Brief 4 - Childline - Initial Ideas

Further experimentations and storyboards for animations using the bubbles and difficult thoughts and experiences. Showing how you shouldn't keep your feelings in as they will get bigger and bigger and burst. Once you let them out and speak about it, it will make people feel a lot better. 

Further exploration into this idea, turning bad experiences and traumatic experiences into positive experiences and how people can turn their lives around and the bad feelings and worries don't have to last forever. Using illustrations I have experimented with some gifs and short animations, turning one thing into another thing. However the designs seem quite immature, and the gifs would probably look a lot better and smoother if created on after effects or a similar software. 

Brief 4 - Child line - Initial Ideas

The below illustrations looks at the use of bubbles, and how things can be carried in them and exploring the sensitivity of them, how easy they can pop and burst. Also exploring the idea that everyone is carrying thoughts and feelings that may weigh them down and also the varying shapes and sizes that bubbles can come in. Exploring the patterns and merging these two ideas together. 

The designs below show experimentations and explorations into the use of circles and patterns. The use of circles came from research into how illustrate and show/ talk about difficult or sensitive topics, as a circle creates a safe space with boundaries and everything can be encompassed inside the circle. 

Developments into using varying sizings and dimensions for the circles, and also experiments with gifs and animations, however the designs just didn't seem strong enough on their own and also this was only working well for one of the key themes and the designs needed to be cohesive.

Brief 4 - Childline - Illustrating Sensitive Themes

Rachel Levit 

Mental health comes in all Shapes and Sizes

Subtlety is key.
One cannot be too direct or literal.

Brief 4 - Childline - Dealing with Difficult Topics

Cognitive Behavioural Therapies

Multi Modality Trauma Treatment

• Trauma at a young age can disrupt normal physical and emotional development and uses age-appropriate CBT strategies to help children or adolescents cope with trauma.   
• Usually conducted in school settings.
• Psychoeducation, narrative writing (writing about the traumatic experience), exposure and relaxation techniques, and cognitive restructuring.
• Specifically developed for traumatised adolescents although the nature of the program focuses on adolescents who have experienced only one traumatic event.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 

• Developed for children between the ages of three and eighteen.
• Help children and adolescents learn coping skills that will help them deal with traumatic memories.
•  Uses the acronym “PRACTICE”.   In treatment, children receive psycho education, are taught relaxation skills, as well as affective expression and modulation, and cognitive coping skills. Children are also encouraged to use trauma narration and to cognitively process the trauma, use in vivo exposure to master trauma reminders, have conjoint parent– child sessions, and enhance safety.

Stanford Cue-Centered Therapy 

• Designed to treat problems with a child’s cognitive, affective, behavioural and physical functioning.
• Cognitive-behavioural techniques, relaxation training, narrative use and parental coaching.
• Reduce the child’s negative thoughts and cognitions as well as sensitivity to traumatic memory. 
• Relaxation and self-empowerment.
• Helping children learn how trauma affects them, they are able to control how they respond to traumatic reminders.

Seeking Safety 

• Personal safety as a priority, integrated of trauma and substance abuse, focusing on the client’s needs, attention to the therapy process,  and focusing on cognitions, behaviours, interpersonal interactions, and case management. 

Trauma Effect Regulation

• Teach clients to understand how trauma changes the brain’s normal stress response and how to manage and control emotional responding to trauma.
•  FREEDOM acronym (focus, recognize triggers, emotion self-check, evaluate thoughts, define goals, options and make a contribution).

Exposure therapy, art therapy and EMDR, it is CBT-type approaches that seem to work best for dealing with posttraumatic symptoms.

Common features including psychoeducation to teach children about traumatic stress and the effects it can have on them, relaxation techniques,  a trauma narrative to encourage children to describe their experience in detail, and some sort of cognitive restructuring to correct maladaptive thoughts about the traumatic experience.

Talking to Adolescents

Do

• Listen
• Ask if they’ve thought about what they might need to get better. 
• Learn
• Keep things confidential.
• Normalise
• Acknowledge your fear. 
• Offer a counsellor.

Don't

• Minimise
• Let your emotions rule your response.
• Use the word crazy.
• Tell your child what they should do.
• Argue
• Make excuses or blame others. 

Encouraging boys and girls to express themselves with crayons, pencils and felt tips helps her and her team to identify the most vulnerable children.

Sometimes drawing is less intimidating than sitting and looking an adult in the eye. Instead they can talk to us while they're focusing on the paper in front of them and the picture becomes a sort of mediator.

One in six children "report" things in their artwork which staff at Kids Company see as a cause for concern.

Drawing allows the children to tell stories about what is going on in their lives.

With drawing there is a space between you and the viewer. You can both process your feelings separately.

