publication Ad

Email Banner

Email Banner

EOYS: Blenhiem Walk Mock Ups

In order to present our designs more effectivley, I've experimented with how best to showcase the external Blenhiem Walk signage. Initially looking at how to feature the whole poster across the signage (see figure 1). This involved splitting the poster into, skewing the image around the bollard and then aligning both sections together (see figures 2-8). This was a difficult process due to the circle and curved lines within as it was difficult to align the lines whilst having the circle maintain its form. The circle often appeared skewed, reducing the quality of the mockup as the circle appears disjointed instead of seamlessly folding around the bollard (see figures 7-8). Therefore I looked to show the designs on one side, showing the information more clearly on the other (see figures 9-10). This approach is more successful as it creates a more professional and refined outcome, allowing the implementation of the design to be shown more effectively.

EOYS: A2 Design Sheet - presentation

In order to present our idea/concept to the SMT team we've placed each deliverable onto an A2 sheet as requested within the briefing to allow each element to be reviewed and considered. No concept explanation has been featured as the brief called for images only, showcasing each deliverable. Therefore each element has been shown allowing the colour scheme and various adaptations to be shown highlight the adaptability of the design. 

Adonis Specimen: Paper Sourcing/ Research

In order to experiment with creating a box that would hold the type specimen, I've looked at different paper foundries to see if I can source a reflective or silver paper stock to represent a mirror/the reflection process.

GF Smith:
GF Smith had a few different textures in silver/reflective however there more reflective stock looked like it would mark easily which would work for the box as the paper needed to be more durable. Furthermore these examples clearly reflect a mirror, whereas I want the reference to be more subtle reflecting the reflection process rather than a physical reflection.

Fredrigoni:

Fredrigoni had more pearlescent examples which suited the subtle link I wanted to create, therefore I looked to gain samples of the platinum as this was the most appropriate colour from the options below. Although the graphite would match the black within the specimen I wanted the box to be more independent, really focus of the perspective/reflection element of the concept rather than the typographic treatment. Therefore I contacted Fredrigoni for some samples which would allow for experimentation and production (see figures 1-3). 

Figure 1

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EOYS: Group meeting/Developments

After evaluating the work produced in our last meeting the group produced some more developments of which we decided to explore the use of Josh's lines (figure 1) and Lorna's development (figure 2) to create a more finalised outcome. The main issue we had when developing the final outcome was deciding on a colour as we liked the colour combinations used by Lorna however struggled to find a way to incorporate them within on colour scheme. Initially, we favoured the blue and pink as we felt the blue lines stood out the most compared to the use of orange however, this resulted in the branding looking quite feminine and dull (see figures 3-4). Therefore we explored the use of having black as the base colour and incorporatinf blue and orange within the different elements. This worked well as the black balances the use of blue and orange whilst allowing the thin lines to stand out, not being overpowered by the orange or black. As a result, we decided to develop and finalise this design with each person developing more collateral based on this (see figure 5). Splitting the roles allowed us to touch each piece of collateral quickly as we all knew what to base the design and presentation on.

Throughout these experiments we also explored how each course could be represented within each poster, however, thought this might be too confusing across multiple posters, choosing to focus solely on the end of year show

Neve:
Poster/ Blenheim walk mockup
Lorna:
Publication ads
Josh:
Email header
Hannah:
Flyer

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Figure 5