Project 5 - Manifesto

Our project over the christmas holidays was to create a manifesto of self; almost a story of our history, our beliefs - represented through graphics. I initially found it difficult to grab ahold of a single concept for this brief as it was very broad and i like to work to something more specific. 

Mind-mapping was what I did to begin this project and get ideas flowing. Anecdotes and tips came to mind when planning for this piece of work at first and I soon realised that being happy and happiness in general was hugely important in my life. I tried to play with the shape and layout of my manifesto in the hopes that this would also inspire me on what to put in it. One of my goals is to put more thought into the layout of my work too, which prompted me to explore more interactive methods rather than just reading a piece of paper. I eventually decided on making a booklet; this also meant that I could create a series of graphics that could almost tell a story. 

I began by sending messages to all my family members asking them ‘What makes you happy?’ and received a set of interesting responses from those young and old. I liked the variation between the simplistic ones such as ‘Being in a warm house on a cold day’ and more sentimental thoughts surrounding family. Although I initially intended to write down the responses word-for-word, I found that there were a lot of repetitions within long-winded responses which were unsuitable to meet the image of the project I had in my head. 

I proceeded to cut the responses down into shorter, more readable and understandable snippets of information that could be seen as humorous too. I eventually chose to present the manifesto in a book format which would mean that pages had to correspond with one another to create a suitable flow between elements. I wanted the colours and themes to be easy on the eye and almost calming, so I decided to go with a light and colourful palette. To ensure that each page corresponded with its predecessor I sampled a colour from each one and applied that to the background of the following page which had very pleasing results. 

Small effects such a adding noise and changing the properties of each layer made small differences that helped bring the aesthetic of the piece together through colours and patterns. Initially I wanted to make the booklet smaller, perhaps the size of a business card which meant it could be carried around in the pockets of my family members for use at any time. 

The final outcome was something I was pleased with as it looked well thought out and dynamic. The colours could have been seen as too washed for some, but making things look pretty is something I always hold important when designing.  I put a lot of thought into how the book would be bound as it was this that would determine the quality of the finished piece. This was of little importance to me until I had the chance to speak to a tutor who suggested the idea to me. This prompt to focus more on the presentation of a piece was the kick that I needed to look at a graphic piece as a whole more often, rather than just the message I am conveying. It all adds up. 

Final booklet - not in order