graphic design - development process

last week's workshop was graphic design. being a fan of aesthetics and design, i had been looking forward to this particular pathway since the beginning of the term. we started out by exploring what exactly 'graphic design' was. in groups we created individual mind maps before conversing as a class and discussing which aspects of graphic design we hadn't originally thought would be included. this was quite interesting, as i entered the workshop with quite a solid idea of what i believed graphic design was but after the first exploratory session i discovered there were many more branches to the subject than i had initially believed. 

on the second day we began our brief, which was to create four a4 images to each represent a different word. we started by creating mind maps for all 7 of the original words: fuse, collapse, balance, cascade, migrate, rattle and isolation. we then went on to produce quick thumbnail sketches for ideas on how to represent the different words. we then created collages to act as backgrounds for the final images using magazines and bits of old envelopes and craft paper. these backgrounds had to convey the meanings of the words we had chosen but we also needed to consider how we might use type as a part of the designs too. we created two collages for four of the original seven words. i chose 'collapse', 'migrate', 'cascade' and 'isolation'.

 collages for 'collapse'

collages for 'migrate' 

 collage for 'isolation'

we then used the scanners at college to create copies of our collages on which we could experiment with laying out the design for the type which we would add digitally at the end of the week. we printed of thumbnail copies of each design so we could experiment numerous times. we also experimented with the colour functions on the scanners. we were able to produce two-tone copies as well as use filters which added retro effects to our collages.

some ideas for the word 'collapse'