OUGD505 - Studio Brief 01 - Leeds Events and critique

My previous research on event spaces in Leeds has given me an insight into past events that have taken place and shaped the city into what it is today. There are a number of events that have caught my eye as feel they could work well for this project these include:

le Tour de France (2014)
Each year the world's biggest bike race starts in a different country to promote its landscape. In 2014 the start of this was in Leeds and I was fortunate enough to ride in front of the peloton as it started in Leeds. Because of this I have good knowledge of the happenings of the day. This should help inform my ideas if I am to proceed with this idea for this project

Nelson Mandela opening Millennium Square (2000)
My event location research showed me that Mandela opened Millennium Square however addressed the people of Leeds as Liverpudlians. Since then, this square has held numerous events and has become an important central part of the city centre.

Unity Day (1995 onwards)
After riots in Hyde Park in 1995, locals decided to come together for one day a year on Woodhouse Moor to celebrate different cultures with music and other fun activities. This is an event that I have experienced myself and have some previous knowledge on as I talked to some locals around last years Unity Day.

Black Lives Matter march (2016)
This is another event that I was fortunate enough to attend and take some photos. The importance of this cause only became apparent to me after listening to the points made by speakers on the day. The dedication and passion of the others in attendance really inspired me to look further into the BLM movement once at home. This research will also help with the design decisions of this brief if I am to create a poster for this particular subject.

Anti Trump Rally (2017)
On Monday 30th January, Stand Up to Racism and Leeds Momentum organised a gathering in Dortmund Square in protest of Donald Trump's ban on muslims entering the United States as well as him entering the UK on a state visit. These are issues that are still of the upmost importance and a poster for this protest would support the ongoing cause. Because of how recent the event took place, finding research and people to give opinions on the subject will be easier than a number of other events.

M&S in Kirkgate Market
The first ever Marks and Spencer's opened in Leeds Kirkgate Market in 1984 as a penny shop. From there it expanded into the middle class mega store it is today. This original store is still up and running within the market today selling jams and sweets which could be useful for primary research. The traditional lettering on the stores signs show its age and could be included within my posters design.

Leeds Corn Exchange conversion (1980's)
As the name suggests, this event space originally sold corn. Despite this, its conversion in 1980 led it to be used as a retail hub for independent businesses and a space for music, dance and other activities

Leeds West Indian Carnival (1967)
Also called Leeds Carnival or the Chapel Town Carnival it is the longest running West Indian carnival in Europe. It is held in the Chapeltown and Harehills areas of Leeds and has an average attendance of around 150,000 each year. It is a 3 day event with the carnival procession on Bank Holiday Monday. A carnival queen and king is chosen each year based on their costume and then takes part in Notting Hill carnival later in the year.


I brought these found nine events to a peer crit so I could select the three most appropriate ideas for development. After explaining my ideas to the students in my critique, it was decided that the events that I attended myself would work best for both research and idea production. These events included the 2014 Le Tour de France, Unity Day on Woodhouse Moor and the Black Lives Matter March in 2016.

OUGD505 - studio brief 01 - event spaces

Studio brief 01 of OUGD505 asks me to look at various public spaces around Leeds. There have been a large quantity of events that have taken place in these public spaces including carnivals, concerts, markets, exhibitions, parades, sporting events, protests and flash mobs etc. I must create one A3 poster using a traditional printing method celebrating one of these events.

To help spur my initial ideas I first looked at some public spaces around the Leeds vicinity that I felt would work appropriately for this brief.

Leeds' main public spaces

Millenium Square

Millenium Square was opened in 2000 by Nelson Mandella (with the gardens next door being named after him). It has held events such as Leeds Pride, bands such as Kaiser Chiefs, Meat Loaf, the Specials (etc) and has shown sporting events including Wimbledon, Foorball world cups and the European Championships.

The Headrow

The Headrow is one of Leeds city centre's main streets. It appeared on maps in 1560. The street is now a retail hub however has held events such as the start of the 2014 Tour de France. Attractions also include Victoria Gardens and Dortmund Square.

Woodhouse Moor

Woodhouse Moor, also known as Hyde Park, is an open space one mile from Leeds city centre. It has been used for events such as circuses and sporting matches. As of 2005 the park had just under 3 million visitors a year. Activities there include its playground and skatepark. Events have included its weekly fun run, festival of Britain and Unity day.

Roundhay Park

Roundhay Park is the Largest Park in Europe (700 acres/ 2.8 km² ) and includes parkland, lakes, woodland and gardens. Within Canal Gardens is Tropical World which holds a group of glass houses with areas representing different climates around the world. Other feature include a castle, mansion and arena which has held concerts from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Simple Minds. Events that have been held there include Leeds Independent Food Festival and Love Parade.

Other spaces..

Temple Newsam

Harewood House

Briggate

Victoria Gardens

The Tetley

Royal Armouries

Leeds Market

OUGD503 - preparing for print

My client wanted his business card and flyer to be printed as early in the design process as possible so he could continue to expand his brand whilst I continued to develop the identity. I suggested that a test print with limited numbers would be the most viable option as, although these wouldn't be the finished pieces, they could still be distributed to help his business grow.

I looked into different ways this work could be printed. Looking at the brief, I made note to focus on cost and quality. From this I found the following options the most suitable:


Uni Print Room
Print cost can be low but as I would have to produce and then cut out each card and leaflet, the process would be time consuming. Although there are a number of stock options available, many are not appropriate and bringing in my 

Professional companies will produce more luxurious and high quality products more suited to my clients needs. Because of this, I have looked further into different local and national companies which may be more appropriate for this brief.

OUDG503 - Gilly cuts business card

I wanted to stay true to the Gilly cuts identity by using the gold, white and black colour scheme. Using Gill Sans throughout will also be used as this was chosen towards the beginning of the brief. I sketched a number of different business card layouts that I felt would work appropriately for both my client and his target audience. These sketches moved quickly onto illustrator so I could show a critique my progress for opinions and feedback.

The crit group found the first portrait design to be more unique and memorable making it more appropriate than the second, landscape design. This would also work well with the second portrait leaflet design I created for this brief however this wasn't the design my client had chosen so decided to develop both ideas before bringing it to him for further feedback.