Recipe Card Evaluation Patrick Gouldsbrough

1Creative Media Production 2013

Producing Print Based Media

2

Visual LanguageHow have you chosen to set out your designs and why? (Reference layout, image/text ratio, busy/simplistic etc)

At the start of the project, I wanted a clear and concise layout, which could be easily read by the audience. As I progressed to Task 5 of the project (questionnaires) it became apparent that a clear layout was paramount in achieving success in this project.

However, as production drew nearer, the brief stated that the ingredients and method must be on one page. This meant that the second page (bottom) would be the busy side of the recipe card, while, in contrast, the front of the card would be simplistic and well spaced out, with few objects added.

In terms of images/text ratio, on the front of the card, the images outweigh the text. This is due to the purpose been different on either side of the card. On the front, the purpose is to entice the audience to view the card, where as the back of the card, where the text outweighs the images, the purpose is to inform the consumer about the recipe.

The layout of the text of this existing product is relatively similar, with it been divided into left and right, instead of been on top of each other. However, it is constructed differently in terms of imagery. The designer of this card has decided not to have a big image, but, instead, gone for a small image, with text overlapping it.

I believe this feature makes it look crowded and busy, not clear and concise like my layout. On the other hand, this recipe card is a one page layout and doesn’t have two sides, which means all the information and imagery have to be on one side, so can understand why the designer has not gone for a full page image and the text overlapping.

Text definitely outweighs the imagery on this recipe card, but it doesn’t look boring and bland, due to the sunny/summery colours used on this particular recipe card. As previously mentioned, I do think the text should fit round the image, not overlap it, like it does here.

Visual LanguageDiscuss the contents of your final images and reflect upon decisions made. (Content used- image/text/graphic, use of colour, original or stock images. Compare to existing products.)

This image is an original image that we captured for our project. The dish and the surrounding table don’t have much colour, so decided that some additional colour could be added in the form of the background. The blues and purples of the flowers, along with the Red of the wine, add to the overall striking nature of the image ad help it stand out on the recipe card. The only thing I would change is the aperture setting. Blurring out the background would have added to the effectiveness, while the colour element would have been maintained.

This image wasn’t used by us in the project and is an example of a piece of stock food photography. Colour isn’t a problem in this image, with bright Greens, Reds and Yellows featured heavily throughout the image. A feature which isn’t featured in my photography is the use of aperture. As stated on the left image, this is one feature I would add, should I repeat the photography again. One aspect I would have changed on the image is the spill of tomato out of the food. While I believe food photography should e captured in it’s natural form, this tomato make the image look messy and therefore lets the image down.

This image is taken from a different angle, compared to image one, however, the colour on the plate means that the background can afford to be restrained. The colours used in this photograph connotes Italy, with the Red of the tomatoes, White of the plate and Green of the napkin, which is an effective use of photography to accompany the main body of text. This image looks professional, but it was however an original photograph taken within the project.

The photographer of this image has used similar techniques to the first original image, he has realised that the dish doesn’t have much colour, so must try and add some colour using other sources. This particular photographer has found colour in the form of a napkin, which works very well because it does grab your attention, it’s intended purpose. This sourced image also uses aperture, like the first sourced image, to try and make the overall image more effective. The way in which the image is cropped is one of the most important amended features to this photograph. It’s cropped so the napkin just fits in the frame, any additional white space would have been unnecessary. Which the photographer has seen on this occasion.

Visual LanguageDiscuss the semiotics and connotations created from the content you have included. (What meaning or suggestions are created from the images/colours/designs you have used? You could reference how they were used in products you looked at during the project.)

The image that we used in the final bruschetta card was captured in this way because it features the colours of the Italian flag, the country in which our dishes originated. This feature conveys, subconsciously to the audience, that this dish is Italian, without looking at the dish title or the branding strip at the bottom.

As well as the image connotations, the branding strip conveys the same connotation. The Italian flag is used to show that this dish is Italian, without having to think about it.

The simple font (Arial) communicates to the audience that the cards are meant to be simple, yet effective, and easy to read. Arial, one of the simpler fonts available for layouts, was our choice because letters can’t be mistaken for others, therefore it’s a clear choice for the card.

On the back, there aren’t too many connotations. However, the one image that is on the back, connotes the Italian theme again. As one of the most famous Italian landmarks, the coliseum helps the consumer identify with the card, even before they’ve read it.

The font of the main body (Baskerville old face) is slightly stylised, but is also clear to read. The reason it is this way is because the flicks and curves of the font connote Italy and Italian fonts.

The snowflake shape on this recipe card connotes Christmas and the Christmas holidays. This helps to convey to the audience about the Cookies. The Christmas holidays, amongst other times, is a popular time to make and eat the cookies.

Borders can be used to make the recipe card look effective and well made. It can do this by been striking or could frame the overall product. However, as well as doing those things, the border of this recipe card uses something else, symbolic codes. The check colouring of the border connotes a home-made/homely feel to the overall recipe card, which then suggests something about the cookies. Due to the snowflake already connoting the Christmas holidays, the border suggests that these cookies should be made as a family and also eaten as a family.

The background, which is almost a textured looking feature, can be used to suggest something about the recipe, instead of any theme or time of year. The textured background symbolises the cookie by looking like a cookie. This therefore means that the consumer can look at the background and subconsciously have cookies in their head, before reading bout the recipe, or indeed, looking at the photograph.

The fonts, along with the weathered look of the background, and the home-made looking border, suggest a traditional approach has been taken. In particular, the weathered finish of the background suggests this recipe has been used and passed down from generation to generation, thus the weathered feel of the recipe card.

AudiencesCreate an audience profile of your chosen demographic(Age, gender, psychographic, geodemographic, NRS Social Grade, hobbies, sexuality [if appropriate] etc)

Age – I think the more experimental nature of this card, with the cut-up bits to the right, along with the relatively bright branding strip, reduces the age of the demographic. Due to the previously mentioned techniques, I believe the intended audience for this product is 15-25.

