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So here's my first proper mock up of what I'd like to see in Skipton! Although I had a LOT of data from surveys ect, I still found it hard to conceptualise into a visual output. The tools that actually ended up helping me the most was a range of pre cut out foam shapes that I could just play with!

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Post for WK 3's challenge

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THE CHALLENGE

This week I was to make and produce my self initiated project idea per the following.

Imagine and make one design response to your self initiated project brief, as outlined on your mood boards. Demonstrate your development. Upload initial ideas and sketches to the Ideas Wall and reflect on them in your blog.

Make prototypes and experiment with design and production techniques to ensure you engage with your target audience. Do not forget to record all tests, even if they fail, and add them to the Ideas Wall.

Design and deliver your final outcome, in line with your original aim and objectives

SYMBOLISM

In order to arrive at a visually compelling and meaningful design, I looked to symbols of female strength, wisdom, creativity, and unity. I wanted to be able to tell a story that aligns with the values of this campaign: women for women and the virtues of joining together to create greater empowerment, collaboration, and community for women in the workplace.

ATHENA

My search for appropriate and meaningful symbolism lead me to Athena, the greek goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill.

She is known most specifically for her strategic skill in warfare and is often portrayed as companion of heroes and is the patron goddess of heroic endeavor.

What a better place to start exploring symbols and creative expressions for my enamel pin.

ATHENA'S OWL

Athena kept an owl on her shoulder that revealed truths to her and represented wisdom and knowledge. In some versions of the mythology, the owl was said to illuminate Athena's "blind side," allowing her to see the entire truth. Owls were widely associated with Athena's blessing, and Greek soldiers viewed the sight of owls before a battle as a symbol that the goddess was on their side.

The owl was a symbol for Athena before the Greeks gave their pantheon human forms. In Ancient Greece, the owl was a symbol of a higher wisdom, and it was also a guardian of the Acropolis.

The best-known image of Athene's owl, the Little Owl, is seen on ancient Athenian coins dating from the fifth century BCE.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

In looking at numerous images of owls and their storied meanings, I began to see some connections. In looking at their anatomy, I could see the letter "w" for Women. Further, the symbolism of the owl - and Athena - also connect to the community and connection aspect of my project.

The term mentor, originated from Homer's story of a king, who entrusted his son's development to Mentor, before he left for war. Athena disguised herself as Mentor to guide the boy. By traditional definition, mentoring is described as an older (and presumed wiser) person who assists a younger one to grow, to take someone "under their wing" to help them to develop personally and professionally. With wings in place, the owl seemed an apt symbol for my project.

INITIAL SKETCHES

I began sketching different approaches to my owl. By self-imposed boundary in my attempt at greatest connection, and compelling story, each iteration needed to leverage the letter "w" in some way. I began with two ancient references and the photos of the owls as my guide.

While I was pleased that I could easily identify ways to incorporate the letter "w" into the owl sketches, I felt that these initial versions were not strong enough to carry the symbolism I'd wanted them to evoke: empowerment, protection, community, and wisdom. I moved the sketches in a more geometric direction to emphasize the strength missing in the previous versions. The line work was to be clean and clear.

I chose the owl on the right as the version to move ahead into final design. It evoked an energy and dynamism for me that aligned to the tone of my project: Inspirational, strong/confident, warm, inviting. I continued to work on the illustration to add in detail that continued to connect the symbol to the project via the letter "w."

I brought my final sketch into Adobe Illustrator to clean up the line work and add color. I chose a color palette that evokes femininity, warmth, strength, and the various colors of skin that women embody - and was inspired by the ancient Athena owl painted clay sculpture shown previously in the blog.

Each section of the illustration includes a hidden or not-so hidden "w". Look closely... can you see them?

The final piece will be a soft enamel pin with copper or rose gold inlay to further express femininity and strength. I see this piece as a true conversation starter and look forward to having it made. I am excited to see where this self-initiated project will take me next.

REFERENCE

Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/athena.html.
Eason, C. (2008). Fabulous creatures, mythical monsters, and animal power symbols: a handbook. Westport: London.
Falmouth University (2018). Development | Podcast Videos. Application and Interactions GDE740 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S1 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)
Rolfe, A. (2014). Taking mentoring to the next level in organisations. Training & Development (1839-8561), 41(2), 26-2
Walsh, N. (2015). Greek mythology: gods of ancient Greece and the heroic myths ; discovering Greek history and mythology. San Bernardino, CA.: Moonrun Publishing.

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GDE740 W3 | Workshop Challenge - AttaGirl Design

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Self Initiated Project Production THE CHALLENGE This week I was to make and produce my self initiated project idea per the following. Imagine and make one design response to your self initiated project brief, as outlined on your mood boards. Demonstrate your development. Upload initial ideas an

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Week 3 research and write-up of the project so far

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Week 3 research and write-up of the project so far

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https://wp.me/p9On5J-ou

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The Tasks

Imagine and make one design response to your self initiated project brief, as outlined on your mood boards. Demonstrate your development. Upload initial ideas and sketches to the Ideas Wall and reflect in your blog.

Make prototypes and experiment with design and production techniques to ensure you engage with your target audience. Do not forget to record all tests, even if they fail, and add them to the Ideas Wall. Evaluate the success of your experiments in your blog.

Who is this project for?

This project is aimed at helping the design community and hiring departments to build and structure application forms in a way that would allow neurodiverse people to access the next stages of the application process.

Focus Group and Methodology

With the Youth Club of Knots' Arts, I will conduct a short focus group in order to obtain research about what would help neurodiverse people fill in application forms. To do this, I will provide samples of application forms and ask the group what they like and dislike the forms, and how they feel they could be improved.

The research will be collected physically by way of notes on the application forms written by members of the group, and orally by myself and the leaders listening to their thoughts and concerns.

The forms will be paper forms sourced online. Many shops do have online forms, but for the practicality of the session and availability of technology, they will be printed forms.

Presentation of ethics and data privacy

The project's aim is to reduce stress around application forms for neurodiverse people, so it is possible that this study will cause stress for participants

The research will be conducted with participants' full awareness of the aims

I will take guidance from the Knots' Arts leaders about language and how to structure the session

The session will be clearly signposted and of a clearly defined length

If any member of the youth group do not want to participate, they will be free to move away

Participants will be grouped together and will be able to work independently or with the group. The groups will be chosen by the Knots' Arts leaders

The participants will be able to write down their thoughts or articulate them verbally to myself or a Knots' Arts leader

Knots' Arts leaders will be present and participate with the research with the youth group.

The participants will remain anonymous.

Hypotheses

I had expectations for the outcomes and noted them down so that I would be aware of my bias. They were:

The group would prefer pale colour backgrounds compared to white

No background graphics would be preferred

Lots of white space so that the information can be easily taken in

Tick-boxes would not be ideal

Larger typeface size and larger leading

Typefaces with large x-heights with clear differentiation between capital 'I's and 'l's.

Initial outcomes

Data

The main concerns from the youth group came from data protection and how their information was going to be used. I assured them that applications are generally covered under privacy protection laws, however, this clearly still worried them, in particular, one participant who brought it up multiple times.

Many companies ask questions about how the applicant had heard about the job and whether the applicant had family working for the company (Argos and Dollar General). The group generally found these questions to be irrelevant and intrusive as they did not understand why the company would need to know this information.

The application forms were generally deemed too long and to ask too much information, with a particular reference to Dollar General. The Forever21 form was the most-liked form for the information asked as it was brief and the questions related to the information the group expected to be answered.

