Monday, 23 November 2015

Message & Meaning

This lecture was concerning the structure of communication- how we use it and arrange it, and in turn how we seek it and how it manifests itself. As graphic designers, attempting to convey and tailor how we communicate an idea or message, and how it might subsequently be interpreted, should be under constant review, in order to improve our craft. As Michael Rock stated- "difference between poetry and practical message is that the latter is only successful when we correctly infer the intention".  This means that communication is only successful when our intended audience reacts based on the message we have given them.

Therefore we were given a breakdown as to what message and meaning is:
  • Message: a short communication transmitted by words or other means from one person, or group to another.
  • Meaning: what the source or sender expresses, communicates, or conveys in their message to the observer or receiver, and what the receiver infers from the current context.
After we were clarified that a message is inferred from its meaning, we were introduced to how feedback is received between the sender (encoder) and the audience (receiver), and how each part is reliant on each other in order for the message to successfully received, as demonstrated in this graph.


Encode
We first start by translating information into a message in the form of symbols that represent ideas or concepts; a good way for the sender to improve encoding message is to mentally visualise communication from the receiver's point of view. The sender should ask themselves different questions, so they can select an appropriate channel:
  • is the message urgent?
  • is immediate feedback needed?
  • is documentation or a permanent record required?
  • is documentation being communicated to someone inside/outside?
  • is content complicated, controversial or private?
Channel
Once sender has answered all of these questions, they will be able to choose an effective channel (a medium in which they can produce their message). Each channel have strengths dependent on situational effectiveness, which is important to know depending what you're representing. Here are the various types of channel a designer may choose:


Also, signal of channel needs to be clear; more interruptions (noise) is less likely for the message to be received. Using all channels indiscriminately may dilute and distract from the key message.


Design Authorship
Next we were introduced to artists who conveyed messages within their pieces. Richard Linklater for example always asks questions of the meaning of life and presents it to the viewer from a comparative point of view, as shown in Waking Life.


Decoder
All interpretations by the receiver are influenced by their experiences, attitudes, knowledge, skills,
perceptions, and culture; it is similar to the sender’s relationship with encoding. Subsequently showcasing a design in a different culture may perceive the work completely different from the designer's original intention (due to cultural and societal differences).

Marshall McLuhan, who become a key figure in media studies and the effect of technology on people, was announced to us, introducing his key book The Medium is the Massage. The ‘massage’ or ‘mass-age’ started as a typographic mistake as it was meant to read ‘message’, but was kept when McLuhan approved of the unintentional correction and its relationship to the subject matter.


Within it, McLuhan explores how the development of technology, from print to the internet (referred to as the "Global Village"), is reshaping and restructuring patterns of social interdependence and every aspect of our personal life.

The Content + The Message = The Message

McLuhan described key points of change in how people have viewed the world and how those views have been affected and altered by the adoption of new media. Change and progress are an inevitable part of social life, those who choose not to change with their environment do so at the risk their own social survival:
"Survival  not possible of one approaches his environment, 'the social drama', with a fixed, unchangeable point of view- the witless repetitive response to the unperceived"   - Marshall McLuhan

From this lecture I have learnt to consider that symbols can mean one thing for a particular person and therefore have to be considerate when composing a design; for example a blade could mean war. but to someone else it could symbolise surgery. Without feedback, a sender cannot confirm that the receiver has interpreted the message correctly, which shows feedback from an outside source (in my case my tutors) can help improve work.


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Friday, 20 November 2015

Deciding studio proposals

After discussing my design proposals with Stephen, I selected the theme that I felt most attracted to (what makes a house a home), and discussed various approaches to finalise a final piece.

One approach we spoke about was, besides capturing my families rooms, extending Relander's compositions by capturing objects within a room, how they can create a sense of identity and place by characterising an individual without needing to reveal their face. In turn this can be developed further by styling the photograph as CCTV images, bringing to mind the government surveillance of "Big Brother" within George Orwell's novel 1984.

Through these different approaches- I will have a selection of designs I can choose and narrow down, perhaps presenting them in a book format. And discussing my studio proposals has allowed me to reflect and expand the style exhibited in my artists and create something abstract in the world of graphic design.
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Wednesday, 18 November 2015

Expanded Genealogy

Reviewing the work we started in September, we expanded our knowledge of genealogy further to help alongside our current project.

