Finalise & Reflect

Reflect

 

Through this term, When I was working on the project, I realized once again that solid ideas, goals, and target market concepts are important. This is because I was not satisfied with this semester's project, and I regretted it. Realizing through the tutorial that my project concept and target market were not clear, I reviewed project planning and research work. However, it had already taken too much time to realize this. As a result, my progress has been delayed continuously.

The initial work was insufficient, and due to this, SMART cannot proceed with the work while keeping time properly. However, through this work, I was able to learn about the diversity of pixel graphics and experience new software. I think this will help me with other work in the future.

A section on my website: 

- Website Image of Last term -

Compared to the project, I got a satisfactory result on my website work this semester. Of course, it is true that there is still a lack of detail about the work. However, the part that showed no identity in the previous semester was supplemented. When I worked before, I found some errors and corrected them even though I thought I had checked them. (Such as Artwork title error, link connection error) 

The identity of my main work, the brand and digital design, was not shown on the homepage and the explanatory text was evaluated as not professional. That part was supplemented in this term's work, and I added a description about me on the About me page. In addition, the SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which should be checked when working on the website, has been modified to make it easier to access the website.

Through the course of this semester, I felt once again that the initial work building and aims must be accurate. I think it is the result of the lack of systematic work directions and plans previously, not only in project work, but also in website work at my last term. If it were systematic, it would not have been necessary to repeat and repeat the work several times, and the time would have been well controlled. Although I did not get satisfactory processes and results at this time, this will be a good experience for me in other projects next time.

Final pieces

 Final pieces

Title: People and things in a particular space ' Swimming pool'

Size: A3 (297*420mm)

Software: PiskelApp, Adobe Photoshop and Illustration

The artwork is a series of graphic posters to be added to the pool. They used the poses, images, and objects of the people they could see in the pool. Therefore, it is a graphic design poster for a specific space called a swimming pool. It will also help visitors enjoy the space more diversely. 

Pixel was used as a graphic element in this project. Pixel means the most basic unit of digital media. I also chose it because I thought it was appropriate to reflect the personality that should be the most basic of UX UI, simple but easy to understand and accessible. (Careerfoundry, 2018)

It is a poster that describes the various elements that can be seen in the swimming pool in pixel graphics and lists. It will introduce visitors to this pool space and tell them what they can enjoy here. I think the effect will be greater if each graphic is attached to the tile of the swimming pool.

Using the graphic elements used in the poster, which introduces the location and serves as a decoration, the mobile version of the image was produced as a poster. This is because the image of the mobile version is a useful way to increase accessibility for visitors to the pool or pitch, the project's target.

Analysis: 

In the early work, the work was pushed back by the failure of time distribution and the aim. If the initial work had been solid, the series poster could have been further developed. Another regret is that if the main poster and the mobile version of the poster were attached with explanations, links, and QR codes so that they could be connected to each other, it would have been a more feasible work.

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References

Careerfoundry (2018) The Difference Between UI and UX Design - A Layman’s Guide [Online] Available from: https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/the-difference-between-ux-and-ui-design-a-laymans-guide/ (Accessed 31/08/20)

Updating Website (working on)

I analyzed the problems of my website to update my website which has not been updated for a long time. In addition, I got feedback from my classmate and tutor. I will update according to the feedback. 

This is the link to my website: Here

Analysis through Feedback

- There is no image of a digital designer in the title of the website. Moreover, identity does not appear well in the main picture of the homepage. Therefore, change Required.

- About page needs to be changed to included either a very good biography or artist statement and a professional image needs to be added.

- Need to add a description of the artwork.

- More work associated with the art and design works should be uploaded.

Based on the feedback, I proceeded with the update work, and am still working on it.

1. Homepage: 

These are photos on my website before the above two photos are updated. Yellow of  the main colour used on previous websites, was thought to be a distraction to my artwork. In addition, I received feedback that the photos and writings on the homepage do not look professional.

I chose one of my design work pictures that I worked on in 2018 to use as the main picture on my homepage. It was uploaded after changing the tone to black and white so that the homepage photo does not stand out and matches well with other tasks. 

On the monitor in the picture, he wrote down digital design and brand design, the work he would show as the main part of the website.

1. About me: 

Due to the change in the homepage, all of the other pages were changed in harmony with main page.

Besides, I added more about my deficient bio. Previously, only my academic background was specified, and there was a lack of explanation of the area of interest in work or what kind of work I was doing. I tried to solve this point.

Text added at About page (bio): 

I was most interested in brand design among the field of visual design that I learned in university. That's because the brand identity plays a role in creating names and identity for companies, products, places, or artists. Of course, it's not makes life of things, but I think brand identity design is similar. It is important that these design works know the consumer and the direction they want and proceed. That's why I want to learn digital design MA in DMU.  Especially, I am looking forward and interested in the process of Creative Design Studio, Service Design and Museum and Exhibition Design in digital design MA at DMU.

