Unit 4 : AoS 1

Link to previous work

• Explicitly connect your current design concepts to ideas developed in Unit 3 - Show connections between the aesthetic and conceptual aspects of ideas developed in Unit 3. 

• Reference and build upon design ideas from the critique in Unit 3 - At the beginning of the Unit 4 folio, include annotated pieces of feedback or a reflection statement about your feedback from the crit. Use this to set directions for your folios in Unit 4. 

Address the design brief:

• Refer back to the design criteria listed in the brief throughout your process, and ensure this is reflected in your annotations. 

• Ensure your design concepts directly respond to these criteria.

• As you refine your concepts, continually refer back to the brief to stay on track.

Utilize the Deliver phase:

• Understand and apply the principles of the Deliver phase in the VCD design process. Consider, what the Deliver phase of the design process asks you to consider. What are the technical or presentation-quality aspects of your design you need to refine?

• Focus on refining and resolving your design concepts rather than generating new ideas. If your Unit 3 concepts were not strong, show a clear link between the work from Unit 3 through MMM experimentation & application of Design Elements & Principles.  

Apply design elements and principles:

• Integrate design elements (line, shape, colour, texture, etc.) and principles (balance, contrast, hierarchy, etc.) in your refinement process. Be selective in which you specifically apply and ensure your annotations demonstrate your intention towards refinement in these selections. 

• Use these to enhance the effectiveness of your communication.

Incorporate Gestalt principles:

• Apply Gestalt principles of visual perception (similarity, continuation, closure, figure/ground etc.) to strengthen your designs. 

• As you are refining your composition of works of design, find opportunities to add complexity with these principles. Particularly apply these to Message design. 

Use both manual and digital methods:

• Demonstrate proficiency in both hand-drawn and digital design techniques.

• Use a combination of methods to show versatility and comprehensive skill.

Consider ethical and legal obligations:

• Be aware of copyright laws, ethical design practices, and cultural sensitivities.

• Ensure your designs respect these obligations and document how you've addressed them.

• Address potential problems with copyright in terms of similarity to existing designs. 

• Address potential issues with copyright through the selection of type & imagery that you did not create. eg. Type research:  You may choose to use a Google owned typeface from Google Fonts. You would note the following in your folio - Google fonts are free to use for all purposes, including commercial use. I have selected X typeface for this reason, ensuring my design will be free from copyright claims.
  
  NB: (However, there are some exceptions. For example, the Google Sans font can only be used in Google products by Google. This is because Google Sans is a custom font that was designed specifically for Google's products.)

Practice convergent thinking:

• Apply annotation & design thinking methods that are critical and allow you to reflect on work and eliminate concepts. 

• Focus on narrowing down and refining ideas rather than diverging to new concepts.

• Show how you're making specific choices to improve & refine your designs.

Document your process:

• Use detailed annotations to explain your refinement and resolution process
  - what did you do?  (consider the use of E&P, MMM,  gestalt principles, and principles of good design)
  - how did you do it?
  - why did you do it?
  - what was the effect?
  - what decisions did you make based on this?
  - how does it link to the Brief?

• Demonstrate understanding of "good design" through annotation & make selections based on specific criteria linked to concepts of good design. 

• Explain how your choices contribute to the overall quality and effectiveness of the design.

Create development and documentation drawings:

• Produce a series of drawings that show the evolution of your designs. Ensure that the development has aesthetic and conceptual links to the Unit 3 work, but feel open to evolving it from this point. 

• Include both rough sketches, technical exploration drawings, and more polished presentations.

Integrate feedback:

• Incorporate constructive feedback from the Unit 3 critique. Include 1-2 pages at the start of each folio that document the Unit 3 critique feedback. 

• Show how this feedback influenced your refinement process through annotation in the folio. 

Synthesize multiple aspects:

• Demonstrate how you're bringing together various design elements, principles, and techniques to create a cohesive final product.
  
  This might include aesthetic (style, E&P, MMM use) or functional (layout, technical aspects) aspects of your development process. 

Practical tasks:

• Conduct additional research, as needed, to guide your refinement.

• Develop multiple iterations of each design, showing progressive improvements.

• Experiment with different E&P that can help you to refine your design - colour schemes, layouts, and typography options, etc. 

• Create mock-ups or prototypes of your final designs - these may be lo-fi prototypes early in Unit 4, and developed into hi-fidelity for The Pitch later in the term. 

Annotation and analysis methods:

• Use a consistent annotation system (e.g., numbering or colour coding areas that are needed to target)
  - Design E&P
  - MMM
  - The Brief
  - Design Decisions 

• Write concise, yet informative notes explaining your design decisions.