Although the forms were intended for part-time work, the group were concerned that they were asked for details of previous employment because many had never had jobs before.

Layout

The background of the Forever21 form, and that of Dollar General, were thought to be distracting and unnecessary.

As I said above, the forms requesting less information, such as Forever21, were favoured partly because of the lesser deceive of perceived intrusion and also because the pages were less cluttered. The typeface was larger and there was more white space around the text.

Where the forms asked for longer answers to questions, dotted lines were preferred as a guide for how much to write. It would be made even clearer if there were boxes around each question, further separating each question visually for the applicant.

On the Topshop form, the boxes to the right of the answers seem to relate to an internal process, but this was unclear to the youth group. Because no instructions were given to the applicant about what to do with these boxes, they were confusing.

Some forms asked for the applicant when they would be available to work. Although I had one hypothesis that tick boxes may mean neurodiverse people might have an issue with tick boxes, it was much preferred to the Toys'R'Us version. TopShop had a similar idea with a table, however, confusingly split the day between morning, afternoon and evening. I can imagine this would be confusing as the times are not specified.

Topshop

Typefaces

The Comic Sans used for the Toys 'R' Us form was reviled as childish and as if the form was "made to look easy-to-read, and the Forever21 was considered unnecessarily fussy. All other typefaces were accepted.

There was a consensus that the typeface was less important than the size and leading of the font. Larger fonts with plenty of leading to create white space around the text was most important because it seemed less intimidating than a small, closely packed font.

Colour

The forms had minimal colour: most used black ink on a white background, presumably to reduce the cost of printing out each form. Topshop used colour for headings, which graphically indicated a change of section, however had an entirely black first page, which to me is a diabolical waste of ink.

Wording

A detail that seemed to concern the youth group was the distinction between "present address", "current address" and "home address". To them, it seemed unnecessary and confusing when "address" could have been used instead.

Questions such as "Why do you want to work for Argos/Topshop" was met with answers of "because I want to earn money"/"I want to have a job". What would be a better way to pose this question so that the applicant would know what was asked of them? Questions such as "When have you delivered/received great service? What did you do/receive? How did you measure it?" (Topshop form) caused confusion and stress because the questions were grouped together: When, What, How. Participants would have preferred them to be separated, with a space for an answer between them.

Knots' Arts Enlighten Form

In addition to the job application forms, I also asked the focus group to consider the Knots' Arts Enlighten form. This is filled out by the parent or guardian of the person coming to one of their programmes and allows the person's needs, likes and dislikes to be communicated to the leaders. If a neurodiverse person becomes distressed or is non-verbal, they might not be able to communicate their needs to a leader, and the form means that the leaders are aware of triggers and stress factors.

The leaders would like the form to be redesigned so that it is more accessible for the young people to fill out themselves, rather than their parent or guardian and have asked me to help as part of the project. This form was considered after the job application forms. The outcomes were:

What is the form for and how will the information be used?

Where will do I write my answers?

One young person comes to the youth club with their mother as they are mostly non-verbal. The mother explained that as a parent, she often had to fill out forms detailing her child's ASC, and felt that it could be very upsetting when it focussed on her child's triggers or behaviour that indicated that they were stressed. Instead, she thought that a focus on the positive attributes of the young person could be also highlighted in the form. Also, she felt that the form asked questions in the form of words, where perhaps symbols or illustration could be alongside the words so that people who found it more difficult to read could understand what was being asked. This could turn a form-filling task into an activity young person and parent/guardian could complete together so the young person has more agency over their care.

Analysis of outcomes

The most salient point that I drew from the focus group was that clear sign-posting is needed. Why is information needed? Where do I need to answer that question? This could be tackled in a number of graphical ways, including boxes and colour-coding.

Another conclusion to draw from the focus group that less information was needed: on both sides. Some questions were seen as intrusive and unnecessary by applicants, and if there were large blocks of text, it was confusing and the information was not taken in. Recruiters need to consider what information is actually needed at application stage, such a contact details, and what is only of interest to them, for example, "Where did you find out about this role?"

Recommendations

A clear statement that the information will be private and not shared

Information about how the applicant heard about the job should not be included

Avoid internal reference boxes

The members of Knots' Arts Youth Group are unlikely to attend sessions set up to help them with job applications

Type should have plenty of space between lines, and blocks of information should be shorter so that they do not seem intimidating

Colour can be used as a sign-posting technique

Building a new form

I am going to build the form in Indesign, as this is the project I am most familiar with! For the typeface, I looked at Google Fonts and shortlisted these three:

before settling on IBM Plex Sans because I feel it is open and spacious, with clear tails on the 'l's.

I also want to make sure that the information asked was relevant so cut out much of the questions asked, whilst keeping in essential information. Here is draft one of the form:

Bibliography

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Imagine and make one design response to your self initiated project brief, as outlined on your mood boards. Demonstrate your development. Upload initial ideas and sketches to the Ideas Wall and reflect in your blog. Make prototypes and experiment with design and production techniques to ensure you engage with your target audience.

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After taking on board some feedback from The Big Issue Charity, I have developed my chair idea into chat benches, I realised that making a solo seat for the homeless is isolating in itself, instead I have created sheltered benches for them. Each bench has lockable storage, a shelter, and an art board for homeless people to design their own artwork which I envision would be done as a collaboration workshop at kick off of this project. Link to blog here: http://rebeccaclulow.co.uk/2019/10/09/development/

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I've finished the 3 layouts and rearranged the colours.. I like 90% of them. I do, of course have to narrow, so I ask for your help - what are your top choice(s). My notes are not included in this image, they are in my previous green post if you're looking for insight. In the meantime, I'll be sending out the top 3 to educators/kids/anyone who wants to give their opinion on the idea and designs behind it all.

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I’ve started playing with how this chapter would look, as part of the overall book (for this project I am only doing the one chapter!), and although I am still tinkering, I feel like I’m reaching an outcome now that I’m really excited about. I’ve decided that each double page spread will feature one photograph from each train station – so a double page spread for Redditch, one for Alvechurch, one for Barnt Green etc. This feels like the right overall length for a chapter, and also means I am having to carefully edit, rather than just throwing all my photos in there.

I thought about the things that were important to include with each photograph, and I decided that the location, the time, and the response to my question “Please could I take your photo?” were all key in telling the story of my journey.

When I look at the pages altogether, I love how the quotes flow – some of them are as simple as “Why not?” – but I feel they really bring out the character of each person I photographed.

I want to keep the layout pretty simple, keeping the photos as the main focus, so this is a rough idea that I’m playing with at the moment.

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Here's my work from the last week or so- still more testing to do though.

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Last weekend I mocked up some prototype cards and took them for a walk. The sketches were based on photos I'd taken, and I drew them on blank cards to test the functionality of them.

This test gave me lots to think about in terms of how to use them-

How accurately does the picture on the card have to 'match' reality

How long do you have to spend searching for something before you give up (I couldn't find a bird anywhere)

In the environment I'd tested it in there were too many restrictions to use them in the way I'd imagined. There was no linear walk- lots of back and forth

The textures worked well- I spent a long time closely examining trees to try and match up textures

Same with the colours- as soon as I started looking for 'red' I found it in lots of unexpected places

Sometimes it was unsatisfying to find something too quickly- maybe a 5 minute timer on each card would work.

What I learnt from doing this test is that there were a lot of different ways to use the cards that hadn't occurred to me. I think I need to make a set of 'games' that the user can choose from, depending on time, location and mood. I also found that lots of the cards were too specific to one location, so I couldn't use them anywhere else.

