Mike.

Degree show 2011

2011-07-12T18:42:00.046+01:00

I haven't blogged for a while and I just thought that since my degree course has now ended and I'm now a graduate, I thought sharing what I've been up to would be nice for you to see.

For the Degree Show I had 2 weeks to develop a project that engages with the audience as they browse around. Fortunately I had come across a technique during the development of my Barnbrook Poster that uses your mobile phone to see whatever I design. But the problem I faced was to choose a theme that would be emotionally engaging for the audience. It did take a while of decisions and doubts about ideas, but eventually coming to the concept of Cyber Bullying.

I have experienced this kind of abuse when I was younger, so I knew that in a space of years the style of bullying would have developed a new style of language. Coming from a new generation of children this type of language would become more harsh. Bearing this in mind I set myself upon creating text messages containing a message that would get the point of cyber bullying across.

The idea behind the design of the campaign is that the 'pattern' is made up of repeating the shape of a heart; the heart is a representation of affection and kindness. So for the posters with the harsh messages hidden behind the repeat pattern, they represent the 'friends' that may be kind to your face, but underneath, never cared.

The 'pattern' knocks out the message to the eye, but when you hold your mobile phone to the artwork you then see the message. With the images now on your phone, you are then able to sympathise with the victim and see how they feel when they receive the abuse such as this.

In hindsight for the project, I think I could've pushed the campaign further. There were quite a lot of people that took out there mobile phones to test it to see if it could work, and as they were able to see the message it became clearer about the project. I just wish I had got a photo of the audience engaging with my work. Plus I think the free posters also helped draw the crowd.

LOVE Creative

2011-05-06T00:04:00.003+01:00

Unevolved Brands

2011-04-21T15:09:00.001+01:00

How many can you recognise?? Mostly American brands.

Taras Lesko

2011-04-21T10:51:00.002+01:00

A Graphic Designer, Creative Director and a Visual Spice Master?
Taras is a designer that has a passion for creating things with his hands.

He was working on Forza Motorsport 3, a racing simulation video game on the Xbox 360, but after being surrounded by cars and car fanatics on a daily basis, it resulted in building a papercraft model of an Audi R8, specifically styled to the game’s brand and visual design.
The finished model was very well received by Turn 10 Studios and immediately featured on the Forza Motorsport blog.

With the success of having Forza Motorsport notice his talent, Taras created his own bold vision for the Audi A7. After starting this project with 285 clean sheets of paper, using photos and drawings as reference, he designed 750 model pieces out of card stock, which he then printed, folded and glued together.
Measuring 4ft x 2ft x 2ft, it is on display at the new york auto show 2011. This all-paper rendition of the 2012 Audi A7 is the largest papercraft model of a vehicle ever produced.

You can see both videos here.

IMS Euro Ltd

2011-04-19T00:43:00.053+01:00

Since the beginning of January, I have been working with the staff at IMS Euro Ltd to help them update their brochure. They are a family run supplier of non-pharmaceutical medical products to the ever growing world-wide medical community. From working on the brochure led to creating a large-scale backdrop for their stand at the BSAVA 2011 exhibition, and they would like me to help them with any future changes to the brochure and promotional material.

I was approached by Karen Shamot and mostly worked with her son, Nick on this project.
Initially I was hesitant to take it on, because I mainly wanted to focus my energy on my Final Major Project, seeing as this would count heavily towards my degree. But I guess reluctantly I chose to take it on.

I think that this has been a great experience working with such a friendly company, who now considers me one of their, 'clan' so to speak, so I'm happy with that.

Peelable Smirnoff Bottles

2011-04-12T15:36:00.000+01:00

What an amazing idea allowing the user to 'peel' the identity off to reveal smirnoff.

Fuuvi Pick USB Mini Digital Camera

2011-04-12T15:22:00.000+01:00

For a seriously cool gadget that will make a great gift.

Old Bottles, New Cups

2011-04-12T14:58:00.000+01:00

A nice post about recycling glass bottles into cups.

I'm Here

2011-04-11T23:16:00.000+01:00

Mario Basanov & Vidis feat. Jazzu - I'll Be Gone

2011-04-11T22:45:00.000+01:00

An amazingly edited music video from Mario Basanov & Vidis. It has great camera movements for so few objects, a great production. It is fun to watch.

Credits:
Music title: I'll be gone
Director: Rimantas Lukavicius
CGI: Rimantas Lukavicius
Producers: Martynas Mickenas, Arunas Matacius
Production Company: RGB
Inspired by SOBIESKI
Year of completion: 2008

Springetts

2011-04-05T23:14:00.001+01:00

Good Company

2011-04-05T22:00:00.000+01:00

Billington Cartmell

2011-04-04T23:11:00.000+01:00

Andrea Gallo - Six Architects

2011-04-03T11:28:00.002+01:00

Ste Owen feedback

2011-03-30T00:20:00.000+01:00

True North

2011-03-23T23:10:00.001Z

Lucid Design

2011-03-03T23:16:00.003Z

I was approached on Twitter by Jan Blanchard at Lucid Design and she wanted me to forward over my portfolio to her and was wondering whether I’d b interested in commuting back n forth to Liverpool, to which my reply was, yes.
It took a few days for her to get back to me but she liked my portfolio and forwarded it onto her colleague to take a look at. It was only then that Matthew had contacted me back after he had taken a look too, gave me some advice on what to change, gave me a hint as to which projects were commercial and which were creative, and then invited me over to their studio for an interview.

On the evening I was due to arrive at the location of their studio, I was greeted by Jan, who welcomed me into their residential space. I think because of the casual set up of the design studio, the entire crit session was relaxed and welcoming especially since it was close to evening time.
It had only dawned on me when I was introduced to Matthew, that he was her son. And it was him I was going to be showing my work to.
We began with how I had got in touch with them and whether I had an online portfolio too, we also touched on where I felt I wanted to head after I graduate and where I saw myself.

From going through each of my projects in my portfolio I normally get into my stride, and I think Matthew and Jan had a few questions throughout, so it was a bit of a start and stop explanation.
He brought up that there were quite a few projects where I had worked in partnership with other people, but I reassured him that I worked well with my partners and the outcome of the work was a team effort.
There wasn’t really much of a stand out piece for them to really believe that I could work with them on a creative level, but when it came to my Barnbrook poster I think they really liked it and weren’t too sure how it worked, but mostly being a digital agency, they liked the interaction with the mobile technology.

From my constant impersonation of mastermind, throwing questions at them, I had found out that they tend to see students and graduates for portfolio crits usually in the evening. Having seen quite a few students based in the Liverpool area, they mentioned that I was quite a breath of fresh air. Having never had that expression used to describe me, I was a bit hesitant to carry on asking so many questions, but I think it showed that I was interested in their agency, which was true.
We got to chatting more about the certain skills required in a digital agency and with Matthew going through the process of creating websites and apps for the iPhone; it became apparent that my interview was going well.
They have a few more staff working at the moment in Preston and he mentioned that they would be moving into the centre of Liverpool soon, which would see them open up a retail shop below and working above. It was suggested that I come and help them move into the new premises when the time comes, whilst sharing ideas alongside on how best to market the retail shop, but also showing initiative rather than relying on them to tell me what to do next.

Before we were done talking, he offered me some work experience working with them during the summer and if that went well, then I would be kept on for longer. He said that I should keep in touch with them after I graduate and see how things turn out. So that’ll give me some time to hone my skills before working with them.

I enjoyed this visit to see Jan and Matthew, because even though it wasn’t apparent that it was an interview, they liked that I was showing initiative and interest into their agency.

999 Design

2011-02-18T23:14:00.001Z

It was about time for me to organise my visit with 999 Design and instantly got in touch with Dave Sedgwick. He had done a lecture at Stockport College when I was in my first year on the degree course and from what I remember he was entertaining.
So after a few corresponding emails, we had organised a date for me to come in and show him my portfolio of work.

When it came to the date of my visit, I had come from college and had lots of time to spare before so I bought myself a cup of tea from the cafe down the road, and after for a bit, I thought, ‘fuck it, just head in 30 minutes early’.
As I waited in the reception area for Dave, I felt I wanted to have a nosey at some of the campaign work they had on showcase on the bookcase in front of me; I did ask the guys in the studio beforehand whether it was okay, to which they agreed it was.
It was only until 5 minutes later when he introduced himself and greeted me into the boardroom.
We began initially talking about how the degree course was progressing for me and where I saw myself after graduating, which then lead me into presenting my portfolio to him.

I don’t know why, but I seemed nervous to be showing him my work, and as I was elaborating about each project and how I solved the brief, I was subconsciously fidgeting with my fingernails.
Thinking back now I wish I had used my spare 20 minutes to just check that my body of work was fine, because as it turned out, I had left in projects I intended to keep out of my portfolio. I was apologetic, but he insisted that I still present them to him as well.

As a whole he liked my work, he did feel that it could be improved though. He mentioned I should introduce myself properly from my first page and not just breeze through to the main body of work.

The Manchester Literature Festival project was popping up a lot from some of the students he had seen, and even though he liked my explanation of the reasons why I executed that project, it was still a case of showing how to lay out type on a page.
He liked the 7x7 project, but felt there was a less connection between the poster/invites and the publication. One bit of advice he provided was that I should have and image of the poster in situ rather than A3 in my portfolio.
And with regards to my Howies and Together Trust briefs, his advice was to push it more; rather than having something that just solved the brief left in my portfolio, extend it onwards and then the final outcome could be stronger than before.

My last two projects were the rebrand of Ritz Crackers and my Jonathan Barnbrook Poster.
He really enjoyed seeing the concept of the Bitz snack packets, and felt that this project could be a piece of strong work with the inclusion of a campaign, so I’ll take that on board for future editing.
My explanation of my Barnbrook poster doubled with the visual appearance made understanding the project a lot easier. He suggested that if the poster was intended to be at A2 size, then I should maybe think about a way I could fold the poster down to be handed out as an invite.

He noticed my nerves when it came to presenting my work and when I wasn't using my hands to gesture words, I was fiddling with my fingers and he had picked up on that as something I avoid doing.
I had mentioned that I had previously picked up a few tips when I was in Leeds. So I was intrigued to know how my demeanour came across and what ‘level’ my body language came across too. He explained that the impression he got was quite confident person – from the way I came in and asked to look at their work, to the way I presented my portfolio.

He had also mentioned that he was leaving 999 Design and would have to bear in mind all the tips he gave me.
I think the one thing I will never do again is arrive into a design studio with a plastic cup of tea in my hand and place it onto the table alongside my portfolio, because Dave mentioned that I should bear that in mind whenever I see other design agencies, as this is something they may not want to see.

Jonny Burch feedback

2011-02-10T12:00:00.000Z

Pete Murray feedback

2011-02-03T16:17:00.014Z

I was applying for an internship with Design By Day, and I get a tweet from Pete and he entions sending my portfolio to him so he can give me advice before I send it off.

From: pete@clipcreative.co.uk

Subject: Re: @ngo2michael

Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2011 09:49:38 +0000

To: ngo2m@hotmail.com

Hi Michael,

Sorry this has taken a while to get back to you, i have been really busy on projects that last few days.

I have had a look through and generally I like it. Initial thoughts are:

The first three projects are very strong.

the 'cube' project I do not really understand and don't think it is helping much, would move down or possibly drop (sorry!)

I would move the howies (which I like) above the ted baker project.

Increase the size of the project title and details, difficult to read and i am using quite a good screen.

Overall, I like it. If it was for me I would possibly look for a bit more digital on there, maybe design a website for a friend, it doesn;t need to be real, just do the designs. This will give it some breadth.

Persistence is the key with this. Tweak it, get some digital on there and send it to a few agencies, ask for feedback, re-tweak send to them again and some more agencies. Keep doing that and you'll get a foot in the door and then you'll be off! Asking for feedback helps you spot holes in your portfolio gets you talking to people - like we are doing now!

I hope this helps, feel free to send any further versions through...

Best Regards,

Pete

Peter Murray

Clip Creative

Complete Digital Design

Studio 401, Islington Mill | James St | Salford | Manchester M3 5HW

Tel. 0161 839 9790

Twitter. @Clip_Creative

www.clipcreative.co.uk

I thanked him for taking the time out to get back to me his feedback, because the advice that I got actually helped me to structure my portfolio and also make it stronger. He did mention that if I ever send out a pdf of my portfolio that I should be careful of the size of my font, just so it is still readable.
With the run up to our London trip, this was helpful for me, because I wanted to whet some appetites with a couple of pages from my portfolio.

Billy Hark feedback

2011-02-01T15:13:00.001Z

In preparation for portfolio visits, I had contacted Billy Hark Design, thinking I could get some feedback on my work.

On 29 Jan 2011, at 14:36, Michael Ngo-Tu wrote:
Hi Billy,
I am a graphic design student in the last year of my degree course and I have compiled my portfolio together for design creatives like yourself to get as much feedback about it.
My friend, Chris, refered me to you, but I wanted to check out your website before I contacted you, but it is down at the moment, I guess you're editing it?
I know you are based in chester and I'm all the way in Manchester, but a train journey can sort that out.
So cheekily, I am asking whether you can take 10 mins out of your busy day to take a look at my printed portfolio, by any chance?
I look forward to your reply.
Best Regards
Michael

From: billy@harkdesign.co.uk

Subject: Re: Your Website

Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2011 11:02:28 -0800

To: ngo2m@hotmail.com

Hi Michael,

I recently moved to the USA. So unfortunately I can't meet with you but would be happy to give you some feed back on a PDF portfolio.

