Developing the website further I looked at the grid and colour design of the website. A 12 collumn grid would allow the website to shrink down to either half, third and foruth the size whilst keeping the same layout which is very important thing when developing for modern web.

I decided to narrow down the huge amount of categories that the telgraph website has and display them on the sidebar so that the user can browse each category seperately rather than all at once like it is on the home page. The home page on my design would be a personalised feed of stopries built from the stories that each user likes to read. This is a similar system used by reddit, which allows users to subscribe to diferent subreddits which interest them. The front page of the website is dictated by the top posts from each of the subscribed subreddits. This will make the wbeiste much more engaging and personal to each individual user.

I experimented with colour pallettes but decided to stay with black as it nicely seperates areas of the website and gives a nice hierarchy.

I briefly looked into how the 12 collumn grid would scale and the content would shift into a diferent layout.

We went forward with James' poster design which featured students work. We came up with the idea to hand the posters with hangers to create another link with the theme of fashion. The posters were received really well by guests and the students were very enthusiastic about seeing their work on the walls. By the end of the night all but a few posters were kept by students as memorabilia.

Evaluation

The final outcomes were very well received. Students really enjoyed seeing their work used in this way and many guests took interest in the posters and who helped create them.I believe the posters had s slightly informal tone. In hind sight, I believe the posters should have had a more serious tone of voice more fitting with themes of high end fashion. This would mean less variety in colour and a more abstract outcome.

After some more research we discovered some of Giles' original  fashion illustrations.

We came to a conclusion after some discussion that the event posters would be a great opportunity for fashion students to showcase some of their fashion illustrations. We went to the fashion studio to speak to some of the students and see if they were interested. This would encourage students to attend the event to see their work and others.

 We found a variety of work with diferent styles, which is exactly what we wanted.

After discussing the opportunity with fashion tutors, we arranged an email to be sent to all fashion students about the opportunity. We received a lot of submissions and began experimenting with how we could display the students work.

James developed a template based of the poster for the first event which uses colours from the illustrations to brighten up the rest of the poster.

This fits the criteria for what we wanted to acheive: Brighter, bolder visuals, Explain what Giles does, Showcase students work. We have decided to organise a meeting with the Creative Network organisers to get feedback.

After the last event, we requested some feedback from the people in charge of Creative Networks:

We began brain storming ideas for the second Creative Networks event. We soon realised that unlike previous years, where they have had a poster design template which would not change for each guest speaker, we would have to develop our poster design for a more appropriate tone of voice.

When evaluating the previous event, we disliked using the guest speakers face on the poster as it does not give a great sense of what the speaker does if the viewer is not aware.

 By creating a template design for each event, we would lose audience interest. Fashion is very loud and colourful whereas the frame design we used for Andrew Graham Dixon was quite formal and dull. We decided to test what it would look like:

We decided to explore our options and see if we could create a more appropriate and engaging outcome for the brief.

Giles Deacon is a British fashion designer, best known for his playful designs and his collaboration with High Street retailer New Look.

 Deacon was employed by the fashion houses Bottega Veneta and Gucci, before founding his own label, GILES, in 2003. He launched his first collection for GILES at the 2004 London Fashion Week and was named "Best New Designer" at the British Fashion Awards. Deacon's designs have been met with critical acclaim and have sparked a renewed interest in London fashion. Having become one of the fashion industry's most fêted figures, Deacon was named British Fashion Designer of the Year in 2006 and was awarded the French ANDAM Fashion Award's Grand Prix in 2009. The designer was appointed creative director of French fashion house Ungaro in April 2010. Deacon retained the position until September 2011, when he and Ungaro mutually decided to end their collaboration.

 Looking at Giles Deacons work, we can see that his work varies alot, but is mainly high end fashion.

We began looking at ways we could incorporate fashion photography into a poster whilst using the college logo. Dec produced a series of images which featured Giles Deacon designs with the college logo over the face, similar to designs for Andrew Graham Dixon. 

After some experimentation, Dec Produced a design which was a lot more colourful than the previous events, but seemed quite informal and lacked meaning. 

Brainstorming found that a more social outcome would help appeal to a younger audience. Research showed that 28% of time online is spent on social networks. The current design of the telegraph is geared towards an older target audience, especially the website which features a lot of serif typefaces and very content cluttered pages. 

