Study Task 07 - Pitch and Feedback

Feedback on Prototypes

Deconstructed Letterforms 

It was said that the format was not fluent enough with all the pieces, making it hard to create letterforms quickly and it made the tool complicated to use. Instead, it was said, that the most identifiabke parts of the letterfroms could be used rather than the whole alphabet, which is too complicated and creates too many pieces. The typeface shown was a serif which made it hard to put parts of letters together consistently. It was saisd that it was easier to spot letterfoms within the alphabet when there was a complete version. A pull out sheet could help to identify the forms and find the shapes to put together. It was said that perhaps serif typefaces were to intricate to use in a deconstructed way, Instead it was said that sans serif typefaces could be used because these are cleaner and easier to combine. Refining the typefaces to sans serifs will allow the pieces to fit together better as they have a similar thickness and build. 

Modular Grid Systems 

For reference it was suggested that looking at ‘Grids and Guides Notebook for Visual Thinkers’ could be an interesting reference for developing the grid systems. It was suggested that there should be thicker lines to help distinguish between modules and make the grids easier to use. It was said that the designs could also be coloured in rather than just drawn over. This would mean people can fill areas or draw lines to help create their letterforms. The grid systems need to be tested to see which are the mist effective. By refining them it may be found that some are similar. Some of the more intricate designs, it was said, could be more interesting to work with because you may be able to create more. However it should considered that they shouldn’t be too complicated otherwise it will make them  hard to use. It was suggested that to help people get started the shapes used within the grid should be shown. This would help people to identify shapes within  some of the more complex grids.

Modular Playing Cards 

It was suggested that the cards could have the shape on one side, then on the reverse, examples of letterforms created using the shapes. However the packs will have around fifty cards within them which would be too many examples to create. Instead a selection could be created then repeated across the set. In terms of functionality it was said that users would need a flat surface to lay all the cards out on, which would be manageable in most places. It was suggested that possibly the modules could be made into magnets, which would allow people to move them around freely on a whiteboard and have a better view of the outcomes when using them. it was suggested that examples would be useful for people to get initial ideas. A pull out alphabet would clearly show what to do with the cards in a visual way. 

Moving Forward 

The grid system concept is the most effective in meeting the brief. Its format is already familiar for designers making it easy to use. It encourages hand drawn designing and experimentation for the initial development of type. It is compact allowing for easy portability making it more likely to be used. Multiple letterforms can be created with the use of the grids and full typefaces could be developed through restrictions. The range of grid systems that could be created from the shapes, means that their would be enough to create a notebook with a variety of systems within, which is something that would be very functional for a designer.