Psychographics – I think my product is quite cutting edge and new, with not many cards looking like this one. Even though I have emulated the techniques from other cards, I have taken quite ordinary ideas from cards and put them together to create an original, new and creative product. For this reason, I believe my product fits into the Explorers category of Psychographics. In accordance with the age bracket I recommended for the card, a younger audience is more likely to also fit into an explorer category, due to their seeking of discovery, which my product provides, due to been an original, cutting edge design.

Gender – At the start of the project, I didn’t want to make a gender specific product. After making different variations of the card, some gender specific, some not, I decided that it could still have relatively bright colours and be mass market. After establishing a style, I selected colours which I believe don’t look too gender biased, and which I believe work for this card.

Socio-economic status and Geodemographics – The colour or layout doesn’t particularly target a particular social class. However, the overall idea of recipe cards in the first place does. The ABC1 demographic have money to spend on luxuries (ie.recipe cards), where as the C2DE bracket don’t. Due to the relatively bright and vibrant colours, I would say this card is targeting someone living in a city location, compared to someone living in the country. Someone living in a rural area, like the countryside, would be looking for more organic and restrained colours, rather than bright and noisy colours (without making assumptions or generalisations).

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Age – The restrained colouring choice of the overall layout increases the target audience, with the simplistic layout also adding years to the age bracket of the target demographic. The photographers decision to add no colour to the image using props and other sources, suggests that the media producer intended this product to be for an older audience. If I had to choose a specific age demographic for this product, I would pick a 30-35 target bracket.

Gender – The colours, which aren’t very gender specific, don’t suggest a single gender is been targeted by this card. With the clear layout and the stylised font, it can’t be said that these features lean more toward one gender, compared to the other. Instead, I believe this product is a mass market card, in terms of gender.

Psychographics – No one group is the targeted demographic in terms of psychographics for this card. Instead, a mix of reformer and resigned are the target groups for this card, in my opinion. Reformers rely on independent judgment to the product, as well as looking for a freedom of restrictions, which this card offers. The group of reformers is also massively anti-materialistic, but knows good taste, which this card offers, through the sytlised font and the professional layout of the card. In comparison, the resigned group believe in traditions and are looking for continuity of this tradition. Due to the conventional nature of this card, I believe this group is perfectly suited to the layout and design of this card.

Socio-economic status and Geodemographic – like I mentioned on the previous slide, the actual idea of recipe cards is a very ABC1 demographic idea, due to the disposable income of this group. However, due to the professional looking photography, the sytlised font and the clear layout, this specific card would appeal to the ABC1 demographic, even if it were a flyer, not a recipe card, due to the layout/design. As for Geodemographics, this card doesn’t have the bright colours of my final product, but instead, has restrained, homely colours. For this reason, and without a generalisation, I think someone in the countryside would be enticed, compared to someone who lived in an urban area, who looks for more bright and vibrant colours, while they also look for simple font, instead of a stylised font.

AudiencesHow have you constructed your work to appeal to this audience? Include an annotated copy of an example of your work to help illustrate how you have done this.

The brighter colours on the card help to entice a younger audience to the card. However the image, which is colourful, but restrained at the same time, helps to maintain a mass market feel to the card. The shape of the branding strip is quite creative and is an informal technique, so will reduce the audience age demographic considerably. An older consumer maybe wouldn’t look for something like that in a recipe card, but instead look for a professional finish, which the overall layout delivers. Overall then, I believe the mass market card construction is achieved, but a younger audience maybe more inclined to pick it up/buy it.

Task 5 (survey) showed that the majority of people looked for a clear and concise layout when buying/pick up recipe cards. This analysis then helped me to construct a clear layout that will be liked by the consumer and therefore will make it a successful project. For a start, the Arial font was the clearest font I could find, so I decided to use this font for my title. Another feature that helped to make the layout clear and concise, was the border around the picture. While it looks like it’s adding more layers and making it more busy, it’s actually splitting up the page and making it look less in the overall look.

The stylised font of the recipe card suggests an older audience, with an ABC1 demographic as the target audience. Even though people want a clear font, others are looking for something more professional. It is, after all, about personal preference to the card, but from the survey, these demographics would be appealed to more, should the card incorporate a stylised font in a sensible colour

The restrained, yet effective border, suggests that a gender neutral audience is been targeted, with the designer coming to this colour, due to the profits available been higher, should it be a gender neutral product, compared with a gender specific one. However, if the producer would have gone for a complete mass market product, they would have had to compromise and try and please the majority of people, because you can never please absolutely everyone, in terms of design.

Cultural contextWhat did you use as your design influences and why were they chosen?(What existing media products influenced the final look of your work?)

Our final set of cards was massively dictated by the construction of these cards. Features such as the big image, the small cut-out pictures and the branding strip are features that I have emulated into my work, which, I believe, made it a success.

In this example though, the big picture is not stretched or badly taken, but the way it’s been positioned on the screen, cuts a bit of the image off on the right. For this reason, I would centralise the big image, like our final card.

As for the branding strip, we emulated that exact wave design to our own design because we liked the technique. However, the colours on this card were too restrained. Instead, we brightened the colours up, but not too much, due to a mass market audience still been targeted.

The little images on the side of the page were another good feature that we emulated, but altered to fit the construction o0f our card. While we cut pieces of the big image, we didn’t use close up’s, instead, just pieces of the big image. The reduced opacity on this version however, wasn’t a feature I wanted to emulate on my card, due to it looking too faint on my card when applied.

This layout doesn’t replicate my recipe card, but it does however, incorporate some of the features I have tried to emulate within my recipe card.

Before I Iooked at this product, I had no intentions to put a big branding strip on my recipe card. Despite the brief stating that a branding strip must be included, I was adamant that I was just going to add a thin strip at the bottom. However, this recipe card showed me that you could have a big branding strip, while not compromising any quality or effectiveness in the process.