Cheers,

Billy.

On 30 Jan 2011, at 13:24, Michael Ngo-Tu wrote:
Hi Billy,
Thanks for getting back to me so soon, its unfortunate that you're no longer in the uk, but I hope the move to America is going to be good for you. When did you head over to the USA?
I've attached my portfolio as it stands in a PDF, and just to let you know, my partner and I are still editing the ritz crackers to enter the roses awards, hopefully.
I appreciate you taking the time to look at it.
Thanks
Michael

On 1 Feb 2011, at 03:38, Billy wrote:

Hi Michael,
I've taken a look through your folio.

So here is my honest but hopefully constructive feedback.

Your strongest 3 projects for me currently are

1. Manchester Literature Festival - (Very strong graphically, but would like to see more application of the design and exploration of the typographic solution would add value to this)
2. Pixelo (Strong visual typographic solution, can you apply this to a branding project?)
3. 7 X 7 (Clean typography, good balance of space... sponsor logos look a little big? again more design exploration... inside spreads to brochure, website)

Your work for me leans towards 'style' over 'concept' but by no means a bad thing! As you are in your final year student (Stockport College I take it?) you should start to focus on who you really would like to work for?

Make a list of your top 5 agencies you would love to work for and try and build your work around that. (ask for placements and be prepared to do ANYTHING!!!!! (within reason))

Revisit the 'Together' campaign... it's your weakest piece at the moment.

Hope this helps & good luck in the future.

All the best,
Billy.

P.S I set up and help run this blog...

http://www.thedisciplesofdesign.co.uk/

I think you probably know them but your folio I think fits with this company: http://www.spin.co.uk/

Read Ian's profile here:

http://www.thedisciplesofdesign.co.uk/preston-profiles/ian-macfarlane/

I thanked him so much for the feedback, because its always good to hear about the strongest and weakest projects, pushing them more can make them stronger.
I did agree that the concepts aren't thought through enough and I guess this can be something I can work on in the meantime, for instance if I revisit the briefs.

I am heading to London for three days beginning April, so I think I'll get in touch with the team at Spin!

Matthew Blanchard feedback

2011-01-30T02:16:00.001Z

So I had got in touch with Lucid Design after Jan Blanchard suggested I send her my portfolio to which she forwarded onto her son Matthew.

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2011 10:54:13 +0000

Subject: PDF.

From: studio@lucid-design.net

To: ngo2m@hotmail.com

CC: jan@lucid-design.net

Hi Michael,

Thanks for sending over your work over, late on a Friday night.

Here is a crit to help you structure your portfolio:

First thing to do:

Page 16, replace the I stock image with a paid for image. There is nothing worse than I stock rights being seen on final pieces, it really damages that piece.

Commercially:

• Your howies work is your strongest,

• Followed very closely by the corner house poster and business cards. Very nicely composed and on trend.

• Avant-garde work

• Ted Baker, line drawings are nice. App work would be easier to envisage if you used an up to date iPhone screen to present each stage of the app. You are also working with a hard brand visually to begin with, as the Ted Baker website is not great to start with.

Creatively:

• I like the box idea, very well presented, nicely shot. A neat piece. The graphics inside could look a little dated now for the commercial market place and art world, which this looks like it is appealing too.

• More Cornerhouse type work would be very nice to see in your portfolio.

Where are you based? I presume Manchester; could you work in Liverpool on a daily basis?

Good luck with your roses stuff.

Many thanks,

Matthew Blanchard

Creative Director

LUCID DESIGN AGENCY

On 29/01/2011 11:07, "Michael Ngo-Tu" wrote:

Morning Matthew,
Thanks so much for the advice and the critiques, and yeah, the stock images were something that was overlooked, so thanks for bringing that to my attention, it will most definitely be amended today!
I am based in Manchester, and Liverpool isn't that far away really, especially on a train, so that’s not a problem.
I'll keep you updated on the Ritz stuff, you can give me your opinion once we have it finalised.
Thanks again

Michael

On 29 Jan 2011, at 12:08, "Lucid. Design. Agency." wrote:

Hi Michael,
No problem, do you have a printed portfolio you could show us, if you came to the studio or we met in Manchester? I have an office we can use there too.
This week is full and in Paris the week after.
How are you fixed the week after that? Week beginning the 14th February.

Matthew Blanchard
Creative Director
LUCID DESIGN AGENCY

So I got back in touch with Matthew to organise me coming over to the studio with my portfolio; here's what happened.

Minimalist for Maximalist

2011-01-01T18:29:00.000Z

"A dose of minimalism and efforts for changing the perception."

Founded by Mehmet Gozetlik, Antrepo is a multi-disciplinary design consultancy with an exciting and passionate team driving the core of design. They create unique design ideas for forward-thinking people because believe that they can access any individual and any culture with a fresh idea, allowing themselves to envision the next step.

Antrepo have created conceptual packaging design for well-known supermarket products by stripping back the existing graphics in stages.

Called Minimalist Effect in the Maximalist Market, the experiment asks readers to choose which of the stages they prefer.

"Our last project is about simplicity and we try to find alternate simple version for some package samples of the international brands. We think almost every product needs some review for minimal feeling."

What is your choice in these 3 different variations?
1. Original variation
2. Simple variation
3. More simple variation

Assessment Exhibition

2010-12-17T00:38:00.008Z

Before we were due to break up for Christmas break, our class were to place their work up onto boards for assessment. The way it was presented on the board was to also be taken into consideration as well, presentation is key in this industry.
Fortunately Olivia and I were well prepared for this, so we had no complications getting it up on time. So here is the work that we exhibited for assessment.

Our Ritz campaign, with the repeat pattern that we both enjoy. We hope to push this brief a bit further and enter into the Rose Awards.

Our integrated Tea Baker campaign, initially we were awed by what was expected of us, but I think that the outcome we ended up with is creatively clever.

We also exhibited our 7x7 project and my Barnbrook Poster.

AGP feedback

2010-12-10T23:21:00.002Z

I have been in contact with Shane from AGP, A Graphic Practice, a Design Consultancy based in Berlin. I was expecting to organise a portfolio visit with him, but as it turns out, he was out of the country, ironically in the UK.

On 11/11/2010 20:30, ngo2m@hotmail.com wrote:
Name: Michael Ngo-Tu
Email: ngo2m@hotmail.com
Phone: 07916309431
Hiya Shane,
I like the way your website functions and I pretty much love most of the work that you create, its inspiring and also great for referencing from.
I am a student based in england and I am travelling to berlin next week with my two colleagues, I know it is such short notice but I was wondering whether we could come and see you with our portfolios whilst we are there, since we would like to get feedback from you.
I do understand that you are a busy studio, so I look forward to your reply.
Many thanks

On 13 Nov 2010, at 16:10, A Graphic Practice wrote:
Hi Michael.
Shane here at AGP.
Michael thanks for the kind words re. the site and work. Much appreciated. Unfortunately, I'm not actually in Berlin next week, I'm off to Ireland on Monday to meet a client, do a little project and catch up with family.
The studio is only going a year, so as you can imagine it's a small affair, and a bit chaotic at the moment.
I'm always interested to meet up with people and should you enjoy Berlin enough to come back, definitely give me a shout.. Its a shame I'm not around.
I hope your trip goes well. Michael and thanks again for getting in touch.
Best Regards
Shane
A Graphic Practice
We Are A Design Consultancy
www.agraphicpractice.com
AGP©2010

On 13/11/2010 22:18, Michael Ngo-Tu wrote:
Hi shane,
You're very welcome about the compliments, I feel it's always good to let you know!
Also, since I can't show you my portfolio in person, can I send it to you via email and then when you have the time, you could give me some feedback on it?
Thanks for the reply and I hope that you have a good time visiting your family.
Cheers
Michael

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:39:49 +0100
From: info@agraphicpractice.com
To: ngo2m@hotmail.com
Subject: agp to micheal / berlin portfolio
Hi Michael..
Hope you are enjoying Berlin and the weather isntgetting you down. I spoke with my girlfriend last night she tells me its miserable in Berlin this week.
Yes of course send me a pdf or something, its always greatto see new work.Best Regards
Shane
A Graphic Practice
We Are A Design Consultancy
www.agraphicpractice.com
AGP©2010

Unfortunately it took me a very long time of 3 weeks to get back in touch with him. I made the apologies for not getting back to him sooner and was really grateful for his feedback on my portfolio.

Hello Michael.
Shane here from AGP.
Thanks for forwarding your pdf.

It’s never easy to provide a critique on work without really knowing the story.
I’ve often looked at album art for example and thought to myself what a great opportunity to do something great... but it looks rubbish. Then having work within the music industry for a while I understood why: no time, no budget, something needed for yesterday and suddenly many of my opinions didn’t seem valid.

However, without going through everything....Michael I shall try and provide some info.
arrghghg. :-)

I suppose on the first spread. ‘Avant Garde’ to be honest, I find it a bit nice, or slick and not really avant garde at all. If I take the literal meaning of the term it would be to suggest something post modern or boundary pushing, experimental etc..

The Literary Festival.
I’m sure you have a story, but not knowing anything about it, I dont see how this poster promotes renowned novelists and poets. Perhaps you were looking for some kind of symbol that covered literature. It might have been nice to highlight the differences perhaps between the genres, or literati.

I think also the colour palatte is perhaps too nice. Or child like.

Book Launch.
Graphically looks interesting. Again I’m not sure of the rationale. The ‘x’ is the prominent mark, I’m not sure what this symbolises to be honest. Is the book called Book Launch, or 7x7 and what is the ‘x’. I suppose Im looking for a hierarchy of information.

The Door,
I find very interesting as an object. Obviously its not graphic design. But in a way it looks very graphic. :-) I like it.

T_shirts.
Intersting play with the characters. This would be a subtle way to sell the brand name. When guys like these demand their name across the chests of the nation, this is a nicer way togive it a twist.

The together campaign,
again Im struggling with the type. Im not comfortable with it. On one hand I understand by tight kerning you are trying to suggest togetherness but all of the copy around it on the posters seems so removed.

In reflection on the overall book... I think probably you need to work the type harder, I don’t really believe many of the projects, what I mean by that is that, they don’t look like they should look the way they do.

On the positive side of things. The fact that you are producing work is half the battle. Its hard to knock someone thats making things happen. So this is great. I think the more you work with type probably the more natural it will feel. At the moment everything looks a bit ‘nice’ or non commital’ and because of that everything feels a bitlike a half way house, neither one thing nor an another. I think good Identity work is only eveident when one commits to a route.

So.. Michael..
Listen.. Hope its not too critical.. Feel free to send me future work.. And as I said, for me its all about the process, stepping stones and moving on. I look at some old stuff and think ‘what a pile of crap’ so... Just keep working... :-)

Best
Shane
A Graphic Practice
We Are A Design Consultancy
www.agraphicpractice.com
AGP©2010

It was unfortunate I wasn't able to communicate my portfolio to him in person, but I realised that if I was to send him a pdf as I have done, then I should consider making an additional page that focuses on the information about my work.
In retrospect as to what he had said about my work, makes total sense; I feel that I am the most critical person about my work, and I can never stop thinking about how I can make my 'final' pieces of work better.
I am pleased that he was able to critique my work like this, because now I have a focus to work on, type. Now that I think about it it, I am too safe with the fonts that I use, should I work on this more, then I would be more adventurous with the choices I make in future.

Night in the Wood

2010-12-08T15:51:00.000Z

I was approached by my friend Liz Parker to help her out create posters for her project, 'Night in the Wood'. I think that she wanted the poster to look like Audio Farm.

So I had gone away over the weekend and came back with different designs for her to choose from.

I quite liked these, but it doesn't have the impact that she wanted them to have. So we settled on the other idea about having hand drawn font on the poster, which can be found here.

Barnbrook Poster

2010-12-07T13:32:00.004Z

These were the posters that I had managed to get done initially and I felt that having it in Black & White would be fine for printing, as it messes with your eyes as it is already.

I was happy with them, but I felt that adding a hint of colour, wouldn't harm the concept of the poster. When it came to choosing a colour to use I went to Jonathan Barnbrook's website for some inspiration and Magenta came up as a choice to use on my poster.

After printing them out at A2 it was recommended to get as many opinions as possible from different people to see which one they prefered. As it turns out, the feedback I got was that most people wanted the poster to be readable, but the concept that I had was to have the message not readable. The message isn't supposed to seen straight away but is there subliminally.

Below is the final poster I printed out:

Ironically when it came to the day of the presentation, Jonathan Barnbrook had used alot of Red in his presentation to us, so I guess it was lucky that I decided to use that as part of my poster.

In hind sight I think that when it comes to designing something this complex, its always great to assume that your own opinion on design and colour choice would be fine, but I'd always suggest a second opinion to critique your work.

