Good Is... Small Talk

Things I need to find more about & existing material

1. Most common topic of small talk and the basic rules
2. Evolution of small talk
3. Why awkward silence is so awkward for those involved
4. How to maintain small talk
5. What products already exists: board games, apps, posters, info grafs, books. 

http://www.fastcompany.com/1843752/hate-small-talk-these-5-questions-will-help-you-work-any-room

5x Good Branding

• American restaurant branding
• Market is groups of people, most dominantly males
• Hectic illustration and bold colours to represent the atmosphere and lively environment
• Photographed in this scene with cleaver= meaty food cooked with experience

• Self branding for Shyama Golden
• Illustrative and cursive type communicate a friendly and lighthearted personality
• Bright neon edge commnicates a bright and bubbly personality

• Identity for a traditional tattoo parlour 
• Demonstrates quality crafting
• Letterpress communicates a respect for traditional technique and craftsmanship
• Complicated and well executed type communicates professionalism

• Branding and identity for a restaurant in Austin, Texas.
• Style of typography relates to Cowboy association to Texas
• Light blue on brown relates to cowboys belts
• The use of the word Haus, is relevant due to German settlers in the area

5x Related Material


These are some existing products that are related to my subject of 'Small Talk'

This is an app that is designed to make awkward silences in elevators easier to deal with, it gives you elevator music to play and random topics of conversation

this app is similar in that it gives you topics of conversation/ jokes and facts, it also has a function to set your phone to ring so that you can pretend you have to take the call when caught in a very awkward situation

This book exists to give you the A-Z of small talk, the cover is well designed but the inside spreads are quite bland and take a very serious approach to teaching you how to small talk. Whatever application I find for my topic I want it to have a very lighthearted approach and kind of tongue in cheek and humorous tone of voice.

This book is less serious but still looks quite serious and if you were found with it you would look very socially inept, mainly due to the title.

5x Print Processes

One of the main things that I want to get better at and get more of in my portfolio is interactive design

I tried a small amount of foiling with the design for print and web module, this is something that I could try again

Creating a rubber stamp will allow me to create a consistent brand over a range of nice stocks without having to resort to digital print.

Using different materials within products will be a good way to make work stand out in my portfolio

I'd like to revisit embossing as last time I tried it I had mixed results and think that it would add to the finished product a lot if it was done well.

5 x formats that appeal to me

Alternative, innovative and interactive packaging

Improving my knowledge of nets and packaging as well as my crafting skills to produce well made and structurally sound mock ups is something that I want to hone in on.

Web based promotion - web site, app

I have previously dabbled with designing for apps and I think that it is something that'll be worthwhile putting more time into as more and more companies will be wanting accompanying apps to keep their clientele interacting with their brand. I am interested in designing for screen as I like the amount of opportunity there is for engaging the user and making them interact more than if they were just dealing with a leaflet or poster.

Embossing

I have also tried embossing before but think that, from building on what was successful and unsuccessful last time, I will be able to give my work a quality finish if it is relevant to the content of the project.

Illustration & Editorial

I think that combining more illustrative  and image based work within editorial design will help my work stand out a bit from the mass of purely functional and modernist layout design.

Perfect bound - Book binding

I have not yet successfully applied any book binding skills to any graphic product and the subject of 'Small Talk' might allow me to do so.