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Posted:
May 18, 2013
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The Magpie’s Nest: Pitch Day

Friday saw the completion of my degree and the pitching of our business idea, The Magpie’s Nest, to two businesspeople, our module tutor and course leader.

The Magpie’s Nest specialises in recycled/upcycled goods for the home, inspired by the latest trends and priced attractively. Having submitted work for our largest module on the Tuesday, we spent the next few days finalising and refining the business plan for presentation day. I think that myself and my fellow team members and business partners, Lauren Hailstone, Jess Reynard and Wojciech Piskor, were happy with our presentation. We felt we answered questions that were thrown at us, and the overall feeling was very Dragon’s Den – exciting and certainly a valuable experience.

Below are a few pictures of our final range, which included recycled pen pots, cushion covers, LED jar lanterns, colourful tealight holders and notebooks made from recycled record sleeves. We had great fun making these, too. Lauren and Wojciech also did a great job of getting our business plan printed; it turned out exactly as we had envisaged.

Our printed business plan. The quirky ripped front cover was Lauren's idea, and we felt it turned out really well.

Our printed business plan. The quirky ripped front cover was Lauren’s idea, and we felt it turned out really well.

Our 'initial' product range.

Our ‘initial’ product range.

Pukka Pots and Lush Lanterns

Pukka Pots and Lush Lanterns

Even our business cards are recycled.

Even our business cards are recycled.

Old record sleeves upcycled into notebooks.

Old record sleeves upcycled into notebooks.

Attention will now fully turn to preparing for our Final Degree Show, which will be taking place on Thursday 20th June 2013, opening with a Preview Evening at 6pm, followed by open gallery throughout the week of 21-26 June.

Posted:
May 14, 2013
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Behind the Scenes: Mission Accomplished

Today I had my final hand-in of my university life, with my competition brief for Nissan and personal brief Glovebox completed, as well as the digital version of my Personal Development Plan (PDP).

Preview of Glovebox; See the full thing at our Final Degree Show!

Preview of Glovebox; See the full thing at our Final Degree Show!

Overall I’m really happy with what I’ve submitted; I could be really picky over some things, but I’d be sat there until the cows come home changing bits unnecessarily. Feedback from tutors and peers alike has been really positive, and looking at where both projects were only a matter of weeks ago has made me realise how much I’ve been able to get done in a relatively short space of time.

My attention now turns to building our final exhibition. I have decided that Glovebox will be the key feature on my stand, whilst visitors will be able to browse through my portfolio, whilst I’ll also have some other tricks up my sleeve to ensure I engage people in the best way. Building the exhibition takes place over the next few weeks.

(Un)Lucky 2013, the University of Chester Art & Design Final Degree Show, will open with a Preview Evening on Thursday 20th June 2013, 6-8pm at the University of Chester Kingsway Campus. More details to follow.

Posted:
May 8, 2013
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Behind the Scenes: Glovebox #4

Exciting things are happening with Glovebox. As I enter my final week working on this project, three new themes have been created and therefore the app can be seen in four different ‘skins’. Currently my chosen themes are labeled Frozen White, Retro, Race and Candy, each reflecting different types of motorist and the varying vehicles they drive.

Personalisation has gone far beyond my previous versions of the Glovebox design. Whilst the ability to change colour accents remains, the user can now use a theme that is truly reflective of their car or personality. Decals can be used on the themes, in much the same way as decals can be purchased or ordered as a factory extra when buying a car.

I am now finalising my visuals (nearly there!) and aim to be producing the rationale towards the end of this week, ready for completion the following week. Below is a preview of Glovebox’s splash screen.

ComingSoon

Posted:
April 29, 2013
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Behind the Scenes: The Magpie’s Nest – Initial products!

We had another presentation for our business plan, The Magpie’s Nest, on Friday afternoon. In preparation, we decided to make some prototype products to set the mood and show our audience what we could feasibly be producing.

Below are some images of the Little Desk Tidy, part of our Office Accessories range. This is based on a small Heinz soup can (the 75p variety), sprayed in a range of colours (matt black and gloss white for now – Magpie colours!). These fit really nicely with the current shabby chic/industrial chic trends in home furnishings, an area that we feel we can tap into quite easily with the other products that we would be offering. Our up-cycling nature also means that we are able to keep up with trends and change our products to suit.

Little Desk Tidy - Gloss White

Little Desk Tidy – Gloss White

Little Desk Tidies - Gloss White & Black

Little Desk Tidies – Gloss White & Black

Little Desk Tidies - Gloss White & Black

Little Desk Tidies – Gloss White & Black

Posted:
April 28, 2013
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Building my iPad Portfolio

Earlier this year, I decided it would be appropriate for me to build a full iPad-ready portfolio. Having completed my placement at AKQA last year, and taking note of their passion for digital, I realised that I needed my portfolio to be mobile, clear and easily accessible. This would be especially important during the interview process when applying for jobs in the design industry.

