OUGD603 - Brief 1 - Souvenir Penny Designs - Development of Designs

Development of Designs 

Celebrating 130 Years Design 

- To represent the building as a whole the architecture of the front of the building was used to represent the place as this would be the first thing visitors would see before entering the building. This would have also been the same through its history so best reflected the building across its time as an Art Gallery.

- Making the line thicknesses bolder better reflected the thickness of the stonework on the doorway

- Using the pathfinder tool meant that after finding the correct line thickness outlining the paths allowed the strokes to become shapes and meant that the line width would remain the same when increased and reduced in size. However because each of the strokes was difficult to edit the sections between the lines, so uniting the strokes into one whole shape was more effective. 

- The  shape of the outside signage was drawn around to get an outline. Within the design text was going to be placed vertically within each of the sections in a similar way to the signage. The outline was perhaps not refined enough.

- Using parallelograms to reflect the shape of the signage whilst creating more consistency and regularity within the design worked well. 

- To create the pennies using the photosensitive etching technique all black areas within a design will be raised whilst the white areas will be etched away.

- Filling the doorway stonework so it was black rather than outlined would create a more defined design and allow the stonework to be raised like the real thing. Having outlines would create extremely fine lines which perhaps would not work within the etching process and would also not be bold at a  small scale.

- Landscape designs allowed for more space and better positioning of text alongside imagery.

- Using the arch stonework from the front entrance and lines to represent stairs, with the text positioned between perhaps gets rid of too much of the general form of the entrance, making it less recognisable as the entrance to Leeds Art Gallery. 

- Expanding the entrance design so that it goes outside the shape of the penny allows space for some text within the doorway, however because of the curve of the arch and small spaces within the rest of the design this doesn't leave a lot of room for other text to be included and still be legible. The combination of text and imagery within these designs looked cluttered whilst the similar line weights meant there was no hierarchy within the design.

- The designs reflecting the shape of the outside signage place text across each of the three sections. The text is laid out in a similar way to the existing signage and is read vertically from top to bottom. It was considered that two lines of text could be used within each of the sections and reflect the wording of some of the signage, however having two lines of text meant the text would have to be very small making it less legible.  

- It was considered 'Leeds Art Gallery' could be placed within the arch in the same format as the branding, with each of the words on a different line and left aligned. This would allow the name of the place to fit within the design, whilst also reflecting the positioning of the branding on the actual entrance to the building.

- A similar typeface to the typography used on the outside signage was used to create a consistency from the branding to the penny designs. 

- In some of the designs '130 years' was set in a typeface similar to the one used on the outside of the building, this created a link with the branding of the place, reflected the outside of the building and created contrast between the different pieces of information allowing it to stand out more. 

- Key information such as 'Leeds Art Gallery', 'Celebrating 130 years', '1888 to 2018' and 'The Collections' were also considered as some of these were already in existing signage, whilst others clearly link the design to the place and age of the gallery in a clear and simple way.

- Making the 130 years bold highlighted this within the hierarchy.

- Placing the top of the arch from the entrance to the bottom of the design made it less clear what the imagery was of.

- Placing the imagery central made it clearer that it was of the entrance to the building. This also allowed for negative space, above and to the sides of the design allowing text to be placed in these spaces. Placing the dates either side of the entrance created symmetry and balance within the design. 

Ziff Gallery Design 

- To reflect the differing shapes of the frames within the Ziff Gallery, boxes were used to match the key contours / elements within the frames.

- Using the imagery as a guide would also allow the design to reflect the positioning of the artworks on the wall within the gallery.

- Different thicknesses of lines were used to reflect the widths of aspects and intricacies within the frames. Similar line weights were used across different elements to create some consistency within the design.

- Using fills allowed for balance in negative space to be created and broke up the lines within the design.

- Having just outlines from the different elements within the frames looked to similar an had no contrast. Also the intricacy and thin quality of the lines may not work effectively at such a small scale.

- Using a combination of line weights, simplified the designs by creating areas of fill and created more contrast within the design, whilst highlighting the differences in the frames.

- Using the fills in the centers of picture reflected whether the paintings were light or dark in colour.

- Placement and scale of the paintings reflects the frames in real life, through the use of the photograph as a basis for the design.

- Simplifying the designs further to minimal shapes and line widths would make the design stand out at a small scale, whilst also creating balance in negative space within the design.

