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Thursday 26 November 2009

Neville Brody: Genius or Wanker























Yesterday (25th November 2009) we journeyed down to London to witness Adrian Shaughnessy in conversation with Neville Brody as part of the D&AD presidents lectures series. Ultimately the process was to decide whether Brody was a 'Genius' or a 'Wanker'.

I have to say it was by far one of the most exciting and tongue in cheek lectures I have ever attended. Whilst at the same time coming across extremely informative in many ways, from talking about his work, to his ideas on design education in Britain today compared to that of his era.

After both friendly and serious interrogation the audience was looked to for the answer to the final question, 'Genius or Wanker?'

The result was almost unanimous... GENIUS



Rain Cloud

This is a two part piece I developed when looking at weather elements and how they can be perceived. The first is of just simply a rain cloud, however the second is similar but using a sun, although it is still raining. Can this be possible?

























Monday 23 November 2009

This is London

After reading a poem by Add ImageCameron Yang entitled 'This is London', I wanted to express his words typographically, using building shapes to form the layout of the poem.

Here is my result:

Thursday 19 November 2009

Plan of action

Through analysis and reflecting on my existing work I have put together a plan of action which I will carry out through the rest of my course in Graphic design. In doing this I hope it will give me the motivation I need to ensure I'm constantly producing work of the highest quality.

I think for me keeping up to date with current studios who produce identity work is a must. By following such studios I feel I can keep in touch with any trends and then use this to be different in my own design. Find out what people are doing now, and then do the opposite so to speak.
I want to read more design magazines as well, read articles by the people that influence my work, go to lectures on similar subjects as well as checking daily design blogs (which I'm pretty good at anyway).

Often what really gets me excited is looking over the internet or in shops for unusual objects, things that make me smile or think about their purposes. Iv'e always enjoyed discovering hidden meaning and reasoning for why designers have produced what they have and I want to take what I learn and then put my own twist on it. Create my own unique meanings definitions for what I do.

Overall I want to develop a more pro-active attitude when it comes to recording ideas and thought and I think providing I can keep this to a daily basis I will succeed in moving forward and developing much richer skills in the field of graphic identity.

Studios I admire


Influences
A lot of my influence and interest in identity has come from present and emerging designers in this field rather than well known ones. Of course the work of the likes of Paul Rand, Paula Scher and Saul Bass is still interesting to me, but to see how designers closer to my position perform and generate their ideas is something which really interests me.

For example, Jacob Cass, as Australian designer who works mainly on identity and web design has had a huge impact on the way I look at the subject, I visit his blog daily to find new projects he's worked on as well as finding all sorts of useful information such as his favourite typefaces for different purposes. www.justcreativedesign.com

Tina Roth Eisenberg is another of my favourites, 'a swiss designer gone NYC' as she describes herself, what appeals to me about her is more her way of presenting what she does, coming from swiss roots her corporate identity work is very clean cut and precise which is something I truly admire and this style is evident throughout all her work.
She also runs a daily blog which contains interesting finds and ideas from her day, as well as things that just make her smile which I think is a great side project to keep ideas flowing and to keep her mind creatively active.
Her portfolio can be found at www.Projekt2.com and her blog at www.swiss-miss.com

Sheffield
























A typographic piece exploring my surrounding environment.

Design specialism

Specialising in a specific part of graphic design is something I find as an important turn in my learning and a way to focus my ideas into a more specific and rich format.

Motion graphics
Illustration
Structural graphics/Packaging
Identity
Advertising
Handmade graphics
Typography

Choosing to explore identity and branding further is what I have decided to do.

I find the whole idea of creating and promoting the individual persona of something, whether it is a large company or just a single person, extremely exciting. I want to utilise and apply my skills to provide thought provoking and deeply impacting ideas and visuals which create more than just a brand for something. Rather a body of binding material that really endorses and enhances that 'something's' already existing personality.

I want to take identity to new levels and create timeless work that has an impact on the communities associated with these 'somethings'.

My definition of Identity
'A brand is simply a visual representation of something, but an identity comes from within, it challenges the mind and when executed with the correct precision and detail can produce highly dramatic everlasting results.
Identity is a tool for expressing visually the true ethics and thought behind an idea or object. It should show this through minimal effort, yet huge impact.'

Skills I will need

High Photoshop & Illustrator skills and knowledge.
Confident InDesign skills.
Ability to sketch quick, yet accurate roughs.
I need to be able to analyse and critique my work both positively and negatively.
Research and develop my ideas fully before making any final decisions.
Explore all possible methods of solution to my problem.

Tuesday 17 November 2009

The Consumer



A short slideshow detailing my consumer project.

A grand day out [analysis and advertisement]













































Above are the two flyer style advertisements we designed to promote our chosen event which was to be a day trip to the 'Tropical butterfly house & gardens' near Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

Due to the age range of the target audience I feel our chosen day out suits their interests perfectly. Combining beautiful scenery and photography opportunities with a relaxed atmosphere provided a wonderful experience.
We took the time to test our day by visiting the butterfly house ourselves, this tested both the price target (less than £10) and whether or not it would be suitable/enjoyable.

As for the design side of the project, which is the main aspect, we wanted to project a clean, simple, yet engaging look and feel for both the presentation and advertisement. The use of the ever popular 'Didot' typeface was chosen specifically for this job and even from the first look provides all aspects we were looking for.
The colour scheme was equally important due to it creating the most impact and so we decided to reflect the natural feel of the butterfly house, keeping with a green that wasn't too harsh but not quite into the pastel tones. The colour interacts well with the white text to create a powerful presentation base.

Imagery is always important and due to the target audience we decided on the use of mainly photographic images as they are easy to relate to and tell the story much more effectively than other images like illustrations.
It is for this reason that the second flyer above is much more powerful, it shows the venue in its essence, getting up close with the inhabitants of the butterfly house and creating an immediate interest for the viewer.

A grand day out

As an initial 'kick-start' brief for the new academic year we were asked to work in groups to arrange and promote a 'Grand day out' for a selected age group.

This project gave
a great opportunity to meet and work with new people and provide a base for the main module project entitled 'The consumer'.

Over 50's was our target audience for this mini project and below are a few stills from our power point presentation used to promote our ch
osen event. This project was briefed and completed within a week.


















































Friday 13 November 2009

Check this out

Check out this blog by Swiss designer gone NYC called SWISS MISS is fantastic, full of things that will inspire you and just generally put a smile on your face.