We thought it would be better to give the choice of a serif or sans-serif typeface so as to not alienate the existing audience. Navigation was found to be a real issue with the existing website. The Telegraph offers alot of content but it is very hard to find things that you are interested in. We think that it is incredibly important to make navigating the site easier as younger audiences are less patient and will give up on hard to navigate sites and opt for something more simple.

Taking inspiration from pinterest and other user generated websites like reddit, It would be interesting to create a version of the telegraph website with user generated content. Users can select news which interests them and then the website will find similar stories and send them to the user, saving alot of the users time.

I began by looking at the current Telegraph website to find out exactly why I believe they need to redesign their website and find out what is needed and what is not needed. I found that the website is extremely cluttered and lacks a hierarchy of content. There is very little qhite space and too many colours which makes it very hard to browse content.

I alsofound that there was a huge mixture of content and that it was not organised apropriately.

To improve upon this I would like to impliment an organised system of content that allows the user to browse alot easier so that they can find content which interests them rather than alot of stories which dont.

Certain areas of the website were alot more aproachable. The sports section uses larger images which makes the page more attractive especially to a younger target audience which want information quickly and easily.

Some parts of the wbesite displayed a colour coded system which organised catgeroies of content, but this system is completely abandoned in other areas. This is something I plan to fix and keep standardised across the site.

Looking at web design inspiration I began looking at minimal websites that use mainly images in a grided modular format. This would suite the Telegraph as it is a news source that would be uploading new individual stories which could be displayed in its own individual module.

The white space either side of teh site below allows the content to breathe an makes for a very attractive website. Some consideations for Telegraph are that they often feature adverts either side of their content which could prevent this. The type of content could also dictate what is possible. The types of images that the telegrapgh website features are very mixed and are not as arty as the ones in these examples.

A full bleed modular website makes its very easy to naviagted a lot of content at once. The nav bar at the top right makes it easy to browse to other parts of the website at any given time. Whereas the telegraph website nav bar is not static.

We can see how this modular system works on content sharing websites with the example of pinterest. making each peice of work its own seperate block which can eaily be shared across multiple social network platformas and websites.

A social network styled website would suite the telgrapgh as their content is very frequently shared on social media platforms to the users friends. A profile system much like facebook could be added to make the website more social and engaing. This would encourage users to come back very frequently much like users do to facebook or twitter. This would especially appeal to the younger target audience which are "always on".

A very common aesthetic is the sidebar which helps users navigate to diferent areas of their account.

My first attempt at experimenting with the layout of the website was a bit successful. I found that the content of the front page could be minimaised and kept cleaner to the eye by implimenting a simple grid and layout.

A sidebar, much like facebook would help move alot of content off to the side which can be brough on screen with the click of a button.

The content is alot more aproachable in this format. The user will have to scroll more, but by leaving the text to the actual story page makes it alot easier to browse the actual stories.

 BACKGROUND 

The Telegraph is one of the UK’s oldest newspapers. Loved and trusted by its readership, it takes an editorial stance best described as ‘by those who know their own minds, for those who know their own minds’. 

Like the British Museum, The Telegraph looks traditional on the outside, but its insides are more modern and relevant than appearances suggest. It’s an intelligent read, often humorous, occasionally quirky. And it has a more balanced take on the world than many people might think. 

The Telegraph has long been regarded as a brand for older readers. But within that, much of their journalism cuts across age groups – and even political orientation. 

There is humour in the news pages and story selection. Throughout its history, The Telegraph has teamed serious reporting and analysis with popular news coverage. 

Equally, many of The Telegraph’s established positions resonate with millennials who may not most easily identify with the brand: enterprise, personal betterment, self-reliance, independence. 

 THE CHALLENGE 

The Telegraph wants to use digital to prove its appeal to readers of any age. How can you get them to reconsider what it offers? What ideas might turn the heads of open-minded people who are looking for a different kind of news provider? What might inspire them to try a Telegraph? 

Develop an innovative digital solution to get a younger audience to think again about The Telegraph. The solution does not necessarily have to focus on ‘news’ but can look at the broad range of content The Telegraph offers. 

 WHO IT’S FOR 

People of working age who know their own minds. They do what they want, when they want, and are looking for a paper that reflects this attitude. 

 WHAT TO CONSIDER 

The Telegraph has always stood up for a plucky, almost bloody-minded form of Britishness. It appeals to people who sometimes enjoy taking an obstinate, sideways view of life just for the hell of it. How might you champion this to find new readers? 

