Professional Practice

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE REPORT

To enter the new semester of Professional Practice part 2, it was a good feeling as to bring in new ideas as well learning from the new people working around us.

With knowledge already from the previous semester and working around with the students that did the ‘NAK5D’ exhibition and how they carried out their work and how their exhibition was carried out made me get a different perspective of tings and some of these are listed below.

·         Team work

This plays quite an import role with having to present something final and of good quality. To have a peer of students around that are willing to help you with what your design life relies on is really big and to see that these students sat down and worked around with the resources they had as a team through the ups and down showed me that sometimes having more brains is better one because you work with a lot of drive and input and so they output is phenomenal.

·         Ideation

Having ideas is very simple. Anyone can have an idea just like that but to have that idea implemented with all the refining and research showed me that an idea can be really perfected with more research. That showed me the professional side of a designer that they can research and then get inspiration from another artist and relate to what they personal like and have their ideas together. Having more ideas and likes from a group of people may bring about flaws because some may not agree to all ideas but the effort you see makes you think of ideas out the box so that they are picked and stand out. Not just for you but as a team and a group as a whole.

·         Working with time

This was an exhibition that was to be presented at the end of the semester and was their final project as graphic students. This meant that they had to have things done by this date and time to show that they are actually moving hence this needed planning and that helped them even though they might have any downfall or slips ups they still managed to have their exhibition done and which was greatly received from the people out there. Planning does pay an important role in what we do and it is import to plan as an art student.

·         Quality of work

After all the ideas and designs have been done by the students to make their art exhibition. The final works is what was also going to be appreciated more excluding the other necessities. Because this is what you are going to present to someone who doesn’t know you and so for that person to have a good impression of your work, quality is key! On this I saw the students in and out designing their work maybe 2 or 3 times all over again and when asked why, because they were pleased with the outcome and this shows that appreciation of quality starts with a designer. Once a designer is pleased with his or her own work, it can be published. The designing of any visuals was key to be attractive, cool, funky but still have a meaning to stick to the theme as well as any models that were made had to have a good finishing which they did. Using recycled materials like papers, wood, plastic they come up with really good stuff just to give their exhibition that extra wow!

The election/breakdown of where I was going to be this semester was carried out in the early weeks of the semester and we were all together with the PP (Professional Practice) students Part 1 and Part 2.

The breakdown above shows the part of what is below the final graduate showcase which is the exhibition that will be done with the final year students. Having three teams below

1.       Creative Team

This team was as the name states, the creative side behind it all. The creation of the idea and the concepts that will be looked at and then seen whether they could be actually implanted and done.

2.       P.R Marketing Team

This team was the strategic bone behind the financials, the marketing and planning on how this showcase could be beneficial in ways of planning the right strategy and how it could be a win by advertising, marketing, branding, promotion and the rest shown above

3.       Art Direction Team

This team is now the group that receives all the ideas that were generated by the creative team and once they are received these were the assessors that needed to choose the idea and execute them. They were they backbone to what would help all the teams. Without choosing e.g a logo for the showcase, the marketing team couldn’t promote the brand to people out there because they would like to see what they are being shown hence this team played a big row.

With the teams listed above, previously I was chosen and placed in the Creative team because of having the talent and accuracy of ideas with reference and positive comments by my lecturer. This time I was going to take up the task and join the team of marketing so that I could see how things would be done in a marketing perspective.

                Due to us having students holding a showcase/exhibition, it was only necessary that we, the students are soon going to be in year 3 look at what these exhibitions are and also to help us get more knowledge on them.

Simply a showcase or exhibition was having something artistically designed that you want to show and have people see your design or creation. We did this research to get an idea of what our exhibition would be like when it is our time. Seeing the setup of everything by the examples shown showed us that most are hanged around if it is posters, drawings and then big models are mostly laid up in their own space. 

As we can see from the samples above, the artworks are mostly put up against the wall where people can come and see and view them. Lighting is important and key because this helps give the works a pop and also the right light sets the mood with background music that the location play. Both lighting and sound can go along with the theme of the exhibition too. Either slow and mellow or have something upbeat all in sense to follow a theme.