Barnbrook Lecture

2010-12-06T12:21:00.001Z

The posters for the lecture are up and I'd planned to put another one up on the door of the lecture theatre at 2.30pm, so people can see it before they head into the talk. I was asked by my tutor at the time to find out specifically the time we have to head down, who was helping Jonathan set up with the projector and who is introducing him.
I learned that if you had any part in helping out with a lecture, you can be prepared to be expected to know all the details.
I head to Lost in the Forest Institute, get all the necessary details from Chris Shearston and Vicky Carr, they inform me of all the information I was trying to find out and so I'm merrily on my way back to tell my tutor.

During the lecture Jonathan Barnbrook was showing us some pieces of work that he had done and at the time I was thinking to myself, do we really need to hear this? Sounds bad to say that, but, seeing as I had already researched most of his work to get a grip of the way he designs, I wanted to know more about him; the reason for certain decisions in his career, the way he works, his work ethic, things that I could find to be constructive towards my progression as a designer.

There were certain aspects of the talk that caught my eye.
When he had mentioned that, because of the current economic crisis at the moment, there will be less design agencies recruiting graduates, he had recommended that we consider starting up a business on our own, freelancing for a bit.
He also told us that new typefaces are always needed, since languages are always evolving, type styles need to evolve with it.

I found him to be really down-to-earth but also slightly humorous too.
Something I liked was his swearing throughout the talk, it was really low key profanity.

"Fuck it, the fucking fuckers fucked."

Another piece of advice I took from him was that, he mentioned the work you put in your portfolio will attract more of the same work, therefore the work you want to do should be shown through the designs in your portfolio; something I find hard to do at this current stage.

I did stay behind to ask him whether he like the poster and whether he liked the quote. His positive response to the poster was great to hear.

Dominic Wilcox lecture

2010-12-04T23:54:00.000Z

Shellsuit Zombie event

2010-12-03T23:48:00.001Z

The graduates from LitFI mentioned to our year, that an upcoming event by Shellsuit Zombie was being hosted in Liverpool. To which we had organised to got to after the talk by Adrian Shaughnessey at the Design Symposium. So Ashley, Laura, Lucy and I set off for the home of Anfield.

We planned to meet at The Shipping Forecast, where Shellsuit Zombie‘s 'Tale of Two Cities' was hosted in the basement. We met up with Chris, John and Vicky from LitFI as the event set out for graduates and industry creatives was going to begin.
This was a chance for us to network together with the design industry to make some more contacts.

There was loss of blood, profanities galore, and all round creatively fun thinking which made the evening really good. I think we enjoyed it a lot and it was a great way of networking outside college; something I had not really done before. We also met other 3rd year students from different institutes so it was great to hear how their experiences and ours differed.
One thing I learned from speaking to another student was that I was surprised to hear they had no portfolio put together or even been on visits. Not being one to rub it in, I had mentioned that on our degree course we had been advised to create a portfolio and go on portfolio/studio visits in our 2nd year of study, so I was glad I chose Stockport.
We got the chance to work with John from Mercy and had a brief chat with him, just before we were about to leave, so that was good.
An experience from Shellsuit Zombie, I hope to repeat again soon.

The Design Symposium

2010-12-03T22:46:00.008Z

I have already seen a lecture by Adrian Shaughnessey and I have blogged this here.

This lecture in Liverpool however was somewhat different.

'The Design Symposium' had Adrian Shaughnessey talk about his work, experiences and the publications, Unit Editions, have brought out. Then the next part was learning about the 'paradoxes'. I didn't know what a 'paradox' is, but to my understanding, at the time, it was more like words of advice.

1. There is no such thing as a bad client, only bad designers
2. The best way to become a better graphic designer is become a better client
3. If we want to educate our clients, we must first educate ourselves about our clients
4. If we want to make money as a graphic designer, we must concentrate on the work not the money
5. For good processing, verbal skills is an important as processing good verbal skills
6. Clients will listen to us, if we bother to listen to them
7. Most ideas fail not because they are bad ideas, but because they are badly presented
8. Designers who use the argument, 'I know best, because I am the professional' are usually unprofessional designers
9. We often like to imagine that all the good projects go to other people. So in fact nearly all jobs start off as neither good nor bad
10. Designers never like to be wrong, but to admit being wrong is the best way to gain respect or trust
11. The best way to do great work is to be tough and domineering without clients, in fact the opposite is true
12. The best way to have a good studio and get the best out of graphic design is to put yourself last
13. The best way to self-promote is to avoid talking about yourself
14. If we believe in nothing, then our clients will have no belief in us
15. A designer’s brain is capable of much more than making things look pretty

These were pretty lengthy at the time, so I began recording it on my phone, but when I played it back, it was all muffled. Bad idea, but a good idea at the time.
As he talked through these 'paradoxes' he mentioned what these had taught him. Some of the points he was making were more relevant to the industry rather than us, the students, but it was still intriguing to hear his advice.
I found myself relating to some of these points and thinking to myself of 'not falling into the traps' as my progression as a designer continues.
I did stay and plucked up the courage to introduce myself to Adrian and to his joy, I had pulled out my issue of Supergraphics, a book that Unit Editions has recently brought out and asked, like a stalker fan, if he could sign it for me.

DEADLINE

2010-12-01T14:05:00.002Z

I recently came across this stop-motion animation from Bang-Yao Liu on Youtube; ironically, its about the dangers that you face when approaching that certain deadline.

With a DEADLINE looming over me to get all my work in before Christmas, this animation helps me to stamp out all the distractions that are keeping me from my work.

Developing Barnbrook Poster

2010-11-30T18:52:00.172Z

Jonathan Barnbrook is a prolific designer in the industry and the folks at Lost in the Forest Institute have asked him to come to Stockport College to do a talk for us.

Jonathan Barnbrook

Monday 6th December 2010

3.30pm

Stockport College

Lecture Theatre B

Myself and Olivia were approached by John Newton, LitFI, to "come up with some ideas and thoughts for the poster, and a few visuals, then get in touch with Barnbrook and he'd give you his thoughts on it."

Unfortunately with Olivia in London doing portfolio visits, she was unable to help me. There wouldn't be any input from anyone at LitFI, which meant that I would be taking it upon myself to email Jonathan Barnbrook about my ideas and then whatever feedback I get from him, I would go off of and then design the poster.
I was also informed that it had a pretty tight turn around time of 5 days, which if I was being honest, didn't seem that stressful; I guess I was being a bit naive.

Thursday involved going to a lecture by Adrian Shaughnessey, followed by Shellsuit Zombie's Liverpool VS night, so I planned the night before to do a bit of background research, get ideas over to Jonathan Barnbrook by Thursday lunchtime, get feedback and get the poster designed for printing out on the following Monday; no later than since it had to be up as soon as possible for everyone to see it.

This is literally what my email consisted of:

"if you want to do good work, then you have to work hard"

I was thinking that as part of the poster I could include a quote from yourself about the way you work, then that would make it more typographical based?

In addition to this, I find it humorous about the context of your Virus Fonts, and so I thought maybe thinking about incorporating binary code/html coding into the poster.

+++ sent using an iPhone +++

apologies for brevity or typos

I drew inspiration from your use of signature on the end of emails, another idea was to not be afraid of mixing fonts, and what better way to showcase the fonts from your Virus Fonts.

Away from the typographical poster, was maybe projecting type into the space of the lecture theatre, in there I would get lots of angles to play with, therefore allowing the poster to have some depth into it, photography of the type would look interesting on the poster.

Another idea I had for the poster to make it stand out, was to have lots of diagonal lines running across the page in parallel and having the type have kind of a hidden message.

It didn't take that long for Jonathan to get back to me about my ideas, he mentioned it was predictable to use his fonts, but he advised that I should be careful doing something possible in the time frame.
Taking that all on board, I still had a niggle and I wanted to try and get a quote from him to include on the poster, some words of wisdom, but he suggested, "It's about what you find is of interest in what I say so please choose something but keep in mind your audience which is not me but the other students. Is there anything in what I have said that would interest the other students etc. and is it what you believe too. It should be a balance of yourself and the audience."

From then on I've been working on the idea of the hidden message within the poster, but bearing in mind of the quote I want to use that I will find of interest but also relating that to students. Initially it was, "If you want to do good work, then you have to work hard."
After a quick chat with my tutor about Jonathan Barnbrook, consumerism came up and so I decided to look for a different quote in reference to that.

After watching this video sourced from YouTube, I immediately wanted to use this quote from Jonathan Barnbrook on the poster. It is really suitable for the students of my generation, but still fits into the mindset I wanted from the poster.

"Once we branded our slaves, now we are slaves to our brands."

The quote is relatable to the notion of advertising and I didn't want to stick to the way a poster communicates the message across, I wanted to communicate it across subliminally.
Ironically what I have achieved with this poster is that it contradicts itself; it becomes hypocritical in the fact that the message is not trying to hit you in the face, but the way the design of the poster is created does, and I think that if I were to change anything about the way I used my time, it probably would've been to idealise something that wasn't complicated.

123 Buero

2010-11-20T23:53:00.001Z

OnLab

2010-11-20T22:53:00.002Z

HelloMe Studio visit

2010-11-18T23:28:00.001Z

This has been edited down, a lot, because my original version had some profanities that deemed unnecessary to have. (plus it was a lot longer)

On our trip to Berlin this semester, I was sending out emails to those agencies I would like to see, but I had heard no reply. I'd follow up with another email and still nothing, except for one agency, HelloMe, headed by Till Wiedeck. He had contacted me back a week before we were set to leave the UK, saying that I should be patient for him to check his emails properly and await a reply. As it turns out, my tutor had already organised for some of us to visit his studio whilst we were there.
I was really excited because I found his work to really creative and inspiring.

As much as I was passionate about seeing this studio, ironically when the day came I had missed it due to 'unforeseen circumstances'; a wrong address, getting lost, no map and no phone.
The address that was given to us was to his flat instead of his studio. I had taken it upon myself to look for a 'lost' student, but I ended up getting lost because I had borrowed out my map. I know, stupid of me! And to top it all off, my phone ran out of power, leaving me helpless to contact the rest of the group, but also to get back to the hostel.
I did email him whilst I was still in Berlin, to apologise for my absence, but have heard no reply back.

What I've learnt from missing this important studio visit was that I should've, made sure the address to his studio was correct, made sure I have a map with me before wandering away from the group, and most importantly, to have a fully charged phone.
'Mistakes are there to learn from.'
I am still disappointed that I never made it to HelloMe, but despite that day, the trip to Berlin was an experience that I wish to repeat again at a later date, under my own circumstances.

Brand Orienteering workshop

2010-11-11T23:38:00.000Z

Owen Stevens from Brand Orienteering came and gave us a workshop about how a brand is built. It was interesting to know he had worked with ECCO Shoes and their branding, since I had worked at the branch in Manchester for almost 2 years.

"Don't go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

He had gone through what defines a brand, with the certains aspects of personality/character traits that is involved in becoming that brand, to which we applied to our briefs. I felt that because I was doing my journal on how I approach branding, I was able to appreciate his knowledge more. Also, during the time he was here, Olivia and I were stuck in a rut when it came to our YCN brief; so we found it extremely helpful to know how we could apply these simple techniques to get to know more about the foundations of the Ted Baker brand.
We learned about what makes a brand successful, due to its core values, its advertising (or lack there of, in Ted Baker's case), the customer loyalty and it communities. These were going to help us understand our project more clearly.

My friend mentioned, "...being a designer, I need to have my own brand; my customer being the design agencies."
I have honestly never thought about this at all, when it came to approaching the industry, and I think that this workshop has allowed me to understand, what my beliefs are, the language I am trying to communicate with my work, the kind of character I am and the one thing that no other brand has, these 'traits' are what makes me stand out amongst the sea of graduates.

Stockport Degree workshop

2010-11-05T23:41:00.000Z

During this semester I had the chance to work with some college students that were thinking about the next step after they leave. I thought the workshop was a great way of making them more aware of their choices. The students were from various National Diploma backgrounds, similar to myself, so I found it quite easy to relate to them when it came to answering any questions they had. If they felt they couldn't ask the tutors, they would go ahead and ask us.
I had told them about where I came from and the decision I chose Stockport College over the large universities, and it brought home to me that I had made the right choice, even though I thought otherwise. I enjoyed offering them some advice and support about studying after college, because it's always going to be valuable information to them. Even though there were a few that didn't want to carry on studying, still giving them the advice to consider studying further didn't fall on deaf ears.

Overall, I'm glad to have been asked, because giving advice and support to those who were in the same situations as I was, was a good experience for me to have.

Dot.

2010-10-25T00:27:00.001+01:00

Professor Fletcher's invention of the CellScope, which is a Nokia device with a microscope attachment, was the inspiration for a teeny-tiny film created by Sumo Science at Aardman. It stars a 9mm girl called Dot as she struggles through a microscopic world. All the minuscule detail was shot using CellScope technology and a Nokia N8, with its 12 megapixel camera and Carl Zeiss optics.

Here's a little film that takes you behind the scenes at Aardman. It reveals what went in to making the world's smallest character animated film and how it was shot using a Nokia N8.