• Community: comments on news sites appeal only to a hardcore audience and are difficult for most users to engage with. How could a news organisation engage with its readers in a more constructive way and create a community around its coverage? How does newsgathering change when everyone has a camera and a voice? 

• Context: most news stories are new twists on long running sagas. How should reporting reflect this? How should it cater for expert readers who know the story inside out and have strong opinions, alongside a reader who is new to it all and wants to get their bearings? 

• Definitions of left- and right-wing are now more open to interpretation than ever. Even the Conservative Party is pushing for reforms in prison policy, social justice and racial discrimination, traditionally the territory of the left. And there’s more to a reader than the paper they buy, people are often more complex and interesting than they’re given credit for. Even those who are held to be on the right can have surprising views and interests. We all have common ground we can meet on – how might The Telegraph use this? 

 WHAT’S ESSENTIAL 

A digital product or service design to bring The Telegraph to a wider audience: 

• Show the user experience or content scenario, eg with a storyboard. 

• Visualise your concept, eg through illustrations, renders, video, etc. 

• Include a summary of key insights from your research. 

• Show who the product is for. 

My Rationale


My rationale and reasoning for taking on this brief is to increase my ability to work on an existing brand and consider their existing tone of voice whilst trying to alter it for a new audience. I also want to improve my skills working with web and web design which could very well be the outcome to this brief.

OUGD603 / Extended Practice / Collaborative 

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/ The Brief / Creative Network / LCA. 
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Daft Punk and Andrew Graham Dixon are the next two speakers at creative networks. Research their profile/practice online for inspiration. Please submit 1 A3 poster for each event to decorate the canteen. Please include - Date, CN logo. Work in groups of 4.

Consider Floor stickers, light boxes, postcards, beer labels and further expansion of design work

/ Brainstorming / Initial ideas.

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We began brainstorming ideas. We knew we wanted to design physically rather than digitally and create something 3 dimensional and a bit different. We wanted to incorporate the use of the mosaic shapes as this is an instant link to Leeds College of Art. We came up with the idea to produce a painting/photo frame in the shape of the leeds college of art logo which could be used to display the next guest speaker inside. We could produce this and photograph it to be used for flyers and posters.

I had the idead that we could use the frames in the shape of the college logo to show visitors and students the guests which have come for creative networks. They would nicely slot logether and fill a wall showing all the diferent peices that make up the creative industry.

We looked at how else this could be visualised in a fun, interesting way. We thought that we could use students as models and place the filled frames on their shoulders instead of their heads. This looked a bit strange sometimes, so we abandoned it pretty quickly.

/ Development

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We developed this idea further and experimented with the figure idea.

/ Final Resolutions

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Posters of upcoming speakers can be produced in a format which presents them inside a frame which can be physically produced and added to the collection which can be displayed in the cafe. This helps establish a strong brand identity for the Creative Networks programme that can be applied across each event. We’ve tried to merge a mixture of creative fields together, including photography, woodworking and obviously graphic design; our reason for this was to embrace a mixed media aesthetic to the design, which we feel allows for neutral theme that can be applied to different speaking professionals.

The wooden frame concept can be expanded with the addition of students as seen above. The concept we’ve came up with allows for us to take the idea in various different directions, and could potentially return a multitude of different creative outcomes that fit the event. 

To promote the creative networks project, posters/flyers can be produced which can display passed and future speakers. This promotional material can also make students aware that many of the talks are available to watch on Estudio. The frame concept could be expanded and have framed photos of all past speakers in unique mosaic, wooden frames which can be displayed on a large wall in the canteen. This will be great promotion for Creative Networks and become a great talking point for students in uni as well as guests attending creative network events.

/ Continuation

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Me, James and Declan were lucky enough to be chosen to create the design work for the upcoming Creative Network events. We began 

/ Feedback

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We asked for feedback after the event to see how we could improve the design work for future events. The main points were:

- The posters need to be larger (A2 instead of A3)

- The posters could do with more colour to stand out more. The minimal design was appropriate for Andre Graham Dixon but would be too dull for some guest speakers.

- The general Creative Network posters were very eye-catching and will have to produce another as it was taken after the event.

- Focus more on speakers practice instead of actual speaker.

- Use a photo that includes the speakers torso. The close-up shot did not look quite right.