The above images being model type of artworks are normally given their own type of space and compartment where they can be viewed and mostly they stand alone and are far from the artworks like painting and the likes. This was something to take into consideration so that when they exhibition is running, a mix up of works should not mislead or confuse the people viewing. To have sequence and organization in the works plays a big role in an exhibition/showcase.

                Next up, we had to look at what these three words played in design and what they meant to us and how different they are with how they are used in the world out there.

·         Idea

·         Concept

·         Theme

The three words were supposed be explained and to give us students more depth and understanding of what they are and how we can use these in future works.

1.       Idea

What is an idea?

This is normally a thought that we have at a very instant of a posed question or task that we are to do. Normally ideas are many and the free flow of the mind of an art student seeing that one may have many ideas on a subject of matter. E.g ideas on reducing theft could have ideas on:

·         Tighter security

·         Make of burglar bars in house holds

·         Sirens

·         CCTV cameras that are hidden

So we can see from the above descriptions that ideas just play a major part in trying to solve or find new solutions and for most art cases, create designs. Ideas also play an important role because when ideas are brought to the table, they help keep the mind creative and over work the brain to see passed these ideas to make something not so vivid and real actually come to life and be worked on.

2.       Concept

What is a concept?

This is a process where the idea is developed into something useful and creative. More like stages to have an idea brought out and be designed and the concept being the steps.

Concept design or ideas are also seen to be of future use on designs that have never been done or released. They mostly just have an idea but they are not those that are able to be done at that moment in time hence it is more of a future design which be named a concept idea. We normally see such in buildings that are to be made, cars to be made.

3.       Theme

What is the theme?

We have seen pieces of art or exhibitions having a certain vibe to them by sticking to a certain feel or vibe and that being seen in works around. More like a theme of a party would be smart attire and that theme being set most people you will see at that party will be in smart attire because they would have to meet the theme. In that sense we can see that the theme is seeing the development of the concept and branches from other areas in conjunction with ideas of a design, ‘the theme attempts to brand each new piece as a sub-set of the original concept.’ (Linkedin.com, 2014).

Here we can see where a theme is applied from things we see in our daily live such as:

·         Weddings

·         Posters

·         Cakes

Looking at all these examples, none of them were just made from nowhere. All these at least must have an idea, concept and then a theme along the way to make the final piece. Like the poster for example could see that there was ideas of star wars that was going to be used and also the idea of using typography to suit and give it that retro feel. Concept of it all was star wars and it was clear from then one to completion of them.

                During the semester, I suffered a bad illness. I fell ill through catching the dengue fever. This was a major setback for me because I was already catching up in the semester and trying to accomplish work by the dates given so this sickness drew me back. I was admitted and was out of the school to get well and rest for two weeks and in this world of design that is quite a lot because every design can be changed every day. Even though I was sick, I was updated with work that I missed out and with this I presented what I could with ideas and sketches of a task where we were told to have sketches of the logo that the APP students were to use from either:

·         TOOTS

·         16 RAW

·         CREATIVE EXPLOSIVE

Some of the sketches that I had drawn towards some of the words above are shown below, because I had to present something there and then, I quickly placed my ideas down that I had down at that very moment to still show that I can have something done even with an illness to show work effort by any means necessary.

                With being placed in the P.R Marketing team, we had an objective of having a product and then using our own ways and analysis of marketing and how we could sale this product. Our lecturer is the one that had the product and she brought it to us. The product that we were going to produce was glue.

After being given this product, we were asked to look at key factors and ways in which this could be marketed. Some of these points to look at as a whole Marketing crew were:

·         Who is the target audience?

Because this a type of glue that has the element of fixing stuff like on cars, bicycles, stuff in the household, we could state the audience was going to be those people not below a certain age limit and most definitely not children because this is not something that would have to be played with. Age of probably 15 and above could be the target audience.

·         The name of the product?

The name of a product plays an important role in design such that if the name of a product is of top notch. Just the name could have people buying the product or wanting to know more of this product. We had to look at the target audience as well as the names that could fit that audience if they were to see this lying around in shops. The original name of this product was EXPOXY STEEL. Expoxy which has a definition of ‘an adhesive, plastic, paint, or other material made from a class of synthetic thermosetting polymers containing epoxide groups.’ (Wikipedia, 2014). Then STEEL which we all know as a hard metal and one that is also quite also difficult to break. This title was okay because it fitted the description and what the purpose was. The Steel part of it gave off the hardness that they glue has and that it plays a ‘STRONG’ factor when applied.