“The Circle is a simple structured process of communication that helps participants reconnect with a joyous appreciation of themselves and others. It is designed to create a safe space for all voices and to encourage each participant to step in the direction of their best selves. Circles are relevant for all age groups. While the language may vary to be developmentally appropriate, holding certain conversations in Circle is equally beneficial for all members of the school community, from the youngest to the eldest. We believe the practice of Circles is helpful for building and maintaining healthy community in which all members feel connected and respected”.

Brief 2 - Photography Branding - Development

Design development below shows the incorporation of the successful logo design with the scandinavian design aesthetic combing the letterform shapes and lines, with the shapes of triangles, using contrasting colour schemes. The more successful designs use the lighter colours alongside a brighter colour, as this represents the different styles of photography that the client can do and is interest in, as well as remaining a creative style of design. 

Experimentations with overlays of the logo over the client''s photographs, for possible business cards or promotional leaflet designs. As well as experimenting with the same triangle block shapes and colours over the photographs, adding a sense of mystery whilst being in keeping with the design style. However the logos and other type would be hard to read over the photographs and the photos are strong enough to stand on their own.

Brief 2 - Photography Branding - Logo Development

After experimenting quite a lot with the shapes and lines taken from the photographs, none of the ideas seemed to be strong enough and also seemed to represent an illustrator rather than a photographer. Whilst doing further experimentation it was discovered that the shapes and lines actually looked very similar to letterforms or could at least be turned into letterforms. Therefore development below shows experiments with the shapes, creating the initials and name of the Client.

The designs below seemed too harsh, especially when in black, it looked too industrial, a much more softer approachable design was sought after. It also wasn't very legible as an 'M' there were too many crossovers of the shapes and wasn't recognisable.

Designs using just two shapes, keeping it a lot more simplistic and therefore easier to read and understand. These shapes and logo would be easy to apply across the range of promotional material also. The most successful colours at the moment were the blue and grey, the orange didn't seem to fit in or represent the Client's personality well.

More experiments using solid shapes with the 'M' logo design created using the lines and shapes. Although the logo didn't seem to fit perfectly in ant of the shapes, therefore it was decided with the help of feedback that the logo was strong enough to stand on it's own. 

Below shows some different colour variations, beginning to get rid of the orange and look at the blue, pink and grey as a colour way, these colours were also taken from the Client's photographs, so were still in keeping with her personality and her practice. 

Brief 2 - Photography Branding - Development

Further experimentation with the shapes, lines and repeat patterns, this time enlarging them and beginning to experiment with the creation of logos and symbols to represent the client's practice. 

Below shows experiments and development with the shapes and vector illustrations, creating patterns using a range of different colour schemes which the Client said in feedback which she would like to experiment with. Again the design was encroaching more on the illustration side rather than representing photography. 

Developments using the shapes individually as they work quite well on their own and create strong lines and imagery. Looking at beginning to incorporate type, creating logos and logotypes, also sticking with the range of bright colours alongside more neutral colours. 

Brief 9 - Artisan Drinks - Research

Research





Artisan Website:


Use lots of humour in how they describe the brand, the idea and the people that work in the company


Bright bold colours on every page


Very descriptive ways of explaining their drinks (lots of adjectives)


The colours on the bottles compliment the colours of the cocktails that they make using their tonic


Clean, simple layout


Geometric shapes





Types of Drinks:


Born in a bar not in a lab


Classic London Tonic


Aroma: distinctive quinine aroma with a hint of citrus


Flavour: quinine bitterness and natural sweetness


Texture: soft and elegant


Perfect mix: dry gins for a classic gin and tonic


Skinny London Tonic


Aroma: clean and citrus fresh with a dry finish


Flavour: bone dry with citrus notes


Texture: crisp and light


Perfect mix: something less sweet


Violet Blossom Tonic


Aroma: fresh and subtle, elderflower, apple blossom and violet


Flavour: floral sweetness with lemon acidity


Texture: clean and refreshing


Perfect mix: try with a non alcoholic cocktail or on its own


Barrel Smoked Cola


Aroma: cola sweetness with smokey notes


Flavour: an adult cola with smokey aftertaste


Texture: full bodied with clean finish


Perfect mix: craft bourbon, premium rum or whiskey





Bottle Art:





London Gent


Sketched during rush hour from a pub near London's Savile Row. This dapper gent puts his own stamp on dressing for business in the city.





Kill them with kindness


No Guns! Life's better with kindness and a great pair of heels. A tongue in cheek take on a London Guard strutting down the catwalk at London Fashion Week.


Madame Violet


This elegant lady was sketched straight from the steps at the Cannes Film Festival. She has an effortless style and grace along with a playful twist.








Smokey Joe


Steve wanted a cowboy... but I just don't like cowboys! Joe is a gent who takes his hat off indoors, he's creative and a bit of a quirky character, just like our Barrel Smoked Cola.






