Research

So all week I have slowly mounted up research, and today I will make a short questionnaire which I plan to hand out to people tomorrow to find out first hand; what people think about and how they use, idioms. I will then tally up the results which should show me a better understanding of idioms
Primary resource is just as important as secondary research.

Creative Photography

I know its a bit early to jump ahead to possible mediums to use later on, but I have been looking at some creative photography in books, magazines and on the internet. So I may post images that inspire me during the course.

Da Cunha Lope - Image I found in Creative Arts Magazine - An advert for a car trying to show the dark side of the product. Very smart and simple advertising/ graphic design. I'M INSPIRED

Marilyn Bouchard - Another smart piece of creative photography. Taking a simple concept and adding a slight twist. This is the sort of concept that I could use for my idioms; BRING THEM TO LIFE!

Johnathon Tay - Another very good conceptual photography piece. I love the humour expressed by both actors especially the doctor.

It has begun!

So tomorrow i officially start my FMP, I sent of all my proposals and stuff on friday and that was good. Research now for a week, time to get stuck in.

Proposed Bibliography Draft

So here are a few ideas on what I plan to look at in my research;


A book:

Flavell, R.H and Flavell, L. (2006) Dictionary of Idioms

A book:

Oxford University Press (1989) Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition

A book:

Bhalla, Jag. (2009) I'm not hanging noodles on your ear and other intriguing idioms from around the world

A book:

Truss, Lynne. (2003) Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

A website:

Idiom Site

www.idiomsite.com

A contest online:

Idiom photoshop contest

http://www.pxleyes.com/photoshop-contest/14485/idioms.html

TV broadcast:

Catchphrase, ITV. Broadcast 12 January 1986 - December 2002

Article online:

Berman, Michael. (2000) Teaching Idioms

http://www.eltnewsletter.com/back/June2000/art152000.shtml

Article online:

25 Common English Idioms for Students of England

http://teacherjoe.us/Idioms01.html

Article online:

Basso, Billy. (2010) Idiom Assignment

http://vimeo.com/7202220

A group online:

Idiom Photography Group Pool

http://www.flickr.com/groups/idioms/pool/with/3651736197/

A website:

English and American Idioms

http://www.quotations.me.uk/famous-idioms/

TV broadcast:

Blankety Blank, BBC1. Broadcast 18 January 1979 - 12 March 1990

http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Blankety_Blank

TV broadcast:

Match Game, American Television Gameshow. Broadcast 1962 -1999

A book:

Glucksberg, Sam. (2001) Understanding Figurative Language From Metaphors To Idioms

My FMP Action Plan Draft

The action plan will keep me in place about what I need to do by whatever time so I get the whole project done in time and not have to rush certain areas in the process.

I plan to have 5 main parts to my action plan

First will be Part 1- RESEARCH:

• This will be very important as its the foundation of my project and will help me lead on to ideas later on in the project.
• Make sure I look at primary and secondary resources so I gather a wide range of research
• This area should be not to long as I need enough time to spend on the more longer work processed areas. Around 2-4 days
• Completed by 24th Feb and ready to move on

Part 2 - EXPERIMENTATION OF IDEAS CREATED FROM RESEARCH:

• This area will include getting out of the studio to experiment with photographs if necessary, come out of the sketch book with ideas to see what will work and what needs developing further
• Once the experimentation is over I will need to decide on final piece ideas enabling me to move on to the next stage.
• This part of the project should take around a week and a half so I have plenty of time to produce the final outcomes.
• Completed by week beginning 7th March so ready to start producing final outcomes

Part 3 - PRODUCING FINAL WORKS:

• This in my opinion is the most important area, the experimentation from the last stage should have given me a clear indication of want to want to produce and now is the time to do that
• This process will take a lot longer than the other areas as you can not produce a final piece over night.
• This stage will also include photographing work if its 3D and not able to be scanned in etc
• Around just under 3 weeks should be spent at this stage
• Completed by 23rd March so i have the rest of the week plus the weekend to start on the next stage