We were first introduced to genealogical method, where it was broken down for us: method is a way of going/doing the path you follow, and genealogy is study and knowledge of of family history; in this scenario, a genealogist examines the pre-conceived, and questions the phenomenon that "we tend to feel is without history". Having "no history" is without goodness, badness/evil, punishment, madness and sexuality, which all have impacted history at various times in different circumstances.

Genealogy is subjective, which means you are strongly present in the study; Michel Foucault coined the term "subjectification". This means that factors within society make us subjects and shape us into what we are, whether it is our sexuality, where we work or study. However, objectivity doesn't allow involvement for a researcher, depending on the situation. Foucault asks "what right have [historians] to impose their tastes and preferences when they seek to determine what actually occurred in the past?" This is a valid point, as personal preference can sway peoples views and knowledge of history- an example being the secret history of female artists.

It also links in the clip we were shown in class; many people are quick to jump to conclusions without knowing or wanting to find out the wider image of a scenario. From one angle the skinhead running towards the man may seem threatening, even more so due to the connotations associated with the skinhead culture. Though once you realise he was saving the older man's life , you learn the true events, which is what the Guardian is trying to say about their company; they will always uncover the truth amidst assumptions and lies.


Genealogy also claims no eternal truth; Foucault once again states that "purpose of history, guided by genealogy, is not to discover the roots of our identity, but to commit itself to its dissipation". This means that history should be recorded before it is lost to memory, and not clouded by judgment and misremembered facts.

For the next part- we were shown a series of clips and asked how they began, where is the setting, and what is the tone; in The Simpsons introduction, it establishes the town and main characters of the shows by showing them individually in their own environment, and in turn showcasing their personalities. The light hearted tone is achieved through the theme tune, colours and general direction of its subject matter.


The Star Wars opening crawl brings the audience up to speed with the establishing action of the first scene, without having to show the backstory of previous events. Its name and setting amongst the stars immediately lets the viewer know that this film is established in the future of space. Yet the establishing text of "In a galaxy far far away..." brings to mind a fairy tale, letting the viewer know that this film isn't placed within reality, but in a completely fictional setting. This is all reflected within the music as well; it brings a sense of adventure and fantasy, linking in with the tone of the general film. It is often said film is 60% sound, which can often dictate how an audience feels during a specific scene.


What I have learnt from this seminar is that a combination of features within film or TV help create tone and setting, allowing the audience to feel a certain way. This links in with design as well, where shape, colour, text and layout can illustrate tone as well; if I take this into consideration when conceiving a design, it will make the overall piece successful in what it is trying to express.


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Monday, 16 November 2015

Blog Percentage for Course

This seminar was to highlight how much the blog was worth in order to pass this course, as there was worry that we weren't up to speed with our blogs. 50% is how much our blogs amount to, with the minimum to pass being 40 out of 100; Stephen told us the majority of us were below that mark. Although I am more or less on track with documenting my blogs after being behind, it alerted me to regularly document during this degree.

We were also altered to the program Lynda, which allows users to become familiar with programs like InDesign and After Effects. This would be very useful for me, especially since I have never used the programs we use in this course, and would help me immensely.
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Influence & Behaviour

In this lecture we were given the distinction of influence and behaviour; influence is the capacity to have an effect on someones character, development or behaviour, which in turn is how a person behaves in response to a particular situation or stimulus.

Therefore we were asked what influences us, why people make certain decisions, and where do those influences come from; first we were introduced to propaganda and Edward Bernays, who was a pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda. Combining the ideas of crowd psychology by Gustave Le Bon and Wilfred Trotter, and the psychoanalytical ideas of his uncle Sigmund Freud, Bernays stated that manipulation was an important part of democracy: "the conscious and intelligent manipulation of organised habits and opinions of the masses... constitute an invisible government which is the true rule power of our country". Therefore, designers of propaganda manipulate viewers perhaps without their knowing.

"Gibson Girl" was our next subject, who was created by Charles Dana Gibson; it represented women's new found liberation due to the Suffragette movement happening at the time. In turn they aimed this illustration towards women, especially during WW1 when men were in short staff.


