Graduation! Results:

Well I have finally graduated!

My final score was a 2:1 (Second class upper division)

I now finally have a BA.

For information on how to get a copy of my dissertation click here.

For Any further work please go to my Other Blog. 

MEDI 322: Project Complete!

I couldn't leave the blog without wrapping everything up properly. So here is the critical ending of this project.

Project Overview Movie:

Critical Evaluation:

My project originally started off as collaboration with my friend Loren, owner of a bespoke / custom cake company called all kinds of cake. She wanted to expand the horizons of the company and establish a base with which she can work from and increase public awareness of her business in order to increase her revenue; helping to turn it from a hobby business into a more profitable, professional company and maybe eventually developing it into a shop.

In order to take her business forward we both decided a website was absolutely crucial, the amount of people online is ever increasing and having a medium with which to contact these people gives a huge advantage to a business. Creating a website was only the start of it however, Loren and I had decided that the website would need to be as professional as possible; in order to develop a really effective website we had to essentially set about developing the business as a brand, encompassing all aspects of business branding including things like a logo and graphics etc. As a collaboration this led to some really interesting and unique opportunities, both Loren and I have a keen eye for design and so developing a theme for the company as well as an eye catching logo (primarily for the website but with a view that it may eventually be used in a shop) proved to be really enjoyable and successful.

We both had very different ideas initially, due to our different interests and backgrounds. My initial approach to the project was drawing on a more surreal, anime style as I thought that it would be a completely unique approach, this was based on my own personal associations with cakes. Loren was firmly against this idea and wanted to use a theme based around the style of the 1950’s, this would evoke a more retro-diner feel, using soft, pastel colours and stylistic fonts. It didn’t take her long to convince me that this was the way to go and it made me look at the project with a different thought process. This led me to develop ideas that I probably would have not have even come up with had I gone on with the anime idea without Loren’s feed back in collaboration.

The decision-making was left mainly with me, everything creative like logos and themes were initially my development after we had agreed on a stylistic direction during our many meetings. I would then get extensive verbal feedback from Loren. Using this feedback I would go away, rethink and edit my ideas and get feedback again, repeating the process until we were both happy with a finely tuned, finished product. This was in no way an easy process, both Loren and I were having personal problems in our own lives and although the work was progressing, it was not at the rate that was necessary to stay on schedule. The development of an entire brand would be a full time job outside of the academic context and would probably need a specially assigned team to get everything done properly. The many unexpected obstacles and hurdles we both faced slowed us down in the development process. Eventually we did agree on a logo and a theme but it was much later in the project than I would have liked.

Because the project had hit a snag in terms of staying on track with the timetable, the process of developing a website with all of the features I had planned became a daunting task, particularly as I still had a lot of work to complete with the deadline looming closer and closer. In order to tackle this I brought in a website developer, another friend of mine, Paul. This expanded the collaboration further especially because I had to then relay messages between him and Loren’s Father Jim, who owns the domain names and server space intended to host the finished website.

Initially this was a very good move, Paul was very receptive of ideas and knowing the urgency at which I needed the website developed he began immediately. This enthusiasm did not last very long unfortunately and his progress became slow. I began to think that maybe he underestimated the level of work required and would not be able to complete the site to the agreed deadlines or to spec. He was very hard to reach at this point and I think it may have been down to embarrassment, owing to the fact that we are also friends and he had to let me down. I feel if he were a professional this would probably not have occurred. I personally did not have a problem that he would not be able to do it but it I would like to have been properly notified, so that I would have had a chance to correct the situation.  

I started to feel that I would need to try and create a contingency / back up plan, which involved me developing a website using an online website development tool called moonfruit. This was a challenge as I had not used the software before and had to learn it as I went because there simply was not enough time left. It proved however to be a very good tool as the website came together and there were easy features that gave me ideas of how to better improve the site. Loren liked the website I had developed as I was able to make a unique site which included most of the features I had originally planned as well as some extra ones, most notably the social widgets.

The project is going to be an on going one and now, just because the website is done and the branding has begun it does not mean that my role is finished. The project has been a huge learning curve; I initially thought that working with Loren, as a friend, would be a relaxed atmosphere and would go seamlessly. This was not the case and because of the friendship it was assumed that we would be more lenient on each other when unable to attend meetings due to personal issues, which set us back in our progress. If this was not an academic piece of work but an actual professional job (i.e. Loren had hired me or there was no prior relationship between us) I feel it would have gone smoother, Loren would have been more interested in deadlines as it would be her money being spent and it is likely she would have had a clearer agenda on the design side of things from the start.

