OUGD505 PRODUCT, RANGE & DISTRIBUTION SECONDARY RESEARCH

• Pols suggest 31% of people in the UK do not trust the police
• Lowest police trust rate was 58% in 2005 
• These figures have rarely changed in the last 35 years
• New figures reveal that more than 12 British Transport Police officers a week are being assaulted, with many suffering serious injuries
• The new figures show that in the three years to October 2018 there were 1,939 reported assaults against BTP officers, resulting in more than 230 injuries
• According to the latest available figures there were 24,000 assaults on officers serving with the country’s other forces in 2016/17, with 8,973 resulting in injury
• A police officer in the UK gets attacked every 20 minutes
• 53% of police time in the UK is wasted on alcohol related incidents
• Police officers only earn between £19,000 - £23,000
• The police force are in strong support with the LGBT community, attending events and also in hiring officers with no discrimination
• Officers have been trained in suicide prevention to aid those who feel vulnerable
• West Yorkshire Police logged 19,519 calls containing the word suicide in 2016
• This is a link to a Durham constabulary police recruitment video, showing you what it's really like to be a police officer with no media portrayal and real footage of the job          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTuVLPPvCMQ&fbclid=IwAR23DvMQKCxyK4oppNVtdQqZL-HvPpTwdqdzkxdMADl7zhdIk9KKC50L7ec&app=desktop
• The media portrays the police in a negative light quite often and twists the truth, this image is an example of positive media portrayal towards the police

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OUGD505 MAPPING

This project will require me to create a map in any form, shape or size that will translate some kind of journey throughout Leeds. This does not have to be a literal map it could be quite abstract to create some form of contemporary piece. It could be on a flag, book, website, sticker etc. Here are a few of the ideas that I thought of to get starting with the brief.

One idea was to utilise snapchat maps as a tool to find out where a certain type of stereotype like to go and how to avoid them. For instance, I'd see where all the 'Spicers' hand around in Leeds, so places like pryzm and space and use the images they have taken from these places to my advantage. I could alter them or print them in darker tones to represent their cruel intentions. When placed on a map you'd easily be able to avoid them at all times. This could also be applied to people with clipboards and the homeless.

Another idea I had was to recreate an old AA motorway map to represent a city sized publication. It would use the same key as a motorway map but place everything on a smaller scale. This could confuse people but perhaps that would be the message I'm after.

Another brief idea I had was to mark out all the bus routes that I take and screen print them every time I take them, representing the journey each day piling on top of each other. I feel like this would translate quite an abstract image which could be placed on either a flag, poster or maybe cut out of vinyl and placed on a window.

OUGD505 PRODUCT, RANGE & DISTRIBUTION QUESTIONS

What are you interested in?

• Print
• Physical design
• Publication
• Editorial
• Music
• New cultures
• Food
• Cheese
• Socks
• DIY
• Zines
• Poster design

What do you want to research?

• Something I care about
• Recycling
• Something no one knows about
• Hidden things
• Secrets
• Nothing boring!

What do you want to say?

• To inform
• To give an insight into something new
• To educate others
• Express something unknown

What kind of designer do you want to be?

• Positive 
• Insightful
• Editorial
• Sharing
• Collaborative
• Understanding 

After reviewing all of my questions and answers, I began to refine my thoughts to a more concentrate research topic for studio brief 2. When thinking of less serious topics to base my research on I came up with a few ideas. The first one was to express my distaste for the loud trousered southerners or (LTS for short) which is a stereotype I have invented involving girls talking loudly about how amazing their nights were and letting everyone around them know. This is just a daily problem I have to encounter at the university. Another topic that I find interesting is gap between design for print and design for screen and how much a job in each one would pay. I'd like to compare these two things and also the enjoyment that designers get out of each one. This has been slightly inspired by my Cop brief. 

Some of the more serious topics that I had come to mind were a few things that I had previously researched, heard or learnt about in the past. One serious topic I am interested by is the song meaning behind the Dead Kennedys, Holiday in Cambodia. This is a song about an evil dictator in Cambodia, Pol Pot and his reign of terror which caused millions of innocent people to die. Another serious topic I have been made aware of is the terrible Armenian genocide or holocaust which some people seem to believe is fake and deny it ever happened. On the other hand, a lot of Armenian people fight for its awareness to inform the world on its happening. People have done this through music and political debates. Another topic I might like to research is how recycling is handled in other countries. I find this interesting because I have lived in a few different cities and countries and have noticed how they handle recycling. They seem to think in some countries that everything can be recycled and produce more recycled waste then actual waste and then visa versa in other places. This is something I already know a bit about so researching this further wouldn't be a chore it could be quite enjoyable. My final idea is to explore the life of an English police officer as I believe modern media has effected a lot of uneducated peoples minds into believing that they're against them when really they're not. I feel like this could be taken quite far to the work they do, who they help and they're out of hours lives. In reflection of this I also stumbled upon the idea of toxic masculinity and how it effects a lot of mens lives, especially in the UK. This could possibly tie in with the police officer idea of be a separate one.

