Studying Motion Design and other Creative Technology Disciplines in Singapore

Motion Design in Singapore has certainly gained traction over the years, with a number of industries looking at this particular design discipline as an effective and creative avenue to release its message to the masses across several interactive media vehicles. Whether it is for branding, marketing or advertisement (the savvy amongst you will know the difference), the versatility and simplicity of motion graphic design takes the principles of print media design to the next level.

Of course, Motion Design Degrees and Diplomas are not the most common of disciplines, and thus finding one in Singapore might be a little tough, but fret not! MAGES has come up with not one, but two motion design diplomas catered to an individual’s needs, and graduates would be fit to work in the industry or pursue a motion design degree.

The Unity 3D courses at MAGES have also been a big hit with MAGES having already run several batches. Professional game studios have also sent their staff to MAGES for Unity 3D courses in order to take their staff’s familiarity with the game engine to the next level.

The full-time game design students at MAGES of course, have profited from MAGES’ expertise with the game engine, and are ahead of the curve as per compared to their student peers due to the unity 3d courses and modules that they go through.

For those of you who are still unfamiliar with Unity 3D, it is a game development engine/tool that has a low learning curve (only scripting, no programming knowledge required!) and a low entry barrier (you only pay if you’re making money off of it!). Certainly its accessibility and ease has sped up many a production timelines.

MAGES’ commitment to the development of the Creative Technologies sector means that their core strength is staying relevant to industry practices. This is apparent in the closeness with which they work with their industry partners. Many of MAGES mentors are practising professionals, and for them it is a way to help their students rack up industry experience.

Are you interested in picking up a discipline from a Creative Technology? Check out the many courses on offer in our website. In the meantime, that’s all the time we have for now. Don’t forget to leave your comments below!

Character Game Design & Graphic Design in Singapore

The 10 Aspects of Good Design: Part 2 of 2

My last post talked about the aspects of good design, and mostly covered motion design. Today I wanted to speak about the remaining 5 aspects as well as cover other design disciplines. Character game design, a design discipline often taught in courses like animation, concept art, illustration and game design also takes much from the aspects on discussion here. There are however, aspects on discussion here that would only largely affect design disciplines such as product and interior design.

Minimalistic

A good design makes the most out of as little as possible. Now, I normally avoid using the term, “minimalistic” due to the commercialism of the concept in the past ten decades, but one cannot ignore the clean, simplistic nature of minimalism. Minimalism is the pinnacle of a play on space and form, allowing the essential aspects of the design to shine through, unburdened by any extra frills. It is important that the designer curbs his or her tendency to “over-design”, by adding in extra features for the sake of aesthetics, which might make the overall design look a little cluttered.

Thorough 

Being thorough down to the last detail, not leaving anything to chance and ridding oneself of the habit to put in arbitrary placeholders in one’s design is the mark of a great designer. Remember, it’s all in the details!

Useful

When talking about product design, it is obvious that these products are designed to be bought. Then what about character game design? Or Visual Communications for that matter? I once attended some short courses for graphic design in Singapore and asked my mentor how the aspect of usefulness embodied itself in a non-tangible design like graphic design? A useful design simply means the ability to satisfy function and aesthetics, but one that is able to affect its target markets psychological state. A good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product while leaving out anything else that could possibly detract from it

Unobtrusive 

Now this applies mostly for product design. Animation students and 3D modelers especially should take note that for product design, they are not meant to be decorative objects or art pieces. The design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for a user’s self-expression, while at the same time not devoid of a brand identity.

Environmentally-friendly

Now, this one is again one for product designers, so character modelers do take note! The design of a product contributes to the preservation of one’s environment. Conserving resources and minimizing physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.

That’s all the design advice we have for this time, but please do check out the character game design, 3d modelling and graphic design courses in Singapore that we have! Until next time!

A Look at Design & Visual Communications

The 10 Aspects of Good Design: Part 1 of 2

Function, aesthetics, space and form. These are all fundamental ideas that designers have to wrestle with in their daily lives. As a matter of fact, there are 10 aspects of good design that every designer should be looking out for. Today we’ll be discussing five of these aspects. 

1) Aesthetics

We begin our list with the most obvious aspect. Aesthetics might very well be the most surface-level aspect that designers grapple with but while most may relate the term aesthetics to something that is superficial and subjective (beauty is in the eye of the beholder), it remains an integral part of design. An engineer could perhaps create a well-functioning product, but a good designer would take that design and add to its appeal through aesthetics, making its form a lot more appealing to the senses.

2)  Truthful

A good design is truthful and manages to convey to the consumer its intended use and information. A good design does not overpromise. For example, a student from a good Motion Graphic Design Diploma can tell you that a designer’s main job is to be able to communicate a message effectively and concisely through the use of animation and graphics. Of course, this falls mainly for designers who deal in visual communications, but the clarity of a product’s design identity has to stay true to its function in all aspects of design.

3)  Evergreen

It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable designs that are seasonal, a good design lasts many years—even in today’s throwaway society.

4) Innovative

The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. But innovative design always develops in tandem with the rapid advancement of technology, and can never be an ends to itself.

5) Understandable

It clarifies the product’s structure, and allows the product to clearly express its function by making use of the user’s intuition. It is at best, self-explanatory. Students partaking in motion graphic design diplomas, visual effects courses and other visual communication disciplines will be familiar with the concept of clarity through design.

So in summary, a good piece of design, has to be aesthetically pleasing, truthful, understandable, evergreen and innovative… amongst other things. We’ll be discussing the next 5 aspects of design in the 2^nd part of the post so don’t miss it!

In the meantime, if you are interested in picking up a design course, why not check out MAGES? Aside from the Motion Graphic Design Diploma, MAGES also offers visual effects courses as a specialization within the Advanced Diploma in Animation.

If you have any questions or want us to cover anything, please do let us know. Until next time!