Bringing in Paul was a decision I did not take lightly and although it appeared promising at the beginning it quickly went on to prove fruitless, I do not blame Paul for this, I was misinformed about what he could do and I dropped him in the deep end, he was just trying to help a friend as a favour and probably didn’t understand the scale of the work that needed to be done. Again, if this was a professional project I would have had to spend money bringing in somebody who I knew could get the job done by way of extensive research, in this project I lacked the resources to be able to do that.

I feel that although there were numerous snags and hiccups within all stages of the project the fact that Loren and I are both happy with the end result proves that it was a successful collaboration. In reality, whenever an agreement is made to work with other people, you are taking on board all of their problems and issues, in a professional setting a contract would be drawn up to ensure that these are minimalized when it comes to getting the work done. In this project the opposite happened and the problems were exacerbated, coming before the work because of our existing understanding and friendship.

MEDI 322: Not so Back Up Plan:

I made a back up plan just in case the person I asked to help code couldn't deliver the promised result for the agreed upon time. This was a very smart move! Loren likes the site and it has actually ended up as the finished product!

It can always be found here at: www.allkindsofcake.moonfruit.com 
This site will remain live and has been live since I made it.

I actually really like this site and a back up plan was a fantastic idea.

Here are some screens of the finished site: 

MEDI 322: Phasing Picture

(some users may need to click for full effect)

Created from the images that Loren sent me. I am fairly happy with how it turned it.

MEDI 322: FINAL LOGO!

The Final Logo for all kinds of cake! :)

It has also been added to the blog now!

MEDI 322: How Life Nearly Derailed It:

I thought it important to make a note here of how hard the past year has been. I have personally been going through a really rough time in terms of evens surrounding uni and have not been in the best health the past year because of it. I know my collaborator Loren also has been having a very tough time of things. I think the most important thing though is despite this, despite how horrendous this last year has been for us both, we never gave up on the project and carried on not only working but working well!

We both worked around each others difficulties and tried to keep to on track.

I feel I have learned to be:
-Flexible
-Adaptable
-Understanding
-Dependable

And above all I have learned to work around situations so that I am able to still deliver on my word. 

MEDI 322: Overdue Update! = Logo Ideas:

Very overdue update about the collaborative practice, because it is nearly over I have been uber busy getting everything ready to hand in a work book so I have not been able to update the blog. However, I feel its important to update so here we go. Also since is there where my collaborator Loren is able to see my work the most often and easily its important I keep updating this so she can refresh what I have shown her in meetings!

Here are some of the sample buttons and logos I designed after Lorens input on the initial designs of the logos. Many of these were paper based and will be in the final work book but I thought it best to upload the digital ones now.  

I have opted still for an artsy style and I really liked the idea of the cherry so it is present in each of the images. I like them and Loren gave me very good feedback on them all.

These however were not picked as the final logo!

MEDI 322: Colaborative Blog

Last night I met up with my collaborator to help her set up her blog.  The meeting went really well and I feel confident she now knows how to make a blog post. I have however explained to her that I am always contactable if she needs help. These meetings will be ongoing for as long as she needs me.

Cakey Blog Here

At the moment I have just set her up with the a template for the graphic aspect of the site to get her used to being able to edit it herself. She did however like the favicon I designed for her so it is being used.

I am very pleased with how this meeting went.

Here is us making the Blog:

Here is a screen-grab of the Blog:

MEDI 322: Collabroative: Cupcake Graphics

I have worked on some graphics for the website. I have made a custom 'favicon' and a Giff and picture that can be used as place holders or fillers or adapted to make buttons. I am waiting for my collaborator to respond.

MEDI 322: Collaborative Practise: Intermediate Proposal

Initially my plan was to make a website to both advertise and sell my friend`s custom/ bespoke cake shop. This idea has evolved into making other promotional items such as business cards and also doing the professional photography for the gallery that she would like on her site.

As this is her business she is obviously involved very heavily in the creative side of things in terms of the actual style of the website and has agreed to feed back on a regular basis about how she thinks the website should look. This will be discussed between the two of us since I also would like some creative input. Technically I will also be collaborating with her father who is providing the domain and server space so I will have to communicate with him mainly via emails.

A major change is that my collaborator also would like me to design some graphics for the website in the form of cupcakes to be used as buttons etc. I aim to have the basic coding done before Christmas break and also to have a selection of graphics for my collaborator to feed back on. I would like to use one of these for a place holder so that I can actually get something in the domain space as quickly as possible because time is money and in the retail world it's smart to not waste either, even if the products are to be custom order. Also my collaborator has mentioned that she wanted a blog that tied into her site as she feels this would be a good idea both personally and for her business. This I would need to set up for her, theme, link in and show her how to operate and maintain.