·         How to sell this product?

Due to this being an industrial type of adhesive. This product was to be placed in the hardware section of any store. It should mostly be placed on racks that are easily seen by customers. Other ways we could sell this product would be to have strong people out there e.g Arnold Schwarzenegger be in a commercial advert and sell off the product. The use of a ‘strong’ figure and also the product will give off to us customers the durability and strength that this glue has.

We looked at more ways as a team that were brought forward towards the end the handing in of this task. These ideas and notes were to be passed on to our group leader so she could analyze and compile them.

                Towards the end of the semester, we were told to have a few sketches that were going to be for a book where all our sketches, ideas that we drafted as professional practice students had pitched in. Whatever we had designed was going to play a major role and would be in this book that when all work is completed, it shows the different ideas and creativity of us students. So we were all required to have sketches and we had a meeting where these sketches were going to be analyzed by some PP Part 1 students and PP part 2 students.

Apart from having the book designs and the layout. We also had a section where we were supposed to give a good title and description for the book. They were lists of titles that we us students submitted and we selected from some of these:

We then chose us students by ticking whichever name and descriptions we were comfortable and felt like they could be suitable for the book. I played a big role in giving the name of the book. The initial idea title was ‘Creativity is our drug' but I felt that it was a little too long for a title so I then shortened it and called it ‘CREATIVITY DOSAGE’ which when I mentioned to the team, they also liked it and the creativity behind seeing that creativity becomes our drug and so for you to see that in us students, why not get a dosage of from us and welcome to our world. So that was widely appreciated and made me feel good about myself and to also have a very comment from our lecturer who wondered where the nice title came from gave me that boost that I contributed something good and positive not just for me but my team.

After the title was given, we then chose out of the designs the final design for the book which was going to have a front and a back cover. The book was then to be bind with all students contributing RM1.50 to our leader and have it done.

FRONT

BACK

FINAL REDESIGNED FRONT AND BACK

The final image above shows the final redesigned font cover and back that we did with the help of our lecturer who showed us some skills and shed more knowledge on such projects. Having the lines on the front cover was going to give the audience like a guidelines and show a restriction to them having free will to look and analyze designs the way they would want. So she gave out the option of removing the bars/lines and playing around with the cartoon sketches. I also pitched in the idea of the book description and also redesigned the text that was used for the book.

Finally the book was printed and binded and looked really good and it was showed to us students to see our efforts that we did and we were happy with the final look of it. From just having sketches and designs in our books to actually having the book was good.

  

             In conclusion to this report and the work that we had covered this semester. Professional Practice Part 2 really showed me another side and the work involved as students to finish and how we go about certain projects. Learning outcomes that I felt I learned through this are listed below:

• ·         Ideation mind was opened due to having to sit down around with more students with their own views and thoughts opened my mind to also think from their own perspective and how their designs can relate with mine.
• ·         Be more professional about handling work and even though a setback comes through in this case my sickness, it should not stop you from doing and completing your work. Commitment is key.
• ·         Understood the marketing side of a product and as a design student I gained some knowledge on how you would go about when you need to sell off anything to the world out there by looking at key points like who is it you are targeting, what is the name of the product, packaging and all. That opened my advertising side to my designs which in near future I hope to showcase.
• ·         Team work is key in a way that if you are to work in a company like the set we had in our class, you will have people with so many ideas and you will have to decide upon yourselves to choose what we all agree upon. This will bring about tension and dislikes but to remember we are one is important because we are out there to achieve a certain goal as a team.
• ·         The exhibition/showcase we are to apply in our year 3 will have to be of top quality and I learned working with the APP students to produce work that can be really appreciated not by yourself but by others as well and to give out a good first impression to the people out there.
• ·         Don’t restrict your thinking of ideas, concepts themes etc. As designers we have the power to create what we want with free will. Whether it is going to be done or not, to think of something like never before shows that your capacity of thinking is high and creative and can’t be chained down. I have gained more of that not restricting my creativity and knowledge since PP part 1 and it helped me in a way that I could easily tap into that side of me and ideas will have free flow just like that with no difficulty
• 
  

All in all, this has been a good module. The team of students that I worked with were really good and interaction with them was better and we could place our thoughts as a team. Lecturer influence also played a part such that she gave us encouragement to go all out in whatever we do. Not just in her course but anything we indulge in and that is a point I have taken and carried on.