This recipe card, along with others, highlights the effects of a simple font. This recipe card is easily readable and doesn't use any stylised fonts, which can sometimes, despite looking effective, lose effectiveness on the actual product, through difficulty of reading the initial font. Before I came across this recipe card, I had a stylised font included on my card (Brush Script), however, soon realised that a clear font was paramount to success on this project.

Full page images have become the conventional technique for recipe cards, like on this card. Using the image as the background, with text been arranged on top of it, is a good technique of using available space. Some cards choose to have a small image in the corner, with their text been the main focus, but this card doesn’t look like it’s trying to entice the audience, instead, trying to inform the audience. I didn’t want my card to do this, I wanted to grab peoples attention and make sure I sold the card, which was my project goal. The opacity on the main image loses a bit of the effectiveness, but it needed to be done to allow the text to be seen. I’ve used this technique on the back of the card, with the landmark image having it’s opacity turned down, but on the front, where the food is, the opacity is turned onto full, to try and capitalise on maximum effectiveness.

Cultural contextDo vegetarian products have a specific design aesthetic and how does your project reflect/contrast this? Why?

Creative piece -The creative qualities of vegetarian products is very evidently there. With the ingredients arranged in an image at the bottom, and a big image with the text arranged creatively, this is the consistent level of creativeness on the large majority of vegetarian products.

Bold headings are another technique that features in vegetarian products. This helps the title stand out and draw in the consumer. However, this feature is found in non-vegetarian products as well, due to the purpose of the products is to try and inform and persuade the audience.

A big image is conventionally used to try and draw the audience in and draw their attentions toward the product. Like the bold heading though, this feature is normally used in all products, not just vegetarian products.

A branding strip is used to tell the consumer where the product came from, in terms of company. This feature is also used because it breaks up the text and images, which is why this feature is normally the same colour as the title, font, or title box.

Creative piece - The main creative piece of my recipe card is the shape of the branding strip and the rotoscoped edge of the image. The wave effect of the shape, which was done using a polygonal lasso tool to rotoscope it, required the image to be changed also, so that it would interlock with the branding strip. This feature was also done using the rotoscope skill, with it then been transformed and shrunk to allow the border around the image to be created afterwards.

The branding strip, however, isn’t just there to be a creative hub for the overall piece, it also fulfills another purpose. Like the existing product on the previous page, it helps tell the consumer where the product is from. Due to me making the card of the vegetarian society, my logo could not go on the card, so I added the logo of the client I was working for. In my case, though, my branding strip has a third purpose, It holds the title within it. If it wasn’t on the branding strip, it would have to be on the main image, which would then take some quality away from the overall image, so I decided to add it to the branding strip on my final piece.

This font may not stand out as much as the one on the previous page, but it fulfills it’s purpose of been seen and been a prominent feature of my recipe card. Put a the bottom of the page, I was worried it wouldn’t be seen, but due to it been one of the only black coloured items on the page, it stands out from the rest of the features.

Finished productsDoes your finished product reflect your initial plans? How? If there are any differences, describe why changes were made.(You can use visual examples of flat plans and finished products to illustrate this

Flat planFinal cards

On my flat plan, I decided that white is a neutral colour, so would be the best colour to choose for a mass market recipe card. The individual boxes would help split up the text and prevent the card from looking busy and crowded. In terms of the images, two images of the food would be added and it would perfectly illustrate the food that accompanied the main body.

However, when I read the brief, as a start, the ingredients and method had to be on the same side, there was nothing included on the card that would connote Italy, apart from the text, and the boxes just looked unprofessional and cluttered, instead of the ordered layout I wanted.

As the project progressed, I realised that you didn’t need the colouring to be bland and restrained to be mass market. The Italian flag was selected to make the audience identify the card as Italian, without reading the main body of text.

When further researching existing products (aside from Task 3) I realised that most successful recipe cards had a large image, which would be the central focus when enticing consumers in. I then captured my photos and added them in, before chopping various pieces of the image up and arranging them on the side of the recipe card.

However, I did make a clear and concise card in the end, which I wanted, I did capture the images myself and I did make the card look professional. All these features were identified as a must when constructing my card.

Finished productsDoes your finished product match what you were set in the brief? How?

I put the ingredients and method on the back and image and title on the back, like stated. It also stated that a branding strip must be included, but didn’t state where, so I put it on the front of the card, the side which I had most room on.

I believe my design fulfills both the interesting and creative criteria's. How the branding strip has turned into an Italian flag is one of the most creative features of the card. Even though the idea was emulated from another design, I think the alterations really make it stand out and make it fit in on this particular card.

The clear Italian theme is evident throughout the set of cards, with the branding strip ensuring this connotation. Obviously the Italian theme denotes the Italian food also. All the ingredients that were used in the production of these recipe cards fitted in with a vegetarian diet, while 2 of our recipes are vegan suited too. Taken your own images wasn’t compulsory, but we decided to make the food and capture it, due to legal copyright issues of sourcing imagery.

Included on our card, preparation times, cooking time and number it serves (right), as stated in the brief. We decided not to include vegan suitability, due to it been a given that these dishes were vegan. However, if I repeated the project, I may consider adding it onto the card.

All these requirements for the cards were met. A few of them were difficult to fit into the card, but were eventually solved and amended accordingly. The listing of ingredients on new lines was the toughest of all to complete. To fit them all on a new line, I had to scale the text down to 8 on some of them, 4Pts lower than the method font size.

