Professional Practice Design Project

In conclusion I believe that I have solved the problem that I set out to. I recognised the lack of classroom visual aids in Swahili speaking classrooms and provided a solution. The exciting thing about this project is that there is still so much development and potential that could be continued on. I loved working on this project, developing new skills and improving upon old ones. Although I ran into some minor complications such as language barrier (trying to find appropriate illustrations for each letter) and time scale, I think overall it was a success. I look forward to printing, laminating/protecting the images and donating them to charities whom I know need educational aid for classroom in places such as Tanzania.


Any feedback is greatly welcomed.

Many Thanks
Niamh.

I knew I wanted something to incorporate wings/feathers/flying and education. Since, in many of these underprivileged places , education is the key to freedom.


Below are a small collection of logo images which inspired me in their own way.





From the above images, I decided to try and combine a pencil and a wing. This was not a successful logo design at all but experimenting helped me see exactly what I wanted.

Editing in Photoshop. Once I had shot each letter with a high resolution under 2 LED lights to ensure no yellowing or discolouration, I used Photoshop to remove any background, eliminate any mistakes and enhance the overall colour. See below a few before and afters.

Since I am not fluent in Swahili I have scoured the internet for basic information and translations on key objects and animals to use for the alphabet aswell as information about the Swahili alphabet structure. This has been quite fruitless, I have actually purchased a book entitled "Jambo means Hello" and read through it. This book by Muriel Feelings is a sepia style illustrated book about the Swahili alphabet and terms relating to those letters. Although this was beneficial in some ways, some terms could not be illustrated in the manner that I wish to.

I then sought advice, a former missionary whom I met during my time in Tanzania, we are still in contact and this bond was more than helpful, he is fluent in Swahili and still has many contacts in Tanzania. Between him and another priest whom I met out there, I gained a full alphabet of letters. Some were harder to get than others as they were suggesting words which would be difficult to illustrate.

Next up, packaging.
I want the packaging to be simple understated and classy. I want to contain all the excitement for inside the package itself. I have opted for brown cardboard packaging with just the logo on the outside in white. Inspired by the Live Lokai bracelets I have decided to tie each package with a simple black and white striped ribbon. Live Lokai websute states " Each lokai is infused with elements from the highest and lowest points on Earth. The bracelet’s white bead carries water from Mt. Everest, and its black bead contains mud from the Dead Sea. These extreme elements are a reminder to the wearer to live a balanced life – staying humble during life’s peaks and hopeful during its lows."