Helvetica cut up magazine

In a small team with had a short amount of time to work on a task to specifications. This session is to test our ability to work to a deadline within a team to create a piece that follows the specifications of the 'client'. Within the group the first task we chose was to allocate people to tasks based on our strengths. We then worked on a few test layout ideas on paper before doing any digital work.We also discussed themes and style types we were interested in. Things like minimalism and punk were popular within the group so we agreed to style our individual pieces around this kind of theme.

We then all split into independent working. I was tasked in turning all of the exampled type into vectors a format that would be easier for my team to edit, alter and transform in other software. Once that was distributed to everyone to work we all made individual pieces for the paper. They would all come together at the end into one big collection of pieces.

Both of these designs were created by my team-mate Eugene. He used shape and contrast to eccentuate his work. The work is chaotic as to fit to the theme of punk.

 

 Aiden created a more legible piece using bright design and jittery/corrupt text. His work would be the cover for the project book we were creating.

This design was created by team-mate Sophie. Her illustrative piece is inspired by postmodernist art and style. The vibrant colours follow in the same vein. The piece itself is of the designer of the Helvetica font.

Implimenting Sophie's work into my idea I created a layered collage of text and image. Using CMYK colour scheme as much as I could to give a early print feeling to the piece.

When designing the inside of the book we created I found that the majority of the keys on the keyboard I was using didn't work. I utilised this to my advantage as the book itself is a play on conventional type and layouts. This gives the broken type its own place within the book as its own piece.

Reflecting upon the project I think that our team co-ordination was good but ensuring the brief was properly pursued could have been better. The work we produced was to a good standard but we came across issues when it came to creating the end Indesign document.

Data Moshing

Using algorithms we can give a sense of controlled randomness to an image. The data will attempt to corrupt or alter the code of the information you give it. In this case I used .jpg format images and changed values in the algorithm to get different results.

Ikea Tactics

  


and How It Became a UK HouseHold Name

Ikea is a multinational Company  and the worlds largest furniture retailer dealing in Timeless, well priced furniture to the world. Changing peoples opinion through clever marketing and branding techniques. Ikeas marketing strategy of tailoring to the correct demographic soon got them top of the leaderboard for mass marketing starting in european countries then the rest of the world.

When Ikea hit america it used marketing more suiting to the american market and demographic mentioning "football season" and the phrase " it's a big country. Someone's got to furnish it." This same product marketing wouldn't work in the Uk as successfully due to social and cultural differences between America and the Uk consumer market however this method can soon be altered to most demographics. They altered bedding sizes, cutlery and plates and almost everything needed upscaling to fit the bigger is better lifestyle that is adopted there. The same method can be applied to most mass markets.

The main demographic for Ikea furniture before it reached the uk in the 1990's was the european market. The UK at this time was a period of Frilly curtains and kitsch wallpaper. The idea of a swedish simplistic furniture set from ikea seemed all too distant. With this in mind Ikea used clever branding techniques to change the uks consumer pallet from frills to fresh. They did this over the course of numeral years and clever marketing.

A good example of this would be the Chuck out your chintz" jingle advert. This long running propaganda was catchy and had some underlying messages. The jingle suggests to go against tradition and bring a new attitude and idea ( in the form of new 'clean' furniture. It also makes a gesture to women being more independent and how the 'flowery trimmage is spoiling our image' of the modern day woman. Suggesting a new start was relevent politically in a time of new elections and the idea of political change aswell.

This can all be taken from one advert designed not only to sell a few minimalist DIY tables but to change a nations opinion. It also shows the consumer attitude and how marketing can provoke people to feel in different ways.

Flatland

No one now needed to ``feel'' him; no one mistook his front for his back; all his movements were readily ascertained by his neighbours without the slightest strain on their powers of calculation; no one jostled him, or failed to make way for him; his voice was saved the labour of that exhausting utterance by which we colourless Squares and Pentagons are often forced to proclaim our individuality when we move amid a crowd of ignorant Isosceles. 

a Pentagon whose name is variously reported from Sophie Wales on Vimeo. 

This piece was a part of a colaboration piece from a group workshop. We were all given individual extracts from the novel 'Flatland' by Edwin Abbott to create a colaborative video. The novel revolves around the idea of a society of shapes which your worth is determined by how many sides you possess.

Flatland from Motion-go on Vimeo.

Inspirational Quote

 Jittery Words from Sophie Wales on Vimeo.
Jittery Words from Sophie Wales on Vimeo.