OUGD505 BRIEFING

During the briefing today I was thoroughly informed upon both studio briefs and what was expected of me in the upcoming months. I began to understand the briefs after the presentation in a simpler format, generating a refined idea of what I had to do.

SB1 Mapping:

This brief will involve me creating a map of any shape or form. This can be as abstract as possible or as simplified as I like. I can use and form of media to conduct this project however, it has been stated that I must experiment with screen printing even if it does not go towards my hand in. I should ask these questions to myself, what journey would I like to map and how would I like to do that? This could be something as simple as mapping out my morning routine using photography or something more abstract like getting a tree to paint the wind direction of a certain part of Leeds. Now I'd have to select something that I'd like to map and begin my research. The work created here will be a part of a joint level 4 and 5 exhibition as colours may vary.

SB2 Product, Range & Distribution:

This project was the larger of the two, which would involve a heavy amount of research into a topic of my choice. It would have to be something that I was passionate about as this would reflect the amount of time and effort I'd put into the project. Basically, I would think of a social, ethical or political problem that I cared about and tried to almost come up with a solution or perhaps gain an awareness for that issue. The issue that I selected could be light hearted and addressed with humour or a serious issue which I could believe needs more attention. This is entirely up to me and the media and format that I translate my ideas with is completely in my hands.

OUGD503 END OF MODULE EVALUATION

Overall I believe I've responded to the briefs to my full potential and completed each of the grade boundaries with as much attention to detail as possible, given the fact there was a large work load. I felt like the most important thing I have learnt during this module was about time management. Being able to spend an equal amount of time on each brief was important so that each outcome reached its full potential and aesthetic excellence. To improve these skills I'd write a list for the week with objectives to fill so that by then end of the week I'd have a complete live brief whilst also managing to fit some time for my larger collaborative brief, so that it didn't get lost at the back of my mind. Having this routine every week helped me organise what work to do and also motivated me complete the work before I started to become disinterested. I gained a sense of achievement every day and this helped with my work flow. These time management skills will be very useful for the future and I reckon I'll keep this routine and use it within every project from now on.

Another thing I learnt a lot about was batch printing, dealing with suppliers and collaborating with a designer of a different practice. Through the process of batch printing our zine, we collected many quotes from different printing companies and this exchange taught me about sustainable printing and how expensive it is to use things like recycled paper and rubber plates within the litho printing process. Now I'm aware of the different companies and what they have to offer, I can continue this batch printing process in other projects and perhaps personal ones also. Thanks to my collaborators connections, we have managed to get our zines sold at the village book store soon, aiding us in getting our names out there in the industry a little. 

If I were to complete this brief again I might have done a few things differently. The main thing I reckon I would have done would be to create a physical version of the t-shirt brief and book cover one also. I feel like a digital mock up doesn't really do the work any justice, specifically for the t-shirt brief. I don't know what the outcome will exactly look like in a physical form, for all I know it could be rubbish. Next time I will experiment with screen printing my own shirt for the hand in, just to see how those exact colour react on a physical format. This would obviously take more time but it might have been needed in this case. 

OUGD503 FINDERS KEEPERS QUOTES

Mike has sourced out several printing companies that will be willing to print our zine. We compared all the different quotes from each ones to help us figure out which one was the best for us. Mike send the same information to each supplier, which was 50 copies of 3 different zines totalling in 150 prints, full colour on A5, saddle stitch/staple bound (unfortunately these businesses did not offer pamphlet stitch) and printed on uncoated paper stock. These were the figures from each printer. Footprint-£328,

Printed-£234.51, Evolution print-£367, Mixam-£183. Alongside this, Mike has also been applying for university funding for the printing costs as he has confirmation that we can sell them at the Village book shop. After some discussion I believe we will either choose one of two cheaper options, given the fact the university only offer a maximum of £250.