 

I still have a few things to update, before do these, I checked and changed the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) that was mentioned in the last class. In order for the website to be well known and searched, it was a must-check part of website work, but I did not work on this part last term, so I did it this term.

References

LYFE (2020) What is SEO and How It Works for Small Businesses in 2020 [Online] Available from: https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/what-is-seo-and-how-it-works/ (Accessed 29/08/20)

Process

 Process of my project

Size: A3 (297*420mm)

Software: PiskelApp, Adobe Photoshop and Illustration

1. Produces pixel graphics using a prototype selected program Which is PiskelApp.

2. Graphic production of elements that can be seen in a swimming pool. 

The ideas needed for this work were obtained online. If it wasn't for the sad pandemics like now, I sorry that I could have visited some swimming pools or beaches to get ideas for my project in person, as it was the summer season. If I did, I would have found some newer and more interesting elements. People's poses things in the pool from website that It was rather common and less interesting.

Searching for "Swimming pools, people, beaches, water sports"

The pixel graphic made by PiskelApp was called PNG extension to Photoshop and Illustration and proceeded with the work. This is because I felt that PiskelApp was limited to produce posters.

- Size: A3 (297*420mm)

- The mobile image size ratio was 16:9, the most common mobile ratio.

Using the graphic elements used in the poster, which introduces the location and serves as a decoration, the mobile version of the image was produced as a poster. This is because the image of the mobile version is a useful way to increase accessibility for visitors to the pool or pitch, the project's target.

Peer Review

Today I looked at the website of my classmate Runshan in class. We compared each other's websites and exchanged feedback. This is her website: here

- What do you think of the homepage?

It's easy to move to the navigation bar, but I think the homepage explanation is lacking.

- Is the navigation bar clear and easy to use? 

Yes, clear and easy

- What did you think of the galleries/portfolio pages? Consider the design, ease of use, and how well the work is presented? 

- Her work pictures were big, so it was easy to see her work. In the table of contents, it would be more accessible if the classification of work was divided according to the field of work, not the class name. (Such as Architecture, Package, Hand Drawing)

- What do you think of the biography?  Is it well written? Are there any spelling or grammatical errors?  Does it give you a good impression of the person?

What she learns and where she belongs now is well illustrated. However, I think there is a lack of explanation about what kind of architectural design she is interested in and what kind of work she is doing.

- Is there a contact page? Is this well presented and easy to find?

Yes - I could find it easily and clearly

- Do all social media links work?

Yes - there are blogs and Instagram on her website, and these social media links were going well.

- Any other comments?

I hope the photos on the main page or other pages on the homepage are more related to her work.

Artist/Dsigner Researching

 

Artist/Designer Researching: 

Emotive Pixels - 2017 Collection

Prateek Vatash a graphic artist in India. I was able to access his work through behance. His artworks had mainly 3D media and 2D media, and various contents such as typography and interior work. He worked on most of the colors in neon tones, showing his own unity of his work. Among his works, I took a closer look at the pixel art he did in 2017. 

He described the artwork as an ongoing visual exploration project using cube and pixel formats. Vatash takes pixel art to a new dimension, moving away from flat pixels and into single-colour cubes, whilst still retaining a retro feel.

His work is geometrically represented by figures that can be expressed in squares, which are the basic elements of pixels. His work also showed that colour plays an important role when working on a series. Looking at each of his works, the size of the form, the shape, the number of objects and background colour are not constant, but because he gave a sense of unity in colour, I could easily see that these works were a series. For example, the above two artworks show that the same colours of purple, pink, and dark blue are the same. The two works below them have a completely different tone of background and atmosphere, but show a sense of unity through the same yellow and white colours used.

  

References

Creative Blog (2020) Pixel art: 31 amazing examples [Online] Available from: https://www.creativebloq.com/illustration/examples-pixel-art-2132036 (Accessed 23/08/20)

Vatash (n.d) Prateek Vatash [Online] Available from: https://prateekvatash.com/pages/about(Accessed 23/08/20)

Tutorial and Target market

Through the tutorial, I realized that my project concept and target market were not clear, and I reviewed the project planning and research work.

The artwork will produce a series of graphic posters to be added to the swimming pool. It will be shown on each poster, divided into natural elements such as people's poses, objects, and water, which can be seen in swimming pools.

Emotive Pixels - 2017 Collection

Before making the Pixel Art Series posters, we researched the works of graphic artist Prateek Vatash (more). Like his pixel artwork, he tries to put elements in one place for each subject to make a bundle. To proceed with this work, we are currently working on making at least 7 to 15 parts for each concept.