Finished productsHow did the use of peer feedback help you in your production?(Reference specific examples and their final outcome in finished product)

This piece of peer feedback was the turning point in the overall project. Before this point, we were aiming to make a very gender specific, simplistic design that would be a very mainstream recipe card. However, after idea 1, I wanted the recipe card to be a very creative, mass market card. I formulated this idea, mainly because of the funding option I had taken. A self-financed project needs to aim at a mainstream, mass market audience to make a larger profit (or any profit at all). I thought this idea may be good, and one of the best ones I had. After reviewing all five of my designs, along with five of my partners designs, we decided that this idea would be the most feasible (and potentially, profitable). When it came to disadvantages of the idea, my peers decided that the silhouette shapes may be too difficult to make, especially with the time we have. However, this idea had the least disadvantages about it, so we decided to take this idea forward to production, which I don’t regret doing. Even though amendments have been made (the landmarks weren’t the shape, but the silhouette in the background instead) this idea hasn’t changed too much.

As well as the last piece of peer feedback, this development piece ruled out his idea, an idea which I initially liked, and would have taken to the final two designs. However, after receiving peer feedback on the idea, it was clear to see that this card would have been problematic, from start to finish. This piece of feedback showed me that even if I thought it was a good idea, my peers may not think it’s such a good idea, which I’m glad about, due to the success of the cards been reduced, had I selected this card as my final. Along with the survey on Task 5, this feedback section showed that a clear layout was paramount to success on this project, which we altered on our first design when the amendment stage came. The font issue was also spotted by my partner. On our first couple of test cards, we went for an Italian font (Brush Script), but when it came to the final card, we selected a simple font, Arial, which proved to be a clear and easy to read font.

Finished productDiscuss the strengths and weaknesses of your final product regarding its technical qualities.Use box below for text or page space to include an annotated copy of your work to help illustrate how you have done this.Reference what you like and dislike about the work with consistent reference to correct terminology of tools/effects used. Reference existing products.

Dislike – While the border helps differentiate certain parts of the card from others, I believe the border around the image should be scrapped, with the image stretching to fill the space from the top to the bottom. If I repeated this project, I would certainly change this technique. I would do this by using the transform tool, before dragging the image to fit the available space.

Like – The shape of the branding strip. It seems to curve across the bottom of the page, while allowing the image to fit into it also. This feature was added using the Polygonal Lasso Tool, which helped add the shape by using the ‘layer via copy’ option. Like I stated previously, this wasn’t created by scratch, instead, it was emulated from another existing product, but amended to make it my own.

Like – The cut outs of the various angles of the food was a technique which I really liked. This was created by selecting the portion of the image I wanted, before selecting the Rectangular Marquee and layering via copy to it’s own layer. After this, I could place the cut-out anywhere on the screen. When I had repeated this process three times, I had my cut-outs, which I chose to place in a section of white space on the right hand side of the card.

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Dislike – Due to some of the ingredients not fitting on one line, a feature which must be included in your recipe card, according to the Vegetarian society, I had to shrink the ingredients down. I don’t like this feature because it is evident what has happened because it’s clear when compared to the method. I did try and amend this technique, but it led to additional, unwanted white space on my recipe card, which I decided looked worse than some squashed text. If I repeated the project, I would try and find a better way of laying out the text.

Like – The way this piece of picture has been selected using rectangular marquee tool and been cut from the small section at the bottom. If I could fault it in any way however, it would be that it could be dragged up a bit, due to there been additional white space below the ingredients. On the other hand though, the shape is equal on both sides, which it wouldn’t be, should it be amended.

Like – Linking to the past rectangular marquee select, the small, full opacity piece at the bottom corner has been split from the larger image. Like mentioned previously, the rectangle in the corner is of equal proportions and doesn’t look stretched, which adds to the effectiveness of the card. However, the same cannot be said for some of the other seven within the final set. If I re-did the set, I would change this feature, which is such a simple thing to change, with a big gain in quality been made. The image in the bottom right of the page is the best example of showing this slight miscalculation of proportions (one card which I would change, if I got the chance to repeat the project).

Like – The way the image has been added to a rectangular shape, before been added to the recipe card using a rectangular marquee tool. The way in which this was probably done was: The image layer was probably selected using the Rectangular Marquee tool, before been cropped down, added to the white rectangle, before been added to the recipe card using the transform option.

Like – The stroke and drop shadow techniques are used on this technique. Firstly, the box would have needed altering, colour wise. The next stage is to add a stroke around the side, which will make it stand out. The last stage involves adding a drop shadow, which can be seen on the bottom of the box (The black shadow under the box). This works for this recipe card, but wouldn't work for a recipe card like mine, due to the features already added, clashing with this feature.

Dislike – This technique is subtle, yet very effective, despite me disliking it. The technique in question is gradient levelling, a technique which lets you adjust the levels of a colour, using bits of a gradients. Doing this involves choosing a pattern (in this case, a slight diagonal stripe) and then adding this pattern to the edges or corners of backgrounds for a subtle colour change. This effect works on this card, due to the light blue, contrasting with the Black very well. However, my card wouldn’t have looked effective, because the red, white and green of the branding strip covering two of the corners and preventing a gradient levelling from happening.

Finished productDiscuss the strengths and weaknesses of your final product regarding its aesthetical qualities.Use box below for text or page space to include an annotated copy of your work to help illustrate how you have done this. Reference what you like and dislike about the work with consistent reference to correct terminology. You can reference existing products here and compare your work to them.

Dislike – This piece of white space on the branding strip is a feature which I dislike, due to the inconsistency of the layout. The previous two boxes are filled with either text of logos, so I believe that something else should be added in this box, which would make the overall card look more aesthetically pleasing. Cooking time, Preparation time and how many persons it serves could be a feature which could be added to the card, if repeated. In previous versions they were included on the branding strip, but that was when the branding strip was rectangular, not a wave effect (like shown on the image in the right hand corner).

Like – The way the colour of the branding strip match those of the image. The bright imagery connotes Italy, due to the Red, White and Green featured on the initial photograph. However, I didn’t want the connotations to end there, with the branding strip coloured the same, which will subconsciously tell the audience what theme the dishes are, without them having to read any titles or recipes.

Like – The clear font that has been used, Arial. Before I added this font, I had a stylised, Italian font (Brush Script), which I felt was a nice font, but wasn’t clear. A clear and concise layout was one of the main features the audience looked for, according to the survey in Task 5, which I have taken into consideration when producing my final set of cards.

