Notes - What is research?

What is the question we are asking? Always ask: How? Why? What if?
A process that requires a level of analysis.

Types of research:
Primary - New Stuff, specific, generating data.
Secondary - Published or previously recorded. Source material that already exists. Analysis of data that has already been recorded earlier for something else and extracting the appropriate information.
Qualitative - Opinions, Judgement, Non Numerical, Observing
Quantitative - Repeated process, looking at subject environment, behaviour done to measure or to create statistics.

Stimulated = Intuitive = Systematic = Approach
Assimilation = General Study = Communicates = Development = Research

Evaluation:
What answers the brief?
Is it relevant?
Useful?
Client/audience preference?
What is the function?

Why research is important:
- Fulfils accessible outcomes
- Informed generation of ideas and design solutions
- variety of knowledge and informed opinions
- After degree - It's what you're paid for!

Attention To Detail

One thing that I am most happy with about my practice is the attention to detail. I think that making certain elements, such as hair, really super detailed can make images more interesting to look at. 

Dan Hillier

Patricia Ariel

Rich Kelly

Richie Beckett

Wendy Wallin Malinow

Use of Media and Method

These works, though some are sketchbook pages, are effective because of the use of media,  I want to explore this more, they make me want to touch them and spend hours looking at each. 

Tone of Voice

Socio Political Meaning

I think the most effective images are ones that have context, or something to comment on. This can make the images more relatable and thus more accessible. 

Simplicity of Image

These are examples of simplicity of image, I think that sometimes the simpler compositions and use of space can be the most effective. 

Print

Something that I would like to explore more is types of media and different techniques, including printing. Below are some of my favourite uses of media. 

Mike Egan - SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS

Alexandra Levasseur

David Fullarton

Julia Pott

OUIL403 - End of Module Evaluation

Throughout this module I think I’ve developed my process of idea generation, this can be measured throughout the module, as the final brief was much further developed and thought out than the first. I did this by creating mind maps and using word association to think of imagery and colour schemes. This works better for me than drawing pages of pages of thumbnails, I find I get a better quality of ideas through writing things down and working through them that way. I’ve also been pushed to try new media, as at the beginning of the course I was reluctant to use anything other than a 0.05 fine liner, I’ve found I really like the texture and the softness that can be achieved through the dry brush technique.

As well as using mind maps and word associations, I’ve used the approach of using Photoshop to piece together compositions, which enables me to work through any issues with placement, and gives me a better idea of how to draw things. I think this works because it’s effective and saves a lot of time. I struggle with drawing things multiple times when I could visually solve the problem much quicker digitally. I also photocopy sketches so I can work into them and find what media works best, I find it’s a quick and effective way to test processes without ruining your final piece.

I think my strengths are the final compositions, as I try to take into account space and things such as leading lines and rule of thirds to try make them easier to read. I think because of this my final resolutions can work better too. Things I need to develop are my timekeeping, I think because I struggled with development work during this module I rushed to finish the briefs and skipped a lot of idea development I needed to do in order to create a stronger response.

During the next module I will dedicate specific time to developing my work and experimentation, as this will help me create better responses. I will also try use a wider variety of media so I am able to fit the media and tone of voice to the context of the piece I am working on. In the next module I will also work to a scale I find comfortable, I found in the first two briefs I stuck to working in my A5 sketchbook, but in the final brief I realised working at A3 gave me much more room to develop my ideas.

Overall I think I enjoyed this module towards the end, the final brief was where I produced the better quality of work as I have now begun to get back into the swing of drawing every day and working through problems to a deadline. In the beginning because of the amount of time we had over summer I think I needed some time to fall back in love with making pictures.

The Discovery Centre

As part of my research for Visual Language, I visited the discovery centre just out of the city centre. The discovery centre is basically a catalogue off everything ever, when things are not being exhibited in museums they're stored here. We booked in to see the Taxidermy collection but there was also rocks, crystals, flowers and a ton of other stuff to look at (It was literally floor to ceiling.) I found it really helpful to look at the collection of Taxidermy birds for my visual language research as it helped me gain a better understanding of texture and proportion. (There was also some incredible animals and a wall full of giant turtle shells but I don't think they fall into 'UK Urban Wildlife' unfortunately)

Study Task 2 - What is Illustration? Part 1

Attention to detail.

Simplicity of Image

Socio/Political Meaning

Tone of Voice

Use of Media and Method