I could see a whole range of cards being produced- a pack for the woods, a pack for the city, even packs for very specific areas. However for the purposes of this project I'm limiting myself to one location- the woods I walk through. In order to test the final cards I will bring my users here.

On Monday I was feeling like a big part of my project was still missing. After my tutorial with Stuart I realised I'd neglected the graphic design part of the process, so I went out to the woods with my camera and took a lot of photos. These helped me understand what I was trying to capture visually, and I ended up remaking my moodboards to incorporate them.

I wanted to find some more interesting ways to create scratchy black lines and textures, which got me thinking about some monoprinting I did during my A-Levels. I really liked the process and the quality of the lines, so I had a go. Below are some of the images I made.

While researching monoprinting techniques (it's been over ten years since I tried it and I was feeling a bit rusty) I found some images that had a lovely veiny kind of pattern, which made me think of leaves and bark. So I also wanted to try and create some new textures this way, possibly for backgrounds. I was using acrylic paint for this which dries very quickly, so I don't have as many test prints, but I like the way they've turned out. I also did some other experiments with watercolour.

All of this feels like I'm on the right track- I just need to figure out how to bring it together. I'm going to try some digital layering but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will look better done by hand.

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GDE740: Week 3, Development | Peer reflection, thinking by doing, testing and refining design

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Last weekend I mocked up some prototype cards and took them for a walk. The sketches were based on photos I'd taken, and I drew them on blank cards to test the functionality of them.

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I've decided my project needs more insight before I can create my BLAD, so instead, I will be creating 3 different layouts, then sending them off for insight from industry professionals/kids/etc..Here's a bunch of my testing, I have been busy creating a system, rules, testing and choosing colours schemes for vision impairment, along with searching for alphabets for inclusivity.
https://jazzstew.wordpress.com/2019/10/14/kind-of-blad/

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I've posted the full story, genesis, and outcomes including sketches, iterations, rationale on my blog. But to be quick and easy on the eye in this sea of posts... here is the final piece. You can learn more about how my self-initiated project came together here:
https://attagirldesign.com/falmouth/2019/9/28/gde740-w1-lecture-reflection-r4mss-489tx-7fcm8-sewdf

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So today I spent HOURS taking photos at train stations and I’m not sure my hands are ever going to feel warm again, but I’m pretty chuffed with some of the results! I’ve included some here on my blog to share what I’ve been up to, but now I need to focus on getting them together into a final outcome. I felt like a story would develop more easily once I had the photos, and I’d somehow just know which direction I’d want to take, but at the moment I’m still not sure. Suggestions welcome..! I’m going to start playing with some ideas and posting them here tomorrow 😊

https://alicemarlow.home.blog/2019/10/12/week-3-development/

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https://sashamitchelll.wordpress.com/2019/10/12/development/

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This was the initial Trump legoman video I created. The typography background includes Trump quotes interspersed with quotes about protesting. Maybe I was trying to send a subliminal message to the voters. I thought the background as too busy and it looks a bit like a tabloid newspaper or something. I wanted the background to resemble street art protest graphics in a way. I think the inflatable animal video works better.
https://dairet.com/week-3-development/

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@Tony

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A busy week at work so I have struggled to keep on top of my work but here is where I am at.. Still aiming to develop the story further.

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This week has been spent refining and writing the story. I will gain feedback from my peers in education, specifically English teachers to help me develop the story to suit a younger audience. I will also aim to gain feedback from children and judge their reaction as to how I am able to develop this story further. I wanted to incorporate lots of the different myths and stories from around Cornwall to hi light their existence but I did not wish to go into so much detail on each that it would spoil the flow of the book. I need to now design the front cover and aim to conclude the story.

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This week has been spent refining and writing the story. I will gain feedback from my peers in education, specifically English teachers to help me develop the story to suit a younger audience. I will also aim to gain feedback from children and judge their reaction as to how I am able to develop this...

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It's been so interesting seeing everyone's work! I was so focussed on this project that I didn't read the email properly, oops. Here's a pinterest link to assorted collection of self-initiated projects, from screen-printing cards to Monopoly pub crawl!

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Discover recipes, home ideas, style inspiration and other ideas to try.

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I realised my research last week wasn't very helpful for steering the visual direction of my project, so I went out and took loads of photos in the area I've been focussing on, and reworked my mood boards to incorporate them. In module 1 wk 9 Sam Winston suggested visiting an area and focusing on 4 things – process, materials, language and design. I went for slightly different headings- mark making, shape, colour, texture and process- and it was really helpful to make sense of my research and work out how it could be applied practically.

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Still browsing dictionaries

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How has production, risk, failure and your own personal ambition affected the outcome?

Offshore:

Create an environment where they can test and fail an idea. Testing different directions and finding a way to make things work - narrowing everything down to get the correct answer.

New techniques are a factor, a self initiated project is a good opportunity to try new ways of working and is one of the benefits which comes from them and you need to be prepared to make changes to work right up to the last minute of the process.

Things do go wrong but sometimes that brings unexpected and positive results. An example they gave is the poster shown below: when the brighter inks used where exposed to UV light, they began to slowly fade. All planned as far as the client was aware...

Their summing up: If you're into a project 100%, that will give you the drive and interest to finish it. If you're not into it 100% you will always find something else to give you a good enough excuse to stop.

Frost:

A lack of funding is frustrating when it stops a project from happening. They're a very busy studio so any opportunity to 'blitz' the live projects is a good thing as it helps to give time for their own work, and when things get busy again these are kept in the background until more time becomes available.

Another source of failure for self initiated work is self-doubt - you think you have a big idea but end up talking yourself out of it because you start to worry if the market will also see it as a big idea...

Frost find it difficult to write a brief for their own projects, they're so used to working with client briefs and sorting problems for someone else. Client projects make you feel needed, that you're able to help them. There are also parameters to work to, self initiated work runs the risk of never seeing an end.

Workflow:

Their aim to make games more realistic is always controlled by budget and an ambitious script can make the process of development much longer.

They find a big risk in taking too much time to put into their self initiated projects and so keep a close eye on the production techniques. Finding new processes which allow for more content to be make more quickly is something to aim for both for their own projects and for speeding up client work, resulting in more free studio time.

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How has production, risk, failure and your own personal ambition affected the outcome? Create an environment where they can test and fail an idea. Testing different directions and finding a way to make things work - narrowing everything down to get the correct answer.

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Ben Longden is the digital design director at The Guardian where he has helped to shape the title's digital experience, working on some of the biggest news events of recent years, such as Cambridge Analytica and the Paradise Papers. Reflecting on his route through graphic and digital design, he has recently written a book, Graphic Design is Mental, which he is currently funding here.
As someone who is passionate about design, design education and mental health, I wanted to write down my thoughts, which have culminated in a book, Graphic Design is Mental. Below is an extract from this book, reflecting my career experience from my role as digital design director at The Guardian, teaching at Shillington College and running a shop, RoomFifty, with Chris Clarke and Leon Edler.

The result is a sort of self-help guide to being a graphic designer and an exploration of creativity and mental health, which I hope might be useful to someone like me. Someone who is creative but often frustrated, sometimes nervous, but always looking for ways to be better and improve what they do, and what they love.

Be kind to yourself, learning is hard, design is easy

Learning new skills is one of the most satisfying and frustrating things you can do as a designer, but if you give yourself the time and space to do this, design will soon feel like second nature to you. When learning a new skill, like a software or a way of thinking which is new to you, it's really easy to beat yourself up when things aren't going the way you think they should.