I made this inspired by the Abstract: the art of design documentary.

Abstract the art of design : Christoph Niemann

"every athlete and musician practices every day. why should art be any different?"

A new series on netflix called Abstract: the art of design discussed minimal design and semiotics.

Christoph Niemann is a New York designer who talks about the beauty of minimal design. The idea of taking an object and removing as much from it as possible without losing any of the information. "for me the style is based on culture and sheer experiences." - on the topic of minimalist shapes. This semiotic approach is what made some of his ideas and work flourish.He talks about an Abstract-o-meter in the visual language and how sometimes there can be too much or two little information and it is only the middle ground of the two that symbolism can harmonize.

He makes use of our social understanding that an american taxi is black and yellow and through using minimal shapes conveys that message in the most simple way possible.

 

This work is a contemporary reference to one of the early covers of The New Yorker magazine. It is only through understanding of the original work and image that you get an icon of an icon. The blue butterfly is symbolised by a small blue square which would make no sense to a viewer unless previously familiar with the original making it a cultural homage.

This work shows the impact of cultural semiotics in his work and the ability to remove uneeded data to get the same conclusion.

 

 

 This is some more of his work:

I particularly like this work for the front and back cover of The New Yorker magazine. It shows the interior and exterior of a New York subway train. It gives two perspectives on the same scene using clever colour negatives.

Vectormania

Vectormania is a book of vector based illustration art book created by Robert M Ball. He uses vivid colours to create works of marvel and Disney. This book inspired me to do some practice work with vectors so I decided to create some simple cactus stickers. I chose a cactus as me and a few other students were intending on making a short zine themed around plants.

http://www.robertmball.com/

Photographer Liam Wong and the neon appeal

Whiles looking into my chosen essay subject of cyberpunk I happened across a set of images by Liam Wong. His work crosses the boundarys of real and surreal in his late night Japanese street photography. The colour schemes remind me of cyberpunk through its dark mysterious settings lit by overwhelming amounts of neon advertising and sign.

http://www.liamwong.com/

This style of work I feel fits into the current trend of Vaporwave aesthetic - a genre of music and visuals that are a fusion of nostalgia and satire of the 80's and 90's entertainment, tech and advertising. The music genre itself is a collection of muzak 'mood' music a style of music often heard in large retail stores and elevators etc. Common themes of this include neon aesthetic, low poly imagery, glitch art, vhs and early computer OS and other loose early cyberpunk themes. This genre is also a parody reflection on our current consumer culture attitudes. The term vaporwave is a derivative of the word vaporware - a product that is advertised but never released.

It is a genre which rose to popularity through parody, but through the nature of it's spread through internet memes it became a self perpetuating genre and subsequently a style of it's own. Perhaps its the exposure of our numbness to consumption and our glamorisation of nostalgia which is a underlying concern in younger generations shrugged off as a flash in a pan meme.

Cartoons and Social Commentary

On the subject of animation or cartoons, most people think they are a simple and lighthearted form of entertainment, but there are often underlying themes the viewer may not be aware of upon first encountering them. They can hold much deeper meanings and also influence subsequent mood and behaviours. Animation can be used as social commentary of current times and thinking in the similar way other art and media forms do. I have chosen to focus on 1970-1990s prime time television animation. This broadcast time-slot is aimed around a normal family dinner time and has taken upon something of a cult viewing time experience. 

Development as a child -

To understand how and why children are so enamoured with cartoons, we have to look into theories of play and the psychological development of children. How we develop is how we gain an understanding of our environment and social norms as we grow up. Early childhood development theories in the 1950's often studied what was considered to be abnormal behaviour in children. Traumas, delayed cognitive ability and disabilities were monitored. At that time doctors were more concerned with the physical aspects of the brain and behaviour rather than brain development. As brain development was explored, social development came into play. Relationships and peer influences on the individual showed utmost importance to a child's upbringing and mental growth. Behaviour reinforced by others, social observation and acquisition of those behaviours was found to be a crucial part of child growth.

Children are active learners and are naturally curious. This is because children primarily learn through their experiences as opposed to what is dictated to them. This is why development through play is an important aspect to social and cognitive learning, especially in younger years.For example children typically don't have the means to shoot guns or ride horses, so toys and imagination plays a more important role to help them explore adult concepts such as these.

Contemporary theories of play -

Popular culture often reflects reality, but sometimes reality reflects pop culture. 

Technology reflects the needs of a society, but sometimes human behaviour can be just as influenced and directed by technological advances.

