HELLO >>

I found this animation on atomfilms.com, and felt in love with a beautiful elegant story about the guy with old tape deck instead on his head. He trys to chat with a "CD-player" girl, but because of his old technology he find it quite dificult...but he doesn't give up...
I loved the technique of how it was made as well, it seams so lively and really suits the mood of the animation. Great lightening and music.
The director is Australian Jonathan Nix, Animater, Painter - Great Artist. Here is his website with more work. I found out that this animation won ATOM awards and AFI for the best sound.
The paragraph from interview with J.N.:

"You started with the character, didn’t you?

I did. The character came from a cassette player I have at home. I’d been thinking, “This looks like a little person, and it looks a bit sad”. It was a bit old and it didn’t really work very well. I pitched a completely different story to the class, which no one responded to, and then I just had this little drawing of the cassette head on this little body and I’d written: “This person is lost. This person has trouble communicating”. And that was it.

The class went, “Oh, that’s good. Someone who uses tapes to communicate”. So I swung it round and went with that."

http://www.sleepybrain.net/jonathan-nix/ ( found at 26-05-07)

>> E4 Fortune Teller

Front Back

The idea slowly developed from E4 pop up flyer. Dear good Simon, suggested me that I also should make some flyer that would be cheaper to produce, as E4 pop up is quite expensive to make. He remembered about the old hand made game he used to play at school with other kids, he was so exited about it, that even tried to make one, but just couldn't remembered how. After seeing him so enthusiastic trying to make that game I thought to myself that's it's probably good idea to make one myself - and call it E4 fortune teller. I think it's straight forward... playful...opens the heart ( brings memories). Suitable for E4 viewers as most of them are 16-34 years old. It also relates to my other work ( animations: involves hands action and looks like a flower).

How to play a game: http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/cur/howto04/tg/movie.htm

I have never played this game before in my life, so I couldn't let it go without trying to play it myself. My question was : “If I ever be happy?” and it says: “ no” I never play this game again. It make me realize that I should put a warning on the flyer saying: "Do not forget it just a game". lol

Design Purpose:

• Keep young and funky style, by using loads of white space, making a contrast with bright colours (e4 symbols) and using "hand writing" font, so it becomes more warm.
  
• Make E4 symbol clear and more appreciable. Have instructions at back of the flyer how to make the E4 fortune teller.
• Easy and fun to use - have instructions at the back.
  
• Cheaper to produce.
  

Software: Adobe Illustrator - I've really enjoyed working with it- it's pretty straight forward, had some language issues as I didn't know the meaning of some tools and after translation it got confused even more, so had to try each option myself and find out what it does - took ages and made loads of mess, but was fun.

Feedback. Easy recognition. Good for all ages. Simple and nice design

>> Visual Design

Than creating a design, I've been looking in to diferent peoples work,magazines (computer arts) and try to analys it. MUST CHECK THIS WEBSITE. I have looked at it every time I work with colours, as it has a little interactive games and animations about the colours I have used the most for my project. It talks about meaning and symbolism of the colour. Really cool and cheerful

Designing with colour the website bellow come in really handy-i have used this funky animated website for all my parts of the project. It talks about colour Communication and Symbolism.

Other books were very useful. For designers the value of intuition, instictand accident is very important - through these routes emotional effects are produces, new form are created, strong images are devised. Catching the attention in a field wich is dominated by screaming images appears to be over- riding task. page 80. It's good book as it talks alot about all visual language aspects: colour, shape,type,proportion and etc.

E4 Game= "Look, it's E4"

Branding thourgh game:

"The channel E4 idents are good example of how to create innovative media identity.They engage the viewer in a game of recognising the brand. In this act of recognition, the viewer's own creative process is associated with the brand". Guy Birkin "Brand Identities"

The largest part of this project - ident recognision has been made through looking at playful and "young" side of it. Making a sticker, I haven't consider to much time on the design, as I wanted it to be just E4 logo, so viewers wouldn't have any doubt it's talking about E4 channel ( later on than it be more common it could be changed). So E4 sticker is nothing more just a number - E4 symbol. But the idea behind is a TV game: played during easter, xmas , valentines day etc.