I guess there are two points here, the first one being that learning is hard. If you are a creative person who needs to learn by doing, there is no linear structure. The best thing you can do is to get stuck in and play, and view learning like playing with a new tool. For me I learned through play, by using my hands to create marks and bringing them into design, or by experimenting with software. The frustrating side to everything will come when you are in this play stage, when your ambition to create and your technical ability doesn't quite match up. This is where the frustrated creative can rear its head and you often feel as if you can't do it, or that you aren't very good. Know this: your ambition and your skills will soon match up, and the thing you see in your head will soon be possible to bring to life.

I remember when I first started designing, I could always see where I wanted to get to from the start (even during the briefing I knew what I wanted to do) but by the end of the project it looked nothing like it. This is partly the process you go through, and partly because my ambition was greater than my skill set, but there was a click, at a certain point, where I felt "yes that's what I saw when I started thinking about this project". That's satisfying and if you stick at it, it will come.

The second point is about the way you think it should go. This is an expectation that should be left at the door; no project will ever be the way you expect. This is where the joy lies in being a creative - your eyes and mind need to be open to looking and thinking about the possibilities, and not setting expectations for yourself or your work. This can be a freeing and liberating approach, and can feel much less stressful. Whenever I was struggling with a brief, either as a student or a junior designer, I would keep saying to myself to trust the process that I know: sketch, write, try, expand and really search around for ideas. They are there and you will find them. You have to trust in the process and not let moments of "this is not going the way I thought it would" creep in. Ideas are there and you just have to catch them.

It's not about you, it's about them

Whenever anyone gives you their opinion, know that it's their opinion of the work, don't take it personally. Critique is a good thing, and you should always give it too. Don't say "that looks nice" as it won't help anyone. Expect the same for your work.

Clients can be mean when things go wrong

You are basically working on their baby, and it's a precious baby. If a client sees that even a small thing goes wrong, or isn't quite working (especially on a website), they will probably freak out, and blame you. But it's really not your fault. Take a breath, know that no one has died and deal with it in a calm and considered way. Everything can be fixed in this way.

Whenever something goes wrong, it always feels like the end of the world but in reality it's obviously not. Mistakes happen, it's just the way we are, and mistakes always happen when you are learning. I always remind myself that it's not what happened, it's how you deal with it now that matters. You can't take back past mistakes, all you can do is learn from them and not repeat them.

Confidence comes in many forms

For me confidence comes from the work I do. I get more confidence from showing my work than hiding it, from being open to critique and change. Sharing your ideas and challenging yourself to do something new and different will bring you as much confidence as you let it, as long as you listen and take on board what people are saying to you.

How to deal with the big projects

A big project is just another project, with the same process as the smallest ones. Whether it's going to be seen by one person or a million people, the route is the same. The only difference is when you launch a big project you will only see the negative comments and never the positive ones. The internet is a horrible place when it wants to be and those with positive opinions generally stay quiet.

In January 2018 we launched the redesign of The Guardian's website, app and newspaper all at the same time. It was something that, from what we could remember, had not been done in that way ever before. It was the biggest project, and most prominent project, that I had ever worked on and we knew that if we did it in this way, with a big bang, we would cause people to take note. It's not the way you do things in digital these days - especially with established brands and platforms where you iterate, iterate, iterate so that the change is less dramatic for the audience, and less for the business. But, as we're The Guardian and it was a big moment for the organisation, it felt right to launch with a big bang. Surprise! Your daily newspaper looks different. This safe zone, of iterating and iterating did not exist and we were putting our proverbial design necks on the line. We had shown it to a select group in user testing and we knew that the design wouldn't get in the way of their reading experience, in fact it was going to enhance it. But people don't like change, especially when it comes to a brand that has been by your side and looked familiar for 15 years.

We hit the button to go live at 6am on the morning of 15 January 2018. For the first time, in about three months we had little to do but wait for our Twitter feeds to start chirping, and this is what it said: "This is the worst decision you've ever made." "Bright red heading though. Seriously hun?" "Was it designed by your unpaid intern?"

As I said, the internet can be a horrible place and - if you let it - you could spiral into a whole world of pain thinking that the last three to six months worth of work was a waste, and that you had ruined one of the most loved brands in the world. Forever.

But given less than 24 hours you will see that change can be a positive one. For us, we saw more people reading and for longer, no drop in ad revenue and a positive change for a brand that had been using the same design for a long time. This reader sums it up well with his series of tweets: "Looks a bit messy and cluttered" to "Edit: Changed my mind, just took a small while getting used to it."

Be yourself

Nuff said. Don't be shy with your ideas, they are your ideas and no one is judging you. Put them out there and see what happens.

Don't take on work you can't do

You will burn out. This for me, as a designer who always wanted to push themselves and be the best at what they do, is the most important lesson I have learned. Throughout my shortish career, this has manifested itself in a couple of ways. The first was when I was starting out and I took on a project outside of my day job which was building a website for a small photography studio. I had built a couple of very simple websites at this point, and so I was feeling confident! But it soon became clear that my knowledge and ambition were misaligned. The stress that it added to me personally was not worth it, not to mention that in the end I had to give it up and tell the client that I couldn't do it. I don't beat myself up for trying, and having the ambition to want to do the extra work. Had I taken a step back and said to myself that it was too soon, that wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world.

Hindsight is wonderful for that, and even though it was a bad decision to take on the project, of course, you learn things, whether it be something about yourself or a new skill. This is not to say you shouldn't push yourself and find your 'discomfort-zone', but don't merely throw yourself into the deep end unnecessarily. Know that your time will come to be able to take on those challenges and do them well.

The second moment was not too long ago, when I was a fully fledged designer, working at The Guardian but also juggling side projects while teaching, all of which I could do, and do well, for a while. As time went on, and I was stretching myself too thin to the extent of feeling exhausted and it became a chore. The advice to not work too much might sound obvious, but sometimes, if you are in any way inclined to get excited by creative work, it's really easy to say yes.

I believe that creative work gets inspired by other creative work you are doing, and the work others are doing around you. Although this is a natural cycle, it's still one to approach with caution. Bear in mind that clients often don't care too much about the other stuff, and that's pressure you will feel. I love taking on creative work, but I know that love for the creative work can often take precedent. You have to take care of yourself, and your mind, to make that work the best it can be.

It's a job for some and not for others

I have worked with some people who think that design is design and it's just a job, 9-5 and that's all. That is ok, and it is a job, but for others it is a passion as well as a job. Working with people who don't share the same energy and passion for what they do can be frustrating as you don't always feel you can generate ideas and bounce them back and forth. It's ok that for some that it's just a job, but find someone you can have those ideas with and share with them. Don't take it personally, you haven't lost your edge.

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Graphic Design is Mental: Tips for looking after your state of mind as a designer

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Ben Longden is the digital design director at The Guardian where he has helped to shape the title's digital experience, working on some of the biggest news events of recent years, such as Cambridge Analytica and the Paradise Papers.

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A, not-yet-finished, instalment.

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Applications and Interactions

Brief one Brief analysis

The first project brief is called 'Self Initiated', which considers how to apply your design skills, research and thinking to answer a self initiated project, that challenges your interests, identity or experience.

Weekly learning objectives.

By the end of this week you should be able to:
Research and discover your personal interests, identity and experiences. A list of my interests
World History, specifically British History and the history of Art and Design.

Humanitarian causes, conveyed through my work with a Refugee support group.

English and American Politics.