Part 4 - FINALISATION/ EXHIBITION:

• I will need to print out work for the exhibition and finalise anything thats need to be finished before handing the FMP in the next week.
• Before moving on to the last stage everything needs to be ready to show an audience, that is the main aim.
• This should take less than a week to sort everything out (3-5 days)
• Completed by 27th March so the next week can be dedication to reflection of the project

Part 5 - REFLECTION:

• This stage I will take 1 or 2 days to review the whole project by looking through sketchbooks, final outcomes and my blog. I will review what was; successful , not so successful, what I can improve on, likes and dislikes about the project.
• Completed by 29th March just before the FMP hand in

How have I got here?

I have used plenty of mediums throughout my foundation process and some of them I have enjoyed and some I have just simply neglected. To start of an idea, I instinctively draw it out from the picture in my head onto paper, rarely writing down the idea down like I used to do. Drawing is flat but can express everything you need; from portraying a simple idea to wondering of into a world of imagination. Where an idea can not be drawn, or wants to come to life, it is made 3D.
I have always admired 3D and the process in which an object is made, I have tended to use it a lot more than I planned through my foundation which could either have been because I feel like I'm good with my hands or one successful 3D product has lead onto another.
Unlike 3D and drawing, I have not used a huge amount of photography during my foundation process. This may sound stupid but I have spent the last few years before this course focusing mainly on photography so I have avoided it completely apart from the odd occasion. Although now approaching my final major project (FMP) I feel like to best achieve a successful outcome I will use photography throughout the project as I do prefer it to any other medium at the moment.
Typography is a brand new language to me, before starting my foundation year I knew nothing about it but  knowing I want to pursue a career within graphic Design, I have to be able to understand typography. Doing a whole project just on type I was more than slightly worried I was going to get bored but towards the end I was enjoying this new language and I believe by the end of the project, I had successfully mastered the basics of typography.

I have always enjoyed research in general, finding out new facts which lead to original ideas for a project, but I have only just realised the importance of this within graphic design. I've personally found the more research you put into a project the more successful it will turn out to be.
I've used a variety of different processes in completing projects throughout the foundation which I have benefitted from greatly, for example really short projects you have to do in a day is a completely different thinking and practical process to a two week project. By experiencing both I'am able to cope with different briefs and use different ways of working.
Looking back over the work I have done on the foundation, I could roughly say I've developed a sort of humorous style, seeing a lot of my finished pieces make you laugh and are quite witty. I can also say I spend a huge amount of time on a finished piece making it the best it can possibly be and not spend as much time in my sketchbook. This may change over time as I haven't done many projects longer than a week period so you have to come up with an idea more or less straight away, which prevents you developing and generating lots of ideas in your sketchbook.

I have only used a blog once before my foundation and I didn't write about my work in such a casual way like I do now. It is a very relaxing way of evaluating and developing your work which I will continue to do after the foundation.
There have been certain projects I've liked a lot more than others, mainly because of the success of the project and it slots more into my comfort zone. These projects would probably be the 'Lists Lists Lists project' where i focused on the idea of procrastination and how you can turn wasting time into a visual game. Another project I loved was the Research project where everyone was given a creature to research and come up with a finished piece by the end of the two weeks. I liked this because I'm very keen on research and we had more time to come up with ideas, allowing me to decide on the best one by gathering primary research on what people thought was most interesting about my creature from what I had found out.
On the other hand the project I detested would probably be the '3 extraordinary book project' which I did enjoy creating ideas for but time was a major issue and I was not quick enough at generating finished books in the short amount of time. Although I'm glad I did take part in the project because it has prepared me for the future and made me look at time management more.