Absolutely Brilliant!!

7x7 book launch

2010-10-21T23:18:00.001+01:00

It was the evening of the 7x7 book launch at The Cornerhouse, as part of the Manchester Literature Festival. About 60 of the books (the good ones) were taken to the event to sell, unfortunately at a price reduction due to the quality of the printing. Olivia and I were a 'tad late' and so we missed the beginning of Robert Graham's presentation. It was proposed that each writer read an extract from their story whilst the illustrations to that story were projected behind them. Due to 'technical difficulties' and the absence of a couple of writers, many of the stories had no visual imagery to match and the short videos created by 2nd year students at Stockport College, left me disappointed that I could not watch them properly. On a lighter note, I enjoyed listening to the interviews of each stories' writer and collaborative students; it was nice to hear their experience of working together.
The event was successful, in parts, and we (and by we, I mean Bev and Liz) managed to sell some issues of our publication which was great to hear. Due to my shy personality I felt I should've chatted to the writers about themselves, so I plan to work on that.

I think that by having the chance to work on a project that goes live, is something I really enjoy doing; learning to deal with students, staff and the printers, really helped me understand that, I am capable of working under pressure with a tight budget and a tight deadline, but also as part of a team too. Upon reflection, despite the hiccups, this opportunity has been a really enjoyable experience.

Many thanks to all those involved.

PaperGirl exhibition

2010-10-19T23:55:00.000+01:00

7x7

2010-10-18T23:10:00.002+01:00

Olivia and I were approached by our tutor to create a further publication following the success of last years’ 'six by six' event, which featured 6 creative writers from MMU and the 3rd year illustration students from Stockport College. We were briefed to design the book and locate the printers to get 125 copies for £300. It sounded simple at first, but as we progressed into the layouts, proof reading, words per page and even deciding on the font and readability, we knew that something this simple had so many complications in tow.
Together we would run through ideas with the illustration students as we progressed, but also still managing to source and rapport with printers with dates and page numbers. I'd never heard of the word 'pagination' until I worked on this project; I've done editorial design before, but this took it to a new level. I quickly realised that I was still learning; learning new techniques that have been beneficial to my progress as a designer.

After sending it off, it was now the tenterhook moment of waiting to hear back from the printers about how the Risograph printing had gone, but as soon as we heard it was time to collect the books, it fell on Olivia to go down to see them. I hear it was a 'brief but rushed' meeting which I felt was unfortunate for Olivia as she had to make sure the sample they gave her was fine; to which it was. It wasn't until she had got back to college, with a suitcase full of books in tow, till she realised that the finish on most of the books were disappointing. She had spent the best part of hours to go through each book that had mistakes.

When the figures came back, I was unhappy that a printing establishment had made such clear errors. Sadly however, the images that the illustrators had spent so much time on, had their expectations crushed. It was unfortunate that we could not have the book the way it was supposed to be printed. It has been enlightening to me as to how to deal with the aspects of sourcing your printing at a place so far away; I guess the one thing we could change would be to ask for a print proof earlier than scheduled, but seeing as this was a bit of a 'tight' turnaround, sometimes its better to prepare for the worst.

This is what happened at the book launch.

Come Design With Me

2010-10-10T23:36:00.000+01:00

This event was about giving us the opportunity to meet with some previous graduates, being able to ask them questions and learn first-hand about their experiences since leaving the degree course. The evening consisted of smaller groups to make it a little more personal and relaxed, so its not like mastermind!
It was a shame that it had only lasted 2 hours, which seems long, but went quite fast; unfortunately I had wished we were able to swap during the time period which would've allowed us to get a different perspective from another group of graduates.
I do think that this was a good idea to carry out, because it was great to hear the brutal honesty about what our group had to say and learning about the difficulties in finding a job after education. It was also nice to hear about the recent graduates who were to secure a job upon showing at the 'end of year' show, something that we will have to look forward for.

One thing I took from this experience is to prepare. To make sure I have done what I have needed to do whilst having the opportunity to still be a student, to learn things with the resources that are available to me.

PaperGraphics

2010-10-08T23:10:00.003+01:00

Yulia Brodskaya has her own style and personality into what shes does. Born in Moscow, she was interested in diverse creative practices ranging from Textile Painting, Origami and Collage to more traditional Fine Art practices.

"She experiments and explores ways of bringing together all the things she likes most: typography, paper, and highly detailed hand-made craft objects. She has swiftly earned an international reputation for her innovative paper illustrations and continues to create beautifully detailed paper designs for clients all around the world."

I absolutely love her work, PaperGraphic, its so amazing to see a 'craft' turned into a piece of design that can be carried forward to print and advertising.

So much of her work is inspirational and also very intricate. Its reminiscent of work by Si Scott, but with a 3-Dimensional element to it.

Jeff Chiba Stearns

2010-10-03T11:31:00.003+01:00

Jeff Chiba Stearns is an award-winning animation and documentary filmmaker, illustrator and writer. This is the video for the Tribeca Film Festival. It is a video director's statement for his film Yellow Sticky Notes. In the video he explains why he made the film and how he made the film.

After realizing that yellow sticky note "to do" lists were consuming his life, animation filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns decided to visually self-reflect on his filmmaking journey by animating on the same sticky notes that caused him to ignore major world events for the last nine years. Animation meditation is blended with image, text, and an original musical score by Genevieve Vincent through the creation of a classically animated experimental film that was drawn straight ahead with only a black ink pen on over 2300 yellow sticky notes.

A great animated video from Jeff, leaving us to think about how busy our lives are and the social events that we may have missed.

iPad Typography

2010-09-15T20:43:00.002+01:00

A brilliant example of ingenious typography by creative communications agency, Dentsu London, and design consultancy, BERG.

Making Future Magic: iPad light painting from Dentsu London on Vimeo.

They've collected some of the best images from the project and made a book of them for you to buy, Making Future Magic.

Arcade Fire: The Wilderness Downtown

2010-09-02T20:26:00.001+01:00

I had seen this video on my friend's, Ashley, web browser and I instantly was blown away at how amusing and amazing it was.

This video, by Arcade Fire, is an interactive project which combines video, animation and Google maps. The video is accessible online and asks viewer to enter the address of their childhood home; once the video begins, multiple windows appear each playing video or showing an aerial view over the address selected; as the video plays out, the scenes change slowly and display the viewer’s home.

The project was a collaboration between the canadian rock band and some of the people at Google. Technically the project utilizes an array of advanced ideas including, choreographed windows, custom rendered maps, real-time compositing, procedural drawing and 3D canvas rendering.

Don't forget to leave yourself a message and view the tailored video for yourself at the link of this post, as long as you have Google Chrome as your browser.

Funny Bone

2010-08-17T23:26:00.000+01:00

I always thought that design would always be everywhere, in signs, advertising, even my food is shaped like design? Well thats what I want to post here for you to see.
I was eating out for my brother's birthday and came across this bone, it reminded me of something, can you figure out what logo it was.

That's right, the NIKE logo had ended up in my food!

I have been wanting to buy some new trainers recently; it makes me wonder whether the headquarters of NIKE have purposely put it there??

Catch Me if You Can

2010-08-15T21:12:00.002+01:00

I have just blogged about the trailer of another film that was influenced by Saul Bass, which reminded me of the title sequence from 'Catch Me if You Can'.

Kuntzel and Deygas's memorable and idiosyncratic title sequence to Steven Spielberg's comedy drama thriller Catch Me if You Can (2002), starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, depicted the career of the world's most successful con artist, Frank Abagnale Jr.
The title sequence consists of slender 'Lowreyesque' figures run through environments that symbolise key plot points from the film, and are accompanied by John Williams's floaty, 1960s jazz-era score. The title design credit is discreetly featured in the shelf, while the papers blow past the pursuer's face.

I also like the tagline for this film, 'A true story about a real fake', that is a nice modern touch.

My American viewers

2010-08-08T00:17:00.000+01:00

I've recently found out that there have been more views of my blog in America than here in Britain, so I've decided to dedicate this post to them.

As part of their Smarter Planet campaign, which launched last year, IBM teamed up with illustrator Noma Bar for a very clever set of posters.
Just what does IBM mean by a smarter planet?

"When we talk about a smarter planet, you can say that it has two dimensions. One is to be more efficient, be less destructive, to connect different aspects of life which do affect each other in more conscience and deliberate and intelligent ways. But the other is also to generate fundamentally new insights, new activity, new forms of social relations. So you could look at the planet as an information, creation and transmission system, and the universe was hearing its information but we weren't. But increasingly now we can, early days, baby steps days, but we can actually begin to hear the planet talking to us." IBM

I think that Noma Bar's illustrations are the perfect way to visualize IBM's hope for a better tomorrow.

"I’ve always found pictograms to be fascinating—they can tell stories just as well as words, and they can have multiple interpretations. So I began collecting them in their various forms (stickers, etc.), and I learned to develop my own sign language." Noma Bar

Washing Invasion

2010-06-30T16:00:00.001+01:00

I was thinking that I should take some more pictures and that they should be full of colour and something I find humorous.

Is anyone thinking Marshmellow right now??

Is the fascination with Disney and Pixar drying out??

Peter Callesen

2010-06-26T12:29:00.000+01:00

When I think papercraft, I thought of Origami, using one piece of paper to create interesting animals and objects, paper airplanes?? Danish comtemporary artist, Peter Callesen, has mastered the art of using the one piece of paper to create stunning and very interesting 3D pieces of works of art.

Distant Wish, 2006

"Lately I have worked almost exclusively with white paper in different objects, paper cuts, installations and performances. A large part of my work is made from A4 sheets of white paper. It is probably the most common and consumed media used for carrying information today, but we rarely notice the actual materiality of the A4 paper. The A4 paper is perhaps as close to nothing as you can get. Using this worthless material gives me as artist a greater freedom to deal with heavy subjects and to fill the paper with more dramatic stories".

The Roots of Heaven, 2009

Alive, but Dead, 2006

Its really interseting how he has used negative and positive space as well, very clever use of some delicate slicing of paper, I assume that he must have quite a steady hand too.

Holding on to Myself, 2006

Holding on to Myself (detail), 2006

One of my favourite pieces is Holding on to Myself because he has just simply cut out the silhouette of a man and left it to 'fall' off the page, such a great talent; I urge you to take a look at his website because there are so many amazing paper structures that need to be seen.

I predict that he will soon be moving on from A4-A3 paper, he'll take on the mammoth task of larger scale paper.

Julian Vallée

2010-06-25T16:47:00.002+01:00

This piece of work was featured in the CR Illustration Annual 2010, but it was exhibited at the main exhibition of Illustrative Zürich festival in 2008.

Aptly named 'Spray Can', it is made entirely out of paper.

What I really love is how much 'statement' it looks, it stands out amongst the mass of exhibition space.

Matt Siber

2010-06-24T17:51:00.001+01:00

Lately for the past couple of weeks I've been uninspired to come up with a topic I want to base my critical journal on, but recently Creative Review has published photographer Matt Siber in their Monograph.
Matt Siber's work has been around for years now; from The Untitled Project Book to his Floating Logos. It takes aim at the nature of visual communication in public spaces.

His 'untitled project' has two images, where the left picture has been dissected of all its lettering and then placed onto the right to show how the typography has been used, to advertise, label, and communicate to us the viewer.

Ironically his title for this project was befitting due to the fact that his images have now been, 'untitled'. What this shows us is how we are bombarded with so much information that surrounds us.

His Floating Logos grew out of a larger body of work over the years and has been compiled together to be featured in July's No35 Monograph.

Siber has digitally-manipulated his photographs of corporate logos, where he 'photoshops' out the signs supports leaving the logos 'suspended' in air. He mentions, "They are disconnected from reality in a way that seems magical or beyond possibility."

Ironically again, his process of 'manipulating' the supports leaving the logos appear 'floating', actually makes his photographs look like the corporate logos have been 'photoshopped' into the image.
Ideally, Matt Siber wants viewers to see this work as both tongue-in-cheek humour and a pointed critique of this aspect of consumer culture.

It is this kind of work that I will find influential to my upcoming critical journal.

Stockport Degree Show 2010

2010-06-08T20:17:00.000+01:00

Its already that time for our country's Degree shows to begin, which means lots of fresh new talent to hit the streets of the UK in search of brand new clients and employers.
Creative Review has spread the news on their blog, so I'm going to as well!

I Made This Wallpaper*

2010-06-01T21:00:00.000+01:00

News just in from the headquarters at Creative Review, well their blog that is, have announced that Wallpaper*, our much loved magazine from Brazil, is allowing us to create our own cover for our August issue. Wallpaper* is the cutting-edge of design and style, and subscribers are the first to see the latest and greatest modern design from around the globe.
Supplied with a host of various shapes, illustrations and typography by the ever popular James Joyce, Anthony Burrill, Nigel Robinson, Kam Tang and The Hort, we're able to produce a very unique and creative cover.

So lets get designing since the deadline is the 8th June 2010!