Despite my portfolio having been through numerous incarnations recently, I knew that I would need to totally restructure it for the iPad, bringing full attention to the images, with the idea that I would verbally articulate my aims and rationale behind each project. I designed specifically for the iPad’s size, though despite me using a first-generation device, I created it ready for the latest retina display iPads, preparing for the eventuality of upgrading (though there are currently no plans in the pipeline to do this!). I wanted to produce a consistent look throughout, with a portfolio style that matches that of my PDP (personal/professional development plan) and my website.

Below is a preview of the portfolio in action!

iPad Portfolio

iPad Portfolio

 

Posted:
April 25, 2013
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Behind the Scenes: Glovebox #3

The work on Glovebox is continuing but I think I’m now on the home stretch. I’d better be anyway, with only weeks until final submission! Following feedback from both my tutor and colleagues today, there are some final adjustments to be made before I think about how I’m going to present the app both for final submission and for exhibiting in June.

Firstly, it was pointed out that the app, as it currently stands, isn’t customisable enough. This is perhaps the ‘pristine’ designer in me, who wants to keep everything looking slick and consistent, allowing the user only to change the coloured accents in the app to suit their mood or car. But the point was made today that many drivers go very over the top with their motor; I’m talking about that Ford Ka with the pink fluffy dice, fluffy steering wheel cover and ‘Powered by Fairy Dust’ sticker hanging onto the boot for dear life. Some people just love fluffy things, and pink. Equally, there’s that black Vauxhall Corsa with the ‘eyebrows’, tinted rear windows, lowered suspension and comically large alloy wheels. At the more tasteful end of the spectrum, there’s the driver of the duck egg blue Fiat 500, complete with contrasting ivory interior with its big, retro buttons and patterned upholstery. I need to cater for all of these motorists – their cars are an extension of their personality, and the app needs to reflect this. Therefore I’m going to be more lenient with the colours and areas that can be personalised, offering different themes or skins, whilst maintaining good taste and design.

Glovebox changes mood board

Glovebox changes mood board

In addition, I am aiming to bring more traffic to the app during the times when motorists aren’t looking at their documents or booking their cars in for maintenance. As a friend and colleague pointed out, they need to be reminded to visit the app on a regular basis. Therefore Glovebox will have an exciting new social side to it, linked with the photographic side of the app which already exists. It will act as a mix of Instagram and Facebook – an online base to share all things cars, with the ability to like and share photos of your car, as well as learn new skills in how to take the best portrait of your own car. Ratings and reviews for local garages will also be introduced.

Thirdly, there will be the rewards and deals elements. Exclusive agreements with fuel companies (e.g Shell, BP, Morrisons) will entice drivers to fill up their vehicles at certain petrol stations, gaining rewards for money off fuel, MOTs and other maintenance, or even in-app purchases like new filters and themes for the app. It is hoped that these would ensure a constant stream of traffic to the app, so that Glovebox becomes the true essential app for today’s motorist that it aims to be.

It’s a very exciting time as I near the end of Glovebox’s design development, and I will soon be considering how I’ll be visualising the functions through motion; it is currently between stop motion animation, and doing something on Adobe AfterEffects.

Posted:
April 24, 2013
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Talking Point: Flat UI Design

Today, over at CreativeBloq, I stumbled across a design concept for Instagram, if it were to follow the escalating ‘Flat Design’ trend. I’m not entirely sure what to think.

First of all, I hear you asking, what exactly is Flat Design? It’s pretty much the opposite of what Apple does in their stock apps. You won’t find any super-detailed bookshelves, leather or fake paper in flat design. The trend arguably started with Windows Phone and Windows 8, and takes UI (user interface) design right back to basics. This means simple icons and flat colours, with little to no shading. I felt compelled to share my thoughts on this trend, so below are a few examples of flat design, with, in my opinion, varying levels of success.

livetiles

Windows 8

Above is an example of the acclaimed Windows 8 interface, which has totally changed the way PC users interact with their machines.  Many credit Windows 8 as being the UI that kicked off the flat design trend.

df49eb92eca5aec163f2b8d177cef2e7

Clockpixels

Blue Weather app

Blue Weather app

Music app

Music app

The above apps include functions for telling the time, reading the weather forecast and making music – and they all follow the flat UI design trend. The clock app is extremely simple and, to me, quite successful in its design; it does what it needs to do and tells the time. The weather app also successfully makes use of the flat design trend, even without much imagery, but I think the most successful in this instance is the last example – the music app. It still has a degree of personality to make it stand out in a market that could soon be full of apps inspired by Windows, thanks to the slightly worn-out gradient and retro monochrome buttons, coupled with a smattering of bright colours. It feels like more than just an app that is following a trend.

