OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1 - A Brief History of Time (4 Days) - Feedback on Initial Experimentation

Feedback, thoughts and moving forward

Thoughts on work so far 

The light photography and light painting techniques have produced some bold and unique designs. The use of photography brings a sense of depth to the work and reflects space well. The scanned images of the whole ball of string were too vague and did not tie to the book enough conceptually. The scanned images of the string moving up and down reflect the 'vibrations' described within the string theory well when compared with the movement of the other scanned images which were too fluid, similar to water. The shaped typography reflects a sense of expansion well however the design based on light in a space time diagram is possible too simple in shape and has been seen before. 

Feedback

It was said that the light painting designs work well and reflect a space like atmosphere in a simple and effective way. It was said that the typography that was based on a lights 'cone shape diagram' within space time was a little like the Star Wars title screen so it was suggested to stay away from this. It was said that the typography based on the expansion of the universe was simple but effective in depicting the concept. The use of string, the physical material, to depict string theory on the scanner it was said was a different approach to the idea.

Moving Forward 

From feedback and my own opinion it has been decided that I will be exploring the horizontal string theory design, the light painting string theory design and the 'big bang to black holes' photographic design which are considered the strongest designs visually and reflect concepts within the book well.
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The scanned string theory design reflects the described movement of strings within the book. The motion of moving the string up and down has created 'vibrations' in the image. Also the straight lines and varying thicknesses reflect strings effectively.

The depth within the light painting design for string theory creates contrast and three dimensionality which stands out. Making the type fit along the lines creates a sense of movement and is bold compositionally making it stand out.

This designs narrative works well across the double spread reflecting the title 'from the big bang to black holes' through the use of minimal photography. Compositionally the design is balanced making the design striking, there is also a sense of realism through the use of photography. The typography used also reflects the title by contrasting serif and sans serif typefaces reflecting the journey through time from historical to new.

Things to do 

In each of the designs it needs to be considered how the design will look across both the front, spine and back of the book. Connections need to be made between content on the front and the back so that there is cohesiveness between the whole design.