Another tactic aimed towards women was devised by Bernays himself, in which he tried to encourage women to smoke; before this it was seen was corrupt and inappropriate for women to smoke. By exploiting women's aspirations for a better life during the women's liberation movement in the United States, Bernays hired women to smoke during the Easter Sunday Parade of 1929, which was a significant moment for fighting social barriers for women smokers. This type of promotion towards women still happens today, in the name of independence.

Alerting the media prior to the event, women stroked their cigarettes in public, proclaiming their "torches in freedom" in the interests of promoting equality of the sexes

Next we were shown campaigns by design consultancies to promote either brands or events; for instance Wolff Olins designed the 2012 London Olympics logo; they said they wanted the aesthetic to be flexible, where past Olympic logos had been very rigid, which allowed other parties  to make the logo their own. Originally derided for its unclear concept,  it was designed in a way where, minus the logo and location, you could tell what the logo is based on its overall silhouette.



Whilst looking through the company's collection of work, its promotion of Little Sun caught my attention, due to its simple and eye catching design; besides helping people who were off the grid in less-developed countries, Wolff Olins' association made this a foreseeable business plan, resulting in the distribution of 165,000 lamps worldwide.

Widen+Kennedy created an alternative 2012 Olympic campaign for Nike, entitled Find Your Greatness, which demonstrated by illustrating anyone can be great, not simply Olympic athletes. To create this campaign they went around the world and searched for people with such talent. Though the message may seem quite saccharine, I like how the overall campaign is inspirational, showing triumph over adversity.


Linking back to propaganda, deception may be used in order to promote; an example is Red Bull, who some question whether it actually energises you or not. In addition, in 2015, accusations were leveled at Red Bull's marketing and labeling, claiming that the company violated 'express warranty and unjust enrichment’. Red Bull denied any wrong doing, but lost on appeal and had to pay $14 million in damages.

Whilst traversing through their other advertising campaigns, I had no idea that they were responsible for the famous Old Spice advert The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, which created a feeling of connection between the Old Spice Man and the audience; this is known as a para-social relationship, forming an important part of the success of the campaign. The adverts success is due to its style as it was unlike anything seen at that time: while reciting the monologue Isaiah Mustafa progresses through various activities, locations, and/or extraordinary situations, all in one uninterrupted take while maintaining constant eye-contact with the camera in a nonchalant demeanor.

What I learnt from this lecture though was how to connect to an audience, in particular the younger generation. More recently the transition between covert and overt methods of audience connection in marketing and advertising has begun to occur; younger, more digitally connected audiences respond differently to a product or brand. If you connect with someone, they expect you to connect back. If this cycle can be thoughtfully maintained then a brand can attempt to leverage loyalty with a viewer, according to the "give get model" by Wolff Odin. 


And as designers, we should be mindful where ‘touch points’ are likely to be found, as a good location will allow more viewers to come into contact with a product/idea/message, for instance a billboard or logos on products.

This lecture made me realise that, if done correctly, advertising can surreptitiously promote hidden meanings without the viewer's knowing; its that level of cleverness that intrigues me. However, manipulation and deception shouldn't be the intention when trying to convey a message, campaign or story; if you want to have longevity within business, you have to build a rapport and trust with your audience.


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Thursday, 12 November 2015

InDesign Double Page Spread

Within this workshop, we created posters with unique design features, and learnt the difference of colour models like RGB, CMYK, Grayscale and Bitmap.



This poster was created by using the Line Tool to establish the text line to the rat's tail. The Text Tool was then used, using placeholder text to fill the line. "Rat City" was constructed by highlighting each letter in the text box and moving them to their respective place.

The part I had difficulty with was creating the straight rat's tail, as it didn't look similar to the original. If given more time I may have re-done it by highlighting the tail, deleting it and extending it with the Direct Selection Tool.

To compare the colour modes in our next task, we chose a colourful image and uploaded it on Photoshop, changing the images colours through Image -> Mode -> RGB, CMYK, Grayscale and Bitmap respectively. After I did this, I individually converted the images to TIF files so that they could be used in InDesign (creating small boxes in InDesign to be placed in).