Adrian Shaughnessey

2010-05-05T01:10:00.001+01:00

Adrian Shaughnessey and Tony Brook of Unit Editions had recently come to Manchester to give a lecture on their views and experiences in the publishing world.
I was able to attend and listen to their wise words. I had thanked him and Tony for the lecture and had previously asked him about my portfolio, to which I hadn't got a reply back, but he was able to give me a piece of advice, that anyone who thinks their portfolio is finished is deluded, to which I was in agreeance with since my work will always evolve and get stronger.

Unit Editions comes to Manchester

2010-05-05T00:21:00.002+01:00

A while ago, someone suggested to me that I should purchase a book that gives you an insight into the most coveted and famous design studios around the world; this book was called, Studio Culture, published by Unit Editions.
Through organisation with Stockport College, Thoughtful and D&AD, we were invited to join the talk hosted by none other than, Adrian Shaughnessey and Tony Brook, a new collaboration behind the publishing company Unit Editions.
I have read Studio Culture and have contacted Adrian about it; I found it really interesting and helpful in knowing what to expect with Design companies, I thought it was truly a great buy. This made me even more excited to go and experience a lecture about the challenges of a new publishing company.

Organised by D&AD as part of their President's Lectures, it was held at the Printworks in one of the Odeon cinema rooms. We were some of the early students to get there, but after about 10 minutes the room began to fill with eager students, teachers and designers that were interested to know more from publishing.

We were told by Tony that he was a self confessed addict to design; he began showing us through some of his past in being co-founder of Spin, showing us some of his influences and inspirations, informing us of his interests in making books and how the design and feel of particular paper weights or how the cover is printed inspired him towards publication.

One thing that had stood out to me during the talk of his background was the publication of the design book, Logo; this has always been a really helpful book to reference from and to always refer back to.

Adrian is a self-taught graphic designer, he began to explain some of his background ranging from music record sleeves which led to NHS work and after fifteen years he had become ‘restless’, he wanted to work on stuff that excited him. What followed afterwards was a series of publications, about record sleeve design, named sampler.

He then went on to publish ‘How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul’ which has sold extensively around the world, and Adrian showed us some of the translated covers in Japanese, Korean and Chinese. He describes this publication as a book that tells you about the norm of things that designers go through, as a designer, the mistakes and experiences that you would expect.

"imagine each book cover is a pixel which acts as an addition to a bigger picture"

To say that their work will add to something bigger was a nice ethical reason to explain what they’re doing at the moment; Deciding to go ahead and set up Unit Editions, even though they know the development in technology and how its affecting some people that are choosing to get their books from the internet as an online book/magazine, rather than choosing to buy the physicality of a book.

They mentioned that designers still regard books as a necessity they once were, which will be there forever. Both Adrian and Tony acknowledge that their company will have a brilliant mix of print publications as well as their online copies, but what struck me was the fact that, if their book was bought online from a leading provider of books, it is 50% of the price, that will go to the person who delivers the book, 25% goes to the seller, and whats left is for them, 25%. In contrast, if a person purchases it from their website, www.uniteditions.com, they receive the full amount they deserve.

With the room full of students purchasing copies of design books online from tons of independant retailers, it kind of makes you question the reality of setting up a publishing company in todays evolutionary world and is brought home with Adrian and Tony informing us that its never going to be that easy to do.

Due to the success of Studio Culture, they have already begun creating a collection of design research in the form of tabloid papers. Available to purchase are,

Unit: D/R 01, which features the work of Ronald Clyne and an anthology of Folkways album covers,

and Unit: D/R 02, which looks at the British magazine Form (1966-1969).

We got an insight into their next publication, Unit: D/R 03, which is about Supergraphics, a movement that had illustrators distort the interior architecture of spaces, with super imposed graphics.

I would honestly say that this lecture was a little boring at times because we kept seeing slide after slide of different studios around the world, but what kept it interesting was the influences, the inspiration that they have respect for and the advice, and a truly honest, input into an industry of publishing.

Semiotics Presentation

2010-05-05T00:04:00.000+01:00

The image I’m about to give a semiotic analysis of is a cover of Life Magazine.

The word Denotation is saying what you see and Connotation is the use of my own knowledge about the object.
The word Signifier is the physical form of the sign whereas if its Signified it is the mental concept that our minds give definition to.

The background image is black and white. It resembles a structure. The material of the structure is concrete because the appearance of the texture signifies that it is. The concrete structure is big as well due to the comparison of scale between the people and the structure.
Connotation tells me that this image is a photo of Fort Peck Dam taken at the time of construction by the photographer, Margaret Bourke-White.

The other components of this magazine cover are the different shapes. These shapes signify type, of which the colours signified are red and white. Denotation tells us they are a combination of numbers and letters, whereas connotation informs us of a masthead, a date and a pricing.
Further connotation enlightens me that this magazine cover was the first issue in 1936 after the redesign from Henry Luce.

The photographer come designer, Barbara Kruger, has adopted the use of the red and white type set on a black and white image.

I hope that I’ve semiotically analysed this cover of Life magazine.

My Photo Narrative

2010-04-23T23:31:00.003+01:00

We were recently given a chapter from 'Einstein's Dreams' which is a collection of dreams he had, questioning and exploring the concept of time.

We were asked to interpret this chapter in a collection of 8 photos.

My chapter was refering to how the world is about to end; there is a timeline of how a month, a day, one minute and the last seconds of how the economy and humanity spend there last moments alive. What I especially liked was the 'world peace' moment towards the end of the chapter where humanity joined hands in preparation for the rapture of earth.

My images represent how the life on earth is filled with colour and it begins to fade away as life dies.

Nick Gentry

2010-04-23T22:52:00.002+01:00

Recently I posted about the use of floppy disks being obselete, well thats changing because, since graduating from Central St Martins in 2006, Nick Gentry is exploring how 'media is rapidly absorbed into the World Wide Web the rich variety of formats of the past are becoming obsolete.'

Self Portrait 01

On his website he explains that, 'Each floppy disk used in the paintings has a history and story of its own. It represents the increasing pace of the modern life cycle, where objects are created, used and disposed of quicker than ever. To challenge this notion, as these personal artefacts of life are cast aside, the obsolete are now given new life and a renewed purpose by using them as a medium for art.'

Binary Bound

Lander

What I especially love about this art is the fact that there is a history behind each painting, on most of his work he has used the 'centering hole' of the floppy disk as the main focus of the eyes in each painting.
His human paintings are visually interesting and if the floppy disks weren't there, then his paintings would be of reference to fashion editorial models.

As designers we search for our own style of work, what we produce is individual to ourselves albeit referenced or inspired by other designers. What Nick Gentry has managed to do is, work his personal style into his art, his paintings are unique to him and his use of the, now unconventional floppy disk, has given meaning to each of his works of art.

Burak Kaynak

2010-04-23T22:24:00.002+01:00

It was the only way to get your work portable, but now we have USB Flash drives to do all that for us. Even though there are still some being used, the Floppy Disk has now become obselete.

To bring back some nostalgia, Creative Review have blogged Burak Kaynak's idea for Floppy Disk post-it-style notes.

Upon taking a look at Burak Kaynak's website, he is quite varied in his interests, as it seems he finds alot of inspiration from all aspects of design; on his website however he has examples of photography, videos with alot of imagery and also he has come up with different product ideas too, my favourite being his Fire Alarm Ashtray; this I find to be very humorous and also quite cleverly ironic.

But also check out his Behance network for more of the same ideas, especially his Sliced Bread Notebook.

Dan Ingham

2010-03-11T00:52:00.032Z

From organisation with my tutor and Truth Design, some of us were able to get an insight into how a young design agency worked, and we lucky enough to leave with posters from their company. Dan Ingham used to study on the same course as we did and we liked how down to earth everyone was at Truth, so I began to email Dan back with him being able to take a quick look at my portfolio, which I was grateful for, seeing as he had lots of briefs going on.
He took a look and was able to give me feedback on the pdf I had sent him, he mentioned that it was a well put together portfolio and liked a few of my projects, but he ahd mentioned that maybe it could be an idea to show some of these projects as a story, extending my ideas into some better promotional material.
He also mentioned ending on a strong piece of work too, which he suggested maybe my howies brief, of which I was quite surprised at.

I thanked him for the advice, it has been helpful for me to alter some of my projects slightly to make them more stronger.

Chris Jeffreys

2010-03-09T00:06:00.000Z

Chris and Stuart from Thoughtful came to give us a preview of their lecture before they went to the 4 Designers Conference, at the Odeon in Leicester Square. It had interviews from designers and also had chris and stuart's influences.
I began emailing chris about his influences and since we were sorting out our portfolios at the time, I wanted to get a bit of feedback on one of my designs.
He let me know what he thought of it and also gave me some extra feedback on the initial stages of my portfolio, one thing he mentioned was that my work will be change from time to time when I get into the 3rd year, so the work in my portfolio now will be alot stronger later.

Patrick Stephenson

2010-03-04T14:57:00.000Z

As I was looking through research into all things Lego, I came across a blog about a lego table, I wanted to know more.

It turns out that a design creative agency in Dublin, called Boys and Girls, had their boardroom table made from the nostalgic Lego bricks. So I contacted them to know more; Patrick Stephenson the managing director of the agency had thanked me for such interest and if I needed to know more about how it was built, he was going to send my email on to the architect Gearóid Carvill for more information.
So I thanked Patrick for helping me out, I wanted a bit of advice too, but he had not got back to me as of yet.

Gearóid Carvill

2010-03-04T13:17:00.000Z

I had queried my response to the Boys and Girls lego table and the architect Gearóid Carvill had got back to me. He explained to me that it took a couple of months designing it alongside his friend and design partner, Andrew Brady; it took a further 120 hours to completed the build of the table.

I thanked Gearóid for the extra information I needed, I think I will keep in touch because I'd be interested to know more about the architecture & design company, abgc.

THE Lego Table

2010-03-04T01:11:00.002Z

Recently formed Advertising agency, Boys and Girls, is Ireland’s newest creative agency. Based in Dublin, Boys and Girls was founded by four boys and two girls; they have worked on practically every one of Ireland’s Top 50 brands.They wanted to do away with 'the traditional mahogany' table and instead opt for something more 'playful but not juvenile', they decided to use Lego.

They approached Andrew Brady (Designer) and Gearóid Carvill (Architect) from Android to build them a new table to give their presentations the wow factor.

‘making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.’
Charles Mingus

'Android' spent a couple of months designing the table and related works, which they did through various models/maquettes, and full scale test panels.

The models allowed for greater clarity of intent and ultimately client input of what supports they liked best.

Below is the video of how it was built using no glue whatsoever.

Lego Table - abgc from abgc-android on Vimeo.

The final build took about 120 hours, of which they each worked 10-16 hour days, so as you can tell from the video, it was quite frenetic; but the end result is magnificent.

As you can tell, the 'monolithic slab' is made up of a random pattern of the instantly recognizable lego pixels, with the company’s logo built in relief into the table top, falling away under a 10mm sheet of toughened glass.

It took 22,742 pieces of Lego to make a boardroom table for the advertising agency Boys and Girls. I would definately advise them to make sure they use coasters.

How Glorious

2010-03-03T22:59:00.000Z

A special mention to Manchester's Glorious Creative, because they've won the contract to create a campaign for the Zig Zag brand of tobacco rolling papers.

Can't wait to see it.

Stuart Price

2010-02-25T23:39:00.000Z

Stuart and Chris from Thoughtful came to give us a preview of their lecture before they went to the 4 Designers Conference, at the Odeon in Leicester Square. It had interviews from designers and also had stuart and chris' influences.
After the presentation was over I wanted to send them an email letting them know that I thought it went well.

Truth never lies

2010-02-24T17:58:00.001Z

"We believe that if a brand is to succeed you must first be honest about it's weaknesses and turn them into strengths"

Truth is a Manchester based graphic design company specialising with different forms of Branding and Identity. There was a time last year when my tutor had arranged for them to come and give us a lecture about who they are and their work ethic, talking quite alot about projects they have been doing. One thing that caught my eye was the Branding and Advertising of Versus Cancer. I really love the colour scheme that has been used throughout the 3 years truth have been branding it and also I particularly love the layout of the editorial promotions,

07 is white and grey slashed with yellow candy stripes across photos,

08 is an 'easier on the eye' colour scheme of white type on grey with cleverly placed yellow striped titles,

09 with a fresh approach to layering information and communicating promotional material; I really do enjoy looking at it.

On a nice day we met up at the starbucks around the corner from Truth, as we prepared ourselves for a meeting with Dan Ingham. Our tutor had organised for some of us to take a peek of the inside of their studio. We pressed the buzzer next to the big Red door, went to the top floor of this converted three storey town house to be greeted with the entrance to Truth Design.
As we were told to sit Jane generously asked us whether we wanted a cup of tea, so after general introductions to Jane, Darren and Dan, we were then able to listen sharply on how the real world of a design studio is like. Dan showed us how tight some deadlines can be, with one of their projects being due in a day. This really opened our eyes to see just how much quicker we will be working in the future and that juggling more than one brief is something to be expected of. He gave us an insight into was how a full project pans out; showing us the clients brief, their presentation, to first mock up and basically through their whole process. Dan also showed us that you can get a photographer to shoot what you specifically wanted, but to have hundreds of shots to go through, to just come out with say 10% being usuable is also something to expect.
One thing that Dan had stressed to us about was the quality of paperstock that is available to make your final product exceptional, it was clearly evident from seeing booklets, promotional items to the business cards of Reebok's Pump20 being made from rubber with debossed typography; I thought that was great advice from Dan.