References

BusinessDictionary.com, (2014). What is concept? definition and meaning. [online] Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/concept.html [Accessed 16 Apr. 2014].

Life. Then strategy, (2014). How to explain an idea: a mega post. [online] Available at: http://www.markpollard.net/how-to-explain-an-idea/ [Accessed 17 Apr. 2014].

Linkedin.com, (2014). What is the difference between Idea, Concept & Theme?. [online] Available at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/What-is-difference-between-Idea-92232.S.39445770 [Accessed 13 Apr. 2014].

Screenculture, (2014). Getting specific about Theme, Concept and Premise. [online] Available at: http://blogs.aftrs.edu.au/screenculture/?p=621 [Accessed 15 Apr. 2014].

Wikipedia, (2014). Idea. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea [Accessed 14 Apr. 2014].

GD : Competitiors

COMPETITORS 

We had to look at the competitors that are around the campaign of choice. Look at how they run their campaign and the approach that they use towards this. 

Due to me having this rap campaign, competitors are only seen towards the topic i would have to address through my source of media. In that case, the competitors would be looked from the drugs, violence, sex etc. Then from there we have a details info on how they have managed to do their campaign. With that being said, here are the topics with each having one main campaign description of the competition and also having supporting campaigns too.

VIOLENCE

Hitting With Words

This powerful PSA campaign from Singapore successfully illustrates how verbal abuse can be just as horrific as physical violence. This is an important issue to raise awareness of, as many people do not realize that vicious domestic verbal abuse can actually have longer lasting effects and hurt their partners and family just as much as physical aggression, if not more.

The parallel between verbal abuse and physical violence is drawn by showing a hand coming out of the man's mouth who is angrily shouting and proceeding to physically abuse the terrified woman by punching her on the face, pulling her hair, and other typical domestic violence instances.

From this above campaign, it was clear to see that the use of vulgar language was an issue and that it was that was causing violence through the words that we use. This can be seen in rap music by all the lyrics that we hear and that was also described in the infograph too. Vulgar language such as insults and phrases cause a harm to us in a way that we act afraid and live in fear and also assault by all this.

Supporting Campaigns

Clearly states that what you teach a child from birth about violence you teach him forever because he/she is able to see what is happening as they grow up and they get the understanding of this violence.

This is almost similar with the above campaign in such a way that kids/children may see pleasure in abusing people with violence and because of this, the influence we get from the music we listen also plays a part in this with music videos which show arguments and actions of violence.

SEX ABUSE

Anti-Rape Campaigns

This is a stunning visual which makes illustrates clearly yet with tact what we're talking about. (Although it does also assume sexual abuse must involve physical contact which isn't the case - forced exposure to pornography or involvement in creating single-person pornography for example).

The problem of how to inform the public, through a visual medium, about child abuse is a delicate one - the current NSPCC adverts I find too oblique - teddy bears cover their eyes aren't the reality of sexual abuse. It avoids portraying the pain and fear in a way which the other NSPCC "case" adverts (for neglect of physical violence) don't avoid. The NSPCC's poster campaigns around sexual violence have, to my mind, lacked real power. The same theme, of childhood sexual violence, is picked up (left) in the campaign from the US with this picture.

The campaign, from 2001, was run in Los Angeles as part of a personal safety campaign which put the emphasis (quite rightly) on those who commit crimes rather than the victims.

We see interesting visuals that depict of a hand touching a females private parts which in this case shows the abuse that is gone through such people. This plays a roll in rap music because all the images and songs we hear give us a feeling of wanting to indulge in sex and the likes and if not gotten, the only result turns out to sex abuse which leads to unwanted diseases, rape cases, pregnancies, sometimes even death. Hence these campaigns are there trying to give awareness to people who be suffering from these situations.

