SB4 Brief and Initial Ideas

Brief 

Produce a graphic response/ graphic product /piece of work that makes a statement, comment, observation or gives advice about your experience on your first year of this course.

Work with any appropriate media or format and develop and identify the content will be entertaining, advisory or informative.

Think about the new experiences that you have had, the difficulties that you have overcome and the new people you have met and the life skills you have acquired this year.

Remember what it was like starting your first week, how did you feel and what emotions did you experience? Excitement, trepidation, fear or did you feel overwhelmed. You might have benefited from some advice, opinions and insight from others that have experienced the same transition.

What might you say, do or give to next years graphic design students to make the transition into the student experience, particularly this course more welcoming? 

This project can be undertaken individually, or as part of a small group (no more than 3 members). If working in a group, all members must submit a completed Group Contract with their submission.

You should aim to produce a minimum of 6 copies of your final outcome to give away to 1st Year students.

Initial Ideas

My initial ideas consisted of: 

1. Cocktail shaker with ingredients for different cocktails printed onto it for different situations – stronger = more stressful.
2. Cards against (humanity) Graphic Design
3. An overdraft guide to cocktails, where to get the best drinks during the week for the cheapest. 
4. A fresher’s guide to what you wont do but you said you would do, all of the things that everyone says they're going to do when they come to Leeds, but then don't. 
5. Beer pong of students tips, best bars, student life general tips.
6. Student Calendar for student problems by month.

Initial Ideas Crit:

1. Good concept about having a cocktail shaker, could be mixed with the budget cocktail idea to give a shaker that give students the recipe for cheap cocktails.
2. Cards against humanity, graphic design version, is already being done.
3. Good idea to base a guide around overdraft, giving it a student budget focus. Make it interactive somehow, make it a guide or a tour?
4. Make it a tour or something to achieve, make into a visual interpretation rather than just a guide or list.
5. One side could be 7 nights out giving them somewhere to go every day, the other side could be hangover cures for the morning after. This could be a pre’s game.
6. Mix the idea of the calendar with the idea of the cocktail recipe. The cocktails get stronger depending on how stressful that month is at university.  

Idea to develop: 

I will be experimenting with the idea of creating a calendar which gives the students a cocktail recipe for each month, changing the strength depending on how stressful that month is. This seemed the most popular idea with everyone in the crit, and also gives the new students something to do interactive that they can do with friends or flatmates; helping to overcome that initial new flat mate awkwardness. It is also something that serves a purpose throughout the year, something that has a purpose and can be kept to keep track of their first year of university life.

Initial Ideas and Crit Notes