• Vary your annotation methods, and ensure you are using convergent methods to refine or eliminate ideas or elements of your design work. 

• Analyze the effectiveness of each refinement in relation to the communication need, as stated in the brief. 

• Use annotation to expand on aspects of The Brief. Eg. If the client has requested a rendering of a structure, use the folio process to explore different methods of rendering, and annotation to make design decisions about the direction to choose, based on other aspects of the the brief or concepts of good design. 

• Compare different versions of your designs, explaining why certain choices were made. Use routines like SWOT analysis grid, or point scoring methods, to do this. 

• Reference specific design principles or theories in your annotations to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts of design in the study design. 

Focus on the Deliver phase:

• • • As we move towards The Pitch, ensure you understand the objectives of the Deliver phase in the VCD design process. - Consider the Media, methods, and materials, that will most help you refine your work for presentation. 

    • Emphasize finalization, evaluation, and presentation of your design concepts.

Create mock-ups or prototypes:

• • • Research the difference between 'prototype' and mockup. 

    • Produce a mock-up or prototype for each of your two communication needs. Consider whether you need to create photography for mockups, or you can find an open copyright image/s to use (Unsplash has good mockup examples).

    • Start to print out any digital imagery at the same scale as the final product to analyse the scale, proportions, space, and shape/form of design work. 

    • Ensure these are as close to the final product as possible to accurately test their effectiveness.

Evaluate your work against the brief:

• • • Continuously refer back to the requirements stated in the brief.

    • Assess how well your mock-ups or prototypes meet these requirements.

    • Explain where you have expanded on the requirements of the brief. 

Prepare and deliver a pitch:

• • • Use Edrolo & textbook resources to prepare a design pitch. 

    • Develop a compelling oral presentation for each design concept.  

    • Include both visual and written materials in your pitch.

    • Practice your delivery to ensure confidence and clarity.

    • In your pitch, explicitly discuss how your designs meet the communication needs as stated in The Brief. 

    • Highlight the quality aspects of your designs, linking them to principles of good design.

    • Use evaluative language to discuss the strengths & weaknesses of your design work. 

    • Don't just describe your designs; critically analyze their strengths and potential weaknesses.

    • Evaluate how well they meet specific aspects of the design criteria.

    • Apply convergent thinking: Show how you've narrowed down and refined your ideas throughout the process. This may be through feedback, annotation routines, analysis methods, etc. 

    • Plan a method of feedback for each presentation for The Pitch.  Plan for specific feedback that relates to areas of weakness that you have identified for improvement. 

    • Address ethical and legal considerations: Discuss any relevant ethical or legal issues in your presentation.

    • Show how your designs comply with these obligations.

    • Demonstrate understanding of good design: Explain how your choices contribute to the overall quality of the design, using specific Concepts of Good Design. 

Synthesize brief requirements:

• • • In your highest-level work, show how you've not just met but synthesized the brief requirements.

    • Through annotation, demonstrate how different aspects of your design work together to meet multiple criteria.

Practical tasks and evaluation methods:

Mock-up creation:

• • • For print designs: Create digital & physical mock-ups using appropriate materials.

    • For digital designs: Use prototyping tools to create interactive mock-ups.

Testing methods:

• • • Conduct user testing with your mock-ups, gathering feedback on usability and effectiveness.

    • Document this testing process and results.

Evaluation techniques:

• • • Create a evaluation matrix matching your design features against brief requirements.

    • Use techniques like SWOT analysis to critically assess your designs.

Pitch preparation:

• • • Develop a storyboard for your pitch to ensure a logical flow.

    • Create high-quality visual aids (e.g., slides, boards) to support your oral presentation.

    • Prepare talking points that specifically address how your design meets brief requirements.

Refinement documentation:

• • • Keep a log of changes made after the pitch, explaining the rationale for each refinement.

    • Create before-and-after comparisons to illustrate your refinement process.

Terminology glossary:

• • • Compile a list of relevant design terms and their definitions to ensure correct usage.

Ethical consideration checklist:

• • • Create a checklist of ethical and legal considerations relevant to your project.

    • Use this to systematically evaluate your design's compliance.

Demonstrate refinement based on feedback from your pitch.

• Document feedback from The Pitch in the folio. 

• Annotate & select feedback that is useful to respond to. 

• Plan to implement feedback. 

• Demonstrate through annotation of further refinements where this feedback has been applied.

Use appropriate terminology:

• • • Incorporate industry-standard design terms in your folio, Pitch presentation and evaluation.

    • Ensure you understand and can explain any technical terms you use.