COLLABORATION
Vision board feedback
Instructor feedback - Instructor feedback for MDM 615 revolved around the vision board elements. The first issue brought to light is the use of primary colors. This color combination lacks sophistication and does not realize the excitement associated with hockey. The instructor recommended using the Adobe™ Color application to find unique color combinations. Next, the use of angles had positive and negative feedback. The angled lines and images give the impression of moving forward, emphasizing excitement. Conversely, the angled typography did not work, as it interferes with readability. The instructor suggested turning the alphabet and onlyness statement to match the angle of the rest of the typography. Another issue was the static imagery. It was recommended that images be found that echo the theme and reinforce the excitement and aggression of the sport. Additionally, it was suggested that finding a way to treat imagery in photoshop to give a consistent treatment of the photos that would create a cohesive connection across all elements.
Before
After
Acting on that advice, imagery that shows the speed of skating, the force of shooting a puck, and the aggression of the contact that occurs in hockey was gathered. Additionally, adding a large, silhouetted player with a serious expression solidified the voice of the brand. The color palette evolved during the logo creation process. The vision board changed over time and did not happen in a linear fashion, with the final version coinciding with the playbook completion.
Images replaced based on feedback
logo feedback
Instructor feedback - Instructor comments for week two gave valuable feedback. It was noted that each of the 6 logo designs shown has potential; however, some are better than others. Specifically, #1 and #4 were too complex which may affect how the logo functions at smaller sizes, as well as #4 would be obsolete before too long. Logo #2 needed more work and the full name of the team. The logo that was considered the strongest was #3. He suggested brainstorming words that relate to excitement in order to pull it together.
Discord: #Farsketched Feedback - Once the starburst logo was chosen, six versions were submitted to the #general page to get feedback. This is a group containing illustrators, graphic designers, textile artists and others. Number 5 was the most popular due to the color combination. Feedback from the illustrators and graphic designers stated that the logo was hard to read. As a result, thought was given to simplifying the logo, as well as revisiting the Adobe™ color page to look at complimentary color combinations that would increase contrast and draw the eye (Adobe, 2022).
Brand Asset feedback
Instructor feedback - The week one instructor feedback states that the vision board be updated to reflect the evolved design elements. The film strip behind the player should be removed and changed to reflect the rest of the brand. She also said that the logo design should be refined, the script font changed as it does not work with the logo, and the details of it refined. Echoing the striped pattern was suggested. Additionally, the full name should be present on all logos and that the production plan should be updated to reflect the changes. It is important to note that the logo evolved due to the Farsketched feedback and the mention of Dr. Kratz that it “would be nice” to see angles in the center space that radiated out from the O. At this point, the font Bungee was replaced with Quicksilver Oblique, the starburst was moved to the E and the angle suggested by Dr. Kratz was added in color, bisecting the entire team name. The E is negative space in the star. Colors were chosen based on the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada sign, and the complementary colors research done prior.
Instructor feedback - Week two instructor feedback revolves around the need to make the brand consistent across all elements. The color on the practice jersey showing on the web site prototype looks too green so she recommended changing it for consistency. Shape angles on the stationery should be fixed and made more consistent. The final point of her feedback is to change the copy to make it more legible. The suggestions were acted on as they agreed with the self-assessment done, and each component was adjusted to reflect the changes.
Sports-fan feedback - The jersey started out with a light blue and white color scheme. When shown to a friend that is an avid sports fan, he commented that the jersey looked too effeminate, and did not come across aggressively. Based on this feedback, the logo was revised to include three variations that can be used on different backgrounds. Research on different patterns, and jersey styles led to a design that is more aggressive with a rough edge that is echoed on the vision board.
X
Instructor feedback - The week three instructor feedback on the motion graphic was to change the footage to remove the watermark. Work on the granular effect on the logo to look like the snow from the hockey stop. The other components, such as the sound-branding for the motion graphic worked well and did not need correction, and the vision board was adjusted appropriately, and the additional swag was visually cohesive with the brand. Again, the instructor feedback agreed with self-feedback. The grain size was increased and another film clip, in the public domain, was found. The stop comes from the side instead of the front, which worked better.
Playbook feedback
Week 1
Self-assessment - The week one self-evaluation was consistent on not meeting expectation. This left much room for changes as the layout was barely started. The set-up used the example playbook as a template for the required pages, such as the table of contents.
Instructor feedback - Week one. Because there was not much done this week, the instructor feedback was vague, choosing, instead, to ask two questions, the first asking to consider cutting out the pictures so they are stand-alone as well as considering the contrast on the type. Fortunately, the imagery was already silhouetted and did not need any more work done. This led to sifting through typography on DaFont, utilizing the search engine to fine-tune by number of variants, and whether it is 100% free.
Week 2
Self-assessment - The self-feedback for week two states the book will be completed by the end of week three with no issues. much of the body copy is being written in MS Word so is not present and the swag is not inserted yet. There are some elements that will change but, for the most part, the book is shaping up.
Instructor feedback - For the week two instructor feedback there was much more completed. The basic page layout was done as well as many of the assets placed. Care was taken to keep the two recommendations in mind, making sure that the imagery was not squished or distorted and that the two-page spreads gutter did not cut through heads or other important page components. Fortunately, previous experience with magazine layout ensured that this would not be an issue.
Week 3
Self-evaluation - At this point, week three, the playbook has been completed. The main part of the self-evaluation revolved around typography. It became apparent that a different font family would need to be chosen (Cousins, 2016; Furze, 2022). Through an extensive search, a font family was found that had a wide range of flexibility. Several different fonts were tried; Clemente P and Walkway being two of them. The main issue for both was the lack of an extra-bold or Black Typeface, and not having a condensed font. The letter shapes were too delicate and fine which interfered with readability depending on the use, such as with social media (Poulin, 2017).
peer review
Peer review - The peer review was positive overall, with “needs improvement” for Alignment, whitespace, and master page alignment. However, there was no evidence supplied to substantiate the need to change anything. Furthermore, there may be a lack of understanding of white space on the part of the reviewer as there was adequate clear space around the elements on each page. Alignment for each page was consistent, so no changes were made. Finally, the master page elements are the same on each page as they are master page elements. Colors were changed for readability.
references
Adobe. (2022). Adobe color. Retrieved from Adobe: https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel
Cousins, C. (2016). How to critique your own work as a freelance designer. Retrieved from Design Shack: https://designshack.net/articles/freelancing/how-to-critique-your-own-work-as-a-freelance-designer/
Furze, L. (2022). 5 useful questions for self-critiquing design work for your business. Retrieved from Lisa Furze: https://lisafurze.com/blog/self-critiquing-your-biz-designs/
Poulin, R. (2017). Section 6: Typography in practice. In R. Poulin, Design School:Type. Rockport Publishing. Retrieved from Design School:Type: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/design-school-type/9781631594397/xhtml/ch06.xhtml
Wix. (2022). Logo colors cheat sheet and tips to choose your own. Retrieved from Wix Blog: https://www.wix.com/blog/2021/06/logo-colors/