Communication Artifact Bear Bones Systems

For my communication artifact I chose to design a product brochure for Bear Bones System. I chose to do a brochure because I felt this product would greatly benefit by having an artifact that demonstrates the many features and functions this unique product has. Another communication objective that this brochure would offer is that it shows the variety of uses, as well as showing what different items this trailer has the potential to tow which would reach different audiences.

The style guide that I followed is the Bear Bones Systems is in Cinzel font. "Bones" is in black font with white shadow "Bear Systems" is 25% grey. I used the accent colors of black, grey and white in my design process to account for the same color to be present with the type style color.

   

While I was thinking about how I was going to put this together I kept in mind the vocabulary of design. Starting with lines I wanted everything to line up on the brochure on each page and I wanted the lines on the image to lead you down the brochure to the next part. The lines and the form in relation to the shapes on the page go with each other because the text is inside the shapes on some pages but also those shapes have distinct lines that bring everything together on the page. I like how on a couple of the pages the shapes bring depth and space to the brochure. I used the images in certain places to bring good spacing between each one so that it didn't feel like there was to much going on and the space and depth make the image pop and grab your attention. Although the images are computer generated images I feel the images do a good job of showing texture and real life qualities to show the user what this product would look and feel like. I wanted to be very simple in the design process but still have it be attention grabbing. The images themselves are very simple images and the color scheme is very basic but I feel it came together very well with simple qualities being implemented. Looking into the brochure and seeing what forms of contrast  I used I see things like the light/dark aspect where I used gray as a background but also used black on another. The placement of the images I feel like used good contrast in making sure none of them over powered the other the orientation turned out good in my opinion. Each image has meaning and relationship with the content on its respected page I feel I did good to not have to much but just enough to keep the user interested. The figure ground relationship I find to be unique in this design process I used images that had a mirrored figure ground relationship. I did this because I like how it brought about a showcase vibe within the brochure displaying the product as if it was in a showroom may make the consumer more likely to look into what this product is. The images that I used also worked really well with the white backdrop because I used images that had shadows giving it a 3D element on the actual products within the brochure.

Looking into the gestalt principles that are present I first notice that I used the law of similarity where items that are similar are grouped within each page of the brochure. I purposely did this to show what each drop-in and ramp was capable of doing to all for the user to find information fast on which ever function they were using at the time. Looking into the law of pragnanz I wanted things to look simple and not to complicated for the user so they could view the content without feeling overwhelmed. I used the law of proximity on a couple of the pages where I used the same trailer style with two images grouped together to show its functions from different angles or aspects to show the user different looks.  I feel like I used the law of continuity in how I placed my images on the brochure and the way they were angle allowed for your eyes to follow the brochure the way it is supposed to be followed when reading it. Each image has lines present that natural move your eyes along the brochure. I used the law of closure where one image shows the exploded version to show how it is put together but then I also have an image present that shows it completely put together.

Even though this isn't a website the axioms of web design are very much applicable to a brochure design in how you would want to design it. First of all on the inside flap I constructed the business and communication objective by describing the business type and presenting that this product has various uses which makes the user want to view more. I feel like I did a good job of building a strong grid that I used for the placement of certain text and images. The images flow well with each other for the axiom of continuity, I feel that is what I did best on this brochure I feel it flowed really well and it wasn't overwhelming with information just enough to keep you interested. I feel like the product itself is very intuitive which makes the brochure intuitive its a unique product so when someone sees it on this brochure I feel it will catch your attention right off the bat.

Overall I felt I did a really good job on this brochure I was pretty impressed when it was done, I feel I used a lot of design elements in my design process and it all came together really well. I enjoyed this project it allowed me to use ideas and concepts that we learned over the course of the semester and apply them in very useful way.

Mis-En-Scene

Mad Max: Fury Road
Production Design (Colin Gibson)


I was very excited to be able to look further into what went into creating the world of Mad Max. Mad Max was very successful this year with awards and accolades many of which came from the design process of the film. I choose to analyze the production design process because I was curious about the vehicles that they constructed and used throughout the film which was a good majority of the production design that went into creating this film. In film a production designer is the person responsible for the physical overall look of the filmed event. Production designers have a very strong creative role in the creation of motion pictures and effectively portraying the stories they tell. Working directly with the director and producer, they must select the settings and style to visually tell the story. The ideas and concepts behind the production design had been in process for the last 15 years. This film was in the mind of George Miller back in the early 2000’s but faced many delays and speed bumps in the process of getting filming started and ready to shoot. Miller said that he did not feel he had to top himself in terms of production design compared to the previous films in the series. Instead, he wanted the production design to both reflect back to the earlier films and highlight the changes of the past 30 years. When you make a movie that's essentially one long car chase, you're going to need a production designer who knows cars. Colin Gibson, the production designer, said that they developed an internally consistent history to explain the film's look and justify its use of hot rods. Gibson designed the film's vehicles, all of which are fully functional. Construction of some of the vehicles began as early as 2003.The cars were designed to show characterization and detail in their own unique world, including the characters' feelings of guilt, loss, and their attempts to recycle the remains of civilization. Each was as unique as the characters. One of the things that’s clear in this movie is that everything is recycled. What is new is old again or what is old is new again, that everything is a composite of new and recycled parts, that everything gets repurposed. Something that I found interesting while listening to an interview with Colin Gibson was that each vehicle that was designed served a purpose and was treated as if it was its own character. Names were given to each vehicle and it had its own back story, as well as a planned end about how the vehicle will be destroyed along with the characters who drove them.

The vehicles design process was based heavily on recycled materials from many years and styles of vehicles. Many of them are designed using symmetrical and asymmetrical features depending on the style of the vehicle and the character who drove it. Balance and texture was highly considered in designing the vehicle. The vehicles needed to be fully functional so balancing them within their appropriate layout was crucial considering many different parts were used which brought different texture within the vehicle. Shape, and color were used to design the vehicles based on the salvaged parts as well as in its respect to the character. The use of lines was used in the layout in which they drove through the desert. They each had a respected place in the formation as they stayed in line and in sync as they drove. Also present within their formation is the concept of the figure ground relationship between the vehicles and desert floor. The way they were organized in their formation reminds me of the law of proximity were similar styles were grouped near each other. Other uses of lines were seen within the vehicles that make up their shapes. The vehicles matched the costumes and make-up design mainly due to the idea that the entirety of the movie was designed around the vehicles based from the story board. Essentially the vehicles are very unique but also represent a sense of similarity in color and in style between the vehicles and the characters. Each group was represented with a different style of vehicle but at the same time used the law of similarity based from the idea of using recycled materials from the apocalyptic world in which they operate.