Formal Progress Update Outline

I. Introduction
a. Hello. I’m a seniorand I am here to present my progress update for my senior project of the Theater Advertising design for this year’s school musical, Little Shop of Horrors
II. Background
a. Each year, the school play has some trouble getting the word out and therefore I’ve decided to create the advertising designs for the 2008 musical.
b. Hopefully this will help to get a larger audience for the show
III. Design Brief
a. Create a design scheme for the advertising of the 2008 School Musical.
IV. Specifications
a. must attract an audience to the play
b. ticket design
c. poster design
d. program design
e. flier design
f. t-shirt design
V. Limitations
a. outside resources for printing samples of the final designs
b. cannot be identical to the original Broadway play's designs
c. cannot require a lot of money to be spent on production
VI. Test Procedures
a. The testing of my project goes on throughout the year from start to finish, rather than just in the end when it is finished.
b. First, I received advice from my mentor and friends to get a general idea of what drawings to create in the first place
c. Next, I decided to create an idea matrix and get comments and ratings (1-4) from my peers to see the pros and cons of each design.
d. Now that I have chosen the final three designs and finalized them, I will create three design boards to show to the cast/crew of the musical.
e. Finally, the designs which they choose will be the final test in the project – to see the actual effectiveness of these advertising designs.
VII. Research
a. Over the summer, I researched design principles such as color schemes, shading, and basic drawing. I also researched the play itself to learn more about the plot and characters. Once I had some general ideas about the play, I was able to start creating my designs.
b. Once school started, I showed my mentor my designs and she showed me the posters which were used for the movie of Little Shop of Horrors and also the drawings which one of her students drew last year. Reviewing these designs really helped me gain some new ideas for my drawings.
VIII. Brainstorming
a. To aid me in my design process, I made some lists of ideas of what to draw for the play.
b. Also, once I had one of my designs finished, I created a color scheme chart to see some colors and how they would look together.
c. Next, I used two idea matrices to help me in my thought process. One was simply the pros and cons of each design, and the other has comments and ratings from my classmates.
d. All of this brainstorming helped me to decided on my final three designs which will be featured on design boards to show to the cast.
IX. Alternative Solutions
a. Originally I drew four drawings (show & explain drawings)
X. Selection/Rejection
a. I used the advice I got from my peers to decide which three drawings to use.
b. I chose to use AS 1 because of the bright colors, creative design, and limited amount of detail. I would be able to convert it to fit as all of the advertising media necessary.
c. I chose to not use AS 2 because it was lacking the bright exciting colors which are necessary to attract a large audience.
d. I chose to not use AS 3 because it had a LOT of detail, very little use of bright colors, and not a very interesting overall design. This one had the lowest rating on my idea matrix.
e. I chose to MODIFY AS 4 because my peers said the coloring was great and so was the overall drawing, but I thought that it needed some more flair to make it more interesting.
f. Based on the advice from my mentors and my classmates, I created AS 5 after I made the idea matrices. I like this design because of the coloring and pretty simple design.
XI. Chosen Solutions
a. As I said, I chose to use AS 1, AS 4, and AS 5 as my final drawings because they all utilized a good amount of color, workable detail, and creative designs which the potential audience (the classmates) liked.
b. [Explain model]
XII. Summary
a. Overall, this marking period, I have reviewed and modified the alternative solutions I created over the summer to decide on which three I want to present to the creative arts club.
b. After getting many opinions, I’ve chosen these designs and am ready to begin my developmental work.
XIII. Conclusion
a. Thank you very much for your time, are there any questions?

Alternate Solution 5 Final Designs

Below are the AS 5 designs for the flier, tshirt, program, and ticket.

Alternate Solution 1 Final Designs

Below are the AS 1 designs for the flier, tshirt, program, and ticket.

Alternate Solution 4 Final Designs

Below are the AS 4 designs for the flier, tshirt, program, and ticket.