Truth’s studio is nicely laid out, seemed small at first since they were working on the top floor, into the roof space, but very spacious indeed. One thing we were kind of cheeky to ask for was the posters to celebrate each brithday of Truth Design; the each of us were able to get year 2 designed by the ever popular Si Scott, and year 3 designed by one of their favourite illustrators, Rob Lowe, or better known by Supermundane. We were all so chuffed, because each one of these A1 posters costs £40, so we were really grateful of them for allowing us to drop by and get a feel of a design environment.
As we were leaving I noticed how they kept the red colour scheme throughout their studio since it was quite a signature brand colour for them to be seen by. I felt this made their brand as a company much stronger.

Truth Design is still a young creative company, and I will try and organise another visit, but this time with my portfolio at hand.

In the meantime you can keep up to date with their blog.

Typographic Playing Cards

2010-01-15T18:48:00.012Z

These ingenious playing cards have been featured in Eye and CR and had an unusual design challenge in creating them. Each card in this deck of playing cards uses a different typeface.

It was a personal project of Jim Sutherland from Hat-Trick Design, with the basic guidelines being: design a full set of playing cards (52 + jokers and a cover) using no repeated typefaces and no alteration of typefaces - which, in his words, “made it hard but very rewarding. It was like solving 54 micro design problems.”

(Photos courtesy of Sarah Hardman)

I personally love the design of the shapes in the centre of each card which is created with the number that the card represents. So unique and very tedious to have come up with them; it makes you appreciate how much thought has gone into each design.

Conveniently all 54 cards fit on a B1 sheet of paper, therefore making it ideal for printing a poster (shown below)

They will get round to selling through shops or online; until then, if you are interested in getting your hands on either the cards or the poster you can reach them at allison@hat-trickdesign.co.uk.

Door: exhibition

2010-01-06T23:58:00.149Z

This was the exhibition space and it seemed quite big, on the image below is indicated where we intended to hang our door.

We attached the wire around these steel supports.

...and the rest of the exhibition space...

...and this was how our visual sketchbook looked once it was up.

One thing we did was to use podiums to place our cubes onto, and Olivia suggested to me, that maybe mine should have two cube podiums at angles to each other and then mine on top, and I think that it adds another dimension to my cube. In the photo below, you can really see the illusion of another cube in my cube; another thing that i added to my cube was the handle and the original hinges from the door we cut up, adding that to the beading, it resembles the character of a door.

As you look around to the other side of my cube, it is totally open and has lost two walls; here you can see the contrast of colours, from the bland exterior to the colourful interior. To make my design look better, I also added a thin layer of clear acrylic over it, it makes it more professional and it also keeps the design dust free and safe. What you can't see in this picture, is that i've also added the clear acrylic to the edges of the cube too.

Originally it was just going to be the cube on top of a podium, but then overnight, I decided that maybe a mirror would give the illusion of all six walls. £3.99 later I added it to the empty space of the cube; now it would reflect the imagery and allows the audience to notice the design underneath, instead of crouching down to notice it. This close up shot almost gives the illusion of a second skyline, the white silhouette; I am really proud of what we've achieved during this project.

Heres Naomi's cube:
Sticking to Black and White imagery, it represented the opposites of Night (interior) and Day (exterior). I love her idea to run the skylines along the beading on the exterior of the cube. Its those little details that keep the audience interested.

Next heres Olivia's cube:
Getting inspired by her time in Central Park, NY, she created a diorama and managing greatly with the different layers; whats great to see is the difference of how autumnal colours are used compared to the black and wood scenery; I love the fun element and the humour in her cube.

Finally Richard's cube:
Also inspired by his time in NY, but this time he transformed the exterior of his cube into a New York City cab; he has ingeniously made use of hinges on all sides and this allows him to fully open his cube flat; inside is hand drawn grayscale imagery, which is in stark contrast to the bright yellow exterior. The idea is that this cab takes you from city to city.

Our final collective mark was 300 out of a possible 400, which we were pleased about.

Door: week four

2010-01-06T23:12:00.060Z

This is the process of our visual sketchbook:

Pictures to do with putting the door in unusual spots; artists and their installations (top right); Rachel Whiteread; Richard Long; Damien Ortega; Tony Cragg, he uses found objects and creates sculptures from compacting them together; there are some artists that relate to 'cube'.

I especially like James Clar and his LED cube.

More pictures, some are to do with illusions; Guido Moretti; Michael Hughes, who uses souveniers in place of the real building or sculpture, for instance he holds the new york cab as though its there.
After all the images were on, I chose to place some Post-it notes on there of the artists' name and a brief description.

This took forever to do as well, it was double sided stuck on since the post-it notes kept falling off.

And here is one side of our visual sketchbook, which I was in charge of...

...and now that i've noticed it, we should've attached a handle onto it.

Door: week three

2010-01-05T10:16:00.123Z

Before the rest of my group left to explore NYC for a week, we came together to discuss what kind of theme would interconnect all our cubes. Since I wasn't going to 'the big apple', our idea to base the theme on NY wasn't an option for me, but then we decided on city to city; that is something that we can use since I would stay in Manchester and they'd be in New York. So our theme was City to City.

When it came to getting a design sorted out, I used Adobe Illustrator to mark out some shapes and vectors, this became quite tedious because as it turns out, I was adding and removing lines just to get to where I wanted. I was focusing on a skyline that would look quite geommetric.

This is what I came up with, which did take a very long time to achieve, so to give myself an idea of what my design may end up looking like, I placed some imagery inside the shapes of the skyline.

I do like what I may end up with, but I feel its not my style, maybe its too complicated, and so I decided to make it a bit more simple. Below is the outline that didn't take me that long, but I feel looks easier on the eye and what I've highlighted are the sections that will be placed onto the interior of my cube; it measures out as 200mm by 200mm for each square.

Okay, now to add the colour, first I decided that the buildings/skyline should be black, but if I did that then you wouldn't see the any of the outlines that separate them, so all the outlines became white; this now allowed the detail to be seen on the black buildings.
Next, each radiating circle became different shades/tints of a colour, for instance I chose reds/purples for the long skyline and I chose blue hues for the other one.
Now, there were 'rays' which were overlapping and I changed these to complimentary oranges/yellows because together they look striking. On the 'ray' coming from the blue circles, I changed to green to represent the 'grass' against the blue of the 'water'.
Wherever the ray overlapped, I altered the colour of the black skyline to different shades of grey.

Since I was placing two squares together from different ends of the original outline, I lined them up and added the rest of the rays so that it seamlessly flows together as one long image. I wanted a colourful design to contrast with the exterior blandness of my cube and I think it works well.

I some spare time and I thought that maybe I should put them into the shape of a cube to see what it may look like next to each other; the above image was done in photoshop and I found it quite difficult to warp them perspectively. All the design work took me all week to do, so I thought maybe I should get a second opinion from the rest of my group. Instead I turned my attention to the 'visual sketchbook'...

Door: week three influences

2010-01-04T23:54:00.002Z

After the weekend, I decided that I wanted to change my idea from having a sculpture on the inside of my cube to having some sort of graphical design instead; something that would be colourful compared to the beige/bland exterior. I have had this entire week to myself since the rest of my group went to NEW YORK, of which I couldn't scrimp and save for.
To draw up some inspiration, I researched some artists/designers that I liked.

Matt. W. Moore

The work I enjoy most is his 'vectorfunk' series; this consists of lots of vivid colours contrasting and also complimenting each other. There are layers upon layers of shapes and angles, and one thing that he does is that he can keep on adding to it if it doesn't look right.

Sarah Morris

Her complex patterns of overlapping lines and shapes imply interconnection; the architectural paintings relate to her architectural images from the film she made of the same name, Los Angeles [endeavor] 2005. I particularly like the variety of colours and their tints.

Tomma Abts

Her art is abstract and representational that is also reminiscent of pop art. There is a suggestion of shadows and the play of light (left), and there are contours that overlap and destroy each other (right).

Frank Stella

Harran II (1967) is a painting that seems to be entirely orientated around the canvas, with curved lines used to emphasise its shape. I love that its linear composition is accentuated by the shape of the canvas and the use of colours is quite complimentary of each other.

Door: week two/three

2010-01-04T20:18:00.046Z

Originally what I wanted, was the appearance of a cube from the front and when you look around it, it turns out it isn't fully a cube, since it only has three out of the six faces of a cube. On the inside I thought about leaving it bare or having some kind of structure, so I had a look at Barbara Hepworth for some inspiration.

Barbara Hepworth is a British sculptor that developed the kind of style that was described as a sensuous kind of organic abstraction, sometimes her work incoporated strings, wires, coloured paint or holes piercing the sculptured form. I have always enjoyed looking at her work and can't help but feel inspired; its original and pioneering.

Door: week two

2010-01-03T14:14:00.001Z

Does a door have to function as a door?

Something you open and close.

A passageway that leads you from one place to another.

On approach it can dramatically change your emotion.

Upon discussions within our group, we decided that we should either decorate the plain wooden door to add character or find a different door instead.

To save some time we got a pair of wardrobe doors with the kind of character that we wanted and soon we began to divide them into as many 9" by 9" squares as we could.

From there, our ideas of how to build each of our own cubes were down to us.
I decided early that I only needed three squares to contsruct one corner of a cube. I was only able to achieve it by using the corners of the door, because I noticed that when all corners were put together, there would be an illusion of another cube. The illusionist Guido Moretti gave me inspiration for this; this piece of work looks like the cube is precariously balancing on its side, but when you move around it, it isn't, it is in fact a different shape.

The process of getting there began with making sure the beading on each side of each square measured the same point. With help, we began to plane two of the edges at a 45 degree angle; to make sure each corner was square, we sanded it down to insure it'd be perfect.

Then it was a matter of fixing them together, so first we drilled holes on those two edges and then it was wood glue and nailing those pieces together. Eventually one side was done, now we had to get the othere one in the right place, so same process and alot of struggling later, and......

On close up, the beading doesn't run perfectly, in fact, it would've been easier to make a corner and then add the beading afterwards, but I felt that I've achieved something recycled from a door, instead of creating something new that resembles a door. To get this 'cube' looking perfect, I began using wood filler in the gaps and also to cover the nails, and after the overnight drying process, it was time to sand it down, making sure that the beading ran seamlessly into eachother, making sure that all of the nails were covered smoothly and just making sure that it looked great to paint.

The colour was hard to locate, I knew what I wanted and it was difficult to get. I wanted a colour that looked bland and also elegant. Upon searching all the paint colours in B&Q, I managed to find a colour called corset. On the tin, it looked like what I wanted, but when it came to painting it on my cube, it appeared to be a bit darker and when it dried, it was perfect, just the colour I imagined.

Now that the outside of my cube is done, I turned my attention to the inside...

Door: week one

2010-01-03T10:23:00.000Z

In the lecture we were given a brief to explore a topic together as a collaborative group. The topic given to us was, DOOR. There would be one of us from each of the four pathways in our year; Olivia and I from graphic design, Naomi from surface design and Richard from multimedia, together we made up the Sharks.

During the lecture we were shown various collaborative projects, but the one that stood out to me was this music video that was shot for Sour's 'Hibi no Neiro' (Tone of everyday). The cast in the video were selected from the actual Sour fan base, from many countries around the world. Each person and scene was filmed purely via webcam. I really enjoyed watching this and found that this is what collaborating is all about.

SOUR / 日々の音色 (Hibi no Neiro) MV from Magico Nakamura on Vimeo.

We were given a plain, boring, wood door; no handles or anything. After leaving the lecture, with our door, we had got together to do a quick brainstorm and decided quickly that all our ideas should be written on the door given to us, little did we know at the time but this would be our visual sketchbook. In our own time we researched anything and nearly everything to do with a door.

A door opens and closes, enter and exit, we were thinking about opposites, so male and female, night and day; it has two faces, we found out that the greek god of passageways has two faces, one facing to the past and the other facing towards the future; we also thought about our emotions towards certain doors, a door that leads us to work may make us feel demotivated, a door that leads to your house might also make you feel safe, if a door looks really old and creepy does that make you feel scared of it or curious as to whats behind it?

We were thinking what we could do with our door; cut it up, burn it, add character, maybe place it in an environment, or even crush it down.......into..........a CUBE? add a handle?? does that still make it a door???

If a cube has the characteristics of a door (like a handle and hinges, a keyhole and also beading), but doesn't have the functionality of a door, does that still mean its a 'door'?

Alan Aldridge

2009-12-28T12:35:00.007Z

He won a drawing competition with Salvador Dalí, partnered Oliver Reed in a drinking contest, and rode through the Hollywood hills with Steve McQueen. He also designed album covers and lyric books for top pop artists, including The Beatles and Elton John.