Supporting Campaigns

The above campaigns shows the results of both parties say no to the sex and the results that we get from either when she doesnt want it or when she changes his mind. Both will result in sexual abuse especially if they are forced to do what they are not willing to indulge in. In this case, sex.

DRUG ABUSE

Just Say No Campaign

Pretty simple, but apparently pretty effective.  I realize that no direct correlation could ever be substantiated between using a motto to stop drug use and how much drug use was affected.  But according to research conducted by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, fewer young people in the 1980s were using illicit drugs. 

High school seniors using cannabis dropped from 50.1% in 1978 to 36% in 1987, to 12% in 1991 and the percentage of students using other drugs decreased similarly. Psychedelic drug use dropped from 11% to 6%, cocaine from 12% to 10%, and heroin from 1% to 0.5%.

Kind of funny to think that something so simple could be so effective.  Think about what the New Testament writer Titus writes in chapter 2.  We read in verse 11-13, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

For the believer, saying no, is not about will power, but about Jesus power.  That power gives us the strength to say no to all sorts of things.  And that power is because we say yes to Jesus.  So the next time temptation comes your way, remember Nancy Reagan, and Jesus and just say no!  I think you will be glad that you did.

This campaign states it all. JUST SAY NO! its as simple as that and when it comes to drugs, the easiest and simplest we can say is NO! Hence this campaign was a good and well received because it showed the power of how saying no can be shown and to music influence this is good because with peer pressures we receive around us to avoid any problems the easiest we could say is No.

Supporting Campaigns

The images here show what an addict can be come and what the ratio is out there towards the people that are taking drugs and with the influence of rap music, the increase of these numbers shall increase if no action is taken and hence these campaigns are put into place.

ALCOHOL

Before One More Campaign

Before One More helps students understand when one more drink can become one too many and shows them how they can make low-risk drinking decisions. For students under 21, one is one too many. For students who choose to drink, it is important to know how to do it without harming themselves or others around them.

Here’s more information about the campaign:

• Before One More t-shirts were given out at Club NDSU. More than 1450 students attended this alcohol-free dance event this past weekend.
• Herd Hauler key tags will become available in early September with Before One more information on the back of the ticket. Herd Hauler is available to students as a safe way to get home after drinking.
• All student tickets for Fall 2010 Bison football games will have information on Before One More.
• The student-run NDSU television station, Bison Information Network (BIN), are working to create a public service announcement for Before One Mores

This is a good campaign towards the alcohol part influenced by people. When one drink becomes too many and then it becomes a problem for not just the drinker but the people around him/her. This pressure becomes even worse with the things we see on media such as the expensive alcohol bottom publicised by artists we know and then we tend to get an excitement to drink these alcoholic beverages without knowing the consequences of the intake.

Supporting Campaigns

The design of the campaign above relates to the alcoholic beverage called 'Absolute Vodka' and the shape of the bottle, the typography used matches the original design and with this as i mentioned taking bottles because of what we see on the media leads to unwanted things such as hangovers. For me this is a good campaign because the use of a well known alcohol can help in ways to address an issue.

These are the competitor campaigns that I researched on and which were going to give me a reference to my work on the infograph and also what I was finally going to do for my main campaign which is a song/video that was going to address some of these issues in a relation to 'Keep The Rap Clean'

GD : Info-graph

After finding out what campaign that I was going to do. We had to apply our understanding on an info-graph towards the stuff we have put in the project brief which included where the campaign towards to and the likes.

Due to me talking about rap music. My campaign was going to show the bad sides and explain more to what the people out there get wrong about the idea of rap music. The info was going to have the influences that are got from the rap scene. I was going to choose four of these influences listed below :

• Alcohol
• Drugs
• Sex
• Violence

These influences were going to be shown on the infograph as to where we see these influences happening and the effect they have on us or the people that indulge in these activities. These were also going to be the chosen ones because they were subject of matter from the competitors search.

FIG 1

Fig.1 shows me designing the info graph. Due to having four topics to talk about, was going to use a circular graph to design and place the topics in each half when split to show an accurate design and fair design when the topic is placed inside i.e violence, sex, etc.

The final layout of my design is shown below having all the details necessary before printing.

