BRANDING - Initial Research

Hato Studio 

Printed Water - Greenwich Peninsula

'Invited by the developers responsible for the Greenwich Peninsula, we were commissioned to create an immersive and social wayfinding solution for a section of the peninsula that will eventually make way for new community spaces and homes wrapped by the River Thames.'

'When approaching the project, our main priorities were to create a tactile and welcoming space for the public during a time of serious change and development. This was not only important to the developers but more so for the local community. Printed Water allows for locals and passerbys to interact and use the space in a new and social way. It’s success lies within its ability to attract energy and life to what could be viewed as an inaccessible or forgotten space during the construction of the area.'

'The simple application of paint on these existing elements to create such a transformation is a powerful example of how we use and interact with spaces through design. Not only does it bring colour and texture to the area but encourages members of the public to view and approach how they utilise it differently.'

• Really like the vibrancy of the space, how it encouraged others to interact with the space as well, having a sense of inclusion between the art and the public is what stands out about this piece.
• The colour palette used as well as simple shapes encourage anyone and everyone to enjoy the design, it isn't complicated meaning everyone, not just creatives can appreciate it. Thinking of our exhibition space and how the colour palette will have an impact on the audience and how they interact with the space.
• Looks as though it is a blip of another world within our own. Would be really nice to have a similar impact with the exhibition space, as the people coming to the exhibition are likely to be other students or creatives, so having an experience that is as considered as the content of the art would be a fun idea to play with. 

Pick Me Up Graphics Arts Festival - Somerset House

'The seventh incarnation of the renowned graphic arts festival returned with the celebration of graphic design at Somerset House. We set out to co-create the festival’s identity with the public and the collaborative design became as diverse as Pick Me Up’s huge creative community - further enhancing this year’s Utopia theme.'

'Users were given the interactive letter tool which enabled them to create and submit their own letterforms upon landing on Pick Me Up’s website. They were given a single character to start out with and with a few clicks and drags, these could then be morphed into dots and dotted lines, refined or obscured in all kinds of weights, widths, and sizes.'

• The development of the typeface is really interesting, having the creation being in the audience's hands but things not getting too illegible due to the parameters set by Hato. Could think about having a similar aspect for developing a typeface quickly, having 'found' letters from keys for example. 
• Also The visuals on how a typeface can be used within an exhibition, the combination of hand designed type, as well as an existing typeface for body text. Think about the different applications for the text, on the walls, ceiling, windows, within the products etc. 
• The text on the website animates, could incorporate this into own work, think of the ways a lock work and develop an animation that follows a similar process? 

OK-RM

Real Review

'The principal is to design an efficient, economical and readable format, the kind of format that could be around for a very long time and that readers would create a unique relationship with. Recognising that magazines often end up folded in half by the reader, the Real Review presents itself in a pre-folded format; the design direction responds to the architecture working across quadruple page spreads rather that the usual double page spread. 

The cover of each issue features and illustration by Nishant Choksi, an illustrator who's work regularly appears in many of the leading current affairs publications.'

• I find the format of the magazine one of the most interesting things about the publication, the fact that they recognised an existing action made by the audience and incorporated it into their project was really interesting. Think about how to incorporate this into my own project, how do people use their keys, do they have attachments, what do they do with their keys once they get in etc. 
• The consistent front page design is also really strong, it allows the audience to easily recognise what it is that they're looking/purchasing. The illustrations themselves have a consistent colour palette and overall aesthetic. Think about how to apply to own work, is there a particular type/image that can be used across all elements of the exhibition.