Imagine you simple go to the news shop to get ur TV magazine. Inside you find E4 sticker. Little instructions tells you that's a game for all familly, you have to stick your E4 sticker on the house window, so it would be visible from a street and register online or by phone with your address. Leave the rest for your fortune. Than TV people would pick up the city to visit. To pick the house no.(only ones got E4 sticker on window and registered) they could ask to do that for kids in the street. They go see people living in this address and give them prizes: ( TV,DVD player etc). Simon and other people thought it be nice idea that the wining prize would hide in fortune teller. So they choose the colour, number and find out what is the prize.

This game unifes all my parts of the project together. Maybe in the future it be good idea to change the design of a sticker, maybe have E4 inside the heart (for Valentines day) or smth like that. For the first time I wanted it be clear and recognisible symbol - so it won't be no doubt it's E4 channel we talking about- great, young generous, funny etc.

>>PoP up E4 flyer

As soon as I’ve decided what I’m going to do for my E4 stings, I had the idea for my E4 flyer. What i have to think about was design and effect on the audience, so I’ve been looking in the shops, bars, different magazines to get some inspiration.

The idea for a flyer came up from a pop up map, my mum brought back from some journey than I was just a little girl, I used to like playing with it, strange enough, not like other toys I’ve destroyed I’ve saved it till this day. lol

Anyway, what I was thinking about is “survival”. Try to make this flyer to survive as long as possible. Using pop up technique might a bit more expensive, but the effect is much stronger, as people like hand made things, they more personal and more funny.
It’s more chance people would keep it instead of just cast aside.

Trying my flyer to become survival, I tried to find a subtle way to trying to get the flyer more personal and more interactive with audience.

From here my flyer became message/flyer. On front you it is a message with empty space where person have to write it’s own choice of what program he would like to watch. Inside, it’s E4 logo with the time. It’s made from three parts:

1. Make curious -> “Let’s watch …..”
2. “Make an appointment” -> “on E4 --:--h” (also introduce channel.)
3. Get a reply "Yes or NO"

So you gave a message/flyer that you can leave in the pubs, shops, or just give to the person you are fancy.

“And the audience subconsciously “reads” these messages which can sometimes override explicit messages in text and images.*

>>The design

General

“Visual language is what the “heart” “read” after the mind has become quiet.” *

Before I start designing my flyer, I’ve looked for some books about basic design principles. It’s two I really liked as one of them describes the main points of visual language and other one also talks about technical issues of print design.**

*P.Bonnici.1998.Visual language the hidden medium of communication. London

Talks about visual language between colour, shape, text. It was useful of making a poster, as it helped to understand how to communicate with the audience better.

**B.Gordon and M.Gordon2002.The complete guide to digital graphic design. First edition. London.Thames&Hudson.

While making sketches for my flyer design and try to think of the interesting one, got too thirsty and went to a fridge get some drink, there my design has born. It was little fridge magnets…that got my attention! Quickly made some note and stuck it on the fridge so I could make a photo to imagine how it would like on a flyer – and I really liked the result.

I thought instead of normal magnets will use e4 magnet.

As it’s a message flyer – I think note on the fridge with e4 magnet would suit well.

The font I used was mistral regular. I wanted a hand writing effect as you still suppose to add your own writing so it would mach better.

Colour – mainly purple for background, used as identifying marker.

Click here to find out how to make it to a flyer.

Problems and improvement:

1. Because of my poor knowledge about illustrator it was hard to make a paper look like read note.
2. The background was purple with little e4 symbols, unfortunately after printing it was hardly able to see little e4 and the colour from purple changed to pink.

I don’t think it was my mistake as after reprinted it again the background colour was purple as it should be, but little e4’s were still invisible.

3. I was a bit struggling with a message on the note, first I thought about “ will you watch … with me?” but after some consultations I’ve been told that it might be to personal, so I changed it “ Let’s watch…!” , now I think it might would sound better “Let’s watch…..together!”.

Price.I've emailed one of the leading in pop-ups and interactive marketing leading company [http://www.whitneywoods.co.uk ] with enquiry of how much it would cost to produce 10.000 of those flyers as they have a simillar example of flyer.They send me a price list back. About £3.500 quite a lot.

Feedback. The people I’ve showed it to says it does grab the attention and evoking emotional message. My friends from Lithuania told me, that they like the way for introducing channel. As if they come over the never heard about it, but than u get such flyer, it is possible at least go online and find out. It also related to my E4 stings, as it’s the action using hands and involves keeping your channel. The main idea of the animation.