<Target market>

According to Michael.K (n.d)

Target marketing is researching and understanding your prospective customers’ interests, hobbies, and needs so that you can focus your message and your marketing budget on the specific segment of the market that is most likely to purchase your product or service.

1. Who: who needs 

2. Where: swimming pool 

This graphic poster will be attached to a specific place called a swimming pool. Pixel posters have elements that can be seen in swimming pools. (Such as, something related to swimming pools, people's poses in swimming pools, food)

<Concept of each poster>

1. People's poses in various swimming pools (more than 10 people)

2. Things in the pool (life vest, swimming goggles, tube, parasol, toy, swimsuit, cap, webfeet, loop, )

3. Spatial element and summer food (swimming pool, changing room, shower room, toilet, ladder, tile, sunbed, food)

4. Natural factors such as water (As it is an abstract form, it will be expressed in lines, dots, and colours.)

5. A phrase that can be seen in a swimming pool. 

Artist/Dsigner Researching: Danielle Ezzo

Artist/Designer Researching: 

Danielle Ezzo (2012) Two Women. Kindred Systems

Danielle Ezzo was Born in 1984, an American photographer who has worked with many early photographic processes including cyanotypes. Her work technique is called salt engraving.

"Salt engraving was first invented by Henry Fox Tablot and is known for its soft highlights and unique faint purple. It is a process of making a sheet of paper mixed with distilled water and table salt (hydride) by hand and then applying silver nitrate to make it light and sensitive. The cathode is then printed on paper and exposed to ultraviolet light." (KIERNAN.K, 2014)

Even though it is a technique that has nothing to do with my work, the reason why I researched her work is because of the visual image of her work.

As a photographer, after working to take pictures of characters, she connected dots from each angle and marked points from the body with dots. In the above work, the picture of the character is expressed in the background, so I think it is a pity that the graphic elements, dots, lines, etc. are not clearly visible.

On the other hand, there is no portrait of a person in the background, so the graphic elements of dots and lines are clearly visible. Of course, the disadvantage is that it is difficult to recognize the exact pose of a person because it is abstract compared to the work set in the picture of a real person.

My project this time is not like her work to print using photographs and salt prints work. However, I found her work using dots and lines similar to the work of pixel art, and interesting. She used dots and lines, which are graphic elements in her work, to point out a person's joints or dots, and then express them so that the figure's shape is well preserved.

The pixel art that I want to work on is not a realistic representation of the person's pose, but a factor that brings each dot element together to form a line, so the study of her work helped me proceed with this project.

References

The Tate (2020) Danielle Ezzo, Two women, Kindred Systems, 2012 [Online] Available from: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/photography/salt-age-pixel (Accessed 05/08/20)

KIERNAN.K (2014) ALTERNATIVE PROCESS WEEK: DANIELLE EZZO: SALT PRINTS [Online] Available from: http://lenscratch.com/2014/06/alternative-process-week-danielle-ezzo-salt-prints/ (Accessed 05/08/20)

Research Methods

- What research methods have you employed for this project and why?

I did a second research survey over the Internet on information about Thomas and his work, as well as research on pixel art software, a technology that will be used for my work.

- What have you researched and why was this important (i.e. how did it inform your work?)

In this project, I planned to express work with pixel art, so knowing and understanding what pixel art was was a priority. Therefore, I researched about pixel art and found that there were a variety of pixel art software, not the Photoshop that I had previously used usefully.

Through this research and prototype, I tried some pixel software and selected PiskelApp as the program to use in my work.

- What further research methods do you intend use and what will you research?

Firstly, I will investigate further about motion graphics, which are mainly used in pixel art.  I am going to investigate artists who mainly work on motion graphics of people who might be inspirations for my work.

Secondly, I think more research is needed on human poses. When I try to express the poses of characters in my pixel art with posters and four to five motion graphics, it is to express the characters more naturally and diversely.

Artist Statement (About me: Who, How, What)

Artist Statement

- Who are you? 

- What are you doing now? 

I'm learning and researching a wide range of fields called digital design. The identity design that I'm interested in is the design included in the digital design, as we have to consider the convenience and usefulness of consumers as well as the brand.

- How did you get to be who you are? 
While studying visual communication design in university for several years, I was interested in the power of visual images.

- What is your future? 
I will be a designer who provides proper identity to various brands and will work to introduce them to consumers. Besides, I will make my own brand that shows my identity.
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If I had a package or design product I liked, I wanted to own it without thinking about performance. As a result, I once regretted buying the product because I did not consider the performance. Sometimes, I felt sorry for the design compared to the performance of the product. As a result, I became more interested and curious about brand identity. A number of people say that brand design has nothing to do with the performance of the product, so it's just a look. Nevertheless, I think brand design is important because it provides the first impression of the product. 