Selection/Rejection/Intention Report

Selection/Rejection/Intention Report
Since the summertime, I have created five alternate solutions for my senior project. I needed to choose three final designs to perfect for my final solution. These three designs will be the options I will show to the cast/crew of the musical to allow them to decide which designs they like best for each advertising medium. To aid me in my decisions, I asked my peers to comment on and rate each of my designs on a scale of 1 to 4 (one being highest). They only rated four out of five of my designs because the last one I created based on the advice I received from my classmates.
My first solution was of three potted plants on a table-one with purple flowers, one with orange flowers, and one with a man-eating plant. Above the table, the words “Little Shop of” are written in script, while below the table, “HORRORS” is written in dark red bold letters. This drawing utilized bright colors, interesting concepts, and good contrasts. My peers gave me comments such as nice coloring, good focus, and possibly too much detail. The average rating for this drawing was 1.5. The pros of this drawing are the color choices, the focus, and the creativity. However, some of the smaller details may be too small to show up on a medium such as a ticket, which means I will need to do some major adjusting to format this design for tickets. I have chosen to use this design as the main focus of one of my three final design boards for my project.
The next solution is very similar to my fourth solution. They are both of a man eating plant in a pot. The pot in both drawings depicts the play’s title in the same fonts as alternate solution 1. The second drawing is a dark green plant with dark red spots on it. Mostly, my peers told me that this drawing was a good idea which is simple enough to be seen in many media, however the dark colors made the picture pretty dull. This drawing had an overall rating of 2.75. Alternate solution 4 portrayed the plant in a lighter, brighter green color with decorative touches of yellow, orange, red, and purple around the open mouth. My peers said they liked this design a lot because of the brighter colors used with the same simplistic design. This design rated a 2 on the four point scale. I chose to modify AS 4 for my final design board. I discarded solution 2 because its cons out weighed the pros and AS 4, while being very similar, definitely would have a more positive effect for the play.
AS 3 was definitely the poorest out of my five designs, rating a 3.6. I decided to attempt to draw the flower shop on the street corner. However, the picture came out looking ever dark and very detailed. My peers said that this design would not make them want to attend the play and that the heavy detail and dark colors would not fare well in creating the different advertising media.
My fifth solution was a compilation of the advice from my peers and their ratings. I drew the singing trio from Little Shop of Horrors standing around two microphones and interlocking their arms. To the right of the women, there is a small man eating plant. The title is written above and below this picture. My classmates and mentors suggested to draw a design with some of the characters as well as the plant, so I decided the trio would be a fun and interesting way to include the characters. I also decided to keep all of the colors in this drawing bright and make as little detail as possible to allow many modifications and size adjustments to be made, if needed.
As I said, I chose the first and fifth AS because of their bright colors, interesting designs, and positive feedback which I received from my classmates. But as for AS 4, while I liked this design, I did feel that I needed to improve on it. So, I changed the shape of the plant’s “head” from a tear-drop shape to a rounder shape. Also, I added many vines swirling upward and around from the pot. Some of these vines contain smaller man-eaters, just as Audrey II sprouts in the movie. I figured that these changes would keep the simplicity of the design while adding more creativity and dimension to the plant.
Overall, I definitely think I made the right choice in choosing alternate solutions 1, 4, and 5 to develop for my final designs. They all have colors that pop, designs which grab attention, and the ability to be adjusted to be used for many different advertising methods. Also, using the idea matrix and my friends’ advice really helped because they are the ones who will be attending the play based on the quality of the advertising. Knowing that they like these final designs gives me confidence that whichever designs are chosen by the cast and crew will definitely be the ones to draw in the best crowd for the 2008 musical.

NEW Idea Matrix

Above is my new idea matrix with ratings and comments from my peers. I used this idea matrix to aid me in deciding which drawings to use as my final options.

Week 7 Log

Hey everyone! So, the first marking period is coming to an end, which means it's time to put the finishing touches on all of the systems work for this marking period. I've emailed both of my mentors asking them their opinions on my final drawings. I've also completed my model and I'm working on finishing my selection/rejection/intention report. Tomorrow our report and model is due in class. I'll be doing my first formal presentation on Thursday of this week and presentations will be lasting until next Monday. Wish me luck! Catch you guys later!!

Week 6 Log (2)

I have started finalizing my designs for the model for this marking period's presentation. I've begun putting the design board together as well. I will be contacting my mentor soon about these designs and the format of the boards.

Week 6 Log

I've begun working on my outline for the formal MP1 presentation. I've also decided on an additional design specifically for a large poster. I've found an additional mentor and I have been in contact via email and personal meetings with both of them regarding my designs.

Previous Advertising

Above are a few advertising posters from the Little Shop of Horrors movie and from students at the school which my mentor is a teacher at.

Week 5 Log (2)

I've begun to work on the final drawings for my model. Also, I've started to work on my selection-rejection report.

Week 5 Log

I have now selected my three designs to feature on my model design board. I have also decided on how to present my model and how to portray the designs.

Week 4 Log (3)

Today during class, I redid my idea matrix and included a row with each of my alternate solutions pictured in a separate column. I then asked a few classmates to write their comments in the specification boxes under each drawing and rate the solutions to help me decide which three to include in my model.

Week 4 Log (2)

Today in class, teachers A and B discussed my informal presentation with me in a conference. They said that overall, the presentation was good. However, I need to go by the grading rubric for presenations which can be found in the red booklet. I did not elaborate much on my brainstorming and I skipped research until the end of the presentation. Also, I need to go back and rate each of my alternate solutions in my idea matrix, which will help me to write my selection rejection report.

Week 4 Log

Up until this point, I am waiting for my mentor to get back to me about her opinions on my alternate solutions and I am waiting to hear from my teachers about their critiques of my presentation from last week.

Week 3 Log (2)

As of last Friday, I have contacted my mentor about my alternate solutions to get her input on them. I presented my summer work to the class as an informal presentation as well. The internet was down during class one day and we were presenting the other days which is why this update is overdue.

Alternate Solutions

Week 3 Log

I have created two more Alternate Solutions which are variations of my alternate solution #5 (different color schemes). I've also received an email from my mentor talking about how I've done with my work so far. I've posted all of my alternate solutions as well.

Color Schemes

Pictured above are my possible color schemes for the final version of my Alternate Solution #2. In each square, the upper left hand corner is the plant color, the upper right is the plant detail colors, the bottom left is the color of the pot, and the bottom right is the color of the text (title of the play)