Graphic Game Design

It all starts with a game, a piece of paper, a pencil, an idea. Graphic design within the game industry has certainly come a long way in the last thirty or so years. From the simple games we played as children on paper to the interactive x-blocks by the designers of tomorrow. And what will it be tomorrow? Today we also have 2nd life via the web; if you're not happy with your own life; go and pretend to have a life in a pretend world. Our very pixelated Donkeykong and Mario have turned into 3dimensional characters in a 3dimentional world. Who knows where our now super duper Mario will end up!
Basic strategies of games, stories, characters, tasks and performance all play an important part of the development and graphic design of the gameware. Some games are based on ancient and tradional games like chess and Marjong. Some characters are designed from inpirations like a favourite chilhood toy. And some come from a dream world. An excellent book I borrowed from the town library "The Computer Game Design Course" explains the entire design process, history, helpful web sites for the beginner through to the professional; and accompanied by excellent graphics, I found it a very informative and up to date book. The first publishment is 2007. (A great book for Aiden to peruse). And it even tells you where the courses could take your expertise.
I wonder where the next thirty or so years will take us? We, as graphic designers with limiltless imaginations could take the world anywhere.

Jacqui - TILES elements & principles

With so many facets of the industry to choose from, and being an indecisive personality, deciding on a concept to represent was my first hurdle.
I started by researching quotes on design when I stumbled across the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid), which appealed to my sense of style. Applying this principle I decided to represent some basic elements and principles of design. Those being, colour, contrast, texture, collaboration, research, passion, typography, and of course the KISS principle.
Struggling to understand the concept of a visual metaphor my initial attempts weren’t satisfying but I persevered in the absence of a better idea. Time was running out and while searching for images for another project I came across the life cycle of a butterfly, which switched on a light (finally). Continuing my search I noticed that the images of the butterflies would lend themselves perfectly to a visualisation of the elements and principles I was attempting to express.
The project had gone from one that I was finding a chore and lacked the motivation to do, to a very satisfying experience and rewarding result. Enjoy:)

Lucys Tiles

The idea that i had for my tiles aimer to portray different aspects of design, which can be entered into through sign writing after our course is finished.
I chose sign writing because that is what im interested in and I have found that designing signs can be interesting and fun. I also thought that other people may be interested in it and seeing that there are a few different areas, which you can get into. And to see how design can fit into it.
I was hoping to portray a range of different styles and interests in design which can be reached through sign writing both in the past such as hand painted signs, spray painted signage (tags), engraved signs etc… I also tried to portray where the sign industry is going in the future for example printed signs. Promotional signs on cars, vans etc and clothing advertisement, which I think, will become larger in the future. As technology is evolving everyday.
I enjoyed doing this because it made me more interested in my own work and excited to see where technology is going!

By Lucy.

p.s. for some reason my pictures won't upload. sorry.

Design Is A Process

Early on in our first semester of Foundation year in Graphic Design one of our teachers Craig Elliott, said it was a course requirement to have the words “design is a process” tattooed to some part of our bodies. He said it didn’t have to be a visible tattoo, we could use caps or all lower case (our choice) and we could design the tattoo as part of an assessment for Stacy Pollard or Clea Gazzard’s Design classes. I designed a tattoo inspired by the classic “old school” tattoos; a banner (with the great words of wisdom in all caps) over a love heart with a sailor girl on one side in shortie shorts and a buff, if somewhat gay looking, cowboy on the other. I thought the best place for it would be just off centre and to the right of my butt cleavage. I’m very happy with it and have wondered who else in the class completed that assignment.

Despite this however, when Clea set this assignment to design 8 tiles with Graphic Design as the theme I found myself at a loss for which direction to go in…there seemed too many paths well travelled…or so it first appeared. After false starts, hesitations and roads that ultimately led nowhere I finally found a way… my break through. It was pretty simple. I communicated my floundering to my teacher. Clea suggested looking through library books on Graphic Designers, like the well-known iconic ones. There lay my salvation! In a particularly big heavy thick book entitled “A Smile In The Mind” which dealt with wit in design and documented great designs of our time and great words by some of the men and women who designed them. I became absorbed in the words of Paul Rand, Shiego Fukudo and many others. To read that these great designers experienced creative challenges and had personal techniques for overcoming them suddenly put it all in perspective. I identified. I loved reading that some designers thumb nailed and brainstormed and went through dozens of sketches and that others went for a quiet walk and came up with one good idea. That some worked only with paper and pencils and others went to the computer to articulate ideas. That some collaborated and others retreated into solitude.

More than anything this project was a journey. The destination was unknown. It was overwhelming but ultimately satisfying. It was a true metaphor for design being a process…

…and I think the printer really liked my tattoo.

Design Is A Process