Documentaries pertaining to Travel, History, India, Japan, Music and the Arts.

Literature.

Cooking, exploring recipes from Japan, India and Italy.

Skateboarding and Zine culture.

Visual storytelling, Graffiti Art, Graphic Novels, Cinema, Photography, Collage.

Lurking in Coffee shops.

Family and Friends.
Distill your research into your personal interests, identity and experiences to define one subject that can be developed into a self initiated project. The Films of Makoto Shinkai Widely regarded as one of the most prominent Anime directors in Japan, Makoto Shinkai is known for is eloquently, woven narratives and the achingly beautiful landscapes that are depicted in his animated features. Beginning his career as a Graphic Artist in the mid 90s, he made the transition into film in the early 2000s and has gone on to enjoy both, critical and commercial success. His 2007 feature film, 5cm per second set a new precedent, for how animation can compete with live action cinema in the telling of intricately constructed, narratives and undertook the task of addressing the social and cultural challenges that are faced in contemporary, Japanese society. Throughout his career, Shinkai had explored the themes of isolation, the need for human connection, distance, and the passage of time. His protagonists are often confronted with the inevitable changes that arise from the passing of time, they can often be seen to be seeking comfort in the past and choosing to isolate themselves from the events taking place in the present. His work is a beautifully crafted, study of the human condition and how we are all subject to the passing of time and its inevitable consequences.

Above, The 5cm per second teaser poster. Japanese version. 2007.

The Perspective Project hosts art, poetry and writing with the aim of ending stigma and providing an outlet for those with mental health problems. The 24-year-old founder, Mark Anscombe, is already sharing the work of over 30 artists from around the UK, US and Canada, all of whom have various mental health issues. The project accepts submissions in any form, and people can submit anonymously.

'There is a moment when you can't help but sink deep down. Attacked by spiteful thoughts. But, oh dear! I was the monster.'
At the Bottom of the Anxiety Swamp by Jayoon Choi

'This represents dysfunction patterns in relationships. It is the expectation that if you put someone else's needs before your own, somehow this will make you happy. You allow yourself to be badly treated and have few boundaries, then wonder why you feel so hurt and alone. It's letting your feelings build up and up, until one day you realise and run away - away from the relationship and the ill treatment. The pattern repeats until you say no more and move forward into self-awareness, self-love and healing. Therapy was my route for this. Victim no more.'
Your Pain Is My Pain by Paula Scotter

'I've struggled with anxiety and depression since I was a teenager. There have been times when it has crippled me, and I was afraid of everything. I started to face my fears, my demons head on and I still do. It's scary in the dark but what's more scary to me is denying and suppressing what lurks beneath the surface. My mental health is good these days. My dark days are still here, but I no longer turn them away.'
Tiger, Shark and Me Sit Down for Tea by Emma Haddow

The Perspective Project

We are a charity ending the stigma around mental health through art and creativity. We provide a therapeutic outlet for those affected by mental health conditions, highlighting different perspectives on mental health to the wider public.

All of the works you see on this site have been submitted by you, the public. We release new works regularly on our site and social media.

We are always open for submissions, and welcome works in all formats. If you would like to submit your work, check out our Submissions page.
Share your perspective on your mental health today.
Faceless Maiden.

Siris Hill
"Art has saved my life, literally. It has given me a voice, a purpose and taught me discipline, which in turn has strengthened my mind and allowed me to take the same approach I have used to learn to paint to tackle my recovery head-on. I have found strength through sharing my journey and my work with the public. This has led me to pursue change within our society, focusing on the public and challenging them to rethink mental illness by creating engaging conversations and educating them from an individual's perspective of living with a mental illness."
Benefits Supervisor Weeping

Gareth Jones
"I have serious Bipolar Disorder which I have been in and out of hospital with. The piece was painted on a day where I was told I wouldn't be able to work for a while, which was pretty devastating. The piece itself is based on one of Lucien Freud's works 'Benefits Supervisor Sleeping'. Brilliantly the benefits officer that sat for Freud's original piece, Sue Tilley, came across it on Instagram and got in touch to say she loved it."
Book

Phillips, P. 2004. Creating the perfect design brief, How to manage design for strategic advantage.

Considerations, for the preparation of a Design Brief.

In preparation for the construction of my Design Brief I had read the recommended chapters from, Creating the perfect design brief, How to manage design for the strategic advantage by, Phillips. P. Here are the notes from my analysis.

The are many labels that can be assigned to the describing of a Design Brief.

When designing a Design Brief, make certain to include information pertaining to all stakeholders.

The goal is to make a Design Brief as complete and useful as possible. The final length will be determined by the specific project and its complexity.

A Design Brief should be built around its core concept.

The Objectives should be clear and communicate the underlying concept.

Tell a simple story and build an emotional connection with your audience.

Link the Creative objectives with the Business objectives.

Begin with reviewing the parameters, within which you must work.

Consider the time required, in order to structure your brief efficiently.

Consider the following in this order, deadlines, technical issues, finances.

Reflect on, why you are pursuing the project and what you want your outcomes to be. Who is the target audience.

What needs will the project outcomes satisfy.

Can identify an value added opportunities in our outcomes. How does the consumer interact with the product after purchase.

When closing the review of your criteria, take the time to assess and reflect on the competition.

When do you need a Design Brief.

Art vs Design.

Proposals vs Design Briefs.

A request for proposal RFP, is not a Design Brief and will only contain part of the information required to fully understand the project.

The information disclosed upon securing the Brief will form the basis of a Design Brief.

Design Briefs have a great many uses.

Use your business partners to translate your intentions into a brief that can be understood by all stakeholders, specifically those that do not possess a background in design.

The Design Brief can be used as a road map, in the structuring of the project.

Think of the Design Brief as a business plan that details the creative strategy. Or as a document that combines a business plan with creative strategy.

Communicate and deliver a clear project brief to outline the aim, critical context, outcome and designated target audience for your self initiated project.
Project Overview

Mental Health is fast becoming a primary concern for governments, all over the world. Here in the UK 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem, each year. In England 1 in 6 people report experiencing a mental health problem each week. More concerning is how we are dealing with our mental health, with the number of people reporting having experienced self-harm or suicidal-thoughts, on the rise.

What problem does it solve?

This brief will aim to tackle the lack of understanding around mental health conditions, providing insight and illustrated experiences that will allow the viewer to better understand the issue. In doing so, I hope to bring the subject to the forefront of the public forum and to encourage a more candid conversation about mental health.

Objectives/Goals

In response to this public health issue, I would like to curate and develop an editorial piece that would serve to provide people unfamiliar with mental health issues with insight and information on the subject of mental health.

Message?

That it is perfectly acceptable to speak candidly about ones' mental health, and that the issue of mental health is one that is common within society. You should not feel unable to discuss this subject with your friends, family, or partner. And if you do not suffer with a mental health problem yourself, you should be mindful of those that do struggle everyday with such challenges, and be open to better understanding the reasons behind their behaviours.

Tone

The tone of the book will be highly conceptual, presenting a visual-narrative that encourages engagement and reflection upon the subject of mental health. I will look to communicate the authenticity of the subject-matter through the use of found-objects and carefully, considered artworks.

Target Audience

The target audience will be those that are unable to comprehend, why a person they know is suffering from a mental health issue. This could extend into a more focused demographic, specifically the 18-25yrs age-bracket.

Deliverables

An illustrated book, that explores the challenges and implications of living with a mental health problem.

