Thursday, 30 July 2015

Design I Like : Leeds Museum Art Exhibition

These designs were influenced my music and graffiti. They combine these together to create these interesting, bold typographical designs.
 The influence of the music is reflected by using a circular disk to print/design onto.
Colour also plays a larger role here. The bright, neon and black contrast against each other in order to stand out against, if it was to be actual graffiti, walls/fences etc. All of these design aspects work together to create a bold and interesting variation of designs.

 
  

This work made me realise that colour can be used to contrast and be a reference, for example, the neons link back to graffiti and 'rave' even, this then relates to an era. The different styles of graffiti are also linked to various times.
 In addition, showcasing such designs in a museum relates to the constant conversation of whether graffiti is destructive or a piece of art. Surely, in this case, it is seen as art.

Design I Like: Spiralink Studio Influence: Dot Technique

Spiralink Studio Influence: Dot Technique



Recently, I have started to follow more people on social media. The designs above are from my Instagram feed by 'Spiralink Studio'.
 Using my love of pattern, shape and minimalism in hand with the images above, I designed the below images.

I wanted to combine my love for lines with the technique of 'bubbling' from Spiralink Studio's. This is how my work turned out.


I started by sketching the curved shapes, inspired by corn and continued to 'bubble' within them. Lastly, I added the feathered effect around the border, inspired again, from corn.

Design I Like: Liverpool World Museum

  

These images really stood out to me amongst the rest of the exhibitions within the museum.
 They are similar to that seen within collages as they appear to incorporate and combine various design aspects such as colour, texture, shape and image. They seem to be rather abstract pieces and although each is different from the rest, they work well as a set of designs.
 Each explores colour and movement in a slightly different way allowing the audience to interpret each in their own way.
This is inspiring and shows me that you can really experiment when creating a set of designs. They can all differ greatly, as sen above, and yet as long as you have a strong concept, they can be identified to be one project, simply explored in many ways.

Design I Like: LCA Final Third Year Exhibition: My Favourite Work

Third Year Exhibition: My Favourite Work

 
 
 
 
 
 
Above are some images of my favourite, inspirational work that I saw from the 3rd years final exhibition (2015). All of this work stood out to me amongst the others and I think I have started to realise what kind of work and design I am drawn to and would like to create.
 Looking at the above imagery, most of them are very minimal, handmade/hand-drawn/illustrative and simple. Yet they are detailed and some are pattern-like/repetitive.

Design I Like: Bents: Product Packaging Design

Bents

I wanted to blog about these products which have inspired me a great deal when designing packaging for a brief. The colours and illustrations, especially the first set, below, have influenced my work a great deal.

Snack Packaging

The brand, 'Cartwright & Butler' are known for being a 'vintage', classy and minimal. Their packaging and type reflects this well, as using serif fonts provides an upmarket appearence whilst also feeling important. Serif fonts are used in books, newspapers and other documentation as they are seen to be more readible and legible compared to other font families. The decoration (serifs) provide detail and intricacy to the text, creating an expensive, highbrow feel.

 As for the colours used, the pastel themed pallette creates an elegant, 'Homemade' feel. This is simply as when we think of 'homemade' foods, our minds tend to drift to a housewife preparing dinner for her family in a countryside cottage, which are typically decorated in such pastel colours seen above. These are simple connotations linked with the colours and label 'homemade'.

The windows are used to allow the potential customers to view the physical goods within. This allows them to imagine using/eating this particular product. This technique works when selling most goods as we are visual creatures.
 The shape of the windows create interest and provides a running theme throughout the brand. The food within creates a pattern through the shaped window, relating again, to this vintage, classy minimal, yet homemade feel and theme throughout.

Beer Bottle Branding

The simple use of brightly coloured bands, ensures that this brand is more prominent. Each flavour is colour coded making it easier for the audience to quickly grab their favourite one. This, along with the overall bright design, would help with sales within a store.
 I really am drawn to the minimal designs, simply using type and colour and this particular brand stood out to me right away. Their branding is obviously working.