Born in London’s East End in 1943, Alan Aldridge calls himself a ‘graphic entertainer’, his pioneering approach to graphic design fuses faux-naive images, bold colours, references to Art Nouveau and Surrealism with a certain eye for an eye-catching image to produce an array of posters, album sleeves and picture books that appeal direct to the masses. Aldridge embodied the spirit of the 60s and 70s. His evocative, psychedelic images epitomised the feeling and art of an era. Aldridge is an artist, an illustrator, a graphic designer, art director and film maker.

As The Beatles lead an unstoppable assault on the global charts, it was Aldridge's designs and visual identity that defined The Beatles image and music in a changing world.
He masterminded the seminal art book The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics and designed Andy Warhol's iconic Chelsea Girls film poster.

As Art Director at Penguin, Aldridge produced ground- breaking covers.

Commissions for The Rolling Stones, Elton John and illustrations for the award-winning children's book The Butterfly Ball and The Grasshoppers Feast will be included in the exhibition, the first complete retrospective of Aldridge's work in the UK.
This exhibition will cover Aldridge's career to date, from the early 60s when his whirling designs refreshed the somber tone of Penguin book covers, to his collaborations with The Beatles and their Apple record company, through to serving as creative director to the original Hard Rock Cafe.
Commissions from Andy Warhol, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Elton John and The House of Blues will also be on display alongside photographs, sketch books and illustrations from his seminal children's books.

Although its easy to list the amount of work he has done, I feel its better to show you some examples of his work that I find inspirational.

These two images are from the exhibition at the Design Museum, where wall to wall and floor was covered with Adridge illustrations.

Want to know a bit more, here is an
Interview with Computer Arts

I WANT THESE SHOES

2009-12-28T11:32:00.014Z

Renowned illustrator / designer Alan Aldridge has collaborated with Paul Smith for AW09. The collaboration will be producing a series of limited edition prints, which will be used across mens and womens clothing shoes and accessories.

Mutual appreciation and respect for each others work is how Paul Smith and Alan Aldridge came about.

"As a young designer starting out, he was somebody who impressed me with his exotic and dream like art work and so many years later it is a real priviledge to work with him on this collaboration" Paul Smith

The Paul Smith AW09 season is the priority focus of this collaboration.

I'm really in love with the way the shoe and hi-top look together. The shoe and the hi-top have different prints from each other and yet they have the same colour scheme.

Upon close up, you can tell there is a similarity between retro '60s tattoos, even surrealist paintings and Aldridge's work.

The off white suede tongue is decorated with Paul Smith's coat of arms and they have a 'vulcanised' construction with rubber, grey and black striped sides with a rubber base and grips. And better yet, you get a set of spare laces supplied, you know, just in case you notice a spec of dirt on the other ones.
Although if I owned these, I wouldn't be wearing them in the rain, going walking in the park, I'd definately avoid puddles, not to mention the amount of cleaning it takes to get a drink stain out of suede, maybe I'd stick to wearing them indoors......thats if you don't have a pet around to leave you 'special' treats.

Happy Christmas from AKQA

2009-12-25T10:12:00.000Z

Contemporary Studies Essay: Barbara Kruger

2009-10-20T00:33:00.005+01:00

Q: Choose one designer (from your pathway area) post 1960 who you feel has made a significant contribution to contemporary design. Give reasons for your choice, examine at least one piece of work in detail and link their work to relevant post-modern ideas and theories.

The person that I feel has made a difference in design is Barbara Kruger. I feel that her work is still relatable to feminist issues and her signature style can also be related to fashion designers of today. It is her work that explores fundamental social and political questions. This confirms to the innovative breadth and variety of printmaking approaches taken by Kruger since the early 1970's. Often laced with humour and a sense of playfulness, her work shares a creative personal vision deeply integrated with references to larger political historical themes and conceptual motifs.

Kruger’s earliest artworks date to 1969. Large woven wall hangings of yarn, beads, sequins, feathers, and ribbons, they demonstrate the feminist retrieval of craft during this period. In 1975 she was dissatisfied with her output and its detachment from her growing social and political concerns. In 1976, Kruger abandoned art making and began reading social and cultural theory by writers like Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes. She took up photography in 1977, producing a series of black and white works based on words and photography because she felt that the social relations and daily life had become repressed and so she focussed on these issues. By 1979 Barbara Kruger stopped taking photographs and began to employ found images in her art, mostly from mid-century American print-media sources, with words collaged directly over them. These early collages, in which Kruger used techniques she had perfected as a graphic designer, opened the artist’s ongoing political, social, and especially feminist frustrations and comments on religion, sex, racial and gender stereotypes, consumerism, corporate greed, and power.

The political and social upheavals produced a collection of new concepts and politics, one of the most important of which was the Women’s Movement. The Women’s Liberation Movement, as it was initially known, represented a revival of the 4th century’s old struggle by women for access to full human rights. They were campaigning for equal educations, job opportunities, equal pay, free childcare, contraception and abortion. The new feminism was shaped and fuelled by the many forces both political and cultural of the late 20^th century.

Fig.1a Untitled (We Will No Longer Be Seen and Not Heard), (1985)

From the late 1970s Kruger began to make work based on carefully worded slogans laid over images gathered from old photograph annuals, how-to handbooks and magazines rather than taking her own pictures –another signature postmodern technique. The work sends out messages of outrage laced with humour, questioning the representation of power in social relations as seen in mass media images.

Kruger deals with appropriated photographs altered and manipulated in different ways. Glen Ward writes that appropriation is “Taking possession of something, or taking something over, without permission.” (Ward (2003), pg210)

In her group of nine lithographs, “Untitled (We Will No Longer Be Seen And Not Heard)”, she pairs each word from the title with a found studio photograph that appears to be from a sign language manual, but in fact is not. The nine colour lithographs (Fig.1a), 20.5” x 20.5” each showing snapshots of hands in different positions have ‘We Will No Longer Be Seen And Not Heard’ printed, one word on each. It has been described as a “feminist ideology and self-righteousness” (Kuspit (1997) p2)

Kruger aims to challenge the viewer's expectations through striking juxtapositions of found photographs and provocative text. Her works criticise the view of mass-media imagery while taking advantage of it as a powerful way of communication. She employs language to question cultural stereotypes, often using the opposition of 'we' (women) and 'you' (men) as a way of attacking the fact that art and culture are usually directed towards a male viewer. But here, the 'we' for whom she speaks is not made clear (Fig.1b). In this work, Kruger mixes sign language, gesture and words to impose or counteract meaning.

Fig.1b We (1985)

There are many issues now on the agenda of Art Making which are the direct results of feminism – questions of sexual difference, gender relations, and sexuality and power. There are other areas of which feminism has made a particular modification of a current trend – body art, conceptual art, for example.

Conceptualism emerged in the 1960s and was first defined and promoted as an ism by Sol LeWitt in 1967. Its central claim is that art is a ‘concept’, rather than a material object. To understand the idea that shapes an art work is to understand the work itself – so it is possible to understand an art work without ever having seen it. Conceptualists deliberately blur the difference between language and art when they define the art work as an idea or concept. The artist’s intention and the spectator’s response are an integral part of the art work itself. This has radically affected the materials used in Conceptualist art, and the way such works are made.

Barbara Kruger is a Conceptual artist who works with film, video and installation but is best known for making photo-collages inspired by the aesthetics of advertising. Using images sourced from mass-media outlets such as newsprint and television, Kruger borrows the language of advertising to criticise its effects.

Carol Squiers from ARTnews notes, “…she literally spells out her ideas, overlaying the pictures with powerful satirical mottos derived from popular wisdom, political…and the words don’t define the pictures.” (Barrows (1988) p2)

The collages usually consist of black and white photographs that are overlaid with captions frequently set in white-on-red -&-black and communicate ‘to the point’ messages about public relationships and power structures. Through these messages, Kruger challenges ‘propagation’ by the media stereotypes, ‘misogyny’ and outdated notions of gender roles. The font that she uses is Futura Bold Oblique which is either black or white, and is frequently set against a red background. The aggressive text involves the viewer in the struggle for power and control that is instigated by her captions. The images she sources are often enlarged to unrealistic proportions. Like advertising campaigns, her works convey their ideas clearly and concisely. These works juxtaposes imagery with text containing criticism of sexism, misogyny and the circulation of power in Western society.

Fig.2 Untitled (I Shop Therefore I Am), (1987)

Some of her work addresses women about issues affecting women. Kruger has developed a number of slogans that reappear in her work, such as “I shop therefore I am” (Fig.2); she addresses issues of consumerism, class and feminism through real world scenarios. As John Berger states, “These humorous works suspend the viewer between the fascination of the image and the indictment of the text reminding us that language and its use within culture to construct and maintain proverbs, jobs, jokes, myths, and history reinforces the interests and perspectives of those who control it.” (Berger (1972), chp3)

The same can be said of the campaigns recently from Diesel, but also from retail giants Selfridges in December 2007, Mark Hooper from the Guardian suggests, “…what better setting for her slogans than a high temple to consumerism? …The assumption is that the Selfridges customer is so post-modern and media-savvy…To say, "I shop, therefore I am" is to point out the emptiness at the core of the capitalist lifestyle.” (Hooper (2007), p3/4)

The advertisements are not really selling us real-world products but asking us to buy into society’s construct of a happy life. The range of those social practises which produces meaning and images of the world for us, shape our sense of reality and even our sense of our own identities.

Another popular slogan “Your body is a battleground” reflects Kruger’s desire to welcome the female spectator into the audience of men. It was originally designed as a poster publicising for a massive pro-choice march in Washington DC, on 9^th April 1989 (Fig. 3). In this work, a black and white image is a silk screened frontal photograph of a model’s face is divided in half –uses a positive–negative dichotomy to establish a central axis– highlighting the idea that symmetry is a requirement for stereotypical feminine beauty. At the same time, the work addresses the political uproar centred on a woman’s right to have an abortion.

Fig.3 Untitled (Your Body is a Battlefield), (1989)

In looking at artists such as Andy Warhol, Kruger realised that contemporary artists weren’t so much selling paintings as they were selling representations of culture, artistic enterprise and therefore class distinction.

Barbara Kruger is perhaps the most well-known graphic designer to take up social activist themes in the 1980s. She quickly developed a signature style that converted the language of advertising –dramatic photographs melded to strong declarative slogans– into a language of art and protest.

“Many women in the design field want to be acknowledged for the ideas and work they produce, as opposed to being singled out for the fact that they happen to be a women.” (McQuiston (1988), p6)

Kruger found a way by which she could explore the dynamics of gender and social power in American society. Her chosen format mixes the manner of print advertising with a colour scheme –red and black– and a use of photography that immediately calls to mind the avant-garde work of the Russian Constructivists.

“Appropriation…a key strategy of postmodernist arts…” (Ward (2003), pg210)

In that sense, Kruger’s style is partly a post-modern appropriation of found photography and partly a historical revival of the avant-garde.

Kruger is exemplary of the post-modern trend whereby the process was reversed and graphic designers could successfully cross over into the realm of fine art. Her work managed to bring graphic design as well as political protest into the mainstream in the 1980s, establishing a new role for graphic designers in both the art world and in the field of social activism.

%: Design is....... presenting?

2009-10-16T00:35:00.001+01:00

Tuesday 29th September, AM
We are presenting our % outcome to the first year graphic design students. Our idea was to have them just focusing on the sound, so we wanted to blindfold them.
As Ian Parkin was setting up the speakers we handed out some blindfolds to the first years who, by the way, didn't seem too pleased about it. Before we began the presentation we told them our brief; everything was set up, making sure the room was dark and with our cameras at the ready, we began the presentation.
First problem occurred when the speakers playing our sound was actually quite quiet than we liked. After figuring out how to make it a bit louder (the volume on the keyboard) we played it to them again.
My camera was at the back of the room recording the footage whilst everyone else were in separate places, which left me able to gaze at the first year's reactions.
Some of the sounds we loved made us giggle quietly, but as it drew near to the end, we had to keep a straight face.
The presentation was over.
After collecting all the blindfolds, we wanted to know the feedback and whether it was successful in interpreting the brief. Responses from the first year were very little, but they did understand our way of thinking after we explained it to them.
Remembering that I recorded some footage I quickly wanted to see how it looked and somehow I managed to delete it....

Tuesday 29th September, PM
Time to present to the second year graphic design students, our peers.
Everything was set up via the speakers on the Apple Macs in our classroom, and we asked them to gather round to hear it properly.
Blindfolds on and the presentation began.
This time I wasn't going to miss any footage, so I left it to record again. The reactions we were expecting from them never happened, but after the presentation was over, feedback was a lot better this time round.
I think that they liked our way of thinking about the brief and how we interpreted it. It was different to the other outcomes that they are used to seeing.
I did have the footage and saved it to my desktop PC at home, but still I managed to delete it again, how clumsy of me!

....But all is not lost, here is a link to another member of our group that recorded the presentations: OliBlog

%: Design is....... development?

2009-10-16T00:25:00.001+01:00

Our sound idea was to use the percentages as references and turning them into seconds.What we wanted to create was a sound based on the day a graphic designer goes through. Sounds as designers we overlook and what inspired us most was finding those objects, those tasks, and finding the sound that represents it; it almost becomes a piece of live art and begs the question, is sound just art?

