peer review

I had a really useful peer review - mainly looking at our main projects. I was feeling a bit lost with the dinosaurs; although I have done quite a lot of work for t, done a lot of visual research into processes etc. I just wasn't really sure where it was going, or if a book was the right outcome or if I should be doing more. As I want it to be an educational product I wasn't sure if a book was the best way for children to learn, so the review was useful in terms of what I could do in addition/instead. 

Initial Ideas:

• good research into illustrators and books - clear what sort of work I want to do
• exciting and playful with approach to project
• research into more projects rather than just books - how have illustrators/designers created work that works in print/digital/3D/advertising etc it might give more ideas into where the project might go
• map out all the possibilities the project could be and eliminate what I don't like

Scope and Scale:

• it is positive that I have started thinking bout expanding on the book
• good to think about it as a project about dinosaurs rather than a book about dinosaurs
• adding an interactive element could be really good - especially if it is educational. A simple digital version of the book with simple animation could work really well
• I could work with the natural history museum on a new (imagined) exhibition or work with open university to make a pack to go with Attenborough documentary 

Visual Quality:

• good experimental work with process/colour/composition - this will be useful when starting final work
• lots of playful work - really exploring the aesthetic of dinosaurs with textures and layering
• the digital designs are the strongest but the handmade ones are more engaging  - find a way to bring them together more, maybe introduce shadows to the handmade dinos?
• maybe add a narrative element - not a long written story but just a key which ties things neatly together 

Effectiveness of Resolution:

• book idea could be really strong 
• having some more interactive elements within the project would make it really engaging and more likely to work as a real life educational project
• maybe think about widening the audience? 
• with the book, make it interactive with flaps with imagined dinos under or illustrate the personality of the dinosaur described 
• have see-through prints with the dinosaurs so a child can imagine what their street/playground/school would look like if it was roaming with dinosaurs 

Some other suggestions from the group discussion were:

• maybe widen the subject - not just dinosaurs, but the whole pre-historic period, looking at tectonic shifts, evolution etc.
• think bigger than the book - maybe only do a few spreads for the book and concentrate on what else I can do with this imagery
• think about an educational pack - something that schools can buy for their history/geography/science department. What would they want to fill their classroom with during dinosaur week?
• some ideas - a long timeline (pangaea to evolution of humans?) to go around the whole class, posters, activity books
• look at the different settings, have done a lot for dinosaurs on the ground, what about in the jungle, flying reptiles, under the water - possibly have books for each setting?
• think about a digital experience - virtual realities

There were lots of good ideas, so many that I will have to work out exactly what  want to focus on so that I don't get confused - it has made the project a lot bigger than I thought which makes it quite daunting, although there seems more point to it when it is an educational pack, that seems like something publishers and schools would actually buy into.