The scope of these influences on a person changes depending on the individual's environment, cultural background, gender etc. From watching western television and growing up in the era of digital data and information we are changed by technology. The nature of us using technology changes our cognition and mental growth and this would differ to someone who was raised pre-internet. The pre-internet and post internet brains are therefore wired differently as an outcome. How we act and behave in reaction to these technological influences would differ also.

Childhood Consumption - 

As a child it is easy to get emotionally attached and invested in a character or series. We get excitement, internalise importance and form attachments to these characters and creations often obsessively with merchandise and mascots. Facial recognition is also linked to this, as it is a subconscious sense of familiarity. If you wish to read more on this please read my other blog post :programmed from birth. This kind of connection to objects can also drive people later in life to be a collector of sorts. Often the interest can be connected to these childhood feelings or other crucial development times in their life.

Cartoons and Politics - 

When we watch animation, it can trigger the release of endorphins and inhibit negative feelings. This sense of ease when watching animation reduces stress and anxiety. This mindset makes us more open to subtextual messages we receive from animation. Cartoons have always been an efficient outlet to get an alternative or controversial message across. They come across initially as playful and fun, so are able to mock society or current affairs without directly coming across as politically charged. The tongue-in-cheek attitudes used are not seen as an overtly negative or critical within the medium. Prime time entertainment value has to be able to be accessible for all ages within a family. There are more than one target audiences, often given the overt childish humour with hidden adult undertones and themes. Yogi bear for example, is known for stealing picnic baskets in a US national park, however at the time of the initial show broadcast there was a growing epidemic of homelessness and job loss within the United States. This undertone of theft by necessity was sympathetic to the plight of the growing jobless population.

South Park has always been current with social and political events at the time in their work. Recently the show has parodied the US presidential electoral campaigns, mocking them by taking the events of the week to absurd proportions, demonstrating the political inadequacy of both candidates.

Toys before TV shows:

As direct marketing to children became restricted, advertisers and toy makers created new methods of selling toys. It was no longer uncommon for kids shows to be essentially one long advert primarily for selling toys. In some cases, the toys were made before the shows even existed. The latest series of toys would arrive just in time for the new season of a series in order to maximise sales and profits whilst minimising losses for an out of date toy which was no longer popular. It can still be observed today as advertisers and toy makers design merchandise featuring mascots to sell all kinds of toys which would be otherwise less desirable without the character tie-ins.

Girl Culture -

As the scope of advertising and marketing professionals spread, they specialised into marketing gendered toys. Starting off with sickly-sweet, pink, girl oriented toys such as Strawberry Shortcake in the 1980's, this specialisation has continued through to today, reflecting a clear split between boys and girls toys. In toy sections of sales catalogues, these toys are often split into these categories primarily. This girl culture trend further influenced all aspects of retail, showing up in clothes, stationary and almost anything utilised by children that could have a colour or put a label applied. "Marketers are not only offering clothes, they're offering a kind of type of girl. This kind of girl is either really feminine or she rejects the feminine for more masculine choices..." - Lamb, S. & M Brown, L. (2007). Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers' Schemes. New York: St. Martin's Press.

3D animation plane

Today's project was inspired by BBC the today programme and the idea of the moving through a 3D plane. Before doing anything in After Effects I sketched out a quote and some visual relating to what I wished to animate. I then proceeded to scan the sketch in and made Photoshop layers of each individual aspect I wanted to animate. Doing this ahead of time makes the process run smoother when transferred over to After effects.

Within the Adobe software you can alter your view to the composition from a horizontal setting. This allows you to then alter objects on a 3D plane. Given the extra option of depth and layers this allows you to explore more cinematic styles of Ae animation. The method we used can be a good way to give a sense of dynamic movement through space.

The diagram below depicts the 3D layout plain and the lines indicate objects within the composition. The further away an object is from the camera source (red triangle) the more in the background it becomes in the composition. This allows you to be able to use cameras to travel the 3D space.

The example I worked on is below:

Text in a 3D plane from Sophie Wales on Vimeo.

I feel this method should be explored more by me as my piece could be stronger. I wish to make a more space themed cinematic as it will be more fitting than the work I did and give me more scope to explore.

chaos and collaboration

Artwork made with a set of restrictive guidelines can lead to interesting results. Using predefined variables, we were restricted to a particular mindset and method that couldn't be modified. If you are given creative boundaries, the amount that those boundaries can be explored and pushed can lead to types of artwork that may otherwise not be developed, and the process becomes paramount in the creation of the final work.