- Enlarging the design so that it goes outside of the penny boundary creates the sense that the room is bigger and that there is more to see than just the snippet shown within the design.

- To fit the design in the classic format of pressed pennies, with the text curved around the edges and the imagery central, it was considered that some of the frames would have to be removed to make the design less cluttered. However the design was still quite effective with all of the frames still in the design. Perhaps the bottom left hand corner frame would need to be reduced slightly to allow the text to curve around and not come to close to the frame. 

Henry Moore Sculpture Gallery 

- The circular work on the floor of the Henry Moore Sculpture Gallery was striking and difficult for visitors to miss making it a key feature of the gallery and therefore a good representation of the work within this part of Leeds Art Gallery.

- Outlining the shapes of the tops of the stone pieces within the artwork allowed the arrangement of the differing shaped pieces to be shown as if from above, reflecting the abstract layout of the piece.  

- Expanding the design of the shapes outside the penny frame allowed the design to be further abstracted without loosing a sense of the blocks that make up the artwork. 

- Outlining the blocks in a slightly thicker line width would allow the shapes to stand out more. Using a combination of line weights could create the sense that some blocks are higher than others.

- Filling the blocks would meant that these areas would be raised after the etching process making it look like the blocks are raised off the ground.

- Placing the design within a circle would create a representation of the full design without the need for all of the blocks to be shown within the design.

Tiled Hall Cafe

- Using the images of the tiles within the Tiled Hall Gallery allowed a simple version of one of the tiles seen within the Hall to be created.

- Key features of the tile, such as the flower shape in the middle and the outline around each tile were picked out as being important in representing the overall tile shape as these were the most distinct features. To create a simpler design which would be effective at a smaller side it was considered that the floral / leaf areas within the outside outline could be represented just with a curved section.

- Fill could be used to increase the height of areas, reflecting the similar raised areas and outlines within the tiles themselves.

- Arranging the tile designs in a repeat pattern, reflects the layout of the tiles on the wall within the Tiled Hall Cafe. 

- Leaving a rectangular space within the middle of the design and having an outline within this reflects the mat of the floor of the Tiled Hall Gallery which visitors see as they enter through Leeds Art Gallery.

- Placing the type on one line reflects the layout of text on the mat in the gallery, whilst the typeface used for 'Tiled Hall Gallery' is similar to the typeface used on the mat, however without the breaks in the letterforms.

- Using the Type on a Path Tool allowed text to be placed on a curved line in the same ways as seen on other Pressed Penny Designs rather than just applied in straight lines.

- Black areas within the design would be raised whilst the white sections would be etched away.

- Areas such as the outline of the tiles and the 'flower' shapes in the middle of the tiles could be raised up within the design to reflect the raised areas within the actual tiles. 

- Having all outlined shapes may not work because of the fine detail which would be needed at this small scale, which the photo etching process may not be able to create. 

-It was considered that the design may have to be simplified further because of the scale of the designs, which this in mind it was considered that just the outline of the tiles and the flower within would best represent the tiles as these are the most recognisable aspects of the tile.

Victorian Stairs / West Gallery 

- Using the lines from Lothar Gotz's geometric artwork on the Victorian Stairs this was then expanded over the penny frame. 

- One of the larger shapes within the artwork would have to be used within the design as this would then allow for text to be placed within the shape.

- The lines within the design could be raised, alternatively the whole design could be raised with the text and lines inset into the shapes. 

West Gallery 

- It was considered that the union jack artwork on the wall in the West Gallery could have a small section expanded over the penny frame which would allow the text to be placed between the pieces.

- Using some of the negative space within the union jack area would allow for text to be placed in this area.

- Outlining the shapes would be too fiddly for the photoetching process. 

- Having the objects raised would best reflect the effect of the pieces as they are hung on the room.

- The use of the different items within the design may not be very effective at such as small scale and because of the obscurity of the the things within the artwork it may be difficult for the items to be clearly recognisable to the public

Moving Forward:

- The designs with the image placed centrally would reflect the different areas within the gallery in a clear way, however the layout is perhaps to similar to other penny designs and leaves quite a lot of negative space, perhaps not using the space to its full potential 
- The designs with the imagery extending past the bounds of the penny area creates more abstract interpretations of each of the areas but are still reflective of the different areas if you have visited and seen the different things in the gallery. These designs allow more of the space to be used within the design and for better integration of text within the design creating more cohesion.