Project Rationale

My task was to develop and create a brochure design that advertised three thematically linked locations in Wellington, using the Puna development process. The locations I chose to advertise were Weta Cave, The Embassy Theatre and the Wellington Film Archive, which are thematically linked through being locations that are involved in the production, display and preservation of film. In my brochure I wanted each location spread to convey what part of the film process they were involved in, and I did this through the use of three main words, Create, Enjoy and Preserve. Each word was also represented by a colour, orange, red and green, which I first introduce on each word on the cover page, and then on each location spread, as this was just another way to link each location to the mantra of Create, Enjoy, Preserve. In completing this brief, I learnt a lot about my own design process and the importance of initial research and finding inspirational design examples. These were some things that greatly influenced the development of my design style, and are parts of the design process that I will definitely continue to put more emphasis on in my projects.

Final Brochure Photos

Cover Page

Introduction Spread

Weta Cave Spread

Embassy Theatre Spread

Film Archive

Extra Film Locations Spread

I am incredibly happy with my final brochure, as I think it is a great representation of the Wellington film scene and the locations that are instrumental in the production, display and preservation of the film and media we all enjoy so much. I think the brochure conveys a solid design strategy through both the visual language and written elements used throughout the different spreads, and I think that this success is a direct result of the fundamental design process that I have followed throughout my project.

Mock-Up Development

Here I re-printed my mock-up with the changes from the individual critique implemented.

These is the new map design with a bit more detail and added routes on the introduction spread and extra spread.

Here is the bold body text changed to ragged right margins.

Map Design Development

Introduction Map

For the introduction page map I added lines that represent the roads that the locations are on and roads that link the locations together. I also added the small square to represent the Basin Reserve as this is a landmark that could help someone recognise where they are on the map.

Extra Spread Map

For the extra spread map I took away the colour overlay on the map because the page title has the three colours in it. I also added the road stretching up towards Shelly Bay and added the icons numbered one to five that represent the five film locations.

Full Scale Mock-Up Second Critique

Here I made some changes to my mock-up design based on the notes from the class critique Yesterday. Today in class I had a talk with Caroline and we went through commented on the changes I had made from the first critique and also some more changes I could make to further improve my brochure.

Caroline liked the new addition of the sub heading on the Cover page

We also had a talk about my map, which at the moment we both agreed is looking a bit lacklustre and over-simplified. So I think I need to add a bit more to my map and give it a bit more detail without going overboard.

Caroline also liked my extra spread with different film locations, but again the map is lacking and needs improvement.





Another thing we talked about was the type layouts on my spreads. We talked about changing the bold body type on my spreads to the ragged right format as opposed to the justified margins I am currently using, as this will make the text easier to read and make the type flow a lot better. 

Extra Spread Development

For my extra spread I have decided to show other film locations around Wellington that have some relation to my main location spreads.

I have chosen 5 extra film locations throughout Wellington and given a short description of them and shown where a bouts they are on the map.

1. Tripod Sculpture

In 2005, the Wellington City Council commissioned Weta Workshop to create this sculpture celebrating the Wellington’s film and television industry. 

2. Mount Victoria

In October 1999, the very first footage of the Lord of the Rings franchise was shot in various locations across the Mount Victoria area.

3. Stone Street Studios

This facility that is co-owned by Sir Peter Jackson, was used extensively in the production of The Lord of the Rings, King Kong and Hobbit movies.

4. Park Road Post Production

Built in 2005, this state of the art facility has been involved in the production of most of Sir Peter Jackson’s filmography and other popular New Zealand films.

5. Shelly Bay

Scenes from most of Sir Peter Jackson’s movies have been filmed at this location east of Oriental Bay, most notably scenes involving King Kong’s Skull Island.

Map Design Development

After todays's critique I worked on simplifying my map and came up with this design.
I then added this new design to my new full scale mock-up and will hopefully get some critique on this design in tomorrow's class.

Full Scale Mock-Up First Critique

For todays class we were asked to bring a full scale mock-up of our developed brochure design for a class critique. I got some great advice from my peers and will be looking to improve on my brochure using these points.

Critique Notes

• Add subheading to cover page to explain further what the brochure is about.
• Simplify my map design.
• Cut out some text on the introduction page.
• Possibly decrease the size of my secondary communication point icons.
• Less text on spreads.
• Decrease some of the text line length and make sure that the rivers in the text do not distract from the reading experience.
• Add name to back cover.
• For my extra page, showcase some other film locations around Wellington, preferably ones with some relevance to my main locations.
• Get rid of hyphens in text.
• Increase opacity on background pattern as it did not show up well on the printed brochure.