FIG 2

The above image shows the final infograph design that i was going to have for my presentation. As you can see, each of the topics are surrounded by images and then outside have red dots which show the effects. The text in the yellow bars show where we see these sex topics being shown in a rap scene. I.e Violence in rap music can be seen in music videos and video games. To know some effects of these influences are seen in red. Each topic has images and text to support where the outsider can read and get a clear perspective on the info that is to be given.

Some of the references that I had when designing my infograph are shown below. These just helped in opening my mind and see how I can have an infograph done seeing that I did not know how to make one and this was going to be my first.

 

Graphics Design : Campaign

The beginning of the semester. We were told that we were going to have to create a campaign that we were to hold/run at the end of the semester.

Meaning of an advertising campaign

An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication. Advertising campaigns appear in different media across a specific time frame of frequent flyers points. (Wikipedia, 2014)

Examples of these advertising campaigns

For my campaign, I chose that i was going to do something music related because we were told to do something that we like and personally feel that needs change especially in a place like Malaysia. Hence, i chose that i would do a campaign on rap music influenced around the world but concentrate on the effects the rap music has brought into Malaysia.

PROJECT BRIEF

1. What do we want to do?
- Theme?

Rap Culture In Malaysia.

- What is the problem we are trying to address?

Trying to address the issues that this culture has brought around in the Malaysia with the rap culture and the influences around it all.

- What is the main objective?

Address issues what the rap culture has brought about the culture and happenings of this world we live in today.

- What is the Strategy?

Using all sorts of media that can be used to showcase this message. At the end of if all, preferably shoot a music video which will give out this message that I am trying to give out and show to the people out there. Moreover shoot a video and make it viral.

     – What is the Campaign going to do? (Role)

It is going to broaden the thoughts that people have on rap culture. By first impression they think rap is all about the gangstarism, drugs and violence, there is actually a good side about rap which by some artists do by giving out a message through the raps which is motivational, inspirational and which gives us a way to which we can relate to what they are saying.

     – Who we talking to? (Target)

People in the society who are in the circle of listening and doing this type of music.

     – How is it going to be? (Content)

Content will be more of explaining on how it brought about, the ways people listen to the music and how the music can become influential by seeing, listening and indulging in this behavior this rap music portrays.

     – Where and when?

It will be held in a place where people are able to use this media that is to be placed and then do what is instructed.


2. Who are we talking to? And what insights do we have about them?

Demographics and psychographics will be looking at the people in Malaysia because this is the location of this campaign. The age group that will be sited are those that listen and ‘understand’ this music culture. From kids to adults and how they see this. Psychographics will consist of how the people behave towards this rap culture. We shall look at the positive and negative influences that this bring out to the people indulged 

- What are they like as human beings?

They are going to be normal people that are supposed to get the message that shall  be brought out in this campaign. And they shall also join into this campaign by contributing what they have to add on.

- What are their hopes, fears, and ambitions?

Because this campaign is there to give out a message on the rap culture and broaden the thinking of what rap culture really is, the will be hope that they will look at the good side of what this really is. A sense of comfort to give the audience and have positive views as well when asked about rap culture.

- How do they use it?

They will be standing in front of this media that will be playing the song that is giving out this message and they will be acting or either singing along and that will be recorded and once they are done, their video will be added to which a video will then be chopped and edited to make a final video.

3. How do we want the audience to describe the Campaign?

The campaign should be described by something that has a clear message and they way that the music video will be portrayed seeing that is the way the project shall be finished, the video can have the way people react towards this influences, hence emotions of happiness, sadness can also be felt through the message. Tone and manner will be in the middle of both, soft and hard. This is because the message is trying to be shown through this aggressive side that people think rap is really about when actually some raps have a good side and messages through whats done and for that, is what I will try show.


4. What is the single most important thing our prospects believe or feel about our brand or the category?

There is no comparison to one another in this hence less competition. More of an issue trying to showcase out there. And these same issues will have their own competitors to which we can have the comparisons done.

Making Our Grid System : Part 1

After finding out more and the understanding of grid system. It was now our turn to make our own grid system with the things that influence us to make and design what we put out as designers.