References

Unknown, Unknown (2018). Mental Health: behind the label. [online] TheGaurdian.com. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/gallery/2018/jan/17/eight-artworks-inspired-mental-health-problems-pictures [Accessed Thursday 26th September. 2019].

Unknown, Unknown (2018). Works. [online] The perspective project. Available at: http://www.theperspectiveproject.co.uk [Accessed Thursday 26th September. 2019].

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Applications and Interactions Brief one Brief analysis The first project brief is called 'Self Initiated', which considers how to apply your design skills, research and thinking to answer a self initiated project, that challenges your interests, identity or experience. Weekly learning objectives. By the end of this week you should be able to: Research and...

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I've been working on a few too many things this week but really enjoyed the observations of my first year students who have never encountered design thinking. The question was what do my students know about design thinking and how I can help them understand and apply it better. We sublimely do it which isn't their way of learning... It became a monster of a project. Enjoyable. Would do more but I need CONTENT....

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I've been writing up the reasons and outline for my festival and am now snow-blind to the text. Here's my initial statement - does it make sense to you as a new reader?

"The Shrewsbury Design Festival: Resilience - Bringing Together.

Shropshire is a county full of artists, designers, illustrators, animators, film-makers, cartoonists and comic book illustrators; Shrewsbury serves as a hub to the county peripheries and beyond, it is a place where all these disciplines can be brought together.

The festival is about resilience; ideas get changed or rejected, how do artists and designers deal with competition both from within the industry and from the barriers brought by a play-it-safe client?

Is location a factor when it comes to success?

Through discussions and lectures, we want to bring people together to share their stories, however light or serious, on how they deal with these barriers. What keeps them motivated, relevant. Workshops and exhibitions to engage the wider public and to help understand the role of a designer, to encourage new generations and new ideas.

This festival will bring together to make a more collaborative and creative environment."

?

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This is another version of the Tick Tock Trump video. Again the idea is to place a Trump speech in a ridiculous context to make it seem foolish, The inflatable animals behind ‘Trump’ represent the media hungry politicians that stand behind any political leader, and in this case Trump's sychophants who go along with whatever he says. The background of the previous one was a bit busy colour wise, there’s enough going on in the foreground without a background that clashes. The static is just to communicate that I’m interrupting the audiences normal media channels to bring my message.
https://dairet.com/week-3-development/

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Not sure about the images, or text colour

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Just need to finish designing the forms now...

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Introduction

Roughly 700,000 adults and children in the UK (Autism.org.uk, 2019), however, in 2007 only 15% of people with autistic spectrum condition (ASC) were in full-time paid employment and in the decade since the figure has only improved by 1%. Including part-time employment, the employment rate in 2017 was 32%, compared to 80% of the general population and 47% of people with disabilities (National Autistic Society, 2019).

People an ASC have a huge range of skills, however some in employment feel that "they are in low-skilled work and employers don't see their abilities" (National Autistic Society, 2019) and "79% of adults with autism who receive out of work benefits say they would rather work" (Hill, 2019).In the foreword to Grandin's Developing Talents, Tony Attwood writes that "This is a remarkable waste of potential talent. The American workforce needs the benefit of the qualities of people with Asperger Syndrome and autism" (Grandin, Duffy and Attwood, 2008)

I agree with these statements: that people with ASC can greatly enrich their workplaces and communities, learn essential skills and build confidence. This project will delve into why the employment levels are so low, and how I can, in a small way, attempt to address this imbalance.

A note on vocabulary

From now on in the project, I will refer to people with autistic spectrum condition as 'neurodiverse', except where quoted sources differ in vocabulary. The term autistic spectrum condition is preferred to 'disorder' as neurodiverse people prefer not to be considered disordered. People without an autistic spectrum condition will be referred to as 'neurotypical', rather than 'normal', because this 'others' neurodiverse people. It should be noted that every neurodiverse person might have a preferred way in which to refer to themselves or their condition, and I am using the terms that can be considered the most inclusive and uncontentious.

What are the factors that hinder neurodiverse people from entering the workforce?

Public views of autism have come a long way since Dustin Hoffman's depiction of a savant in Rain Man(1988): we now understand that to be autistic is to be on a wide spectrum of skills and needs, and individual to each person. The National Autistic Society reports that "employers have told us that they are worried about getting things wrong for autistic employees and that they don't know where to go for advice", suggesting that given the right information and support, employers would be more willing to engage with people with autism for employment (National Autistic Society, 2019).

For my project, I will be working with a small focus group from the Knots' Arts Youth Club that runs for two hours on Saturday afternoons in south-west London. Attracting between ten and fifteen young people with high-functioning autism each session, it is a space created to allow each person to be themselves and meet new people. My housemate, Cassie Yates (to divulge our connection), and her partners Hazel East and Bex Hand formed Knots Arts in 2013 to maintain drama and social programmes for neurodiverse children and young people. Their mission is to "create inclusive, friendly and fun sessions were children and young people feel safe and supported to develop their communication skills and build friendships. By meeting others who understand the challenges that social communication difficulties can bring, children are able to work together to embrace their differences and overcome any obstacles that they may present" (Knotsarts.com, 2019).

Having been to some of these sessions, the people are delightful and interesting and would be an asset to a workplace. What is stopping them? Cassie offers her insight: One of the main challenges that the members of Knots Arts Youth Group face is transitioning to independence. By working, even part-time they are able to not only learn to manage their own money but also timekeeping, travel and decision making. Neurotypical people make thousands of small decisions every day without realising it. For those with a neurodiversity such as autism, those small decisions can feel overwhelming, from simple things like where to sit on their break, to asking someone if they need some help with a task. Being in the workplace allows them to experience a new environment and develop their social communication skills further with a wider variety of people. They are not always in an environment where people know they have a neurodiversity and they have to navigate complicated social and professional situations often with unsympathetic or understanding participants."

Members of the youth group have got part-time and full-time employment, so how does it help them? Cassie says that "they have grown in confidence, they feel they have something to offer and some have made friends. Employment makes them feel like they are part of society, and to quote the group: 'It's what normal people do, so why can't I?'."

The HealthTalk website offers another insight into how neurodiverse people find employment and the application process. Oliver thinks "that people with [ASC] fail in normal human resource, hiring situations where it's 'please put your name here' and it's in a fairly basic form and people would, because the questions are obviously going to filter certain things out and I think this is where people on the spectrum or with [ASC] fail. Because it's not necessarily that they can't do the job. It's they don't understand what's been asked of them, because I've had this with quite a few situations." (Healthtalk.org, 2016)

At Knots' Arts, Cassie has noticed that application forms "cause a lot of stress for the members as they do not understand how to answer them... They can be too vague, too long, they can cause sensory overload due to colour and formatting. They often bring them to the group so we can help fill them out, for example, explain what the questions mean and show them where to write things." For me, this is a clear indication that application forms can be redesigned to take away the first hurdle that neuro-diverse people face when applying for work.

What can I do to help?

It would be too wide an issue for this project to include the many issues that neurodiverse people face in the entirety of employment. There are government-run schemes that can help and coach people into work, however, I feel that the impetus should be led by companies. The National Autistic Society agrees, stating that "if companies are serious about being disability confident, they should explore alternative forms of recruitment or adjustments to the interview process" (National Autistic Society, 2019).

Employment application processes typically revolve around two parts: a job application form (or a CV and covering letter) and an interview. This project, and course, revolves around design and therefore the subject shouldn't revolve around an oral process. Similarly, CVs and covering letters are very personal and are entirely self-constructed, making it a very large scope to cover. On the other hand, job application forms are a standard for part-time employment, which all sectors of society tend to start with alongside education as an avenue into a career.

