6th March

In today's lesson you will need to create a series of initial ideas for a final piece.  These should each show a range of influences in terms of artists and contextual research.

To be able to:

• Generate ideas independently, considering visual, technical and conceptual elements of each idea
• Use contextual research, including the work of other artists and designers, to develop your own ideas

Success criteria:

• At least four initial ideas drawn showing a range of your ideas
• Artist influence shown in each one through use of annotation

At home you will need to collect visual research into a range of your ideas.  This can include both primary and secondary research.  You can create drawings, take photographs or find images from printed publications or the internet.

27th February

To be able to:

• Use digital techniques to develop a response to the work of one of your artists/designers
• Use the pen tool in Illustrator to create paths effectively

You will need to take a second artist and produce a response today, using illustrator to do so.  Choose your artist carefully, ensuring that their work is appropriate for a digital response.  Use the pen tool to do this.

6th February

The big picture:
How can I use the work of others to inform my own development?

Today you will be looking in more detail at the work of one of the artists you have identified as part of the exam unit, using technical, visual and conceptual aspects of their work to help you develop your own ideas.

The learning objectives for today are:

To be able to:

• Differentiate between the technical, visual and conceptual features of an artwork
• Understand how you can use the work of others to develop your own technique, style and ideas
• Understand how technical and visual elements of design are linked to the communication of concepts

Framework objective:

• I can lead or facilitate discussion and my contributions are confident, nuanced and fluid

You will need to be prepared to discuss your own and others' ideas in detail, taking an active role in discussion, which will inform the written and visual work you produce.

Success Criteria:

Task 1. You have answered a range of question types, with at least 10 analysis questions answered in total.  You can explain the difference between technical, visual and conceptual aspects of an artwork.

Task 2. You have answered at least 7 questions, outlining how you might respond to the work you are studying.

Task 3.You have created two designs that show similarities to the work you have studied, using written analysis to explain these similarities

Task 4. You have developed each of your designs, considering how technical and visual changes can affect concepts and ideas.

Formal language needs to be used for all group discussion and written tasks.

Web links for some of today's resources:

http://watchout4snakes.com
https://litemind.com/scamper-tool/

30th January

Google use their Doodles to commemorate international events, including days of celebration, sporting events and birthdays of historical figures.  In today's lesson you will need to research some Google Doodles.  Produce a page of at least six, annotated to explain how the designers at Google have used the formal elements (line, tone, colour, shape, pattern, texture, composition) to create mood and communicate ideas about their subjects.

http://www.google.com/doodles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_logo

This afternoon you will need to create your own Google Doodle based on the existing logo.  You may use the original typeface (you can convert this to a vector from an image) or you can use alternative typography.  You need to ensure that your Doodle commemorates something connected to your previous work for the exam unit.

In your own time you need to collect primary images (at least 10 photos or 3 detailed drawings, or a mixture of the two) that relate to your ideas for the project.  These will be used in your ongoing final idea development.  You also need to ensure all of today's work is finished and written up in your sketchbook. The independent task set earlier today is now optional, and can be completed as an extension of today's work (see below).

[At home, research a brand connected with your ideas and redesign or redraw their logo in a number of ways that show connections with your theme.  Think about how you can connect the brand to an event or celebration.]

23rd January

Today you will need to submit your finished portfolio of work, meeting the demands of the brief.  A reminder of the project's deliverables, taken from the brief, is below:

·         Print-ready logo artwork files: PDF and AI
·         Screen-optimized logo artwork files: JPEG and PNG
·         Design Board PDF
·         Business-card design (double-sided) print-ready file: PDF *
·         Web banner design: PNG
·         Blog site showing all work towards final piece
·         Any font licenses and font files that may be used to complete the project

*Due to time constraints this year, you may choose to omit a business card design from your final submission if you feel you can successfully meet the assessment criteria without it

Please save all work in a single folder that can be transferred onto the shared area at the end of the day.

16th January

Today you experimented with photos of patterns and textures, using Photoshop to enhance them and then Illustrator to incorporate them into your design boards and logos.  You learnt how to use a clipping mask to overlay a shape onto an image.

At home you will need to write up your photos, the manipulation you have done in Photoshop and the development of your design work that resulted from these techniques and processes.  Include this on a page called 'Clipping mask development'.  For each stage of your write up, make sure annotation addresses the following points:

• Explain the processes you have used
• Explain what went well
• Analyse how the could the work be improved, or how else you could use the process to develop your ideas.

9th January

In your own time this week you will need to take at least 20 photographs of textures, surfaces and patterns.  These will be used to develop your logos, presentation boards and websites during next week's lesson.  You also need to ensure that there are no blank pages on your site and that all write ups have the appropriate photographs accompanying them.