OUGD603 - Secret 7 2017 - Idea for Brief

I decided to check out the Secret 7 website to find out when the song titles for 2017 Secret 7 competition would be released in hopes of getting a head start on the designs.

I was confronted with a rather disappointing message on the home page of their site, informing me that the competition will not be taking place in 2017. I was initially annoyed because I have really enjoyed this competition brief in the past and was looking forward to developing it into a considerable brief.

However, I plan to select seven of my current favorite songs and design new album artwork for them and hopefully connect all of the tracks with a visual system or theme. This way, I will be able to tailor the briefs to my present creative concerns and interests and make it more appropriate for my portfolio.

My music taste is incredibly varied which will provide me with plenty of diverse material to chose from for this self initiated brief.

OUGD603 - Weekly Plan - 14/11/16

Again, the emphasis of this week will be COP. The deadline for this module is fast approaching, therefore I will need to spend every day this week working on my essay, producing practical work and updating my blog with regular posts.

OUGD603 - Weekly Plan 7/11/16

I have decided to dedicate this week to Context of Practice, as this is the module that will require the majority of my energy and attention from now until the deadline which is not far away at all.

OUGD603 - Weekly Plan 7/11/16

I have decided to dedicate this week to Context of Practice, as this is the module that will require the majority of my energy and attention from now until the deadline which is not far away at all.

OUGD603 - Extended Practice - Weekly Plan - 31/10/16

Week commencing 31/10/16

I found it beneficial working to a plan last week and will continue to make them as the weeks progress.

In this mornings briefing, Amber stressed the importance of the next few weeks in terms of COP and Extended Practice, mentioning that the focus at this point should definitely be on the dissertation. It will be important to keep the other modules ticking over in the mean time. I took this advice into consideration when devising a weekly plan:

Mon 31st - Continue experimentation for Chicago Film Festival - brainstorm, play around with different techniques, do some primary research by asking people about what they associated with Latino culture etc - spend the rest of the day/evening preparing for COP tutorial

Tues 1st- Work on COP essay, do further reading and get ready for tutorial at 3pm with Ben

Wed 2nd - Research and attempt to contact a studio/practitioner for PPP, enquiring about placements and work experience - continue producing ideas for Penguin Book Cover

Thurs 3rd - Begin doing primary research for COP then catch up on blogging for COP and Extended Practice - make sure things are all up to date

Fri 4th - Continue COP research and essay writing

OUGD603 - Extended Practice - Weekly Plan 24/10/16

In an attempt to get more organised in the approach to my work, I've decided to start roughly planning the structure of my weeks in order to be as productive as I can for the rest of the year.

Week commencing 24/10/16

Monday - dedicate to PPP - do some research into personal branding and examine the relevance to your practice right now. Do you need it? Experiment with some pattern making or a new logo - have fun!

Tuesday - Start a new brief - make a start on a competition brief, maybe Penguin or Latino Film Festival - also prepare for first COP tutorial and blog about it

Wednesday - Start Penguin, do some reading for COP and go to Start-Up Wednesdays workshop, Letterpress workshop

Thursday - Dedicate to COP, continue writing and reading, consider the practical element, try and make a start on primary research

Friday - Continue with competition briefs

OUGD603 - Penguin Random House

The Penguin Random House design awards have been announced and I am looking forward to getting my teeth sunk into at least one of the titles this year. I really enjoyed this brief last year and I think I will definitely get a lot out of it again in terms of experience and extending my practice. 

The titles this year are:

Adult Non Fiction: Fiction: In Cold Blood
Adult Fiction: To Kill A Mockingbird
Children's: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and Three Quarters

My first thoughts are that most people are going to be drawn to the Adult Fiction title purely because it is such a well known title and loved by plenty of people. That one would appear to be the most obvious choice, so I will probably not design for this title.

I am intrigued by the other two titles, as I haven't heard of them before and it would be an interesting task to design for a children's book as well as quite a heavy, dark non-fiction title. I definitely want to use this brief as a platform to push me out of my comfort zone.

I am going to begin by doing initial research into the titles and start sketching out preliminary ideas/concepts, then get feedback from my peers and tutors before progressing any further. I realise that feedback is going to be very important this year in relation to the development of my work.