CRITERION D

It can be concluded that my product was a success because it fulfilled the criteria I set in place in my design specifications as to what would be an effective solution to the lack of representation of the House System in the Middle School. To restate the issue, there is a lack of unity and enthusiasm for the House System felt by the Middle School students as the school transitions from TMS to Lauremont School. My designs effectively combined the many skills I have learned in graphic design during my TMS career (such as the "Outer Glow" effect described in my progress chart, making use of different colour schemes effectively, etc) to emphasize House Phoebe's own character as well as unifying features from all four houses, helping reflect the school's rebranding and encouraging school spirit. The use of consistent color schemes, conforming to Pantone codes given in the House System guide, and integrated design features (such as the Moon in the Phoebe banner and Titus in the unified house banner) achieved aesthetic harmony between my two designs, allowing them to stand together as a set of designs as opposed to 2 completely different pieces. This represents my ability to incorporate personal brand into my work as a designer. This is evidenced by positive feedback from Ms. Bailey, who stated that the color dynamics were "striking and unified." The CRAP principles—contrast (eg: the Moon and the background of my Phoebe banner), repetition (eg: the repetition of the stars in the night sky of the Phoebe banner), alignment (the 4 houses in the background of my unified banner), and proximity(all elements of both banners are within close proximity of one another)—were included, making the designs both visually appealing as well as cohesive in terms of the different elements being able to flow together. The technical execution of the products, which included hand-drawn drawings followed by digital improvement to sketches then to my final designs, resulted in a high-quality output with a professional finish. 

The use of the white gradient in my unified banner takes away from the vibrancy of the House colours in the background. When students think of the House system, they immediately think of brightly coloured spirit wear worn on House days, thus meaning the House colours capture the essence of the Lauremont House system. By slightly dimming these colours, I take away from the boldness of my designs, making them stand out less while also being a less effective representation of our 4 houses. It is also unclear as to why the gradient is the centre point of the 4 houses; the use of a spotlight in this case seems awkward and slightly out of place. Finally, Titus has a slightly awkward placement in the banner, as he peeks in from the side of the design. Placing Titus in the middle and using a symbol in the centre as opposed to a white gradient (to ensure of increased brightness/vibrancy of the background House colours) would serve to be an ideal solution to these issues. 

In terms of my Phoebe banner, the white lines of the image trace are very apparent around each of the clouds in the night sky background I chose to use. While I planned to use image trace in my final designs in my design specifications to ensure of visual consistency with the existing House banners in the Upper School, this makes the design appear more cluttered and less professional. To combat this, removing some of these lines individually by selecting and deleting them (one by one) could be an effective solution.

My target audience was the Lauremont middle school students, who should be motivated and united by the murals' overall messages, and my clients were the school administration and staff, who should find the murals professional and in line with the school's rebranding objectives. The positive feedback from both students and teachers suggests that my final project meets these objectives. During my design process, I made sure that my designs would appeal to the students while still meeting the administration's standards. For instance, in my design specifications, in the "Aesthetics" section, I state how I will use colour schemes specific to Lauremont and the 4 houses, and how significant this is in creating a unified visual identity in the "Functionality" section. This is reflected in my final products; the House Phoebe banner was eye-catching and served well as a reminder/encouragement of Phoebe house spirit, being described by my peer, Talia, as "captivating and engaging." The multi-house mural emphasized unity and school spirit, which was also echoed by Talia as she stated that the mural "effectively represents the school's values." Furthermore, the alignment of my use of illustrations (such as the Moon in the Phoebe banner) and consistent use of the school's color palette resulted in a polished and coherent appearance, which enhanced the overall visual appeal to both designs. This was emphasized in Mr. Alves's reaction upon seeing my Phoebe banner, in which he stated the mural has a "professional and cohesive design." Therefore, these murals not only engage and inspire students to participate in House events, but they also effectively express Lauremont School's new identity.