Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today? I hope you're feeling good.

My name is Ms. Afzal, and I'll be your art teacher for this lesson.

I'm feeling really pleased and excited about that because today is quite a special lesson.

We are gonna be coming up with your final graphic design piece.

In fact, our lesson is called Final Graphic Design Piece.

I think you can guess what we're going to be getting up to in today's lesson.

Our lesson comes from the unit of work Finding Your Artistic Voice: An Introduction to the Creative Process.

So without any further ado, let's get into this very important lesson all about your final graphic design piece.

If you're ready, let's go.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can create a final graphic design piece that reflects my personal style and shows influence from other designers.

We have some keywords in our lesson.

Let's go through them.

Intention, influence, visual language, and iteration.

So what do these words mean? Intention is the purpose or message behind a design; what the artist wants to communicate.

Influence, the impact that a designer or movement has on a creative work.

Visual language, the specific stylistic choices, colours, shapes, layout, used by a designer or artist.

And iteration, the process of repeatedly refining and improving a design idea through draughts or versions.

These are our keywords: intention, influence, visual language, and iteration.

Let's look out for them.

Let's listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Our lesson is called Final Graphic Design Piece, and it has two learning cycles.

First of all, influence and intention in design, and then creating a final graphic design piece.

Oh my goodness, I'm excited about this.

I hope you are too.

And let's jump ahead to what some possible outcomes for today might include.

Wow, take a look at this poster, Earth awareness now, and what a design for skateboard.

Let's see how we get to these outcomes step by step.

Here's a question to open our lesson, what makes an effective graphic design? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

So we can see an example of a very effective graphic design on the screen there, be brilliant.

Love that graphic design neon sign.

But what makes an effective graphic design? What ideas did you come up with I wonder.

Let's take a look at some.

An effective graphic design piece should: clearly communicate a message or idea to the intended audience, display use of graphic design principles such as a visual hierarchy, balance, and emphasis, reflect the personal intention of the designer, and show visual influence from the works of other designers.

I wonder if you came up with some ideas like these, and we can see some magnet designs on the screen there.

I wonder if you have some magnets at home maybe on your fridge or elsewhere.

An effective graphic design piece can be achieved by: planning your design with clear intention, applying layout and design principles purposefully, reflecting your designer's influence while showing your own voice.

And we can see some road sign designs.

I've never seen a road sign quite like the one in the centre there.

Really interesting with added seagull.

Intention is the purpose or message behind a design or what the artist wants to communicate through the artwork.

It helps be aware of and express the intention for your graphic design piece before making it.

Discuss with a partner what the intention for your design is.

Thanks for sharing your intentions.

Let's hear some intentions.

Here's Sam, "I want to raise awareness about environmental challenges through a banner design." Izzy, "I'm influenced by music culture, and will create a zine cover design for this." And Jun, "I will create a logo and brand identity for a games company." Wow, a widespread of intentions here.

I wonder if yours were similar to any of these or perhaps something quite different.

Being aware of the intention for your design allows you to develop and apply a visual language which serves the overall purpose.

For example, this might involve matching the layout and colours used in the design to its message.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following best represents intentional design? Is it A, choosing colours randomly, B, picking the largest font for every word, C, matching layout and colours to your message, or D, using your favourite font everywhere? Pause here while you decide which of these best represents intentional design.

Well done if you selected answer C.

Indeed, matching layout and colours to your message represents intentional design.

Influence refers to the impact that a designer or movement has on a creative work.

Showing influence of another designer in your work is not the same as copying.

Key stylistic features should be adapted to your own ideas.

You can identify the potential influence a designer might have on your own work by: analysing the visual language and key stylistic features in their work, recording the ways you might incorporate or experiment with these elements, considering how it could help you express or communicate your own design ideas and intentions.

To understand the visual language being used by a designer, observe and break down their designs into key elements.

You might look for: colour palettes and moods, shapes, patterns or repeating motifs, layout and composition choices, typography and text arrangement, any common themes you notice from their portfolio.

And we can see some design cards on the screen there.

Many designers and artists show a distinctive visual language in their works.

