VISUAL THINKING EVALUATION

For our crit we got into our blog groups and presented to one another for 5 minutes about our 10 10x10 typographies that we had created inspired by our allocated adjectives.

My final 10 10x10 designs.

For the creation of my melt typography I wanted to go beyond the word melt and experiment with other words I collated through my dictionary definition research. I explored elements such as fire, phrases such as "heart melting" and different forms that happen to material whilst melting such a bubbling. I chose to go down this path as not only did I want to focus on the obvious concepts of the adjective but I wanted to experiment and explore different aspects of the word and see what I could create. I approached the creation of my work with an open mind and decided to try multiple possibilities of what the adjective meant and could represent and that's what made my diverse letter forms. I chose to focus on the letter form 'W' as I liked the shape of the letter and had lots of initial ideas of how I could style it.

I documented the process of how I created my letter forms so I could see what worked effectively and what didn't.

What worked - What didn't?  I felt the image looked effective due to the black card and white paint pen. However it didn't particularly translate the adjective melt with clarity to an unknowing audience.

What would I do next time? If I could re-create this letter form I would research more ways I could represent a fading design, but still maintaining a clear indication that it linked to melt. I could have possibly used more fluid techniques inside the bubble letter such as droplets or took a more simple approach and changed the formation of the letter.

What worked - What didn't? I think the formation of the letter form indicated the phrase of heart melting successfully and I liked the minimalistic approach of the design. On the other hand I think I could have explored more ways to make the letter form look more like it was melting.

What would I do next time? I could have exaggerated the letter form to make it look like it was in a melting motion or cut around the square to make it one solid letter to make the shape more apparent.

What worked - What didn't?  I thought the concept was good and the droplets on the letter form really indicated a melting theme. On the other hand I think it could have worked better of black card to highlight the white colour more boldly and the droplet strokes were not very clean so I could use another pen.

What would I do next time? I would use different materials to create a more clean design.

What worked - What didn't?  The concept of the bubbling aspect of melting was innovative however I could of used alternative colours to make it look more like cheese or a candle to make it more obvious to my audience what idea I was putting across.

What would I do next time?  I would have changed the colour scheme and maybe made the type a bit smaller as it looks bold and structured rather than gooey and melting like the adjective.

What worked - What didn't?  I really liked the simplicity of this concept and it really expressed the word melt.

What would I do next time? I could have experimented with more materials and made my lines more defined and neater

What worked - What didn't?  I think the image represented the process of melting from hot to the deflation of the letter and I think the contrasting colours worked well with the image.

What would I do next time?  I could make the melting points at the bottom of the letter form more apparent and maybe make the white paint more bold in colour or shade it from heavy to light to add depth.

What worked - What didn't?  The letter was very simple and straight to the point exploring the idea of materials melting, however I don't think it explicitly represents the adjective.

What would I do next time? I would work with more ideas and research ways I could of made the adjective more explicitly clear, either trough adding more shape or looser pen strokes.

What worked - What didn't?  I think the composition of the letter form and the splatter design worked well, I liked the simplicity of the design but also how the 3D letter gave the image more of a fuller look.

What would I do next time? I could have experimented with more materials to make the image stand out more of used techniques such as paper cut on the splatter effect to add depth.

What worked - What didn't?  I like the simplicity of the letter form and how the melted elements that fall in and around it represent that adjective effectively however I was very fond of the composition of the letter and thought it would look better central.

What would I do next time?  I would consider the layout of the letter form and how I could maybe add more colours and shading to make it look more attractive.

What worked - What didn't?  I think the design was fun and fresh, however the design was quites complicated.

What would I do next time? I could of made the design more simple and straight to the point, maybe focusing on just an ice cream scoop style or just allowed the letter form to stand on its own with a few melting droplets.

My top 5 Designs

From the crit as a group our peers had to choose their favourite 5 out of the ones that had been created and these 5 where chosen ones. This indicated to myself that these represented the adjective melt successfully and were the best designs.

Then individually we wrote our adjectives on a post it note and stuck our designs on the wall so we could all see our strongest designs. Everyone in the class was also assigned to do this and as collective everyone's best designs were on a wall each. 

We were then asked to go to other groups tables and select designs that we thought were not effective and choose our favourite 5 out of 60 possible letter forms to stay on the wall.

Our conclusion for why we had selected the chosen letter forms ranged from

• It communicated the adjective effectively
• Good and innovative use of techniques
• Interesting concept
• Attention to detail
• Intricacy
• Clarity
• Materials used

We had to communicate this to whole of our class so they could see how as a group we came to this conclusion and how we worked as a team to solve this.

When going back to our original table were our work had been stuck up, none of my designs were chosen as the top 5 or final favourite, this then suggested that I would have to dig deeper into ways I could make my letter forms possibly more effective, clearer or consider the ways I could present it. This process was helpful in the way we could see everyone's work and discuss what we liked and disliked about one another's so we could consider it for future reference. This crit and future ones have made me realise this process can help me personally grow as an artist.

On reflection I think I approached the brief with too many idea's and concepts and kind of lost sight of how to create a clear and strong message for the word melt. I think if I stuck to keeping it simple and to the point my designs would have been more effective and the message would have been easier to understand to an unknowing audience. In the future I will consider on condensing my idea's and creating something that is clear with a great impact.