The first two boxes show the difference between RBG and CMYK; it may be difficult to see in this image but the colours in the second section were less vibrant in comparison to the first. The last two boxes were converted to Grayscale, the last one being changed to Bitmap with a diamond design. I then altered the tones of the black and white by showing overall tones of yellow and red.



Our final task was emulating an Alanis Morissette poster; this was down by creating a double spread, uploading our colour image the same way in our previous task, and added text in a similar vein to the poster.

After choosing a font similar to the original, applying the text was quite technical as it involved creating and enlarging each individual letter, as shown in "Alanis", and adding little details within the spread. The stretched L was created by selecting the top half of the stem and extending it with Direct Selection Tool (pressing Shift to make it straight). The text across L was made by laying a box in front of it, adding a text box and placing two thick lines with the Line Tool.

I very much enjoyed this lesson, as I am not as acquainted with InDesign; so the fact that the end products look quite good, especially compared to the double spread poster, makes me very proud of myself. Because of this, I now know how to use certain features to create a design similar to this one. Of course I could refine my reproduction by replicating the poster's style even further, for instance by altering the text size and colour.


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Thursday, 29 October 2015

Interior Space Drawing Exercise

For this week's physical studio with John, we were inside the Creative Art building, drawing diverse subjects from different locations and positions. My group began on the ground floor, where I drew two different focuses.


The sketch of the window was created because of the interesting perspective I had; it was initially difficult to correctly draw this section as I had to keep changing the angle of glass panes coming out of the window to make it look accurate. Nonetheless I think it came out well, due to its detail and proportions alongside features by the window.

As I had drawn mainly landscape thus far, I wanted to do something different and sketch people that were nearby; I wish I could have spent more on these, as the subjects either kept changing their position or came and went. However I think the basic outline of the sketches are a good starting point to develop further.

Our next location was the balcony, where I created two drawings. I scrapped the first illustration because I was unhappy with how it came to be, since I wanted to use fine liner as supposed to using a pencil. Because of this- it was impossible to rub out any mistakes, like incorrect proportions. I could have continued with correcting this sketch, but I was unhappy with the position I had chosen, and decided to depict another viewpoint.

This resulted in drawing the second illustration, where you're able to see the linear perspective of the glass balcony. I am happy with this sketch, due to its interesting perspective and accurate depiction; I could have developed this further by shading the pillar for instance, adding depth to the piece.

Finally, the studio was our final location, with access to the large window overlooking the university and into the city. As you can see I depicted the church through pencil and fine liner; I used pencil for the basic outline of the church, and fine liner to add detail and shadow through cross hatching. Overall this piece could have been better if I took time and effort to carefully portray the subject instead of rushing it; with more time I could have stood back and rectified it.

Unhappy with my first composition, I depicted a building and box junction that was within my viewpoint. Like my previous sketch, I could have added more detail to the drawing if I had more time, but it is so far a good start (in particular the yellow box sketch).

From this activity, it has refreshed my life drawing skills, as it has been a while since I last drew people, and have learnt to be meticulous when drawing; instead of rushing, I should stand back and see what my overall viewpoint is, and not lose focus by the end of the day.
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Wednesday, 28 October 2015

First Project Assessment

This seminar was about the upcoming assessment on Thursday/Friday, in which we have to prepare our blog and concertina book for this project; we were told it was going to be a one-to-one with a tutor, discussing the work we have done over the weeks and where we plan to go with the ideas we have collected.

A fact we were told about this project, and upcoming projects for this university year, was how they assess our work:
  • a formative assessment can change after it is given; it isn't a final grade but it anticipates what you're expecting to get in combination with your ideas and ability to create your chosen theme.
  • and a summative assessment is the final grade by the end of the year
This seminar was very useful to me, as I was told what I need to do to get the best grade for this project, and reassured me that a grade I will be given won't be set in stone; I've had trouble keeping up to speed with completing my blog and work in my sketch book (due to not having as much free time to start work because of the travel time to get home), so if I am able to finish this project by December to the best of my ability, I will hopefully be happy with the grade I will get.
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Monday, 26 October 2015

Post-it Typography

To go alongside with our earlier lecture, we were instructed in our seminar to design an assorted range of typefaces for any given letters;  mine were S, T, and U, where I arranged them in a variety of designs.




