503 - Display Wizard - Development

The next step was for me to start looking at the arrangement of type for my promotional stands. Scale is an important element to consider, as the larger-landscape banners will be printed onto a 3m by 3m curved stand - it is essential to take into account where the stand will start curving round, allowing for part of the stand to be viewed from the side, whilst the very edges will actually be visible at the back.
For simplicity I wanted to ensure all of my communicated content was clearly visible at the front. 

 With the busy-ness of most of the backgrounds, I did need to consider how I was to ensure the type is boldly contrasting this. 

 The most obvious option - adding a slightly translucent white block for the type to fit within. 

Incorporated the LCA Logo into the text box, placement and typesetting desperately needed some experimentation!

I decided to split the content to create a nicer balance on the composition. Although this variation did feel too bulky at the bottom.

 I looked at how I could try the text boxes in opposing corners to distribute the balance better..

After trying both alterations, I could agree with classmates how it did feel more strongly balanced when aligned to the left, as the eye is to strong of a focal point on the left hand-side to feature any text aswell 

This time, I centralised the LCA logo to the type in the bottom box. This added to the overall balance well.

I considered how it could potentially stretch across the bottom, but this did not feel appropriate with the smaller text box at the top.

 I experimented with the typesetting and how the wording should fit on each line. It did again feel too stretched across only 2 lines, but overall form did feel better.

It definitely did need to be across 3 lines however this felt like it was trying a little too hard!












Beneath is the final layout I settled on - I took out the 'and' to give this snappier tone to how you read it. I feel like this is better reflective of how people talk up North anyway, with constant shortening of words and sentences , can almost imagine it being read in a thick Yorkshire accent!

In terms of typography I was restricting myself to the initial guidelines set by the LCA brand identity manual. Although I could not gain access to the official ones, I trialled the most similar ones - this one being Trebuchet. 
It's consistent and very legible sans serif form, infers the much needed simplicity against the busy mosaic background.

In attempts of reflecting the snappy and speedy way in which a northerner actually speaks I trialled it in italic. This did feel relevant enough to be its sole justification.










I tried the other closest typeface I could get to the serif version in the guideline book. This being Georgia, it did give a slightly more official feel, however I feel like the sans-serif type of Trebuchet is more appropriate, reflecting more of the modern mindsets you will encounter when up north (overall is just a nicer, simplistic form awell)



I am more attracted to the form of Georgia Italic, however I do feel as though there are stronger justifications with Trebuchet.











Here are the 5 final responses to choose from for the larger promotional stand, each with my summary of each, combined with the comments and feedback I received via the final cit:

This is by far the favourite, as I feel like the written content is the strongest in relation to the actual image. The eye provides a beautiful depth which does successfully catch your eye and make you gaze harder. Around the eye, the shadowing of the face allows for the most consistent and evenly spread visibility of the mosaic, and it was suggested how the colour is strongest in this composition reflecting the vibrancy of our Art College.

This response naturally worked very nicely, allowing the stark negative space to draw into the more refined form of the face - whilst at the same time allowing great contrast between the type and background. Although there is not as much depth to the mosaic and facial features, this sits the eye again as the main focal point. It feels much more restricted and minimal which can be seen as a good thing, however I am fond of the complexity created by the other designs.

Lastly for the eye responses, this is the strongest shot of the iris itself. Although it was agreed its overall balance isn't as strong as the first design.

I was pleased with how this response came out, it does refer to the infamous Hyde Park of the North, yet I do feel like it does not carry as strong of a concept, not focusing as much on the uni but more the accommodation options. This was definitely something relevant to consider for the project, however the crit suggested it would have better suited a submission allowing a series of responses, rather than a lone response.

The tongue and cheek message assigned to this response is what makes it successful. It not only stresses the diverse facilities available to the prospective students at LCA, but also hints at the deep-routed aim of the university to efficiently and confidently prepare and adapt the students ready for the big wide world.

To ensure consistency to the smaller banner I applied the same fading text box and type. "Come join the community" uses the same snappy wording as in the larger banner responses, but focuses more on the social aspect to the uni, reflecting on the tight-knit community we have built and preserved at LCA. The first response featuring Josiah was voted for use as the final outcome, this being because he is a recent graduate from LCA's graphic design course, therefore tying the whole concept together perfectly. Not only will the composition celebrate people on the course through the mosaic, aswell as the photographical work of Rob, the fact that the photography will also depict a recent and very successful graduate does make its justifications more appropriate than the other response.