As part of a task we were given a sheet of paired numbers scattered randomly across an  A3 page (as seen below). working in a pair we were given the task to take it in turns to connect two of the same number together. We had to ensure that the line we made did not overlap otherwise we failed the task.

with a competitive mindset we would attempt to sabotage each others paths to achieve selfish victory. This set of rules visually created broad, confident and erratic lines.

After inevitably failing to connect all of the numbers using the method of sabotage we next attempted to collaborate with each other. The visual cues changed as the lines were more smooth, gentle and followed each other closely. This was an attempt to allow the next turn to be easier.

After attempting these two previous examples I modified my own version of this task where I followed the same instructions but my partner and I could only use our non-dominant hand. This removed the natural freedom and control and required more care in movement. The results unexpectedly were messy and had a nervous quality.

Making guidelines around a project or art piece can encourage exploration of ideas and problem solving to achieve multiple results that otherwise wouldn't be explored.

Peter o'Toole Art of Freelancing

"Think how your client would want to see you"

As a freelancer you may find that you may encounter a potential client at any given moment, therefore it is prudent to appear professional in any situation, as you may find that a job you get could arise from something as simple as a casual chat in a bar. By extension, one should make sure that social media is handled in the same manner, as you never know who could be looking at your Instagram for potential commission work.

"Design what you are passionate about"

It is always important to design the way you want to design and not just what are popular. Popular things become common and boring, but showing your passion in your work can be the best way to get the most unique content in graphic design.

As a personal project, Peter O'Toole created a piece of work around all the limited editions of Adidas trainers in a large collage piece. He had always held an interest in limited edition trainers and decided to create the piece as a homage to the series of shoes. This piece was then recognised and requested directly by Adidas. As such his work became known directly through his fan creation, as opposed to a commission piece. This piece inspired and influenced further collaborations with Adidas, including the creation of his own limited edition trainer product.

"Stay true to your interests and make sure you don't work for free"

http://www.peter-otoole.co.uk/

F YOU PAY ME - Intern Magazine

Alec Dudson; editor-in-chief of Intern Magazine came into Huddersfield University to discuss ways which can help you get into industries and a look into internship work and what it is like.

Before establishing Intern magazine, Alec had never working in any creative field. Having no skills related to the area he found himself interested in he opted to try an internship position. These are often considered daunting as an intern may not be paid and there is no guarantee that there will be a job at the end of the internship.The upside is it gives a good sense of what the company or area of work is like to gain valuable insight into a company or field.

Alec took two different internships. The first internship was a two month placement in Milan with a large architectural magazine company called 'Domus'. He found the magazine creation process interesting, but less so the subject matter. With it being a short term placement Alec soon moved onto another internship in london with Boat magazine. He was fond of how it differed from most magazines with better quality paper and interesting layouts. He worked in a small team of six people helping with photojournalism work and within a month and a half of his placement watched the team create an issue of the magazine. At the end of his well enjoyed placement he was sadly laid off as a small independent business couldn't afford to hire him. 

Time passed and out of an act of desperation Alec decided he would make his own job doing what he loved. He wanted to make a small independent magazine similar to where he worked. Before doing anything he has to ask a few questions on what, who would it be about and why would it be different?

Knowing the experience and stuggles of young interns traped in a cycle of uneployment and intern placements he set out to make a magazine that informs people about the world of work in internships. This magazine doesn't showcase artists already known but people still fighting for the spotlight. An important part of this project is that any work that is contribute is paid for as Alec stated " All contributers should be paid for their work, exposure for work is bollocks."

Alec also gave us some tips on CVs and how pursuing your interests will help in finding the kind of work that you are passionate about.

go viral - CV's are boring and repetitive. Trying to be distinguishable can soon be difficult in a wave of other designers. Søren Danielsen decided to up his chances and made a short 60 second animation in the form of a digital CV. It didn't take long for him to get the exposure he rightly deserved. It shows his previous experience as well as a sense of hims personality.

Your New Intern Søren from SorenWorks on Vimeo.

Another project he mentioned was a group project called the Cool bus. This was a combined bought school bus that had been renovated into a moving graphic design studio. These students drove around finding their own clients by turn up at music venues and doing design work for people on site. This project was short term but the impact on the project allowed the participants better offers on their work as it shows extra lengths of effort beyond that of a simple CV.

Issue 4 of his intern based magazine has recently come out and can be bought online here for £10 along with previous issues and a few goodies. If you wish to contact Intern Magazine they are always looking for new artists and designers to join in their work.