After the PPD

It was quite a good session actually. Can't say I was really looking forward to it, but hey! I was given some artists name to have a look at.

Jenny Holzer
She's an American conceptual artist. The main focus of her work is the use of words and ideas in public space. Street posters are her favorite medium, and she also makes use of a variety of other media, including LED signs, plaques, benches, stickers, T-shirts, and the internet.
These are a few images I found that appealed to me aesthetically. I love black and white photography anyway, and the fact that there's type in it, well, it's completed me!
I like how the light from the building leads to the type, then to the water. It's a clever way to guide the viewers eye across the image.

Here's another piece of work by Jenny Holzer. I can't say I understand it, althoooough.. again, it appeals visually to me.


Simon Bent During the ppd session, Ross showed some work by this artist and I really liked what I saw. After having a brief look at some of his work, I came across these.
'Deccade' is a typeface experiment.
I much prefer the first image to the second because of the bright colours and space around it.


I was told about Pomme Chan. It's actually a really cool website...
http://pommepomme.com/news/
They do various of different type of graphics; commercial, typography, editorial and fashion.
Here's a few examples of each...

Commercial:


Typography:


Editorial:
Fashion:

I picked my favourite pieces from each category. I love swirly wurly things so these really appealed to me, especially the colours that have been used.

Andy's design..

Daw! This is well good!

Me and Andy swapped our splash page designs. I had his, he had mine.

His workings out were really easy to follow because he'd marked correctly where he wanted the type and image to go. I did have a few decisions to make as it wasn't completely clear, but it still turned out fine.

Really wish this was mine!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's what Andy did with my design..

I love it! :D

Fiona Rae

I absolutely LOVE these!!!! They're gorgeous!
Fiona Rae's a young painter who also collages.

Cute Motion!!, 2006


Her work's just so amazing to look at. Everything's so bright and happy! It really makes me wanna pick up a brush and start painting even though I'm not keen on doing it. For me, her work's just one of those things that when you look at it, you have to smile. :)

Contemporary design

What is contemporary design?

Contemporary design means modern, up to date, the latest thing.

Dictionary definition:

1. Belonging to the same period of time: a fact documented by two contemporary sources.
2. Of about the same age.
3. Current; modern: contemporary trends in design.

1. One of the same time or age: Shelley and Keats were contemporaries.
2. A person of the present age.

of the present time; modern

Ok, so, my project is based on someone wanting others to talk to them. It's about communication, non-verbally.
I've been concentrating on signs with arrows. They inform and give directions. I thought this could be a good path to follow for the time being. :)
I found these signs online. I thought they were appropriate to my initial idea of using signs as they include loads of arrows. So yeah..



I've been searching for some contemporary graphic designers. One which sprung to my mind straight away was Stefan Sagmeister. He's usually the first person I think of!
I picked this piece of work in particular because its so self explainatory. He's engraved words into himself to pass on messages. It's a really interesting way of sending messages without having to say it. It relates back to my 'non-verbal communication'.


'Almost Fluorescent Nude' 2007

I found this image, by Fiona Banner.
It's a really nice piece of work. Really visually engaging and to me, aesthetically pleasing.
I love ''messy'' work, and working with ink is such a fun way to work! Because she's used ink and type, it makes it even more interesting because of the type being so neat and bright. They contrast eachother nicely.


'Everyone Ive Ever Slept With'

Here's a piece of work made by Tracey Emin. Her work's really quite personal to her which I find inspiring. I thought this relates quite well to my concept as it's kind of person to myself.



Here's an interesting photograph I found by Douglas Gordon. Using a mirror to show what a word really reads is a nice way of sending a message. Perhaps I could use this technique in my work?

I also found this..

Another piece of work by Douglas Gordon. Even though it's teeny, you can still make out that it says, 'Talk to me'. Thought I'd whack it up simply because that's the message I want to send out!



Here's the work of Barbara Kruger.
This appealed to me because it's simply stating the obvious.
There's some interesting photography here, although it's hard to see what it is! I just find it strange to look at. :)

Street sign alphabet: Bookmarks

Browsing online at road signs, I came across this!! It is in fact on an existing blog, although it's a mixture of a number of people's work so I don't know who made this.

