Studio Brief 1 - Beer label fonts

There are many different variations of typefaces to use when designing a logo for craft ales. Most of the designs tend to take inspiration from traditional, vintage signs or typefaces used many years prior. This can include typefaces used in pubs, old buildings, newspapers, handwriting etc. These typefaces could also be used as a way to represent a certain period in time, which suits the ale. For example, the use of a vintage font can make the audience think of the prohibition era of the early 1900s. By using these styles it is possible to make the product look more traditional and therefore can appeal to a wide variety of audiences. Most notably to males over 18 who are likely to be the target audience for this type of drink.

When applied to the labels, the fonts used will vary in weight so that certain areas of the design can be utilised in order of importance. For example, placing small text around the centre name will ensure the viewer sees the brand name clearly enlarged, stating its importance on the label. The text surrounding the centre is often placed in a way that corresponds with the central text or image, giving the design a more structured feel. The letters and words used can be separated in many different ways, including with lines, dots, direction and weight to name a few.

When it comes to designing a logo for a beer label, many brands would prefer to design a typeface to use in accordance with the theme. Many of these consist of hand drawn lettering or digitally enhanced words that will attempt to make the logo more unique in its qualities. Creating something unique to use on the label would require the designer to first explore the themes intended by the beer company or the particular qualities that it has. For example, hand written font may work well with a beer that is portraying a vintage theme or a traditional aesthetic.

Including imagery on the label is another way that the designs can give the viewer an understanding of the intentions of the beer company. This might include a background photograph of something related to the beer brewing techniques, ingredients or geographical location, for example. Another option would be to design the imagery itself and include them on the label, bottle or cap. This could be through the use of illustration, printing, photocopying etc.

Colour is also something that is considered during the design process for beer labels, meaning the designer would need to take into account which colours would fit in most with the drink. For example, if the beer is a dark and rich flavoured drink, then it is likely that the designer will choose colours such as deep purple and blacks, or if the drink is light and refreshing then it may include lighter colours, such as yellow and white.

Studio Brief 1 - Beer Guide Content Pages

• Beer colour chart guide, which illustrates the differences between certain craft beers. This will act as a guide to how visually strong the person would want their beer to look in accordance with their label design.
• Glass guide - This will inform the reader of the types of glasses that are frequently used for craft beers and how they can be chosen. (e.g. pints, pilsners, stemmed, mugs or unique)
• Structure of the label(s) - information on how to choose a particular shape, size and weight for the labels included on the product. 
• Colour choice - show how the colour needs to be related to the product and the brand intentions, as well as eye-catching properties that certain colours may have.
• typography choices - ways to understand the product in relation to the type that will be included on the product and how to choice a particular style that works to the brands advantage.
• packaging - whether to choose to include more than one label on the product, as well as the consideration of how the beer cap will look.
• design consideration - This includes the geographical consideration, brand aims, uniqueness of the product, target audience, price, ingredients or process).
• legal information - This will mean what needs to be included in the labels, as well as what not to include and limitations.

Source

https://www.fastlabels.co.uk/blog/how-to-design-the-perfect-craft-beer-label-infographic.html

Design Practice - Evaluation

As a result of Design Practice, it was possible to further understand and experiment with new approaches to graphic design. This included creating a publication design for a competition, exploring traditional printing methods and collaborative practice. Having experienced this throughout the module has allowed new ways to produce visual and contextually successful designs that can be applied to future briefs of a similar nature.

Exploration into the use of type and layout in previous modules, helped in understanding the approaches to studio brief 1, in which a book cover design would be made. As a result, the book cover was explored contextually, to gather initial ideas on ways that the previous designs communicated to their audiences. Therefore, the version that would be created during studio brief 1 could take inspiration from previous designs and utilise the key elements of the book. For example, when researching In Cold Blood, the characters in the book were shown to be ruthless murderers, which were then reflected on during the design stages of the project. This allowed the cover to communicate to the audience that the book would involve the representation of the killers in this way. Other elements of the cover that were taken into consideration during the process, were the colour schemes and the typefaces. By doing so, the book could reflect the themes and settings of the book. As it was set and released during the 1950s, it was appropriate that the style would be reflective of the times.

For studio brief 2, beginning an individual investigation into the events held in Leeds, allowed for several design ideas to come about. As a result, the Leeds CAMRA Beer & Cider festival could be explored using traditional print techniques. Having looked into the background information of the founders, it was possible to communicate the history of the event in a way that might appeal to a younger audience. After receiving feedback from peers, it was clear that the design stage would need to look at ways in which a new audience could be attracted to the event. Therefore, creating a list of the essential objects for a beer festival would add a humorous twist to the design. During the production of the designs, new approaches were used in order to create the outcome. This includes the use of photography for the essential objects and screen-printing the final design. In terms of the stock for the final print, the use of paperboard was also necessary in relation to the context, as it represented the material found in beer mats. After creating the final print, feedback from peers gave a critical reflection of the things that had been done well and the things that could be improved. Therefore, the feedback could be responded to in a way that would allow for future projects to consider different approaches.