The simple use of colour and illustration catching the customers attention and creates an intruiging packaging design. The detail within the illustration makes us naturally want to investigate and look more closely at the bottle. As we are reading, the flavours and brand may than intice us to try this one rather than out regular brand.
 Although the illustration is detailed, it is in 1 colours (and stock) allowing the colour band which displays the name and flavour to be the more prominent area of the bottle. This balance creates an aesthetically pleasing product and is not too overpowering and overcrowded.


Wine & Juice Branding


The simplicity of the branding above, the white text on frosted glass, provides a minimal, classy appearance. The bright colours representing each flavour, is in fact, the colour of the liquid contained within the bottles. These colours will help the audience identify the specific flavour that they are looking for with one glance. This speeds up the buying process. These bold colours and prominent amongst the other brands in this particular aisle in the store. This will increase sales as people are drawn to this companies product first of all.
 Although the type used is simply white and stands alone, the script typeface adds detail and intricacy, strengthening the classy appearance whilst also delivering a more 'human' and friendly aesthetic, as the text appears handwritten. This juxtaposes the very unnatural, vibrant, bright colours of the liquid itself.
 The components used create a balance of minimal, classy and fun to provide an interesting, experimental and fun product.


These bottle designs, top shelf, really grabbed my attention. The overcrowded, 'fruity', illustrative style connotes something fresh, healthy and tasty. I actually bought this drink (top left bottle) to try, but more so, to keep the bottle.
 The design is interesting within itself and combines the above ideas with repetition and geometric style patterns, especially around the neck. These all connote such things as travel, money.

Design I Like: OUTSIDE CDP Curated by Janine Sykes

 
LCA Alumni Advertisment Exhibition
This exhibition covers a selection of Collett Dickenson Pearce (CDP) creative advertising work, created under Leeds College of Art alumnus, Colin Millward, Creative Director, CDP (1960-1979). Visitors are encouraged to ponder whether this art school environment could have influenced Millwards directorship style.
Millward is described by some as a tough taskmaster. He needed to be, as he managed some of the most talented and unruly creative people in 1960's - 1970's  advertising such as Ron Collins, who also studies here at Leeds College of Art.
In the publication 'Inside Collett Dickenson Pearce (2000)' John Salmon and John Ritchie assert that Millward, John Pearce and Ronnie Dickenson helped to form a distinctively creatively-led approach at CDP.
This exhibition considers the contextual influences upon the creative department of CDP, such as post-war British art exhibition and technological changes. In doing so, this exhibition, outside CDP culturally, created by the most awarded advertising agency of all time. 

Acknowledgements
History of Advertising Trust
National Art Education Archive

Vogue
Vogue knows belts are going to be tightened
This advertisement was acknowledgement that Vogue understands that their readers need to spend more wisely- but this shouldn't mean that their fashion choices should suffer. This is playing on the phrase 'tightening my belt' in relation to saving money and stop spending on luxury items.

Clarks
Red leather, yellow leather, green leather, brown leather, 1976
This advertisement shows the fun side of the Clarks and plays on the tongue twister 'red lorry, yellow lorry'

Fiat


Hand-build by Robots, 1979
At the time of filming the TV commercial for the campaign, the Italian factory workers in Turin were protesting about robots taking away their jobs. The campaign won gold D&AD

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing Fiat 132, 1977
This advert creatively communicates the message that the Fiat has deceivingly exceptional qualities. Whereas the campaign it thinks there's a permanent fuel Crisis, 1979 has a more focused message about the benefits of the product.

I really enjoyed this exhibition. As encouraged, I considered whether LCA and it's environment could have influenced Millwards directorship style. I personally feel that it did. Looking at the links and aspect recurrences throughout the work, they have all been greatly led by puns/phrases/tongue twisters.
 This is something which I also like to do within my own work, mixing professionalism with puns and lightheartedness.