What is Gin?




February 2008, new EU definition recognising and legislating what can be termed as a 'gin' passed into EU law as part of the revised EU Spirit Drink Regulations. According to this legislation, all gins must be:


made with suitable ethyl alcohol flavoured with juniper berries and other flavourings


the ethyl alcohol must be distilled to the minimum standards stated in the EU Spirits Regulations


the predominant flavour must be juniper


water may be added to reduce the strength but the gin must have a minimum retail strength of 37.5% alc./vol


further ethyl alcohol of the same composition used in the distillation may be added after any distillation


three distinctive definitions of gin: 'Gin', 'Distilled Gin' and 'London Gin'





Distilled Gin:


must be made in a traditional still by re-distilling neutral alcohol in the presence of natural flavourings but there is no minimum strength stipulated for the resulting distillate; additional flavourings, sweeteners and other approved additives may be added after distillation and these can be natural or artificial; approved colourings may be used to colour distilled gin.


London Gin:


must be made in a traditional still by re-distilling neutral alcohol in the presence of natural flavours but there is no minimum strength stipulated for the resulting distillate; the ethyl alcohol used to distil London Gin must be of a higher quality the standard laid down for ethyl alcohol. The methanol level must not exceed 5 grams per hectolitre of 100% alc./vol; the flavourings used must all be approved natural flavourings and they must impart their flavour during the distillation process; the use of artificial flavouring is not permitted; the resultant distillate must have a minimum strength of 70% alc./vol.; no flavourings may be added after distillation





History of Gin - Why People Drink Gin





Bartender innovation


Cocktail culture emerged in the noughties


The Savoy Book - Books are full of recipes that call for gin.


Good gin needs an excellent balance of flavour.


Pioneer distilleries from the US and UK (and now Australia) campaigned for changes in legislation preventing them from distilling on a small scale. Many of those distillers set out to make whisky and while waiting for barrels to mature have experimented with making gin.


The spirit's versatility.


The recent cocktail revival, and the spirit's flexibility and history behind the bar, and the rise of the small distillery.


The spirit is complex in its history, in its culture, and in its flavour.


The distillers' choice lends locality, personality, and character to these spirits, again appealing to the contemporary bartender and gin drinker.


A "good gin" should be applied in a good way. Let the ingredients that it's combined with -- whether vermouth, tonic, citrus and syrups, or simply ice -- showcase best qualities and core flavors of that gin, and it will, in turn, showcase the variety and versatility of the spirit as a whole.


Gin has stood the test of time, gin has been there since the 18th century.


Gin is a distiller's personal signature on a product.


Where vodka bores, where whiskey falls in tedium, where tequila is raucous... there stands Gin. Still there; always there. You were but distracted for a moment.


Provenance


You're never able to get bored with it.


It enlightens all your senses.


A good Gin for me regular starts with the story. The passion behind it often comes through in a good Gin.


Production time is relatively short.


Gin's core audience matches closely with that of the most active and engaged social media demographics.


Tonic Water



Under ultraviolet light, the quinine in tonic water fluoresces.


It is a carbonated soft drink in which quinine is dissolved.


Quinine was added to the drink as a prophylactic against malaria, since it was originally intended for consumption in tropical areas of South Asia and Africa, where the disease is endemic. Quinine powder is so bitter that British officials stationed in early 19th century India and other tropical posts mixed the powder with soda and sugar, and tonic water was created.


The first commercial tonic water was produced in 1858.


Most tonic water today contains less quinine and is used mostly for its flavor.


It is usually sweetened, often with high-fructose corn syrup or sugar.


You can order it in a bar in Spain or buy it in a grocery store in the rural American South. But knowing its vibrant, thoroughly British history may earn you more cred than just drinking it.


Priestly published a paper on carbonating water by dissolving a combination of sulfuric acid and chalk into it. Later that century, a businessman named J. J. Schweppe used this approach to create a process to carbonate mineral water.

"THE GIN & TONIC HAS SAVED MORE ENGLISHMEN'S LIVES, AND MINDS, THAN ALL THE DOCTORS IN THE EMPIRE"

Brief 9 - Artisan Drinks - Third Meeting

Initial Ideas

• Day to Night
• Day drinking and evening drinking
• Objects which represent the type of people/ target audience
• Different scenarios you would be drinking; Business Meetings, Clients, Social Life, friends, family, dates.
• People dressed like the characters on bottle.
• Personality
• People standing out in different environments within the City
• Everything switching, standing out. Switching outfits.
• Looking into thing everyone does in everyday life.
• Looking at the opposite of this.
• How to be different.
• Breaking new grounds - How being different helped people be successful, invent/come across new things.
• Location based
• Ultraviolet light, neon lights, glow in the dark.