Dislike – The way in which the font on the back of the card varies from the one on the front. The Arial font on the front is very simple and clear, which can also be said for this font (Baskerville Old Face). However, even though it’s clear, I feel a consistent fort should be used throughout. On the other hand, a variation is sometimes good and doesn’t make the product look boring. For this reason then, I would keep the cards the same, but at least consider changing the text by looking at other possibilities.

Like – The variation in opacities on the larger image and the smaller image. If the small section at the bottom left wasn’t at normal opacity, I believe it would be too much white space to look effective and creative. This technique helps split up the method and ingredients up, while allowing the text to be seen, which it wouldn’t be if the opacity was turned up to 100% all over.

Dislike – The layout of the text isn’t as aesthetically sound as it could be. I believe that if the method section was dragged up a little bit, the text wouldn’t be squashed at the bottom, while the section would be levelled with the ingredients section, therefore, making the overall proportions of the card look effective instead of been out of proportion.

Dislike – The range of colours this recipe card uses is overpowering. With recipe cards, and any other media product, there is a fine line between standing out and looking too bright and overbearing, which this card crosses. One of the colours featured on the card would have been fine for a main colour, but when you start mixing bright colours, it doesn’t work too well. I especially dislike the different shades of yellow that differentiate the left portion of the card from the border. Having them the same colour would have worked just as well ,while toning down the card at the same time.

Like – The boldness of the ingredients which are made by the company, which helps identify what can be easily acquired. This feature looks good for this recipe, but for other recipe cards, like mine, which are made by media companies, won’t make foodstuffs, and this technique will be ranked obsolete.

Dislike- The way in which the numbers of the method aren’t bold, but instead, blend in with the rest of the text. On my recipe card, the step numbers are highlighted bold to differentiate between them and the text, but this card doesn’t seem to have this feature. I believe it would work how it is now, if the colour of the background wasn’t bright turquoise. The effectiveness is compromised when left like this, a feature that may need to be reviewed, should the producer work on it again.

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Like – The font choice for this recipe card. Even though my card was required to be clear and easy to read, due to my survey feedback, I believe it works well on this card, contrasting with the background colour very well. The font is also used for the headings before the method and ingredients, which helps differentiate between the main body of text and headings. Sometimes, even if the headings are bold, the titles and the main text get mixed up, but this one doesn’t because the font varies.

Dislike – The photography piece has been taken well, with the compositions been of professional quality. However, the way in which the image is cropped and then framed makes it look unprofessional. I understand that the producer wanted to give it a professional, creative looking border, but because the frame stretched over the corner of two of the other buns, it makes it look of poor quality. This would be an easy technique to change, with the effect of the change been monumental in the overall effectiveness of the recipe card.

Dislike – The cut-out shape that has been used to hold the company name. Instead of a branding strip, this company have decided to create a cut-out, which is creative and well made, however, the colour of the cut-out clashes with the rest of the card. The colours themselves aren’t too dissimilar, but the colour of the cut-out doesn’t match any other colours on the recipe card. If the border or s9ome of the text was the same colour, I believe the cut-out would fit in well, but unfortunately, I see it as a creative, promising technique, with one thing letting it down.

Finished productsWhat skills/knowledge have you gained/developed in this project? How could these be applied in future practice?

Rotoscoping – Even though I have used Rotoscoping in other projects (Digital Graphics), this project has required me to carry this skill out to the best of my ability. Whereas in Digital graphics, it was zoomed out enough to be hidden if you nicked the corner of the design, but in this project, if you got something g wrong, you had no other option, apart from start again. This development in Rotoscoping makes this skill one of the most often used in all my projects so far, while this project built on the skill and precision I had with this tool, which I will carry to future projects.

Rectangular Marquee Tool – In this project, I used this tool to cut out the shapes on the right hand side of the recipe card. Even though I had experience of this tool, I had only used it to select the whole object and use it to create another layer. However, this project required me to work accurately, or the proportions of the overall image would have been compromised, through the compositions been out, due to stretching. This skill will allow me to select small parts of images and objects in future projects, as well as allowing me to have accuracy in precision in the other Marquee tools (Elliptical, Single Row and Single Column Marquee Tools), due to the skills been transferable from the rectangular one.

Knowledge on layout – Before this project, I had a fair bit of knowledge on page layout and design, due to previous tasks giving me general insight into magazine and newspaper layout. However, on the page layout task at the start of the project, I managed to gain insight into features such as: Pull quote orientation and various layout styles, which I hadn’t acquired thus far. As well as the page layout tasks, the production task also helped me with layout. Before the project, I would have put the ‘Tomato and Bruschetta’ text across two sections of the branding strip, which would have looked ineffective. However, with some work, I learnt the ways of effective layouts and amended my previous attempts at recipe cards, to get my final product. This knowledge will help me in future tasks, including when we get to the writing copy project of the course. The layout knowledge will especially help, as well as all the features that go with it.

Choice of Font - In past projects, I hadn’t realised how much a font can change the overall fell and style of a layout. In Task 5, I had decided that my layout style was going to be clear and concise. Therefore, it was paramount that a clear font would be chosen, so it could be easily read by the consumer. I believe the fonts, Arial and Baskerville old face, suit my recipe card and make it look as effective as possible, while pleasing every demographic, due to them all looking for a clear font, as subject to my survey results. However, earlier in the project, I had chosen a stylised font, before getting feedback and realising how significant and consequential a font could be to a design and layout. In future projects, I will make sure I select my font more carefully, going through them all, without selecting a font at almost random.

Opacity levels – This project was the first time I was required to use opacity levels in my product. Previously, I had reduced the opacity to see layers below, but had always restored them to normality after. However, our design required a reduced opacity with a part of white space, which was 100% opacity. This technique had to be used to allow the text to be seen by the consumer. If we had not reduced the opacity the clear and concise font that I was targeting would be lost. This feature could be carried forward in future creative tasks, however, it isn’t a very common feature and won’t be used unless absolutely necessary.