Veronica Fuerte, founder of Hey Studio, uses bold, vibrant colours and a refined use of geometry and simplicity within her designs.

Imali Chislett advocates for inclusive and accessible designs through selective colour palettes and clear, balanced graphics.

Aislinn Finnegan creates graphic portraits that explore themes of identity, race, and a cultural aesthetic of Afrofuturism.

And we can see some really eye-catching designs on display there on the screen.

Let's have a check for understanding.

If a piece is influenced by a designer, what should it show? A, the designer's name, B, an exact copy of the designer's work, C, a blank background, or D, key stylistic features adapted to a new idea? Pause here while you decide what a piece that's influenced by a designer should show.

Well done if you selected D.

Indeed, it should show key stylistic features adapted to a new idea.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to plan for your final graphic design piece by completing the following table.

So we have intention of piece, target audience, design influences, and chosen format.

So pause here while you take time to reflect on these four important considerations and complete the table with your intention of piece, target audience, design influences, and chosen format.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It is great to be back with you.

So how did you get on planning for your final graphic design piece? By completing this table, you might have said something like this.

So intention of piece, to promote environmental awareness.

Target audience, families and people at a public event.

Design influences, illustrative storybooks and bold text.

For example, Ryan Seslow.

And chosen format, digital design software.

Let's take a look at another example.

Intention of piece, unique skateboard design reflecting personal identity and interests.

Target audience, friends and underground skateboard culture.

Design influences: cartoons, pop culture, music, Veronica Fuerte, Mike Perry.

And chosen format, design software.

Well done for having a go at planning your final graphic design piece by completing the table.

And now we're onto our next learning cycle, creating a final graphic design piece.

Yes, the time has come.

Planning for a graphic design piece helps to communicate its intention and purpose.

As you move through different stages of the design process, your decision should link back to this intention.

And we can see some concept sketch designs on the screen there.

Using your plan as well as mood boards or concept boards, you can create the first draught for your final design.

So we can see a concept board there for the skateboard design.

Some images of the skateboard, some colours, some motifs.

And there's a first draught.

Okay, looking interesting.

Analysing a designer's work will help you to draw out their possible influence in your own designs.

Samy Selim create striking compositions which balance imagery and calligraphic text, with carefully selected colour palettes that add mood.

Lisa King uses nature as a source of inspiration to create dynamic movement, rhythm and flow in their designs, which feature bold shapes and patterns.

And Dapo Adeola is a children's book illustrator and designer who unites characters, scenes, descriptive images and text into imaginative worlds.

And we can see some poster designs on the screen there.

Creating a final graphic design piece is an opportunity to express your personal ideas, demonstrate influence from another designer, and communicate a message to an audience.

Can see some very beautiful botanical themed stamp designs on the screen.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What is the primary purpose of your final graphic design piece? Is it A, to copy your chosen designer exactly, B, to express your personal ideas and message, C, to create something with the most colours, or D, to combine every possible idea into one outcome? Pause here while you decide what is the primary purpose of your final graphic design piece.

Well done if you selected answer B.

Indeed, the primary purpose of your final graphic design piece is to express your personal ideas and message.

Because there are many possible outcomes for a graphic design piece, it can be helpful to produce iterations.

Working iteratively is the process of repeatedly refining and improving a design idea through draughts or versions.

It's common for graphic designers to produce multiple iterations so that they can evaluate the most effective final design.

When identifying which iteration of your design is most effective, consider: what is the purpose or intention of the design? Will it work for the intended audience? Does the visual language support your ideas and message? Is there a clear influence from another designer? These questions can also be used for reflective evaluations and peer discussions of your work.

Constructive feedback can help to produce more iterations and more refined final designs.

Discuss with a partner, or as a group, ways in which you think this design could be improved upon.

Pause here while you have this discussion.

Thanks for discussing.

Let's hear from Lucas, "One thing that works well is the graphic imagery.

Increasing the contrast on these could make them stand out more." A really good idea.

And Aisha, "One thing to develop is the colour palette.

Adding some brighter colours could make it more impactful." I think that's some really constructive feedback, and I wonder if you had some further constructive feedback ideas.