Comparing brand design to a person, one can say that it is a role that creates a name and gives a person a personality. It forms the identity of the brand identity. Sometimes branding serves as a first impression of a product or company to consumers. Branding, which plays a role in providing identity to a product or company, has come to me as attractive.

In conclusion, I'd would like to say that I was most interested in brand design among the field of visual design that I learned in university. That's because the brand identity plays a role in creating names and identity for companies, products, places, or artists. Of course, it's not makes life of things, but I think brand identity design is similar. It is important that these design works know the consumer and the direction they want and proceed. That's why I want to learn digital design MA in DMU.  Especially, I am looking forward and interested in the process of Creative Design Studio, Service Design and Museum and Exhibition Design in digital design MA at DMU.

Project - Prototypes

Prototypes

The basic unit of digital design created using digital media is pixels. In addition, pixel art is a digital art form that colors individual pixels to create images. According to FELGO (2019), the term Pixel Art was first published in 1982.

Typically, pixel art is used to produce games. Animation such as characters or objects that can be used in mobile games is called sprites. (FELGO, 2019) There are several reasons for this. Firstly, With sprites, you can add and remove visual elements as you please without having to edit any of the other visual components of your scene. If I had to make every scene of the game into an image, it would later suffer in the process of editing or modifying it. 

Of course, I can work on pixel art in illustrations or Photoshop, which I usually use. Nevertheless, I decided to use the pixel art software to understand more about pixel art in this project. Among some pixel art software, I tried two pixel art software for prototypes.

1. PiskelApp

The PiskelApp is a free online pixel editor that emphasizes creating sprites. With the ability to save and import pixel art online, you can edit existing pixel art. The explanation of app software for first-time users was good, and layer separation and copying functions were remarkably built, making it easier to work.

This is my experiment using PiskelApp. It is a pose of a character in Thomas’s The Swimming Hole(1884-5). Pixel art works had more important features of dots than lines, so it was difficult to express a person's body naturally. I learned from the prototype that I had to think more about how to solve this problem in my future work. Indeed, Through this work process, the basic composition of a person, head, body, and body, will be further developed into other poses by setting rules for expressing the body in pixels.

2. Pixie

This is my experiment using Pixie. Compared to the Piskel app used earlier, the components of the tool were simple. Among them, there were some of the most interesting and useful frameworks among them. First, it is a tool that has symmetric functions. (Located at the bottom left of the page)

It is a tool that has the ability to mirror both top, bottom, left and right. This will be useful because when doing pixel art, I can make the same number or location of pixels at once without calculating them. 

It is not appropriate to work on the poses of people with dynamic movements, but it would be good to use to describe static people who are symmetrical to the left and right. The image above is a person's pixel art that I have made using a tool that has symmetric functions. 

References

FELGO (2019) 10 Best Pixel Art Software & Programs for Developers in 2020 [Online] Available from:https://blog.felgo.com/game-resources/make-pixel-art-online(Accessed 03/08/20)

Project - Project Plan and Timescale

FELGO (2019) 10 Best Pixel Art Software & Programs for Developers in 2020

I am going to use one of the pixel art software introduced by FELGO(2019) to carry out this project. In addition, the following link is my project plan document. Here: 

Project - Idea development

Idea

Thomas Eakins The Swimming Hole (1884-5) Oil On Canvas

Digital design means a variety of designs made from digital media such as UX,UI design, graphic design, brand design. After seeing Thomas Eakins's work for the first time, I am going to digitize the poses of the characters that were most noticeable. Through the research, I found out that he had done many realistic and dynamic poses in his artwork.

I think the most realistic aspect of digital graphic design is the image of the pixel itself. In this project, I want to express graphic image in pixel.

In order to make the project into pixel-shaped images, we will make a series-type web poster using each different pose in the work after designating the same number and size of each pixel.

What is a pixel image?

Pixel can be defined as follows:

A pixel is the smallest unit of a digital image or graphic that can be displayed and represented on a digital display device. In other words, a pixel is the basic logical unit in digital graphics. Pixels are combined to form a complete image, video, text or any visible thing on a computer display. (TECHOPEDIA, 2016)

Of course, when working with pixel art, it can be difficult to express a person's facial expressions or details, as shown in the graphic above. However, what I want to show you in this work is the poses of various characters in Thomas's artwork. Therefore, I think it would not be problem to work with pixel art.

References

TECHOPEDIA (2016) Pixel [Online] Available from: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24012/pixel (Accessed 27/07/20)