Marquee tools – On the front of the card, I used this skill to make little cut-outs of the larger image, however, it held another purpose on the back. Sticking with the Rectangular Marquee tool, I selected the section I wanted to transform. Still in reduced opacity, I used the opacity slider on the right hand side of the screen to adjust it to100% and return to the original image colours. This simple, yet effective technique transforms restrained white space into a colourful section. Similar to the opacity levels, this technique would only be used on a creative piece, ot just a simple layout project. Where as the cut-outs could be transferable and used in a range of scenarios, this colour selection may not be applicable for as many situations.

Production processDo you believe your work is creative and technically competent? Why?(Reference specific examples (use images if this will help) of where you believe your work is particularly visually or technically impressive. Reference professionally produced work and compare your products to them)

This branding strip, made using the skill of Rotoscoping, is one of the most creative and visually impressive pieces on my recipe card. Not only is it a creative piece of design, it also uses symbolic codes to communicate to the audience it’s connotation. The colours used, which are the colours of the Italian flag, help convey the theme of the dishes to the consumer, without the need to look at any of the text or titles. The design also incorporates the vegetarian society logo and the title, which saves the white space which would have been used holding these features, as a way to display a large image of the recipe, which, in turn, will make the card more effective and successful.

The small cut-outs on the right hand side of the recipe card helps to show the most prominent parts of the food, as well as been a creatively competent piece on my recipe cards. On this particular example, the images assist the branding strip, in terms of symbolic codes. The image contains the colours of the Italian flag, which helps in connoting the Italian theme, along with the branding strip. These features were made using the Rectangular Marquee tool to select a portion of the image, before making it a new layer and dragging it to it’s desired location.

Within my photography, I wanted the main focus to be the food, but I also wanted to include other props within the frame. Like the professional image on the right, I have also used cutlery in my Tiramisu image. I believe it gave the photograph an extra element, not just a dish on it’s own. This photograph was taken at a birds-eye view because I wanted the wood effect of the table to contrast with the white and grey colours of the props, like the table contrasts with the white plate of the professional image.

My photograph of the Bruschetta (left) was one of the most important picture of the whole project. Due to the branding strip not been established at this point, I knew I had to have something to signify Italy and connote Italian themes. I thought of how I could do this, coming up with the idea to add props and frame on a dark background to contrast it, which makes it a very creative and visually competent image. The effect in which it has on the recipe card is monumental. However, a feature that could have been considered, which exists on the professional produced right image is the feature of aperture. In blurring the back dish out, it makes the dish at the fore-front look even more prominent and therefore effective.

In what is one of the only images I captured from a point-of-view perspective, this image is at this angle for a reason. Due to the restrained and bland colours on the dish and the table, it was paramount that I added colour from another source. The background with the flowers transforms the image into a colourful, vibrant piece, with visual and technical competency achieved. As for the professionally produced image on the right, it’s creativeness relies on the slice missing from the dish, to show what it looks like on the inside. This feature is only effective for pies, cakes and similar. I did contemplate this photographic feature, when photographing my Tiramisu, but decided against, due to the mass of quality that would be lost if it wasn’t captured perfectly.

On this comparison, unlike all my other comparisons, these photographs use the same feature to try and achieve visual competency, which I believe they achieve. Even though the technique is used in very different ways, they both use Dynamic Range. This feature involves the image ranging from light to dark, and sometimes back again. The left image does this les noticeably, due to one side of the image not been completely dark. However, the darker shading around the edges, before becoming increasingly brighter near the middle makes it an example of Dynamic Range. In comparison, the professionally produced image on the right uses Dynamic Range to an obvious degree. As you can see, the darkness around the top of the image is contrasted by the lightness as the image continues down the bottom to reveal the dish and the plate in which it’s presented on.

Production processHow effectively did you manage your time? (Could you have used time more wisely? Did a particular aspect of the project take longer than expected? Did you complete everything on schedule?)

At the start of production, I wasn’t confident we would finish in time, which is documented in my peers concerns also. I then drew out the schedule for the cards, with a two week deadline set on it. In this time, we would have to work efficiently, with no major setbacks. As we divided up the tasks, it was evident the magnitude of work we would have to get through to succeed in this project.

Instead of spending two weeks working on a set of cards, with no feedback, before printing them out, seemed like a bad idea. Instead, in the first week, we designed the first set of cards, before getting advice and feedback from tutors and peers. We then spent the second week developing and amending the cards.

The amendments included colours, layouts and fonts and lasted just short of a week. Even though we did have a week to complete the amendments, we also needed to test print and then print the cards. Test printing had been organised for the penultimate day of the project, just in case something went wrong. However, we had to move it into the final day, due to the amendments taking longer than anticipated. This could have been catastrophic, but as it turned out, it worked well, with us getting the cards finished within the deadline. The contingency time was needed for the amendments, but, luckily, wasn’t needed for any other aspect of the project, which, in short, saved the project.

Our idea of designing a layout in a week before developing the idea in the second. This is the evolution of our recipe card:

Production processIf you could repeat the process what would you do differently?

I would close up the gaps in between the pictures. Even though it fits in with this design and it splits up the photographs well, if the project was repeated, I would find a way to make the tightened up images work.

Like the closing up of the gaps on the photographs, the border would be changed, should I repeat the project again. It does fulfil it’s purpose of splitting up the branding strip and the images, I do think that if it was closed up, the recipe card would look more complete and busy, without looking cluttered.

The text is clear and very easy to read, but it could be more so. Instead of increasing the font or changing it to something more simple, I would add a bold stroke to the font, so it stands out more. After all, this is the title and should be one, if not the prominent feature of the card.