After getting briefed we decided to get to recording some sounds together. We asked our tutor for a digital recorder and the one we were using was very sensitive to the slightest of noise so recording it was quite a challenge. First we made up a list of what we would like to record and the representation of the percentages they would be.

After we got a general idea of what we wanted to do, we decided quickly that recording the main 70% would be a very long conversation with some background noise. So we were sneaking around recording group conversations, but after we played it back we were unimpressed.
The idea was to get across design issues with this 70% dealing with people; so we thought that maybe recording the third year graphic design students and their tutors would be better since they were having a tutorial. We felt it would be beneficial if the interaction was about design. And just to have something else different we decided to record the second year multimedia students too.
So after collecting various sounds from making a cup of tea to the noise of the scanner, we compiled them all onto the mac and we began to crop the sounds and get the best possible noise that we felt captured that very moment when we were recording.
We began editing the sounds after lunch and we thought that maybe doing two compilations would be better and we could alter each of them. The order in which we would have the sounds would be a representation of how a graphic designer does their day to day life. Whilst editing them on Adobe Premiere we were quite surprised at how easy the software was to use. We got so into the mood of this project that the first compilation was our main focus and ended up impressing us more than we expected and we were so excited to play it to the first year graphic design students on Tuesday 29th September.
Below is our efforts:

%: Design is....... ideas?

2009-10-16T00:15:00.001+01:00

As a group of four, we had to represent different percentages that kind of makes up a Graphic Designer's job. For instance, 70% was dealing with people, that was the largest chunk of the percentages and this would be our main focus. Here are a few ideas:

This idea was grouping some of the percentages together to come up with a pie chart, but how to represent that in relation to a Graphic Designer was to have the pencil sharpenings.

Our humorous idea was to act them out. But in speaking to our tutor about it, its too basic and ordinary.

This idea was to have each percantage in relation to the size of a piece of food, for instance 70% would be a watermelon and something like 2% would be a smartie. Another concept was to have the food being eaten, so 70% of it would've been eaten or 10% would've been drunk from a cup of tea.

This idea was to make a slideshow about these percentages, boring YES, but the twist in relation to a Graphic Designer would be to have the percentages as moving typography, boring NO.
Below is a more detailed drawing about how to get across some of the percentages.

Another idea we had was to represent these percentages as sound. The thought behind it was to think of a way to communicate these across to our audience (the first year graphic design students), and we thought the best way would be sound; its something different and we question the thought of whether a sound track can be used as a poster.
This idea had a better response from our peers and so we went ahead with this.

Age Concern: Speak to Your Dad Day development

2009-10-15T15:46:00.015+01:00

Some of our ideas were more successful than others so we developed those further.

Idea 1: Instead of having all the days in November telling you to do it, just the 30th will be highlighted. The square will take up most of the November page and will have a question asking you whether you have seen your dad lately? In addition to this idea we would have other dates in each month throughout the year, asking you questions, for instance December 25th would have the same large square and maybe a message like is dad home for christmas?

Idea 10: The play on words idea that we used didn't push the boundaries, so we thought more about the whole 'Father Christmas' phrase and then it occured to us, the pun, the significance behind it was to do with the fact that most Christmas' don't always have the father there and remembering as a child the presents we all got from "Father Christmas", were in fact your dad dressed in a santa outfit.

This is a mock up of how we would present it.

But our most successful campaign was Idea 8: Initially we wanted the user to have an alert to when the 30th November is and when we presented it to Mel, she mentioned that we didn't need to inform the audience about it, but to connect with them on an emotional level, to leave some dots out and let the audience connect them for themselves.

So this was our main idea, we came up with phrases we used to hear as a child, and both of us remember the phrase 'Don't talk to strangers', a phrase our mother used to tell us; So to play around with that phrase and include it as our slogan was quite easy since it spoke for itself, the imagery however needed to have a clear message. We realised that the reason for this campiagn is to get the audience talking with their dads, and if they've lost touch with them, their dad can be seen as an outsider, a stranger. All we needed on the screen of the phone was DAD and the slogan, 'mum told you not to talk to strangers'.

This is an example of our main campaign poster.

Age Concern: Speak to Your Dad Day ideas

2009-10-15T12:19:00.001+01:00

Laura and myself were coming up with ideas how to advertise a 'Speak to Your Dad Day' on 30th November 2009, so we initially thought up some slogans first and then came up with ideas together.

The highlighted ones are the ones I'll be working on and Laura will be working on the others.

Idea 1: The idea is about having a calendar where each day in November would consist of notes reminding you to speak to your dad, but when we had a chat about it, it needed to be changed it slightly because we're just telling the audience to do it rather than have the emotional connection that some advertising does do.

Idea 3: This idea is about Antony Gormley's Furth Plinth idea where we would invite other to come up and read out a poem or a message to their dad, and after you're done pin up a photo of him. We should expect to have lots of images covering the plinth and livening up trafalgar square in the process.

Idea 4: Instead of just a 2D campaign we thought about having subliminal messages flashing up before a film or programme that is aimed at the father figures. It would flash up for 5 secs and you would get pieces of information from it but not all of it and its supposed to make the audience think about their dad.

Idea 7: This idea was about communicating to the audience that 'Speak to Your Dad Day' is just one day out of 365,

and that just one day can make a difference to him. The message I wanted to get across was, its one day to spend with your father doing simple tasks like taking him to the pub for a drink, or just treating him to lunch. And these thing can make him feel loved or appreciate it more than you.

Idea 10: The idea came up when we didn't want to send out a morbid campaign telling you he's dead and its too late, so we came up with playing on the words assoicated with your dad and then pick out highlighted letters reminding you of good times spent with him.

Orange Layer Cake with Buttercream Frosting

2009-10-14T16:20:00.010+01:00

The task was to bake a cake with our partner and document it; extra points will be given on the look of the cake and the way you present the information.

So after much decision, myself and Laura came to a conclusion that we wanted to bake an Orange cake. This would be the basis from which we would add a filling and a topping. We were contemplating just having a sponge with just a buttercream frosting but against our better judgement we thought that a filling of, buttercream with sweet satsumas and clementines with glazed icing as a topping, would look better and compliment the taste of the sponge.

We decorated our cake with some Orange rind to add some colour.
We wanted to do our presentation like a recipe book, where each slide would be a close up of each step, but time was against us and eventually we had to do a picture slideshow instead. Its a shame really that we didn't get it done because I think that the presentation would've been better.

Here is our cake with the runners up.
2nd runner up is Ol-Lu with their classic Chocolate Cheesecake decorated with White Chocolate Buttons; Even though its not intended, I love the lime green lid next to the chocolate brown cake, great contrast of colours, draws your eyes to it.
1st runner up is AA Battery with their Chocolate Fudge Cake decorated with Strawberries and served with Whipped Cream; I love the Red Gingham which adds a great touch to their cake.
And the winning cake came from H&E with their Victoria Love Cake, three layers of love and care decorated with Strawberry halves; They really went to town with this cake and also made extra fairy cakes, a true winner!

The Fourth Plinth

2009-10-14T16:18:00.012+01:00

The Fourth Plinth is in Trafalgar Square in London, where Antony Gormley is inviting any member of the public to raise any issues or awareness, or just to plain have fun on this plinth for an entire hour; This will last up to 100 days.

"Who can be represented in art? How can we make it? How can we experience it? These are questions that have exercised me for years. Whether you see the plinth as a protest or pole-dance platform; studio or stocks; playpen or pulpit; as a frame for interrogation or for meditation, it has provided an open space of possibility for many to test their sense of self and how they might communicate this to a wider world." Antony Gormley

Myself and Craig were asked to come up with an idea to present a 5 minute piece on how we would spend the hour on the plinth. After much painful thought we stayed true to ourselves and decided on something that wasn't too serious and had humour to it.

Trafalgar Square can be a very busy place, full of tourists, the art gallery is nearby, and there are commuters to and from work; so our idea was to invite all those people that want to just have a break, take some time out of there busy lives and take a step back and just relax. Up on the plinth would be 2 sofas at either end and a coffee table in the middle with the appropriate tea making facilities, and we would invite anyone to come join us.

Craig and I on the sofa presenting our idea.

Our other idea was slightly controversial and it was to have a giant swear jar.

We would invite all those people who feel like they want to rant or just feel angry and want to get it off their chest, and for everytime they mention a swear word, they would have to put a penny in the jar. This humorous idea would indicate how we are as a nation with our swearing.

Remember: What happens on the plinth, stays on the plinth!!

Logo/Identity development

2009-10-12T15:57:00.011+01:00

After our group criticism, my logo didn't go so well, some people didn't see the 'New York' in my logo and after explaining that my concept didn't want to be so literal so that its obvious, it wasn't well received. So it was back to the drawing board to develop a skyline into my logo, maybe?

After some sketching I figured that it wasn't going to come to me straight away, so I tried to make my original logo have a bit more depth to it.

After introducing colour to my logo, it looked better; though I felt that it is still lacking something.

So here I reduced the size of the heart to make it appear more fuller and also I added a stalk which I think adds to the extra detail. So my logo appears to look more like an apple and still has the heart element that i wanted to keep.
This is how it'd be used during advertising the event.

Even though I'm happy with my logo, it turns out that the general public seem to think that it is still unsucessful as an identity. There are some who now just see the apple and not realising that it means 'New York'. There is still doubt as to whether I should stick to the nickname for NY, otherwise maybe incorporate the skyline or even use a significant structure from that, for instance, the Chrysler building or even the Statue of Liberty.

This is my final logo, but I still really like my original logo. But I guess in the real world of Design, you need to connect to the audience rather than have a concept that no one will understand.

New Logo/Identity

2009-10-12T15:11:00.016+01:00

My new Logo/ Identity that has a location and an event is to have, a Dating event in New York. Below are different logos of how to show Dating logos:

After looking at these examples, I knew that I wanted include a Heart in my logo somehow, so below I began to research different companies that have strong logos that reference on the shape of the heart.

So after briefly looking at a few logos, I went on to sketch out some designs and different hearts.
My concept was to add a shape of a leaf to make the heart look like a representation of New York, The Big Apple.

These are my sketches and I've tried to develop the ideas to different shaped hearts. I really like the grey heart in the centre, but it reminds me of a tomato rather than an apple. Eventually I stayed true to my concept and on Adobe Illustrator I created my logo using vectors.

This is my logo and feel that it is a simple but strong idea, but I have a feeling that it needs some kind of depth of colour in it.

PIXELO Specimen Sheet

2009-10-08T00:20:00.007+01:00

These are my specimen sheets for my new font.
The look I have gone for is halftone where the cyan and yellow have been mixed together.

There is structure to my layout, because I knew that I wanted my specimen sheet to work landscape as well as portrait. In my portrait sheet, my numbers now turn into shapes which I liked too.

PIXELO

2009-10-06T13:26:00.005+01:00

This is my new font, I've created this on Fonstruct and my concept was to have a 'Radiation of Dots', almost like going from large to small and each letter has the same grid, so that each one was consistent with the previous letter.
This is the link to the webpage of my font, Pixelo.

London 2012 Logo/Identity

2009-10-05T15:43:00.004+01:00

These were the ones that didn't make the grade and honestly the logo that has been used is like marmite.

Pespi VS Coca-Cola

2009-10-05T15:28:00.005+01:00

Pespi VS Coca-Cola

Even though I don't love to drink Cola, I love it when a logo like Coca-Cola has never really been changed and the main reason for that is, when we grow with a brand that has very clever advertising and a logo that shows a nostalgic element, we always will never forget and thats why this brand has not changed its logo.

Recession Logos

2009-10-05T15:24:00.002+01:00

I came across these logos a while ago when I was researching for a previous project. Here most of the well known logos have easily been altered to accomodate with the recent decline in business.
I find them quite humorous.

Fontstructing work in progress.......

2009-10-01T16:18:00.005+01:00

I have also been working on another typeface and I'm so chuffed to be Top picked!!!
So I'm publishing it here to keep you guessing till I've finally finished it...

Fontstructing

2009-10-01T15:32:00.005+01:00

This is my typeface that I've been trying to create in Fontstruct. I've named it Calculate, as there is a robotic and computer nature to it. I wanted to create something that was creative but yet still readable at the same time, but I feel that it might be too simple.

This is a screen grab of my font

I especially like the way my G, Q and Y, all fall below the baseline, this gives these letters more impact on how I can eventually use them.

Wim Crouwel

2009-09-29T12:31:00.005+01:00

For inspiration to create my own typeface, I was looking through Ellen Lupton's Thinking With Type, and i came across this alphabet created by the Dutch designer Wim Crouwel.

Created in 1967 it was named "new alphabet"

Wim Crouwel published his design for a new alphabet which consisted of no diagonals or curves, just straight lines.

Envelope D

2009-09-29T12:30:00.000+01:00

This is a development of the story that we have created for Nigel Foster. It is supposed to show his life from our story that we created for him. We have still yet to finish the poster because we need to work on the type in the background, somehow incorporate it into the whole image successfully and in keeping with the style of the poster, bearing in mind that it is A3 size.