This is what's been written to accompany the work:

''When asked to design a series of 12 bookmarks around the theme experimental/environmental typography, I started by taking a trip to the old souk of Jounieh where we can find all sorts of vernacular, leftout typography. As I walked by, looking for found type, I thought about the concept of a bookmark: it is supposed to help you find your way while reading, which is also the purpose of signs in streets. And what is reading other than walking in a virtual world. This led to the idea of trying to create a typeface based on the signs in themselves, signs seen as lettershapes, which is a more holistic, twisted approach to the project.''

''The ‘letterhunt’ started then. It was quite a challenge and I was walking in unknown territory, not sure whether I would be able to find all the letters of the alphabet.

After all the project as a whole was an experiment, and the farther it was pushed, the better it would get. Finally, I was able to complete most of the letters (in a legible way) and some of them were a bit pushed (the Z for instance). I was also able to find few punctuation marks.''

I really like this! It probably took a while to find the right signs to create each letter, but it looks so simple and easy. I love how they haven't made the letters look exactly how they should. Simple is definitely a big thing. Some of the letters don't look perfect, but it's still totally legible. It's great to see that they haven't pushed the letters so hard that they loose that quick quality. I love it!! 

It's also interesting to think about the link in which they've made between road signs and bookmarks. Very clever. :)

My experience: Statement of proposal

A new project! Fantastic! I'm actually quite excited about this one. Sarcasm? Noooo! 

I wrote down a 5 statements based on problems I've had since starting uni. They were:

• The course. ''What am I getting myself into?''
• Independence. ''It's me, myself and I.''
• Money. ''How am I gonna pay for everything?''
• Away from home. ''I want my mum.''
• Meeting new people. ''Please talk to me?''

I chose to focus on 'meeting new people'. This is the one that stood out to me most because of my shyness and it being a problem when it comes to meeting people for the first time. I've always struggled. So, I thought it'd be cool to think of a way, even if it's using humor, to get people to talk to me rather than me approach them! 

THE BIG FAT STATEMENT

What is the problem?

Being able to talk to new people for the first time. 

What are you going to do about it?

Shyness and self consciousness is an issue, although I'm not going to focus on this particular issue. I want to find a way of getting people to talk to me rather than me talk to them.

How are you going to do it?

My initial idea was to self promote. I could create name badges which could include stickers, design a t-shirt, create signs which leads to me etc. I've got quite a few ideas buzzing around!

Elective finals

My elective experiments

Elective!

It's about bloody time! I've been meaning to get my work up here for aaages. Well, if you call a week ages!
It lasted for 4 days, each from 9am to 5pm, so it was a VERY long day at the end of each!

CONTEXT
This elective is based in the ceramic/plaster, metal, wood and plaster workshops at Rossington Street. The intention is for you to explore various concepts and gain workshop skills focused to the creation of an ''Object'' which will qualify as a sculptural expression. In a world where issues of eco recycling are becoming more and more important, you must consider the effective use and inclusion of consumable items or products within your sculptural resolution.

BRIEF
Artists and designers have often found themselves working within parameters and limitations. As students, one of your main limitations with be financial and with this in mind consider the following and with this in mind consider the following; - domestic/industrial waste objects; plastic cups; bottles; containers; paper plates, magazines, newspaper; old cloth/textiles; natural organic waste-leaves e.g. grass cuttings, stick/twigs etc; cheap materials from Poundland; nails/tacks, lolly sticks, tea bags (used-unused)

Consider the form, structure and detail of an everyday item or product. Then THINK about how you might re-engineer it visually. Consider spatial formatting/fabricating/multiples/casting/reinventing and reformatting from the original scale.

Do not attempt to resolve one solution during the research phase, rather explore the theme through several maquettes, drawings or series of visuals in any form/format which records and tests your ideas and experiments in order to short list final sculptural or 3-dimensional response at a small or large scale in varied materials.