Without being too picky about the recipe card, I would change the third sections colour. Even though it is evidently the Italian flag, a more red colour could be selected, instead of the pink-red that is currently in use. Additionally, this box could have a use also. With the previous draft including preparation time, cooking time and number it serves, I would like to divide this space into three equal sections before adding these three headings.

I would change the font of the headings. While there is nothing wrong with the clarity or selection of the text, it isn’t in accordance with the font on the front of the card. The font on the front (Arial) is not matched by the font on the back (Baskerville Old Face). However, after consideration, I have decided that I would change the font on the back of the card, despite it been easier to change the front on the front of the card.

The low level of opacity on the majority of the image allows the text to be seen clearly, but also allows the image to be seen. However, if the opacity level was increased a bit more, it wouldn’t be noticeably different to the 100% opacity piece. The differentiation of the parts of the image is a nice idea, but doesn’t need to be so drastic, instead, an opacity of 75% could be chosen. On the other hand, at this opacity, the text clarity may become a problem, but this would need reviewing should I repeat this project again.

Overall layouts are key to success on products, especially these recipe cards. Even though the ingredients and the method columns work well, I still feel that they could be improved. An unprofessional and ineffective feel is seen when you move to the bottom of the recipe card. As you get to the bottom of the method, you notice that it only just fits on the page, which makes the whole box look squashed, with the text at the bottom been difficult to read. If I repeated this process, I would make sure that the method box was moved up toward the ingredients box. Even though I think they shouldn’t be level, I believe the box should be moved.

Other things I would alter should I repeat this project again:

•I would review and consider the various methods of financing the project. While I don’t regret making the decision to self-finance the project, due to it been a relatively good success. However, it could have gone the other way and I could have ended up losing money. I also believe that I rushed into choosing self-financed, due to seeing what kickstarter and client financed projects ended up like for other companies.

•Personnel members were wasted and some of them spent the end of the task doing admin jobs, instead of the design and production tasks I hired them for. At least one design member and one general personnel member too many were hired for this project. This could have saved £360 and paid for the embossing, which was sacrificed due to little cuts I had to make during the project.

•On Task 3 (researching existing products) I had researched totally different products, compared with my partner for the project. This seemed like a good idea at first, due to the different ideas about what our cards should look like. However, as the project progressed, this became a bit of problem when faced with different ideas to take into final production. Due to me seeing a similar card to what I want to make, already yon the market, succeed, and my partner doing the same, it became an issue. We eventually solved it and compromised on the design of the card, with the card, aesthetically looking like something we both wanted. If I repeated the project, I would work with my partner on this task and then the squabble that ensued at the start of Task 9 would have been avoided.

•Task 5 had similar problems to Task 3. Due to us not working together on the survey, our data was different, so our audiences were looking for different things on the card and different themes on the cards. Again, we resolved this problem using a compromise. For example, the most common theme on my survey was Italian, with the second most common theme on his been Italian, which was an obvious choice for the dishes them on the recipe cards. The same solution as the previous paragraph would have been taken, should the project be repeated.

Working to a brief

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ConstraintsWhat constraints did you encounter and how did you consider/avoid them?

Legal:

•On our final recipe card, we emulated some features of an existing product (page 14). The branding strip and the cut-up sections of the pictures were emulated. However, I altered these techniques enough for them to be legally appropriate. I did this by changing the colours, the construction of the branding strip and the opacity on the images, as well as not using the same zoom option, instead, choosing to keep them zoomed out and shown as original.

•The vegetarian society logo will be subject to copyright, so instead of sourcing the image from the vegetarian society website, I got the image from a website that didn’t have any legal copyright laws on it, so I could use the logo.

•At the beginning of task 9, I was going to design a logo and involve it in my design, but because a self-created design would look unprofessional and will make the final product look unprofessional, I would need to alter an existing one. However, I would have had to alter the logo to such an extent that the logo would have looked as good as a self-created one, therefore I decided it wouldn’t be beneficial to have a company logo.

•Sourcing various images for the project would have required me to get non-copyrighted images. In order to do this, I would have had to search through a lot of images, which would have exhausted a lot of my time and potentially resources. Instead, I decided to take the photographs myself and save some time on this section, which I used for extra test print time.

Regulatory:

•Before printing the cards, we realised that we didn’t have the correct type of paper that the Vegetarian brief stated that we should use. The 350gsm paper should be used for the cards, due to the stock been “similar to the thickness of a good type of card” *extracted from the Veg Soc brief* We managed to acquire some of this paper, which we envisaged would be expensive. However, one of our personnel member knew a company that worked within paper and could offload us this paper for £10 for 3500 sheets, which didn’t set back the budget as much as we imagined.

•However, when we got the 350gsm paper that we were required to print on, we hadn’t checked the previous step on the brief, which stated that the paper and vegetable inks should be recycled. We had not though about asking the company about if the paper was recycled, before we bought it from them. However, when we read this requirement, we got in ouch with the supplier and asked the question. It turned out, luckily, that the paper was recycled, as was the vegetable inks that we had picked up from another supplier within the project.

•We were asked to come up with an alternate to biodegradable laminate as part of the project. After a lot of deliberation from me and many personnel members, we could not find an alternative, despite experimenting with various materials. Instead, we bought the biodegradable laminate that the Vegetarian society normally use to put on their cards. Due to them refusing to work with normal laminate, we ruled that option out, as well as the option of no laminate, due to a wipe able card been the best option. Like stated in the Vegetarian brief, the material was very expensive, but with a big spend, a big gain can be made.

•When we made the first set of cards and used normal paper, we had a visit from trading standards, which had come, due to us been a very new company. They wanted to see what we were making, as well as review the product for problems. Due to this been a prototype, the best paper wasn’t used, which was flagged up by one of their examiners. Apparently this bad quality of paper couldn’t be used, should we have kept it like that for the final product.

•After creating the final product, but before sending them off, the SSL (Sales Standards Agency) wanted to view our product too. Before any product can be sold in the UK, which ours was just about to, we had to have our product tested and sent to a panel of members of the public for review. After this stage was over, there were fortunately, no queries.