Mock-Up Thumbnails Development

Cover Page

Introduction Page

Spread One

Spread Two

Spread Three

I prefer this landscape oriented design over the portrait design because I think that this design flows better across the spreads and allows for a less restrictive layout and nice areas of blank space. I also like the stylistic app road I am taking with this design, as I think that the spreads all have elements that relate back to each other, such as the colour bar on the right hand spread and also the layout of the imagery gives a familiar feel across all of the spreads and link them together well.

Type Layout Exercise

Today I went through some different type layouts that I could use for my mock-ups.

Newspaper Exercise

Today I completed the newspaper exercise where we were to analyse what the target audience and general tone of each newspaper was.

Mock-Up Thumbnails

Cover Page

The main addition to this developed mock-up cover is the background pattern that is essentially small crosses, which I think adds another element to the cover and works really well with this particular design.

Introduction Spread

For the introduction spread I decided to keep the template colour scheme grey as this is one of the neutral pages in the brochure. I also overlayed the colours onto the map so that the colour represents the area where the film location is situated.

Spread One

Spread Two

Spread Three

Heading Font Possibilities

Here I have just put together a shortlist of fonts that I could possibly use for some of my brochure cover and spread headings.

Initial Map Design

Initial Map

This was my first map design that I came up with and immediately I recognised some problems. Firstly it is very bland and unclear, which is not great when talking about the thing that is directing readers to my locations. 

Map Development

I then added a bit of colour by overlaying my colour scheme onto the map which improved it slightly but further down the track I think more development will be needed.

Three Secondary Communication Points

Icons

Each rectangular block represents 10 units of each communication point. e.g. $10 dollars, 20 minutes, 30 free parking spaces.

Cost

This icon indicates the approximate cost of gaining the best experience out of each location.

Travel Time

This icon refers to the time it takes to travel by car to each location from the CBD.

Free Parking Availability

This icon indicates the approximate amount of free parking spaces available at each location.

Grid Mock-Up Compositions

Portrait

Landscape

Simple Grid Compositions

Here I just put together some simple grid compositions to plan for my future mock-up grid layouts that I will do in the next day or so.

Cover Page Mock-Ups

These are some cover page mock-ups that I did earlier. In these mock-ups I have tried to hone in on the Create, Enjoy, Preserve mantra, using orange to represent the creativity of Weta Cave, red to represent the enjoyment of the Embassy Theatre and green to represent the preservation of the Film Archive. I have developed on what I said earlier in my stylistic inspiration and brochure inspiration pages, and have decided to go with a type-dominant cover. As I continue creating these mock-ups I also find myself liking the idea of having a landscape brochure more and more.

Brochure Inspiration Continued

I like this design because of its great use of pattern and colour. The way that the spot pattern is used sparingly to tie in the different pages of the brochure is something that I can learn from and implement in my own designs. The way that the colours are used also work to tie in the different pages, such as the yellow squares on the cover and the selective colouring of the jeep using a yellow square. The flap is also an interesting addition and I may look into ways I can use folds and flaps to add to my brochure design.

This brochure design appealed to me because it is a great example of using patterns as a background. The use of the diamond/triangle background is great because it doesn't distract the viewer from the text and logo on the page but it adds another element to the design. This is something that I can learn from as my previous experimentation with background patterns resulted in a pattern that was quite distracting on the spreads. Another thing that I like about this design is the simple but effective layout that the designer used. There is a nice balance between the imagery and the typeface on the right hand page that makes for a great elegant design.

Brochure Inspiration continued

This brochure is another one that caught my eye because of its bold but simplistic style. I like the use of blank space that gives the design a nice balance. Another element that I like about this design is the high contrast colour scheme that is very eye catching and complements the bold typeface. I think that I could use a similar style for my own brochure and I could also implement elements like images within the type to make my design that much more effective.

This brochure is quite similar to the previous one as the simplistic, type-dominant design and use of blank space are what drew my attention. This design also has great contrast between the white background and bold black and orange text. One element that the last design doesn't have that this does is a cool imagery technique where the main image silhouette is made up of small silhouettes of objects that relate to the subject of the brochure. This is a great technique that I may experiment with in my own designs moving forward.

Brochure Inspiration Continued

This design appealed to me because I liked the hand painted style of the graphics that have a nice flow across the brochure spreads. It could be cool to have imagery that flows across both pages of my spreads. This hand painted splatter style could be a style that would work well with my Weta Cave spread, as it seems to exude a feel of creativty. 

I really liked the simplicity of this design, along with the use of geometric shapes to house the images in the brochure. This is something that I have experimented with already in my digital mock-ups. I also liked the use of bold type that clearly conveys what the brochure is about.

I liked this brochure design because of its use of a crisp, modern geometric style that fit well with the corporate subject matter that it is advertising. I think this particular design may be a bit too corporate for my own subject matter, but there are definitely elements that I can use and mould to fit the style that would complement my film location subject.

Brochure Inspiration