Who is this project for?

This project is aimed at helping the design community and hiring departments to build and structure application forms in a way that would allow neurodiverse people to access the next stages of the application process.

Focus Group and Methodology

With the Youth Club of Knots' Arts, I will conduct a short focus group in order to obtain research about what would help neurodiverse people fill in application forms. To do this, I will provide samples of application forms and ask the group what they like and dislike the forms, and how they feel they could be improved.

The research will be collected physically by way of notes on the application forms written by members of the group, and orally by myself and the leaders listening to their thoughts and concerns.

The forms will be paper forms sourced online. Many shops do have online forms, but for the practicality of the session and availability fo technology, they will be printed forms.

Presentation of ethics and data privacy

The project's aim is to reduce stress around application forms for neurodiverse people, so it is possible that this study will cause stress for participants

The research will be conducted with participants' full awareness of the aims

I will take guidance from the Knots' Arts leaders about language and how to structure the session

The session will be clearly signposted and of a clearly defined length

If any member of the youth group do not want to participate, they will be free to move away

Participants will be grouped together and will be able to work independently or with the group. The groups will be chosen by the Knots' Arts leaders

The participants will be able to write down their thoughts or articulate them verbally to myself or a Knots' Arts leader

Knots' Arts leaders will be present and participate with the research with the youth group.

The participants will remain anonymous.

Hypotheses

I had expectations for the outcomes and noted them down so that I would be aware of my bias. They were:

The group would prefer pale colour backgrounds compared to white

No background graphics would be preferred

Lots of white space so that the information can be easily taken in

Tick-boxes would not be ideal

Larger typeface size and larger leading

Typefaces with large x-heights with clear differentiation between capital 'I's and 'l's.

Initial outcomes

Data

The main concerns from the youth group came from data protection and how their information was going to be used. I assured them that applications are generally covered under privacy protection laws, however, this clearly still worried them, in particular, one participant who brought it up multiple times.
Many companies ask questions about how the applicant had heard about the job and whether the applicant had family working for the company (Argos and Dollar General). The group generally found these questions to be irrelevant and intrusive as they did not understand why the company would need to know this information.
The application forms were generally deemed too long and to ask too much information, with a particular reference to Dollar General. The Forever21 form was the most-liked form for the information asked as it was brief and the questions related to the information the group expected to be answered.
Although the forms were intended for part-time work, the group were concerned that they were asked for details of previous employment because many had never had jobs before.

Layout

The background of the Forever21 form, and that of Dollar General, were thought to be distracting and unnecessary.

As I said above, the forms requesting less information, such as Forever21, were favoured partly because of the lesser deceive of perceived intrusion and also because the pages were less cluttered. The typeface was larger and there was more white space around the text.

Where the forms asked for longer answers to questions, dotted lines were preferred as a guide for how much to write. It would be made even clearer if there were boxes around each question, further separating each question visually for the applicant.

On the Topshop form, the boxes to the right of the answers seem to relate to an internal process, but this was unclear to the youth group. Because no instructions were given to the applicant about what to do with these boxes, they were confusing.

Some forms asked for the applicant when they would be available to work. Although I had one hypothesis that tick boxes may mean neurodiverse people might have an issue with tick boxes, it was much preferred to the Toys'R'Us SHIFTS & TICKBOXES Toys R us vs Argos

Typefaces

The Comic Sans used for the Toys 'R' Us form was reviled as childish and as if the form was "made to look easy-to-read, and the Forever21 was considered unnecessarily fussy. All other typefaces were accepted.

There was a consensus that the typeface was less important that the size and leading of the font. Larger fonts with plenty of leading to create white space around the text was most important because it seemed less intimidating than small, closely packed font.

Colour

The forms had minimal colour: most used black ink on a white background, presumably to reduce the cost of printing out each form. Topshop used colour for headings, which graphically indicated a change of section, however had an entirely black first page, which to me is a diabolical waste of ink. On the

Wording

A detail that seemed to concern the youth group was the distinction between "present address", "current address" and "home address". To them, it seemed unnecessary and confusing when "address" could have been used instead.

Questions such as "Why do you want to work for Argos/Topshop" was met with answers of "because I want to earn money"/"I want to have a job". What would be a better way to pose this question so that the applicant would know what was asked of them? Questions such as "When have you delivered/received great service? What did you do/receive? How did you measure it?" (Topshop form) caused confusion and stress because the questions were grouped together: When, What, How. Participants would have preferred them to be separated, with a space for an answer between them.

Knots' Arts Enlighten Form

In addition to the job application forms, I also asked the focus group to consider the Knots' Arts Enlighten form. This is filled out by the parent or guardian of the person coming to one of their programmes and allows the person's needs, likes and dislikes to be communicated to the leaders. If a neurodiverse person becomes distressed or is non-verbal, they might not be able to communicate their needs to a leader, and the form means that the leaders are aware of triggers and stress factors.

The leaders would like the form to be redesigned so that it is more accessible for the young people to fill out themselves, rather than their parent or guardian and have asked me to help as part of the project. This form was considered after the job application forms. The outcomes were:

What is the form for and how will the information be used?

Where will do I write my answers?

One young person comes to the youth club with their mother as they are mostly non-verbal. The mother explained that as a parent, she often had to fill out forms detailing her child's ASC, and felt that it could be very upsetting when it focussed on her child's triggers or behaviour that indicated that they were stressed. Instead, she thought that a focus on the positive attributes of the young person could be also highlighted in the form. Also, she felt that the form asked questions in the form of words, where perhaps symbols or illustration could be alongside the words so that people who found it more difficult to read could understand what was being asked. This could turn a form-filling task into an activity young person and parent/guardian could complete together so the young person has more agency over their care.

Analysis of outcomes

The most salient point that I drew from the focus group was that clear sign-posting is needed. Why is information needed? Where do I need to answer that question? This could be tackled in a number of graphical ways, including boxes and colour-coding.

Another conclusion to draw from the focus group that less information was needed: on both sides. Some questions were seen as intrusive and unnecessary by applicants, and if there were large blocks of text, it was confusing and the information was not taken in. Recruiters need to consider what information is actually needed at application stage, such a contact details, and what is only of interest to them, for example, "Where did you find out about this role?"

Recommendations

A clear statement that the information will be private and not shared

Information about how the applicant heard about the job should not be included

Avoid internal reference boxes

The members of Knots' Arts Youth Group are unlikely to attend sessions set up to help them with job applications

Type should have plenty of space between lines, and blocks of information should be shorter so that they do not seem intimidating

Colour can be used as a sign-posting technique

Building form

Analysis by Knots Arts

Self-analysis

Conclusion and the future

Neurodiversity should not be a barrier to work, and ideally, it should be companies and their HR departments that lead the way to ensure that the application process is welcoming and accessible as possible. In this project, I have focussed on a small group with which

Evaluation

Wider range of people and a combination of internet and paper forms

Produce a way to quantitively analyse data without forms that may distress participants

Work with employers to build forms that will be used in future recruitment

Produce an online form builder that can create autism-friendly forms.

Bibliography
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5870494/

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Self-initiated Project: a cool snappy name

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Roughly 700,000 adults and children in the UK (Autism.org.uk, 2019), however, in 2007 only 15% of people with autistic spectrum condition (ASC) were in full-time paid employment and in the decade since the figure has only improved by 1%.

