Monday 12 November 2012

Graphics font

I found it really difficult to make my fonts look perfect and like what I was observing, but I did strangely enjoy attempting it. It would be so helpful if I was able to have a selection of fonts that I could create manually. Despite this, it became increasingly difficult to achieve my desired effect as we experimented with different techniques, such as drawing with my left hand and with stick and ink. For this particular exercise I didn't feel like this helped as I didn't need to loosen up, my designs had to be neat and precise.

Sunday 11 November 2012

April Greiman

http://aprilgreiman.com/
Greiman's disjointed images are very attractive, they look almost like medical diagrams of the body. It makes me curious as to what the theme of her work is. It is layering of the images that I love, layered work is just so much more interesting than flat work.

Reza Abedini

http://www.rezaabedini.com/
Abedini's work is my favourite out of all the graphic artists I have researched. His use of text combined with images of people is breathtaking, it doesn't look like text it just looks like part of the image. It's also interesting that his work is based around his culture, one completely different from our own.

Neville Brody

http://www.researchstudios.com/
Brody's work looks amazing, his use of colour is perfect and his composition is really striking. He makes his text look like pieces of art rather than computer graphics.

Paula Scher

http://www.paulascher.com/
Paula Scher's maps sparked my interest because I haven't seen many artists that focus mainly on maps. Her maps were unique due to the handmade look and the informal type which contrasts with the typical formality of a map.

Flights of Fancy by Liz Farrelly

http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/flights-of-fancy

This article caught my eye initially due to the brilliantly detailed drawings of the flies. This single piece took up an entire page and immediately drew me in. Upon reading the article it became even more captivating as it went through the working progress of the Graphic Designer Si Scott. It was quite inspiring reading exactly how he worked and completed projects, it gave me an insight into how I could be working in the future. I also loved how he described the people that viewed his work, that they either love it or hate it like marmite. I really admired that response and I think variety of reactions in his audience makes his work even more interesting!

Noma Bar

This was different to the other artists I researched in the way that it looked almost like a poster. It is extremely bold with the bright yellow background with the block black shapes made to create a bizarre face. It makes what would be a disturbing face, due to the elongated nose, comical as the bright colours suggest it is a fun piece.

Pep Carrio

This was my favourite piece of all the graphic artists I researched. I think this is due to the fact that it looks more like illustration as it is shown in a book. The extremely simple pattern looks much more impressive as it is spread repeatedly over 2 pages. The contrast of the perfect lines with the human body in the right hand corner makes the piece mysterious as I find myself wondering what it is trying to portray. I really like the combination of the graphic pattern with the illustrative figure, it is something I think I will explore later in my own work.

Kris Sowersby

I really liked this piece of Sowersby in particular because it looks half like a plan or a design and half like a new typeface alphabet. Due to this he makes his text look almost scientific. The simple beige background with white text increases the informative mood of the piece, making me look twice at this piece.

Alan Fletcher

This piece was special as he makes the text that says the word "wallpaper" look as if it is wallpaper. He makes each letter different yet they all seem to work together due to the careful selection of colours. Even though they work together, the colours are bright and eye catching. As well of this, each type face used is different which makes the simple letters appear to almost be different pieces of art.

Wim Crouwell

Crouwell's work didn't appear to much different from many other graphic artists I have seen; letters in unoriginal text across different shades of backgrounds. This piece appealed to me most due to the modest grey background and the simple white text. It was the simplicity that was the most unique and calming to look at. Despite this it isn't my favourite piece of graphic design.

Thursday 8 November 2012

Stefan Sagmeister

In this piece, Stefan uses the same face repeatedly yet edits it with a different pattern and colour to change its appearance completely. This is a clever technique, being able to change the mood of an image completely without changing any of the basic principles; I admire this and would like to be able to use this technique myself.

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Textiles

I really enjoyed textiles as a whole project as I loved the effect layering images on top of each other randomly - that way you never knew what you'd end up with. As I carefully chose colours that I knew would work with each other and particularly diverse materials as backgrounds, I loved just how many different textures and medias were achieved.
The actual process was quite laborious as we were drawing from the same objects repeatedly just with a different media or with the paper turned around. On the other hand, it was this technique that allowed me to not get too precious about my work and just experiment freely.
From the pieces we produced using this technique we then had to make two panels using marks, images and colours from our experimentation. As I found the image of the skull particularly striking, I used that but from different angles or distance in both my panels. I drew from my experience of not being scared to layer up media and experiment and did this also in my panels, this time using stitch and thread as well. The end result was my favourite piece of work I have produced so far as the amount of work that went into them was huge! The panels have a chaotic feel to them as I completed them quite freely and once again the range of textures in them in them is fascinating.

Fine Art

At first when we began working in art only using what was in front of us (either projecting an object and drawing around the projection, drawing around the object, or using the object to make prints) I was a little confused as to what was expected of me. It took me a while to adapt and start realising how I could make the most of what was in front of me with colours, marks and composition. As you can see from my first try (the large red hook) I was a little clueless and the overall effect is pretty messy and nondescript. However by the end (the skeleton) I knew how to combine ideas and colours effectively and was quite happy with the final piece. I began this piece with the pastel squares and didn't like how childish and basic the pattern was so I decided to juxtapose it with a black ink skeleton.

Fashion

We began fashion by creating interesting 2D shapes on the wall without thinking about where and how they could be applied to a body. It was then our task after this to discover how our favourite shapes could be translated into fashion. By creating the shapes first, our ideas were much more original and complex than if we had just started out by creating clothes.
I found it difficult to begin with to figure out what to put where and started out with an overly complex mix of shapes on the mannequin that didn't look very impressive. However, after a good think about it and constantly shifting the shapes around the mannequin, I realised I would only need one of the shapes I had made that was simply arranged in different places around the body.
I really liked the sharp angles of the final shape, it looks unpredictable and unlike anything I thought I would be able to produce. Although I found the whole process quite tiresome - staring at a blank sheet of paper for such a long time just trying to think up shapes was draining - I really loved the final piece! I'm very proud of it.

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Bauhaus


Bauhaus designs focus on simple shapes for furniture. This gives their work a classic feel, making them interesting to look at. However, these designs have now become so popular and overused that I found them quite bland compared to other designers I found. These two images were my favourite because they used a smooth curve rather than repeated right angles which was more captivating.