You will record all the processes and changes you encounter and learn through the entire project development in your own individual journal. You will be allowed time after the workshop period to construct/collate this, though you will be expected to gather materials throughout the project period. You will need to obtain the use of a digital camera to record work in progress, workshop techniques etc.

www.youdontmatter.com

This site is AWESOME!

Here's what it's all about...

...The Plotting Machine

The project has originated from the workshop »Borderline Functionality« given by Jürg Lehni in 2006. We converted a plotting machine into an output device, that can draw, scratch or cut with almost any traditional drawing technique, in order to achieve aesthetics looking neither drawn by hand nor produced with only a computer. Most interesting and inspiring are all the little mistakes this machine does, because of too much data, too much water, color, pressure etc. This expansion space describes the machine's actual identity. No Image looks like the other.

This would've been soooo useful if I'd known about it before I done the posters for 'What is a line?' My work ended up focusing on typography, and this would've made it much more interesting I reckon! Ah well!! That's typical me for ya! I still thought it'd be cool to post some of the stuff on here though. :)

This was apparently done using wax stratchings. Cool huh?

Cavity rotation stroke raster

Type and Grids! ..'Making a breaking the grip'

RIGHT.. seeing as the book I've got from the library's gonna be taken back tomorrow, I guess I'd better use it!

It was recommended to me by a friend, and it is infact rather handy!
Here's some interesting images from the book that nicely demonstrates the different grids that have been made, and can be made to suit various styles of magazines etc. There's also some information I've taken from the book, which explains about how to make grids and how they work. They're all really simple, and quite obvious.


HOW DO GRIDS WORK?
WHEN ARE THEY APPROPRIATE?
WHY USE THEM AT ALL?

All design work involves problem solving on both visual and organizational levels. Pictures and symbols, fields of text, headlines, tabular data: all these pieces must come together to communicate. A grid is simply one approach to bringing those pieces together. Grids can be loose and organic, or they can be rigorous and mechanical. To some designers, the grid represents an inherent part of the craft of designing, the same way joinery in furniture making is a part of that particular craft. The history of the grid has been part of an evolution in how graphic designers think about designing, as well as a response to specific communication and production problems that needed to be solved. A corporate literature program, for example, is a late twentieth-century problem with complex goals and requirements. Among other things, a grid is suited to helping solve communication problems of great complexity.

The benefits of working with a grid are simple: clarity, efficiency, economy, and continuity.

Before anything else, a grid introduces systematic order to a layout, distinguishing types of information and easing a user's navigation through them. Using a grid permits a designer to lay out enormous amounts of information, such as in a book or a series of catalogues, in substantially less time because many design considerations have been addressed in building the grid's structure. The grid also allows many individuals to collaborate on the same project, or on series of related projects over time, without compromising established visual qualities from one project to the next.

Breaking the page into parts.
Building an effective grid for a given project means thoughtfully assessing that project's specific content in terms of the visual and semantic qualities of typography space.
Typographic space is goverened by a series of part-to-whole relationships. The single letter is a kernal, part of a word. Words together create a line: not just a line of thought but a line on the page, a visual element that establishes itself in the spatial field of the format. Placing a line of type in the blank landscape of a page instantly creates a structure. It's a simple structure, but one with a direction, a movement and, now, two defined areas of space: one space above the line and one space below.

One line after another, after another, becomes a paragraph. It's no longer simply a line, but a shape with a hard and a soft edge. The hard edge creates a reference to the page, and as it stretches out in depth, the paragraph becomes a column, simultaniously breaking space and becoming a space itself. Columns repeated or varied in proportion create a rhythm of interlocking spaces in which the format edge is restated, countered, and restated again. The voides between paragraphs, columns, and images help to establish the eye's movement through the material, as do the textural mass of the words they surround.