I quite enjoyed this activity, as it allowed me to think creatively about each letter's properties and depict this; I depicted "S" in a free flowing manner due to its current design and also the property of a snake's hiss, "T" to represent its imposing sound and reinventing its look (though I was careful for it not to look like a Y), and "U" to show opposite sides of the same letter (from the angular to the curved).





After we did this, we were told to place our letters in alphabetical order; doing so allowed us to see the array of design ideas others came up for each letter, a lot of them being very inventive and creative.






Because of this activity- it allowed me to get into the mind-set of a typographer, and how each type design can reflect and change a piece of art.
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Typography

Within today's lecture, we were introduced to the history of typography and how it, alongside other features within graphic design, can affect an art piece's meaning and intention.

 We were introduced to terminologies used within typography and given the definition between font and typeface: font is what you see (metal and computer pieces) and typeface is what you see (the way the type collection looks).
Example of typography terms

We were then given the history of typography, beginning with Johannes Gutenberg's Bible, the first book created through movable type and widely praised for its high aesthetic and artistic qualities. When he invented the first western movable type printing press, he and his apprentices hand-craved wooden type in the style of the handwritten Blackletter fonts. By doing this, Gutenberg not only created the engine behind a massive explosion of literacy, but also the first "font" in the reusable form we understand today.

We were then introduced to different typefaces used and created over the centuries by designers and artists, including Ornate Gothic, Railway type and Architype.

Ornate Gothic
Railway type
Architype Ingenieur
What I found most interesting was how words are made to reflect, express and perform content appropriate to a design; how the signifer is made to relate the signified. For instance, according to Massimo Vignello, its up to a designer what type they use, but some would think that when they write "dog", it should bark.

 After that, we were shown how typography can be used to create interesting and unique designs through assorted means, as shown in these examples:

Detail of a Pirelli poster for a double-decker bus
1961
Alan Fletcher
Calligrammes, Poems of Peace and War 1913-1916
Guillaume Apollinaire

Silencio
1954
Eugen Gomringer
This particular lecture interested me, since I have never been interested in typography before, and introduced me to how to approach type and the possibilities you can do with for design, and the chance to experiment with type myself.


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Friday, 23 October 2015

Sense of Place - Fringes/Edges & Convergence/Opposition



This week was very different compared to previous weeks, as we went to Yorkshire Sculpture Park to become inspired for this weeks focus, which is Fringes/Edges & Convergence/Opposition.



Whilst taking photographs of the  sculptures and landscape, I was thinking what lay beyond the hills and the outskirts of the unseen. When I got home, I brainstormed from this point, and ended up with subcultures in Bradford and Huddersfield, like ethnic groups. Despite Bradford converging different ethnicities all in one place, it still faces challenges of social unrest; people nowadays don't feel they have a sense of place and identity, due to the influx of immigrants within this country. Therefore they don't know what it is to be British. As a result, I wanted a way of promoting social cohesion through graphic design.

However, I had difficulty finding artists that could be incorporated and expand upon my idea, in particular it was difficult to know where to start with an idea like this. Because of this- at the suggestion of Spencer- I've dropped this as an idea and focused on the other three instead, which was difficult to do; I thought it was a good idea, and had a noble intention. I just did not know how it could come into fruition. Nevertheless I still incorporated this theme in my brainstorm, to show evidence of its existence.

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Monday, 19 October 2015

Convergence

Convergence was the topic of today's lecture, in which it stated that it is an ambiguous term used by various disciplines to describe and analyse processes of change toward uniformity or union. This was shown within the presentation, where it included "hybrid analogue/digital",  which blurs the boundaries between traditional media, and convergence between telecommunications and traditional mass media. 

For instance, traditional media included designs by Saul Bass, which innovated graphic design as we know it, through his logo designs, movie posters and title sequences within Psycho.


This lecture showed the different approaches we can use within graphic design, combining different techniques to create something new.


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Friday, 16 October 2015

Sense of Place - Material/Form/Sound

For this weeks themes, I came up with two separate ideas concerning Material and Sound, with Form being intertwined between the two; for Material I came up with differing ideas, but settled on how people may see money as a sense of identification, which in turn lead to consumerism and eventually satire. Therefore I chose designers that approached satire in different manners.