So for that I had to note down what motivates me and influences me as a designer and where i get my ideas from. With that, some of my influences are listed below :

• Music - the sound of music motivates me because it gives me the creative side of listening and then giving out an idea. It helps depict images through vocal language. Hence this for me helps me in such a way that when I have a design to do for someone, I can easily already start having ideas because i can articulate the creative side with music with a description of a wanted design.

• Photography - this is another thing that influences me in such a way the whole idea of being able to capture moments through taking photos is eye catching. You can take exquisite photos showcasing things you want people to be amazed by. To apply this influence, i use it in my designs to have that 'wow' look. The eye/vision i have when looking at something to take a photo of is the same vision that i want/use when im doing a design. What will they people out there see? What impression will they see? Will be the amazed and like it. Therefore i use these questions to design a platform my work.

• Games - Games are influential not only towards to designers but anyone else. This is by the fact that any game that you play and feel attached to can make you want to have that in real life. For example, a racing car game can be influential to you that you may want to start driving like that, with the drifting, high speed etc. Without knowing, you will apply these changes to your life and see. Hence this gaming influence gives me ideas to create fiction and non-fictional designs. Designs that look real life when actually not. Like applying angel wings and all that using photoshop all to give an illusion. With such thinking, it broadens my creative ideas not to think in one state but i as always use my works along this statement, 'Think Outside The Box'.

• Typography/Text - I like the the way typography art influences me because i use this in designs where i wouldnt have to use any images but i could simply use text in a certain type of typography to come out with my designs. The typography i would see in certain designs like posters and all are what catches my eyes. Seeing retro posters e.g would have retro fonts and a style added to them. More over the playing of typography influences my designs where as i can add fonts to suit a specific design to give it more feel.

After identifying some of the things that motivated me, had to list down and see where I see a grid system in these influences. Be it invisible or visible The had to be elements where i could see this grid and then use this as a way to make a guide for my work. For that i listed examples on where i would see a grid system in each of my influences :

Music

• Microphone
• Keyboards/Pianos
• Musical Staff

Photography

• Alignment of photos
• Framing
• Metering

Games

• Control pad
• Buttons (design of a cross)

Typography

• Posters
• Books
• Articles

Listing down some of these examples also helped giving me an idea of where we would SEE this grid system. These are the examples with some visuals and mind maps to explain more of how these influence design.

Making Our Grid System : Part 2

In reference to Part 1 of making our own grid system. We had to use what we are influenced by and making our grid system and show case this grid in a mock up of a design.

With that, I choose to use my musical influence to make this design. We had to have a topic to which we would use to showcase this grid. e.g like

• Lights and shadows
• Reflection
• Transparency

Such examples/topics were to be used. For mine, i chose Reflection. The reason i used reflection was not because it is the bouncing of light by first understanding but it also acts a synonym in a way that we reflect things in our daily life. Reflecting this would help with the idea and concepts and actually make them happen. So this was a double sided concept, showcase the grid system and also reflect my ideas towards this design.

After taking note with that, i took where i saw grid system in my musical influence and i chose the microphone. It was clear that you could see a grid system on a microphone so i wanted to showcase this using reflection.

The image above shows this grid i was going to show using the topic of reflection. For starters reflection is defined by the bouncing of light off a medium. Hence i was going to have a model that would need to have light passed onto this medium which is a mirror then bounce light off a grid.

So to make this i used the following materials:

• Mesh
• Cutters/Scissors
• Box/cardboard
• Tape
• Glue
• Colored paper
• Manila 
• Mirror
• Light source

Having these materials i set out to make this design. It was going to have a a hole through one section of the cardboard where the grid system would be placed and then at the bottom, have the mirror and then when light hits the mirror, it relfects off the grid 'gate' and onto a medium like a wall, paper so we could see this.

After showing my idea to my lecture, he explained that the grid system is not by simply having normal straight lines that show. But to mix it all up like what if you tilt this that way, move this, add another layer here and there. So with that help, i added a mesh where it would show more "detailed" grid. By this you could see multiple lines of a grid through the same idea i had. 

To showcase this, i simply added my mesh that i had and put it ontop of the mirror and then when the light source hit the mirror, it was going to reflect this light off two grids, one on the mirror and one through the cardboard box hole.