WhatsApp Flat Concept

WhatsApp Flat Concept

As I mentioned earlier, there has been an influx of flat design concepts of existing popular iPhone apps. Some have worked more effectively than others. For example, this redesign for WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging app, looks clean and attractive with a trendy rounded typeface, and slightly less messy than its current incarnation, which itself is very much inspired by Apple’s own Messages app – something that has barely changed in six years. Below you’ll also see how an iPhone running on iOS 6 would look if its interface was flat…

iPhone Flat UI Concept by Anton Kovalev

iPhone Flat UI Concept by Anton Kovalev

Part of me likes it, part of me isn’t so sure! However, one thing I am sure about is the flat concept for Instagram – I’m not convinced at all. Many people will prefer this clean look, but to me, it goes against Instagram’s retro nature and ends up looking quite cold and generic, as if Windows themselves had produced it. It definitely isn’t recognisable in the way that Instagram currently is – though this is probably more down to the fact that so many people are used to Instagram’s current format and design flavour. As many of us are aware, Facebook own Instagram, and the social networking giant today launched their new logo, which is once again flat. Only the very observant will notice the change, but there is now no shading, and the whole look fits more appropriately with Facebook’s latest collection of UI updates such as the new news feed and timeline features. With this in mind, maybe it won’t be long before Instagram decides to refresh their identity – I personally won’t be convinced if it ends up looking like this, though.

Instagram concept by Shadman Ahmed

Instagram concept by Shadman Ahmed

There are lots of nice examples of the flat design trend; popular new video clip sharing app Vine follows it, as does Timehop and a host of other apps. Some are more successful than others, naturally, but overall it seems like a fresh alternative to the trend set by Apple of imitating physical things. I don’t really favour one over the other, but I think that it is important that designers don’t follow this trend for the sake of it, or everything will end up looking the same – flat can still be developed and used effectively, but I don’t think it should be rolled out to everything at this stage. As I’ve mentioned, it works for Windows 8 and other design concepts have proven it to be a successful option, but I’m far less convinced that it works for apps like Instagram, especially with it looking like it has been created by Windows.

To read more on the Flat design trend, head over to Creative Bloq.

Posted:
April 17, 2013
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Behind the Scenes: The Magpie’s Nest

As part of our Design Management & Production module, we have had to come up with a business plan in our group of 4. You can see the previous stage in this blog post, but we have now moved forward and chosen and refined our design identity for our final idea – The Magpie’s Nest, Boutique Upcycling & Recycling.

We have carried out a lot of research into our target market and the products that we would produce and sell, if our business was to go live. The USP is that everything is either recycled or upcycled, with all of our materials being sourced locally with little to no financial outlay. Everything is then upcycled locally by us craftspeople into something trendy and unique for the home, including products for the office and living spaces.

Pinterest has been essential in providing us with inspiration, and we are hopeful that The Magpie’s Nest will have its own identity with products that are very obviously created by us. The business would initially start online, with the hope of eventually expanding into a pop-up shop or vintage van to move around Britain’s high streets, and eventually a permanent storefront in Chester.

We are really passionate about our idea and are currently refining out product range and business plan for final presentation in a couple of weeks.

The Magpie's Nest identity

The Magpie’s Nest identity

Posted:
April 10, 2013
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Behind the Scenes: Glovebox #2

I’m continuing to work on my Glovebox project, making changes to the design and layout in order for the app to be made more appealing to my target audience. Whereas previously I had been creating digital versions of the physical documents, I have now moved the design process forward and have begun designing specifically different documents to make use of the digital format, and also the opportunity to make the documents more engaging to read and look at.

I am also adding further functions to the app. ‘Stolen’ and ‘Rescue’ buttons allow the driver to file a report if their car is stolen, as well as send images of the car to the police from within the app, whilst tapping ‘Rescue’ will dial the user’s chosen breakdown service if they find themselves stranded. Elements of the app have also been redesigned and new possibilities have been explored, such as the ability for the user to customise the app’s colour scheme to match their own car.

Glovebox

You can also check out my work on Dribbble or follow me on Pinterest!

Posted:
April 3, 2013
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Quotes Poster Exhibition from Nice Swan Creative on Vimeo.

This is the film accompanying our recent Quotes Degree Show fundraiser, which you may have read about when I blogged about it last week. The film shows a bit of a behind-the-scenes taster; the exhibition being set up, the prints being hung, an insight into the day and also scenes from the opening night at Watergates Bar.

The video was filmed by Corey Riddiough, who is studying Film & TV at Liverpool Media Academy, with editing by Corey Riddiough and fellow student Kieran Riddiough of Nice Swan Creative.

I’m the guy in the yellow jacket who looks like he’s standing there like a lemon, in case you were wondering.

Quotes recently moved to a new temporary position in Handel’s Court Gallery on Northgate Street, Chester – you can catch the exhibition there for another few weeks.

Enjoy!

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