Material



Traversing through Pinterest once again, I stumbled upon John Holcroft- whose satirical content and 1950s aesthetic intrigued me; his content ultimately narrowed my decision down to satire, and would make a good starting point to delve into this genre. The simplistic design allows the design's message to be expressed clearly without prohibiting the overall effect.


I chose Barbara Kruger as my next artist due to its upfront messages concerning society, and dramatic stylisation she uses through photography, harking back to the days of film noir. This will add another dimension to this project and enable various design ideas.


The vivid colours and Japanese style of Tadanori Yokoo's work caught my attention, since it was unlike any other graphic design I had seen; his aesthetic pop art and contemporary critique will add a different level to this theme.

Because of the artists I have chosen- it will allow me to either incorporate or narrow design ideas down through experimenting with style, and the message I am ultimately wanting to convey.

Sound
For Sound, I  wondered how I could incorporate sound within my work, thinking from the literal to the abstract, until- through the selection of my artists- decided to represent a place through sound (from either silence and tranquility in the countryside to the hectic life of a city).


The literal sense of linking sounds to appropriate images is what drew to these posters created by Saxsofunny, a sound company, with the simplistic design and interactivity of the poster drawing the viewer in.

Letter Home
2011  
Jennifer Cantwell

I stumbled upon this design because of its mysterious and innovative decision to represent a letter through sound wave; the message is entirely up to the viewer therefore, due to the suggestion of the title and layout.






Tang Yau Hoong's first piece intrigued me through its creative collaboration of negative space to create two images in one design. Once I looked further into his work, I stumbled upon his negative space work concerning cities and this developed my idea further to represent and advertise city through sound.

By using different ideas concerning sound, it will allow me to experiment once again with design ideas and see what would be appropriate for this project.


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Sound:
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Thursday, 15 October 2015

Blog Setup and Vimeo Account Setup

Todays workshop was to finally setup our blogs and Vimeo account, so we can recount what we do during our course and to upload videos created using After Effects.

After sorting out the basic framework for the blog I selected specific typefaces and changed colours to my liking. I then decided to choose the photography light as my background image, because I like photography and being able to capture a composition in different ways (through rule of thirds).

And after sorting our Vimeo account, we were told what our project for this workshop would be: create 10 slides on Photoshop showcasing a book or TV show. My chosen book was To Kill a Mockingbird, as that was the most recent book I have read, and started coming up with various ideas and images to symbolises the themes and scenes within the novel.
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Wednesday, 14 October 2015

Reflective Writing

Reflective writing was the topic in Wednesday's seminar, where we discussed how to approach your blog when writing; for example, you should observe what you have done, analyse from different perspectives to get a balanced viewpoint, what were the strength and weaknesses of your work, and how would you improve upon it. They also showed us good and bad examples of blog posts, with bad examples exhibiting unneeded information and lack of depth in analysis and good examples displaying succinct information and going into what went well in their work.

Thanks to this seminar, it has reminded me how to approach critical analysis, and in turn my blog, which will allow me to explain my reasons behind certain decisions, and ultimately add flesh to any ideas I have for future projects.
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Monday, 12 October 2015

Summon system and Library

Within today's seminar, we were told to analyse the principles of a selected movement in graphic design by using the Summon system in the library; my chosen subject was grids, since I didn't see the importance of them. However, after studying Basic Design 07: Grids, I have now gained a new understanding of the area that has resulted in influencing how I layout my work.


For example- grids are effectively used to organise various elements on a page; they bring order and structure to designs. They can be used to add a high degree of dynamism to a design as well. Particular positions can create dramatic impact on a page. They can also be used to direct the flow of a spread by determining where the reader starts, bias of a design through the location of an axis (invisible line of balance that runs through a design; controls sight line of the viewer and the order which the information is used), and how white space interacts with other elements in a spread.

Besides grids, the book informed me how texts can affect the appearance of a general design. For instance, typographic colour can darken or lighten a page (Helvetica Neue 25 compared to 95), and changing the typeface can affect the colouration of a page.