When I was first presented with a brief at the beginning of the course I would immediately think of what I could produce as a finished piece at the end of the project. Now I have learnt from my mistakes and do not worry about the finished idea immediately, but generate and develop ideas first which I know will nearly always lead onto to a better idea than the one I would of come up with at the start. Part of my success from not rushing towards a final idea straight away would be that I research a lot more and use it as much as possible, from before I would maybe do the research and ignore it sticking with my first idea.
In the future I hope to spend more attention on my weaker design areas like typography so I become a more well rounded designer. If this happens I will not have to avoid certain briefs and be able to not just focus on my strong points but my all around design attributes.

I have concentrated a fair amount on what feedback I get from a project, looking at what people think my strong points are and what they think about my design process in general. It would be stupid to ignore criticism about my work because I can learn from the faults in my work so they don't happen again. I do take on negative feedback well and strive for positive comments like everyone else, plus I think a good designer is able to respond to feedback and make the most they possibly can from it.

I hope to use everything I have learnt during my foundation time to make my 'FMP' the best possible project I achieve to date. This should include what i have learnt about; research, presentation, design processes and to use the skills I have developed whilst on the foundation. I would like to accomplish not only a successful final outcome to the 'FMP' but also a sense that I have discovered a new and more appropriate way of working during design projects.

Project Proposal

Final Major Project by Ralph Pedersen

Project Title- Idioms

The foundation course for me has opened my eyes to graphic design as a whole, the ideas you can create, the mediums you can use and the audience it is for. I feel like I have developed my understanding of graphic design massively and along with it developed my knowledge and skill base, by being able to create quick ideas and solutions to anything that’s thrown at me.

During my rotations I started off in Visual Communication and all I wanted to do was stay there. Every other area I experimented with different ways of working and medias but all my work ended up looking like a graphic student had produced it, for example in Fine Art I made a short animation;

I hadn't produced an animation before but it felt more 'graphicy' than doing a pointless painting, and I was very happy with the outcome. This pushed me further towards picking Vis Com. When we were in Vis Com we were again set a little project on the side which I found more successful than the work I produced during the rotation. The final outcome was a large montage of a skateboarder doing a trick over a ramp. The pictures were reproduced and drawn several times.

The proposed aim for my project is to research and investigate idioms; an idiom is an expression, word or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words in which it is made.

I intend to look at everything that is associated with idioms, why people use them, where they came from and the meanings behind them. I believe these are my three main starting points which I can develop on throughout the project; they are broad and have many different pathways and ideas leading out from them. I feel this is a good starting foundation for my project with plenty of direction.

I will begin by researching everything I can find out about idioms using primary and secondary resources. This should include; asking people about idioms, looking through books and researching on the internet. I plan to explore through a variety of methods and processes to produce outcomes within this project. I do not plan to stick to once method of outcome but numerous media involving; photography, illustration, typography, 3D and computer graphics. My main focus will be to experiment through the medium of photography but to incorporate other media within this to produce visual outcomes.

I plan to evaluate all my work not in my sketchbook but on my Blog, which I will use as my reflective journal. I will review and evaluate my work constantly on my Blog, explaining successes and negatives throughout, also including; decisions, ideas and feedback.

Lets get started!

So I will be using this blog as my reflective journal for my whole Final Major Project (FMP). Reflecting on the day, my work and hopefully posting inspiration for my project and images from my project as it progresses.

My idea in brief...

I want to compose a project focusing on idiom's. Idioms are words, phrases or expressions that have a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made. (Definition taking from Wikipedia which has summed it up perfectly).
There are thousands upon thousands of these idioms and I plan to explore them through graphic design and mainly photography.
For example 'Hold your horses' means be patient.

This was the idea i presented in my 'PITCH', it was helped developed a lot further by the group which i am very pleased about as i was struggling to come up with other ideas for the FMP. To sum up i don't think the idea is to big to handle but it does have lots of ideas that can be created. The idea is pretty clear and open.

I think the whole idea about idioms is a good idea that I would like to go in depth about and develop for this project. I will update on monday when i run the idea through  my tutor.
Laters