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I'm stumped with fonts! Please let me know what you think the best typeface would be for an educational kids ABC book from the options below. I'm going for structured, legible, clear, friendly, comfortable and stimulating. I am open to other suggestions, but these are my favs. Thoughts?

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"We're passionate at seeing the whole Midlands profile raised and that means the regions and surrounding towns, not just Birmingham. I love Shrewsbury, we were there last week, and its a fantastic place. I just did a quick Location search on my LinkedIn and there's LOADS of folk based there! Are you connected with other local folk who you'd want to collaborate with?

"Do's and Don't is a tricky one as I think every location has its own challenges and opportunities – and just because something worked for us doesn't mean its the right approach for anyone else.

"That said, there's some definite suggestions for you I do have:

"• Don't go it alone... bring others along with you. You're going to need help!

• Don't rush it. Big events take time and planning, invest upfront and it'll pay off.

• Do connect with other events organisers around the country of different sizes

• Do attend events and take notes, see what works, ask questions, see how folk react.

• Don't be discourages if you get a lot of no's. Keep asking folk, find your tribe.

• Do get sponsors on board and buying into you and your vision. Especially locals.

• Don't try and replicate someone else's vision – decide what you think Shrewsbury needs.

• Do dream big... we bit off more than I thought we could chew, and it worked for us.

• Don't let what has gone before dictate what you want to do in future. Build it.

"Doing surveys and research sounds very sensible. I don't know much about the scene in Shrews but don't forget people will travel from all over if you give them a good enough reason to. "

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I'll spare you the traditional timelapse. Hopefully I can burn screens tomorrow and start printing.

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Last week, I drew up a couple of layouts and had my moodboards done for my reference. This week, so far, I was obsessing over a publishing house name, mark and typefaces. Let me know what you think. I'm on the fence with Bebas and Circular Std. Check out my post - lots of visuals and not a super long read - promise. BLAD will be next.
https://jazzstew.wordpress.com/2019/10/08/its-developing/

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"Agoraphobia"

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"Isolation"

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"Intrusive-Thoughts"

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"Body-Dysmorphia"

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"Self-Esteem"

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"Eating-disorder"

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"Anonymity"

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I hope all your projects are going well. :) Once again I find my own focus has returned to monster fossil fuel corporations!

Having started with research into the stress reaction of coral to climate change and the effect this will have on biodiversity and the economy, followed by investigations into the source of this problem, I seem to have come back to a subject area that is very close to my week twelve, module 1 project on 'greenwashing' by the oil giant, Shell.

Through my research I have discovered that just 100 companies have

been the source of more than 70% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions since 1988 (Carbon Majors Report). I plan to write a manifesto alongside an infographic visualisation (which is nearing completion) on a double page spread. There are a number of different ways in which I could compose and construct  the manifesto, but my initial idea is to explain, at a minimum, what fossil fuel companies should be expected to do in terms of taking responsibility for their actions. This will include points such as: supporting sensible climate policies to reduce global warming emissions; fully disclosing the financial and physical risk of climate change to their business operations; and paying for their own share of the costs of climate related damages and climate change adaption. The aim is to get corporations to sign the manifesto to create a movement towards change. I am still trying

to figure out how I will reach the corporations and persuade them to sign, and what I will do with the signed manifesto afterwards. Any suggestions are more than welcome :) A

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From the previous week, I've decided to take forward the route of Letters of War as I think it has quite a bit of potential in terms of the direction of the project.

At present, I've been mapping out the direction of how the exhibition can be laid out in terms of how each 'room' is represented. I've been thinking about recreating surrounding the letters were created within to try and recreate the atmosphere with sound design of either background noise or an audio version of the letter being played as if the writer is currently thinking and writing the letter at the time. However, I'm also keen on the idea of contrasting it and taking the letter and thoughts out of the initial surroundings and putting them in a more modern setting - one that would feel more 'home' to people of the current generation to see how the narrative would play out in that sense too.

Hope everyone else is getting on well!

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Interaction between commuters is almost non-existent, with most people relying on their phones for entertainment, directions, and general company. Is it possible to re-open the conversation between commuters and document these moments to create something beautiful? As a designer, how can I help commuters feel less isolated on their journeys? Would this type of gesture be welcomed, or would most people prefer to be left alone?

During my tutorial Ben suggested that my project could be a performance piece, which puts a new spin on the idea that I really like. I want to challenge the idea that public transport is a lonely / isolated place, and see if there is anything I can do to change this.

I have began developing a set of rules/aims for my performance, which will take place this Saturday – annoyingly I am away with work all this week (terrible timing!) so I’ll be catching up like mad over the weekend! On the plus side, I am travelling down and back by train, so I am going to use these two journeys to observe, without the pressure of having my camera with me, ready for the weekend.

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https://attagirldesign.com/falmouth/2019/9/28/gde740-w1-lecture-reflection-r4mss-489tx-7fcm8

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So that Stuart can have a read of what I've done so far before the tutorial.
I plan to present this as a webpage with changeable settings.

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I wanted to make a physical mock up of 'the colour of pain' swatch book to have an initial look at what the outcome could be. I made it small and tactile for now. However through this process I learnt a few things. I wanted it to be small, this doesn't seem to work. It needs to be substantial and feel important and heavy even. Similar to how you pick up a hard bound book and without looking at the cover you already know it's worth. So I would want this printed on some heavy card. The binding would also need to be important, as the elastic I used was flimsy and made the product look cheap. I need explore the options of binding further and I need to make sure I continue to ask - who is this targeted for? Where would this be used? Who would buy this? Would this product sit on a GP's desk for patients to look at? Would chronic patients own one to help describe their pain to family and friends? How can this tool actually help?

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This is a video I created to test my idea. Through my research I’ve ascertained that the best way to get to my audience (18—25), which may seem obvious, is through social media and that the best format to deliver the message is short-form video. I was influenced by the target audiences use of the social media app TikTok which has exploded in recent times. The app has democratised filmmaking in a way, where users create their own content utilising music, filters etc on the app, they can even upload video they’ve edited elsewhere. Just like Led by Donkeys use  of satire to make fun of politicians, I wanted to use humour to take some power from Trumps rhetoric. In this video, Trump is a lego man spouting his usual crap, with one of his actual speeches playing on top. The end message - Tick Tock Trump - is a nod to the app, and a message that his time will be up when young people start taking even more action. The idea is that hopefully the audience will start doing their own versions, in the hope it goes 'viral'. Maybe I could make a template available, making sure it has the message at the end.

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This isn't anything to do with the project. As some of us were talking about GREP I thought I'd show an example of how I use it practically in my everyday work to automatically format text in a loooooong book. It's better than find and replace because if I make corrections, this will carry on applying them, rather than just once. Some rules I'll use consistently across books, others I will write especially for the text.

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Week 3: Development: Peer reflection, thinking by doing, testing and refining design

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Week 3: Development: Peer reflection, thinking by doing, testing and refining design

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Hi everyone,

You're now in the design and development phase of the self initiated project brief, which I'm sure you're looking forward to.

Here's your challenge for this week. We look forward to talking later today, for Monday tutorials.

This week we expect you to make and produce your self initiated project idea.

Imagine and make one design response to your self initiated project brief, as outlined on your mood boards. Demonstrate your development. Upload initial ideas and sketches to the Ideas Wall and reflect on them in your blog.

Make prototypes and experiment with design and production techniques to ensure you engage with your target audience. Do not forget to record all tests, even if they fail, and add them to the Ideas Wall.

Design and deliver your final outcome, in line with your original aim and objectives.