Converted by Falcon Hive
This is from the first brief we had this year and I am including it to show how far not only I have come but how far the group has come. We thought that the series of posters we did looked really professional, and to me, this first project was a taster for what was to come. To start with I was really bothered about working in a group, but despite everyone not knowing each other that well we pulled together really well. Looking back we could have done some stuff different but it was a good set of visuals to start with.
These were for the 'no news is good news' brief and I decided to focus on football violence as my focus of the project. It was something I had background knowledge on anyway so I felt like it was a good and relevant subject. This first poster was based on Visual Literacy and using the English flag as symbolism. It was perhaps a little controversial as it paints england as a real violent nation that use sport as a way to inflict hurt on other communities as well as their own.
The other poster did not really have a message I just used illustration of found objects associated with football to spell the word violence. If I think about it now, it communicates that you don't always see violence but it is happening behind the scenes, and again football is used to fuel it. Of course there are rivalries between fans of different clubs but using violence towards each other makes the football redundant.
This was an enjoyable brief for me where I had to make a typeface for another member of the course. Leigh Wortley was the unlucky person I was paired with. For her typeface I incorporated traits that she told me about but also traits which I saw in her from day to day. At the time, I thought this looks a little like it was made for a guy but it does fit her personality well. I want to re-photograph this because I printed it off in sugar paper and it looked better than this.
These, again, will have to be re-photographed and they are based on solving the issue of football violence in the form of a mailshot. I loved how these came out when I did them I thought they were the best thing I had done all year. For me, I felt that these had signaled that I had turned a corner because the format for this was different to anything I had done before. Before this I did posters and identities and that was about it. Working on a beer mat and envelope, etc helped me get to grips with what works on a certain scale and format.
These images are from the 'book of 100' brief. When this was first assigned, I felt like I had ages to work with. This was the first brief I really encountered problems. I was too quick to make decisions before actually thinking about every possibilites. This meant that I was left stuck on week 3 of the brief, and felt like I had done all I needed too. For sure, this brief opened my eyes and I found out how precious time was whether it be a one week or a five week brief. The finals were ok, but my finished book looked tatty, as I got let down by the print department.
This was a much more successful book project for the 'what is a line?' brief. After experimenting and treating this project like an investigation it was a raise against time to actually come up with a final. This brief was interesting and it helped show me how to cope with multiple briefs with differing deadlines. The book itself I was happy with visually and the cover looked awesome. Again I want to photograph this again with a better camera. I printed on a see through stock on some of the pages which I still think is an ingenious idea and helps with interactivity.
The next image is from the collaborative brief I did with Lindsey. I loved working with Lindsey and had a good thing going. We both worked hard on it and I think we learned from each other. We both had different ways of working and we both had different strengths. I had the skills on the mac and she had the photography skills, both of which were vital to our finals. It was a positive experience which left my mind open about more collaborative work.
These scrabble cushions are by designer Stephen Reed. I have looked at these before, but the reason they intrigue me is because of how simplistic yet effective they are. Anyone who's anyone has played scrabble before and these cushions bring back memories of sitting around with the family playing the game. I can't think of anything that is as simplistic as this that has such as aesthetic appeal. Whether they are used for what they should be or to make rude words I love them all the same. They are such a cool idea, and cant think why I didn't think of something like this before.
This is a bottle design for Diesel for their new fragrance. It has both its good and bad points. I love the shape of the bottle but I can imagine the kind of people that would be attracted to it. Out of context there are obvious signs of visual quality. In context, I can see chavs scrambling to buy it. The symbolism suggests strength and power, which is boasted by the contents which is encased by this clenched fist. However, it also stands for pop culture and yobbish behaviour with the sovereign ring on the finger. On the surface, the product looks the part but it will just get brought down due to that visual appeal, and the love that chavs have for all things big and bold.
This next example comes from the world renowned agency Saatchi & Saatchi. Aesthetically this is just another poster but due to the positioning and popularity of the spot where its positioned the people become part of the campaign. Its simply genious. Nothing much I can say about it other than that though.
The next example of interactive design is by Steve Haslip, a graphic designer from Wivelsfield Green. He includes a short description with this that reads 'The concept was fairly simple: I buy t-shirts online and they always come wrinkled and I always run out of coat-hangers. So I designed a sustainable, reusable way to send and keep your t-shirts. As you open the package you create a coat hanger. The packaging could be made from recycled material whether it is card or plastic and the only waste is the green tear-away tab.' I agree it is not designed with aesthetic appeal in mind but its practicality outweighs the need for this 
appeal. It is what it is, and means that we don't have to throw away yet more packaging.
Here is a bonus example. This is an adidas billboard which has been created to promote adidas' attempt at being enviromentally consciencious. On the surface it looks like a good move, as big brands such as nike and adidas have been critised in the past for using certain materials and this was done to boost the sustainability of the products they market. However, on closer inspection I found that the plants and flowers were actually plastic. I suppose they have done this for minimum upkeep but it just seems like a bit of an own goal really.
So far I have attended 8 sessions of my print elective at Vernon Street. It has been both fun but sometimes a little bit of a distraction. However, I have developed my skills in area which I have not had much time in before. Although, it was not my first choice the elective has been run at a god pace and a felt I have benefited from it.
I thought I would include some scans of various prints I have done whilst down there, as I feel it is important to include pieces I create away from the studio. I have focused the whole of this project around cans, which I looked at in the 100 brief (Hell, am I sick of drinks cans?..)
I realise that I am not the best printer, however, I do play to my strengths so I found printing textures like this through experimentation had a greater benefit as I can use them to create things like this.
Just watched 'Yes Man' today starring Jim Carrey. I am not going to discuss the movie because it is kind of irrelevant but Jim Carrey, in my opinion, is a real funny guy. What I noticed the most was the movie ending and especially the credits. They looked so cool, and I had to see who was responsible for them.
Imaginary Forces were the team behind the titles for this movie and others like Minority Report, Transformers and The Number 23 to name a few. These titles are not riddled with 3D nor special effects. I love simplicity and this is simplicity in the form of t.v graphics.
Had to buy this t-shirt, just because I loved the typography, the choice of colour and composition. It reminds me of an 80's futuristic style. The type is not entirely legible at first but I liked trying to decode it. I know it says Element Skateboard Project, but I'm a little disappointed it just repeats that instead of thinking up something else, but I still like it. Graphics is starting to take over my life, how sad am I? that's a rhetorical question, by the way.
, where have you been? an
d more importantly, look at what you have been missing... Today I just wanted to gaze and ponder and beautiful graphics rather than look for specifics. Amongst a range of design pieces I found a website with some really nice typographic pieces. I can see they must take inspiration from Si Scott or vice versa but someones I see Si Scott's work and there is a lot to take in. This seems a little more simplistic but it does not have any less impact. All these examples are from SHCH Graphics Group and the website link is here.
Finally, these two examples I felt summed up their approach to typographic design. Words cannot describe how perfectly these examples look and how they are structured. The first, which as far as I can see does not seem to be digitised is mindblowing on first impressions but I love the way it all seems to almost grow and interlink. The second example of the phrase 'nice' is more simpilified approach to Si Scott's style. I actually prefer this to his work which could be controversial but I just prefer simplicity but I appreciate the elegance as well. The colour injected just finishes it off and compliments the phrase 'nice' well.
Fightstar - Be Human