Mock up or Proof

Mock up

Proof

A mock up or a proof is used before you send a finished piece of work, this can either be a snipet of the work or even a full sample. It is used to send to the client so they can see what the final outcome will look like. So they can compare colours, see what the detail will be like. They can make sure the image wont be pixalated and that its okay for printing. If the client inst happy with the proof they tell the designer what they dont like and then they can make simple changes rather than doing the full piece and then the client saying there is something wrong with it. 

Also if you send the proof and the custormer signs it off and says its alright to finish, when you send the final piece of work if they complain there is a mistake with it, or claim something isnt right like colours or text. Its not the designers fault because they have sent the proof and the client has said its all okay and there isnt any problems. 

Creative Thinking

Creative thinking is different methods that you might use when designing something. This will help you get your ideas and start to develop the project. There are a few different ways of creative thinking.

Mind map - This is where you will write a word in the middle of a page and then all the ideas you think of what are to do with that one word you will write on the page.  This is helpful for coming up with logo's and themes for the project, and just any imagery for the project.

Wishful thinking - This method could be used for creating a name for the business or client you are designing for. You have to set your self a time limit of 10 - 20 minutes, and in this time limit you have to just keep writing or typing for the whole of the time limit. This could create some new names or even new imagery.

To generate more ideas you could look through magazines, newspapers or even books. These could just give you some inspiration for your design or help you along the way for the design.

You could do some research on the internet for things that relate to the thing you are designing, and maybe even do some research on the business doing this could give you ideas for colours, themes and imagery.

The Design Process

The key features:

First feature:

Discover - This would be the start of the whole design process, it would be where you get your inspiration for the project. You would start by writing down your first initial ideas and thoughts that make you think of that company or client you are designing for. You could get these ideas from the internet, magazines other people you know or maybe work with and for the broad ideas you would brain storm these down.

Define - The next step to the design process would be define, this is where you take your initial ideas that you have just come up with and pick the ideas that are suited better for the business or client and that meet the design brief. This could mean it being of a certain colour, shape or size.

Develop - Develop is where you have chosen your final ideas from your initial ones. From here you start developing these ideas into a product or what is required for the custormer. You would normally develop a few different ideas to keep some variety for the design and give the client a wide range to choose from.

Deliver - This would be the final process of the Design process, its where you deliver the final piece of work to the client. You should be showing them the final design, this final design should be a build up of where your initial ideas started. But this final piece of work should meet all the requirements of the design brief and any of the client.

These are the four main parts of a Design Process, if these are followed in the same way or a very simliar way the designing of the product should run smoothly, and you should be able to look back at your process and see where you have gone from one step to the next.

Designers use of Formal Elements

Saul Bass

In this poster for a movie Saul Bass uses Asymmetrical balance by using a few larger objects to balance out the small objects which there are more of. The proportion of the poster makes you look towards the top where the main information is of the movie. This has been done by a small image near the top but with a larger scale white text. This draws the eyes to the text. Rhythm in this poster is used by the steps repeating them selves further up the book, even though they are getting smaller and smaller this is still rhythm. The emphasis of the book is the name of the film 'Rocky' this is made to stand out by making it slightly larger than the image it is next to, and making it white, making it white to stand out works because there is only a little bit of white on the whole image. So the eyes are drawn to the change in colour.
I think Saul Bass has 'Unity' with this poster because he has took all of the Formal Elements into consideration, and the image flows well and looks like it all goes together.

Neville Brody

In this design Neville Brody uses Asymmetrical balance because if you put a line down the middle of the design, the colours would all be the same but the letters of the text wouldnt mirror each other. The proportion of the design is in the large text. This is what catches your eye most on the design because of its size and bright colour. The Rhythm in this design is in the text because of the use of bold text and the bright yellow colour repeating its self, even though the letters arent the same the flow of the rhythm is still there. The Emphasis of the design is the simple but bold text 'Genius' this is emphasised very easily with the use of a full black background and then using very bold bright yellow text. Because of this it stands out a lot and the eye is drawn to this and no so much the smaller text at the bottom of the design. Because Neville Brody has taken all of the formal elements in to account in his design there is Unity. This is where all of the formal elements have been used and they all flow together and design looks like everything is supposed to be there. Even though the design is simple it works very well.

Formal Elements in Design

Balance: In design there are two types of balance, Symmetrical Balance or Asymmetrical Balance.

Symmetrical (formal) : Symmetrical balance is a mirror image balance, if you was to draw a line down the center of the page, all of the images on either side of the line should mirror each other, they don't have to be identical objects but they have to be the same shapes, objects and colours. They can be exactly identical this is seen more in architecture.
Asymmetrical (informal) : Asymmetrical balance occurs when a number of smaller items are balanced out by a larger item on the other side, or if the smaller items are placed further away from the center of the image than the larger items. Or if it inst balanced between larger and smaller items, it can be by shades. If there is a very dark item, it can be balanced by a few lighter items.

Proportion: Proportion refers to the different sizes and scales of various elements of the design. These have to to be spread out evenly to evenly distribute the viewers attention.

Rhythm: There are two types of repetition available to the designer, regular repetition and syncopated repetition.
Regular: Regular repetition is where a visual element is repeated in regular intervals, by doing this repetition in the visual element multiple times you create a relaxed piece of work.
Syncopated: This repetitions involves more complex patterns. By repeating a element several times and then repeating the pattern several times. This creates a less relaxed piece of work. It doesn't have to be the same element that is being repeated, they can be different weights. This creates a more complex and dynamic design.

Emphasis: This is the focal point of the design. It is the way you make one element of the design stand out from the rest of the work. In a piece of work there should only be one element that you are trying to emphasize because if you try and emphasize to many elements of the work it will look too busy and ruin the design.

Unity: Unity is where all the elements look as though they belong together, achieveing this means you must understand all of the other formal elements first and understanding the principles. Basically the designer should understand the elements and be able to establish a bond between them. There should be a flow in the design, so one element links to the next.