Visual Communication - 2D

Baking - Flapjacks

​For our first Semester Two project we were tasked with illustrating a recipe without the use of words or numbers. But first we had to bake, following the recipe and taking notes as we went along, documenting the journey, leading up to the drawing and the development of the task following. 

Although the recipe was easy to follow, variables effected the outcome, and in hindsight the way in which the ingredients were photographed served as little held when words and numbers couldn't be used to indicate how much of each thing was needed - this was something I had to think about when developing my drawing ideas to overcome that problem. 

But in terms of the outcome of the flapjacks, they turned out fairly well, a little on the sticky side but edible. This task wasn't as difficult as I expected, but was as stressful as I expected, but, I was able to cope with the company of a little helper. 

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Development Work - Ideas

​Moving onto the development of ideas, this was something I was much more comfortable with. To begin with a began by jotting down quick ideas on how I wanted to go about this, and within my development work was quick to realise the simpler, the better as it would be easier to follow, and for this reason my work was targeted towards a younger audience, with the help of parents. Appealing to this audience made the line of enquiry far more colourful, simple and friendly as I progressed, leading towards having a friendly face among the instructions to guide those following along, something that was prominent in games and interactive instructions of my own childhood. 

 From there forth, I explored ways in which steps could be communicated as to not get too confusing with the more free flowing step by step that I may end up using. For this, I explored the use of hand signs, counting the various steps as this was something that is universal regardless of location, age etc. 

​​Not having all my supplies that I would usually have given the circumstances proved to be an issue, particularly when it came to getting quick colour down for my ideas. Thus once I had explored the ways in which the various ingredients could be designed to strongly communicate what they were meant to be, I turned to digital ways to colour and begin to refine by giving them more life than the monotone sketches, 

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One of my main concerns regarding this project is getting everything to fit into the designated space without it going on for too long - as the more steps and the longer the recipe is, the more confusing it is surely going to become. For this problem, I came up with the idea of having the ingredients appear larger at the top or the bottom of the recipe, allowing them to be seen clearer, as well as saving space in the long run as I would be able to cut down on the size of them in the actual steps of the recipe. 

Playing on the idea of having some form of friendly face, I was drawn to the possible idea of having what was listed in the form of a 'speech bubble', replacing the need for words. I was particularly drawn to this idea as it reminded me of the older 'Cooking Mama' games I used to play when I was younger; something that made the most of visuals as opposed to words due to the varying languages it would appear in over its lifespan - meaning very little was needed to be changed.

Although I have components I would like to include in my recipe, the main line of enquiry from here on out is the way it is presented; will it be more linear, or free flowing? One continuous piece, or something more blocked off? I intend to try and find a style that is neither too free flowing as it may get confusing, but nor too formal and blocked off as would work against the childish style I am intending to follow.