In-depth case study analysis of a collaborative project.
This project aimed to successfully create various visually communicative pieces that balance speaking toward individualism found within the event and the relationships that can be found within a cohort setting. Scott and I collaborated to create a unique design solution for the 2024 Bachelor of Design grad show. We worked closely to find an apt design solution pulled from inspiration and historical significance that had the potential to suit the needs of many individuals within the sphere of the event but also could highlight the importance of the chosen title of "untitled."
The first goal was a collaborative and shared objective; by taking a creative risk, my design colleague, Scott Clemmer and I worked towards the kinds of creative risks we could take. We both wanted to push ourselves in our own ways. However, we agreed early on in the project that the preliminary idea could also advance our personal goals. By keeping this critical factor in mind, we could work together to accomplish our collaborative and personal goals. A personal goal of mine for this project was to try some new software and to push my understanding of some hardware. We both focused on what we could do or use to elevate the project and create additional collateral. We believed in doing something different or unique to help our concept and pitch stand out from others.
- Graphic toolbox.
- Logo, colour palette, typefaces, and imagery.
- Digital promotional assets (including static and motion graphic elements)
- Instagram, Facebook and website banner.
- Additional collateral like business cards, name/photo ID.
- Head shots/photographic and illustration mockups/elements that represent each graduate.
The logo's design symbolizes a journey from point A to point B, and the striking balance between colour and negative space was used to represent each student and the essence or nature of the unknown. Regarding the nature of the unknown, we employed the strategic tactic of conceptualizing chaos theory to showcase and best represent the meaning behind "untitled." Like all graduate shows, it is a bitter-sweet moment that encompasses many people gathering together to share achievements and then splitting off to each student's various design career paths. Our concept of fractals stemmed from the mathematical functions found within Benoit B. Mandelbrot sets and the infinite math applied within them. Much of the inspiration and research into fractal mathematics, its behaviour, and how conceptual representation of this idea ties into the project deliverables were pivotal to accomplishing our project goal. Ultimately, we concluded that the best way to represent each graduate was through a modular brand identity system; this way, there was room for each graduate's various colours and tastes against the stark, contrasting black or white backgrounds used to represent the plane in which their journey would branch off into.
The target audience consideration for this project tried to peer beyond the primary audience and incorporate meaningful design decisions that could appeal en masse. As a result, the primary audience was the young adults/students within the graduate show, and we aimed for the secondary audience to be the educational faculty that would attend, followed by a tertiary audience of family, friends, various programs, cohorts, or members of the public interested in attending the event. The key to the project's success depended on designing solutions in such a way that would leave a lasting impression, would be consistent, and could be open enough concept-wise to appease these additional parameters. Carefully considering and balancing various possible inputs and considering outliers to the visual communication helped to establish a connected solid final.
Co-designer & creator: Scott Clemmer
Co-designer & creator: Greg Gulyas
Software: Indesign, After Effects, Premier Pro, Illustrator, Photoshop, Blender, Ultimaker Cura.
Hardware: Fujifilm X-T4 with 16-80mm and a Canon EOS R7 with 18-150mm lens in a studio environment. Creality Sermoon V1 3D Printer.
Collaborating closely on the project was key to the success of the design solution. Throughout much of the time spent working on this project a vast majority of it was dedicated to working in close proximity with one another. Scott and I thought strategically about the workload and how it should be split to accomplish our tasks and to play to our strengths as a team. Through quick thinking, we planned, organized, and accomplished all the tasks that were required of us, whilst completing our personal goals. Much of the process work for this project consists of collaborative brainstorming. Within the preliminary phases of the project's sketching, various ideations and creativity in multiple media were explored. Throughout the iterative process, Scott and I were in lockstep with one another. Ultimately, we landed on a specific concept and decided its representation was the most apt. We then moved forward to pushing that singular idea to where it needed to go.
Scott Clemmer and I put our minds together and succeeded in creating a unique graduate show concept. This project houses a culmination of various skills and efforts from the ground up. A conceptual representation that has the potential to meet all the audience's needs and expectations while speaking to the true nature and purpose of the event itself, which was the winding and unknowable journey of the graduates. By utilizing an apt source of inspiration and historical significance within the scientific community, fractals and chaos theory best suited the initial terminology of what "untitled" could mean, and it accomplished it in such a way that it could speak toward individual tastes while simultaneously speaking toward a cooperative special event in a solid and meaningful visual communication.
Reach out to me at greg.gulyas@hotmail.com to discuss project scope, or alternatively if you are looking for some consultations on how to achieve your ideas, or if you wanna just chat, thats cool too!
