Martin O’Dea

D&ADYamahaThis is the first project I have collaborated with someone on the basis of us having strengths in different areas. We were both interested in the potential of design for digital media and wanted to use the Yamaha D&AD brief to see how far we could push a brand in the digital space. Sam’s interests are in type and layout, areas which I can sometimes fall short in. Having somebody who was confident at dealing with this freed me up to focus on what I’m best at. I was able to really push the technical side of our design solution, working heavily with web and motion to produce something elegant and polished that we were both proud of. This is by far my most successful project in the Responsive module and possibly even my favourite brief on the course so far. I would definitely look at taking on more collaborative briefs next year in this fashion.

YCNLEGOI was making very good progress on this project in the first two weeks, I had recorded my own LEGO sounds in the sound booth and used them to compose an original song that I would animate. In this time-frame I was also able to create graphical elements that complimented the LEGO brand values and could be animated as planned in my storyboard. If I had finished the animation and moved on, I think this project would have been less of a stress for me. As I left the animation half-completed and began to shift priorities to other projects, I found myself having to rewrite and rewrite the storyboard, until I had created something that worked in the time-frame and gave a sense of the magic of LEGO. Through this project, I learnt a great deal about animation (particularly in terms of syncing to music) and was able to pick up a lot of tips and shortcuts which will help me on other projects. I was ultimately happy with the outcome but wish I had spent more time refining my concept on paper before beginning to animate, as the project didn’t really end up where I would have liked.

4+

250piece

LSRFMCORE SHOWSThis rebrand for Leeds Student Radio was a collaboration between myself and Andy Foster. We co-host a show on the station and were approached by the station manager to design a set of logos for the core shows to run in line with the new website update.

This was an unusual project for us as we had to try and stay as visually consistent with each other as we could to make the set appear as if it had been created by one person. Deciding on the format and visual elements of each, we produced 3 logos each then compared and tweaked them until we reached the level of consistency we needed. I enjoyed working in this way, and it was a fast way of splitting the work between us. The logos were well received and it’s great to see them up on the site. This could potentially lead to more work from the station in the future.

LEEDS LIVE & LOCAL HIP-HOP, FUNK & SOUL

CADENZA

INDIE & ALTERNATIVE ROCK & PUNK

DANCE & ELECTRONICA

BURNOUT(HELLFIRE BEER)This Creative Networks brief was something nearly everyone in the class was excited to start. It was an unusual live brief that was specific about format and context but otherwise gave you a blank canvas to design as you wished. I knew that I wanted to use illustration and create a simple, playful label.

I challenged myself to finish the Hellfire brief in a day. This meant that I was able to draft out some concepts in the mroning and develop one rapidly in the afternoon. This was very different to the design process of normal, full briefs. I found that this broke me out of that way of thinking and I produced a simple rebrand that I am visually and conceptually very happy with. Drinks branding is not something I have tackled before, and I definitely enjoyed the process.

BU RNOU Ta fiery pale ABV bitter

5.2%

BUR NOUTa fiery pale ABV bitter

5.2%BURNOU T

a fiery pale ABV bitter

5.2%

BUR NOUTa fiery pale ABV bitter

5.2%

BURNOUTa fiery pale ABV bitter

5.2%

I have renamed Hellfire to something more strongly associated with creative arts. Reaching a state of creative burnout,or feeling void of ideas, is exactly the time a creative might want to enjoy a

beer and take their mind off the project.

The name Burnout has the same connotations of fiery flavour as Hellraiser does, but sounds more inviting and approachable.

CONTACTHIGHThis is the kind of open brief that doesn’t come along very often. As the venue doesn’t operate its own branding, each night is free to promote as it wishes. Contact High had really distinct problems with drawing audiences due to not really presenting a character of its own. I was able to produce a core identity, colour scheme and visual style that can be carried forward to future events.

I really enjoy having a level of independence when it comes to illustration, and I am pleased with the direction I took this. The client wanted to present the night as alternative, but without visually tying it to one type of music. The opportunity to make use of the venue’s projector was also exciting and an area of digital design I am always keen to explore.

By producing striking bright graphics, I was able to make an identity which is eye-catching and won’t wash out when projected. This is quite distinct from other club nights a the venue and with it’s location on the high street, window posters should attract some attention.

Operatives

Ricky and the Hats

Painting Elephants

The Gin Ci rcle

Doors 7:30pm

£5 entry

The Good Ship,

Kilburn

HIGH

HIGHHIGH

300SECONDSThis project was interesting as a pure live brief. While the client was only looking for a logo, there was already a defined audience, context and intended channel of use. As a new start-up, it was great to use design to reflect the intended values of the start-up. There was a fair bit of back-and-forth as the client requested changes, extending this from a day brief to 3 or 4 days of development. The client was really pleased with the final outcome, and it is rewarding to see this already used being used on the website and seen by the public.

There is something about just producing a single logo however that makes you wish you had further design control. Once it has been sent over, you have little say on how or what it is used for in the future, and this is something I had not considered. On the site, the image is compressed so far as to start visually pixellating which is not ideal , but it is out of my hands now.

SECONDS

SECRET 7”I am very dubious of crowd-sourcing websites, particularly when it comes to design. I have always believed them to be a negative force that expects designers to work for free under the guise of a competition where only a few entrants get payed for their efforts. It is for this reason that I have avoided design crowd and other similar sites. Secret 7” takes place for charity, and we had a few winners from our year last time so I took it on as a day brief this year. I decided straight away that I would avoid the popularity contest of asking for votes, as it seems to often pull through the worst pieces of design. Unfortunately my submission was not successful.

THRNLLYTaking on this kind of simple branding project in the past, I have offered clients 5 or 6 options and asked them to pick one that they would like to see developed. In my experience this leads to more requests for changes in the future and puts you at a disadvantage as a designer. For this project, I presented only one concept that the client was delighted with. By thinking about the context that the brand would be used in, I produced a logo that had a strong, identifiable symbol that could be used with of without type, this meant that it was appropriate fore use as an avatar for social networks as well as physical stickers that could be put on DJ equipment.

THRNLLY

THREADLESSMONSTERAll 4 of our PPP start-up studio (Studioooo) entered this competition to design a T-shirt of an ‘original monster’. This was only a quick half-day brief for me. I was disappointed at how badly a score I came out in this though. Threadless is a community-driven site which has a very particular house style that I didn’t adhere to. The only people voting on entries are other entrants to the competition, which means that everyone is voted harshly. None of our entries made it through in this. It might be worth considering the type of design that works in this community and tailoring entries more to this in the future.

Martin O’Dea 2013