Applying constructive feedback to the first draught can lead to different iterations that incorporate different directions and are more refined.

Here's Lucas, "This finalised design is much easier to see.

I like how much more defined the graphic elements are." And Aisha, "The colours are brighter and bolder.

This design is much more visually exciting." Absolutely.

Pause video and share with someone your impressions of the transformation from the skateboard on the left to the one on the right which has taken onboard the constructive feedback offered earlier.

Thanks for sharing.

As you develop your ideas into finalised pieces, you can continue to source inspiration from other designers.

Ryan Seslow uses an array of elements including line, colour, shape, form, and movement as part of his visual language in artworks and designs.

Mike Perry creates bold, colourful worlds often filled with abstract shapes and hand drawn typography inspired by pop culture and cartoons.

And we can see someone has been developing visual ideas there on screen.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Match the keywords to their correct definitions.

So here are the keywords: intent, influence, iteration, and visual language.

And the definitions: the process of repeatedly refining and improving a design idea through draughts or versions, the purpose or message behind a design; what the artist wants to communicate, the specific stylistic choices, colours, shapes, layout, used by a designer or artist to communicate, and the impact that a designer or movement has on a student's own creative work or decisions.

So pause here while you match the keywords to their correct definitions.

Okay, so did you come up with these matches? Intent is the purpose or message behind a design; what the artist wants to communicate.

Influence is the impact that a design or a movement has on a student's own creative work or decisions.

Iteration is the process of repeatedly refining and improving a design idea through draughts or versions.

And visual language is the specific stylistic choices, colours, shapes, layout, used by a designer or to communicate.

Well done if you matched the keywords and the definitions in this way.

And now it's time for your final task.

I would like you to create the first draught for your final graphic design piece using the plan you created from the previous task.

Focus on using a visual language that reflects your design's intention and purpose through layout, positioning, colours, and text-to-image relationship.

So pause here while you have a go at this first part of your task, creating your first draught for your final graphic design piece.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you, so how did you get on with that first part of your task, creating your first draught for your final graphic design piece? You might have created something incredible like this and said something like this.

Here's Sam, "My first draught for a final graphic design piece is a banner about raising environmental awareness in a positive way.

Through evaluation, I've noticed that the message and intention could be made clearer by using bold typographic text." And here's another example, here's Sofia, "For this first draught, I wanted to incorporate elements that connect to skateboarding culture through visuals.

Through feedback, it became clear that increasing the contrast and using bolder colours might make the design more striking." And now let's move on to the next part of your task, using feedback and evaluation, incorporate suggestions to develop your first draught into a finalised design.

So pause here while you take on that feedback and evaluation, and let's see what you come up with for your finalised design.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with using feedback and evaluation and incorporating suggestions to develop your first draught into a finalised design? You might have created something incredible like this and said something like this.

Let's hear from Sam, "For this finalised design, I used minimal, bold text so the message could be understood more clearly.

Incorporation of earthy colours and a broader, wider layout will make my banner more impactful." I couldn't agree more, Sam.

And I wonder what you think.

Pause here and share with each other your evaluation of Sam's final design.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

And let's see how Sofia got on with using feedback and evaluation to incorporate suggestions to develop her first draught into a finalised design.

"For this finalised skateboard design, I incorporated feedback and developed a visual language.

This more accurately reflects my personal identity and the aesthetic I wanted to achieve, based on the influences I used." Great job, Sofia.

And again, I'd like you to pause here and share with someone what is your evaluation of Sofia's final design? Thanks for sharing.

In our lesson Final Graphic Design Piece, we have covered the following.

Researching and developing ideas helps to inform meaningful outcomes in design that show influence from other designers.

The visual language used should reflect the intention and message of the design.

Final outcomes are planned and developed through sketching and iterations.

Well done, everybody.

I think you've done a terrific job today of sharing your influences, your intentions, thinking about your visual language, and then coming up with various situations, taking on feedback, and then coming up with this final design piece.

I hope you're really proud of what you've achieved.

I certainly am proud of you, and I hope to see you at another art lesson soon.

Until then, stay creative.