Financial:

•My office space cost wasn’t contractually agreed with the clients, so it increased when it came to the production stages of the project. This meant that there was less money for either objects or personnel. Due to the cards been difficult to make as it was, the personnel numbers couldn’t be compromised, so objects had to be reduced instead. A the begging of the project, my cards were going to be embossed, which, according to my budget, would cost £210 to do. Instead of losing personnel members, I sacrificed this feature of my cards. It may have lost some effectiveness on the cards, but at least they were complete in time and the Vegetarian Society received them in time, which was the project goal.

• Contracting the printing out to an external source was the plan at the start of the project, but because the price of the printing that was written in the budget (£875 for 3500 cards) was only a limited deal, we had to find other ways to print the cards in the project. Mid-way through production, we managed to acquire a printer from a rental company for £500, £375 cheaper than contracting it out. This extra money that had been made was spent on a photographer. In the budget, I was to take the photographs, which would generate no extra costs, due to an internal source lending a camera. However, as a group, we decided the professionalism of the photographs was paramount in achieving success in this project, so hired a photographer to take photographs of the food we had prepared, which cost us £250 for the time he was there.

•In this scenario then, money from the £7290 budget could be saved. However, as I found out when we got to the location in which we would take pictures. The price of the three locations, all owned by one company, had been miss-quoted to one of my personnel members, with it costing an addition £200. Due to the locations been key in our project, we had to pay the extra cost of the locations, or risk making little profits. Now, with all the costs and prices taken care of, I was down by £75. This figure was not bad, considering all the extra costs and faux prices. At the beginning of the project, I was expecting his figure to be higher, now my hopes of making a good profit are still possible.

ManagementHow did you work as part of a group? (Did you lead the project? What parts of the project did you take charge of? Did you enjoy working as part of a group? Why?)

At the start of the project, it was decided that I would co-lead the team, due to me not wanting to just manage people around, but instead, actually get to work on the project myself. I wanted to be part of the research, design and manufacture, like in other projects.

Firstly, we divided up tasks between the group, which included making 4 cards each, deciding who will do what recipes and deciding on what landmark would go on each card (only featured on our cards, not a brief requirement). The diving of tasks wasn’t difficult, with no arguments about who will do what, due the division of labour been equal and fair.

I did enjoy working in group. This is mainly due to the amount of work you can produce, as well as the quality. The other member(s) can be your quality control and tell you their honest opinions on the design and other matters, like I could with them also. Another good thing about working in a group was the idea generation. A mass of ideas could be discussed and the best ones could then be developed. This brainstorming session was shorter than anticipated and definitely shorter than if I was working on my own. However, this could also be a disadvantage because if I worked individually, an idea may have been individually tailored to my likes. On the other hand, we made a product that we both liked.

This was one of the only opportunities throughout all the projects I have carried out, to work in groups. I thought at the start of the project, I would be better working on my own, but instead, this project proved that it’s good to work in an group and can be beneficial for idea generation and feedback. I don’t think I would’ve made a product that measured up with this final product, had I worked on my own.

ManagementHow important is communication when working in a group? (Use specific examples from working in a group on this project)

Our first product (left) and our final product (right) were made two weeks apart. To get from one product to the other, me and my partner had to discuss what was good and bad, before we could decide on the next course of action. Of course, if we wouldn’t have spoken about this and just stuck with the design we had, which we thought was perfectly acceptable as a starting platform, we would have ended up with no developments and very poorly constructed card. This did mean having differences of opinion at times. For example, I didn’t like the white opacity strip a the top of the first card, where as he did. As a compromise, on the next card, we didn’t have the strip a the top, but moved the text to the branding strip a the bottom. This project, and indeed working in a group, is about compromise, but as long as you get a product you both like, this does not matter.

ManagementHow important is communication when working in a group? (Use specific examples from working in a group on this project)

During the design process, due to the personnel members, no one wanted to discuss ideas about how the layout and design should go together. Instead, various members of the team worked individually, on their own thing, for the first few days. In a brainstorming session on the third day, we collated ideas together, before making our minds up about the layout and design. A few designers had good ideas, some of which we used for the first prototype, but others had a few very bad ideas, which we decided to stay clear from in production.

These two designs, according to the personnel members that designed them, were meant o be gender specific products. After seeing these designs, we decided to scrap these ideas and stay away from very bright and vibrant colours for the rest of the project,. This design, in a way, shaped the colours and layout of the final product, by putting me and the personnel members off using bright colours in the production stages.

ManagementWhat have you learnt about working in a group and how will you apply this to future practice?

The main thing I have learnt about working in a group on this project is: Just because you come up with a good idea, not everyone is going to like it. On the first week of the project, I created a design which I believed had solved all the problems of the Vegetarian Society, with an original, creative idea. I presented these findings to my team, but they didn’t give the same response as I had given this idea, instead, they didn’t like the idea and wanted to go back to the drawing board. Looking back on this decision now, it was one of the best decisions that has ever been made. If we would have gone down that path and stuck with that design, this card wouldn’t have been half as effective or creative.

Another thing I have learnt is that you can’t rush an idea from someone. Brainstorming ideas at the start of the project helped the team establish some shells of ideas, before developing them in the coming week. However, mid-way into the first week, we had got news that the client was coming in to have a look at our ideas, while talking to the personnel members involved on the project. We had a few good ideas, but one very good idea, that just wasn’t as developed as I would have liked. Instead of stalling the client, I stupidly rushed the development and finished with an average product. If I would have waited and then unveiled the product, we could be looking at that product now, as the final one. That is one of my regrets in the project and it wouldn't be repeated if I re-did the project again.

I will apply these two future practices on the course. The second learning step was the most key. I will try not to rush projects in future, due to a good piece of work been in jeopardy if I do. Even though you do have to be quick and efficient with work, you should finish the product to the best of your ability, or risk the quality at the end of the project not been up to scratch.