OUGD501 - Study task 03 - Defining the brief

This is the question that will guide my theoretical and practical work in CoP2. My question must reference one of the CoP themes (Politics, Society, Culture, History, Technology or Aesthetics) either broadly or focussing on a specific aspect (e.g. "gender" being a specific aspect of Society); and one specific graphic discipline (Typography / type design, Advertising / public awareness, Branding / logo design, Editorial, Design for screen or Print making).

1. Research question 

For my research I am going to look at the subject of electronic music culture and its influences on art and design. I will look at the past, present and future of the subculture as well as researching current issues surrounding nightlife in the UK today and how these problems may affect art and design in the short and long run. Other research could include how and why designers are trying to recapture 'rave art' in modern graphic design and Fabrics visual identity.  A possible question for my essay could be What is the role of graphic design in the the UK underground electronic music scene ? 

1A. Is it viable

In terms of what there is to study is broad, I can look at the current and present rave culture which leads to the legalisation of nightlife in the UK today and why is Britain turning a blind eye to nightlife culture while Germany and Holland embrace it as a culture. Studying about how rave influenced art and design in the 80s and 90s and how current graphic design is informed by it. Ways in which I can know about it are through books and online resources.

2. Defining the problem

Whilst my research question should provide opportunities for both contextual/theoretical research and practical research, I need to ensure that there is an obvious design problem to resolve/explore. Examples could be that a nightclub needs brand refresh or an electronic music artist requires album artwork that reflects his or her music. Another problem could be to communicate music through design in a different formats.


3. Client needs or requirements 

A specific client could be a nightclub or a rave that needs promotional pieces of work, another client could be an artist who requires artwork.

4. Audience

Audience at this stage is tentative but a possible audiences I could be designing for could be, is youngsters and people interested in electronic music.

5. Mandatory Requirements 

The physical piece of graphic design should be influenced and informed by my essay question and research.