It has been a both a challenge and enjoyable working with a friend, as it makes it difficult to know where the boundaries are and how professional to be. I do think that this will get easier overtime and as the project develops. Also sometime contact issues can arise since organising around two people is always harder than organising around one person, I think this is part of the process though. 

I have a very strong foundation now in terms of the artistic direction of the website so I feel confident that me and my collaborator know where we both stand but obviously we will need to constantly feedback to one another as the project grows and develops. The theme of the site will be very much 50's kitsch as well as obviously cakes. I am looking forward to creating the graphics as well as the actual website but this will be an added challenge. It will need to be fairly closely collaborated on but it also gives massive artistic responsibility for the company so I am effectively helping in the general branding of the business which is fairly huge! 

I also think that is important that we focus on a few photo shoots so that I have a nice selection of images to work with in terms of building a gallery into the site. Also it would be nice to showcase the items in the layout of the actual site itself. I have actually done food photography before so I am actually fairly confident about this area of the work because food photography is enjoyable and I have researched the psychology of how to market the images well. I have just purchased a Canon PowerShot compact camera to complete the photography required. As it shoots in film, my collaborator will have the option to 'vlog' about the creative process of anything relevant to her site.

I am thinking it may be smart to do a bit of market research so that I can really make the website effective. Although in principle the website advertises food, so uses some of the same 'retail psychology' it has to function and look good as the figurehead of a business.  

MEDI 322: Collabrative: Images from Collaborator

Feeding back on the image maps that I made for this project my collaborator sent me some more pictures that she liked. In constantly feeding back and forth like this I feel that we are pinpointing what the website will look like in terms of style. I am going to be sure to theme the heading text(s) in a 50's style and colour code accordingly.
 

MEDI322: Collaborative Practice: Mood Maps

I thought that mood maps would be a good place to start with the collaboration. I have produced a general mood map for the website covering themes and colours and I aim to discuss it and make notes on it with the person I am collaborating.  I made it in word so that I could combine text and images easily. I have tried to make it engaging and pictoral so that the person I am doing this project with will find it easy to use and also so that they can see where I think their website is comming from. Making this was easier in some respects due to the fact that we know eachouther however she did give me a few ideas of what inspired her; this being the 1950's style and colourings, pastels and obviously cakes. Also since she makes bespoke 'baby towers' I thought I would include something baby related as it may be a good idea to theme the page they are on.

I have also made a mood map more focused on the websites and the actuall design and layout side of things I have pre-catagorised the examples I have found due to the fact that we went though a few examples breifly together and largely agreed on what makes a website good and bad. However I intend to have a discussion about it and have notes of specifically what works and what doesn't.

I have also inculded a table of colours that I can use with the colour wheels on the general mood map for pinpointing the best colours for the theme of the website. This will also enable  me to get the hex codes.

I will email the word documents to the person I am collaborating with or if she prefers I will copy or print her ones. Also if she requests a copy of them after we have annotated them then I shall give her a copy aswell. I will be scanning them in once annotated.

MEDI322: Collaborative Practice: Initial Proposal

For my Collaborative Practice module I intend to work with a friend of mine that is aiming to start up a commission based business centering on bespoke cakes and gifts. I will be the ongoing site content editor in collaboration of course with my friend. Also her photographer and maybe will be required to produce other promotional or marketing material.
The main context of the idea is to help my friend with her commission based business as she would like a website and professional photos of her cakes. She needs someone with a design background and computing skills to aid her in putting together a really cohesive and eye-catching site to be the front of her upcoming business.

Since we know each other she is happy for me to be working course deadlines. This provides a unique opportunity to be both professional yet relaxed which I feel will make the collaborative process a lot smoother and more beneficial. The actual technical aspect of this project will be collaborating to get the best photos and website possible. She will obviously want and expect certain things and also I have certain ideas of what would look best. I will have to work to what she wants and also ensure that I have a degree of creative control. I feel that this will be a very creative and flexible process as she needs a website and photos for a very creative business and as such is very artistic herself, this I feel gives the project a lot of scope for collaboration.

I feel that this project will be very beneficial since I am very interested in website design as a career, also it gives me more opportunity to hone my skills as a photographer to a much more professional and business standard. I also have an interesting in advertising and marketing and feel that this project will very much call on these skills, so I can both use what I know and also develop a more focused approach in this particular area.