Final Initial Ideas

• Pioneers
• Characters
• UV Light

Brief 6 - Research Brief - The Guardian

The Secret Teacher: Subjects like art are being sidelined, but they matter.

• Struggling to realise the potential of children whose strengths lie elsewhere. 
• 'There just aren't enough hours in the day'
• Music and languages are sidelined too. 
• Teachers are under pressure to improve outcomes for reading, writing and maths.
• Sats preparation did not support children’s access to a broad and balanced curriculum.
• The proportion of 15- and 16-year-olds taking subjects like music and drama has fallen to its lowest level in 10 years. The study of modern foreign languages at GCSE is also in decline.
• Feversham Primary in Bradford recently made headlines for its focus on teaching the arts, particularly music, which has led to improved pupil outcomes.
• There's an issue of creating a gulf between children whose parents can afford to take them to private music lessons, language clubs or the theatre, and those whose access comes mainly through the school curriculum.
• There are children who struggle to read but come to life on the stage. There are those who just can’t concentrate in other lessons but will sit and paint for an hour without leaving their seat. 
• The trouble is that creativity, increased confidence or a love of the arts aren’t easily measured through standardised tests, data analysis or league tables. 

The arts teach us how to express ourselves – and give us freedom to fail.

• Students are losing the chance to engage in subjects that aren’t all about right and wrong.
• Studying languages and arts subjects taught me that there is much more to life than being good on paper.
• these generations are more anxious than any others about making mistakes and getting things wrong.
• These are the subjects that instil a passion for learning and for life.
• These are the classrooms where it feels safer to fail, where mistakes are welcomed as proof that you’re trying and growing.

British Artists: Ebacc will damage creativity and self expression.

• Young people are being deprived of opportunities for personal development in the fields of self-expression, sociability, imagination and creativity.
• This places one of our largest and most successful global industries at risk, one worth £92bn a year to the UK economy. That is bigger than oil, gas, life sciences, automotive and aeronautics combined.
• The study of creative subjects is in decline in state schools and that entries to arts and creative subjects have fallen to their lowest level in a decade.

How to improve the school results: not extra maths but music, loads of it.

• A Bradford primary school wants the world to know its newfound Sats success is down to giving all children up to six hours of music a week.
• The headteacher, Naveed Idrees, has embedded music, drama and art into every part of the school day, with up to six hours of music a week for every child, and with remarkable results.
• The school bases its method on the Kodály approach, which involves teaching children to learn, subconsciously at first, through playing musical games.
• We want kids to enjoy learning.
• At its most basic, the simple act of game-playing can help children learn social skills such as eye contact and taking turns, while listening to music in an hour-long assembly helps develop their concentration in an age dominated by smartphones and tablet computers.

Brief 6 - Research Brief - Issue

The problem and issue that this brief is aiming to solve is to make people aware of the importance of art in children's development and wellbeing in general. The topic of how children are having less time and opportunities to be creative at school and at home, and to touch on the significance of creative jobs and skillsets in the industry. 

Areas of research/topics:

• Mental health and creativity
• School Curriculums
• Creative job industry
• Art and Children's Development
• Creative opportunities for kids

Brief 6 - Research Brief - Brief

Brief 6 - Research Brief/ Creative Heroes

Brief

To use graphic design to solve the issue and make people aware of the importance of creativity in children’s development and wellbeing in general. More specifically the problem of how children are having less time and opportunities to be creative and be rewarded for this both at school and at home, as well as the significance of creative jobs and skillsets within the industry and for the future.

Create a range of promotional material and classroom resources for the Creative Heroes initiative to get children and schools to be more creative in and outside of the classroom, encouraging them to use the 5 superpowers of creativity.

Background/ Considerations

Creative skills are becoming more important in preparing kids for the future, both in life and their careers. Creative skills reframed as a type of power that are within the realm of human possibility and reach, children want to be real-life superheroes and develop powers of their own. As well as a focus on rewarding and praising children for this, rather than purely focusing on academic subjects. Children should be rewarded for having original ideas, creating new games on the playground, making up stories, solving problems for a friend, rather than just test scores or behaviour.

The 5 Superpowers of creativity:

-        Novelty

-        Adventure

-        Problem – Solving

-        Courage

-        Risk Taking

Mandatory Requirements

-       The concept should target both schools and children.

-       Needs to engage children and make them to want to be creative and get involved with the campaign and achieve the 5 ’Superpowers’.

-       Create both promotional/advertisement material for schools as well as classroom resources for children and teachers to engage with.

-       Needs to be fun, engaging, as well as professional and high quality.

-       Needs to be tactile and interactive in some form.

Deliverables

-       Promotional Campaign and advertisements, through either posters, leaflets.

-   A range of classroom materials/resources.