Overall, studying this subject made me realise that grids help create a robust and individual identity, defining the presentation of text and images with colour and typefaces.


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History of Graphic Design

The history of graphic design was the subject of this week's lecture, which I thought was very interesting considering I have never done this subject before, and have no knowledge of this field.  This lecture introduced me to various artists who influenced and eventually created graphic design as we know it today.

Poster for the First Secession exhibition
c. 1910
Gustav Klimt
For example, Gustav Klimt was key to the emergence of the Secession movement in Vienna; this poster in particular caused controversy over its nude male model, requiring over-painted trees to cover certain areas. And above its entrance was placed the phrase "Der Zeit ihre Kunst. Der Kunst ihre Freiheit."- which translates as "To every age its art. To every art its freedom."
Secession artists were concerned, above all else, with exploring the possibilities of art outside the confines of academic tradition, in which they hoped to create a new style that was free of historical influence.

Tropon
1898
Henry van de Velde
Henry van de Velde focused on design and the designer, rather than as an artist, and was vital in the emergence of the Bauhaus in Weimar. This poster demonstrates strong leaning to Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau, integrating type and image in conjunction with elegant lines influenced by Glasgow School (circle of influential modern artists and designers who began to grow in Glasgow in 1870s).
Lengiz Books on all Subjects
1925
Alexander Rodchenko
And Alexander Rodchenko's composition of this poster was typical of his use of photomontage in the period (combination of photography and text). And it also reflects the ways in which he updated Russian advertising using geometric compositions and bright colours to trumpet modernity. While his designs were directed at promoting companies or products, it also endorsed goals of political revolutions of the time.

Through this introduction- it has made me knowledgeable of graphic design and appreciate where certain influences have come from different artists over the years.


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Friday, 9 October 2015

Sense of Place - People/Movement/Navigation

In this weeks studio- I didn't particularly come up with initial ideas for each theme, as my previous concept last week incorporated many of this weeks current focus, in particular people.

However, I could illustrate movement by using a longer shutter speed within my photography, for example, or by showcasing where I live to portray navigation, as an initial idea to link with last week's focus. and expand last weeks concept.

Therefore, today I simply analysed my artist research and planned out how I was going to lay my work out in my sketch book.
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Thursday, 8 October 2015

Location Drawing

During the Location drawing with John- we were told to use Huddersfield as our source material, using various materials like tracing and grid paper to draw upon. Drawing to get into the theme of grids and frames, we were allocated groups, with my particular group beginning at the New street shopping area.


Drawing from this location was initially difficult, due to altering the perspective many times to correctly depict the area. Because of this, it resulted in a image that was incomplete; if I were to change anything, I would have perhaps carefully looked at my surroundings before putting pen to paper.


Still in the same location- I tried to quickly depict passersby in front of this shop. As you can see it isn't the most successful piece, since the shop is unfinished and the subjects aren't clearly defined since they quickly came and went. To improve, I would perhaps have solely focused on this sketch and illustrate who passes by. Through this practice, it has made me realise how capturing specific moments quickly can change a piece of work, the same being said for photography.


Moving onto the Gothic Quarter, I focused on the monument in the centre and, using a different material and medium, drawn it in an illustrative style, depicting the shadows through cross-hatching. Overall I think this piece is more or less successful in its depiction of style. Through this, I may adopt this style in the future. However- to add depth to it- I would perhaps add more cross-hatch, varying the pressure of it. 


Within the same area, this sketch was drawn because of the unique curvature of the building. Even though it isn't complete- I quite liked it thanks to the shape and intricacy of the building. In the future, if I were to complete an image similar to this I would quickly draw the basic shape of the subject and then draw in the detail.


Finally, at the Market and Piazza, I decided to use a different medium for this sketch, choosing marker pen. In hindsight this was most likely not the best decision, since the thickness of the tip didn't allow any subtle features to come through, and also made it difficult to cover any mistakes. Regardless- I think this perspective drawing is more successful than my first drawing, as you can overall see the perspective in the image, compared to only composing half of it.

From doing this activity, it has allowed me to practice my sketching skills once again, and made me see buildings in a different light, thanks to the grids and frames theme. It has also made me realise what I need to do to quickly compose sketches so I can get the most out of them.
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