Studio Briefs 3 and 4, both gave the opportunity to work with other people in a collaborative environment. This allowed for insight into the ways in which the other members of the group would approach the brief, as well as feedback on the contributions made to the tasks. This worked well as new possibilities could then be experimented with both as a group and individually, once the roles had been assigned to each member. As a result, the studio briefs gave people further insight into ways in which design teams would work together in a professional environment. 

Overall, the skills learnt during Design Practice can be revisited and reflected on during the course of level 5. They also provided an understanding into the ways in which future projects can be completed, both individually and collaboratively.

Design Practice - Studio Brief 4 - Evaluation

Having completed studio brief 4, it was possible to reflect on the areas that went well and identify the areas that would have been done differently. This included our self-reflection as well as from peer feedback. 

At the start of the project, we brainstormed several ideas on ways to deal with stress, which proved that the members of the group as well as the peers have similar ideas of what stresses them out. Therefore, we were able to communicate, as a group, on way that the stressful situations of the course could be countered using graphic design. 

Having worked in a group for studio brief 3, meant that studio brief 4 was similar in nature. This allowed more ideas to be generated and experimented with, as well as assigning different roles to each member as a way to produce the outcome. 

Working as a group also allowed for several suggestions to be considered and favored, based on their chance of success. For example, during the initial ideas stage of the project, we considered the use of ASMR videos that could be communicated to the intended audience. However the idea was discarded, as it would not be possible for it to be featured in a physical form. This was something we felt needed to be included as the aim was to engage the audience with a physical form.

Overall, studio brief 4 allowed the opportunity to work collaboratively with other peers, who may have different specialties in design. This was evidently beneficial by the final stages of the project as it was clear that the outcome had communicated the intentions of the ideas in consistent and precise manner, as previously planned. Having collaborated with others again, it is possible to transfer these skills to a later project. 

Design Principles - Presentation Boards (ISSUU)

Link 
 https://issuu.com/ap263113/docs/alex_pankhurst_ougd404_presentation

Design Practice - Studio Brief 4 - Rationale

For Studio Brief 4, as a group, we created an interactive activity book. This would be made in the style of children’s activity book, but intended for undergraduate students on a design course. This was done through the use of humorous cartoons and activities, such as colouring pages, mazes and step-by-step guides. However, the contents of the books would be reflective of the stressful situations of the course, as well as ways to deal with them.

The colour scheme and layout of the book was considered in response to childish aesthetics and bright, attractive colours.

Design Principles Evaluation

As a result of Design Principles, several transferable skills were learnt. This includes the ways in which colour is used in graphic design and when to use particular techniques involving colour based on the context of the brief. Having created a colour booklet, outlining several designers and their theories, the ideas of colour could be tested and experimented with throughout the course of the module. For example, when creating the book covers in studio brief 2, colour was something to consider when it came to the design process. This meant researching and testing the ideas of the colours, whether it be on their shared meanings or how well they would contrast other visual elements, such as type.

The consideration of type was also an important factor when working through the module. This was because there are several different ways in which the text can be applied to a design, however the choice will depend on the the context of the subject. For example, during the exhibition poster, the type chosen related to the Tate Modern, making it suitable for the design context.

In terms of the layout, it was vital that for certain tasks a layout would be chosen. This would also depend on the context of the subject, so that it would demonstrate the correct structure when designing the visual elements. For example, the book covers needed to have a Marber grid layout so that they could communicate the traditional methods used in the Penguin Books series. However, other stages such as the poster design, allowed for our own interpretation of the layout, which would depend on the context of the exhibition being communicated.

For the format of the module, there were several ideas about how the outcomes should look. For the colour booklet, the use of thin card or grainy paper would have worked well, as it would relate to the same type of stock found in Pantone's colour swatches. For the exhibition poster, the use of vinyl would have worked best as the intention was to hang the poster outside galleries or in public places. This would have been a suitable material to use as it is durable to the weather and relates to the stock used in real exhibition posters.

Peer critique also allowed for several ideas to come about for the project, including areas which should be pursued and which areas should be changed. As a result the outcomes of the studio briefs became more aesthetically appealing and relevant to the contexts. Peer review also gave the opportunity to look at ways in which other people had approached the brief and what colours, stock, layout and type they had used in response to the module. All of these skills will prove to be transferable for future projects and will allow for different approaches to come about, when starting a new brief.