Alignments between masses and voids visually connect or seperate them. By breaking space within the compositional field, the designer stimulates and involves the viewer. A passive composition, where intervals between elements are regular, creates a field of texture that is in statis. By introducing changes, such as a larger interval between lines or a heavier weight, the designer creates emphasis within the textural uniformity. The mind perceives that emphasis as some kinda of importance. Creating importance establishes an order, or hierarchy, between elements on the page, and each successive change introduces a new relationship between the parts. Visual shifts in emphasis within the hierarchy are inseperable from their effect on the verbal or conceptual sense of the content. A designer has unlimited options for making changes in type size, weight, placement, and interval to affect hierarchy and, therefore, the perceived sequence of the information. The grid organizes this relationship of alignments and hierarchies into an intelligible order that is repeatable and understandable by others.

A grid consists of a distinct set of alignment-based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format. Every grid contains the same basic parts, no matter how complex the grid becomes. Each part fulfills a specific function; the parts can be combined as needed, or omitted from the overall structure at the designer's discretion, depending on how they interpret the informational requirements of the material.

Building an appropriate structure
Working with a grid depends on two phases of development. In the first phase, the designer attempts to assess the informational characteristics and the production requirements of the content. This phase is extremely important; the grid is a closed system once it is developed, and in building it the designer must account for the content's idiosyncrasies, such as multiple kinds of information, the nature of the images, and the number of images. Additionally, the designer must anticipate potential problems that might occur while laying out the content within the grid, such as unusually long headlines, cropping of images, or dead spots left if the content in one section runs out.

The second phase consists of laying out the material according to the guidelines established by the grid. It's important to understand that the grid, although a precise guide, should never subordinate the elements within it. Its job is to provide overall unity without snuffing out the vitality of the composition. In most circumstancesm the variety of solutions for laying out a page within a given grid are inexhaustible, but even then it's wise to violate the grid on occasion. A designer shouldn't be afraid of his or her grid, but push against it to test its limits. A really well-planned grid creates endless opportunities for exploration.
Every design problem is different and requires a grid structure that addresses its particular elements. There are several basic kinds of grid, and as a starting point, each is suited to solving certain kinds of problems. The first step in the process is to consider which type of basic structure will accommodate the project's specific needs.

The anatomy of a grid: The basic parts of a page.

End of module self-evaluation

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION

Module Code

OUGD104

Module Title                                                                 VISUAL LANGUAGE

NAME  Lindsey Marshall             

 BLOG ADDRESS  lindseymarshallbagd.blogspot.com

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

I’m quite happy with how my skills have developed in this module. I’ve used illustrator a fair bit to give a better finish to my work, so I’m pleased with that.

I’ve just been trying to get on with my work really, so I’ve used whatever skills I’ve got to help my work progress as much as possible.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?  

I’ve used my blog quite effectively At first I struggled to get used to evaluate my work online, but it’s becoming more natural as the course progresses.

I’ve learnt to rely more on books rather than the internet for research which I’m happy about, because the information online isn’t always accurate.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

I think my research is a strong area in my work. I like to know what I’m going to be doing, and like to have a clear view on where I might take my work.

Specifically, I like to work with type, so I’ve taken it within me to purchase relevant books to refer to, even for future use. I also like to browse online the works of others.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

I still feel as though my final resolutions aren’t as good as they can be. Recently, I’ve been very pleased, although there have been a few occasions. It’s never been my strong point, so I definitely need to make sure I keep enough time to focus on the final outcome.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

1. I need to look at other work produced in the class more, and document.

 

2. I feel very dismissive of projects, which may not be of much interest to me. So I need to try and make myself more motivated.

 

3. I still feel as though I need to make sure I set out time limits for each park of the project, so I have more than enough time (if needed) to produce a final outcome to a higher standard.

 

4. I need to stay in college more to do my work. I tend to go home when we have time to get on with what we need to do. I feel more comfortable, and as though I can access more of my own materials instead of having to bring everything in, just incase I need something. I collect loads of material, paper etc, and like to use it in my work.

 

5.

6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas? (please indicate using an 'X')

5= Excellent, 4= Very good, 3= Good, 2= Average, 1= Poor

Attendance                                 3            

Punctuality                                 1 

Motivation                                   3 

Commitment                              2

Quantity of work produced    3

Quality of work produced      2

Contribution to the group     2

The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.